Final Build (First time builder!) Closing advice?

[TechPriestAcolyte]

Notes:
-Using Vista for the first time on this machine (gulp) and will upgrade later to W7
-Never built a computer before, very concerned about this fact, I don't want to ruin anything

Unanswered Questions:
-Will everything play together nicely now? Mainly do ATI cards and Intel go well?
-Along my noob'lines, I'm not a big overclocking fan. Does this void warranties? Will this system be ok without it?
-Would 1100Mhz RAM be worth it?

NEW NOTES:
-I know there's plenty debate over Radeon vs GeForce, but is one drastically better than the other? If I get a Radeon 4850 will everything work just as well?


List as of 1st Revision:

CPU - Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 - $195
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115017]
-Will take the leap and overclock it, will this be easy enough considering the Dark Knight cooler on it?


COOLING – Xigmatek Dark Knight – 45
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233024&Tpk=Dark knight]
I’ve never built a computer before, will I be able to handle installing this ok?


MOBO - GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3P - $115
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128358&Tpk=UD3P]
-Knowing that it only supports Crossfire changes my card decision. Can someone confirm for me that I could buy two Radeon 4850 cards and use them though? It looks like the board has a 16x and an 8x slot. Would that hinder things?


RAM - G. Skill 1.8v 800Mhz - $50
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231209&Tpk=g.skill pi black 800 4-4-4-12]
-Yes shortstuff_mt, you've got the RAM right.

or should I get the 1100Mhz G. Skill RAM? Is it worth it for $30 more?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231194]


VIDEO – Sapphire HD 4850 1gb - $170
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102802]
-This seems to trump my other options at the moment, especially considering my MOBO
-Should I get the XFX 512mb though, it has a lifetime warranty?


STORAGE – WD Caviar Black 640gb - $80
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136319]
Is a solid state drive worth the investment at the moment?


OPTICAL – LG 22x Drive – $26
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136153]


PSU - PC Power & Cooling S75CF 750W - $70
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341011&Tpk=S75CF]
This seems pretty great for the price? And had a 5 year warranty. Any better suggestions?


CASE – Antec 900 - $110
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129021&Tpk=antec 900]
This seems to be a pretty good case, will it hold everything ok?


Summary:

Q6600 Intel Quad
-Xigma Cooled
Radeon 4850 1gb
4g G. Skill RAM 800mhz

750w PSU
Antec 900 Case

 

[TechPriestAcolyte]

Ok, my dumb links aren't working quite right, this is all pretty standard stuff though...

 

[ehanger]

What are the primary uses going to be for this computer? If you want to play modern games (which I am assuming you do) at resolutions greater than 1680 x 1050 (typical 22" monitor res) then you should consider getting a more powerful Video card such as an HD 4870 or a GTX 260 (around $190-$260). If you play games at 1680 x 1050 or less then the 9800GT will probably be enough (although it still wouldn't hurt getting better card).

If you do play at higher res and need a better card but want to keep costs at a minimum
then you can get the Antec Three Hundred Case over the Nine Hundred and save $60 or get the Q9400/Q6600 over the Q9550.

The main advantages of the 9550 over the 9400 is that 1. It's clocked higher (obviously) 2. It has double the L2 Cache (12mb vs, 6mb) 3. It has a 8.5x multipler vs. the 8x multipler on the 9400 (makes it easier to overclock).

There are loads of overclocking tutorials on the internet and a minor overclock (from 2.66 to 3.0GHz) can be done by just changing the FSB freq. on a Q9400 from 333 to 375.

Bigger cases (full towers) are easier to work with and can provide better cooling but can also be very heavy compared to mid tower cases. It doesn't really matter which one you choose.

Everything in the setup you listed above is compatible though.

 

[batuchka]

Hmm not sure if you are open to non Intel solutions but have a research at non TRI-SLI gaming benches at 1650 x 1050 ans 1920 x 1280 for the new Phenom 2? My general take is if this rig is supposed to play the latest games it is far GPU light yet CPU heavy and a P45 is a crossfire mobo yet you paired it with an Nvidia GPU hehe. By my calculation you have pumped $886 in your configuration so anyway my suggestion:

 

[shortstuff_mt]

Your original build looks good. I only have a couple suggestions. Some of your links aren't working correctly, but is this the RAM you were looking at?

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&Tpk=g.skill%20pi%20black%20800%204-4-4-12 $49.99

I just bought a couple of those kits and have been very happy with them.

I'd ditch the 9800GT. The motherboard you chose is awesome, but supports crossfire (dual ATI GPU's), not SLI (dual Nvidia GPU's). I'd pick up an ATI 4850. The 4850 is quite a bit more powerful than the 9800GT and will leave you the option of adding another card in crossfire later.

POWERCOLOR AX4850 512MD3-DH 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=N82E16814131125 $139.99 - $15 MIR

Everything else looks great, just be sure to get the SATA version of your DVD burner.

