• Some users have recently had their accounts hijacked. It seems that the now defunct EVGA forums might have compromised your password there and seems many are using the same PW here. We would suggest you UPDATE YOUR PASSWORD and TURN ON 2FA for your account here to further secure it. None of the compromised accounts had 2FA turned on.
    Once you have enabled 2FA, your account will be updated soon to show a badge, letting other members know that you use 2FA to protect your account. This should be beneficial for everyone that uses FSFT.

$1500 case build, advice/suggestions needed

M

MoxMonkey

Weaksauce
Joined
May 13, 2005
Messages
95
Hey everyone,

Looking to build a new PC to replace my s754 3000+ that's really starting to show it's age.

Looking mainly at quad's since although there will be some gaming, everyday multitasking will be it's primary use (some video work, bit of photo editing, etc.). Running a 22" LCD at 1680x1050

Looking to spend about $1500 taxes in on the tower alone most likelyi from NCIX due to availability of VIP and free shipping from points.

Would like to overclock finally as I never got around to really pushing my current rig but why not this time.

Most likely building within the next month.

So far from what I've read and pieced together it's looking like this.

Coolermaster CM690
Corsair 620HX (prefer modular)

Q9450

Mushkin XP PC2-8000 Redline 2X2GB (unsure of this open to suggestions)

Gigabyte EP45-DS4P (also considered the asus p5q-e but like the extra inputs,
dolby digital live, and few other features the gigabyte board offers)

Visiontek 4870 (possibly spend ~100 extra on a 280 for added longevity?)

WD640 GB (would prefer a longer warranty with equal performance if possible)

OCZ Vendetta 2 w/thermalright mounting kit

Scythe Ultra Kaze 120mm 2000 rpm fan's to replace existing fan's for less noise

All that and a few minor things (fan controller, etc) comes up to just over 1500 after price matching and taxes.


Thanks in advance.
 
I just build a rig for ~$1500 a few weeks ago (in my sig). I'm extremely happy with it. I put a lot of time researching, so feel free to use it as a guide.

As for RAM, I'd go with the G.skill 2x2gb kit (probably the DDR2-1000, but all are great). I got Corsair dominator but the G.skill give better bang/buck.
 
I have a couple of questions...

- Which games will you be playing?
- Which features do you want on your motherboard?

See if you could find a cheaper DDR2 1000 (aka PC2-8000) kit, as you don't need "performance" memory like the Mushkin Redline for overclocking. (If you aren't planning a major overclock, however, you could drop down to a DDR2 800/PC2-6400 kit.)

The HD4870 is more than enough for your 22 inch monitor.

Seagate is the only HDD manufacturer that currently offers a five-year warranty, but Western Digital currently has the better performing drives. If you want to go the Seagate route, choose one of the Barracuda HDDs with the new 320+GB drive platters. The Samsung SpinPoint F1 series also has fast hard drives (500GB, 750GB, and 1TB).

What other parts were you considering? (For an optical drive, choose one of the Samsung SATA DVD burners, which run comparatively quieter than other brands.)

As alternatives to the Scythe Ultra Kaze fans, consider either the Kaze Jyuni fans (aka the "Slipstreams") or the Yate Loon D12SL-12 sleeve-bearing fans.
 
not really set on any specific games but fallout3 would probably be the main one in the future

motherboard features should include a good number of USB ports, digital out in coax (only way to run it to my receiver), firewire, the gigabyte boards also include DDL which is an added perk

I was looking at the slipstreams and may get those instead since they seem to perform better than the kaze's

dvd burner will be a samsung sh-s203n

will check out the seagate 640's as well if their performance is similar

ideally i would want to stick with one card simploy to avoid headaches with crossfire compatability

also would there be any significant advantage to spending a bit of extra cash on a 280gtx over the 4870 even at 1680x1050?
 
MoxMonkey said:
ideally i would want to stick with one card simploy to avoid headaches with crossfire compatability

also would there be any significant advantage to spending a bit of extra cash on a 280gtx over the 4870 even at 1680x1050?
Click to expand...

Not at that resolution. Both cards would be overkill for most games at that resolution, but the HD4870 is much cheaper than the GTX 280. You don't need CrossFire at that resolution, so that's a moot point. (Besides, CrossFire only supports AMD/ATI cards like the HD4870, whereas SLI supports NVIDIA cards like the GTX 280.)

