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FINISHED -- Input Wanted: Building My Next PC

PetersCreek

PetersCreek

Codger-in-training
Joined
Jun 17, 2005
Messages
753
As I mentioned back in May, I'm planning to build a new PC with our annual dividend check. That's still a couple of months away but I've started putting my wish list together. I haven't been keeping up with component thrends lately, so I'd appreciate feedback on my tentative choices from the resident hardware heads.

ASUS P5Q-E LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard
(Overclocking isn't in my plans but I like the looks of the P45 and the fact that this board uses the still-cheaper DDR2 RAM)

*Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 Yorkfield 2.83GHz 12MB L2 Cache LGA 775 95W Quad-Core Processor

ZALMAN 2 Ball CPU Cooling Fan/Heatsink

*Patriot Extreme Performance 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory
(8GB total)

*MSI Radeon HD 4850 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card

*Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD2500AAKS 250GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
(2 drives, RAID-1: OS and programs)

*Western Digital Caviar SE16 640GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
(2 drives, RAID-1: Data)

Pioneer 20X DVD±R DVD Burner Black SATA

COOLER MASTER Black SECC/ ABS ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

*CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply

(*updated specs)

I plan to install Vista Ultimate 64-bit and some heavy-weight programs like Photoshop CS3 and Adobe Lightroom. I haven't been much of a gamer for years but lately, I've had the hankering to get back into flight sims.

Thanks in advance for the advice!
 
Looks good. I'm a bit biased towards Nvidia over ATI, but there's no arguing that the 4870 is a great card.

The one thing I really suggest, is that you take a look at this powersupply. I recommend it to all my friends whenever they build a new PC.

Corsair 620hx

It's slightly pricier than yours, but the modular cables make it really nice to work with when building your own, you'll have a clean looking case with excellent airflow. I've had this psupply for about a year and a half now and I have no complaints.

edit for spelling.
 
Nvidia.

:thumbs:


Also- Go with a Raid:0 if you can!
Why 7200's...and not more?
 
Izzypizzy said:
Looks good. I'm a bit biased towards Nvidia over ATI, but there's no arguing that the 4870 is a great card.

The one thing I really suggest, is that you take a look at this powersupply. I recommend it to all my friends whenever they build a new PC.

Corsair 620hx
Click to expand...

Thanks for the recommendation. It looks very promising and I'll definitely take a closer look at it.


grateful1 said:
Nvidia.
Also- Go with a Raid:0 if you can!
Why 7200's...and not more?
Click to expand...

I do plan on setting up RAID...just a little later. I'm going with 7200rpm on the basis of price vs. performance vs. capacity. I want a system with reasonably high performance and storage without an unreasonably high price tag. Besides, it looks like 10K choices are much more limited, especially if I stick with SATA.

Regarding NVIDIA vs. ATI...

If I was sure that I was only going to buy one video card, it would probably be an NVIDIA. But I want the option of pairing cards later, if I want, and that means choosing a motherboard with that in mind. I wasn't impressed by too much of what I read about the NVIDIA chipsets and I was really put off by the fact that they had to pull the 790i. Since SLI isn't offered on Intel boards...and I have prior good experience with ATI...I went with a Crossfire-capable board. But I'm no expert on graphics cards. Is that a sensible approach?
 
With storage so cheap why not go with a 1TB drive? You could partition it and mirror the drive for backups.
 
I'd go with a RAID1 setup as the data's more important than the slight increase in speed. You didn't say which way you were going, though.

I assume 650W is enough, but have you run through the match on the video card, 3 hard drives, CPU, etc?

Have fun building it. :)
 
Looks awesome! I have been speccing out a new system for gaming, and it is very similar to what you have listed.

That CPU is really popular right now. And the CPU cooler you have is one of the best.

All of the gamers say to use Actic Silver 5 paste for attaching the cooler to the CPU. They say this stuff alone will make a 5 degree difference in your CPU temps. I don't know how accurate that can be, but for $6, why not? A lot of people swear by this stuff.

The coolermaster cases are very nice as well.
 
Dont forget to invest in proper furniture.

furniture.jpg
 
Thanks(!) to the input so far, I've updated my spec list.

I ran some configurations through an online PSU calculator and based on those numbers, I've taken the PSU from 650w to 750w.

I stepped the VGA card down one model to MSI's version of the Radeon 4850 and applied the savings to a Q9450 CPU.

Decided to set up RAID-1 drives for OS/programs (250GB) and data (640GB). I'll look at adding a bigger RAID-1 (~1TB) later.

I've decided to wait on the x64 version of Vista until program and hardware compliance is more common. Photoshop won't be 64-bit until the next version and I understand hardware driver availability is still a problem.

As a result of the Vista "downgrade", I've knocked the 8GB of RAM down to 4GB.
 
PetersCreek said:
Thanks(!) to the input so far, I've updated my spec list.

I ran some configurations through an online PSU calculator and based on those numbers, I've taken the PSU from 650w to 750w.

I stepped the VGA card down one model to MSI's version of the Radeon 4850 and applied the savings to a Q9450 CPU.

