snoopy_gep

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Hey guys,

I am planning to build a new pc for the first time and I need some advice.
Here's the list of parts that I am considering :

CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad Q9400 2.66GHz LGA775 6M Cache With Original Fan and Heatsink

MOBO: Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3 P45 ATX

HARD DRIVE: Western Digital Caviar SE 500GB SATA 7200rpm 16MB hard drive

MEMORY: Corsair TWIN2X4096-6400C5DHX 2 X 2GB DDR2-800 XMS2 The XMS2 DHX

GPU: NVIDIA GEFORCE 9800GT 512MB DDR3 512MB DVI PCI-E OEM

DISPLAY: BENQ T2200HD 21.5" Full HD LCD monitor 1920x1080

Case: Antec Nine Hundred Tower Gaming

PSU: Seasonic M12 700W PSU

Any help is appreciated. Thanks :bounce:
 
Let me guess, you're in the UK? That UD3 is a UK thing, AFAIK.

Get a WD6401AALS, not the (much slower) 500GB WD.

For that resolution you need a bit more graphics power IMO. Try a GA-EP45-UD3P http://www.ebuyer.com/product/151050
and a HD 4850. That in itself is a pretty big improvement. More importantly, it will let you add a second card later. Your case and PSu are already perfect for that.
 

snoopy_gep

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The HDD: yes, the Western Digital Caviar Black GP 500GB SATA 3 Gb/s 7200RPM 32MB Cache (WD5001AALS) is faster.

All right, if it has to be an nVidia card then no point in spending more on a Crossfire MB. Crossfire only works with ATI cards. Also, you want a DDR2 version anyway because DDR2 is a lot cheaper. Get back to the GA-EP45-UD3 and try to get a better video card, like GTX 260 Core 216.
 
Have a look on www.pricespy.co.nz for good deals

[but I'd never buy a thing from C1shoppingmall even if they were the cheapest ]


That monitor will be a challenge to anything short of a 4870 1 gig or an nVidia gtx 260 . All those extra pixel to push around mean lower frame rates in games or a big drop in quality settngs.
If you want to stick to that card then have a look at 22 inch monitors with 1680 x 1050 resolutions

Personally I'd change the mix a little for a gaming PC
an e8400 and , radeon 4870/ nVidia gtx 260 , and the mb with a second pci-e x16 slot . What you save on the processor you can spend on the gfx .


The WD black series have bigger caches and are faster . HD's with 320 , 640, 1 terabyte have 1 ,2 or 3 platters with the highest data density per platter so they can read and write faster .
A 500 gb drive has 2 platters and lower data density .
I have the 640 . Its very fast loading games compared to any other drive I have used .
 
+1 to that.

If you get a MB with two slots make sure it's a P45 (for HD 4870 cards) or a 750i (for GTX 260 cards). That is, Crossfire/P45/ATI and SLI/750i/nVidia are valid combinations. Also, for two GTX 260, get a bigger PSU. For two HD 4870 cards that 700W Seasonic will do all right.

 

snoopy_gep

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A 500 gb drive has 2 platters and lower data density .
I have the 640 . Its very fast loading games compared to any other drive I have used .

Im a little lost now. So are you saying for example a Western Digital Black Caviar GP 640GB SATA II 7200rpm 32MB hard drive would perform better than a Western Digital Black Caviar GP 500GB SATA II 7200rpm 32MB hard drive


Ok should I go for a:
- Western Digital Black Caviar GP 500GB/640GB SATA II 7200rpm 32MB hard drive
or
- Seagate 500GB/640GB SATA 7200rpm 32MB hard drive


Yes Im getting all my parts from Pricespy. A good site to compare prices between online retailers.

:pfff: OMG the GTX cards are soo expensive!!! :pt1cable: I dont think my bro would want to cut down the mobo to an e8400. :non:
In fact he's planning to get a Q9550 for that extra cache size.
What if I get 1GB of 9800GT
 
Yes a 640GB will beat a 500GB, because it has a higher density.

These days I prefer WD, mostly because Seagate has messed up their firmware and drives tend to die.

If this is a gaming PC, you should get the best video card you can even if ti means a cheaper CPU. If it's not a gaming PC, get a cheap video card and a Q9550. For example E8400/HD 4870 will beat a Q9550/9800GT senseless in games, but a Q9550/8400GS is perfect for work.
 

snoopy_gep

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OK ok fine Im convinced. So should I buy a 1GB or 512MB HD4870.

