Buying Next Week, Any Adivce on Config?Post Date: 2008-08-29 |
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Alkasier 
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Joined: 29 Aug 2008 Online Status: Offline Posts: 14 |
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 Topic: Buying Next Week, Any Adivce on Config?Posted: 29 Aug 2008 at 2:21pm |
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Hi Guys, well it looks like im going to be ordering by next week. I think that I've finally come to a solid build, hopefully it looks ok. I attempted to stay under 3500 but it seems that Sound Cards got the best of me in the end. Anyway, this is what my current build looks like, do you guys have any advice to offer?
Chassis: Digital Storm 950Si Exterior Finish: - Standard Factory Finish Interior Finish: - Standard Factory Finish Power Supply: 1000W Corsair HX (Dual/Triple/Quad SLI Compatible) Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 3.16GHz (1333MHz Front Side Bus) (6MB Cache) Motherboard: Asus P5Q3 Deluxe (Intel P45 Chipset) (Supports CrossFire) System Memory: 4GB DDR3 Corsair at 1333MHz Card Reader: - No Thanks Hard Drive 1: 300GB Western Digital VelociRaptor (10K RPM) (16MB Cache) (Extreme Speed) Hard Drive 2: 250GB Western Digital (16MB Cache) (7200 RPM) (SATA) Raid Option: - No Thanks Hard Drive 3: - No Thanks Optical Drive 1: DVD-ROM/CD-ROM (DVD Reader 16x / CD Reader 40x) Optical Drive 2: DVD±R/RW/CD-R/RW (DVD Writer 20x / CD-Writer 48x) Wireless Access: High Speed Network Port (Supports High-Speed Cable / DSL / Network Connections) Video Card: ATI Radeon HD 4870X2 2GB TV Tuner: - No Thanks Sound Card: Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi FPS Fatal1ty Champion (Includes Front I/O Unit) Extreme Cooling: Liquid Chilled FrostBite CPU Only Internal Lighting: Blizzard Internal Lighting (Blue Edition) (Cold Cathode Tubes) Modifications: - No Thanks Boost Processor: Yes, Overclock the processor as much as possible with complete stability Boost Video Card: - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my video card(s) Boost Memory: Yes, Overclock memory timings (Includes Memory Fan Kit Installed) Tweak Windows: - No Thanks, Please do not tweak the services on the operating system Windows OS: Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium Restore Kit: Digital Storm Specialized Recovery System (DVD Image Based) Protection: - No Thanks Office: - No Thanks Benchmarking: - No Thanks Install/Test Game: - No Thanks LCD Display: - No Thanks Surge Shield: - No Thanks Speakers: - No Thanks Keyboard: - No Thanks |
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DST4ME
DS ELITE 
Joined: 14 Apr 2008 Online Status: Offline Posts: 36758 |
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Posted: 29 Aug 2008 at 2:27pm |
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I would go with a Q9450, other then that looks great.
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TomD
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Joined: 22 Jun 2008 Online Status: Offline Posts: 289 |
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Posted: 29 Aug 2008 at 2:30pm |
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It would be helpful to know what size monitor you plan to use and what you are planning to use the computer for.
In general I would make the following suggestions
Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 3.16GHz (1333MHz Front Side Bus) (6MB Cache)
A Duo will clock higher which will help most current games more than a Quad. I prefer the Quad since over time more games are taking advantage of the additional cores. Either are solid choices depending on what you plan to run. Hard Drive 2: 250GB Western Digital (16MB Cache) (7200 RPM) (SATA)
Bumping this to a 500GB drive costs very little. You might want to get a larger drive depending on your storage needs.
Optical Drive 1: DVD-ROM/CD-ROM (DVD Reader 16x / CD Reader 40x)
Optical Drive 2: DVD±R/RW/CD-R/RW (DVD Writer 20x / CD-Writer 48x) Do you really need 2? I find it rarely useful, but if you copy alot of DVDs it will come in handy and doesn't cost much. You might want to look at the lightscribe drives, the etched labels look better.
