Have a look at this build

Z

ZippZopp

Limp Gawd
Joined
Jan 30, 2007
Messages
380
yes, another build for you all to look at and give me some feedback on. let me know what you think

Proc: Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9650

Motherboard: Asus Maximus Formula (still debating between the Gigabyte or even the P5E)

Memory: 8 gigs of Corsair XMS2 PC6400 800mhz. ( I was also looking at a Geil kit of 8GB(4 x 2GB) DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 PC2 8500. Is the pc2 8500 worth it, or will the Corsair suffice? I don't know much about Geil, but I had a hard time finding pc2 8500 in 4gb kits. I was even considering G.Skills 4gb kit of PC2 8000. I've heard lots of good things about Corsair memory which is why I chose that.

Case: Antec P182

Coolling Thermalright Ultra 120 with a Scythe S-Flex 120mm fan

Power: Corsair 750 watt power supply

Video EVGA 8800gtx (hoping something new will be out within 90 days that I can step up to)

Storage: 1x 150gb Western Digital Raptor X
2x 500gb Western Digital 7200 rpm drives

Optical: Samsung Black SATA 20x DVD burner

Sound Card: Sound Blaster X-Fi X-Treme gamer ( i already own this card, its in my current system but I have the Snap crackle and pop issues within some games so I was thinking of maybe going with the Azuntech X-FI Prelude)

Speakers: Klipsch Promedia 5.1

Monitor Currently own a Dell 30'' and a Samsung 20.1''

OS: Windows XP x64 edition


I do a decent amount of gaming, but do a lot of 3d graphics work and rendering so having the 8 gigs is going to be great for that. Are there any issues with memory I might run into with loading the board with a full 8 gigs? I plan on overclocking the CPU up a bit too, but nothing too crazy. What do you all think? feedback would be greatly appreciated as I'm hoping to get my parts in before the long Thanksgiving weekend
 
Off the top of my head:

It's too early to start using X38-based motherboards and DDR3 RAM. You can obtain similar performance by getting a P35- or 680i-based motherboard, 2-4GB of DDR2 800 RAM, and an overclocked E6750 or Q6600. (You chose a good HSF, though.)

Extreme Edition processors are also not worth the money, especially when (historically speaking) newer generation CPUs will eventually blow their performance out of the water.

You could probably get away with using just 4GB of DDR2 800 (PC2-6400) RAM, but I don't know how far you want to overclock the processor to. I'd say start with a 4GB pair right now, and then get the second pair later, if you feel that the performance isn't satisfactory. The way Core 2 Duos/Quads OC, there are few reasons you would need RAM with speeds of over DDR2 800 (plus, they are very cheap right now).

I've heard stories that WinXP Pro x64 sucks. Choose one of the 64-bit versions of Vista.

If you're getting a Sound Blaster X-Fi, get either the (discontinued) XtremeMusic or the XtremeGamer Fata1ity. Having said that, Creative's drivers are a crapshoot, so you may be better off with just onboard sound. I don't know enough about the Azuntech X-Fi Prelude to make an assessment on it.

I was going to recommend a motherboard with SLI (one of the EVGA 680i-series models) for your 30" monitor, but you also have a second monitor... and I don't know whether or not you could use SLI with two monitors.

Everything else looks good....
 
tiraides said:
Extreme Edition processors are also not worth the money, especially when (historically speaking) newer generation CPUs will eventually blow their performance out of the water.
Click to expand...
I believe he is getting that processor because it is a 45nm chip and not a 65nm chip so I believe he is going for the fastest out atm and he is going to try and overclock the beast of a processor that it is. But you are right it isn't worth that high of a price because if you what two or so months there will be consumer 45nm chips and not just extreme edition chips.
 
thanks for the reply

I had thought about not going with the new Intel chip, but their next big one, nehalem, won't be out until late next year. I could wait until January until the other penryns come out, but I don't really want to wait that long for chips that are lower end than what is out now.

I'm definitely doing the 8 gigs of RAM. I currently use Windows XP x64 and have been using it for over a year now and really like it. The 8 gigs will work really well with rendering and having the ability to have many of my applications open at the same time.

I guess I will just stick with the DDR2 800. G.skill has some on Newegg for 150 bucks for 4 gigs, maybe i'll go with that over the corsair

at one point i was leaning towards the 680i motherboards, but I realized all it really gives me over the x38 is the SLI. The x38 has way more new features compared to the 680i. I kinda wanted SLI but not at the expense of all the other features like PCI express 2.0 for future cards.

