New Rig Advice

[darren700]

Hi Hardware Canucks.. I'm new here.. I plan on building a new rig just after Christmas. here is what i have planned and i would like some advice on my components (i plan on purchasing most of it on boxing day).

Used for mainly gaming and some cad design work.

budget is around $500-$550 US (i will be purchasing it all through newegg to save on tax cost... depending on the candian dollar level then...)

I will be doing some overclocking for the first time, other than with previous vid cards. I'm hoping to hit around 3.2-3.6 ghz on the oc

CPU: Q6600
Mobo: Asus P5Q-E
Ram: 4gb (2x2gb) either Muskin Redline or corsair xms 2
Vid Card: Thinking either a 4830 or a 3870... advice?
Power Supply: Corsair tx-750 (Already Have)
Hard Drives: Hitachi 500gb, Maxtor Maxline II 250gb x2 (already have hdd's also)
case: Antec 900 or CM 690
Heatsink: Tuniq tower? not sure on this one


Is that Asus board any good for crossfire also?

thanks for any advice

[misterlarry]

Hey there darren, welcome to HWC! You'll get the best quality help by answering a few questions about your build first. It just saves a lot of time and confusion. Thanks.

NOTICE - PC builders, when asking for input on YOUR projects Please Tell

[cwestwell]

It's hard to say what hardware will be around and at what price after Xmas. But the Q6600 is on its last legs you may see a price drop after the i7 release however you may want to look at a 45nm CPU like the Q9450 or Q9550 there should likely be some small price drops in these as well. If the choice was between the 4830 and the 3870 I would get the 3870 but with that said for the small price difference get the 4850 no question. The case is largely personal choice but I lean toward the CM690 between those two however the CF Haf 932 would be preferred. The muskin redlines PC8000 would be preferred over the XMS2 PC 6400 but that depends on your Overclock hopes and price at the time if that is relevent. Hook us up with your budget and this wil be easier however with Boxing day 2 months away it might as well be next year who knows what the future holds for prices and components.

[JD]

Mushkin Redlines and HD4830 though preferably HD4850. The HD3870 is old and outdated now IMO.

Heatsink, anything that uses heatpipe direct touch like the OCZ Vendetta 2 or the Xigmatek ones.

That board will be fine for Crossfire, and as said above, you should consider a 45nm quad-core.

[darren700]

thanks for the advice, i think ill prolly end up going with the 4850 or 4870 depending on what price i can get them for around xmas.... same with the CPU, if the price point is write ill move to the 45m architechture, but what is the advantage of this? do they oc better than the q6600? also what difference would the higher fsb of 1333 mean for ocing?

[sswilson]

budget is around $500-$550 US (i will be purchasing it all through newegg to save on tax cost... depending on the candian dollar level then...)

Where are you that you'll save on the tax cost? AFAIK, newegg charges GST + PST everywhere but Sask, & the territories. If you're planning on ordering from the .Com site in the US it won't work as they don't ship to us northerners......

[darren700]

Originally Posted by sswilson

Where are you that you'll save on the tax cost? AFAIK, newegg charges GST + PST everywhere but Sask, & the territories. If you're planning on ordering from the .Com site in the US it won't work as they don't ship to us northerners......

I have a US shipping address, my uncle brings the good over for me duty free

[sswilson]

Originally Posted by darren700

I have a US shipping address, my uncle brings the good over for me duty free

Heh.. that works.... :)

[Tazer-[X]]

Case, I have the Antec 900. Its actually one of the most quitest cases Ive ever had. The fans arent like mil spec technology LoL so, they wont make a sound even when their spinning. As for heatsinks, ive never actually used an aftermarket before, but all my researching points me to the Ultra-120, or the Sunbeam Core Contact Freezer. THe p5q seems to be real popular, but I suspect it has more to do with added value than price. I would go X-48 if money can be blown there. X-48 seems to be real easy to OC. I got my q6000 up to 1333 FSB in about 5 seconds and its stable, and thats with stock cooling. So, im sure if you went with the Ultra-120, you can beat mine.

[darren700]

Originally Posted by Tazer-[X]

Case, I have the Antec 900. Its actually one of the most quitest cases Ive ever had. The fans arent like mil spec technology LoL so, they wont make a sound even when their spinning. As for heatsinks, ive never actually used an aftermarket before, but all my researching points me to the Ultra-120, or the Sunbeam Core Contact Freezer. THe p5q seems to be real popular, but I suspect it has more to do with added value than price. I would go X-48 if money can be blown there. X-48 seems to be real easy to OC. I got my q6000 up to 1333 FSB in about 5 seconds and its stable, and thats with stock cooling. So, im sure if you went with the Ultra-120, you can beat mine.

how did you do with cable management on that 900? any tips? pics? I see what your saying about x-48, but as you stated the p5q-e has a very good price/performance ratio and thats why i chose it. the 8 sata ports are really a plus in my book. Ill have to see come december though as the x-48 boards may come down in price....