$2500 USD Build Help!

[CharMz]

CPU/Processor:
*Q9550 - $550 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115041
Q9450 - $330 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115042

Q9550 @ $315 in Q3?

OC'in to 3.0 Ghz

Motherboard:
DDR3
EVGA NVIDIA nForce 790i Ultra - $320 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813188025

DDR2
ASUS Maximus II - $270 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131319
ASUS Striker II - $300 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131255
*ASUS Rampage - $ 290 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131284

HardDrive:
Western Digital VelociRaptor - $300 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822136260

*Western Digital Raptor - $170 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822136012
*Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 - $85 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822148288

PowerSupply:
Enermax Galaxy - $300 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817194019
*Corsair HX1000 - $210 - http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/Produc...dlist=celebros
Ultra X3 1000-Watt

RAM/Memory:
Corsair Dominator 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3 1800 - $540 -
*Corsair Dominator 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR2 1066 - $96 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820145197
Cell Shock DDR2/DDR3 @ TankGuys?

GPU/Video Card:
Evga GeForce GTX 280 - $540 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130365
2x(SLI) - Evga 9800 GTX - $250 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130348

Monitor:
Dell 24' - BOUGHT - http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/p...9&sku=320-6272

TV Tuner:
?

CD/DVD Drive:
Requirements:
Fast
DVD-+R
DVD-+RW
CD-+R
CD-+RW
DVD-+ DL
DVD-ROM/RAM
CD-ROM

Operating System:
Microsoft Windows Vista 64-Bit Home Premium - $100 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16832116204

32-Bit or 64-Bit?

Case:
Lian-Li PC-V2000B Plus II w/Window - $250 - ?

Mid-Tower/Full Tower Case?

Budget: $2500 USD
Uses: Gaming, TV, Everything

Please leave suggestions/changes!
* = Current Choice

Thank You

[71 (Bryan)]

ok, lets start,
save youre money and get th q9450 and just oc it,
next mobo, id get the 780i (striker ii formula) instead of a 790i cuz ddr3 is still too expensive
Hard drive i would get something with allittle more space, for that price you can get 2 1 tb drive and put them in raid 0 (performance gain)\
if you get the 780i id go with the 4 gig kit you have there, id go with 2 of them (total of 8 gb) (780i doesnt support ddr3, only ddr2 and the 790i only supports ddr3 and not ddr2 , fyi)
the psu is ok i guess
with the money you saved id go with the gtx 280 cuz you could upgrade in the future, if you get the 8800gt you wouldnt be able to in the future and i guess 1 gtx will beat 2 gt's

you said you were gonna use it as a tv also, remember to get a tv tuner card

[WhiteFireDragon]

i'm guessing since you're asking for help, you don't know every technical thing about all the components and won't be doing much extreme OC'ing/tweaking? in that case, 790i chipset isn't the best choice. it's for enthusiasts that need every tweak option in BIOS on an SLI mobo for the trade off of a some problems like data corruption. you would probably be best with the newer p45 chipsets. and that 1000W psu is really overkill and expensive. you wont need that much power unless you have like quad SLI. pick a better quality psu from something like PC power&cooling or corsair. and SLI'ing 8800gt's are not even worth it anymore. you can probably go for a single or xfire 4870's, or wait for the 4870x2.

[zanzabar]

i think that u should get the x48 and a pair of 4870 x2, they will be out in late july and since one card at 750mhz beats a 280gtx the 800mhz x2 with 2 glus should be the best that u can buy for while. and u wont be on a defective NB from NV


and hx1000 > enermax 1k and the corsair is cheaper

[CharMz]

yeah i was looking @ the corsair 1000, I will get that if its better and cheaper

anyway what is the performance diff between DDR3 2000 vs DDR2 1066..that i have listed

[alexlyc]

You will need to add a HSF like TRUE + Scythe Fan (~$90) just for kick

Newegg:

$30 - Samsung SH-S223Q
$300 - WD VelociRaptor 300GB
$270 - Corsair 1000W
$92 - OCZ Reaper 4GB DDR2 800
$575 - Intel Q9450 + Evga 780i combo
$320 - CM Cosmos S + Vista Home Premium

Tigerdirect:

$400 - 2x XFX 9800 GTX

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Newegg = $1587 + $46 shipping - $75MIR
Tigerdirect = $400 + $17 shipping - $20MIR (limited 1)
Total = $1987 + $63 shipping - $90 MIR = $2050 shipped before $90 rebate

[zanzabar]

the corsair psu is $209 - 20 MIR if u order from ZZF befor the 15th
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/Produc...dlist=celebros

[Kobalt]

See if you can fit a 150GB raptor for the OS and 2 640GB Western digital drives in RAID 1 for data in your budget. This gives you redundancy, more space, and also allows you to reformat much easier. The 150GB raptor should be around $160 and the 640GB drives $95 each.