Windows OS: Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium
You definately need to go with 64-bit Vista. You will have less than 2GB of usable memory on a 32-bit operating system with your config.
Looks like a killer rig you have on the way!
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Alkasier
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Joined: 29 Aug 2008 Online Status: Offline Posts: 14 |
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Posted: 29 Aug 2008 at 2:36pm |
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Ah Darn, forgot to mention that I was going to get the 64-Bit OS
 Anyway, this Rig is going to be primarily for Gaming, and maybe some college work down the road heh. I plan on getting 22" to 24" monitor, haven't decided if 200$ is worth 2inches more. Oh, and I question on sound cards, is the Fatal1ty edition or the Creative X-Fi Xtreme Gamer really 120$ better then the regular X-Fi Xtreme? Edited by Alkasier - 29 Aug 2008 at 2:38pm |
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MarkNY
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Joined: 13 Dec 2007 Online Status: Offline Posts: 476 |
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Posted: 29 Aug 2008 at 3:00pm |
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I can never tell the difference on sound cards, so I would say that it isn't worth the money. However, there are a lot of people who would disagree. Its going to be more personal preference in the end.
You could always go with onboard sound at first and then upgrade later if you are disatisfied or have some extra money to work with.
Otherwise, I really like your choices. The setup above would work well with a 22 or 24" monitor, I think.
But- I would also go with Vista 64...
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Alkasier
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Joined: 29 Aug 2008 Online Status: Offline Posts: 14 |
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Posted: 29 Aug 2008 at 4:16pm |
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Oh, one more thing, is the 1000W really necessary? or could I get away with a 750W supply?
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MarkNY
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Joined: 13 Dec 2007 Online Status: Offline Posts: 476 |
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Posted: 29 Aug 2008 at 4:27pm |
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You will probably need a 1000W if you plan to run 2x 280 GTX. If you plan on just using one, you could go with a 750W. You could probably go with a 850W for the 4870X2, but it might be stretching it. |
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DST4ME
DS ELITE
Joined: 14 Apr 2008 Online Status: Offline Posts: 36758 |
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Posted: 29 Aug 2008 at 4:29pm |
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I second that, if you gonna go 2x on gpu then I would go with 1000w
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Alkasier
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Joined: 29 Aug 2008 Online Status: Offline Posts: 14 |
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Posted: 29 Aug 2008 at 4:33pm |
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I might be wrong, but I don't beleive that going with a second 4870x2 would be beneficial unless I was running at extreme resolutions on 30" monitors, right?
And since a 30" monitor really isn't in the budget for a couple of years down the road, I think im gonna stick with just 1 Video Card for awhile  |
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DST4ME
DS ELITE
Joined: 14 Apr 2008 Online Status: Offline Posts: 36758 |
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Posted: 29 Aug 2008 at 4:54pm |
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its more of a matter of resolution, over 1680 x 1050 you gonna want to go dual.
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Kelly
Senior Member 
Digital Storm Customer Service 
Joined: 13 May 2008 Online Status: Offline Posts: 791 |
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Posted: 29 Aug 2008 at 7:42pm |
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exactly
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Alkasier
Newbie
Joined: 29 Aug 2008 Online Status: Offline Posts: 14 |
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Posted: 30 Aug 2008 at 12:41am |
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Ok well in the end Ill go with a 1000W for the future.
