Need advice for build a new gaming pc.

mAXiums · 09-25-2008, 05:48 PM

I am going to build my very first gaming pc, and after fwe days of reach on the parts (best vaule vs performance), I have come up with the list below:

MOBO: ASUS P5Q Pro?--151.70 CAD
OR ASUS P5Q-E?--178.84 CAD
OR ASUS P5Q Deluxe?--219.99 CAD

CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 Dual Core Processor LGA775 3.16GHZ Wolfdale 1333FSB 6MB
Cooler: Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro LGA775 2500RPM 45CFM

GPU: Palit Radeon HD 4870 Sonic Dual Edition 775MHZ 512MB GDDR5--239.99 CAD
OR Radeon HD 4850 card--142.99 CAD

PSU: Corsair TX750W 750W ATX 12V 60A 24PIN ATX Power Supply Active PFC 120MM Fan

Ram: Corsair XMS2 TWIN2X4096-6400C5 4GB DDR2 2X2GB

HD: Western Digital SE16 500GB SATA2 7200RPM 16MB Cache 8.9MS NCQ Hard Drive

Case: Antec 900
OS: Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium Edition 64BIT
Accessories: Rest parts are from my older pc.

There are few quetions I like to ask before I buy these parts:

Is this build stable enough by its own? It's my first build, so I hope to have a stable pc on stock first.

It the E8500 able to OC to 4GHZ on Air cooling system (with an after-market cooler, such as Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro, or there is better air cooler for that job?) OR I need get into the water cooling.

The Palit HD 4870 Sonic Dual Edition 775MHZ 512MB GDDR5, has Normal and Turbo mode. Is it the card's limit? However, since they set the card into two modes, is that means there is no way to oc the card again?

**wrench97** · 09-25-2008, 06:21 PM

P5Q Pro good board
6400C4 Ram has 4-4-4-12 timings if you going to oc that's what you want over C5 5-5-5-15

To go that high is pushing it a little, Zalman 9700 is a better cooler for a high clock maybe think about staying at 3.8 you don't want water cooling on a first build, I don't want it period.

The 4870 is a lot of card, I'm not familiar enough with Palit to know how they handled the cards Bios if it will let you clock it up, I would suspect with the heat issues on them you won't be able to do much.

When you first build it leave it stock get everything loaded and stable first then move it up a little at a time.

Toucan Sam · 09-25-2008, 06:51 PM

I'd also say 4.0 is pushing it. 3.8 won't make that much of a difference, and it's nice to know that you're not completely stressing the cpu. Great rig though.

**tosh9i** · 09-25-2008, 07:33 PM

Get free Vista if you attend the event! YMMV
http://forums.slickdeals.net/showthr...hreadid=932803

**grimx133** · 09-25-2008, 09:58 PM

Palit's Sonic line of cards their improved version of the reference design, they run faster and cooler. Looks like a real good deal on that 4870. Not much more than the HIS IceQ4or Sapphire's Toxic or Palit's Sonic the 4850 version of which were reviewed at Extreme Tech this week. I put the link in another thread, but it's worthwhile again. Fair difference in performance over the reference cards, so probably the same with the 4870 cards. http://www.extremetech.com/article2/...2330956,00.asp

The Freezer 7 pro is an adequate HSF, cooler and quieter than stock. As Wrench says, the Zalman 9700 is a very good one, pricey though. If you want top cooling you'll have to pay for it. The Zalman is $72.50CAD for the blue LED version http://www.ncix.com/products/index.p...=ZALMAN%20TECH and $76.82 for the green LED.
Then you have the "king" of cpu heatsinks, highest rated and all that. Which is the Thermalright Ultra-120 Extreme. Also called the TRUE. It's $64.98 and they also have a TRUE Black Edition which is $79.99, neither of which includes the fan. Another 20 bucks or so for a decent fan. Big price difference over the Freezer 7 Pro which is $29.09 this week. Depends on how much you overclock, with a top of the line fan, you can squeeze a bit more out of you processor.
Just noticed, ncix has the HSF I've been using lately on sale for $33.99, that's a good deal. Scythe Ninja 2 http://www.ncix.com/products/index.p...e&promoid=1001

The C4 memory is the way to go. Actually, the C4DHX is on sale and only ten bucks more than the C5. http://www.ncix.com/products/index.p...R&promoid=1001

mAXiums · 09-26-2008, 02:36 AM

I did more reading on the web, and now I have a mix feeling of getting a HD 4870, (not sure if I get correct info, but on some tests, that HD 4870 scores less than a HD 4850.) Which make me think, with the extra 100 CAD I saved after getting a HD 4850, I can get 50ish more to get a second HD 4850, and do a Crossfire. This sounds much better than just getting one card.

Please help me...

