Liketokite

Hello People.I am ready for a new gaming rig.here is a list of the hardware.Will you guys tell me if it is over kill or bad selections?I currently run windows xp home and am afraid of vista at the moment otherwise i would get 4 gig of ram but i think xp will only support up to 2 GB.Is that true?This is my first build and i have a tech friend to help me and hopefully i can get help here too during this adventure.Thanks in advance for any positive or negitive comments.
Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9650 Yorkfield 3.0GHz LGA 775 130W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80569QX9650 - Retail
Item #: N82E16819115034

EVGA 132-CK-NF79-A1 LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 790i Ultra SLI DDR3 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
Item #: N82E16813188025

CORSAIR 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1066 (PC3 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TWIN3X2048-1066C7 - Retail
Item #: N82E16820145181



EVGA 01G-P3-N891-AR GeForce 9800 GX2 1GB (512MB per GPU) 512-bit (256-bit per GPU) GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail
Item #: N82E16814130338



SAMSUNG 2253BW Black 22" 2ms(GTG) DVI Widescreen LCD Monitor - Retail
Item #: N82E16824001268

Western Digital Raptor X WD1500AHFD 150GB 10,000 RPM SATA 1.5Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
Item #: N82E16822136011

I may use an optical out of my current rig.any thoughts on a new one?I have a Case Master stacker W/ 1,000 w PSU to put this stuff in.
Am i forgetting anything?I am trying to stay ahead as much as possible but there is really no way to do that in this market as you all know.If you guys see any problems or think i should go Vista or any water cooling i should think about please let me know. thank you all.and Happy Easter.RB

emosun

I think the western digital raptor is a waste of money. You would be paying wayy to much for a slightly faster hdd with only 150Gb of space. Same with the ddr3 ram , another big waste , wait till prices come down on it before going with a ddr3 rig. Its just not fast enough to cost that much.

As for the ram , you need either a 64 bit version of windows xp or vista to fully use over 3gb of ram.

Computer_Doctor

I agree with emosun and that the WD Raptor is a waste of money. I had the Raptor as a matter of fact and it wasn't all that for me.

Just save your money and get a cheaper price HD.

Liketokite

Thanx for the reply's guys. I am not going to go with the raptor.I have a 74 gig raptor in my current rig.i dont see alot of benefit except it does load windows fast when i reformat.What about the cpu?Think a q 6600 would be as good and maybe upgrade to the qx 9650 later when the price goes down? and the 790i will accept ddr2 sdram wont it? The specs call for ddr3 it looks like.i think both are 240 pin.and what about a physics cards? do they do much? are they worth purchasing.
I am an online fps gamer and looking for speed.how adout network adaptors? any help as far as ping? I can spend no more than $3,000.00
I want the most bang for my buck as i wont be able to build again for a while as the wife will kill me.
Do any of you guys have a build list i could reference to? I am starting to get confused on what to do.I read and read and the reviews say buy the most expensive and others just the opposite.Maybe i should just buy pre built and sell my tower and psu.Thanks again for the help.RB

emosun

The 790i only accepts ddr3 not ddr2. As for physics cards , most gpu's have built in physics so those are another waste of money. And you could just use the motherboard onboard network adapter and it will do the same. And yea don't buy pre built.

Liketokite

Ok.I guess i still have to stay with the ddr3 as long i go with the 790i.so no saving money as far as the ram goes.Ill forget the physics card and network adaptor as well.
What about the 1k processor the qx9650? will i get a big enough boost to justify that much cash? if not will you tell me what the next best step down would be IYHO.Q6600?and should i stick with the gpu i selected? or try just 2 8800 gt or gts or which ever is better.i would go sli probably any way as i bought the big ole CM stacker evolution case sli approved.right now i would feel i wasted my money on that case if i don't go sli some how.rather in 1 card [evga 9800 gx2] or 2 8800 gt's or gtx's which ever is better.OH! and the 8800 ultra's. which one is best do you think for dollar wise.I dont mind paying for the best gpu i can buy and even waiting a little while if a better one is coming out soon.know of any?
Sorry for all the questions but i want to do this build right and have no regrets later.Thanks for your time peeps.RB

emosun

Well the q6600 is like a ferrari, and the core two extremes are like ferarri's with jet engines straped to the back. I think it would be nuts to actually buy a 1000$ cpu , but it is actually ground breakingly faster, so its really up to you weather you want to spend a lot on it.

