waddaya think??

[nackz]

I'm planning to build a new gaming machine by the end of this month, I got money to burn $4k-4.5k budget n I'm wondering what do you guys think about my build

CPU : Core 2 Extreme QX9650 $1060
Mobo : Asus Striker II Extreme $460
Ram : 4 x 1gb Corsair Dominator PC2-8500 DDR2 $340
VGA : XFX 9800GX2 $580 (or should I go Quad SLI? $1060)
HDD : Raptor 160GB $160
Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 750GB $150
PSU : PC Power & Cooling 1000w $410
Sound Card : Sound Blaster X-Fi Platinum $200
Case : Cosmos 1000 $180
OS : Vista 64bit Ultimate $180
Cooling Kit : totally NOOB need expert suggestion!!

[comc49]

get samsung 640gb or wd 640gb for 2nd hardrive

[autobot]

Your not gonna need a 1000watt PS to run that. Look more in the 700watt range.

[NKDietrich]

Triple and Quad SLI scale terribly in many games. Not really any need.

PC Power & Cooling PSUs used to be great, now they are just "okay" and hugely overpriced for "okay". Did you know you can get a top notch _1600w_ PSU for less than that PSU you've got there?

You also do not need >650watts unless you go triple or quad SLI.

The DDR3 setup is possibly a waste of money, it wont give you any performance over DDR2 in any real app or game. However if you want to go with the 790i and DDR3 (which from early reports is superior to the 780i, but time will tell) I suggest going with one of the reference boards from EVGA or XFX or something. The Striker II Extreme is $150 more for zero real benefit.

Also +1 to the Samsung/WD 640GB suggestions. They are the fastest "big" drives out there.

As far as the CPU and Cooling go, it really depends on what you do. For pure gaming the QX is a huge waste of cash. You'll get identical gaming performance from a Q9450, assuming you overclock both. If you do a lot of purely CPU bound things like encoding, the QX might be a bit more worth it, but still very expensive.

The thing to remember is that these days a lot of the really expensive stuff is a huge waste. You can literally get 95% of the performance at half the cost.

[Ethelred]

The motherboard you have chosen doesn't support DDR2...If you aren't going to do Quad-SLI or SLI of any sort, I would say don't buy a nVidia chipset. What kind of cooling do you want to do? Air, Water, Phase?

ASUS Striker II (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131255) or ABIT IX38 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813127033)
Auzentech X-Fi Prelude (http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3334003&CatId=2771) $179
PCP&P 750W Power Supply (http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3247717&CatId=106) $154
G.Skill PC8500 (2 x 2gb) (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231166) $144

On a side note: Not to bash anything, but I think it's asinine how people automatically assume if I choose the most expensive parts in each category I must have the most awesome machine goodness ever. I wish people would research the products a little before buying rather than just find a bunch of crap and post it.

[[cTx]Raptor22]

I would say there is also not much benefit to buying an "extreme edition" cpu... get a 9450.... buy some better cooling and overclock. :)

[zanzabar]

dont get the 790i (it has bad raid support and will corrupt your data) get the gx2 and an x48 (rampage extreme), and then swap the 9650 for the 9770, then get this memory instead its much better

2GB (2x1GB) PC 14400 8-7-6-21 Micron DDR3
http://www.tankguys.com/product_info.php?cPath=46_192&products_id=1774
and u were pairing a ddr3 board with ddr2 ram if u wanted ddr2 then get 4GB of gskill 1066mhz 2x2gb or dominator 1066 or better 2x2GB, dominator 2x1GB is trash now u will get ether elpedia or powerchips so its not worth it

and last dont bother with a sound card from creative

[[cTx]Raptor22]

dont get the 790i (it has bad raid support and will corrupt your data) get the gx2 and an x48 (rampage extreme), and then swap the 9650 for the 9770, then get this memory instead its much better

2GB (2x1GB) PC 14400 8-7-6-21 Micron DDR3
http://www.tankguys.com/product_info.php?cPath=46_192&products_id=1774
and u were pairing a ddr3 board with ddr2 ram if u wanted ddr2 then get 4GB of gskill 1066mhz 2x2gb or dominator 1066 or better 2x2GB, dominator 2x1GB is trash now u will get ether elpedia or powerchips so its not worth it

and last dont bother with a sound card from creative

Find a Meridian, or go for a Prelude. :up:

ASUS D2X aint bad either.

[nackz]

Thanx Ethelred for mentioning that Striker II Extreme doesn't support DDR2 I think I miss that part when I read the spec :D
Well I'm planning to use water cooling for this system, but I never used water cooler before... I read that it's better to build your own rather than buy the whole kit.. but tell you the truth.. I really don't know what I'm doing here, :confused: so can someone help me with this?

[zanzabar]

Raptor22;2897407']Find a Meridian, or go for a Prelude. :up:

ASUS D2X aint bad either.

i like the m-audio revolution 7.1 with the via envy hd, its only $60 at guitar center and its got full open al and asio vista drivers and via updates their drivers alot with good drivers

[Ethelred]

Well I'm planning to use water cooling for this system, but I never used water cooler before... I read that it's better to build your own rather than buy the whole kit.. but tell you the truth.. I really don't know what I'm doing here, :confused: so can someone help me with this?

This isn't meant to come off as short or anything in the negative since. I have very limited experience with water (don't really believe in the value of it (cost to benefit ratio)), however, I believe that all that you seek is within (http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=70) (XS Liquid Cooling).

[begrip]

it looks nice but that someone sad do you really need that cpu it isnt cheap if you ask me :p:

[[cTx]Raptor22]

i like the m-audio revolution 7.1 with the via envy hd, its only $60 at guitar center and its got full open al and asio vista drivers and via updates their drivers alot with good drivers

They have one for sale in the FS section for $25, you might get it for $20 or $15 if you talk him down. :up: