Multipurpose system

[Bob Sanders]

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Multiple Browsers, Skype, Photoshop, Google Earth, torrenting, mIRC and a bit of gaming(considering a purchase of Orange Box)
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
Around $1,000
3) Where do you live?
Iowa, USA
4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. Please be very specific.
Intel Quad Q6600, decent mobo and parts to OC, looking at 8 GB of RAM, I am open to suggestions on PSU, Case and CPU cooler, I have a 500W Antec Earthwatts in the build now but I'm not sure if it is enough. All items need to be on NewEgg
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
Logitech USB Mouse, Microsoft PS/2 Keyboard, Monitors(see below)
6) Will you be overclocking?
I would like to, but I understand it might be harder with 8 GB of RAM
7) What size monitor do you have or plan to have?
2x 19" Samsung 932BW 1440x900 and a 25.5" Samsung T260HD 1920x1200 that I use primarily for TV/Xbox but may hook up for gaming.
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
as soon as I am happy with the setup, preferably order in the next 4 days because I'm planning to use the 12 months no interest deal on NewEgg
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? etc.
None of the above really although I might use RAID in the future. I would like 6-8 USB ports on the back panel.

I'm still running an Athlon 64 2800+ system that I built over 4 years ago so I don't know alot about the current tech. I also haven't OCed before.


Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz + GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3R $289.98
G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 x2 $79.98
SAPPHIRE 100245L Radeon HD 4850 512MB $159.99
SAMSUNG Spinpoint F1 HD753LJ 750GB x2 $149.98
Samsung 22x DVD Burner $24.99
ASUS Black SATA DVD-ROM 19.99
Antec Sonata III 500 Black w/ 500W EarthWatts PSU $99.99
Vista Home Premium 64 bit 99.99
XIGMATEK HDT-S1283 + XIGMATEK ACK-I7751 Retention Bracket $36.99 + $8.49

I still need a CPU cooler and I'm not sure if the 500w PSU in the case is large enough. I am also wondering if it would work to add a cheap graphics card to drive one of my 19" monitors and use the 4850 to drive the other 19" and the 25.5"? Feel free to give any other suggestions.

 

[tiraides]

Switch the RAM out for two 4GB sets of G.Skill DDR2 800 RAM. The maximum overclock you'll likely achieve with the Q6600 is around 3.6GHz, and you could easily reach that using DDR2 800 RAM.

For a good CPU cooler, just go with the Xigmatek HDT-S1283 and its ACK-I7751 retention bracket.

For gaming on the Samsung T260HD alone, the HD4850 may not be enough... but for all three monitors, it's definitely not enough. We would normally recommend either the 1GB HD4870 or the GTX 260 (with 216 stream processors) as a minimum standard for gaming at a 1920x1200 resolution (the resolution of the T260HD), but that would cause problems for the Earthwatts EA500 power supply. I'm going to recommend a different case and power supply:

Cooler Master Centurion 590 ATX mid-tower case - $49.99
BFG Tech LS-680 680W PSU - $78.24

You could also use a cheap graphics card for the 19" monitor.

 

[Bob Sanders]

Switch the RAM out for two 4GB sets of G.Skill DDR2 800 RAM. The maximum overclock you'll likely achieve with the Q6600 is around 3.6GHz, and you could easily reach that using DDR2 800 RAM.

Done

For a good CPU cooler, just go with the Xigmatek HDT-S1283 and its ACK-I7751 retention bracket.

Done

For gaming on the Samsung T260HD alone, the HD4850 may not be enough... but for all three monitors, it's definitely not enough. We would normally recommend either the 1GB HD4870 or the GTX 260 (with 216 stream processors) as a minimum standard for gaming at a 1920x1200 resolution (the resolution of the T260HD), but that would cause problems for the Earthwatts EA500 power supply. I'm going to recommend a different case and power supply:

Cooler Master Centurion 590 ATX mid-tower case - $49.99
BFG Tech LS-680 680W PSU - $78.24

To be honest the 1920x1200 gaming is not a big deal at all. I have never been a big PC gamer so even if I buy TF2 I can play on one of the 19" monitors. The amount of time I will use the T260HD as a monitor is probably less than 2%. It would be nice to have it connected for the odd video that my Xbox can't play over the network though. Edit: I can use the Component out for the T260HD if its just for video.

Also the PSU you listed is on Buy.com. Is there anything comparable on NewEgg?

You could also use a cheap graphics card for the 19" monitor.

Any more info on this? Can I just grab something like this and run it alongside the HD4850? I'm guessing that would affect the PSU choice.

 

[tiraides]

The LS-680 can also be found at NewEgg. I just went with the cheaper store.

I can't answer the question of whether or not you could use the HD2400 along with the HD4850, as I'm not totally familiar with multi-card setups. What I can answer is that your power supply choice won't be affected, as the LS-680 is rated for supporting both CrossFire and SLI.

 

[engiNURD]

The Earthwatts 500W is more than enough for a HD4870 1GB + lower power radeon card. So, if you're staying with the 4850, the EA500 will be fine. Though, its best to stick with the same family card (HD4850 + lower end HD4000 series; eg HD4350).

Yes, theoretically, an additional 2400Pro would work fine. However, the board you chose only has 1 PCI-E 16x slot, so you'd either need a different interface for the 2nd vidcard (PCI or PCI-E 1x), or change to a board with 2x PCI-E 16x slots (UD3P; but it has no Q6600 combo; or P5Q Pro). Just checked, the P5Q Pro has a combo for $5 more than the UD3R, so thats a good alternative.

 

[Bob Sanders]

Just went ahead and ordered as currently configured. I decided to go with a second HD either for RAID or just extra storage. Decided it wasn't worth the trouble of multiple cards and the 4850 should be fine for my use.