If it were me, I would get a board that supports the extreme (which you found) and get a quad or high end core two duo. Then after a few months to a year when the extreme comes down in price you can always upgrade to it.

Now as for the video card, for this rig , get that 9800 gx2. The 9800 gx2 is actually two nvidia 9800's on one card , and is 30% faster then the 8800's. You know if you went with a q6600 , you would have plenty left to go dual 9800gx2's. :D

oh i never bothered to ask what the make and model 1000w powersupply you have.

Liketokite

Emosun.
I think you are right.it is nuts to pay that price for a cpu right now.i will get the 2 9800 gxt2 cards instead of the extreme cpu.
As for the psu i have a cooler master real power pro 1,000w.i have never seen more wires.what cpu(intel) would you suggest? the q6600? If i get the 2 high end cards they wont bottleneck on a q6600 will they?if so is there a faster quad core?other than the extreme? OH one more thing. the psu should have the connections for the 2 cards right?sorry for all the questions but you sound pretty savy. especially with over 1,400 posts.WOW!Thanx again RB

emosun

Some guys here I've seen have over 25,000 posts , lol.

The q9300 looks pretty good, has a faster clock and a higher fsb. And its only 20$ more then the q6600.

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...?EdpNo=3584440

I think thats a reasonable price for that cpu , anything else is just too expensive for what you truly get. As for the video cards , each one requires a 6 pin and a 8 pin power connector. So your psu needs two 6 pin and two 8 pin power connectors.

Liketokite

Hi Emosun.That sounds like a good cpu.my psu has the 6 and 8 pins to support the 2 gpu's so things are looking better.i have read some reviews about nvidia not having the hardware and soft ware to hook the two 9800 gx2's together yet. do you know?or heard of that?i would hate to buy both and only get to use one.and since i have to go with ddr3 ram with the 790i what brand would you pick?i think i will go 4 gig and go ahead with vista as bad as hate to in order to utilize the 4 gig.od stay with 2 gig?and use my current os hp home?decisions decisions.Thanx again for your help.RB

Liketokite

xp home:] lol

floydfan

i have vista 64, its a really nice os, but xp home ain't bad either. your system gives me a big case of the envies lol, i'm drooling over the 790i chipset, as its the first intel-caliber chipset nvidia has released. i would go with the q6600, or find a q9450, as the q9300 is a castrated yorkie, as it only has 6mb of cache instead of 12mb. it will still be faster than the q6600, but it will be harder to oc since it has a low multi and therefore will need a higher fsb.

emosun

Yea I heard the drivers for sliing them will be released thursday, forgot which thursday but by the time you get then they should be out. As for the ram go with a name brand like corsair or ocz. And its up to you weather to go with 2 or 4 gig. personally I'd go 8 gig , lol.

Liketokite

Hello peeps.Can someone tell me who has a q9450? The egg is out it looks like.i looked at a couple other sites and no luck:[ Thanx guys.RB

emosun

try ebay, they sell new things there with no auctions too.

robodude

If you have a 74 gig raptor, buy another and run it as raid 0. As for the memory I picked up a 4gig set of patriot DDR3 for 249 at newegg and it's very fast (I would recommend) the 790i MB will only except DDR 3 but the 780i will except DDR 2.

MY Current build is 2 X 74 gig raptors (Raid 0)
EVGA 790i Ultra SLI
4 Gig Patriot DDR3
Intel QX 9650 (currently overclocked to 3.5)
Zalman CNPS9700 CPU Cooler
2 X EVGA 8800 Ultra (SLI)
Thermaltake 1200 watt power supply