Is this BUILD a mistake or good idea??

weatherphobia

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Dec 30, 2008
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With some other extras not mentioned it comes to about $860 with shipping and tax included. Are any compenents you see a bad idea or something I'm paying too much for or will regret buying?

If you think a component is a bad Idea please suggest an alternative while considering my budget.

thanks people.

CASE RAIDMAX SMILODON Black Mid Tower Foldout MB Case 500W $99.99
Model #:ATX-612WBP
Item #:N82E16811156062


MOTHERBOARD GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3P LGA 775 Intel P45 Intel Motherboard $136.99
Model #:GA-EP45-UD3P
Item #:N82E16813128358


CPU Intel Core 2 Quad Q9300 Yorkfield 2.5GHz Quad-Core CPU $239.99
Model #:BX80580Q9300
Item #:N82E16819115043


RAM CORSAIR DOMINATOR 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR2 1066 Dual Channel RAM $119.00
Model #:TWIN2X4096-8500C5DF
Item #:N82E16820145197
or this ram
RAM CRUCIAL MEMORY WEBSITE $50 CHEAPER????
4GB kit (2GBx2), 240-pin DIMM, DDR2 PC2-8500
CT2KIT25664AA1067 DDR2-1066


VIDEO CARD EVGA GeForce 9800 GTX(G92) 512MB 256-bit HDCP SLI Video Card $159.99
Model #:512-P3-N871-AR
Item #:N82E16814130339

DVD DRIVE SAMSUNG 20X SATA DVD Burner with LightScribe Black $22.99
Model #:TS-H653N
Item #:N82E16827151179


thanks people.
 
Well, there's a few things that stand out. The first is the Raidmax PSU included with the case. Raidmax PSU's should be avoided at all costs. You're much better off getting the case without a PSU and picking up a quality unit. You also chose a crossfire motherboard with an Nvidia GPU. You should pick up a 4850 which offers the same performance as the 9800GTX+ and allows the option of crossfire in the future. You also don't need DDR2 1066 RAM. Pick up a high quality DDR2 800 kit with tight timings.

CORSAIR CMPSU-400CX 400W ATX12V V2.2 80 PLUS Certified Power Supply - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139008 $59.99 - $25.00 MIR

G.SKILL PI Black 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231209 $44.99

ASUS EAH4850 TOP/HTDI/512M Radeon HD 4850 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121272 $164.99 - $30.00 MIR

If you want the option of crossfire without upgrading the PSU, you might want to consider one of these:

PC Power & Cooling S61EPS 610W Continuous @ 40°C EPS12V SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817703005 $104.99 - $35.00 MIR

CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139005&Tpk=650TX $99.99 - $20.00 MIR
 

weatherphobia

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Your options sound good although I seem for some reason hooked on wanting the 9800 gtx, tomshardware video scores showed the 4850 and 9800 neck and neck and both are within $15 of each other, do what's the deal there?

Also, I might have failed to mention my upper end budget for this entire build is about $880 and that would include shipping and tax.

Also, if I choose ddr2-800 over 1066 ram won't that put a limit on the FSB of 800 with that ram installed? If so, won't I notice that difference?

I'm a lite gamer, I'd say I might spend 5 hours a month playing games no matter the type of game it is.
So from that perspective, I thought q6600 over q9300 because I'd likely not see the difference.

Also I'm upgrading from an ASUS A8S-x motherboard, geforce 6200 video card and a Venice AMD single core 3200+ I believe. What if any build could you or anyone else offer that would be within my budget and also WOW me when I built the new machine?

Thanks for your help.
 
DDR2 1066 RAM is only needed for very high overclocks. The FSB of Intel chips is quad pumped. That means that the Q9300 with its 1333 FSB would actually only need DDR2 667 RAM to run at a 1:1 FSB/RAM ratio if it wasn't overclocked at all. DDR2 800 RAM will allow you to bump up the FSB from 1333 to 1600. DDR2 800 CAS4 RAM is just as fast as DDR2 1066 CAS 5.
 

WiZdoM

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Right on! 800Mhz CAS4 RAM is ever so slightly slower than 1066Mhz CAS5 RAM, but since most DDR1066 is overclocked 800Mhz anyway, it's a no brainer...get the 800Mhz CAS4 and then overclock it some! Then you'll have the best of both worlds, tight timings and fast clock.

And this:

G.SKILL PI Black 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820231209 $44.99

is sick!

You CANNOT beat this RAM, especially for the price...this is what I'm running and damn it's rock solid, fast, and stays cool as can be with those heatsinks.

:)
 

weatherphobia

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I've seen a few of you recommend ddr2-800 over the 1066. Since the new motherboard supports 1066 and higher why would I want to avoid newer faster 1066 ram?

I've even found 1066 ram that is within $12 of the 800 ram 4gb units so buying the 1066 wouldn't exactly be an extreme difference in money. I guess I'm just asking why put ddr2-800 in a motherboard in, might as well be, 2009?
 

WiZdoM

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Because the slower RAM (800Mhz) has a lower latency...such as 4-4-4-12 vs. 5-5-5-15 at the 1066Mhz level. The latency is the amount of clock cycles needed to "exchange" the information.

Think of it like this...you have 2 cars...the first car has 800Hp and the 2nd has 1066 horsepower. Now, the first car only has to make 4 laps to win, and the 2nd car has to make 5 laps to win...so even though the 2nd car has more horsepower and is faster, it has to travel further to accomplish the same task.-----now we all know horsepower doesn't necessarily mean speed, but for illustrations purposes, you get the analogy :)

With that said, my personal preference is to get the slower (800Mhz)RAM with lower latency and then overclock it.

For example, I have gskill PC2 6400 (2 x 2GB) timing is 4-4-4-12, but they're overclocked to around 975Mhz....so, even though they are less than 100Mhz "slower", the lower latency makes all the difference.
 

WiZdoM

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I completely agree....and the price!....and those heatsinks!!!

I love em!