Another New Build Thread

[nohbdy]

I've been lurking on the forums for a little while, and this is my first post. Would love to get some input on my potential build. Feel free to rip it apart or make some helpful suggestions

The machine will be used for a lot of different tasks. I will be using it as a workstation and home server. I will be running several virtual machines (for development and for access to both windows and linux OSes). I haven't decided on the host OS yet, but I'm primarily concerned with the hardware now. I won't be doing a lot of gaming (potentially some though). I will be doing development work, testing, and various a/v tasks (nothing too high end on the a/v side though).

The setup is currently at a price point I am comfortable with, so saving money in one area and spending it in another is a decent option.

Motherboard Asus P5Q-E
Processor Q9450
Memoy 4GB DDR2 (what brand/speed?) possibly upgrade to 8gb+ in future
Video VisonTek Radeon HD 4870
Network On board
Sound Card On board
OS Hard Drive WD3000GLFS VelociRaptor
Data Hard Drive Seagate 7200.11 1TB
Optical Drive Samsung SH-S203N
Case Antec P182
PSU Modu82+ 425W
Monitor BenQ G2400WD

Some additional thoughts: I would like to keep it fairly quiet (which is partly why I chose the enermax PSU and the Antec P182). The price drop on the Radeon 4870 seems to make it worthwhile right now. What are the differences between all the P5Q boards? Is one better than another? I would love a normal sized monitor (non-widescreen), but have been having trouble finding a good panel at a decent price.

And finally, if anyone has any cost efficient RAID recommendations, I am open to exploring those. However, I think I will end up using an online backup service instead.

 

[tiraides]

What's your budget... or, the most you could spend on this thing? I would like to recommend a few changes.

Do you plan on overclocking your processor? If so, get either DDR2 1000 or DDR2 1066 RAM (whichever's cheaper); if not, stick with DDR2 800 RAM.

If you could wait a couple of more weeks, Intel is lowering the price of the Q9550 to around $326 -- the Q9450's current price level.

If you could afford to, getting a better CPU cooler could also make things run quieter. A good CPU cooler would be the Xigmatek HDT-S1283 with its retention bracket (which makes mounting it much easier).

Instead of a VelociRaptor and the 1TB Seagate hard drive, get two of either the Western Digital WD6400AAKS or the Samsung SpinPoint F1 750GB/1TB hard drives. They run faster than the last-gen Raptor X and they'll run much quieter than the VelociRaptor. (The Samsung drives, in general, run quieter than other brands' HDDs.)

Additionally, consider the Corsair brand power supplies. The Corsair HX620 only costs a bit more than the Enermax yet has more power and is more well-regarded.

 

[nohbdy]

Thanks for the reply. I'd like to stay around (or under) $2000.

I'll probably do some overclocking. I assume there is no reason to go for the faster DDR2 1200?

I'm holding out as long as I can to see if I can get in on that rumored price drop. Hopefully we'll see it soon!

Thanks for the recommendation on the PSU... I had actually considered switching to a corsair. Would the corsair 750TX be beneficial? I may add another video card (for additional monitors) in the future. Would I need the 4 PCI-E power connectors in the 750TX?

Hadn't considered an aftermarket CPU cooler, but good idea. I definitely could handle adding that to the build, especially if I cut back on the hard drive. I was thinking that VelociRaptor might be a bit overkill

Any suggestions on the Asus P5Q boards? I still can't really find a definitive guide to the differences between them.

Thanks!

 

[Anchen]

I think the general gist for the P5Q is:

P5Q - Most basic. Only 1 PCI-E x16
P5Q Pro - 2 PCI-E x16 slots
P5Q-E - 2 PCI-E x16 slots, eSATA, 2nd gigabit port
P5Q Deluxe - 3 PCI-E x16 slots, eSATA, 2nd gigabit

If you have any plans for Crossfire with the 4870 you probably do want to have better than a 425W PSU. The corsair 750 is a good PSU and pretty reasonably priced.

 

[tiraides]

I'll probably do some overclocking. I assume there is no reason to go for the faster DDR2 1200?

No; you'll reach the Q9450/Q9550's approximate OC threshold with DDR2 1000 RAM.

Thanks for the recommendation on the PSU... I had actually considered switching to a corsair. Would the corsair 750TX be beneficial? I may add another video card (for additional monitors) in the future. Would I need the 4 PCI-E power connectors in the 750TX?

The 750TX is rated for both CrossFire and SLI setups. Right now, you can get it at a good price at either Provantage or Buy.com.

Hadn't considered an aftermarket CPU cooler, but good idea. I definitely could handle adding that to the build, especially if I cut back on the hard drive. I was thinking that VelociRaptor might be a bit overkill

Like I mentioned earlier: Just buy two of the hard drives that I mentioned earlier -- they would be cheaper than the VelociRaptor/1TB Seagate combo you were considering yet would still meet your needs well.

 

[nohbdy]

Thanks for all the suggestions, I'll definitely make the PSU substitution and go with some DDR2 1000/1066 RAM.

From everything I've read the Q9550 is going to drop when the Q9650 is released sometime in August. I am seriously considering ordering the Q9550 from Amazon with the hope that the price will drop within 30 days (very likely). Then I would take advantage of the 30 day price guarantee. I guess I could look and see if any other retailers have price guarantees as well.

I currently have 2 500gb (low cache and a year or two old) SATA drives that are being used for storage. I'm considering just purchasing an additional low end 500gb drive and RAID5 those three drives for data. Then pick up that WD for the OS. I've always been hesitant to use proprietary on board RAID solutions though.

Anchen, thanks for the explanation on the P5Q differences. For anyone else reading this thread that might be interested, I found this chart extremely useful:
http://www.techarp.com/showarticle.aspx?artno=548

 

[tiraides]

For RAID 5, I've heard that it's better to use a stand-alone RAID card. (But I don't have any good recommendations for you.)