And I guess it would be better if I chose a mobo that supports crossfire for future proofing.
I read in other forums that the SLI mobo have more issues compared to the Crossfire mobos. Is this true in your point of view? :eek:

Ok now I need help picking a nice mobo. Can you help me choose one from here:

http://www.pricespy.co.nz/cat_6.html#g175

The reason why I chose the UD3 board is because :
- it had 4 memory slots up to 16 GB(future proof)
- it seemed like a new board.
- not too costly

 



YES , the 640 is faster than the 500 . It takes longer for the pick up heads to read data off the disc with the 500 gb .

NO to seagate . The whole firmware screw up would never have happened if they had done any quality control . The 7200.11's are still suspect IMO . One firmware update turned them in to bricks ... so how well thought out is the current fix? People just shouldnt have to fix new hard drives they buy before they can use them .

So yes to WD green , blue or black . Preferably black for performance .
Yes also to Samsung F1 . So long as you have that same high data density platters the 320. 640 and 1 terabyte are faster and quieter than the WD . But here in NZ they cost more and the difference isnt worth it .


Gaming is all about frame rates . In most games available today a quad core doesnt do a thing . You are better off with 2 cores running at a higher speed . E8400's rock . Especially when you overclock them !

And yeah the gtx 260 is close to $100 more than a 4870 512mb so thats the card I'd be looking at for a 1680 x 1050 resolution monitor

MB's - ASUS P5Q PRO
-Gigabyte GA-EP45-DS3
-Gigabyte GA-EP45-DS3P

are good reasonably priced boards that can take a second 4870 if you decide to crossfire at some later time .

I like pp.co.nz for browsing . Easy site . You may want to spend more on a MB but you dont get much for the extra $$$ you pay

Aint it a bitch that the Kiwi $ has dropped and computer part prices have risen about 50% since october
 

snoopy_gep

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OMG I didnt know that pc prices increase by that much

Well thank you for the advice.
E8400's rock . Especially when you overclock them !

Does the E8400 still rock if I do not decide to O/C? lol. I dont think I will as I have zero experience in O/C-ing

Here the new list of parts:

CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E8400, 3.00GHz

MOBO: Gigabyte GA-EP45-DS3P Intel P45 ATX

HARD DRIVE: Seagate 640GB 7200rpm 32MB SATAII hard drive

MEMORY: Corsair TWIN2X4096-6400C5DHX 2 X 2GB DDR2-800 XMS2 The XMS2 DHX

GPU: ATI Radeon HD4870 512MB DDR3 PCI-EXPRESS DUAL DVI PCI-E OEM

DISPLAY: BENQ T2200HD 21.5" Full HD LCD monitor 1920x1080

Case: Antec Nine Hundred Tower Gaming

PSU: Seasonic M12 700W PSU



What say you? Will the PSU be enough? Even if I decide to get a 2nd GPU ?
 
The power supply is plenty . Its enough to run a second gfx card if you add one later , and seasonic are a quality brand .

If you are going to run 4 gig of RAM and get full use out of it you need to use a 64 bit version of Windows . XP or 32 bit Vista can only see around 3.2 gig including the gfx card memory .
If you have XP I'd only install 2 gig of RAM . It will be faster than Vista would with 4 gig anyway.


 

snoopy_gep

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What if I installed Vista Home Prem 64 bit? Im sure it would not be too bad with 4GB of ram and plus my mobo can take up to 16GB so I can upgrade in the future.

Is Vista good for gaming or for work purposes?

 

ericjohnson1981

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Of course since Vista is more extensive than XP, XP would be more ideal for gaming, but if you have a computer that can handle the latest game the difference really wouldnt matter.
 

snoopy_gep

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Thanks for the review. Yup I get your point but I may need more RAM in the future so I think its good to have a good mobo that you can upgrade later.

aevm wrote:
If this is a gaming PC, you should get the best video card you can even if ti means a cheaper CPU. If it's not a gaming PC, get a cheap video card and a Q9550. For example E8400/HD 4870 will beat a Q9550/9800GT senseless in games, but a Q9550/8400GS is perfect for work.

