Final build before buying...any last comments?

[ricknash61]

Hi guys,

I know I've annoyed you over the last few days about new build advice. Well I've taken all your advice into consideration and voila, my new build. Please feel free to comment on it as I will be buying the parts sometime this week and assembling it myself (first time).

Case: Coolermaster Cosmos Full Tower (PMed to $182)
NCIX.com - Buy Coolermaster Cosmos Full Tower ATX Case 5X5.25 6X3.5INT No PS Front USB Firewire Audio eSATA - RC-1000-KSN1 In Canada.

Mobo: ASUS P5Q Pro (140$)
NCIX.com - Buy ASUS P5Q Pro ATX LGA775 P45 DDR2 2PCI-E16 Crossfire 3PCI-E1 2PCI SATA2 Sound GBLAN eSATA Motherboard - P5Q Pro In Canada.

PSU: Corsair TX750W 750W ($105)
NCIX.com - Buy Corsair TX750W 750W ATX 12V 60A 24PIN ATX Power Supply Active PFC 120MM Fan - CMPSU-750TX In Canada.

CPU:Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 (PMed to $350)
NCIX.com - Buy Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 Quad Core Processor LGA775 2.83GHZ Yorkfield 1333FSB 12MB Retail Box - BX80569Q9550 In Canada.

RAM: Mushkin HP PC2-6400 4GB 2X2GB DDR2-800 CL5-4-4-12 240PIN ($85)
NCIX.com - Buy Mushkin HP PC2-6400 4GB 2X2GB DDR2-800 CL5-4-4-12 240PIN DIMM Dual Channel Memory Kit - 996587 In Canada.

HD: WD 640gb x2 ($75x2 = $150, PMed)
NCIX.com - Buy Western Digital Caviar SE16 640GB SATA2 7200RPM 16MB Hard Drive OEM 3YR MFR Warranty - WD6400AAKS In Canada.

GPU: Diamond HD4870 512mb (PMed to $270)
NCIX.com - Buy Diamond Radeon HD 4870 512MB GDDR5 PCI-E 2XDVI-I Video Card - 4870PE5512 In Canada.

Sound card: HT Omega Striker 7.1 (PMed to $66)
NCIX.com - Buy HT Omega Striker 7.1 Channel PCI Sound Card 24BIT DTS Dolby Digital Live S/PDIF IN/OUT Coaxial - STRIKER_7.1 In Canada.

OD: Pioneer DVR-216DBK (PMed to $27)
NCIX.com - Buy Pioneer DVR-216DBK Black 20X SATA OEM DVDRW No Software - DVR-216DBK In Canada.

Heatsink: OCZ Vendetta 2 (PMed to $30)
NCIX.com - Buy OCZ Vendetta 2 Triple Heatpipe CPU Heatsink AM2 LGA775 S939 S940 S754 120MM Fan 800-1500RPM 20-32DBA - OCZTVEND2 In Canada.

Total: ~$1400

Couple of comments:
- went with quad core because i won't only be using it for gaming
- will not probably be OC'ing
- will be crossfiring as soon as $$$ for 4870 drops
- native rez of monitor is 1680x1050

What do you guys think?
What are the weakest components that I should change?
Is it worth going to the p5q Deluxe or stick with the Pro?
Can I get a better system for cheaper?
Are there any better components that will cost a little more but add substantial increase in performance?

Thanks for your help guys. I'm really psyched to buy this beast.

[SugarJ]

The memory is the only thing I'd change. Suggested:

NCIX.com - Buy Mushkin XP PC2-8000 Redline 4GB 2X2GB DDR2-1000 CL5-5-5-12 240PIN Dual Channel Memory Kit - 996593 In Canada.


As for the P5Q Pro vs the Deluxe, as far as I can tell the Deluxe adds a 2nd Gigabit Lan port and E-Sata ports. If these are important to you, change the board.


Edit: Never mind about the memory, just recalled you weren't going to OC.

[Dwayne]

Hi there,

I just did a build that is very similar. I went with the Corsair Dominator DDR2 1066/PC-8500, no real good reason but I liked the price with the fan at NCIX and I think they will overclock fine. I have an E8400 because I use the machine mainly for gaming and I don't think I would see much benefit in a Quad Core. The 3.0 GHz stock makes a difference to those CPU bound games. The HD 4870 is an amazing card and I am very happy with it. My old machine has a G8800 GTX and I am surprised at how technology just keeps rolling on.

