How does this build look?

Harb

Limp Gawd
Joined
Apr 10, 2007
Messages
155
So I'm rebuilding my system after about 2 - 2.5 years of running this same old box. It's really hard getting back into the hardware game after so long; the nvidia video card model designations alone are enough to make those with a weak constitution soil themselves and flee in terror :| After several days of researching and about a million clicks of the "search" function on Hardforum, I think I've found a decent build.

This will be my primary box, thus it has to be a good all-around system; gaming is a very high priority but not the only purpose of the system. I'm fairly confident that most of these parts are right for me, though I'm unsure about the memory and motherboard. I'll post more info and such along with the relevant components. Also, bear in mind that this is written by someone who is just now getting up to speed on the current state of the hardware scene; there may be things that I am not yet aware of.

Case: Cooler Master Centurion 590

What case to get was a huge consideration for me, and I think I've found what I'm looking for. I don't plan on ever going with a water cooled setup, I don't really care for the big flashy cases with huge side windows and more neon lights than a riced out '89 Civic, and I've had bad experiences with airflow with previous cases. Thus, airflow was the paramount consideration when considering a case. I like this one because it has more fan intake/exhaust locations than you can shake a stick at, and it's a very roomy case inside that will be easy to install stuff in and keep tidy. The only downside is that the PSU is on the bottom, but the 2 exhaust ports on the top of the case should more than compensate for the loss of the PSU as an exhaust fan above the CPU.

Power Supply: Corsair 750TX

Power supply didn't take a whole lot of thought; decent wattage and good build quality. Reviews I've read say this is a solid piece. I used an up-to-date PSU requirement calculator to roughly approximate the needs for my system, and I think 750 watts will be enough. The only thing I don't like about this PSU is the fact that I LOVE the modular cabling system on my current Antec unit and I hate to bid it farewell, but with the PSU being on the bottom of the case, I can easily hide unneeded cables.

CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550

This took quite a bit of research and thought. I've read that dual core CPU's are best for gaming, and quad core CPU's are best for all-around system use and multitasking. Based on that, I decided to go with a quad core because multitasking and all-around performance are more important to me than a few more FPS in Crysis (although, if someone could fill me in as to just how much better dual is vs quad in gaming, that'd be great). I do plan on doing some overclocking, which is why I'm opting for the more expensive chip with a 12 meg cache. Any input on this is very appreciated. I don't want to go crazy with the OCing, but I do want to try to get the most out of my hardware, within reason.

Motherboard: Asus P5E Deluxe

This was the most difficult part to pick. I want something that can do full x16/x16 PCIe in Crossfire mode and that can use DDR2 1066 RAM. The memory compatibility issue was the most difficult to get my head around, but from what I've read, in order to get the most out of a Q9550, you need DDR2 1066. My heart is not set on this board; it just seems to be the best one that meets my requirements. I am very open to suggestions because A) this is a bit pricey, B) it comes with that stupid unnecessary sound card, and C) one of the newegg reviews says that it is very picky about just which DDR2 1066 it will work with (I am not totally sure if this is true about this board, but it is something I need to look into further...again, any info here is appreciated.)

Memory: G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Memory

This was another hard bit to pick. 4 gigs is a must. Picking the memory unit itself wasn't hard, but coming to the conclusion that I need DDR2 1066 was tough. Again, I'm open to suggestions here. I'm looking whatever works best with overclocking a Q9550.

Video Card(s): 2x Asus Radeon HD4870 in Crossfire mode

Finally, an easy decision. Gaming will be a very high priority for this system, and I use a 37" Westinghouse 1080p tv as my primary monitor (and a 19" 1280x1024 Viewsonic as my secondary, but that's inconsiquential), thus I run all my games at 1920x1080 whenever possible...thus requiring some pretty hefty graphics firepower. My love of ATI has led me to one place: Crossfire'd HD4870's. As far as I know, all 4870's are created equal, and Asus has been good to me in the past, and they have a rebate making them priced quite attractively. The only change in video card I think I would consider before pulling the trigger on this build would be opting for a single 4870x2 instead of dual 4870's, but that's another can of worms.

Cooling: Undecided.

I'll probably go with a Zalman 9700 or something similar for the CPU cooler, and a wide array of whatever case fans seem to work best. I need to do more research on the case as to exactly how many of what size fan the case will accept and in what locations, but I'm planning on buying several 120 and 140mm fans. If anyone has any suggestions on good ones, I'm all ears. Otherwise, I'll probably just get what is the most popular on newegg, bleeting my sheep's BAAAA-A-A-A all the way. I'd like to get aftermarket VGA coolers too, but my limited searching hasn't turned up any options for HD4870's yet. Again, I'll be doing all air-cooled overclocking, so cooling is important but I don't think the decisions are too hard to make here. Opinions and suggestions are welcome.