Im considering bumping up to a Quad, but does anyone know what kind of OverClock results I would get with the Asus Deluxe MoBo? Im just worried because I saw on CompUSA saying that the Deluxe is bad for OCing, and since I already went WAY over budget, I was considering dropping to an Antec 900 and upgrading my MoBo to a X48 just to be able to yield better results... Any advice on this? |
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DST4ME
DS ELITE
Joined: 14 Apr 2008 Online Status: Offline Posts: 36758 |
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Posted: 30 Aug 2008 at 6:04am |
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we have people that have reached 3.8 with liquid cooling on q9550. I would go with a quad, what ever comes out in the near future is gonna be geared toward quad cores, also some dual cores might clock higher but a new dual core is faster then a old dual core so even if your quad core is slower, it still works faster then the old dual cores.
give you an example, I had a x7900 laptop dual core at 2.8 and I would fold with that, I upgraded to a x9000 laptop dual core at 2.8 and my FPS vent up between 5% and 20% depending on the game. what changed? they are both extreme chips, they are both 2.8 but the x9000 is the newer chip which works faster. the thing to remember is the the newer chips are not equal to older chips, even if they are the same speed. |
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Alkasier
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Joined: 29 Aug 2008 Online Status: Offline Posts: 14 |
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Posted: 31 Aug 2008 at 1:17am |
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OK, final build here ! (haha oh man im probably going to be doing this "Customize Build" all week../sigh)
Hopefully this one looks better then my initial one. And again thank you guys so much for the help! Chassis: Digital Storm 950Si Power Supply: 1000W Corsair HX (Dual/Triple/Quad SLI Compatible) Processor: Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 2.83GHz (1333MHz FSB) (12MB Cache) Motherboard: Asus P5Q3 Deluxe (Intel P45 Chipset) (Supports CrossFire) System Memory: 4GB DDR3 Corsair at 1333MHz Card Reader: - No Thanks Hard Drive 1: 150GB Western Digital Raptor (10K RPM) (16MB Cache) (SATA) (Extreme Speed) Hard Drive 2: 500GB Western Digital (16MB Cache) (7200 RPM) (SATA) Raid Option: - No Thanks Hard Drive 3: - No Thanks Optical Drive 1: DVD-ROM/CD-ROM (DVD Reader 16x / CD Reader 40x) Optical Drive 2: DVD±R/RW/CD-R/RW (DVD Writer 20x / CD-Writer 48x) Wireless Access: High Speed Network Port (Supports High-Speed Cable / DSL / Network Connections) Video Card: ATI Radeon HD 4870X2 2GB TV Tuner: - No Thanks Sound Card: Razer Barracuda AC-1 (Recommended) Extreme Cooling: Liquid Chilled FrostBite CPU Only Internal Lighting: Blizzard Internal Lighting (Blue Edition) (Cold Cathode Tubes) Modifications: - No Thanks Boost Processor: Yes, Overclock the processor as much as possible with complete stability Boost Video Card: - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my video card(s) Boost Memory: - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my memory Tweak Windows: - No Thanks, Please do not tweak the services on the operating system Windows OS: Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium (64-Bit Edition) (For Enthusiasts) Restore Kit: Digital Storm Specialized Recovery System (DVD Image Based) Ok so here it is! One question though, I've been hearing that the Deluxe is not good for Overclocking but is the X48 board really worth 127$ more? Could I still be able to expect good OC results with the Deluxe board? And again sorry for all the trouble and thank you for all the help! |
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widdlecat
DS Veteran 
Joined: 11 Mar 2008 Online Status: Offline Posts: 840 |
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Posted: 31 Aug 2008 at 2:53am |
The deluxe board is designed more for multitasking and top performance in home theater use. It's more of a top of the line for average users and gamers. It's not designed so much for overclocking as for energy saving and multi features. The X48 is designed for the serious hardcore gamers and enthusiasts. It has many options for overclocking. One more thing about the ASUS rampage formula is that it has a good sound card with it. It uses a riser card with decent components. If you drop the razer baraccuda and use the X48 sound card you can balance out the price difference. The baraccuda can sound a little better, but most wouldn't hear the difference. Edited by widdlecat - 31 Aug 2008 at 3:01am |
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widdlecat
DS Veteran
Joined: 11 Mar 2008 Online Status: Offline Posts: 840 |
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Posted: 31 Aug 2008 at 12:40pm |
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Harleyman!
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