New PC upgrade ok?

CaptainRAVE · 29 Jun 2008 at 18:51

So I am looking at upgrading my PC soon from overclockers...this is what I was looking at...

Intel Core 2 Quad Q9450 (they seem to get MUCH more expensive after this)

Thermalright IFX-14 CPU Cooler (a good cooler?)

XFX nForce 790i Ultra SLI (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR3 Motherboard

2x OCZ 4GB DDR3 PC3-10666C7 1333MHz Platinum (2x2GB) Dual Channel DDR3 (so 8GB total)

BFG GeForce GTX 280 OC 1024MB

2x Maxtor Diamondmax 22 500GB SATA-II Raid 0

Acer P243W Widescreen LCD Monitor

Logitech Z-5500 THX 5.1

Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Pro 7.1 Sound Card

Coolermaster RC-1100 Cosmos S "Sport" Silent Full Tower Case

Coolermaster Real Power 1000w Modular Power Supply

Logitech G15 Gaming Keyboard (920-000375)

Logitech MX Revolution Advanced Cordless Mouse - Retail

Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate SP1 64-Bit - OEM (66R-02034)

Any suggestions/improvements/random comments???

krooton · 29 Jun 2008 at 18:55

Save some cash, and get a 4870 and an Xfire mobo instead?

CaptainRAVE · 29 Jun 2008 at 19:01

I was wondering the same thing. Is an Xfire mobo cheaper?

Plus for the same price of a GTX280 I could get TWO 4870s which I am assuming would be better. I haven't had much time to read the reviews...

marc2003 · 29 Jun 2008 at 19:11

8gb of ddr3? you win the lottery last night? unless you're into serious benchmarking/overclocking with non-air cooling, i really wouldn't bother with ddr3 right now. also any need for the sli mobo? are you planning to add another gtx280 at a later date? for a single card, you can save a bucket load of cash by getting an intel p45 chipset board.

with the money saved by going p45/ddr2, you can get a nicer monitor instead. that acer is only a budget TN panel (poor viewing angles). you could get something like the dell 2408 instead. no doubt someone will be along soon to complain about maxtor drives and their failure rates. most people seem to like WD/samsung around these parts.

don't like that case much but of course that's a totally personal choice. if you like it.......

CaptainRAVE · 29 Jun 2008 at 19:18

marc2003 said:
8gb of ddr3? you win the lottery last night? unless you're into serious benchmarking/overclocking with non-air cooling, i really wouldn't bother with ddr3

right now. also any need for the sli mobo? are you planning to add another gtx280 at a later date? for a single card, you can save a bucket load of cash by getting an intel p45 chipset board.

with the money saved by going p45/ddr2, you can get a nicer monitor instead. that acer is only a budget TN panel (poor viewing angles). you could get something like the dell 2408 instead. no doubt someone will be along soon to complain about maxtor drives and their failure rates. most people seem to like WD/samsung around these parts.

don't like that case much but of course that's a totally personal choice. if you like it.......

I am undecided between DDR2 and DDR3. SLI was there just incase I ever decided to add another card, but I probably wouldnt! I am also starting to lean towards crossfire with the latest cards...

After reading the forums I am more tempted now to get the Samsung SpinPoint F1 750GB for Raid 0...its faster right?

I may buy two 4870s...what would be a good motherboard to go with these? Also...4Gb or 8Gb of DDR2??

marc2003 · 29 Jun 2008 at 19:26

CaptainRAVE said:
I am undecided between DDR2 and DDR3.

well as i said, it's only required if you're at the bleeding edge of performance needs where milliseconds in super pi mean a lot to you. for normal windows multitasking/gaming, 8gb of ddr2 is just fine (even 4gb is really

).

SLI was there just incase I ever decided to add another card, but I probably wouldnt!

well save yourself some bucks then. the gtx280 should last you a good while on it's own. have you even thought about the 4870? it's only 15-20% slower yet costs less than half as much.

After reading the forums I am more tempted now to get the Samsung SpinPoint F1 750GB for Raid 0...its faster right?

yup, the samsungs are very popular right now.

edit: i typed this out before your edits. you'd be better off asking in the mobo forum for more specialist advice. as for the amount of ram, what apps do you use? if you can't think of any heavy duty applications at all and are mainly gaming, then 4gb is plenty.

CaptainRAVE · 29 Jun 2008 at 19:30

So how about this:

Intel Core 2 Quad Q9450

Thermalright IFX-14 CPU Cooler

2x OCZ 4GB (2x2GB) PC2-6400C5 Dual Channel Vista Gold Series DDR2

HIS ATI Radeon HD 4870 512MB GDDR5 TV-Out/Dual DVI/HDMI (PCI-Express) - Crossfire Bundle 4

2x Samsung SpinPoint F1 750GB SATA-II 32MB Cache

Dell Ultrasharp 2408WFP 24" Widescreen LCD Monitor

Logitech Z-5500 THX Certified 5.1 Speaker System

Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Pro 7.1 Sound Card

Coolermaster RC-1100 Cosmos S "Sport" Silent Full Tower Case

Coolermaster Real Power 1000w Modular Power Supply

Logitech G15 Gaming Keyboard

Logitech MX Revolution Advanced Cordless Mouse

Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate SP1 64-Bit

Cant decide on a motherboard...

mp260767 · 29 Jun 2008 at 19:43

i've recommended the samsung 750gb, and in response it seems the 640gb version is quicker, so might be worth using them in you're raid setup.

CaptainRAVE · 29 Jun 2008 at 19:49

mp260767 said:
i've recommended the samsung 750gb, and in response it seems the 640gb version is quicker, so might be worth using them in you're raid setup.

Will do!

marc2003 · 29 Jun 2008 at 19:59

you'll want faster ram than pc6400 to clock a q9450. it only has an 8x multi which would only get you 3.2ghz before you'd be overclocking the ram (some pc6400 does overclock but i know nowt about that

). get some pc8000/pc8500 stuff instead.

also i've never heard of that cooler?? the highly regarded ones are the TRUE, tuniq tower and noctua. just have a quick browse or search the forums for better advice....

for crossfire, you'll be wanting a mobo with an x48 chipset- head on over to the mobo forum to ask what's best.