My first gaming rig HELP!!!

[yellosnowman]

Hiya!!!!
my first gaming rig kinda looks like this =
(I'm on a budget of $1480~$1780 and I'm in New Zealand)


CPU = C2D E8500 (overclock to 4GHZ)
MOBO = DFI UT x48 T3RS
CASE = Cooler Master 690
GRAPHICS = ATI HD 4870 x2
PSU = CORSAIR 750w or 850w

I need help with the cpu cooling solution and ram, also windows 7 , I would love lots of helpful suggestions.

 

[gkay09]

Well going with a X48 is not worth the cash IMO...
Get a solid P45 mobo or the X38...
Rest of the parts looks good...

For CPU cooling, get the Xigmatic 1283 or the Xig Dark knight...
RAM - a DDR2 800 with less timings...

 

[gkay09]

I would get this mobo...
GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3P
It is the most stable and feature rich chipset for the LGA 775

 

[yellosnowman]

But doesn't the p45's only have 8x/8x crossfire? because because of budget i might have to get two sing hd4870s

 

[Helloworld_98]

E8xxx series aren't worth it since the superior AMD 7xx series came out, more power, better architecture and they overclock better. Along with being slightly cheaper.

And if you want 16x/16x then you just need a 790FX board.

 

[gkay09]

Well you wont have to worry about the board having x8x8 lanes...

When you compare x16x16 to x8x8, the performance difference is very very less(nearly non-existent in day-to-day use)

And the P45 chipsets are a better value components thant the X48

 

[xthekidx]

But doesn't the p45's only have 8x/8x crossfire? because because of budget i might have to get two sing hd4870s

I think you get 16x/8x on that mobo. Having the second run in x16 mode isn't that crucial because that second GPU won't be running to its full potential anyways, since its the slave card. You will get maybe 3-5% increase from having dual x16, which isn't worth the extra cash IMO.

 

[gkay09]

E8xxx series aren't worth it since the superior AMD 7xx series came out, more power, better architecture and they overclock better. Along with being slightly cheaper.

And if you want 16x/16x then you just need a 790FX board.

Well I would partly agree with him about the option to go with a AMD X3 7X0...
But even the E8X00 are equally good in the gaming front...But they may loose out on other apps...

 

[yellosnowman]

I think you get 16x/8x on that mobo. Having the second run in x16 mode isn't that crucial because that second GPU won't be running to its full potential anyways, since its the slave card. You will get maybe 3-5% increase from having dual x16, which isn't worth the extra cash IMO.

Then would the ASUS p5Q premium do the job well?
I was looking at it before the x48s

 

[gkay09]

Then would the ASUS p5Q premium do the job well?
I was looking at it before the x48s

The costlier boards arent always the best...
The gigabyte board GA-EP45-UD3P has the best ratings so far for a LGA775 socket...

 

[xthekidx]

Then would the ASUS p5Q premium do the job well?
I was looking at it before the x48s

Heh you might as well get a X48 for that price. Stick the the UD3P.

 

[yellosnowman]

ok that would save ALOT of money for the hd4870s
which FAN cpu cooler, ram, PSU is recommended?
Corsair dominator ddr2-1066 4GB = good?
and
Scythe mugen2 = good?

http://www.ifocus.co.nz/Cooling/CPU+Fans+%252526+Heatsinks/SCYTHE+SCMG-2000+120mm+Sleeve+Bearing+"MUGEN+2"+CPU+Cooler+-+Retail.html

 

[xthekidx]

scythe cooler is good, corsair ram is overpriced.

 

[yellosnowman]

scythe cooler is good, corsair ram is overpriced.

Then is Gskill good value or ocz?
remember this is NZ...... it costs around $350NZD for the gigabyte and $440NZD for the DFI

 

[xthekidx]

I'm glad I don't live in NZ...

