New build, suggestions please

[jtomlinson]

A bit ago I posted for pre-built suggestions for my fiance and I, then decided to go with a local company. I had a system built for my fiance which she is loving, but now I've been bitten by the build bug...

My budget is something under $2000. I have a Dell 2005FPW that still works so that doesn't need to be replaced quite yet. I'm thinking of hinting to my fiance for a 24" display for Christmas this year, so I'm trying for a build that will handle a higher resolution. I've also found myself eying FPS games recently too. Hope that's enough of that information.

Current Newegg wishlist that I've thrown together is here. And for those that don't want to follow that link:

ASUS RAMPAGE FORMULA LGA 775 Intel X48​

Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz​

Tuniq Tower 120​

G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit​

Seagate Barracuda ES.2 ST3250310NS 250GB x2​

VisionTek 900244 Radeon HD 4870 512MB​

Tuniq Tower 120​

Cosmos 1000 case (not on the Newegg wishlist)​

I wouldn't mind doing some overclocking at some point either or at least try my hand at it. Hope thats enough information to get a few suggestions. If not tell me anything else that is needed. Thanks in advance.

 

[lamboman]

You are unfortunate that nobody has replied to your thread yet, so here I go:

Don't bother with such an expensive board unless you have a 24"+ screen, and need the extra power that a second card will provide. Instead, go with a P45 board, like the Asus P5Q-E. The Tuniq Tower is a good cooler, but now there are others that have surpassed it for value, like the Xigmatek HDT-S1283, or the OCZ Vendetta 2

Whether you want to go quad core or not is up to you. I would personally advise it, unless you plan to upgrade to Nehalem soon. The money saved from the motherboard can go to the Q9450, or you can continue to save money and go with the Q6600, which is $20 more than the E8400.

The hard drives that you have chosen are more enterprise drives than home desktop ones. The WD6400AAKS
drives are bigger, and are very fast and quiet.

The case you have chosen is decent, but I would go for an Antec 1200 personally for cooling.

 

[engiNURD]

You are unfortunate that nobody has replied to your thread yet, so here I go: ...

ROFL.

I agree with lamboman except for the Antec 1200 (I hate that whole line of Antec cases, lol). I think the Cosmos is a much nicer case than the Antec 1200. Cases are highly subjective, so get what you want.

If you want the ability to run dual 16x Crossfire, I'd highly suggest an X38 board instead, to save a nice chunk of change. Where's my quote of Danny's mobo list when I need it?!? Hopefully Danny gets bored in class and checks this thread to give you more mobo suggestions. For now, check out the DFI X38 board for $100 less than that overpriced Asus.

 

[jtomlinson]

ROFL.

I agree with lamboman except for the Antec 1200 (I hate that whole line of Antec cases, lol). I think the Cosmos is a much nicer case than the Antec 1200. Cases are highly subjective, so get what you want.

If you want the ability to run dual 16x Crossfire, I'd highly suggest an X38 board instead, to save a nice chunk of change. Where's my quote of Danny's mobo list when I need it?!? Hopefully Danny gets bored in class and checks this thread to give you more mobo suggestions. For now, check out the DFI X38 board for $100 less than that overpriced Asus.

Yeah I prefer the look of the Cosmos over most cases, especially the Antec cases. I'm looking at getting a 24" display sometime later this year, which is my main reason for wanting the option to run dual 16x Crossfire. Looking into the DFI X38 board now, might have to make a change to my list.

 

[Dangman]

ROFL.
If you want the ability to run dual 16x Crossfire, I'd highly suggest an X38 board instead, to save a nice chunk of change. Where's my quote of Danny's mobo list when I need it?!? Hopefully Danny gets bored in class and checks this thread to give you more mobo suggestions.

LOL! Well luckily today I'm bored in class.

Gigabyte GA-EP43-DS3L Intel P43 Motherboard - $95
MSI P45 Neo3-FR Intel P45 Motherboard - $120
Gigabyte GA-EP45-DS3R Intel P45 Motherboard - $145
Asus P5Q Pro Intel P45 Motherboard - $150
DFI Lanparty DK X38-T2R Intel X38 Motherboard - $185
Gigabyte GA-X48-DS4 Intel X48 Motherboard - $225

Just to help you out: All of these motherboards have PCI-E 2.0 which may be useful for future GPU upgrades. If you don't need RAID, more than 6 SATA ports and only need semi-decent overclocking, check out the DS3L. If you need 8 SATA ports, RAID, 4 PCI slots, and legacy ports, then get the Neo3-Fr. If you don't need more than 6 SATA ports but want RAID, firewire, a second PCI-E x16 port, a second gigabit port, support for 16GB of RAM, optional eSATA, and high overclocks, then get the DS3R. If you like the DS3R but need 8 SATA ports, want an onboard pre-installed fast booting Linux setup or don't need a second gigabit port, get the Asus P5Q Pro. If you want Crossfire with full x16/x16 bandwidth, get the Lanparty DK X38.

I concur with Enginurd and lamboman's recommendations so far.

 

[jtomlinson]

If I'm mostly gaming on this box will I gain that much more going with a Quad Core over a Dual Core? I was under the impression that most games didn't really take advantage of the Quad Core chips..?

 

[Dangman]

If I'm mostly gaming on this box will I gain that much more going with a Quad Core over a Dual Core? I was under the impression that most games didn't really take advantage of the Quad Core chips..?

Once you start playing around 1920x1200, the Q6600 and E8400 will actually perform about the same. It's only at lower resolutions, below 1280x1024, where the E8400 will beat the Q6600 hands down. At higher resolutions, above 1280x1024, you're more GPU limited than CPU limited.

Since you're planning on getting a 24" soon, neither CPU will have a major advantage over the other in most current games. If you want to know more about multi-core scaling, read this article.

 

[jtomlinson]

How goes the DK X38 and Q9450 sound?

 

[AndonSage]

How goes the DK X38 and Q9450 sound?

Sounds good to me. With that RAM you've selected (and a good CPU cooler like the Xigmatek HDT-S1283), you should be able to hit the limit on overclocking, which is about 3.6GHz.

I also agree with the others regarding hard drives. The new 320GB / 640GB Western Digital Caviar SE 16 hard drives use new 320GB platters, making them as fast as the old Raptors.

I don't see an optical drive listed, but I would recommend the Samsung S203B (or D), or the S203N (depending on if you want Lightscribe or not), as these are good DVD Burners, and quiet.