09-25-2008, 05:48 PM	#1 (permalink)
mAXiums Registered User Join Date: Sep 2008 Posts: 8 OS: XP SP2/	Need advice for build a new gaming pc. I am going to build my very first gaming pc, and after fwe days of reach on the parts (best vaule vs performance), I have come up with the list below: MOBO: ASUS P5Q Pro?--151.70 CAD OR ASUS P5Q-E?--178.84 CAD OR ASUS P5Q Deluxe?--219.99 CAD CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 Dual Core Processor LGA775 3.16GHZ Wolfdale 1333FSB 6MB Cooler: Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro LGA775 2500RPM 45CFM GPU: Palit Radeon HD 4870 Sonic Dual Edition 775MHZ 512MB GDDR5--239.99 CAD OR Radeon HD 4850 card--142.99 CAD PSU: Corsair TX750W 750W ATX 12V 60A 24PIN ATX Power Supply Active PFC 120MM Fan Ram: Corsair XMS2 TWIN2X4096-6400C5 4GB DDR2 2X2GB HD: Western Digital SE16 500GB SATA2 7200RPM 16MB Cache 8.9MS NCQ Hard Drive Case: Antec 900 OS: Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium Edition 64BIT Accessories: Rest parts are from my older pc. There are few quetions I like to ask before I buy these parts: Is this build stable enough by its own? It's my first build, so I hope to have a stable pc on stock first. It the E8500 able to OC to 4GHZ on Air cooling system (with an after-market cooler, such as Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro, or there is better air cooler for that job?) OR I need get into the water cooling. The Palit HD 4870 Sonic Dual Edition 775MHZ 512MB GDDR5, has Normal and Turbo mode. Is it the card's limit? However, since they set the card into two modes, is that means there is no way to oc the card again?

09-25-2008, 06:21 PM	#2 (permalink)
wrench97 Moderator, Hardware Team Join Date: May 2008 Location: S.E. Pennsylvania Posts: 18,608 OS: Win7	Re: Need advice for build a new gaming pc. P5Q Pro good board 6400C4 Ram has 4-4-4-12 timings if you going to oc that's what you want over C5 5-5-5-15 To go that high is pushing it a little, Zalman 9700 is a better cooler for a high clock maybe think about staying at 3.8 you don't want water cooling on a first build, I don't want it period. The 4870 is a lot of card, I'm not familiar enough with Palit to know how they handled the cards Bios if it will let you clock it up, I would suspect with the heat issues on them you won't be able to do much. When you first build it leave it stock get everything loaded and stable first then move it up a little at a time. __________________ Power Supply and Selection

09-25-2008, 06:51 PM	#3 (permalink)
Toucan Sam Registered User Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: charlotte, nc Posts: 153 OS: vista 64-bit SP1 My System	Re: Need advice for build a new gaming pc. I'd also say 4.0 is pushing it. 3.8 won't make that much of a difference, and it's nice to know that you're not completely stressing the cpu. Great rig though.

09-25-2008, 07:33 PM	#4 (permalink)
tosh9i TSF Enthusiast Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 3,835 OS: Windows XP	Re: Need advice for build a new gaming pc. Get free Vista if you attend the event! YMMV http://forums.slickdeals.net/showthr...hreadid=932803 __________________ Tosh

09-25-2008, 09:58 PM	#5 (permalink)
grimx133 Mentor Hardware Team Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Canada eh Posts: 3,148 OS: xp mce sp2, xp pro sp2, windows 7 beta My System	Re: Need advice for build a new gaming pc. Palit's Sonic line of cards their improved version of the reference design, they run faster and cooler. Looks like a real good deal on that 4870. Not much more than the HIS IceQ4or Sapphire's Toxic or Palit's Sonic the 4850 version of which were reviewed at Extreme Tech this week. I put the link in another thread, but it's worthwhile again. Fair difference in performance over the reference cards, so probably the same with the 4870 cards. http://www.extremetech.com/article2/...2330956,00.asp The Freezer 7 pro is an adequate HSF, cooler and quieter than stock. As Wrench says, the Zalman 9700 is a very good one, pricey though. If you want top cooling you'll have to pay for it. The Zalman is $72.50CAD for the blue LED version http://www.ncix.com/products/index.p...=ZALMAN%20TECH and $76.82 for the green LED. Then you have the "king" of cpu heatsinks, highest rated and all that. Which is the Thermalright Ultra-120 Extreme. Also called the TRUE. It's $64.98 and they also have a TRUE Black Edition which is $79.99, neither of which includes the fan. Another 20 bucks or so for a decent fan. Big price difference over the Freezer 7 Pro which is $29.09 this week. Depends on how much you overclock, with a top of the line fan, you can squeeze a bit more out of you processor. Just noticed, ncix has the HSF I've been using lately on sale for $33.99, that's a good deal. Scythe Ninja 2 http://www.ncix.com/products/index.p...e&promoid=1001 The C4 memory is the way to go. Actually, the C4DHX is on sale and only ten bucks more than the C5. http://www.ncix.com/products/index.p...R&promoid=1001

09-26-2008, 02:36 AM	#6 (permalink)
mAXiums Registered User Join Date: Sep 2008 Posts: 8 OS: XP SP2/	Re: Need advice for build a new gaming pc. I did more reading on the web, and now I have a mix feeling of getting a HD 4870, (not sure if I get correct info, but on some tests, that HD 4870 scores less than a HD 4850.) Which make me think, with the extra 100 CAD I saved after getting a HD 4850, I can get 50ish more to get a second HD 4850, and do a Crossfire. This sounds much better than just getting one card. Please help me...