G skill is pretty good, ocz is decent. If you have Mushkin then give that a look too. You want to find DDR2-800 ram that has low timings and voltages (like 4-4-4-12 @1.8-1.9v). You wont see any benefit really from getting faster clocked ram like those 1066mhz modules or DDR3 on the LGA 775 platform. Look for something like this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231219&Tpk=g%20skill%20hk
or
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820146731

 

[yellosnowman]

Sob sob building custom computer is EXPENSIVE in NZ
and im only 13 with not alot of pocket money.....

this ram good? way cheaper than the ddr2-1066

http://www.playtech.co.nz/product.php?action=showdetail&id=6345

so here is the basic system with prices


Coolermaster – CM690 = $180

Corsair 750w ~ 850w ATX12V Power Supply = $250~$300

Intel Core 2 DUO E8500 3.16GHz = $375

GA-EP45-UD3P = $330

Scythe Mugen2 = $109

G.SKILL 4GB kit (2GB x 2) DDR2-800 (PC-6400) CL4-4-4-12 MEMORY RETAIL F2-6400CL4D-4GBPI-B = $110

ATI Radeon HD4870 x2 DDR5 2GB = $770

Basic Total = $2124 ~ $2174 (NZD)
= $1242 ~ $1271 (USD)


I would still like to see it cheaper.......

 

[xthekidx]

That is very good ram you found. If you want to make it cheaper then get a cheaper CPU, since you will OC anyways the E8400 and E8500 will go to about the same speeds.

What size of monitor are you going to use? if it runs below 1920x1200 resolution, you are tossing a lot of money into that GPU for no reason. On a 19" monitor games won't look any better with a 4870x2 than they would with a 4870. The human eye can't see over like 30FPS anyways, and most monitors cant refresh faster than 60FPS, so it doesn't do any good to get 156FPS in COD, that's just bragging rights.

 

[yellosnowman]

You are a very wise man.......
im planing a 22" widescreen (1920 x 1080) so i guess hd4870 x2 is still ok?
Also I would like to play crysis wars and crysis warhead with good detail and fps, but mainly I want a semifuture-proof machine ready to play fallout3 and new games......

Note: doesnt the e8500 have higher multiplier? In nz its only around $10USD difference between them....

 

[xthekidx]

The multiplier is 9.5 on the E8500, 9 on the E8400.

You can go cheaper on the GPU still, I would be tempted to go with a 4850x2, or just get 2 4850's and crossfire. You should be able to max crysis with that. But the 4870x2 will last longer. I think either would be alright. Look here:
http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3517&p=8

I wasn't aware 22" monitors came in that resolution...which monitor exactly are you using?

 

[yellosnowman]

lol I wasn't aware either until I checked......

This is a very nice screen...... I like to say "why go get an awesome computer and cheap out on the monitor and not be able to see the detail on the screen" lol

http://www.playtech.co.nz/product.php?action=showdetail&id=6962

I'm not sure but I would rather spend an extra $50USD for the 2nd best graphics card
Because I don't want to spend my life time savings on a computer that plays games awesome for a 1~2yrs....
I spent $1500USD on a laptop a 1 and half years ago and now I can only run crysis warhead on low/800x600......

 

[xthekidx]

Well you could run your games at 1680x1050 res on that monitor and it would look fine, in fact that is the standard for that size of screen. By doing that you wouldn't have to spend as much on the GPU to max out your games...just a thought. Your games might not look as good on such a high resolution if your GPU can't handle it, you will have to turn the quality down to get good framerates. Turning the resolution down will increase your FPS by like 10.

 

[yellosnowman]

On different reviews and articles it says that the HD4870s outperform everyone higher the resolution.........
And like i said there isnt that much of a price difference if you consider best bang for buck.
Besides the GPU, CPU, RAM what other changes would you recommend????

 

[xthekidx]

None, it looks very good. You should probably get an Optical drive and HDD though, and Windows Vista Home Premium 64bit.
HDD: http://www.ifocus.co.nz/Hard+Drives/Internal+Hard+Drives/Western+Digital+Caviar+Black+640GB+32MB+7200RPM+SATA+Hard+Drive.html
Optical: http://www.ifocus.co.nz/CD+%25252F+DVD+Burners+%252526+Media/CD+%25252F+DVD+Burners/LG+GH-20LS+20X+Lightscribe+SATA+DVD+Writer.html
OS: http://www.ifocus.co.nz/Software/Operating+Systems/Microsoft+Windows+Vista+Home+Premium+SP1+64-bit+-+OEM.html

 

[yellosnowman]

wow thanks for showing items on iFocus
why is OS so expensive.........
should I wait for windows 7 which is coming out on july i think

 

[xthekidx]

Well its tough to say, Windows 7 is supposed to be better than Vista. But Vista was supposed to be better than XP, and that didn't get sorted out for quite some time. The first release of an OS usually has enough bugs that its best to wait until they get sorted out. I think I would stick to vista, as it is pretty refined now and works very well. Problems with Windows 7 will inevitably arise after its release.