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Advice on System Build

Tomtheman21

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Jul 15, 2008
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Hey all, I'm new to these forum's so I was wondering if you could give me some advice on my new PC I'm building. I am not very smart when it comes to the technical information about computer parts, but I do know some things. My rig includes,
Case
NZXT LEXA BlackLine Black Steel
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811146038
Hard Drive
Western Digital Caviar SE WD5000AAJS 500GB 7200 RPM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136178
Power Supply
Rosewill RX750-D-B ATX12V v2.2 & EPS12V v2.91 750W
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817182069
CD-ROM
ASUS Black 20X DVD+R
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135168
RAM
OCZ Reaper HPC 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227239
CPU
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz 2 x 4MB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115017
MOBO
EVGA 132-CK-NF78-A1 LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 780i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813188024
CPU Cooler
ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro 92mm CPU Cooler
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835186134
Video Card
XFX PVT98FYDDU GeForce 9800 GTX(G92) XXX 512MB 256-bit GDDR3
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150292
Operating System
Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate SP1 32-bit
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116490


I was planning on tri SlI'ing the 9800 GTX XXX, but seeing as ATI's forcing of Nividia's prices to lower on the GTX 280, I had second thoughts. I am thinking about getting the 4870x2 when it comes out, but I wasn't sure if the 780i mobo that i selected would support crossfire, any suggestions? I will also be getting in the future, 2 more sticks of RAM and a liquid cooling system. I was thinking about the KOOLANCE EX2-750BK. Let me know what you think.


Thanks,
Tom

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835127006&Tpk=koolance
(link for cooling system)
 

msarp

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Sep 24, 2007
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Location
NY
Processor E8400
Motherboard ASUS Maximus Formula SE
Cooling Thermalright 120 Black Xtreme
Memory Corsair Dominator 4gGB PC2 8500
Video Card(s) VisionTek 4870
Storage WD 640GB
Display(s) Samsung 226 BW
Case ANTEC p182
Audio Device(s) X-FIRE Extreme Music
Power Supply Corsair 620
drop the case and get the Antec 900. Great cooling and a very popular case! $119.99 + $40.00 Rebate and Free shipping. Total after rebate= $79.99 !

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129021

Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD6400AAKS 640GB: excellent HD and Fast!

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136218

CORSAIR CMPSU-620HX:Great PS , Modular, and a 5 year warranty. $164.99 W/ $25.00 rebate & free shipping

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139002

G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 : this is all you need. $79.00 FREE SHIPPING

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231122

I would go with the single 4870X2 and maybe a Good crossfire motherboard like ASUS P5E LGA 775 Intel X38. If you are a multitasking freak , then the q6600 is a good choice otherwise I would got with the E8400. I had a Q6600 on water and I got sick of the maintenance. And I also did not multitask much so I got a E8400 and a Thermalright 120 ultra xtreme. And wow, 4.0 ghz, with temps idle around 37/38 c and load 45/46c in my AntecP182.
Hope this helps
 
Joined
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Processor C2Q6600 @ 1.6 GHz
Motherboard Anus PQ5
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Memory GEiL2 x 1 GB PC2 6400
Video Card(s) MSi 4830 (RIP)
Storage Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 320 GB Perpendicular Recording
Display(s) Dell 17'
Case El Cheepo
Audio Device(s) 7.1 Onboard
Power Supply Corsair TX750
Software MCE2K5
GET RID OF THE ROSEWILL psu.
 

PrudentPrincess

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System Name Foobox3000
Processor Core 2 Duo 36750@3.46ghz
Motherboard Gigabyte GA-G33M-DS2R
Memory 2gb (2x1gb) Crucial Ballistix Tracer
Video Card(s) EVGA 9800gtx
Storage 500gb 7200prm IDE
Display(s) Sceptre 19"
Case Apevia X-Qpack 2 Red
Power Supply 500w Apevia generic
Joined
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Location
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Processor C2Q6600 @ 1.6 GHz
Motherboard Anus PQ5
Cooling ACFPro
Memory GEiL2 x 1 GB PC2 6400
Video Card(s) MSi 4830 (RIP)
Storage Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 320 GB Perpendicular Recording
Display(s) Dell 17'
Case El Cheepo
Audio Device(s) 7.1 Onboard
Power Supply Corsair TX750
Software MCE2K5
sorry never meant to shout
 
