advice on building a new rig

drunkenmunky · 12 Jul 2008 at 22:22

I am going build a new computer next week but need some advice on what would suit me and who better to ask than the experts!

1) Motherboard.
I am getting a Q6600 cpu and a Radeon 4870 this week but I need a motherboard which is capable of running these with overclocking capabilites but should also be future proof. I am looking at spending no more than around£120 on a motherboard, the cheaper the better really, as long as it does what I need it to do. It should have at least 4 usb ports.

2) PSU.
I already have a OCZ ModStream which is (I think) 520w. Would this still be ok for this cpu and graphics card? If not, can you recommend me one? It should be no more than £80.

3) CPU Cooler.
I have an Arctic Cooling Freezer 64. Am I right in thinking this will not fit on the Q6600? Which one can you recommend?

4) Sound Card.
I have an X-Fi XtremeAudio card which is noticably better than the onboard sound of my current motherboard. However, I have issues with Creative drivers so I am looking at buying an Asus Xonar DX card.
I only have a 2.1 setup (Altec Lansing 2100). Is it worth buying a sound card or should I stick with onboard sound?

4) Case.
I need a new case. Aluminum, good cooling, fans with dust filters, screwless design. No more than £100.

Other components I already know what I'm getting so don't need help with them. I'm sure you guys can help a newbie out

Cheers.

DAnDan · 12 Jul 2008 at 22:45

For the motherboard, by futureproof, that depends what you want in the future really. Will you be wanting more than 1 GPU? £120 should be enough to get you a decent board though.

2) I'd say yes, but if you want to add anything extra later on you might need an upgrade.

mmorpheus1 · 12 Jul 2008 at 22:48

No motherboard you buy at the moment is futureproof with nahalem around the corner , if you want futureproof , wait till the new x58 chipset and the new nahalem processors appear (even then it aint gunna be future proof)

You need to be looking for the Best Bang For Buck setup that will do what you need for the next year or so

mp260767 · 12 Jul 2008 at 23:21

mobo wise something like the Asus P5Q Intel P45 if you just want to run one card, or the DFI Lan Party DK X38-T2R Intel X38 if you want to run crossfire.

for now the psu should be fine.

cpu cooler, if you're happy with the 64 have a look at the Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro.

try onboard sound to start with then get a sound card at a later date if you think you need it.

case wise maybe something like the Antec Twelve Hundred Ultimate Gaming Case or P182.

drunkenmunky · 13 Jul 2008 at 09:12

Thanks for the replies, I'm going to have a look at some of those suggestions now.
As for the motherboard, I currently have an Abit AN8 with an Athlon 64 3500 which has been running smoothly for about 3 years. Along with a GeForce 8800, it can even play BioShock quite happily on medium/high settings, which surprised me.
But it's beginning to show its age now so a cpu and board that should last at least year will suit me fine as I only intend to upgrade these parts once a year.

drunkenmunky · 13 Jul 2008 at 10:44

Ok, here is what I've added so far. Think that's all I need as I already have a PSU. What are your thoughts, is this a good setup?

Should I wait for the new Radeon 4870 cards due out in a few days? What are the differences between them? I normally go for Sapphire but trying the HIS version instead.

mp260767 · 13 Jul 2008 at 11:19

i'd swap the memory to some pc6400 and put the difference towards swapping the hd to the samsung f1 640gb.

if by the new ati's you mean the 4870 x2 you'll need 4 pci-e power connectors on you're psu.

drunkenmunky · 13 Jul 2008 at 12:45

Going for the Spinpoint F1 1Tb HDD and 2 x 1 OCZ 2GB (2x1GB) PC2-6400C4 Dual Channel Platinum Revision 2 XTC Series DDR2 (OCZ2P800R22GK)

This better?

Not going have 4Gb as XP won't recognize it. I haven't made the move to Vista yet but will do in the future.

PhoenixUK · 13 Jul 2008 at 15:14

Go for 4gb, you will still see ~3.5gb of the ram, and trust me 2>3.5 is a lot of difference.

Not sure about that memory, I can definitely recommend GeiL Black Dragon here if you want cheap and best stuff

.

Will you need 1TB of storage ? You can add another drive later when you run out of space, no point wasting money straight away if you dont really need it.

Also don't forget to pick TRUE or Tuniq Tower so you can OC the crap out of q6600, otherwise there is no point taking it.

And about future-proofing, as said earlier, nehalem comes out in ~4-5months max.

mp260767 · 13 Jul 2008 at 15:16

yup should be fine.

as phoenix said, 4gb will be ok in xp, you'll just be able to use 3.25/3.5 instead of the full 4gb, have a look at the gskill 2x2gb pc6400.

i'd get the samsung f1 640 and decent cooler over the f1 1tb.

drunkenmunky · 13 Jul 2008 at 15:19

PhoenixUK said:
Go for 4gb, you will still see ~3.5gb of the ram, and trust me 2>3.5 is a lot of difference.

Not sure about that memory, I can definitely recommend GeiL Black Dragon here if you want cheap and best stuff .

Will you need 1TB of storage ? You can add another drive later when you run out of space, no point wasting money straight away if you dont really need it.

Also don't forget to pick TRUE or Tuniq Tower so you can OC the crap out of q6600, otherwise there is no point taking it.

And about future-proofing, as said earlier, nehalem comes out in ~4-5months max.

Thanks. Well I have now ordered all the stuff I want so just got to wait now till it arrives

drunkenmunky · 13 Jul 2008 at 15:22

mp260767 said:
yup should be fine.

as phoenix said, 4gb will be ok in xp, you'll just be able to use 3.25/3.5 instead of the full 4gb, have a look at the gskill 2x2gb pc6400.

i'd get the samsung f1 640 and decent cooler over the f1 1tb.

Thanks. I've already ordered now but not to late to make some changes I suppose. I need a 1Tb drive for my Tvix HD Player. I'll take out the 500Gb Seagate drive and use in my PC.