Im planning to build 2 pcs now. So what if my 2nd pc build has the best GPU and CPU :

CPU Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550, 2.83GHz Quad Core
MOBO Gigabyte GA-EP45-DS3P Intel P45 ATX
HARD DRIVE Western Digital Caviar Black GP 640GB SATA 3 Gb/s 7200rpm 32MB Cache
MEMORY Corsair TWIN2X4096-6400C5DHX 2 X 2GB DDR2-800 XMS2 The XMS2 DHX
GPU ATI Radeon HD4870 512MB DDR3 PCI-EXPRESS DUAL DVI PCI-E OEM
DISPLAY BENQ T2200HD 21.5" Full HD LCD monitor 1920x1080
Case Antec Nine Hundred Tower Gaming
PSU Seasonic M12 700W PSU

Does this mean this pc would be good for work and gaming?
 

snoopy_gep

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I thought you said that the HD4870 is better than the 9800GT and it will take care of the 1920x1080 res.

I would get the 1GB HD4870 but its like 70 bux more than the 512MB HD4870. Which isnt too bad but I have already exceeded my 2k budget. Hmm Im not too sure. Would my PSU still be safe if I decided to go SLI with another 1GB HD4870 in the future?

What about 1GB HD4850. Is it better than 512 HD4870? That card is selling at a lower price!!
 
Yes the HD 4870 512MB is way better than the 9800GT. It can deliver 47 fps in Crysis at 1920x1200 according to the review I linked below. I'm guessing 48 to 50 fps at 1920x1080. That's quite enjoyable IMO.

Most other games will get even better fps than Crysis. In CoD it gets 57 fps at 1920x1200, which means it maxes the typical 60 Hz refresh rate at 1920x1080.
http://www.guru3d.com/article/gigabyte-radeon-hd-4850-1gb-gvr485oc1gi-review/8

The HD 4850 1GB is a bit less powerful than the HD 4870 512MB. The difference is very small anyway.

The HD 4870 1GB typically gives 4 or 5 fps more than the HD 4870 512MB in the most popular games at 1920x1200. If you can't get it don't worry about it, OK?
 

snoopy_gep

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I am worried about it lol.
If there are minimal differences between the HD 4850 1GB and HD 4870 512MB then should I just consider buying the 1GB HD4850. Can I mix and match the SLI cards, ie
1GB HD4850 and 1GB HD4870. Hmm..?

Here's a listed of GPUs with their prices (in NZD). Which one do you think is worth buying in your POV?


ATI Radeon HD 4850 512MB graphics card 299.00
ATI Radeon HD 4850 1GB graphics card $377.11
ATI Radeon HD 4850 X2 2GB PCI-Express $785.35
ATI Radeon HD 4870 512MB graphics card $444.77
ATI Radeon HD 4870 1GB graphics card $529.76
ATI Radeon HD 4870 X2 PCI Express $921.38
 

techwizard08

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Not really. When running SLI/X-Fire, the slowest GPU sets the limit. So if you had a 4850, and later wanted to add a 4870....you get 2x4850s for the premium price.

2x4850 =/= 4850x2

:D
 
You can mix HD 4850 and HD 4870 but it's not worth it because it would be very close to two HD 4850 cards. That is, the better card is dumbed down.

I'd eliminate the HD 4850 X2 first because it costs more than two HD 4850 1GB cards (a combo with the same speed) and you get better cooling with two separate cards too. The HD 4850 X2 should have a vent to push the hot air out, like the HD 4870 X2 or the HD 4870, but it doesn't. (I'm talking about the Sapphire version. No idea if there's a second version I haven't seen yet...)

Between HD 4870 1GB Crossfire and HD 4870 X2, the X2 is better bang for the buck since you get the same performance for $100 less. However, it means a lot of cash right away. Let's eliminate it too.

Two HD 4850 512MB cards for $598 total would beat a HD 4870 1GB in most games. A very powerful combination. But, it occupies both slots and there's no way to expand later.

That leaves the HD 4850 1GB, HD 4870 512MB, HD 4870 1GB. Looking at the benchmarks for Frontlines, where HD 4870 512MB is way ahead of HD 4850 1GB (25% faster at 1920x1200), I'd eliminate the HD 4850 1GB.

I'd say the choice is between the two HD 4870 cards. The more expensive one costs 19% more and gives you about 10% more speed. That means the HD 4870 512MB is better value for the price.


 

snoopy_gep

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Oh Ok thanks for the advice...

I got a question about the 640GB drive that we were talking about before.

According to my brother friend,"the 640GB might not be that great...because memory will be stored in two 320GB hard drives. If one of the 320GB drives fails..the whole thing fails."

Is this true?
 
A 640GB drive is made of two 320GB platters. A 1TB drive of 3 or 4 platters, etc. Of course, if a platter dies the whole drive dies. Yeah, it's been like this forever. I really wouldn't worry about it.