Looking for input on my build list

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sephy2006

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Jun 24, 2008
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I'm not on any budget, but my goal is to get the best price/performance ratio possible, be able to play any game with good settings and framerate, and have lots of storage space. Will be using existing monitor, OS, etc. Here's what I've got so far. Any input greatly appreciated =)

Rosewill 750w PSU(bundle) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817182069
Core 2 Duo E8500(bundle) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115036
BUNDLE COST: $285
Asus 20x SATA DVDRW x2 $72 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135156
WD Caviar Black 640 GB x3 $255 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136319
Visiontek 4870 $240 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814129112
g.skill 4gb kit $50 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231122
Asus p5q pro $119 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131299

Total cost comes out to about 1130 after shipping, not including the Antec 900 I plan to buy local(it'd cost about $150 just to ship it to AK).

Also, I've never been able to OC because I've always had cheap mobos. I may try it out on this rig, so I'm also considering this, going by recommendations I've seen on this board:
Xigmatek HDT-S1283 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233003
 
I'm not a big fan of Rosewill power supplies... but more importantly, you don't need that much power. Go with the Antec EA650 instead. It's still more power than you may need, but it's also much easier on your wallet.

I'll offer you a different bundle deal instead: Keep the Asus P5Q Pro, but pick up the G.Skill DDR2 1066 kit instead. The bundle costs the same as getting the P5Q and the DDR2 800 kit separately, but you'll be able to overclock your E8500 to its limits without having to tweak the RAM much (if at all).

In addition to the HDT-S1283, pick up the ACK-I7751 retention bracket. It makes mounting the CPU cooler much easier and more secure.

Why are you getting two DVD burners (you don't really need both of them) and three hard drives (are you planning a RAID configuration?)? And which monitor/resolution are you using?
 
Agree with Tiraides. I wouldn't get that Rosewill PSU. Rosewill, what's that? Hehe. Even with that $60 off bundle, that deal ain't that great. Might as well get a Corsair TX750 for the same price with the E8500 cpu or even less. But, Tiraides is right you do not need that much power for your setup. That EA650 for $65 w/free shipping is a deal. BTW, you want a HD4870 or HD4850? The link on your video card shows an HD4850 video card.
 
I'd rather eat a dog than use a Rosewill PSU.... Oh wait... I like eating dog... But still, Rosewill are teh suck. Trust me. I've used Rosewill stuff.

Everything looks good. We don't know what your monitor size or native resolution is so we can't recommend video cards.

Also, do you know the difference between the Caviar Black and the AAKS versions of the Western Digital HDD?
 
Make it three votes against the Rosewill PSU. sephy2006 if you go with the aforementioned EA650 you'll actually save $40 and have a more dependable PSU. I'm a little biased towards Gigabyte's P45 mobos but that Asus will do you well. Finally, I see you went with the E8500 versus the Q6600. At the end of the day thats a personal choice. The pricepoint is about the same so then its a matter of what you do with your rig. For now, its really a toss up and neither selection should be mocked. Just reminding you that a] the 82 and 84 will likely give you the same degree of OC for around $25 less and b] the Q6600 is a worthy candidate too for about the same price as the 8500.
Looks good though
 
First of all, thanks for your input, it's been very helpful =)

Oops, wrong link, I did mean Visiontek 4870. I was going to go with 2x 4850's, but a lot of benchmarks settings showed the 4870 doing as good or better for $90 less. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814129113

I was a bit hesitant to go with Antec cause I've had 2 die on me, and in one case it fried the rest of my machine with it. But that EA650 looks like a solid PSU, I'll go with it. I'll also pick up that p5q pro/RAM combo, same cost for faster RAM works.

Differences between Black and SE HDs that I'm aware of are a $5 price difference, 5 over 3 year warranty, 32mb cache over 16, and supposedly uses less cpu because of its "dual processors". Why? Anything else I should know?

I want 2 DVD burners for on-the-fly burning. I know I only need 1 reader and 1 writer, but this is one thing I don't mind spending a few extra dollars on. I hate getting coasters. The 3 HDs are just because I need lots of storage space. I had no plans to RAID them, don't particularly need speed or redundancy. Just wanna store movies and play games.

Currently using a 22" 1680x1050 display. Will probably buy a second display eventually. Or hook it up to an HDTV via the included HDMI adapter. Not sure how good pcs look on HDTVs.

I chose the 8500 over q6600 because the higher clock is better for single threaded apps, and i don't think any of the apps I use are multi threaded. Plus the 65 vs 45nm process means what, 120 vs 35 watts power consumption? I could still be swayed towards the q6600 if it would be better for what I do(ripping, burning, gaming mostly). As for the 82 and 84 giving the same degree of OC: I chose the faster clocked 85 because I'm new to OCing, I probably won't be doing any hardcore ocs yet, just small ones. If that's a bad judgment feel free to let me know.
 
Ensure that the 640GB "Black" HDD has the same two-platter design as the SE (aka, the WD6400AAKS) model. It's that key thing -- the two-platter design -- that makes the 640GB HDD a good choice.

For your needs, the E8400 and E8500 would both perform about the same, both stock and overclocked. Regardless, any of the E8-series Wolfdale processors would be a marked improvement over what you (were) currently using.

Out of curiosity, which operating system were you reusing?
 
I have a copy of 32 bit XP home I was going to use if I can't find a Pro. I've got 64 bit Vista home premium on my laptop which I'm happy with, but I have no desire to run Vista on a desktop. And I'm pretty sure the Black has 2 platters.
 
If you have Vista 64 and you rip, burn AND game all at the same time, Q6600. If you just do one at a time, E8500.

HDD EDIT: I could be thinking of the Greens? I don't remember.
 
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