Review my new gaming machine!

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pj124

Weaksauce
Joined
Oct 14, 2006
Messages
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Hey guys, building a new machine specifically for gaming and watching movies on. I need this thing to kick major ass and run real smooth. I'd like some input on the parts. Would you change anything? Etc.

Here we go;

Video Card:
VisionTek 900244 Radeon HD 4870 512MB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail

Motherboard:
GIGABYTE GA-EP45-DS3L LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard

CPU:
Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 Wolfdale 3.16GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor Model

RAM:
CORSAIR 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel - X 2 - 8 Gig total

Hard Drive:
Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD7500AAKS 750GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive

PSU:
CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V

OS:
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 64-bit English for System Builders 1pk DSP OEI DVD - OEM

Case:
Thermaltake Armor Series VA8000BWS Black Aluminum / Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case


How's that looking?
 
Assuming you're getting things from newegg... here are some suggestions and questions:

What size monitor will you be gaming on?

Save $10 and drop down to the GA-EP43-DS3L instead.

Save $20 and get the E8400 instead, for only 166Mhz less.

For pure gaming, you don't need 8GB of RAM. However, if you'd still like it, go for it, since its so cheap. Although, there's only 1 rebate per household on those Corsairs, and the pre-rebate price is useless (again, assuming newegg). I'd suggest avoiding rebates and getting G.Skills instead.

For a minor increase in speed, switch to the WD6400AAKS drive instead... it uses high density 320gb/platter, which makes it one of the fastest drives for desktop usage. Its only ~10% slower than a vraptor. ;)

The Corsair 750W is a great deal from buy.com right now. Overkill... but great deal for ~$85AR.

Do you plan on OC'ing? If so, pickup an aftermarket CPU cooler... like a Xigmatek HDT-S1283 w/ retention kit or OCZ Vendetta2.
 
Wow great post. I'm going to look into those changes. What PSU would you recommended for this build?

I'll be buying a 24" monitor in about 2 weeks

I was planning on OCing so I was gonna pick up a ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro 92mm CPU Cooler - that pretty solid?
 
An additional point on the ram would be that running 4 sticks of RAM stresses the north bridge more than just 2 sticks, which may work against your overclocking.
 
vsboxerboy said:
An additional point on the ram would be that running 4 sticks of RAM stresses the north bridge more than just 2 sticks, which may work against your overclocking.
Click to expand...

If I decide to not overclock my machine and leave everything stock, will I notice any decrease in performance due to the 8 GB via 4 sticks?
 
No, but we would have to politely ask you to leave the [H]ardForum for committing such a sin :D. That e8400 is a beast on a short leash, so much potential increased performance with practically no negatives.
 
An RV770 equipped with GDDR5 is superior to the GT200 equipped with GDDR3 imho, plus a company thats been in the gutter so long could really use the cash, but Nvidia has made the decision to destroy their profit margines in the name of holding marketshare and keeping a good public image. To that end you can usually find the GTX 260 for $20 or $30 cheaper than the HD4870, and the worst Nvidia board vendors are the best ATI board vendors, in terms of warranty at least, Visiontek being a bit of a wild card: I've heard a couple of horror stories about Visiontek cheating people out of their warranty, that said, I've also heard similar stories about BFG and EVGA that are in stark contrast to my experiances with those companies.

At $110, the Corsair 750W is a great buy, but its overkill for anything thats not a dual video card rig. A 500W is plenty for a system like yours.

And as far as hard drives go the 640GB drive is a significant step up in speed from the 750GB. Samsung now has an even higher density 333GB platter, but I dont think there are 333 or 666GB models available, just the F1 1TB drive, which is expensive.

The AC Freezer 7 Pro is an excellent entry option at $20. When I get prescotts that can't stand the heat with their dinky coolers (and its all too frequent), I put the AC Freezer 7 pro in those systems. That said, the Xigmatek whats it called is another really good option. 120mm size on the cheap.
 
Excellent help guys, thanks a lot! I've cut down a nice chunk of money by making the changes you have suggested.

I've never overclocked before so I'm a little nervous about that. I'll search for some guides on how to do it.

I've heard the 4870 card runs hot, would it be worthwhile to purchase an aftermarket cooler for that system?
 
The two coolers I mentioned, along with the ZEROtherm Nirvana, are much better choices for a CPU HSF. They not only cool the CPU better, but they're also more quiet than the AC Freezer 7 pro.

Basically any Corsair is fine for a single card setup. However, at that price, the 750W is a steal. If you want easier cable management with modular cables, then the 520W or 620W Corsair HX models are good, but overpriced at the egg.

24"? Is Crossfire a possibility in your future? Because at such high resolutions, Crossfire does become worth its extra cost for some people. If so, you can switch to a P45 board instead, that supports dual 8x Crossfire.

OC'ing is easy, just read the sticky in the OC subforum.
 
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