PC spec thread

bradeh · 30 Jan 2008 at 16:58

Hey everyone,

This is my first pc build, and i need some suggestions. Gaming and overclocking will be the only uses and, preformance is my main aim (noise isn't an issue).

This is what im looking at so far :-

Asus Maximus Formula Intel X38
Intel Core 2 Duo E8500
Asus ATI Radeon HD 3870 X2
Lian-Li PC V2000B PLUS Black Aluminium Full-Tower
Crucial Ballistix 2GB (2x1GB) DDR2 PC2-8500C5
Corsair HX 620W ATX2.2 Modular SLI Compliant PSU
D-TEK FuZion CPU Block
EK 3870X2 Block
D-Tek FuZion Accelerator Nozzle Kit
Laing DDC2 12V 18w Pump With PetrasTech Top
ThermoChill PA120.3
Masterkleer 7/16"
Swiftech MCRES-Micro

Two questions,

Do you think i could have E8500 and 3870X2 on the same loop?

What sort of temps does water cooling entail? Is there a need seeing how good the E8*00 clocks on air (maybe get another 3870X2 and ditch WC)?

Ben M · 30 Jan 2008 at 17:38

Why did you decide on 3870X2 if you are into serious gaming?

bradeh · 30 Jan 2008 at 17:44

Ben M said:
Why did you decide on 3870X2 if you are into serious gaming?

I thought the P35/X*8 are better at OC'ing? From what ive read the 3870X2 gives good FPS on the majority of FPS games (I dont play Crysis), what do you recommend?

Ben M · 30 Jan 2008 at 20:29

Well it's similarly priced to a GTX, and I havn't seen any benches, but I don't think that it performs as well as a GTX, it's worth doing some reading to find out i guess.

bradeh · 30 Jan 2008 at 22:59

Ben M said:
Well it's similarly priced to a GTX, and I havn't seen any benches, but I don't think that it performs as well as a GTX, it's worth doing some reading to find out i guess.

Ill look at some reviews, thanks.

ArcAneTSGK · 31 Jan 2008 at 17:06

Ben M said:
Why did you decide on 3870X2 if you are into serious gaming?

There is nothing wrong with ATI if thats what you are trying to say by "Serious Gaming"

ATI HD3870 single GPUs play all my games perfectly fine (UT3, GoWPC, HL2OrangeBox etc...) So if he wants an ATI card, let him have one. I personally find that ATI are better because they are quieter and run cooler, Nvidia get to hot, which means louder fan

Ben M · 31 Jan 2008 at 17:24

ArcAne151 said:
There is nothing wrong with ATI if thats what you are trying to say by "Serious Gaming"

ATI HD3870 single GPUs play all my games perfectly fine (UT3, GoWPC, HL2OrangeBox etc...) So if he wants an ATI card, let him have one. I personally find that ATI are better because they are quieter and run cooler, Nvidia get to hot, which means louder fan

If you're into serious gaming, you want the best card (for the money) and the X2 is a similar price to a GTX. So why pay the same for something, if it isn't as good?