Rate my build

M

mpegripper

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Oct 8, 2001
Messages
1,212
Well, my old x2 3800+ setup is starting to kick the bucket. So i planning a new build, please let me know what you guys think. I'm not gonna overclock it.

Gigabyte DS3R
Intel Q9550
Corsair XMS 2x2GB - can't decide on 800 or 1066
EVGA 9800gt 512mb 650/1900 clock speeds
2x Seagate 7200.11 500GB in RAID 0
Zalman 9500

Any thoughts on better buys? I've honestly been out of the game for 2+ years so i haven't done too much research. Planning on buying it all from newegg
 
On a scale of 1 to 10, I'd give it a 5. Please answer these questions:
Danny Bui said:
If you're gonna ask us to build/list a PC for you or seek advice about a build, please answer all of the following questions:

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
3) Where do you live?
4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. Please be very specific.
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
6) Will you be overclocking?
7) What size monitor do you have or plan to have?
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?

By answering these questions you help us help you build a better quality/preforming/cheaper PC.
Click to expand...

Also, please list the prices of each part. And which DS3R are you talking about?

But right off the bat, ditch the Zalman HSF and go with this better HSF:
Xigmatek HDT-S1283 120mm Rifle HSF - $35 & Retention Bracket - $7

Also, ditch the 7200.11 500GB drives and go with the significantly faster WD WD6400AAKS drives:
Western Digital WD6400AAKS 640GB 7200RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - $75

In addition, since you're not overclocking, all you need is this RAM:
G.Skill F2-6400CL5D-4GBPQ 2 x 2GB DDR2 800 RAM - $60
 
1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
small amount of gaming, mostly counter-strike:source, mostly web browsing, encoding videos

2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included? doesn't matter too much, less than 1500
3) Where do you live? bay area
4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. Please be very specific. parts listed in OP
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model. seasonic s12 600 watt. (has 2 pci-e connectors, the 6 pin ones)
6) Will you be overclocking? no
7) What size monitor do you have or plan to have? have a 23 apple, might buy a dell 2408 in a couple of months
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?want to now, but if a new better part is coming within a few weeks, i'll wait
 
Also, please list the prices of each part. And which DS3R are you talking about?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128344

But right off the bat, ditch the Zalman HSF and go with this better HSF:
Xigmatek HDT-S1283 120mm Rifle HSF - $35 & Retention Bracket - $7

why is this one so much better, i personally love my cnps9500

Also, ditch the 7200.11 500GB drives and go with the significantly faster WD WD6400AAKS drives:
Western Digital WD6400AAKS 640GB 7200RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - $75

i have a personal thing against WD drives and love seagate, if i was gonna go with a faster drive, i'd go with the velociraptor though ( i know its WD)

In addition, since you're not overclocking, all you need is this RAM:
G.Skill F2-6400CL5D-4GBPQ 2 x 2GB DDR2 800 RAM - $60

the xms is a lot cheaper on newegg right now, especially after the MIR
 
The only new parts coming out within a month are the new Core i7 CPUs and X58 motherboards. Though expect to pay a high premium for those first launch products.

Again, which DS3R are you talking about?

Video card wise, ditch the 9800GTX+ and go with the faster HD4850:
Sapphire 100245L Radeon HD 4850 512MB PCI-E Video Card - $160
 
mpegripper said:
i'm also an nvidia whore and have always hated every ati card i've owned
Click to expand...

Ahh good choice of a motherboard.

As for sticking with the Nvidia 9800GTX+ card, your money, not mine. I'm a performance whore so I go with whoever has the fastest card in a certain price range.
 
well the video card is 110 after rebates and all for me. so its pretty cheap. those WD drives actually look like a great drive, i might have to consider those.

