New computer Build -- Opinions?

pike1226

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I know you must see more of threads than you'd even want, but I seem to be in a rut here. I plan to build a 'medium' to high end gaming PC. I'll list some of my ideas.

CPU
I plan to over clock either of these CPU's
-- Q9550 -- 325$
-- E8600 -- 270$

Motherboard
EVGA 790i -- 290$

Memory
4 GB DDR3 2000 -- 375$

Video Cards
2x SLI'ed GTX 280 XFX XXX -- 940$
Open to other opinions here -- Other 280's or similarly powerful cards.

Power Supply
Open to opinions here -- Looking at one below
Thermaltake 1200W -- 390$

Hard Drive
300 GB 10k RPM 3.0 Gb/s -- 280$

I will go with the Antec 1200 for a case, use liquid cooling for the CPU (780e) and use misc. hardware and optical drives.

What do you guys think -- See any bottle necks or overkills?

Thanks a lot for any help you can offer
 
I know -- I just had to do the DDR3 it was too tempting

What do you think for a CPU

assuming this is a gaming PC. i would go with the E8600 as with most games out right now, the Quad-cores aren't yet supported, meaning you won't utilize the full capabilities of the Quad. but if you are going to be doing a lot of multi-tasking on this PC, then you will most likely benefit from the Quad.

I have the E8400 in my build, and its simply an amazing processor, easy to OC and i can't say i made any wrong decision getting it. i was also thinking wether or not to get Quad, and i think my decision was pretty wise :).

Now if you want to be future proof...then get the Quad, but for gaming, the E8600 will be way MORE then you'll ever need :).

So in my opinion...Intel Core 2 Duo :D
 
I might actually be leaning toward the e8600 too. Although quad-core is nice, like you said games haven't utilized them yet. And when they do -- I'm sure I can move up to the newest quad core with LGA775.
 
I might actually be leaning toward the e8600 too. Although quad-core is nice, like you said games haven't utilized them yet. And when they do -- I'm sure I can move up to the newest quad core with LGA775.

exactly...another reason why i didn't go with the Quad right away. when the time comes, i will be able to upgrade whenever i feel like it...since my board is compatible with all the Duo's and Quad's.
Also i bet in a couple years the Quads will be cheaper anyhow :D :D
 
I plan to over clock either of these CPU's
-- Q9550 -- 325$
-- E8600 -- 270$
I would actually go with the Q9550 I think. There is a chance you will get an E0 revision, The C1s seemed to have FSB wall issues, but the E0s are doing much better apparently. So fingers crossed you get an E0 here.
Memory
4 GB DDR3 2000 -- 375$
Overkill, I don't know of any Intel board that would reach hit 1000 FSB (that would be 4000MHz quad pumped). That is the speed you'd need to hit to actually see the full bandwidth potential of this RAM. DDR3 is useless on the Intel FSB platforms because of the FSB's bandwidth limitations. Save your money and go with 2x2GB of DDR2 1066 It will be more than enough for your Q9550 to hit it's max OC.
Video Cards
2x SLI'ed GTX 280 XFX XXX -- 940$
Open to other opinions here -- Other 280's or similarly powerful cards.
For that price, you could almost get two HD 4870 X2's, which would obliterate GTX 280 SLi. Your needs here are based on the resolution you play at, for 1920x1200, stick with a single GTX 280, it will be more than enough. For 2560x1600, step up to a HD 4870 X2
And just get a stock clocked GTX 280, spending more on an overclocked one is pointless, you can just do it yourself.
Power Supply
Open to opinions here -- Looking at one below
Thermaltake 1200W -- 390$
Overkill. People are running GTX 280 SLi on power supplies such as the Corsair HX620
Also, when your PSU is only outputting a fraction of it's rated power, it's efficiency decreases, meaning extra heat.
The Corsair HX620 or the PC Power & Cooling Silencer 750W would be perfect.
Motherboard
EVGA 790i -- 290$
If you scrap the SLi, you can get an Intel motherboard, hooray! Better overclocking and less querks. ASUS P5Q-E
 
I would actually go with the Q9550 I think. There is a chance you will get an E0 revision, The C1s seemed to have FSB wall issues, but the E0s are doing much better apparently. So fingers crossed you get an E0 here.

Overkill, I don't know of any Intel board that would reach hit 1000 FSB (that would be 4000MHz quad pumped). That is the speed you'd need to hit to actually see the full bandwidth potential of this RAM. DDR3 is useless on the Intel FSB platforms because of the FSB's bandwidth limitations. Save your money and go with 2x2GB of DDR2 1066 It will be more than enough for your Q9550 to hit it's max OC.

For that price, you could almost get two HD 4870 X2's, which would obliterate GTX 280 SLi. Your needs here are based on the resolution you play at, for 1920x1200, stick with a single GTX 280, it will be more than enough. For 2560x1600, step up to a HD 4870 X2
And just get a stock clocked GTX 280, spending more on an overclocked one is pointless, you can just do it yourself.

Overkill. People are running GTX 280 SLi on power supplies such as the Corsair HX620
Also, when your PSU is only outputting a fraction of it's rated power, it's efficiency decreases, meaning extra heat.
The Corsair HX620 or the PC Power & Cooling Silencer 750W would be perfect.

If you scrap the SLi, you can get an Intel motherboard, hooray! Better overclocking and less querks. ASUS P5Q-E

I love you.
 
E8500 has little performance loss compared to E8600 but at a nice price difference. I think the E8500 has more bang for buck compared to E8600
 
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