[alexlyc]

Crossfire build w/o aftermarket HSF:

Newegg:

$30 - Samsung SH-S223Q
$300 - WD VelociRaptor 300GB
$270 - Corsair 1000W
$92 - OCZ Reaper 4GB DDR2 800
$330 - Intel Q9450 + Free World in Conflict
$290 - Asus Rampage Formula X48
$320 - CM Cosmos S + Vista Home Premium
$620 - 2x Visiontek HD4870

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Newegg = $2252 + $55 shipping - $55MIR
Total = $2307 shipped before $55 rebate

[alexlyc]

the corsair psu is $209 - 20 MIR if u order from ZZF befor the 15th
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/Produc...dlist=celebros

I would keep an eye on Buy.com or Amazon.com, I bought mine from them w/o rebate for $165 shipped

[CharMz]

seems like i should buy 150gb raptor and a seagate 500gb for < then a 300gb raptor ...and what about 2 9800 gtx compared to one 280?..and i wanted to stay with nvidia but i dunno

[zanzabar]

for 500GB and 1TB the samsung is the best drives

and u should really move to ati if not just to use the intel chipset, but then u also have much better IQ for videos and u need less AA. and with a slight oc the 4870 will beat the 280gtx and use way less power

[CharMz]

water cooling:
1. if i go with the Q9450 and OC it to 3.0 Ghz, can i do this 24/7?
2. Just air or should i get water cooling?
3. Worth getting watercooling for just the mobo and the processor?

DDR2 1000-1200 VS DDR3 2000?...how much of an increase?

Are Corsair Dominators Micron D9GKX chips?

[NeedMoMegaHurtZ]

water cooling:
1. if i go with the Q9450 and OC it to 3.0 Ghz, can i do this 24/7?
2. Just air or should i get water cooling?
3. Worth getting watercooling for just the mobo and the processor?

DDR2 1000-1200 VS DDR3 2000?...how much of an increase?

Are Corsair Dominators Micron D9GKX chips?

Q9450 will easily do 3.0Ghz 24/7 on air cooling.

If you are only going to 3.0Ghz, it's not worth the $ to go watercooling, just get a decent HSF.

A good air cooling solution will be within a few degrees of a watercooled setup. A good "cheap" air solution is the Xigmatek HDT-S1283 ~$30. A decent watercooling solution will cost ~$200-$250

You will not notice much difference between DDR2 and DDR3 except in synthetic benchmarks. <1-2% difference on average. Not worth the expense at this point. Multiple review sites have confirmed this.

I think all DDR2 Dominators are D9

[Asgard_thor]

I'm not sure how far it is away, but the Q9550 is falling to the Q9450 price and Q9450 falling to $266.

I would get the corsair hx1000 for sure

@ alexlyc: I agree with his build its pretty nice, if you can find a used 9800gx2 you could consider that as well

[SNiiPE_DoGG]

water cooling:

Are Corsair Dominators Micron D9GKX chips?

not anymore! you cannot get dominator with d9 gmh/gkx they changed it quite a while back

[alexlyc]

GSkill HZ are still D9G, but they are $100+ a set and the manufacture even comment on newegg's user review claiming that they die fast lol. Read this for yourself.

Here's a set of gurantee D9 DDR2 1066 by OCZ if you insist buying it:
OCZ Reaper HPC Edition 2GB DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500)

[[cTx]Hype]

Striker 2 formula is a great mobo just flash to the newest bios as soon as you get it and it will run like a dream.

[zanzabar]

GSkill HZ are still D9G, but they are $100+ a set and the manufacture even comment on newegg's user review claiming that they die fast lol. Read this for yourself.

Here's a set of gurantee D9 DDR2 1066 by OCZ if you insist buying it:
OCZ Reaper HPC Edition 2GB DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500)

HZ can also be promos now, the dominator 800mhz cas3, and then the team extreme (non black) or cellshock (non v2) from, www.memoryc.com are gmh or gkx

[CharMz]

im def going with corsair powersupply..it will last more then one build

[CharMz]

sry for double post..

few more questions:
1. anyone know when the Q9550 will drop to around $300?
2. Micron D9GKX worth it? compared to normal ddr chips, does Corsair dom have D9?
3. 4870x2 release date?/worth it?
4. 2 9800 gtx compared to one 280?
5. buy 2 500 gb seagates in raid, instead of a rapter, speed diff?

[zanzabar]

1) it should be next week, but retailers will the $300 not u, it will be like $350
2) i would get a 4GB powerchips kit, like gskill 1066 or mushkin red line, and corsair has d9 in the cas 3 800mhz thats the only kit left
3) 4870 is late july, so 2-3 weeks
4) they should be equal but the 9800 will be more driver dependent and will have more micro shutter, but then u have to use an NV chipset for 2 9800 and thats not going to get u the 4ghz
5) i use 2 500gb samsungs, adn they give better through put than a raptor, but the raptors have better seek time, make sure that for 500GB drives that u get samsung (f1 preferred u can get them at www.atacom.com)


also i hadnt cought it but u should get vista BIZ x64 its much better than HP