You also need to make sure to get a 64-bit OS so you can fully use all your RAM.

Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 64-bit for System Builders - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116488 $99.99

 

[TechPriestAcolyte]

Ok, this is where I'm at now:


batuchka! Thanks for pointing out the GPU discrepancy, so you're saying that with this motherboard I could have two 4850s in Crossfire? Is Crossfire to ATI what SLI is to Nvidia?


Questions:
-Will everything play together nicely now? Mainly do ATI cards and Intel processors go well?
-Will overclocking void warranties? Will this system be ok without it? I'd assume it'd be a bit more necessary if I go with the Q6600
-Is 1100Mhz RAM be worth it?
-Is a solid state hard drive worth it at the moment?



List as of 1st Revision:
-changed CPU to Q6600, and GPU to Radeon 4850, need to know if MOBO will take another 4850 later though without issues



CPU - Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 - $195
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115017]
-Will take the leap and overclock it, will this be easy enough considering the Dark Knight cooler on it?


COOLING – Xigmatek Dark Knight – 45
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233024&Tpk=Dark knight]
-I’ve never built a computer before, will I be able to handle installing this ok?


MOBO - GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3P - $115
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128358&Tpk=UD3P]
-Knowing that it only supports Crossfire changes my card decision. Can someone confirm for me that I could buy two Radeon 4850 cards and use them though? It looks like the board has a 16x and an 8x slot. Would that hinder things?


RAM - G. Skill 1.8v 800Mhz - $50
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231209&Tpk=g.skill pi black 800 4-4-4-12]
-Yes shortstuff_mt, you've got the RAM right.

or should I get the 1100Mhz G. Skill RAM? Is it worth it for $30 more?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231194]


VIDEO – Sapphire HD 4850 1gb - $170
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102802]
-This seems to trump my other options at the moment, especially considering my MOBO
-Should I get the XFX 512mb though, since it has a lifetime warranty?


STORAGE – WD Caviar Black 640gb - $80
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136319]
Is a solid state drive worth the investment at the moment?


OPTICAL – LG 22x Drive – $26
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136153]


PSU - PC Power & Cooling S75CF 750W - $70
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341011&Tpk=S75CF]
This seems pretty great for the price? And had a 5 year warranty. Any better suggestions?


CASE – Antec 900 - $110
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129021&Tpk=antec 900]
This seems to be a pretty good case, will it hold everything ok?


Summary:

Q6600 Intel Quad
-Xigma Cooled
Radeon 4850 1gb
4g G. Skill RAM 800mhz

750w PSU
Antec 900 Case

 

[shortstuff_mt]

The build looks good.

I would just stick with DDR2 800 RAM. The Q6600 has a 9x multiplier, so DDR2 800 RAM will allow you to overclock the CPU to 3.6GHz without overclocking the RAM. 3.6GHz is a good overclock for a Q6600 and the Xigmatek cooler will handle it just fine. DDR2 1100 would be a waste of money and not worth the extra $30 IMO.

The GA-EP45-UD3P 8x crossfire will work fine. The latest benchmarks show little difference between 16x and 8x.

I really like the HD choice. You can't really beat the price/performance of those 640GB drives. Solid state is not worth it yet IMO.

The PC Power & Cooling 750W PSU is a great PSU! No need to change it to anything else since it will easily support crossfire 4850's.

The Antec 900 case is a great case and will easily hold all your components.

 

[TechPriestAcolyte]

Excellent! Thanks for the info!

So RAM is decided, board is confirmed, card is set, and processor good

Now I'm thinking I just need to settle for sure what manufacturer I want to buy the video card from

 

[TechPriestAcolyte]

Well, actually now that I say that. What about the 512 vs 1gb thought?

Any advice on what size/manufacturer of card to get?

 

[shortstuff_mt]

What size monitor will you be using? That should be the #1 consideration when buying a GPU. I'd just pick up a 512MB 4850. I wouldn't worry a whole lot about the manufacturer, just pick one with a good warranty. Like you mentioned, XFX would be a good choice based on their warranty.

 

[TechPriestAcolyte]

I've got a 26inch 1920x1200 monitor...

 

[shortstuff_mt]

Well, that changes things a little. You really should step up to a 4870 1GB card for that monitor if you can.

SAPPHIRE 100259-1GL Radeon HD 4870 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102801 $224.99 - $10 MIR

 

[TechPriestAcolyte]

M'kay, so suppose I get the 1gb 4870 radeon...

Will that be too much GPU in relation to my CPU? I'm trying to avoid overkilling either...

 

[shortstuff_mt]

An overclocked Q6600 will have no problem pushing a 4870 1GB GPU.

 

[TechPriestAcolyte]

Alright, excellent. Now that I'm at a thousand dollar system I'm afraid to try to put it together.

Anyone have any suggestions for assembly? Would it be a better idea to just get someone else to put it together?