I don't see any difference performance-wise between the GA-EP45-DS4P and the GA-EP45-DS3R, so unless the DS4P has a "must-have" feature you need, I suggest going with the cheaper DS3R.
 
Tom's Hardware recently published a review of higher-end vid cards here:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/...ison,2007.html
Based on that review, I'd say "no", unless you can get the 280gtx for the same price or only slightly higher than the cost of a 4870.
Click to expand...

looking at the toms benchmarks for the most part the 280 tops the 4870 (to be expected) and is only costing ~100 more which also gives me the chance to upgrade to a 24" this year possibly


Not at that resolution. Both cards would be overkill for most games at that resolution, but the HD4870 is much cheaper than the GTX 280. You don't need CrossFire at that resolution, so that's a moot point. (Besides, CrossFire only supports AMD/ATI cards like the HD4870, whereas SLI supports NVIDIA cards like the GTX 280.)

I don't see any difference performance-wise between the GA-EP45-DS4P and the GA-EP45-DS3R, so unless the DS4P has a "must-have" feature you need, I suggest going with the cheaper DS3R.
Click to expand...

I know about only nvidia chipsets supporting sli (at least until x58)

the one thing that strikes me about the ds4 over the ds3 is the added cooling around the power section which is always nice but i'm sure third party solutions could be found for less than $65 (the difference in price)

i've also been toying around with the idea of maybe getting an e8400 instead of the q9450
running ddr2 1000 with either won't present any issues or barriers when i decide to actually OC i'm guessing?

also any suggestions on other ram kits?
 
Both the HD4870 and the GTX 280 can perform well on a 24 inch monitor, but I suggest that you wait until you purchase your new monitor before going with a better video card. The long story short is that future price drops may occur and new (better) products may arrive that could influence your upgrading decisions.

You can't go wrong with either the E8400 or the Q9450, so go with whichever one you feel more comfortable with. As for the RAM, the additonal speed provided by the DDR2 1000 kit will allow you to push your overclocking of the processor further. Due to the technology of the Intel Core 2 series, you don't need any special "performance" RAM to obtain a good overclock. Nearly any RAM would do, but I recommend a "name brand" with some form of lifetime warranty on its RAM (the brands that were mentioned earlier count as "name brands").

The added cooling on the DS4P may limit which (aftermarket) CPU coolers you could use -- plus I haven't heard of any siginificant overclocking/performance advantage that the DS4P may have over the DS3R -- so I recommend the DS3R instead.
 
yah i think i'm gonna go with the e8400 and ds3r

regardless of the video card i choose (either 280/4870) the 620hx should be enough to power that 5-6 fans, 3-4 hd's, dvd burner, couple cathodes or would it be a good idea to get the 750 instead, or possibly another modular alternative?
 
The HX620 would be more than enough for your proposed setup.

However, if you aren't going to purchase the 24 inch monitor within the next 12 months, I suggest sticking with the HD4870 for now. Addionally, consider the HD4870X2 as an option for the 24 inch LCD... but that card (as well as the GTX 280) would be overkill for games at your current resolution.
 
Yah I still have to look at if I will get getting a 24" sometime this year or not.

How does this sound for ram?
G.SKILL F2-8000CL5D-4GBPQ PC2-8000 4GB 2X2GB DDR2-1000 CL5-5-5-15

it's $30 cheaper than the redlines

also would there be any benefit to getting a p5q-e over the ds3r (granted i lose a few inputs and onboard DDL) in terms of overclocking headroom?
 
The G.Skill kit is a good choice.

I can't tell you whether or not the P5Q-E is the better overclocker, but if you prefer the features that the DS3R has (and you're aren't planning any major overclocking), stick with the DS3R.
 
if i end up going e8400 ideally i'd like to hit 4ghz which seems like the standard OC for them. DDR2 1000 would be needed if I understand correctly and I wouldn't be able to with 800 unless I then OC the ram itself right?
 
MoxMonkey said:
if i end up going e8400 ideally i'd like to hit 4ghz which seems like the standard OC for them. DDR2 1000 would be needed if I understand correctly and I wouldn't be able to with 800 unless I then OC the ram itself right?
Click to expand...

Correct, you would need DDR2 1000 RAM or highly overclockable DDR2 800 RAM to hit 4Ghz. Since DDR2 1000 RAM is cheaper than highly overclockable DDR2 800 RAM, DDR2 1000 is the better choice.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top