Hard Drive(s), Optical Drive(s), Sound Card: I'll be recycling these parts from my old system. The exact models are pretty much non-issues; Western Digital SATA hard drives (320 gb and 80 gb), an IDE Samsung DVD combo drive, and a Creative X-Fi Fatality sound card.



So there you have it. Grand total from Newegg: $1,688.92. Which is actually unacceptable. I am shooting for a $1500 build. But, fortunately, I am told that the Q9550 will be dropping to about $330 sometime in August, thus getting me down to my $1500 price point before case fans are added (I can go a bit over, but I need to limit myself somewhere).

I'm open to any and all suggestions. The general idea I have for the system is an overclocking-friendly all-around powerful build with Crossfire'd ATI cards and substantial air cooling capabilities, all built around the Q9550 and dual 4870's. I don't plan on buying this until sometime in September, mostly because I want to wait for the Q9550 price drop, and also because I need some time to get settled down at school (moving to Columbus permanently...need to keep my cash reserves high for emergencies and moving costs etc). This wait is also why the 4870x2 is a possibility, but I'm not really giving that TOO much thought. I'm perfectly happy with dual 4870's; I think they'll last me for a good long while.

Anyway, thanks for reading!
 
Forget the Q9550 and get the Q9450 for cheaper now:
Intel Core 2 Quad Q9450 CPU - $280

Yes the Q9550 will drop to $330 but that's still $50 more expensive than what you can get the Q9450 for now. And the speed difference is only 166Mhz. So I recommend getting in on that Q9450 deal ASAP before it expires.

You can save $20 by going with this slightly slower RAM but still allows for a possible 4.0Ghz OC with the Q9550 or Q9450:
G.Skill F2-8000CL5D-4GBPQ 2 x 2GB DDR2 1000 RAM - $85

CPU Cooler wise, ditch the Zalman. It is outperformed by these other HSF:
Kingwin RVT-12025 120mm Rifle HSF - $30 & Retention Bracket - $7
Xigmatek HDT-S1283 120mm Rifle HSF - $37 & Retention Bracket - $7
OCZ OCZTVEND2 Vendetta 2 120 Rifle HSF - $50
ZEROtherm Nirvana NV120 120mm HSF - $50
Thermalright Ultima-90 HSF - $46 & Panaflo FBA09A12M 92mm Fan - $3
Noctua NH-U12P HSF - $60
Thermalright Ultra-120 Extreme HSF - $57 & Scythe S-Flex SFF21E 120MM Case Fan - $14
 
WOW that is a very nice/PRICY setup but i agree with all of your parts choices
 
For case fans, get the Yate Loon low speed or medium speed 120mm case fans.

Though you could get a VGA cooler for your cards, using one voids the warranty on your video cards.

The HD4870X2 will cost about as much as two HD4870s (if not a bit more) when released, so you have to determine which setup you want more. If you decide upon the HD4870X2, you could choose a P45-based motherboard instead, like the Gigabyte GA-EP45-DS3R, which would cost less than the P5E Deluxe. (However, you would then be limited by dual x8 CrossFire, which offers around 10%-20% less performance than a dual x16 CrossFire setup. It won't matter if all you're using is the HD4870X2, but it may or may not be a factor for you with two HD4870s in CrossFire mode.)
 
So long, I didnt read everything, but I agree with Danny and Tiraides -- they hit most of important parts. I'll discuss the less important stuff, lol.

'89 civic?! CRX maybe, but most riced out civics I see are at least a 90's model. :p PSU on the bottom is a plus for a couple reasons: it keeps the weight of the case lower, making it more stable, and keeps the heat of the PSU farther away from the CPU area. Also, the demand for quiet PSUs is making PSU manufacturers to use lower speed, larger sized fans, which is only good for exhausting hot air of the PSU, not the entire case. Dedicated exhaust fans at the top of the case makes more sense. The only concern would be heat from the PSU adding to the case, but the exhaust fan of the PSU should take care of that. The P180/P182 takes it a step further and compartmentalizes the bottom half of the case to separate the heat better.

The P5Q Deluxe is nice, and comes with a ton of extra crap, which is expected for the price. An alternative is the Gigabyte X48 DS4. However, if you'd rather save some cash without losing any performance, the DFI X38 LanParty would be good.

BTW, Danny said the speed difference between the kit you picked and the one he listed was 166Mhz... it must be early for him, because he added a 1 in front of the 66Mhz. :p Get the DDR2-1000 sticks instead... much cheaper for the same performance.

