Official XS PC Rig Building Guide

[pcaddict]

Thats bad. Maybe this ram to nehalem system: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231162

[TheGanG]

Both AMD and Intel Build Reference Lists are pretty good Thanks...

I have a "gaming" build list in my mind

EVGA nForce 790i SLI FTW & Innovatek 790i Mainboard Water Cooler Kit
INTEL C2QUAD Q9650 3.00GHz & EK Supreme Acetal CPU Water Block
OCZ DDR3 PC3-16000 Water Flex II Edition Stock Water
EVGA GeForce GTX 280 HC16 Co-op Backplate Stock Water
WESTERN DIGITAL WD3000GLFS VelociRaptor 300GB 10.000Rpm 16MB SATA
SONY DRU-190A-BC 48XCDRW 20X8X20 DVDRW DL
HighPower 1000W 80+ RockSolid
CM Cosmos S (RC-1100) Aluminum Super Tower Black & Open Side Panel Kit
Hailea Ultra 1500 (HC500=790Watt/R 134 A/Titan) Chiller

Sucks?

[pcaddict]

TheGang, get the corsair hx1000w psu.

[thegoatman]

I just built a rig for a friend of mine a week ago. Sub-$2000. It is as follows:

DFI LANPARTY LT X48-T3RS -$270
Intel Core 2 Quad Q9650 3.0GHz Quad Core CPU -$550 -CRAZY overclocker
OCZ Fatal1ty Edition 2x2GB DDR3 RAM -$210
VisionTek Radeon HD 4870 512MB Video Card -$280
Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer Sound Card -$90
PC Power & Cooling S61EPS 610W PSU -$110 (20% off this price @newegg with promo code for another week)
Samsung SATA 22x DVD Burner -$25
Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 500GB HDD -$75
Logitech G11 Keyboard -$50
Windows XP Home -$90
Thermaltake Armor+MX VH8000BWS Case -$140

The total comes to $1830

[Visolara]

Thanks for the guide, it made my PC builds much smoother!

[Catz]

PERFECT OVERCLOCKING SYSTEM SUB $2100

INTEL CORE 2 DUO E8600 WOLFDALE 3.33GHZ 6MB L2 CACHE LGA 775 65W DUAL-CORE PROCESSOR - $269.99
ASUS RAMPAGE EXTREME LGA 775 INTEL X48 ATX INTEL MOTHERBOARD - $389.99
A-DATA DIMM 2 GB DDR3-1600 7-7-7-20 KIT - $189
SAPPHIRE RADEON HD 4870 X2 2GB 512-BIT - $549.99
WESTERN DIGITAL RAPTOR X WD1500AHFD 150GB 10K RPM 16MB CACHE SATA - $174.99
LG BLACK 2MB CACHE SATA 20X DVD±R DVD BURNER W/ SECUREDISC TECH - $25
CORSAIR PSU-1000HX 1000W ATX12V 2.2 / SLI & CROSSFIRE READY 80 PLUS CERTIFIED MODULAR - $259.99
ANTEC TWELVE HUNDRED BLACK STEEL ATX FULL TOWER COMPUTER CASE - $174.99

Processor: Can't beat that performance
Motherboard: high fsb and excellent video
Memory: Cheap DDR3 that works perfect and is highly overclockable
Videocard: Great for benchmarking
Harddrive: All the ssd's that are affordable work less good then this harddrive
Dvd drive: Works perfect and you don't need blueray yet (to expensive)
Psu: Great performance and gives you the option to add another 4870x2 without any problems, also a good investment for many years
Case: just a good looking case that will fit your needs

[TheGanG]

TheGang, get the corsair hx1000w psu.

Seems good, heavy-duty! thanks i have 3 rigs, so i need something like that...


EVGA nForce 790i SLI FTW (Got it) & Innovatek 790i Mainboard Water Cooler Kit
INTEL C2QUAD Q9650 3.00GHz (Ordered) & EK Supreme Acetal CPU Water Block (Got it)
OCZ DDR3 PC3-16000 Water Flex II Edition Stock Water ????? Need advice...
EVGA GeForce GTX 280 HC16 Co-op Backplate Stock Water (Waiting my bucks)
WESTERN DIGITAL WD3000GLFS VelociRaptor 300GB 10.000Rpm 16MB SATA (Got it)
SONY DRU-190A-BC 48XCDRW 20X8X20 DVDRW DL (Got it)
HighPower 1000W 80+ RockSolid (Have it already)
CM Cosmos S (RC-1100) Aluminum Super Tower Black (Got it) & Open Side Panel Kit
Hailea Ultra 1500 (HC500=790Watt/R 134 A/Titan) Chiller (Out of list now)

[Catz]

Seems good, heavy-duty! thanks i have 3 rigs, so i need something like that...


