I need help with my new pc build

[uramashi]

hey guy
this is my second time tryin to build a pc, cuz the first time i did it was horrible but yea

PSU CORSAIR CMPSU-550VX 550W ATX12V V2.2
MOTHERBOARD GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3R LGA 775 Intel P45
HARD DRIVE Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD6400AAKS 640GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
RAM Crucial Ballistix 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400)
GRAPHIC CARD EVGA 512-P3-N871-AR GeForce 9800 GTX(G92) 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16
CPU Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz
CASE COOLER MASTER Centurion 541 RC-541-SKN1
CPU COOLER Scythe SCMNJ-1000 80mm Sleeve "NINJA MINI"


this pc suppose to be for gaming so any suggestion to improve it or make it cheaper??

 

[matm1234]

Pretty much a good looking pc +1 for the mobo accept if ur looking to really improve pc gaming then u might wanna look at a crossfire or sli board! but the board is fine for wut u have up now. Umm u might wanna consider a hardrive with 32 mb cache it cant hurt and its like mayb 10-20 extra bucks. +1 for graphics card.. If you plan to really push the cpu (overclock) the cpu cooler will need to be upgraded. overall it should be a good build my biggest concern to be honest would be the power supply.. i went way over the top with power on my build maybe 600-650 would be better but the one u have will work. Im just power crazy

 

[theAnimal]

Caviar Black 640GB is a bit faster.
Stick with RAM rated at 1.8V from Mushkin, G-Skill or Corsair.
Change the CPU to Q9300, runs cooler and faster than Q6600.

 

[xthekidx]

+1 to theAnimal's suggestions.

That PSU is fine if you only stick with one Video card, and since your board doesn't support xfire or sli that is your only option. If you decided to get an xfire supported board (do not get sli board, they have a lot of problems), you would need like a 750w PSU. Corsair and PC Power & Cooling are both good options for this.

I would get an HD 4850 or 4870 instead of the 9800GTX. You will get much more for your money with the ATI cards.

Get a better cooler. Xigmatech S1283 is the best value for your money. It ranks in the top as far as cooling capabilities go and in the midrange price for coolers. With that cooler, you will be able to push your CPU further and get much more out of it.

 

[bustapr]

get a crossfire ready mobo and then but a sapphire 4850x2.It's cheap and runs quite fast.

 

[theAnimal]

get a crossfire ready mobo and then but a sapphire 4850x2.It's cheap and runs quite fast.

You don't need a Crossfire mobo for an x2 card.

 

[xthekidx]

get a crossfire ready mobo and then but a sapphire 4850x2.It's cheap and runs quite fast.

Since when is $300 cheap?

 

[techwizard08]

*picks up $300 out of the gutter and hits thekid with it*

Don't you know, $300 grows in gutters

True, the 4850x2 is quite popular for a price/performance balance (with some at Tom's claiming it the limit for actualization of worth while investing) but it truly isn't a budget solution. Maybe compared to a new BFG 295GTX, but meh.

 

[xthekidx]

I'd much rather have a single GPU card that costs the same amount so I wouldn't have to worry about scaling and driver issues, especially if you want to add another card to your system in the future when your current card becomes dated. 2 GPU's scale much better than 4.

 

[techwizard08]

I'm completely in agreement with the kid on that one. The 4th GPU gets murdered in scaling

 

[xthekidx]

plus the single gpu card at the same price will draw a lot less power, which can end up saving you a lot of money when it comes time to pay the energy bill, and you won't need a massive psu to power it. Dual GPU cards also get very hot since you have half the cooling fans that you would normally have per GPU.

 

[techwizard08]

Not to mention the fact it isn't uncommon for people, rather than moving to SLI, tend to upgrade and replace their old graphics card for a mor epowerful single card that's out at the time.

 

[techwizard08]

More...powerful

I can use the space bar