New Gaming Computer <--- Would like some adive Please!

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Phoenixx45

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Nov 13, 2008
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I'm sure you guys get a lot of post like these, but some feed back would be nice! I currently have a Dell XPS 400, quite on old computer, and the video card has overheated and crapped out, plus due to some other problems, i decided its time for a new PC. This will be my first time to build a gaming PC, so I'm a little bit nervous, but I've done a lot of research and i believe i have a solid build, what do you guys think? And tips?



DVD Drive: LG Black 22X

Case: Cooler Master RC-690

Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 7200 RPM

Power Supply: PC Power & Cooling 750W

Memory: Corsair Dominator 4GB

Mother Board: Gigabyte 775 Intel P45 ATX

CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 Yorkfield 2.83GHz

CPU Cooler: XIGMATEK Dark Knight 120mm

Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 4870 X2

Monitor: 22" LG L227WT (Already own)

OS: Windows Vista 64 bit
 
aevm

aevm

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May 18, 2007
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Wow... Nice build.

About Crossfire: I'm assuming you have no intention to add a second HD 4870 X2. It wouldn't scale well with 4 GPUs, and you'd need an X48 motherboard to avoid bottlenecks, and a 1000W PSU. TBH your build is perfect as is.

I would however change the MB from GA-EP45-UD3P to GA-EP45-UD3R. That saves a few bucks and gives you an additional PCI slot. You lose the Crossfire feature, but you don't need it. (OK, if you plan to use 3 or 4 monitors then stick with the UD3P and add a HD 3650 or HD 4670 in the second PCI-E slot.)

You could probably get by with 4 GB of RAM. Read this:
http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/2008/07/08/is-more-memory-better/5


 
Why_Me

Why_Me

Polypheme
Jan 17, 2008
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Nice build. :) Like aevm said, I would switch mobo's to this one down below, and I would go with 2x2 gigs of ram and not 8 gigs. Especially if you plan on over clocking in the future. Also I would add an after market heat sink.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128359 $114.99 ($99.99 after $15.00 Mail-In Rebate)
GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3R LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail / 2 oz copper PCB + Easy Tune 6 for OC

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233029 $39.99
XIGMATEK Dark Knight-S1283V 120mm Long Life Bearing CPU Cooler - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835186020 $6.99
ARCTIC COOLING MX-2 Thermal Compound - Retail
 
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Phoenixx45

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Nov 13, 2008
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You are correct, i was at first planning on getting a Radeon HD 4870 1GB 256-bit

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102801

And then later in the future, get a second one in Crossfire, however, i thought, why not just spend the extra money now and get the x2, which is twice the power in 1 single card...

I've been looking at the motherboard and it seems like a good choice, has basically everything the other has, and is a little bit cheaper...so ill most likely go with that one...

The reason i am planned on getting 8GB of RAM, is i really can only afford "Half" of the computer, and my Granddad offered to help my buy it and pay for the other half...He said why not get 8GB of RAM if it will help, 8GB wont make it "that" much better but will help a little so i thought sure why not...

Jared - Yes i plan on using this for extreme gaming, Crysis, Far Cry 2, all the new games that have come out recently, like i said i currently have on old Dell, with an ancient video card, so any video will be better than what I'm used to...


Another Quick Question:

A few friends from the online gaming community i play with, said instead of getting a 1TB hard Drive, i should get two smaller drives such as 500GB, and run them in RAID 0. Having one for Vista 64, and the other for Games/Programs/ and Files.... I don't know much about RAID 0 but would the benefits be good?
 
Why_Me

Why_Me

Polypheme
Jan 17, 2008
16,369
2,350
69,840
With your budget you might as well build an i7 rig.

I7 build

http://cmstore.coolermaster-usa.com/product_info.php?products_id=109 $45.99
CM 690 Black SECC/ATX Mid Tower, W/O window, W/O PSU - Refurbished

http://www.buy.com/prod/corsair-750w-tx-series-80-plus-certified-power-supply-corsair-tx-cmpsu/q/loc/101/206178325.html $104.99 Price After Rebate: $79.99 Shipping: FREE
Corsair TX CMPSU-750TX ATX12V & EPS12V Power Supply

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128375 $$209.99 ($194.99 after $15.00 Mail-In Rebate)
GIGABYTE GA-EX58-UD3R LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?name=I7-920 $265.99 Free Ground Shipping
Intel Core i7 Processor i7-920 2.66GHz 8MB LGA1366 CPU, OEM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233029 $39.99
XIGMATEK Dark Knight-S1283V 120mm Long Life Bearing CPU Cooler - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835186020 $6.99
ARCTIC COOLING MX-2 Thermal Compound - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231247 $99.99 Free Shipping*
G.SKILL 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102801 $189.99
SAPPHIRE 100259-1GL Radeon HD 4870 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail
Heatpipes Cooling Design

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136319 $79.99 Free Shipping*
Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136152 $23.99 Free Shipping*
LG Black 22X (CAV) DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 16X DVD+R DL 22X (CAV) DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 22X DVD±R DVD Burner - OEM

Total: $1,067.90 *(not including shipping and rebates) $40 in rebates.
 
aevm

aevm

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May 18, 2007
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If you run the disks in RAID 0 I don't see how you can separate Vista on one and the games on the other. What will really happen that almost each file in the computer will be split between the two drives. BTW, this also means that one drive failing will destroy all the files in the PC, even if the other drive is still OK. Backup often if you do that.

Read this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAID
 
O

Outlander_04

Titan
BANNED
Nov 18, 2008
20,308
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If anything the 4870 x2 is overkill for a 22 inch monitor .

If you are not planning on upgrading then you might as well drop back a level .
If crossfire might be your thing then try a single 4870 1 gig , or if you wont add a second card then a 4850 x2 will be plenty
 
aevm

aevm

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May 18, 2007
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Nice build, but Q9550 + HD 4870 X2 is way better than i7 920 + HD 4870 in all games I can think of, except FSX. I'd stick with the OP's original plan.
 
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Phoenixx45

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Nov 13, 2008
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Ah ok, i think i have a better understanding of what "RAID 0" exactly is now....

Plus after reading the article about memory, i think I'm gonna go with 4GB instead of 8Gb which will also give me the extra money to buy a CPU cooler, also i think ill stick with the 1TB hard drive, that will give me plenty of space and I'm sure it will run fine...

Thanks for the help, sadly i have to wait 1 month before i can actually order the system, so who knows maybe ill get lucky and the prices will drop a little...
 
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