EVGA nForce 790i SLI FTW (Got it) & Innovatek 790i Mainboard Water Cooler Kit
INTEL C2QUAD Q9650 3.00GHz (Ordered) & EK Supreme Acetal CPU Water Block (Got it)
OCZ DDR3 PC3-16000 Water Flex II Edition Stock Water ????? Need advice...
EVGA GeForce GTX 280 HC16 Co-op Backplate Stock Water (Waiting my bucks)
WESTERN DIGITAL WD3000GLFS VelociRaptor 300GB 10.000Rpm 16MB SATA (Got it)
SONY DRU-190A-BC 48XCDRW 20X8X20 DVDRW DL (Got it)
HighPower 1000W 80+ RockSolid (Have it already)
CM Cosmos S (RC-1100) Aluminum Super Tower Black (Got it) & Open Side Panel Kit
Hailea Ultra 1500 (HC500=790Watt/R 134 A/Titan) Chiller (Out of list now)

It's a truly amazing product. I'll receive it soon to review

[Klarko]

PERFECT OVERCLOCKING SYSTEM SUB $2100

INTEL CORE 2 DUO E8600 WOLFDALE 3.33GHZ 6MB L2 CACHE LGA 775 65W DUAL-CORE PROCESSOR - $269.99
ASUS RAMPAGE EXTREME LGA 775 INTEL X48 ATX INTEL MOTHERBOARD - $389.99
A-DATA DIMM 2 GB DDR3-1600 7-7-7-20 KIT - $189
SAPPHIRE RADEON HD 4870 X2 2GB 512-BIT - $549.99
WESTERN DIGITAL RAPTOR X WD1500AHFD 150GB 10K RPM 16MB CACHE SATA - $174.99
LG BLACK 2MB CACHE SATA 20X DVD±R DVD BURNER W/ SECUREDISC TECH - $25
CORSAIR PSU-1000HX 1000W ATX12V 2.2 / SLI & CROSSFIRE READY 80 PLUS CERTIFIED MODULAR - $259.99
ANTEC TWELVE HUNDRED BLACK STEEL ATX FULL TOWER COMPUTER CASE - $174.99

Processor: Can't beat that performance
Motherboard: high fsb and excellent video
Memory: Cheap DDR3 that works perfect and is highly overclockable
Videocard: Great for benchmarking
Harddrive: All the ssd's that are affordable work less good then this harddrive
Dvd drive: Works perfect and you don't need blueray yet (to expensive)
Psu: Great performance and gives you the option to add another 4870x2 without any problems, also a good investment for many years
Case: just a good looking case that will fit your needs

Could you [or anyone] recommend something thats 4Gigs of ram instead of the 2?

That looks like an interesting build

and what for CPU cooling?

[SpazBoy357]

Hey, Perkham, are you planning on doing an update to this thread anytime soon?

Or are you just waiting until after Nehalem drops and all the prices go crazy?

[cokebeast]

Hey, Perkham, are you planning on doing an update to this thread anytime soon?

Or are you just waiting until after Nehalem drops and all the prices go crazy?

Update +1

This is an awesome thread here.

[Newblar]

update for the new i7's!!!

[Klarko]

+1 for updates, that would be awesome

[SpazBoy357]

+1 for updates, that would be awesome

^^^ Agree. But I think Perkham fell off the edge of the world or something

[perkam]

^^^ Agree. But I think Perkham fell off the edge of the world or something

Hey Guys.

Love the new Phenoms. Finally an AMD CPU than can clock *kicks Hector*. Though, I'm a notebook fanboy now anyway. If I'm spending a $1,000 on hardware anytime soon it'll be on a 50" 1080p LCD TV or an Ultra-Thin Notebooky, not a Phenom X4 rig.

Loving the new thin notebooks out at CES now

I'll prolly update this when I get some time though.

Perkam

[retrogamer1990]

fisrt post needs an update

[Klarko]

Thanks Perkam, anything on the i7's and new PHII's will be much appreciated

[T1Cybernetic]

+1 Go for the update

As always another impending new build is on the horizon and one can never have enough reference posts to keep checking back on...

[Red Maw]

Very nice Perkam, I'll be keeping my eyes on this thread for updates.

Kind of depressing seeing what I could get now with what I spent 2 years ago lol.

[pH(x)]

Great write-up, perkam

When can we expect sub-$300 Bloomfield cores, and at what pricepoint intel PC schema would that fit in?

[perkam]

Great write-up, perkam

When can we expect sub-$300 Bloomfield cores, and at what pricepoint intel PC schema would that fit in?

You're quite right. Sub-$300 Bloomfield changes the rig building dynamic quite a bit, but it's not enough for me to hurry this update up.

I can't start the AMD guide as AM3 motherboards are coming out JUST now and only trial and error will determine the best boards for that. There are also new 8xx and 7xx CPUs coming out in Feb/March so I'll have to wait for those as well.

The Intel side is easier in the short run, harder in the long run. I have NO idea how Core i5 will change the intel desktop landscape, and its coming in August '09 and anything I put up now besides the i7 rigs on the Intel side will become obsolete by then.

I put this guide up in August and save for the prices, it held up well until the end of 2008 (it's now obsolete). So I have to make sure the next guide can hold up till end of '09, which means there's still a good deal of waiting involved, as I will have to look into making all rigs DDR3, at the very least.

PS: Most recent WTF moment: Just noticed the 3GB tri-channel memory for i7 rigs. 0_o

Perkam