Which mobo for Quad Core Q9400?

[aeroman]

I am looking for hardware specs that suits the Quad core Q9400 2.66 Ghz.

I need a mobo with DDR2 & DDR3 support. Please suggest me the model .Brand i prefer is Asus?

Graphic Card i have chosen for this spec is Nvidia 9500 GT.

What PSU wattage do i need ?

Please suggest if these specs fit around quad core Q9400 ?

 

[jimishtar]

mobos with both ddr2 & ddr3 ram are very sensitive and hard to work with. its better that u get some p45 asus board, they are cheap and awesome. also get ~550W certified psu.

 

[andy5174]

Asus P5Q Pro or P5Q-E.

 

[myrddral]

agreed. u will be fine with 500W psu ( as i have it and it's perfectly enough) unless you're planning to use radeon 4890 graphic card or above (incl. nvidia gtx series)

 

[mrcrybaby]

yup the 775 socket is a dead end. Sure thats what you want? But to answer your question, I would get:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128358

~mrcrybaby

 

[andy5174]

Get i5-750 unless you already have every other components for LGA775 and don't intend to upgrade for at least 3 years!

 

[aeroman]

I will stick to Q9400 coz there's a big budget difference if i have to go with core i5.
LGA1156 boards come with DDR3 support,isn't that true?

Secondly i chose Asus coz a friend of mine had recommended this P5Q series as the drivers are windows 7 WHQL certified i guess.

PSU - I am looking for 550watts + . Any suggestions on detail of those 12V 5V thing, i am noob in these stuffs.

And yes,I dont have any plans to upgrade this CPU for the next 3-4 yrs.

 

[andy5174]

As new ATI GFX are very energy efficient, I would suggest you get a Corsair HX550 for single card and HX650 for 2 cards in CF. Avoid the so doomed nVidia cards.

 

[aeroman]

Any suggestion on RAM ?

Since windows 32 bit can't recognize more than 3 Gb Ram, so do i go with 2 Gb or 4 Gb of system memory?

This system will be used extensively for graphic design purposes and some light gaming .

I chose Nvidia 9500 GT over ATI Radeon coz i heard more games are built for Nvidia platform. Isn't that true?

 

[andy5174]

Any suggestion on RAM ?

Since windows 32 bit can't recognize more than 3 Gb Ram, so do i go with 2 Gb or 4 Gb of system memory?

This system will be used extensively for graphic design purposes and some light gaming .

CORSAIR TWIN2X4096-8500C5C G for $59.99

ATI cards beat up nVidia at cheaper price. For example, the HD4890 is cheaper than GTX275 and GTX260 and better than GTX275. Check the TOM's Article regarding the gfx!

 

[andy5174]

32-bit OS is pointless, get 64-bit ones!

 

[daggs]

'what's your budget? maybe it worth while try and take a amd build what is more future proof

 

[aeroman]

I chose Nvidia 9500 GT over ATI Radeon coz i heard more games are built for Nvidia platform. Isn't that true?

My budget's pretty tight thats why i am more focused on average specs. This rig will be more than enough for my average low cpu tasks that i carry out on Photoshop, illustrator & a bit of 3dsmax.

I'll consider ur thoughts on 64 bit OS and 4 Gb RAM.

Edit :
I've chosen Benq 22" E2200HD LCD monitor for this system.

 

[andy5174]

I chose Nvidia 9500 GT over ATI Radeon coz i heard more games are built for Nvidia platform. Isn't that true?

No, that's not true. As I mentioned in my thread before last, ATI beats up nVidia at cheaper price.

My budget's pretty tight thats why i am more focused on average specs. This rig will be more than enough for my average low cpu tasks that i carry out on Photoshop, illustrator & a bit of 3dsmax.

I would suggest you to get Intel Pentium E6300(NOT Core 2 Duo E6300) + HD4870 instead if you are on a tight buget. It will give you an average better performance.
Q9400 will be HUGELY bottle necked by 9500GT. p.s. Pentium E6300 can compete with Core 2 Duo E7500 with its price being much cheaper than Core 2 Duo E7400.

I'll consider ur thoughts on 64 bit OS and 4 Gb RAM.

4GB is highly recommended for Vista and Windows 7 and therefore make sure to get the 64-bit versions. 2GB is fine for windows xp, so either 64 or 32 bit is fine.

 

[andy5174]

Pentium E6300 v.s. C2D E7500

 

[andy5174]

Pentium E6300 v.s. C2D E8400

Pentium E6300 v.s. C2Q Q9400

 

[aeroman]

whoa ! it seems i'ven't done my homework well enough in choosing the right specs that fit my budget.

Thanks andy5174 for all your help and all those who replied here.

I'll get back later and post a new thread with my new specs.

Thanks all!

 

[andy5174]

The chart shows that quad core cpu will only give you twice the performance as the duo in video encoding, so you don't really need the Q9400.

 

[B-Unit]

WTF?!?! 'Only' twice the performance?

Hes focusing on these productivity applications, not gaming, the quad is a far better choice. He doesnt need alot of GPU horsepower, the 4650 or 9500GT will be fine.

Also, if your going Vista/Win7, definately consider going with 64 bit rather than 32. If you intend to stick with XP, 32 bit is the better choice.

 

[andy5174]

WTF?!?! 'Only' twice the performance?

YES, with 9500GT he not only wouldn't even get 1.5 times performance, but LOSE in gaming. This is due to the Q9400 being HUGELY bottle necked by 9600GT and the 4th core is useless for all the current games(info from TOM benchmark). GFX is dominant in bottleneck, so most people with tight budget will get a decent GPU with an OK CPU.

E6300+HD4870 eats Q9400+9500GT in gaming and only a slight lose in video encoding which he doesn't need.

p.s. The CPU benchmarks I showed him are based on the SAME graphic card.

To OP:
If you only play games realeased in 2005 or earlier, such as the warcraft III, then go with the Q9400+9500GT and upgrade to a better GFX later. Otherwise Pentium E6300+HD4870 would be your best choice.