New build... Need suggestions...

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w3tw1lly

Weaksauce
Joined
Nov 13, 2006
Messages
89
Firstoff, I have I question, why do I see a lot of people using DDR2 800MHZ RAM when they have a 1066 FSB processor could have DDR2 1066MHZ RAM? Second, please tell me if there is anything in this build that I shouldn't do or if there is a cheaper or equal alternative. I don't want to see new video cards come a month after I buy my computer really. Forgot to add, my budget is $1,800.

Here is my build:
computebuildcg4.jpg

$1,500.00 + 14% tax = $1,764.64
 
The OCZ GameXStream is a FSP Epsilon platform based PSU. It has ripple at high loads. There are much higher quality options out there -- you should be able to get a Corsair 520HX or 620HX for not much more, or a similarly rated Silverstone, Seasonic, Etasis, Enermax, or Xclio unit.

The P5K Deluxe is nice... and ridiculously expensive. If you want WiFi, buy a $15 PCI card that you can easily replace should it ever decide to give up the ghost or you want to switch to a newer, faster standard. ASUS customer support is also some of the worst in the industry. I'd recommend an Abit IP35 Pro if you must have a bunch of bells and whistles, or the Gigabyte P35-DS3R. There are a lot of other variations on these two boards -- buy whichever you feel best fits the feature set you're looking for, but seriously, steer clear of the ASUS.

DDR2-800 is fine for a fairly high OC with a 1066Mhz (266Mhz /real/) FSB CPU -- my E6420, for example, OCs from 2.13Ghz stock to 3.2Ghz with its 8x multiplier, linked and synced with the RAM at 1600Mhz (400Mhz real) FSB. On Intel platforms there is little to no performance increase by running your RAM unlinked to run it 'faster' at a given CPU speed. The ideal is a 1:1 devider. 400Mhz FSB gives 800Mhz DDR, so my RAM runs at its rated speed. With a 1333Mhz (333Mhz real) FSB CPU that starts at 3Ghz you have a 9x multiplier. That means that at 400Mhz FSB you'll be at 3.6Ghz. The RAM you plan to buy is rated to run at 533Mhz true, 1066Mhz DDR. At 533Mhz FSB you're looking at 4.8Ghz... which is not likely to happen, to say the very least. You'll probably be able to get above DDR2-800 speeds, but I doubt you'll ever run you RAM at its rated speed. I'd personally recommend less expensive RAM and more of it, or even better, 2 2GB sticks instead of 4 1GB sticks, since that will allow for further expansion in the future.

I'd definitely recommend at least the 8800 GTS 640MB, as you have, but if you can save some money by going with a non factory OC'd card, do that. You can always do it yourself -- factory OCs are rarely all that aggressive.
 
Thank you for the information. I will be looking at a better PSU. I have been reading about the G92 series and I am afraid by it. They are supposed to be reaching 1 TFLOP... That is 3 x current generation. This kind of makes me want to delay my build until they come out, but then won't Intel have something coming out a few months later?
 
you can always play the waiting game, just dont do anything extraordinarily stupid and your build should last, besides i wouldnt bet on next gen products anytime within 5 months, and not to mention DX10 isnt off the ground, not to mention it doesnt look THAT great:rolleyes:
 
^ lol

I would definitly stick with an 8800GTS, honestly the performance for even the GTX line of cards lacks in DX10 games. No point in dropping $600 into "top end" hardware when the next best thing is just around the corner :)

Other than that it looks like a very solid build!
 
I agree with silent-circuit. What size monitor do you have? If its a 20" or larger, then stick with a GTS. If you like playing games with high detail, go for the 640MB version.

Wait as long as you can, buy when you need to.

w3tw1lly said:
Firstoff, I have I question, why do I see a lot of people using DDR2 800MHZ RAM when they have a 1066 FSB processor could have DDR2 1066MHZ RAM?
Click to expand...

Because a 1066Mhz FSB does not mean 1066Mhz RAM speed. An FSB of 1066Mhz means RAM speed of DDR2-533. Here's some math for you:

(CPU Multiplier) x [Base FSB speed] = CPU Clock speed
2 x [Base FSB speed] = RAM speed
4 x [Base FSB speed] = Effective FSB speed

On Intel platforms, running the RAM higher than a 1:1 ratio with the CPU is useless. Keep it linked at 1:1:

E6850: 9 * 333 = 3.0Ghz, DDR2-667 << STOCK
E6850: 9 * 400 = 3.6Ghz, DDR2-800 << Nice OC
E6850: 9 * 445 = 4.0Ghz, DDR2-890 << Good OC, near max on good air
E6850: 9 * 533 = 4.8Ghz, DDR2-1066 << Highly unlikely OC

Again, on intel platforms, running an unlinked config yields no real performance gains (no point in raising your RAM multiplier for a higher ratio). Also, you won't really notice the difference between CL4 and CL5, so don't pay a huge price premium for the tighter timings. Of course, the definition of "huge" is all on you, lol.
 
enginurd, everytime you post the memory thing I get really confused, as I don't know whether I have posted in the thread before lol.

I would save a lot of money by going for an Abit IP35-E, a more of a budget board, that is just as good an overclocker and has similar features to the more expensive boards out there. Go for an E6750 instead of the E6850. Go for an EVGA 8800GTS, so that if any new graphics cards do come out from nVidia, you can easily upgrade them without losing any money in the long term, as the StepUp program allows you to upgrade by simply paying the difference.