Decided to set up RAID-1 drives for OS/programs (250GB) and data (640GB). I'll look at adding a bigger RAID-1 (~1TB) later.

I've decided to wait on the x64 version of Vista until program and hardware compliance is more common. Photoshop won't be 64-bit until the next version and I understand hardware driver availability is still a problem.

As a result of the Vista "downgrade", I've knocked the 8GB of RAM down to 4GB.
Click to expand...

If you buy the retail Vista Ultimate it comes with both the x64 and 32-bit disks which is handy.

I suspect you'll be buying a decent manufacturer of PSUs considering what you've stated, but remember it's the supplied current on the PSU rails that is essential reading, not simply the wattage rating of the PSU. Not enough current = problems. If you stick with a highish wattage and decent manufacturer you're gonna be ok.


I suspect you don't want to wait, but Intel's Nehalem (now dubbed Core 2 Duo 'i7') is coming in a couple of months - this will be quite a speed bump over current Core 2 Duo's and incorporates the memory controller on the CPU die, similar to what AMD has done for sometime.

More info on Nehalem Inquirer
More info on laptop Nehalem (full disclosure I wrote this): Inquirer
 
trogdor said:
CYBERPOWER- they can build it cheaper than you
Click to expand...

Thanks for the link...but no, my build is quite a bit less and I get exactly what I want instead of being limited to their options.

DeanoUK said:
If you buy the retail Vista Ultimate it comes with both the x64 and 32-bit disks which is handy.

I suspect you'll be buying a decent manufacturer of PSUs considering what you've stated, but remember it's the supplied current on the PSU rails that is essential reading, not simply the wattage rating of the PSU. Not enough current = problems. If you stick with a highish wattage and decent manufacturer you're gonna be ok.

I suspect you don't want to wait, but Intel's Nehalem (now dubbed Core 2 Duo 'i7') is coming in a couple of months - this will be quite a speed bump over current Core 2 Duo's and incorporates the memory controller on the CPU die, similar to what AMD has done for sometime.
Click to expand...

Re: Vista — Yep, I was eyeballin' the full retail version of Vista for that reason. It adds about $100 to the OEM price but the flexibility it'll give me seems to be worth it.

Re: PSU — I ran my configuration through an online PSU calculator, with extras added for overhead and future additions, and the specs for that PSU cover it nicely. For instance, the single +12V rail is rated at 60A, where the calculator estimated my config at ~48A.

Re: Nehalem — I'm not looking to build a bleeding edge system. The premium is just too high on the latest and greatest chips. I'm also quite happy to let the real enthusiasts wring out the new crop of motherboards, chipsets, BIOS versions, etc., so I can learn from their difficulties. However, I am waiting for Nehalem's debut with the hope that it'll drive prices down for the current lines.
 
PetersCreek said:
If I was sure that I was only going to buy one video card, it would probably be an NVIDIA. But I want the option of pairing cards later, if I want, and that means choosing a motherboard with that in mind. I wasn't impressed by too much of what I read about the NVIDIA chipsets and I was really put off by the fact that they had to pull the 790i. Since SLI isn't offered on Intel boards...and I have prior good experience with ATI...I went with a Crossfire-capable board. But I'm no expert on graphics cards. Is that a sensible approach?
Click to expand...


If you are thinking about going crossfire even the slightest bit, dont get a P45 motherboard, as the 2nd card will only run at 8x. x38/x48 is meant for proper crossfire setups as both PCI-E slots run at 16x.

You may also want to consider the 4870x2 if your thinking about dual cards, as its supposed to be a bit faster than 2x 4870 in crossfire and about 10-15% cheaper. And you will be able to have the choice of getting a P45 motherboard if you want.

Im waiting for the x2 for the above reasons to see how it will pan out, then Ill make my decisions on my build.

The Zalman is a good cooler, but I would opt for a tower HS such as the Scythe Ninja or a Thermalright TRUE 120 matched with a good 120mm fan.

As far as RAID goes, if your doing it for speed, its really not worth it with today's drives. Unless your doing video encoding or such. But if your doing it for data protection, then I can some what see it. Personally I would just get a WD Velociraptor or Raptor X for your OS drive and a 1TB drive for the rest.
 
I wouldn't be afraid of x64 vista one iota. I'm completely satisfied with the OS and haven't had one issue regarding, well, I haven't had one issue what-so-ever. I also could be wrong, but I don't believe 32bit OS's can take full advantage of 4gb ram.
 
Yep, I've reconsidered installing 64-bit yet again. I found some info on the Adobe website that explains the advantages of a 64-bit OS even though Photoshop is a 32-bit app. But to hedge my bet, I'm leaning toward buying the full retail package of Vista Ultimate, so I'll have both 32- and 64-bit versions.
 
Geez, I was thinking of building a system myself and thought I knew enough but after seeing this, it's clear I have no clue.......you guys are talking in some sort of geek talk that I can't understand. :laugh:

I thought RAID was something you kill bugs with. :whistling:

Gary, I'll be talkin' to ya. :D
 
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