New Gaming Rig

D

DougSmiley

n00b
Joined
Jul 27, 2008
Messages
3
I've been lurking for a few days, coming up with a fast gaming and general use rig. I have future plans to purchase a 36-40" LCD for playing 1080p movies and possibly even some games if it can handle it. I also have a 19" LCD for typical computer use and those games that die on the big monitor. My Budget was $1200, but It wound up at more like $1300.

CPU:
Intel Core 2 Quad Q9450 Yorkfield 2.66GHz LGA 775 95W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80569Q9450 - Retail

CPU Cooling:
XIGMATEK HDT-S1283 120mm Rifle CPU Cooler - Retail
&
XIGMATEK ACK-I7751 Retention Bracket - Retail

MB:
ASUS RAMPAGE FORMULA LGA 775 Intel X48 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

PSU:
CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply - Retail

Memory:
OCZ Reaper HPC 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model OCZ2RPR10664GK - Retail

Graphics:
VisionTek 900244 Radeon HD 4870 512MB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail

HDD:
Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD6400AAKS 640GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM

DVD/CD Drive:
SAMSUNG 20X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe Black SATA Model SH-S203N - OEM

Case:
COOLER MASTER RC-690-KKN1-GP Black SECC/ ABS ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
I don't care much about looks and this seemed like a functional case at a good price.

I'm interested in any cheap upgrades you might know of, or places I can downgrade a little bit and not lose much (if any) performance.
 
I would swap the X48 chipset mobo for a P45 mobo for $150 like a Asus P5Q Pro. Save $138 here, other than 1066Mhz OCZ reapers, get the DDR2 800Mhz OCZ reapers and save $30 here. Personally, I would settle for a Q6600 and O/C that. Save $135 here. The Q6600 still kickin butt and its been out for soo long already.
 
I concur with HardwareGuru's recommendations: Go with a cheaper mobo and RAM. Some mobo recommendations:
Gigabyte GA-EP43-DS3L Intel P43 Motherboard - $95
MSI P45 Neo3-FR Intel P45 Motherboard - $120
Gigabyte GA-EP45-DS3R Intel P45 Motherboard - $135
Asus P5Q Pro Intel P45 Motherboard - $150
DFI Lanparty DK X38-T2R Intel X38 Motherboard - $180
Asus P5E Deluxe Intel X48 Motherboard - $220
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, x8/x8 Crossfire, 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, only need support for 8GB of RAM and 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. If you have cash to burn and don't give a damn about getting the most value for your money, get the Asus or Gigabyte X48 motherboards. Do note that the Asus website can be slow sometimes.

And RAM recommendations:
G.Skill F2-8000CL5D-4GBPQ 2 x 2GB DDR2 1000 RAM - $85

And buy that Corsair PSU from buy.com and provantage to save $30 there. And get the Q9450 for $280 here:
Intel Core 2 Quad Q9450 CPU - $280
 
2 Changes so far:

RAM:
G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-8500CL5D-4GBPK - Retail

DVD Drive (Better 1 for $1)
SAMSUNG 22X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe Black SATA Model SH-S223Q/BEBN - OEM

MOBO:
Still sticking with the Reaper for the time being. I want to avoid MSI.. I've had a few Probs with my current MSI board (regarding USB Connectivity) and would like to avoid them, TBH. Gigabyte might be fine, I suppose, but it's only a $75 savings.
 
Well, at least the rampage should have good resale value in a couple years, lol.
 
What's wrong with buying the better product? I've been burned by a couple cheap MOBOs and i'll pay to avoid it! The Gigabyte x48 i'd consider but it's only a $75 savings and doesn't have the fan outputs of the rampage.

WTF is wrong with quad core, exactly?
 
Nothing's wrong with buying the more expensive product if you're ok with the price. ;) I was giving you yet another reason to go for the Rampage. :p Its actually only a $65 savings, according to newegg, which is only 22% of the Rampage's price. My only problem with the Rampage is its performance to price ratio. You can get the same performance from a DFI $185 X38 board, which is a 36% savings, for 0% performance loss. However, thats my problem... not yours. ;)
 
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