raingame

Hey guys, I'm building my second PC. I think all this stuff is compatable, but I just wanted to make sure, let you guys look at it, see what you think. My concerns are:

Is it compatable? Is there enough power? Is it cool enough? Is the stuff I picked of any quality? Will it all work on Windows XP 64 bit?

Case - Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

Motherboard - ASUS P5N72-T Premium LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 780i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard

Processor - Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 Wolfdale 3.16GHz 6MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor

Heatsink Fan - ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro 92mm CPU Cooler

RAM - CORSAIR DOMINATOR 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory

Hard Drive - Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD5000AAKS 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive

Video Card - EVGA GeForce 9800 GX2 Video Card - Superclocked Edition, 1GB DDR3, PCI Express 2.0, SLI Ready, (Dual Link) Dual DVI, HDMI

Power Supply - PC Power & Cooling S75QB 750W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply 100 - 240 V UL, ULC, CE, CB, RoHS

DVD Drive - LITE-ON Black 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-ROM IDE DVD-ROM Drive Model DH-16D2P-08

Thanks for any help.

raingame

After doing some research, I don't think I'll be switching to XP 64 bit. I can't edit the post, but ignore that part about XP 64 bit. I'll keep running my 32 bit. I know I can't take advantage of the 4gb of RAM, but 3gb is alright and I may go to 64 bit in the future.

Tumbleweed36

Personally, I like your build. The power supply is a really great one and you won't regret that move. I think you are right about sticking with the 32 bit for now. There are many who get along with that setup, but many who just seem to have difficulties with the 64 bit. BTW, the e8500 is a real trooper. I have the e8400 and am real pleased with it.

raingame

Thanks for the info, Tumbleweed. I'm excited about the upgrade to the e8500 (I'm coming from a 1.8 single core amd). I've been doing more research, and only have a couple of questions left before I order all this stuff.

The video card I picked out is actually two 'boxes', right? It takes two slots on the motherboard, right?

Will this be hard to install? Considering the case and the motherboard (which I am pretty sure supports the video card(s?)), will there be little space inside to work?

Including that heatsink fan, will my system be cool enough to handle intense games, etc? Will I have room to overclock things?

Also, it has been a while since I installed an OS on a brand new HardDrive. How straightforward is it to get the OS going once I have everything put together properly? Will it be obvious that all of my components are working properly and up to par? What kind of BIOS settings should I be prepared to deal with?

linderman

The build is not bad at all ...... we can walk you thru the tweaking and any bumps you encounter


the only suggestion I have for you is DITCH the 780 chipset motherboard they are nasty PITA there has not been a stable / reliable running SLI board since the 680i going forward ! buggy little !@#$%^&*()

you would be far better served sticking with the Asus P5K-E Deluxe wifi and your video card

dont under estimate the ATI 4870 which came out and really rocked nvideas boat ! sent all their cards into a pricing nose dive to compete ......... if your cards dont have the equal muscle then you must adjust price

hell; I personally would stick with the 9800GTX+ (make sure you get the plus) or better yet ATI 4850 and save some $$$$$

but regardless ......... I would avoid that chipset like the bubonic plague

linderman

asus came out with the 780 chipset the same year they released the 680i ....... the 780 was suppose to fix all the woes of the 680 ...... and man there are plenty of woes ..... two of those 680's almost put me in the bughouse LOL

the 780 did no better at all same year the 780 was out the 790 was released to FIX all the weirdez that plagues the 790's little brothers ........ you guessed it ....... the 790 is a twisted bum too!


nvidea chipsets = three strikes ........................ YOURE OUT

raingame

Thanks for the info, linderman. I wasn't totally convinced on the Wifi board you were talking about, but I think I did find a better board than my previous one that still works with all my other stuff.

Also, I found a table of videocards on this forum, I'm pretty sure the one I picked is pretty high on the list; I don't mind spending the extra money on it. :)

Here is my new build(changes in bold):

Case - Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

Motherboard - GIGABYTE GA-X48-DS4 LGA 775 Intel X48 ATX Intel Motherboard

Processor - Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 Wolfdale 3.16GHz 6MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor

Heatsink Fan - ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro 92mm CPU Cooler

RAM - CORSAIR DOMINATOR 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory

Hard Drive - Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD5000AAKS 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive

Video Card - EVGA GeForce 9800 GX2 Video Card - Superclocked Edition, 1GB DDR3, PCI Express 2.0, SLI Ready, (Dual Link) Dual DVI, HDMI

Power Supply - PC Power & Cooling S75QB 750W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply 100 - 240 V UL, ULC, CE, CB, RoHS

DVD Drive - LITE-ON Black 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-ROM IDE DVD-ROM Drive Model DH-16D2P-08

If you guys think there is anything wrong with these choices, any advice or information would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Tumbleweed36

In all seriousness, take a good look at the P5K-e Wi/Fi board. I have one of those with the e8400 and it is a great combination. Not badly priced either and great reviews from those who own them. Many of the techs on the hardware team have that board and are very pleased with that product. Linderman can also suggest a couple of Gigabyte boards that are comparible (I will let him do that, he is more experienced with Gigabyte so could guide you better with that brand name) that you need to take a look at.

raingame

Is this the motherboard you are talking about?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131182

Tumbleweed36

The one you have listed is also a great board.