Here's the new build list:
Gigabyte DS3R $126.99 -$20MIR=$106.99:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128344

Intel Q9550 $319.99:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115041

Corsair XMS 2x2GB PC800 DD2 $69.99-$25=$44.99:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145184

EVGA 9800GT 512MB 256bit PCI-E x16 650/1900 clock $134.99-$20= $114.99:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130377

Sony Optiarc 7200S $23.99:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827118012

2x WD 640GB SE16 WD6400AAKS $150:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136218

Xigmatek HDT-S1283 120mm Rifle HSF - $35 & Retention Bracket - $7
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233003
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233019


Total is $951 shipped with $65 in rebates as well, so final total is $894
 
one last question, what about the abit IP45Pro, looks like its very comparable with the Gigabyte i'm looking at
 
q6600.. q9550 = what a waste of a processor to be paired with those parts : \
 
mpegripper said:
one last question, what about the abit IP45Pro, looks like its very comparable with the Gigabyte i'm looking at
Click to expand...

I can't find it at any retailer. So can't recommend it considering that there are other motherboards out there are just as good as it, like the DS3R you chose and the Asus P5Q Pro.
 
I agree with Danny Bui... ditch the Zalman. I had that cooler for awhile and it worked well on my dual core, but not so much for my quad. The Xigmatek HDT-S1283 is an excellent cooler with the additional retention bracket installed.
I am currently using the CoolerMaster Hyper 212 and I am satisfied with it on my quad. As a matter of fact I'm only getting temps about 2c warmer than when I had the Xigmatek on it.
I would say the rest of your choices are pretty solid.
 
But the Q9550 is roughly 10% to 15% faster than the Q6600 once everything is factored in.
 
hmm, good to know, not worth the extra $ for sure then

that makes the build less than $750 now
 
OP doesn't seem like a heavy user so that performance gain wouldn't translate or be noticed.
mpegripper said:
1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
small amount of gaming, mostly counter-strike:source, mostly web browsing, encoding videos
Click to expand...

With no overclocking to be foreseen, I'd even say drop the cooler.
 
Q6600 is a very solid processor for the money... and the money you save can put toward a better GPU or an extra hard drive, etc.
 
lowteckh said:
OP doesn't seem like a heavy user so that performance gain wouldn't translate or be noticed.


With no overclocking to be foreseen, I'd even say drop the cooler.
Click to expand...

i want a quiet cooler so i'm either getting one of the 2 mentioned, i actually have the cnps9500 already, but since i bought it so long ago, i don't have brackets for the 775
 
Here's the new build list:
Gigabyte DS3R $126.99 -$20MIR=$106.99:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128344

Intel Q9660 $189.99:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115017

Corsair XMS 2x2GB PC800 DD2 $69.99-$25=$44.99:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820145184

EVGA 9800GT 512MB 256bit PCI-E x16 650/1900 clock $134.99-$20= $114.99:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130377

Sony Optiarc 7200S $23.99:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827118012

2x WD 640GB SE16 WD6400AAKS $150:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822136218

Xigmatek HDT-S1283 120mm Rifle HSF - $35 & Retention Bracket - $7
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835233003
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835233019


Total is $812 shipped with $65 in rebates as well, so final total is $747
 
my last question is, how loud is the WD drive compared to the seagate, i think its quieter than the seagate, but i'm not sure
 
good to know, i definitely need a gpu cooler too, a quiet one. any recommendations, how about the vf-1000?
 
Or how bout none, since you can get a 4850 after getting a cooler. Those things have zero point. Stock video card fan isn't as loud as people put them to be anyways; always kills me when a $30+ cooler is bought..you don't hear it on idle/small loads and when it's on full load, well, I'm going to assume you have the volume on anyways when it's being stressed.
 
o, ic...i'm actually looking into the 4850 now as i read the hardocp review.

any recommendations on which one?
 
those are the two i was looking at, as well as the visiontek. i like the cooler on the msi, unless there is a better aftermarket one i could buy for the saphire board.

also, how is saphire's support/warranty process?
 
*Shrugs* I have never needed to warranty anything for.. anything in my life. I think. Might have *shrugs*, but it probably just gave me incentive to change stuff, whatever it was. O, warranty for Dell.

I don't care for self built computer related warranty because well for one I've been "lucky"[?] and haven't needed it, and secondly, especially for video cards, I haven't had enough time to cuddle with it before I have a new one. Visiontek has lifetime, dunno about RMA process.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top