There are always more parts that you could improve on, as long as money is no object! :) Nice build, I am sure you'll be very happy with it when you boot it up. Will you be running XP or Vista? I bought the Vista 64 and have not found any real problems yet. Seem solid and dependable.

Dwayne

[ricknash61]

I plan on running Vista Ultimate 64, since I want to be able to use all 4gb of memory.

I'm a conservative person, OC'ing would be sweet but I really don't want to bung up my new system. If I went for the DDR2-1000 for an extra $15, it would give me room if I decided to OC, so maybe that's something worth considering and changing. Thanks SugarJ.

[ricknash61]

Also, I've been reading some forums suggesting the onboard sound of the P5Q Pro is good and that a sound card may not be worth it. What are your thoughts?

[ricknash61]

I've received advice from a friend saying that a Gigabyte X48-DS4 would be better suited for crossfire, since it allows full x16/x16. This is around $100 more than the P5Q pro. Since I'm using a 22' LCD, would it be better to get this board instead?
I'm trying to future proof as much as possible, so I don't mind spending a little extra now and making it last for longer.

[geokilla]

Switch the Diamond 4870 to the Visiontek one.

NCIX.com - Buy Visiontek Radeon HD 4870 512MB GDDR5 PCI-E 2XDVI-I Video Card - 900244 In Canada.

If you're gonna crossfire it, get the 4870X2 instead. Also, the P5Q Pro is PCI-E 2.0 so even though it runs at 8X in crossfire mode, it should offer the same bandwidth as PCI-E1.0 16X. Bottom line, I say stick with the P5Q Pro.

Since you're using a 22" LCD. I don't see any reason for you to crossfire.

For your sound card, I'm not sure about the HT Omega. You're on your own for that. And I say try integrated sound first before going for a discrete sound card. What speakers are you going to use?

Otherwise, it looks like it'll be a great build.

Where are you getting the OCZ Vendetta 2 for $30?

[ricknash61]

I can't really afford the HD4870X2 at the moment, which is why I plan on crossfiring it later on once the price for a single HD4870 drops.

I don't really understand your comment on PCI-E. I realize one card will run at x16, and crossfire will run at x8/x8 for the P5Q Pro setup. But the Gigabyte X48-DS4 also offers PCI-E 2.0, with x16/x16 compatibility in crossfire mode. So in crossfire, wouldn't the X48-DS4 perform better?

I plan on picking up a set of Logitech X-540's. I'll definitely use your advice and try the onboard first.

And lastly, the OCZ Vendetta 2:
OCZ Vendetta 2 Triple Heatpipe CPU Heatsink AM2 LGA775 S939 S940 S754 120MM Fan 800-1500RPM 20-32DBA - DirectCanada
$30 after 10$ MIR

[geokilla]

Ah I see. But if you're going to game on your 22" monitor, I don't see the need for crossfire unless all you're gonna play is crossfire. Maybe others can comment in on this.

Currently, there should be little to no cards on the market that will be limited by the 8X bandwidth when you're running in crossfire since all P45 chipsets use PCI-E 2.0. If I'm correct, PCI-E 2.0 operating at 8X should be the same as PCI-E 1.0 operating at 16X. Don't know if that made sense, but bottom line is that even if there is a performance deficit when you're running crossfire in 8X instead of 16X, the performance deficit should be less than 10%. If it was running at 16X/4X like the old P35 chipsets, then that would be a problem.

Thanks for the cooler PM. I might need that =)

[SugarJ]

IF the 4870 was being bottlenecked by PCI-E 2.0 x8, you'd see a big performance jump by going to an X-48 board. It's not, so you won't. IIRC, X-48 chipsets outperform P-45 chipsets by a slim margin (less than 2%). Will you be able to tell if your system boots in 49 sec vs. 50 sec?

Now, it may seem hypocritical of me to say all this when I have an X-48 board, but I only paid $130 for it (review sample). That's the reason I bought it instead of a P-45 based board.