Here is the one I have:

P5K-e Wi/Fi

Any of the Asus P5K series boards are great motherboards, so it is hard to choose one over the other. Just check out the different features and pick one you like, then compare it to the Gigabyte boards which are also great. That is the way I would pick one if I were doing it. Don't discount the Gigabyte boards, they are also super boards. I think linderman is presently using a Gigabyte board for his personal rig.

raingame

It looks very nice, but I am worried about a couple things about that board. I have read reviews on that board warning not to use more than 3gb of ram on a 32bit OS. I understand that the last gb will go unused, but will it cause problems?

Also, I am 99% sure I will never need or use the Wifi abilities of the card. Is it easy to disable? I am kind of picky when it comes to running programs, applications, and features that I don't use.

You guys have been great so far, thanks for helpin' me through this. :)

Tumbleweed36

I am using my P5K-e simply as the host and have disabled (ignored) the wi/fi feature and it works like a champ. If you don't need that, you might even look at the straight P5K board, cheaper, but still good. The other one you quoted is also a great board. I don't think you can lose with any of the ones that have been mentioned.

raingame

Alright thanks man. The P5K-e looks pretty solid, and hearing from you guys has helped. My parts will coming in soon, so I'm not going anywhere. :D

Tumbleweed36

If you are in no great hurry, wait until linderman checks in again to give you the Gigabyte points. You may even decide to go that way.

raingame

Yup, no problem.

Based on what linderman said, and after looking at more video cards, I think I am going to switch to a single 9800 GTX. Apprently my 1st choice wasn't as good of a deal as I thought, and the card really heats up.

Customers really seem to like this 9800 GTX. I could not a find a single GTX+, so I'm assuming this one is a GTX+ since it's DDR3 and 512 Memory.

Here's the question: This card is cheap enough for me to get two. Is that a good idea? Will I see dramatic improvements in the latest games? Is my power supply good enough to support two?

Tumbleweed36

Yes, that pc power and cooling will run two cards. Do I think it is a good idea for two cards like that.....well, I frankly don't think you will need that and am not sure that it is a real good move considering the cost + efficiency ratio. Yes, you should see an improvement in performance with that card (or two) if you choose that one. That is a personal opinion. Another comment, with that CPU,you are going to see a big jump from that 1.8 you have. Those babies kick in comparison to the older CPU's and they are overclocking fools.....more eneregy than the energizer bunny.

linderman

Tumbleweed is 100% correct ! The Asus p5K-E and the P5K are awesome boards / I have sold alot of them and prefer to sell only boards that dont waste my time on free tech support !

the gigabyte board you are looking at is good ..... but over priced in my opinion if you can live with that , then by all means its rock solid, my only beef is the X48 is more expensive that the Gigabyte GA-EP35-DS4 and the DS4 and P5K both will run shoulder to shoulder with the X48 and do it for less money

as for video ......... the 9800GTX cards are good I cant bang on them at all ....... the 9800 GX2 is a furnace for sure

although I must confess ........ if you are willing to spend $300.00 on a video card, then the ATI 4870 kicks the butt of ANYTHING nvidea ...... even the new $500.00 GTX280 !!

but at this point we are splitting hairs ......... although a crossfire motherboard with either the 4850 or the 4870 would be a beast to overtake ...................

raingame

Alright, that makes alot of sense. I will get one card for now, and possibly one in the future.

Now, the only question left is the motherboard... I'll wait and see what linderman says about a decent gigabyte motherboard, but I am really warming up to this P5K-e Wi/Fi one.

Thanks again Tumbleweed. You're help has made me alot more confident about the whole thing.

raingame

Aww linderman, I had everything figured out! And now you through this 4870 out there and I'm all excited. But what you are saying makes alot of sense, and the 4870 was right at the top of that list.

I have picked out the SAPPHIRE 100243L Radeon HD 4870 512MB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card and am going to use the ASUS P5K-E/WIFI-AP LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard. The customer reviews are matching almost exactly what you two are saying.

Apparently the Video Card gets a bit hot, but I can fix that through the fan speed.

The card's interface is PCI Express 2.0 x16. The motherboard says it has PCI Express x16 expansion slots (2 x PCI-E x16 (blue @ x16 mode, black @ x4 or x1 mode) ). Are these the same thing, as in, are they compatable?

Edit: Also, will all this stuff (besides the last gb of ram) fully run on xp 32 bit?

linderman

yes all of it will run on win xp 32bit

the asus P5K-e wifi is not PCI express 2.0 ......... BIG useless deal ....... PCI express 2.0 isnt offering any improvements on its own right now ! maybe in the future, but you dont pay big $$$$ now for something that might be in the future !

X48 chipset and P45 have pci express 2.0 ......... but it does nothing for ME whatsoever ......might well give me a hat that looks like a banana >>>>> what am I going to do with that ?

the p5K-e wifi will run two ati video cards though ...... but I cant ever imagine any game that cant be "0wned" with that 4870

any of these boards are great ......... two things I hate most about computers !

A) dont waste my time chasing my tail with flaky motherboards; nothing I hate more than going to a customers house trying to fix flaky acting motherboards / memory problems

B) dont charge me $300.00 for a motherboard that cant out run a $175.00 motherboard

C) I hate it when manufactures blow smoke about something that offers me nothing today, but I am suppose pay full tilt today ?????????? that is just like DDR3 memory and pci express 2.0