Unless your drives are rather new, you'll want one of the newer drives to help feed that beast of a machine. Your computer is as fast as its slowest component. An 80GB drive doesnt sound fast to me, simply because its most likely old, and therefore slow. The newer drives that are fast use 320+GB/platters: Samsung F1 320GB, 640GB, 750GT, 1TB; WD3200AAKS, WD6400AAKS; Seagate 'cuda.11 320GB (not sure if seagate released more yet). Anyhow, you definitely want at least one of these drives unless your 320GB can transfer data at 90MB/s (download HDTune and find out). The drives I listed are as fast as the old 150GB raptors. :D

Get a Samsung SATA DVDRW... it'll make cable management much easier which will improve airflow... and you mentioned airflow was paramount. ;)

I'd go for the HD4870X2 instead, and if needed, add another. :p I try to keep systems as simple as needed, and a dual GPU card is one of the best ways to avoid complexity introduced by dual vidcard setups.

And again, listen to Danny and Tiraides' suggestions.
 
I'll look into the slower memory; I need to do a lot more digging as far as OCing the Q9550 goes. I only want to get what I need to OC it well; no sense in going overboard with stuff I don't need.

I'll also check on my current HDD speed. They are older drives, so I'll probably need an upgrade. I do really want a SATA optical drive for cable management; if I can get one cheap enough I'll add it in too. I need a DVD drive for my old (well, current) computer anyway because I plan on turning this old system into a general use system to put in the living room of my new house for me and my roommates to use.

I should have mentioned my reasoning for the 4870x2. If I did take that route, I would stick with a x38/x48 board because down the road, I would probably pick up another 4870x2 when it's time for a video card upgrade. However, getting an x2 seems highly unlikely at this point.

Thanks for all the input. It's good to know that I'm sort of on the right track, but that there is room for improvement.

Now, I'm off to look at more motherboards. I'm still not sold on this stupid Asus...


*edit*

Just ran HD Tune Pro. Looks like I'll be needing a new, faster hard drive :\
 
You misunderstood what Danny was saying about the memory. Getting the cheaper DDR2 1000 kit won't impact your overclocking at all, as you would reach the same thresholds with it as would with the DDR2 1066 kit.

The 4870X2 is a dual-GPU card that works as well as two 4870s in CrossFire mode. Either one of those options should be more than enough for a 24 inch monitor; you shouldn't need a 4870X2 AND an X38/X48 CrossFire board.

As for the hard drive, enginurd has already mentioned the ones you should be looking at.
 
The Q9550 simply has a slightly higher multiplier: 0.5 higher, lol. So, instead of 8x, you'll have 8.5x, which only translates to a slightly higher OC than you would've gotten with a Q9450. They both have the same OC threshold, btw, so you really don't gain much with the Q9550. I'd go for the cheaper of the two, and right now, thats the Q9450 from MC, as Danny linked.

/*------------- <cut n paste> -------------*/
Formulas for Intel platform @ 1:1 settings: (base FSB speed is SDR, or single data rate)
c × [Base FSB speed] = CPU Clock speed (c = CPU Multiplier)
2 × [Base FSB speed] = RAM speed (DDR: double data rate)
4 × [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):

Q9450: 8 × 333 = 2.6Ghz, DDR2-667 << STOCK speeds
Q9450: 8 × 400 = 3.2Ghz, DDR2-800 << Good OC
Q9450: 8 × 450 = 3.6Ghz, DDR2-900 << Great OC, near max w/ good air cooling
Q9450: 8 × 500 = 4.0Ghz, DDR2-1000 << Nearly impossible

Q9550: 8.5 × 333 = 2.8Ghz, DDR2-667 << STOCK speeds
Q9550: 8.5 × 400 = 3.4Ghz, DDR2-800 << Good OC
Q9550: 8.5 × 425 = 3.6Ghz, DDR2-850 << Great OC, near max w/ good air cooling
Q9550: 8.5 × 500 = 4.2Ghz, DDR2-1000 << Nearly impossible

You won't notice a difference between CL4 and CL5, unless you're running benchmarks (and even then, the difference is negligible), so don't pay a huge price premium for lower latency.
/*------------- </cut n paste> -------------*/
 
Wow, I didn't realize that the difference between the two speeds/CPU's was so negligible. I'll probably get the cheaper stuff then.

Also, if a motherboard supports a faster standard (say, DDR2 1066), will it also support the lower DDR2 speeds (1000, 800, etc)?
 
Also, if a motherboard supports a faster standard (say, DDR2 1066), will it also support the lower DDR2 speeds (1000, 800, etc)?

Yes it will support the lower DDR2 speeds.
 
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