Build Advice

[W.Feather]

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
LAN parties, Folding, guest use possibly
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
Not really sure, more of a feeler of what I should look out for(see blow), and yes
3) Where do you live?
FL
4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. "Everything" is
not a valid answer. Please list out all the parts you'll need.
Mobo/PSU/HSF(air cooling)
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
Q9450, 4x1gb OCZ Platinum(4-4-4 @ 2.1v), PNY 9800GTX XLR8, WD 320GB Caviar Blue, Case(i'm building it myself)
6) Will you be overclocking?
Yes
7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
Will use either: 19" 1440x900, or my 24" 1920x1080(depending on how far it is)
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
6-8 months(after school starts for the year)
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? etc.
SLI preferably, and mATX if possible(doubt it, couldnt find anything myself), but SLI is a must because in the best case scenario ill end up with SLI'd 260's
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? 32bit or 64bit?
Yes, will have Win 7 Pro x64


I'm pretty much looking to get my lan rig going, picked up the Q9450/ram/hdd on the cheap(~$140, and it was all never OC'd, kept in a house that is always at 78 F), the case i'm building on my own hopefully as a side project(hence why mobo size isnt very needed)

On the PSU I would love to have a full modular design(i'm thinking 550-650w right?)

as i said, this thread is pretty much a feeler....to see what I should look for(i've got no problem ordering refurb parts for this, since it is pretty much a lan/backup rig)

 

[Dangman]

Yeah try to find this mobo used or for less:
Asus P5N-D Nvidia 750i ATX mobo

There were never any mATX SLI socket 775 mobos IIRC.

PSU wise, get this:
$100 - XFX P1-650X-CAG9 650W Modular PSU

 

[W.Feather]

i figured as much on the mobo.

as for the PSU, i really would prefer absolutely no cables built onto it(if possible, something like an Ultra I saw a while back), or if i'm going the route of partially modular(like that XFX), a bit cheaper(i found my Antec TruePower 750W for 70 bucks, and its size is pretty nice, im trying to go pretty compact)


also, whats a good pretty short cooler? I was thinking something along the lines of a Arctic Cooling 92mm one? though i'm not very sure on the size.

 

[silent-circuit]

You're not building for 6-8 months? Why are you asking about anything now? Come back a week or two before you intend to build.

 

[W.Feather]

You're not building for 6-8 months? Why are you asking about anything now? Come back a week or two before you intend to build.

if you read it you would know that its to find out what to look out for on deals.......the parts im looking for arnt really going to change, nothing new is coming out, i'm not looking for pricing, just the parts......since i'm buying it as I find em is why i am asking what to look for.............

 

[Dangman]

i figured as much on the mobo.

as for the PSU, i really would prefer absolutely no cables built onto it(if possible, something like an Ultra I saw a while back), or if i'm going the route of partially modular(like that XFX), a bit cheaper(i found my Antec TruePower 750W for 70 bucks, and its size is pretty nice, im trying to go pretty compact)

Well more than likely you got that 750W on sale. Since you're buying 6-8 months from now, we can't exactly predict what PSU prices will be or what will be available. Case in point: the above XFX PSU wasn't even available 6-8 months ago.

For your planned GTX 260 SLI setup, I would not recommend anything lower than a 650W PSU. The above XFX 650W is actually the cheapest confirmed quality 650W modular PSU available on Newegg.

 

[W.Feather]

I did get it on sale. I plan on sale shopping again.

Is there a fully modular psu out there that is of good enough quality?

 

[Dangman]

Well this fully modular PSU just went on sale apparently because I did not see it earlier (either that or I missed it):
$88 - Silverstone Deacthlon DA650 650W Modular PSU

 

[W.Feather]

sweet, thats pretty much exactly what i'm looking for. Going outta town in about a week so ill look at it after I get back......is it a pretty good one quality wise? Havent seen anything for or against Silverstone....

do you have anymore recommendations for another PSU along those lines, since this one will probably not be on sale when I order...what was the price before hand?

 

[silent-circuit]

Silverstone makes good quality PSUs, up there with the likes of Seasonic, Enermax and Etasis, I'd say.

Look in to it, but I'm fairly sure there's a stable hack to enable SLI on P35 / P45 / X38 / X48 boards now. I haven't looked in to specifics, but you'd definitely be able to find a mATX P45 or X38/X48 that'd do CrossfireX and use a driver hack to enable SLI.

 

[W.Feather]

didnt know that, ill do some research into it.....i dont know if ill end up doing SLI for sure, just a thought since ill have one nvidea card, why not go for another if the price ends up being right

 

[E4g1e]

Well this fully modular PSU just went on sale apparently because I did not see it earlier (either that or I missed it):
$88 - Silverstone Deacthlon DA650 650W Modular PSU

The Decathlon series of Silverstone-branded PSUs are made by Impervio. Silverstone, like most other brands, use several OEMs for their PSUs.

 

[Dangman]

Look in to it, but I'm fairly sure there's a stable hack to enable SLI on P35 / P45 / X38 / X48 boards now. I haven't looked in to specifics, but you'd definitely be able to find a mATX P45 or X38/X48 that'd do CrossfireX and use a driver hack to enable SLI.

IIRC, those hacks were basically hacked Nvidia drivers. Don't think they actually updated those hacked drivers with every new Nvidia driver release.