New Build - First Look | Quad

L

Luzer

Weaksauce
Joined
Sep 11, 2007
Messages
113
I'm about three weeks away from buying a new computer and i would like to get some of your opinions. The prices are from newegg, total ~$1281.00 with instant rebates and ~37.00 for shipping.
below is what i currently have as my setup. I just got a 24" Dell monitor and i would like a computer that can handle the amazing high resolution when playing games. My budget was $800 at first but when I herd that the quads went down I bumped it up to $1200. I think that $1300 is a pretty good for a quad core computer. Also, I want to overclock this computer to 3.7Ghz and would like to run crossfire in the future. Thanks for looking.

Edit: I'm going to get the CPU from Club IT - - same price and i get the G0 .

- current -
AMD 939 4200+
WDC 40gb + 300 sata and other miscellaneous hdds
1 GB ram Corsar select
Jetway 939 something
GeForce 6800 XT 256mb
Thermaltake 430w PSU

- building -
Case
Antec P180b -- $114

PSU
OCZ GameXStream 700W -- $139

RAM | Fan
CORSAIR Dominator 2GB (2 x 1GB) 1066 -- $181 | CORSAIR CMXAF1 Fans -- $19

Motherboard
ASUS P5K PREMIUM/WIFI-AP -- $171(open box)

Graphic Card
SAPPHIRE 2900 Pro 512mb -- $279

Heatsink | Fan
Thermalright Ultra-120 -- $64 | Scythe S-FLEX SFF21F 120mm -- $24

CPU
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz -- $277

HDD
From old computer.
 
Luzer said:
PSU
OCZ GameXStream 700W -- $139
Click to expand...

EEK.gif


Get the Corsair 520w.

heart.gif
 
CPU: Good. Get the E6750 if you don't need what the Q6600 has to offer. If you go for the Q6600, make sure you get the G0 stepping.

Motherboard: ABIT IP35 Pro or Gigabyte DS3R

RAM: 2GB Patriot Extreme Performance or Crucial Ballistix or G.Skill. Patriot and Crucial have looser timings.

VIDEO: Good.

PSU: Corsair 620HX or 520HX. Go with the 620 if you don't mind spending the additional money, plan to be OCing, or want to leave room for future upgrades.

HEATSINK + FAN: Good.

CASE: Good.
 
Like exothermic has said, ditch the Dominators. They're not worth their price especiall since any cheap pair of DDR2 800 RAM is all you need to OC a Q6600 to 3.6Ghz. That set of RAM that exothermic recommended is a good choice. Here's why DDR2 800 RAM is all that you need:

9 x 266Mhz, DDR2 533 RAM = 2.4Ghz <== Stock Speeds
9 x 333Mhz, DDR2 667 RAM = 3.0Ghz <== Good OC
9 x 400Mhz, DDR2 800 RAM = 3.6Ghz <== Great OC
9 x 410Mhz, DDR2 800 RAM (Slightly OC'd) = 3.7Ghz <== Excellent OC.

I concur with Robo about the PSU as well. That GameXStream has out of spec ripple,or voltage fluctuations, at high loads that will damage your parts over time. So I wouldn't bother with it. The Corsair 520HX 520W PSU is all that you need but if you want a bit of headroom for future upgrades, then go with the Corsair 620HX:
Corsair HX520 520W PSU - $100
Corsair HX620 620W PSU - $147

Also, ditch the motherboard. That Asus is not worth its price, especially since a lot of mobos can perform and OC the same or better than it. I recommend either of these two mobos:
http://www.mwave.com/mwave/viewspec.hmx?scriteria=BA23927
GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3R Intel P35 Motherboard - $130
Abit IP35 Pro Intel P35 Motherboard - $179

The Abit is more OC friendly FYI.

Oh and you can get that HSF for cheaper here:
Thermalright Ultra-120 Extreme HSF - $55
 
Ditch the GXS 700W, Dominators, and Asus board. Get the HS and Fan somewhere else.

I agree with Danny, but if you want to keep Crossfire as an option, go with an X38 board instead. Hopefully, prices will be lower in 3 weeks. The boards just came out, so you have to pay the "first kid on the block" tax.

