building my own rig...

[LukaszR1]

Well i just have a small question. I'm planning on building my own desktop pc, i currently have one i built, but its now completely outdated and its time i upgraded aka re-built it from scratch.

One of my questions is simply about the processor. Now we have the Quad-core and Dual-Core processors and i'm not sure which to get. This will be a 775 socket Intel Chip. A quad-core is a couple hundred dollars more then the dual-core chips so thats why i want to see which i should settle for.

This pc will be used for school and gaming. I will be throwing in 2 SLI - Geforce 9600 cards, 4 gigs of ram. So it'll be a pretty ownage pc by the end of the build, but i need advice on the processor.

Which should i get?

 

[AmericanSensei]

Buy the QX9770. It's socket 775

I've just recently upgraded from my Q6600 to the QX9650. Do I need it, Not at all, But I take pride in my computers and its' more so a hobby than anything else. As for Graphics Cards I have two 8800 Ultras in SLI along with 8Gigs of memory. I can max out any game out there so far.

But the determing factor would be how much do you want to spend. And is this more of a need or want? The processor I suggested to you is well over $1000 bucks. The Q6600 is more mainstream and works well with most if not all apps for the typical gamer. It's MUCH cheaper, But again, This is up to you.

Wrong forum btw. Should be Computer Hardware.

 

[LukaszR1]

cost is a factor, but then again not a key one at that. Thank you for your suggestion, the chip looks crazy. And see this too is one of my hobbies, so its basically a "wanting" factor now LOL. No i probably don't need it, but i want it...because i want to have the meanest machine in town. I will look into the QX9650 and let you know if thats what i decide to go with.

If anyone else has any othe recomendations then please do post them.

@American
With two geforce 9600's running SLI, i am almost forsure that i will be able to max out every game out there and not worry about lag or chopping game play. 4 gigs of ram is plenty too, i'm staying with xp so my resources won't get eatin alive by Vista. The mother board i have has 3 PCI-express slots that are SLI compatible, so if i really wanted too, i could go with 3 9600's running in sink with eachother. and with a 1 gig memory dedicated on each card, i think i'm set for the gaming for the next 10 years atleast LOL.

 

[esa193]

nvm

 

[AmericanSensei]

Just understand that if you decide to stick with XP and your also a graphics man like myself, You won't get Directx10 unless you do make the plunge to Vista.

Aside from that, I don't see a realistic argument to justify 3 9600's. I run ANYTHING Maxxed out with two 8800 Ultras right now.

But do what you will.

 

[LukaszR1]

yeah i do realize that. But i will be waiting until Vista has all bugs fixed and whatever other problems i've read about and heard from users on it now.

As for running 3 9600's, there is no reason for it...i just simply want too LOL - even running 2 9600's i'd be able to max out all games, but having three just makes the rig tones better. Again, its a hobbie thing, and i want to have the meanest machine on the block. And hopefully this rig will last me say 5 years or so.

The one i'm sitting on now has lasted me 6 years. Upgraded the video card once, and added in some RAM and she still runs smooth. But as for the calebur of games, they no longer will run on a 2.1 intel celeron, so its about time to update. I built the pc i'm on now when i was 12 years old, and i was pretty proud to see it run once i got all the parts in . Now its time to step up a few levels...well LOT of levels LOL.

 

[worshipme]

yeah i do realize that. But i will be waiting until Vista has all bugs fixed and whatever other problems i've read about and heard from users on it now.

I have zero problems with Vista and I'm running 64bit. I would not willingly go back to XP after running Vista for 6 months and I think the majority of people on this forum would say the same thing.

As for running 3 9600's, there is no reason for it...i just simply want too LOL - even running 2 9600's i'd be able to max out all games, but having three just makes the rig tones better. Again, its a hobbie thing, and i want to have the meanest machine on the block. And hopefully this rig will last me say 5 years or so.

The 9600GT doesn't have tri-SLI support. That feature is exclusive to the 8800GTX/8800ULTRA and 9800GTX.
But I do agree with the 9600GT SLI. It is the sweet spot in SLI ATM but like any multi-GPU solution, it can be a bit of a gamble as you just don't know what support is going to be like in certain games.

And as for the CPU, if this is a gaming machine, then clock speeds are what you want. 95% of games run no more than two threads and therefore four cores aren't going to be fully utilized and more performance would be gained from higher clock speeds. I would recommend the E8400/E3110, they are 45nm parts and run stock at 3.0GHz but can be OC'ed to 4GHz with some decent air cooling.
I picked up two and I'm just waiting for my P5K to get back.


Oh, and BTW. Sorry to disspoint you but no system is future proof. There will always be something better and a $5000 rig today will be outdated and slow tomorrow.

 

[LukaszR1]

Oh, and BTW. Sorry to disspoint you but no system is future proof. There will always be something better and a $5000 rig today will be outdated and slow tomorrow.

yes i already know that LOL. Unfortunately that will always be the case, but ofcourse i can still try to build something that will still hold up the competition. but exactly what you said, what you buy today, is already outdated tomorrow.

Thank you for your suggestion, i had a few people give me very similiar opinions. I will still be looking around at CPU's but definitely what you just said makes lots of sense.

As for the tri-SLI i was refering to the 9800 card, i just realized i typed in 9600. oops .

 

[worshipme]

if you're going to wait for the 9800GT, you might as well go with the HD 4870. Reports put it at least 25% above the 9800GTX performance wise and the price will be around $275. Launch date is 15th June. And the HD4870X2 will get a shared memory controller meaning each GPU can access the other's 512MB of frame buffer when needed.