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System Name MUFFIN_MACHINE
Processor i7 920
Motherboard E760 Classified
Cooling cooler master gemini II
Memory 6gb ddr3 crucial ballistix
Video Card(s) TFIII 6950
Storage 500gb wd, samsung spinpoint t series 500gb, 2 tb samsung somthing or other
Display(s) syncmaster 940bw 19"
Case Corsair Carbide Series 500R
Audio Device(s) X-fi extrememusic
Power Supply Corsair HX 850W
Software windows 7 64bit
Benchmark Scores i can drink a pint in 5 seconds flat.
i would put a 4870 in if you could or if you want to spring for it a 4870x2 (when it comes out) right now they cant be beat price/performance- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102748

also ditch the rosewill psu, i would go for a corsair, thermaltake, or maybe ocz (all great companies)- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139006

and fyi if you want some bitching thermal paste get some MX2- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835186020

whats your overall budget?
 

Tomtheman21

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I would go with the single 4870X2 and maybe a Good crossfire motherboard like ASUS P5E LGA 775 Intel X38. If you are a multitasking freak , then the q6600 is a good choice otherwise I would got with the E8400. I had a Q6600 on water and I got sick of the maintenance. And I also did not multitask much so I got a E8400 and a Thermalright 120 ultra xtreme. And wow, 4.0 ghz, with temps idle around 37/38 c and load 45/46c in my AntecP182.
Hope this helps

Why would you go with a single? if I could run 2 why not? I changed my setup with the antec 900, why do you use the antecP182? is it better than the 900? Where can I buy the Thermalright 123 ultra extreme, Its not on Newegg.com
Thanks
 
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Location
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Processor Q6600@3000MHz
Motherboard Asus Striker II Formula
Cooling Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme w/ Nanoxia@2000rpm
Memory G.Skill 2x1GB@800MHz@4-4-3-5@2.1V
Video Card(s) Asus 8800GTS G92@740/1800/2100
Storage Seagate 7200.10 320GB
Display(s) CRT that SUCKS!
Case CM Cosmos S
Audio Device(s) Z-5500 Digital w/ SupremeFX II (the mobo's add-on sound card)
Power Supply Chieftec Modular 850W
Software WinXP,
Benchmark Scores 3dMark06 - 16735, SuperPI 1.5 - 17.8s
It's an nVidia chipset. How do you expect it to support Crossfire? :confused: That's only for Intel chipsets. And if you plan to overclock a quad cpu it just won't happen on a nVidia board. Get a nice X48 board, overclock your Q6600 and if you get a 4870X2 you can do Crossfire down the road, but you'll need at least an 800W PSU (OC'ed Quad + 2x 4870X2 = Heavy power draw) I have a Q6600 G0 and a 780i board and it's s**t for overclocking quads. If you're not overclocking you won't need water cooling. :toast:
 

Megasty

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Processor i7 920 @ 3.6 GHz (4.0 when gaming)
Motherboard Asus Rampage II Extreme - Yeah I Bought It...
Cooling Swiftech.
Memory 12 GB Crucial Ballistix Tracer - I Love Red
Video Card(s) ASUS EAH4870X2 - That Fan Is...!?
Storage 4 WD 1.5 TB
Display(s) 24" Sceptre
Case TT Xaser VI - Fugly, Red, & Huge...
Audio Device(s) The ASUS Thingy
Power Supply Ultra X3 1000W
Software Vista Ultimate SP1 64bit
Just don't go with tri-9800GTXs. My bro has them & the 3rd GPU does hardly anything. A single 4870x2 will destroy them anyway. That Koolance thing is 'underkill', it doesn't work for what its worth.
 
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Processor Core i5 3570K
Motherboard AsRock z77 Pro4
Cooling Zalman CNPS10X Extreme
Memory 2x4GB GSkill Sniper
Video Card(s) MSI GTX970 Gaming
Storage 240GB OCZ ARC 100, Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB
Display(s) LG 23" 1920x1080
Case Antec P100
Audio Device(s) Onboard
Power Supply Antec Edge 750W
Software Windows 8.1 Pro 64
Why 32 Bit OS? Go 64 if you're going Vista......
 

Tomtheman21

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woo

Why 32 Bit OS? Go 64 if you're going Vista......

I am getting the 32 bit because a friend of mine told me 64 bit was a waste, if you can explain to me how 64 is better than 32 i will get it. I would like to add the Thermalright 120 ultra extreme, if anyone else can find me a decent link for it.

My overall budget is $1500 right now, with a few changes I've made thanks to all of your help, my price right now is $1385.89 via newegg.com
Setup
Antec 900 =$119.99-$40.00(mail in rebate)
Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD6400AAKS 640GB =$89.99
G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 =$79.99
CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V =$129.99-$20.00(mail in rebate)
ASUS Black 20X DVD+R =$26.99
SAPPHIRE 100243L Radeon HD 4870 512MB 256-bit GDDR5 =$304.99
ARCTIC COOLING MX-2 =$6.99
ASUS P5E LGA 775 Intel X38 ATX Intel Motherboard =$224.99
Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz =$189.99
Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate SP1 32-bit =$179.99
ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro 92mm CPU Cooler =$31.99

Thanks again
 
Joined
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System Name Aquarium
Processor Ryzen 9 7950x
Motherboard ROG Strix X670-E
Cooling Lian Li Galahead 360 AIO
Memory 2x16gb Flare X5 Series 32GB (2 x 16GB) DDR5-6000 PC5-48000
Video Card(s) Asus RTX 3060
Storage 2TB WD SN850X Black NVMe, 500GB Samsung 970 NVMe
Display(s) Gigabyte 32" IPS 144Hz
Case Hyte Y60
Power Supply Corsair RMx 850
Software Win 11 Pro/ PopOS!
32 bit OS can only use ~3.5gb of ram total. If your doing tri-sli or tri-fire that's 1.5gb right there, leaving only 2gb for ram. If you want all of your memory to be used, get 64 bit. It can't be a waste, it's the same price.
 
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Processor C2Q6600 @ 1.6 GHz
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Memory GEiL2 x 1 GB PC2 6400
Video Card(s) MSi 4830 (RIP)
Storage Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 320 GB Perpendicular Recording
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Case El Cheepo
Audio Device(s) 7.1 Onboard
Power Supply Corsair TX750
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System Name Monolith
Processor Intel Xeon E3110 Wolfdale@3.5GHz
Motherboard MSI P35-Neo
Cooling Active Air
Memory 4GB DDR2 800
Video Card(s) Sapphire HD 3850 512MB PCI-E
Storage 1 x 80GB Internal, 1 x 250GB Internal, 1 x 40GB External
Display(s) Acer X203w
Case Generic black case with locking front bezel
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Power Supply 500 Watt Seasonic M12
Software Windows 7 Ultimate x64
My advice is to not insult yourself in your thread title, rather I would choose a title that more accurately describes your thread topic. I've taken the liberty of changing your title.

Welcome to TPU!
 
Joined
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Location
c:\programs\kitteh.exe
Processor C2Q6600 @ 1.6 GHz
Motherboard Anus PQ5
Cooling ACFPro
Memory GEiL2 x 1 GB PC2 6400
Video Card(s) MSi 4830 (RIP)
Storage Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 320 GB Perpendicular Recording
Display(s) Dell 17'
Case El Cheepo
Audio Device(s) 7.1 Onboard
Power Supply Corsair TX750
Software MCE2K5
My advice is to not insult yourself in your thread title, rather I would choose a title that more accurately describes your thread topic. I've taken the liberty of changing your title.


any other advice?
 
Joined
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Messages
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Location
Little Rock Arkansas, United States
System Name Monolith
Processor Intel Xeon E3110 Wolfdale@3.5GHz
Motherboard MSI P35-Neo
Cooling Active Air
Memory 4GB DDR2 800
Video Card(s) Sapphire HD 3850 512MB PCI-E
Storage 1 x 80GB Internal, 1 x 250GB Internal, 1 x 40GB External
Display(s) Acer X203w
Case Generic black case with locking front bezel
Audio Device(s) Creative SB Audigy 2 ZS
Power Supply 500 Watt Seasonic M12
Software Windows 7 Ultimate x64

Tomtheman21

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Thanks man new setup HO!!!!! (Thundercats reference FTW)