You won't notice the difference between CL4 and CL5, so don't pay a huge price premium for lower latency. You don't need high speed ram with a Q6600, even for 3.7Ghz (9 * 412; and any $63 2GB DDR2-800 kit can do 412Mhz).

I agree with the Corsair recommendations, but if you want Crossfire, you'll need more beef... Check out the Silverstone Olympia 700W...

PSU FAQ: http://www.jonnyguru.net/forums/showthread.php?t=1036

PSU Suggestions:
http://forums.extremeoverclocking.com/showpost.php?p=1590883&postcount=193
http://www.jonnyguru.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1460
http://www.jonnyguru.com/forums/showthread.php?t=103

Oh, and why Crossfire? Isn't SLI better? lol.

$55 - Thermalright Ultra 120 eXtreme CPU HS + Scythe S-Flex Fan SFF21E ($15)
 
Im looking at $1351 and $1207 AR with shipping. I would change the motherboard but the X38 is way to much. I plan on buying it in mid November if the prices go down on the X38 ill pick one up. I was wondering, is the 2900 Pro with 1gb worth ~$100 more than the 512? From what i see crossfire/2900 pro(OC'ed) preforms the same if not better then the sli/8800gts and it costs a little less. If i was going for high range of graphic cards i would go with the higher nvidia cards but spending that much isn't easy to do for me to do.

Case
Antec P180b -- $114

PSU
Corsair CMPSU- $110 AR

RAM | Fan
CORSAIR Dominator 2GB (2 x 1GB) 1066 -- $141 AR | CORSAIR CMXAF1 Fans -- $19

Motherboard
ASUS P5K PREMIUM/WIFI-AP -- $171(open box)

Graphic Card
SAPPHIRE 2900 Pro 512mb -- $279

Heatsink | Fan
Thermalright Ultra-120 -- $60 | Scythe S-FLEX SFF21F 120mm -- $14(4)

CPU
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz -- $265 OEM
 
Why go for the P5K PREMIUM/WIFI-AP? Do you really need wifi that much that you're willing to buy used board?

Also, don't go for an OEM version of the Q6600. It only has a 90 day warranty while the boxed version comes with a 3 year warranty. I'd pay the extra bit of money for that.

And you ignored the recommendations against the Dominators. Why? It's already been proven that the Dominators aren't worth their costs.

The 2900Pro can be OC'd to 2900XT speeds and the 2900XT performs roughly in between the 8800GTS 320 and 640MB versions.
 
Its all up to you whether the $100 is worth it or not for the 1GB 2900. Personally, I dont think it is.

You're still wasting your money with the Dominators. Ditch them and use that money towards an 8800GTX or Ultra instead. You're also wasting your money on DDR2-1066 speed ram. There's no point for that RAM with a Q6600. Read the reviews and do the math... the Ballistix are a better buy for 2GB kits. They use the same ICs. On Intel platforms, there's no performance gain from running the RAM higher than a 1:1 ratio with the CPU.

$141AR - Dominator 2GB DDR2-1066 D9GMH
$60AR - Ballistix 2GB DDR2-800 D9GMH

To save more money, use Yate Loon fans on your case, but keep the S-Flex fan on the Ultra 120x.
 
I cant believe that the 2900 Pro is out of stock. Every store that i can think of doesn't have carry it anymore, i guess that is what happens when you wait to long. The new question is ,do i wait for the 2950 xt/pro or get a Gigabyte GeForce 8800GTS 640MB? One good thing is that the PK5 Premium went down to 147 for the open box which brings me new total to 1214.94AR(including shipping).

Case
Antec P180b -- $114AR

PSU
Corsair CMPSU- $110 AR

RAM | Fan
Crucial Ballistix 2GB (2 x 1GB) 54 AR

Motherboard
ASUS P5K PREMIUM/WIFI-AP -- $147(open box)

Graphic Card
SAPPHIRE 2900 Pro 512mb -- $369

Heatsink | Fan
Thermalright Ultra-120 -- $60 | Scythe S-FLEX SFF21F 120mm -- $14(4)

CPU
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz -- $275
 
Wait for another week or so for the 8800GT to come out. An early review of the card shows that it outperforms even the 8800GTS 640MB and is suppose to cost only $250. So wait until a few more sites confirm the 8800GT's performance and then buy.

Check out this thread for more info:
http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1233846
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top