First custom built gaming rig, ordering tomorrow, need input and help please.

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kramjam

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hola,

I've been using the same desktop for almost 7 years now, and I think it's time to finally upgrade, haha. I've never put together a computer myself, so I really hope it's not that difficult. I'm hoping this thing lasts for a good while and can play current games fine and future ones well, too. At first I planned on getting one 4870x2 and possibly adding a 2nd one down the line, but I think that would mean I'd have to go for a x48 mobo and a better PSU, so I'm probably just gonna have to do with one x2, but I was told two x2's for 1920 gaming is kinda overkill anyway, correct me if I'm wrong.

I've spent some time lurking around for a month trying to figure out what I want, and the list below is what I was interested in buying. I plan on ordering everything tomorrow.

newegg wishlist sheet: http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/P...shListNumber=9317846&WishListTitle=gaming rig

Parts:

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


ASUS P5Q Pro LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

I had a tough time deciding on which motherboard to get, so maybe you can help me out here.


CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply - Retail


Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 Wolfdale 3.16GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor Model BX80570E8500 - Retail


ZALMAN CNPS9700 LED 110mm 2 Ball CPU Cooler - Retail

I also had trouble picking out a CPU cooler, and from what I've read this one sounds like it's fine, just hope it fits alright on the mobo and whatnot, so let me know if I should make a change.

CORSAIR 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TWIN2X4096-6400C5 - Retail


VisionTek 900250 Radeon HD 4870 X2 2GB 512-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16
HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail

I read something about it having an 8-pin PCI-E instead of 2 6-pin, or something like that, and not working with some peoples builds and needing adaptors. Do I need anything extra or will it work with my PSU and everything, and able to overclock my gpu?

Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD6400AAKS 640GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM - Seemed like the most decent hd for the money, wouldn't mind spending a bit more if you have a better suggestion.

SAMSUNG 22X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe Black SATA Model SH-S223Q/BEBN - OEM

Other:

Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 64-bit English for System Builders 1pk DSP OEI DVD - OEM

Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound - OEM

Acer P243WAid Black-Silver 24" 2ms(GTG) HDMI Widescreen LCD Monitor with HDCP Support - Retail

Seems like a good price for the size.. I read TN panels aren't the best, but they are much cheaper. I wasn't able to find any 24" monitors that aren't TN around that price, so I picked the Acer If you have any suggestions, please let me know.

--

As I said before, I've never built a computer before so hopefully this is everything I need to put it together and get it up and running.

I also read that since the hard drive and DVD drive are OEM products, not retail, they don't contain the screws/cables and the things I'd need for installation, so what do I need to do about that to get it setup in my rig?

Let me know if there's anything else I need to know, suggestions, etc.

Thanks so much in advance~
 
Yes two HD4870X2 is overkill for 1920x1200 gaming. The motherboard and case will come with all the cables and screws that you need.

Anyway onto the critique:

- Ditch the Zalman HSF. It's overpriced for the amount of cooling that it provides. I recommend getting this HSF instead:
ZEROtherm Nirvana NV120 120mm HSF - $50

- Ditch the AS5 as well. The Zerotherm HSF above comes with its own decent thermal paste.

- Ditch the E8500 as well. It's $20 more than the E8400 but only provides an extra 166Mhz in speed. Not worth the extra $20 IMO. So get the E8400 instead.

- The Corsair 750TX comes with 4 6+2Pin connectors. A 6+2Pin is basically an 8Pin connector but 2Pin portion can be removed so that you get a 6Pin connector. So yes the Corsair 750TX has all the connections that you need for the HD4870X2, which requires one 8Pin connector and one 6Pin connector

- Motherboard wise, check out these motherboards and see which one fits your needs:
Gigabyte GA-EP43-DS3L Intel P43 Motherboard - $90
MSI P45 Neo3-FR Intel P45 Motherboard - $112
Gigabyte GA-EP45-DS3R Intel P45 Motherboard - $130
Asus P5Q Pro Intel P45 Motherboard - $140
Biostar TPower I45 Intel P45 Motherboard - $150
DFI Lanparty DK X38-T2R Intel X38 Motherboard - $180
Asus P5E Deluxe Intel X48 Motherboard - $220
DFI Lanparty DK X48-T2R Intel X48 Motherboard - $220
Gigabyte GA-X48-DS4 Intel X48 Motherboard - $225