Setup
Antec 900 =$119.99-$40.00(mail in rebate)
Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD6400AAKS 640GB =$89.99
G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 =$79.99
CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V =$129.99-$20.00(mail in rebate)
ASUS Black 20X DVD+R =$26.99
VisionTek 900244 Radeon HD 4870 512MB 256-bit GDDR5 =$294.99
ARCTIC COOLING MX-2 =$6.99
ASUS P5E LGA 775 Intel X38 ATX Intel Motherboard =$224.99
Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz =$189.99
Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate SP1 32-bit =$179.99
XIGMATEK HDT-S1283 120mm Rifle =$36.99-$10.00(mail in rebate)

new total= $1380.89

My advice is to not insult yourself in your thread title, rather I would choose a title that more accurately describes your thread topic. I've taken the liberty of changing your title.

Welcome to TPU!

Will do, thanks for the welcoming party :respect:
 
Joined
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Cooling Lian Li Galahead 360 AIO
Memory 2x16gb Flare X5 Series 32GB (2 x 16GB) DDR5-6000 PC5-48000
Video Card(s) Asus RTX 3060
Storage 2TB WD SN850X Black NVMe, 500GB Samsung 970 NVMe
Display(s) Gigabyte 32" IPS 144Hz
Case Hyte Y60
Power Supply Corsair RMx 850
Software Win 11 Pro/ PopOS!
Still stickin w/ the 32-bit?, your going to be very ram limited if you do, considering your already going to have 4.5gb (vram+mem) and 32-bit can't even address that. Also, Ultimate is largely a waste for the home user, extra $75 for features most never use (basically a few of the business functions), home premium is usually enough. Check and see if you are going to use the extra stuff in Ultimate, b/c I would wager you won't.
 

Tomtheman21

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Still stickin w/ the 32-bit?, your going to be very ram limited if you do, considering your already going to have 4.5gb (vram+mem) and 32-bit can't even address that. Also, Ultimate is largely a waste for the home user, extra $75 for features most never use (basically a few of the business functions), home premium is usually enough. Check and see if you are going to use the extra stuff in Ultimate, b/c I would wager you won't.

Thanks, I forgot to change that

Setup
Antec 900 =$119.99-$40.00(mail in rebate)
Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD6400AAKS 640GB =$89.99
G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 =$79.99
CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V =$129.99-$20.00(mail in rebate)
ASUS Black 20X DVD+R =$26.99
VisionTek 900244 Radeon HD 4870 512MB 256-bit GDDR5 =$294.99
ARCTIC COOLING MX-2 =$6.99
ASUS P5E LGA 775 Intel X38 ATX Intel Motherboard =$224.99
Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz =$189.99
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit =$179.99
XIGMATEK HDT-S1283 120mm Rifle =$36.99-$10.00(mail in rebate)

new total= $1310.89
 
Last edited:

msarp

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Joined
Sep 24, 2007
Messages
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Location
NY
Processor E8400
Motherboard ASUS Maximus Formula SE
Cooling Thermalright 120 Black Xtreme
Memory Corsair Dominator 4gGB PC2 8500
Video Card(s) VisionTek 4870
Storage WD 640GB
Display(s) Samsung 226 BW
Case ANTEC p182
Audio Device(s) X-FIRE Extreme Music
Power Supply Corsair 620
I love your new build. 1 thing, Get the Thermalright ultrs 120 xtreme ! You will not be sorry. And it is much easier to install than the XIGMATEK.

http://www.jab-tech.com/product.php?productid=4185

What is the difference between Ultra-120 eXtreme and TRUE Black 120?The black is awesome!


Answer :
The main differences between Ultra-120 eXtreme and TRUE Black 120 are in the color and additional accessories. More specifically, TRUE Black 120 includes the new Chill Factor 2, the upgraded version of the original thermal paste, the Chill Factor. It also has an extra set of fan wire clips for a push-pull, two fan installation. Performance is the same for both in single fan mode.

and this fan !
http://www.jab-tech.com/Scythe-S-Flex-Fan-SFF21F-pr-3257.htmlGood choice with the VisionTek. I have one.!

as for why I use the P182, I wanted a QUITE Case and it fills the bill. It is great looking, has great cooling and a lot of room inside. Good cable management.
 
Last edited:
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