Some Advice on New System

kermit_sun

kermit_sun

kermit_sun

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22 Sep 2008
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Hello all,
It was recommended for me to post up the specs of the new rig I am building, so that those more experienced could cast their discerning eye upon it and advise me whether it will work. Actually it’s not an entirely new system, I’m cannibalising my old one. Hopefully it will do for mid-to-high-end gaming for a couple of years, after which I would probably upgrade the older parts, get another graphics card for Cross Fire and squeeze another 2 years or so out of it.

The old parts:
PSU: OCZ 600 StealthXStream
Hard Drive: Hitachi HDS728080-PLAT20 (80GB)
DVD R/RW: Samsung SH-W08A

Both of the above storage devices will have to be connected with a single UltraDMA cable to the motherboard. They are good devices and neither are essential for gaming, so I am loathe to get rid of them. I am hoping that placing them on the same ribbon cable won’t slow them down horribly. :p


The new shinies:
MOBO: ASUS P5E with X38 chipset, 1333 MHz FSB, DDR2 @ 1066 MT/s (ASUS say that the memory can be overclocked to 1200 MT/s)
CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E8500, 3.16 GHz CPU speed, 1333 Bus speed
CPU Cooler: Tuniq Tower 120mm (this one is known to fit the motherboard)
RAM: 2*1GB Corsair TWIN2X2048-8500C5D (taken from the QVL for this MOBO on the ASUS website)
Graphics: PowerColor PCS 512MB Radeon HD 4850

Luckily all these components are available from the OcUK shop, so I should save on shipping costs overall. :)

The big question is, will it all work when I put it together? :confused:

Also, does anyone know what spec. number the E8500 CPU’s sold by the OcUK shop are? Are they the old ones with C0 core stepping or the new ones with E0 core stepping? And if they happen to be the old version is the difference worth the extra £10 for delivery from another supplier?

All comments appreciated.
 
I'd say it's unlikely you'll be able to max games with 2 x 4850's in xfire in 2 years time which is why i think sli/xfire is a waste of time long term.
I would get a p45 based board and one 4850 and just upgrade that as and when needed.

And ram you don't need that the multi on the 8500 is 9.5x so all you'd need is 450mhz capable ram to hit 4.2 ghz just get any of the 2x2gb packs such as ocz gskill pc6400.

With the new intel socket round the corner it might be wise to go budget for now like a cheapo board and 2180 and 4850.
 
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Ok, thanks for the advice. How about this configuration:

MOBO: MSI P45 Platinum, 333MHz (1333 FSB), DDR 800 (1066/1200 with Oc)
CPU: Intel Pentium Dual-Core E2180
Graphics: PowerColor PCS 512MB Radeon HD 4850
CPU Cooler:Tuniq Tower 120mm
RAM: 2*1GB GeIL PC2-6400C4 800MHz (GX22GB6400UDC)
OR :confused:
2*1GB OCZ PC2-6400C4 Platinum Revision 2 XTC (OCZ2P800R22GK)

I don’t think I need more than 2GB of RAM since I’ll be running XP on this machine.
 
if you want to high end game at the moment, a 4870 will be the best card for you. also, definitely get 4 gigs of ram (2x2) this is some good ram:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showp... Dragon DDR2 Dual Channel Kit (GB24GB6400C4DC)

the cpu cooler you have is a bit OTT, the arctic pro freezer 7 is a good choice if you are not overclocking or only lightly:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showp...oling Freezer 7 Pro CPU Cooler (Socket LGA775)

or if you plan to overclock quite a bit then this cooler is cheaper and competes with the tuniq tower:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showp...=Noctua NH-U12P CPU Cooler (Socket AM2/LGA775)


the e2180 is lacking in cache and a better dual core processor will help in games:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showp...6&subcat=&name=Intel Pentium Dual-Core E5200 "LGA775%20Core%202"%202.50GHz%20(800FSB)%20-%20Retail

go for tha above if you want to save some money or:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showp...LGA775 'Wolfdale' 3.00GHz (1333FSB) - Retail

which is a blazing fast processor.

i agree with c64 that xfire in the long run isn't that great. get a p45 asus board:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showp...P45 (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard

if you plan to overclock or a cheaper p35 board:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showp...P35 (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard

if your not.
 
I was indeed planning to try and overclock this rig, possibly when it gets a bit old and starts showing its age, so that I can get some more use out of it.

You are right flinco, the Noctua NH-U12P CPU Cooler would probably be a better choice. Thanks. ;)

As for the motherboard, I was hoping to keep my PS2 keyboard and mouse, which rules out most of the P45 ASUS boards apart from the P5Q and P5Q Pro. I couldn’t find any reviews for the P5Q, but the P5Q Pro is reviewed to have heating issues on the Northbridge when overclocking. Since the Northbridge heatsink is even smaller on the P5Q than on the P5Q Pro I can only assume that will have the same problem. :(

The MSI P45 on the other hand has a fantastic chipset cooler and shows to have the potential for good overclocks, now that the BIOS has been revised some. http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?p=11875109#post11875109
So I think I should go with the MSI P45, even though its £35 dearer.

In my opinion it all boils down to how long I want the computer to last I suppose, which in my case will mostly be determined by how long I expect the 4850 or 4870 to provide a satisfying gaming experience for.

My guestimation would be about 6 years at the most, if I don’t mind running at low resolutions for the last couple of years. :confused: Please feel free to correct me if I seem terribly misguided here.

Now, the rest of the components should be picked to last as long as the graphics card.

Overclocking issues aside, whichever motherboard and RAM I pick, I can easily see it lasting that long. The main question plaguing me is which CPU would have that longevity?

The E2180 seems to have extremely good overclocking potential, as does the E5200. However, I think neither of these will last 6 years, which leaves the E8400 or E8500 as the better long term options. Does that sound right to you experienced types?
 
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