Just to help you out: All of these motherboards have PCI-E 2.0 which may be useful for future GPU upgrades. If you don't need RAID, more than 6 SATA ports and only need semi-decent overclocking, check out the DS3L. If you need 8 SATA ports, RAID, 4 PCI slots, and legacy ports, then get the Neo3-Fr. If you don't need more than 6 SATA ports but want RAID, firewire, a second PCI-E x16 port, a second gigabit port, support for 16GB of RAM, optional eSATA, x8/x8 Crossfire, and great overclocks, then get the DS3R. If you like the DS3R but need 8 SATA ports, want an onboard pre-installed fast booting Linux setup, just support for 8GB of RAM, and don't need a second gigabit port, get the Asus P5Q Pro. If you want a motherboard with excellent overclocking capabilities above all else (feature wise), go with the I45. If you want Crossfire with full x16/x16 bandwidth, get the Lanparty DK X38. If you have cash to burn, need x16/x16 Crossfire, and don't give a damn about getting the most value for your money, get the Asus, DFI, or Gigabyte X48 motherboards. Do note that the Asus website can be slow sometimes.
 
Get either an E2220 or a Q6600. Q6600 will last longer than a Wolfdale, E2220 around the same amount of time, but costs much less.

Drop the Zalman HSF and get a Xigmatek HDT cooler (120mm).

For PSU, I'd recommend a Corsair HX620W - since you're going with a HD4870X2. If you plan to get a second, go with an HX1000W instead. If you don't want modular cables, yours will do, however.
 
-dont get that Monitor. You will be sad. In my exploration into finds a new monitor i ran through abour 10-12. That monitor was one of them and returned 2 of them to microcenter cause bad backlight bleeding. I ended up ordering a BenQ G2400WD and havent looked back.
- Get an Asus mobo, usually i support Gigabyte but since having to deal with their RMA process and the response I've recieved I'll be goign with Asus for my next board.
- Get the e8400
-You only need a 4870, for a 24" not a x2. But its your money.
-If you think you need TIM, get TX-2 :)
 
AVT said:
Get either an E2220 or a Q6600. Q6600 will last longer than a Wolfdale, E2220 around the same amount of time, but costs much less.

Drop the Zalman HSF and get a Xigmatek HDT cooler (120mm).

For PSU, I'd recommend a Corsair HX620W - since you're going with a HD4870X2. If you plan to get a second, go with an HX1000W instead. If you don't want modular cables, yours will do, however.
Click to expand...

Q6600 'lasting' longer than the Wolfdale? Meaning what exactly? The Wolfdale is going to die from heat? :confused:

You're telling him to get the E2220 because it will 'last' just as long?

:eek:
 
AVT said:
Get either an E2220 or a Q6600. Q6600 will last longer than a Wolfdale, E2220 around the same amount of time, but costs much less.

Drop the Zalman HSF and get a Xigmatek HDT cooler (120mm).

For PSU, I'd recommend a Corsair HX620W - since you're going with a HD4870X2. If you plan to get a second, go with an HX1000W instead. If you don't want modular cables, yours will do, however.
Click to expand...

'get an e2220 or Q6600' made me laugh all day long. LOL @ AVT

Keep you e8500 or better yet get a e8400. dont even think about a e2220 ( its just dumb).
 
Thank you for all the replies. I'm going to be sticking with the E8500 I think, and it's looking like the P5Q pro will be fine for me. Rydawg5143, what is TX2? Thanks for the monitor tip, I've been looking around a lot for another option, and will look into it. There isn't a huge choice around that price range at the egg. Now just looking at more cpu coolers. Anyone else have any suggestions?
 
TX-2 , my cpu temps went down 2-3 degrees when i put this stuff in ( I had AS5 at 1st)
Are you only ordering from newegg? I highly suggest NOT ordering a monitor via the egg, their return policy is among the worst. if you are 'charging' the stuff to a newegg account cause you dont have the cash up front. I would almost suggest getting a bestbuy card and buying a moniro from there. They have a easy return policy ( as in, you dont like it bring it back) and you can find one you like. Though i do swear by the G2400WD by BenQ.
 
Ok, will check out the tx-2, thanks. Everything at the moment is being ordered from Newegg, yeah. I'm still cloudy on which monitor I want to get, so yeah. It's just more convenient for me to order everything online, and last time I went to Best Buy their monitor selection was pretty lame.
 
Don't bother with an E2200/E2220. The E5200 will be out soon to replace them. The E7200 is a much better buy if you're on a tight budget instead of the E8400. The E8500/E8600 I'm not sure are worth paying a price premium for, but most likely not unless you want to break some OC'ing records. :confused: The Q6600 is a great deal for $180, and the Q9450 for $280 is tempting, but not worth the extra $100, IMO, unless every program you run takes advantage of SSE4.1.

The cache size difference between all these tiers of CPUs don't matter that much, especially in gaming. You'll notice a performance difference of, at most, 15% from the Conroe-L to the Wolfdale, IIRC.

A dual core CPU is great for pure gaming, and a quadcore is better for heavy multitasking and media encoding. More and more future apps will start to make better use of multi-core CPUs; so in theory, the more cores you have, the longer the CPU will "last;" meaning, it will be still very useful in the future and outperform a dual core.
 