I would upgrade the HD to the 500GB version, stay with Seagate though. The bigger drive is much better value.

Power supply, the Corsair HX520, you won't need the power from the 620 for all of that. Also, get some PC6400 from GSkill, it's very cheap and great quality stuff.
 
There isn't a stock memory kit running at DDR890, that would require an overclocked 800 kit.
 
If you want to reach 4Ghz, you'll need RAM that can reach DDR2-890 speed. An overclocked DDR2-800 kit would be most cost effective in reaching DDR2-890 speeds. The Crucial Ballistix DDR2-800 2GB kit can easily reach 500Mhz, so go for those, since they're cheaper than the DDR2-1066 OCZ kit you originally chose:
http://canadacomputers.com/index.php?do=ShowProduct&cmd=pd&pid=014207&cid=RAM.835

You'll need a good cooler to reach that high of an OC, btw. Go with a Tuniq Tower or Thermalright Ultra 120 eXtreme + S-Flex fan.
 
http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=42199

I just don't know when to buy it. I pretty much have the money right now I just am debating whether to buy now or wait for the G92 series. It seems though as if the G92 series isn't all that big, it still fits into the 8xxx series. I just don't know. Someone help me. Also, is that ram good? I've only really used Corsair and I thought I would move on to something new. I will be running at 1280 x 1024 and wanting to max full everything on pretty much every game (I probably won't be getting Crysis). Also, is the P182 adequate cooling wise or should I look for a more open design?
 
w3tw1lly said:
Also, is that ram good? I've only really used Corsair and I thought I would move on to something new.
Click to expand...

Which RAM? The Crucial Ballistix? They're one of the best DDR2 2GB kits out right now. The Micron D9XXX chips are the best overclocking chips for DDR2, and Micron owns Crucial. Corsair even uses the same ICs on their more expensive kits (Dominators). Why pay more if you can get it straight from Micron themselves for a cheaper price?
 
P182 is fine. 8800 GTS 320MB would be fine at that res. Probably even for Crysis (though I realize you said don't want to play it). Should be good over all.
 
What about a RAID 0 setup ? I'm not looking for the best performace RAID 0 setup but I want something that is better than a single HD. Or what about the Q6600? Thats quad-core.
 
A Quad won't OC as high as a dual, so if you're gaming a dual could actually be better. If you do any a/v work or editing, or encoding, perhaps Photoshop, yes, the Quad is a better idea. (yes, we're well aware of what a Q6600 is)

I'm not fond of RAID. Modern drives are plenty fast, in my experience. If you really wait RAID I'd suggest a 3-drive array in RAID 5, rather than RAID 0. Just make sure your motherboard supports RAID 5, as it's slightly less common.

With RAID 5 with 3 drives you get the speed and space of RAID 0 with 2 drives, but you also get a parity bit which can be used to rebuild your data should one drive in the array fail. With RAID 0 if one of the two drives fails you lose all your data. Total available space is equal to the size of 2 of the drives together and shows up as a single drive.

If you want speed and a lot of space RAID 5 is by /far/ the way to go.
3 500GB Seagate 7200.10's run $100 each. Call it $330 for an array.
You get what shows up as a 1TB drive that runs around 110MB/s and if one drive fails you can rebuild the array from the parity data.
 
RAID5 is slower than RAID0 at writes, thats why its uncommon for desktops. RAID5 is mainly for database servers, where quick reads and data integrity/reliability is important.

If you go with a RAID0 array, make sure you have a good backup scheme. I typically backup to 2 other storage drives, and an additional external HDD. To reduce downtime if the array fails, I have a small OS partition on each of my storage drives.

78MB/s: WD Raptor WD1500ADFD 150GB, $160AR
65MB/s: Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3320620AS 320GB, $80
65MB/s: Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3300620AS 300GB, $60
52MB/s: WD Caviar SE16 WD2500KS 250GB, $70

112MB/s: RAID0 'cuda's, 600GB total, $120 (ICH9R on P35-DS3R)

As you can see, the 'cuda is twice the size and half the cost, for nearly the same performance.
 
How would I setup a RAID 0 config? I havn't done one before... Also, you guys think I should wait or buy now?
 
its easy. If using XP:
1) enable raid in BIOS
2) go into RAID setup utility after POST screen and setup RAID
3) setup the raid0 array (takes less than a minute)
4) install XP, press F6 when it asks
5) create a floppy disk with the RAID drivers if one wasn't provided with mobo
6) stick floppy disk into fdd when xp install asks for it
7) complete xp installation
 
Where would I get RAID 0 drivers if my MOBO doesn't come with them? Also, I am going to update my post with an updated build.
 
silent-circuit said:
It will come with them, and they will be available on the manufacturer's website, too.
Click to expand...

They'll at least be included on the driver CD that came with your mobo. Some mobo's come with the floppy disk already, most don't. You'll either have to run an exe that will extract files onto the floppy disk for you, or you will have to copy them directly.
 
I would go for the Q6600 over the e6850. Also I would go for the non OC version of the GTS.
 
I'd go for the E6750 (OC'd to 3.6Ghz) for now and upgrade to a quadcore in about a year or so, when they're in the $175 range.
 
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