Its time to spot the obvious spec mistake! ;)

UTmaniac

UTmaniac

UTmaniac

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Southampton, hopefully not too hot, or too cold
Yes folks, I never thought it would come to this, but I would appreciate some reassurance from the mad scientists (you lot)! :D

I'm about to order a new gaming rig that needs to not only last a couple of years for me, but then still be suitable for my better half to take over from for Sims4 or the like!

Coolermaster Cosmos Case
Coolermaster 850W modular PSU
ASUS P5K-E/WIFI-AP AiLifestyle Series P35 Socket 775
4x2GB (8GB) OCZ PC2-6400C5 800MHz Quad Channel Platinum Low Latency XTC Series DDR2 (OCZ2P8008GQ)
2xSeagate Seagate ST3250410AS 250GB Hard Drive SATAII 7200rpm 16MB Cache
Pioneer DVR-215BK 20X SATA DVD±RW DL Ram Int Black
Noctua NH-U12P CPU Cooler
Intel Core 2 Quad Q9450 LGA775 'Yorkfield' 2.66GHz 12MB-cache (1333FSB)
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium...

All going with already bought 512MB 8800GTS (sitting in box after brief play in old rig)

The OCZ 8GB kit grabs me on "this week only" as too good to refuse. Having just passed on my old pc (in sig) to my better half, I now regret not getting another batch of the Gskill HZ DDR1, as 4GB would have made her Vista64HP happier.

The idea behind the two Seagate 7200.10 drives is to venture into the realms of raid for the first time. I'm wondering if this option is safer/better than buying two 500GB 7200.11s, which would cost a little more?

I'm a little torn as regards the CPU. Part of me is tempted to be conservative now and get a 8400 dual core for now, saving some cash in the short term, while a quad next week will cost more but hopefully be adequate for when the better half receives this rig in a few years time...

Your thoughts? Thanks in advance...
 
do you really need 8GB or ram, probably not.

if you do want 4GB+, i hope thats the 64bit VISTA there

not to shore on the cooler, most people like the Tuniq Tower round these parts,

with two drives raid 1 or raid 0 is the only option, raid 0 is not "safe" but i wouldn't really recommend raid 1. if budget allows, get two raptors in raid 0 boot/OS/apps, then get a spare drive for storage. (or 3 large drives for raid 5)

PSU overkill, get a Corsair HX 620W, grate PSU that.
 
The other option I had thought about for the cooling was either a Tuniq Tower or a Thermalright 120Ultra, combined with a SilentEagle 1000 fan. I thought the Noctua was highly regarded here, also?

£111 for 8GB is superb value for money! Ordinarily, I would have settled for 2x2GB for about £80, but this way I "futureproof" for £30 now... Without the headache of trying to find matched sticks at a later date.

Yep, Vista64 Home Premium is the plan. The case and psu are a combined special deal ;)
 
Just check as well regarding the OCZ memory with the ASUS motherboard. When I was looking for a sysytem recently I was coming across folks that had trouble when combining the two.
 
Slight refinement to original idea...

Now likely to be ordering:-

Coolermaster Cosmos
Noctua 1200rpm case fan (for HDD bay)
Coolmaster 850W modular
Foxxconn X38 (seems decent comprimise with DDR2 and DDR3 slots)
4GB Corsair Dominator pc-8500 (2x2GB) with Corsair airflow gadget
Quad 9450 (roll on Tuesday hopefully!)
Noctua NH-U12P Heatsink/ NF-P12 fan (although may be swayed to Tuniq Tower)
2x Maxtor STM3500320AS 500GB 32MB cache HDDs (RAID 0... With 80GB backup)
Sony 190s SATA DVD/RW

...But still open to suggestions! ;)
 
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UTmaniac said:
Now likely to be ordering:-

Coolermaster Cosmos
Noctua 1200rpm case fan (for HDD bay)
Coolmaster 850W modular
Foxxconn X38 (seems decent comprimise with DDR2 and DDR3 slots)
4GB Corsair Dominator pc-8500 (2x2GB) with Corsair airflow gadget
Quad 9450 (roll on Tuesday hopefully!)
Noctua NH-U12P Heatsink/ NF-P12 fan (although may be swayed to Tuniq Tower)
2x Maxtor STM3500320AS 500GB 32MB cache HDDs (RAID 0... With 80GB backup)
Sony 190s SATA DVD/RW

...But still open to suggestions! ;)
Click to expand...

faster fans, do you leave you pc on 24/7, those noctua fans make 0 sound, do you really need this? or you value performance, (seeing as how your getting high end stuff)
 
Last edited:
UTmaniac said:
£111 for 8GB is superb value for money! Ordinarily, I would have settled for 2x2GB for about £80, but this way I "futureproof" for £30 now... Without the headache of trying to find matched sticks at a later date.
Click to expand...

Yes its good value for money... now

in 12 months time when you may actually need the second 4GB they will be half the price.

Also, the 'headache' of finding matched pairs is all a lie. Both sticks must just be the same size, speed, and physical layout. With 4 sticks, you can have to pairs which are different.

Your revised spec is a much better option
 
In some respects, having spent this week researching a new rig, I feel this is not the best time to be buying a high-end system that is going to hopefully last four years or so. There is always going to be new products on the horizon, tempting us to hold out just a few more weeks, but there are some issues that bug me a little...

DDR3, albeit rated 1333MHz and cas 7, can now be bought for not much more than high end DDR2 (2x1GB OCZ DDR3 kits are on offer this week). From the reviews I've read so far, even this infant DDR3 is capable of adding noticeable performance to framerates, compared to high end DDR2. However, Vista64 thrives in a 4GB environment, which then makes DDR3 a pricey path to wander down right now! At some point though, probably this year, DDR3 prices will tumble.

Which then will cause a motherboard headache to many, as most enthusiasts will not have DDR3 compatable systems! Right now, Intel CPU motherboard choices seem to be about comprimises, rather than picking from a few good men:-
P35: Good price; Penrhyn capable; "handicapped" crossfire; no PCI-E 2.0 (?); little DDR3 support
X38: Moderate price; Penrhyn ready; some full crossfire ready; some DDR3 options; PCI-E 2.0; heat issues for some
X48: Horrid price; Penrhyn ready; full crossfire support; mainly DDR3 but some DDR2 options; improved heat issues (?); PCI-E 2.0; not available on shelves and review sites cannot disclose performance details yet (?)
750i/780i: Offers 3xSli; DDR2; no PCI-E 2.0 (?); stability issues
790i: DDR3; PCI-E 2.0; stability issues sorted (?); not available to buy

Despite how the above may be interpreted, I am looking forward to finally ordering a system in the next day or so, much more so than when I upgraded in late 2005 (Opteron rig) and summer 2002 (Socket A rig)! I will be putting together and using my first Intel system as my primary rig (as opposed to my emergency P3 1GHz Coppermine that sits patiently in the cupboard). I will be trying RAID for the first time, which should be intresting, as long as I regularly backup essential files! While trying to aquire a 'futureproof' system, it has been great to not be on a strict budget for the first time, which hopefully maximise the longivity of the rig as a gaming machine. :)
 
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