I have noticed the creative drivers are a crapshoot, I'll try my x-fi in the new system and if it gives problems I'll just stick with the onboard.

thanks again for the feedback...cheers
 
If you can't wait until Q1'08 and don't mind the price of the Extreme Edition CPU, then go for it. It's generally considered a waste of money because the desktop variants can usually OC to the same speeds, just with a capped CPU multiplier. In the past, EE CPU's had larger cache sizes, but not anymore. I'm thinking it would STILL be cheaper for you to go with a Q6600 right now, then upgrade it to a Q9450 when it comes out -- or even Q9950 ($530 per 1000pcs).

$275 - Q6600
$335 - Q9450 (guestimation based off of the $316 unit price per 1000pcs)
============
$610 < $1300

$275 - Q6600
$575 - Q9950 (guestimation based off of the $316 unit price per 1000pcs)
============
$850 < $1300

What features of the Maximus did you like aside form PCI-E 2.0? I think by the time PCI-E1.1 slots limit PCI-E2.0 cards, it will be time for a new motherboard anyhow (along with a Nehalem or newer CPU).

Memory speed depends on how fast you plan on clocking your CPU...
Formulas for Intel platform @ 1:1 settings: (base FSB speed is SDR, or single data rate)
(CPU Multiplier) x [Base FSB speed] = CPU Clock speed
2 x [Base FSB speed] = RAM speed (DDR: double data rate)
4 x [Base FSB speed] = Effective FSB speed (QDR: quad data rate)

On Intel platforms, running the RAM higher than a 1:1 ratio with the CPU is, for the most part, useless, so don't bother trying to do so. If the BIOS does it for you, just let it. All you need is a 1:1 config, though. Here's some possible clock speeds (as always with OC'ing, your results will vary):

Q6600: 9 × 266 = 2.4Ghz, DDR2-533 << STOCK speeds
Q6600: 9 × 333 = 3.0Ghz, DDR2-667 << Nice OC
Q6600: 9 × 378 = 3.4Ghz, DDR2-756 << Good OC, near max for B3 stepping
Q6600: 9 × 400 = 3.6Ghz, DDR2-800 << Great OC, near max for G0 stepping

Q9450: 8 × 333 = 2.6Ghz, DDR2-667 << STOCK speeds
Q9450: 8 × 400 = 3.2Ghz, DDR2-800
Q9450: 8 × 450 = 3.6Ghz, DDR2-900
Q9450: 8 × 500 = 4.0Ghz, DDR2-1000

QX9650: 9 × 333 = 3.0Ghz, DDR2-667 << STOCK speeds
QX9650: 9 × 400 = 3.6Ghz, DDR2-800
QX9650: 9 × 450 = 4.0Ghz, DDR2-900

If you want to be safe, go with the G.Skill 4GB PQ kit:
$150 - G.SKILL 4GB(2x2GB) DDR2-1000 F2-8000CL5D-4GBPQ

If I had a 30" monitor and game at native res, I'd definately keep SLI as an option. Though, with a single GTX/Ultra, you should still be able to game resonably well with some things turned down.
 
thanks, yeah, that was the g.skill kit i was looking at. I have g.skill ram now and it has performed nicely. 150 is a great price for 4 gigs, i'll probably go with that over the corsair xms

I do have some money to spend which is why I was going for the qx9650. It probably would be a little cheaper in the long run to go with the 6600 now and then upgrade, but I guess I'd prefer to just get this proc now.

thanks for the memory explanation, I think I was going to try to hit the 3.6ghz mark with the 9650. I don't want to go overboard with the OC, just bump it up a little bit, the g.skill should give me a little extra headroom with its default speed.

and having the 30'' was what really prompted me to look into SLI , but I guess it is something I don't really need...it would be nice, but I think the GTX will do just fine.

I think i might pull the trigger on this stuff and just do it..thanks guys
 
I agree with everything Danny says, especially about the extreme chip. Although, if I were to get a Penryn Extreme chip, I would be looking to get it to 4ghz as an absolute minimum.

Mark.
 
Uh huh. You guys do know this is my first post here in this thread right?

I think you guys should be agreeing with tiraides considering he replied first about the Extreme Edition chips

But thanks for the vote of confidence! LOL! Sorry tiraides!
 
tiraides said:
I guess I should apologize, too... for... uh....

I'm confused.... :confused:
Click to expand...

LOL!. Markyip1 was agreeing with everything I said, even though I hadn't said anything in this thread before him. I think he got me and you mixed up :D
 
Heh, indeed I did. The issue here is that I was just before replying to a similar thread in which Danny made many of the same points Tiraides did here. To put things to rest, I agree with both of you :)

Mark
 
lol @ the three stooges :p

is there still a problem with penryns and sli boards? i guess that rules out keeping sli as an option, lol.
 
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