I'm not really on a tight budget here, so the Wolfdale isn't a problem at all. I don't do any of that media encoding / heavy processor stuff. Pretty sure dual core will be the right choice for me for a good while.
 
But I don't consider the E8500 even worth a $20 premium over the E8400.
 
Danny Bui said:
Yes two HD4870X2 is overkill for 1920x1200 gaming. The motherboard and case will come with all the cables and screws that you need.
Click to expand...

I wish people would stop saying this crap. I have a 4870 x2 running with a Q9550 Quad Core CPU OC'd to 3.5 GHz with 4 GB of RAM, no spyware/malware/etc., a 3Dmark06 score of 20000 AND...

Crysis runs like crap in DX9 all high @ 1920 x 1080
World in Conflict runs poorly (around 30FPS) all high (not even Very High) at 1920 x 1080.
And there are more...

And given the INCREDIBLE list of new PC games coming out this year, the 4870 x2 is NOT overkill if you game at 1920 x 1080. If anything, it's UNDERkill.

I can back up everything I say if needed. I think the drivers for the x2 are crap right now, so maybe in a few months the card's full power will be unleashed, but even so, Crysis Warhead, STALKER Clear Sky will run like crap and therefore need an incredibly powerful GPU. Other up and coming games will also need more power.
 
OP: Consider buying the Q9550 for your CPU. It just dropped (within two weeks) from $550 to $329 (check around) and it's a quadcore that OCs pretty well. I have it at 3.5 GHz (using 8.5 multiplier) on AIR, though my air cooler is pretty good (thanks for the recommendation HardOCP!) - it's a Noctua NH-U12P.
 
Still probably gonna stick with an e8500, don't think the quad will be too beneficial for me.

As for having 2 4870 x2's, I've heard mixed things, overkill and not being overkill for 1920 gaming. I know a lot of people been having fps issues because of drivers and whatnot, and then getting them corrected with more stable ones, so I'm still on the fence if I should upgrade to an x38 mobo and a bigger PSU just in case in the future I decide to put in another x2.. but I'm still really not sure, and I'm sure that'd cost a lot more.
 
I have a reg ole 4870 and on my 24" BenQ at 1920 x1200 it rocks gaming. I had a 2nd one for a few days but i noticed ZERo frps increase and only had negative things ( choppy aka stutter i guess) and probs setting fan speed and OCing them. I returned it and am happy with my single 4870. I had a 4870x2 but i never took it out of the box cause i realized reg 4870 does everythign i need it to cept sleep with me... i am working on that though /
 
nice setup, stick w/ the e8500, you should be smiling from ear to ear when gaming @ 1920 x 1200.

post some pics up when you have everything put together
 
Gaming performance is subjective to a point. Get a single HD4870X2, and if you don't like what you see, get another for some Crossfire action... simple as that.
 
Well, I'm debating over some things now.. I want to get the basics set in stone for good, so if I do add that 2nd 4870x2 (if it would really be beneficial for the future), then I'd need to change some parts of my build.

Any more thoughts if planning on having two x2's in Crossfire would be a dumb decision for only 1920x1200 gaming? I have made a list of what I maybe should order if I do go down that route:

http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/P...shListTitle=possible future 2nd 4870x2 build?

thanks for all the help guys.
 
i recommend the xigmatek 1283 as well, it's a sharp cooler and it is 25 right now after rebate on the egg
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233003

love the 8400, but if you plan on oc, the 8500 has a better multiplier to get you that few more mhz, but i ran the 8400 at 4ghz all day long, 40 idle, 55 load

i still game at 1280x1024, so i can't give you an opinion on videocard, but the 1280x1024 tf2@8x msaa is smooth as butter on the 4850
 
I say get the quadcore now, otherwise you'll just be replacing your chip sooner than you need to
 
I don't think I need the quadcore for a good while, I really don't have anything that benefits from it. I'm still not sure if I should get parts for a single x2 or beef the specs up to make room for a 2nd one in the future :|
 
Switched to the Xigamtek cooler and getting a bracket too. I plan on ordering everything tonight, just still debating over the x48 mobo / 1000w psu for a future 2nd 4870x2 upgrade if it's gonna help, or the cheaper mobo / 750w psu for only one x2. Anyone out there run 2 x2's for 1920 gaming and can comment if it's a wise choice or not?

I've done a lot of browsing and it seems that running two x2's in CF is beneficial and a good upgrade if you have the money, so I'm kinda leaning torwards that route now..

lists:

http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/P...umber=9317846&WishListTitle=singleH70x2%parts

http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/P...mber=9334726&WishListTitle=parts%for%2ndH70x2
 
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