New Build Critique

KerranJast

Hey Guys,

Yeah another rate my build thread. Sorry but I didn't want to hijack one of the other folks' threads. I've put this off since last September waiting for new Intel CPUs and the new line of GFX cards to come out. If I keep waiting for the next big thing I'll never buy a new rig so I gotta sort this soon.

Anyways the intended specs are:

CPU - Intel E8500 (Would a Quad like the Q6600 be more advisable?)
GFX - 2x EVGA GeForce 8800GTS in SLi (Would a single 9800GX2 be better bang for buck?)
Mobo - EVGA nForce 780i SLI.
Case - Lian Li PC-A71B.
RAM - CORSAIR DOMINATOR 4GB(2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500)
PSU - Corsair CMPSU-620HX 620 watt PSU
HDD - Samsung Spinpoint F1 1TB Hard Drive (32MB Cache SATA-2)
Screen - Samsung SyncMaster 245B, 24", TCO03, 5ms, DVI

I left out the ancillary crap like kb, mouse, fans etc. I can sort them myself.

Any comments, recommendations, vitriol to fire my way ?

PogMoThoin

I'd opt for a single gx2, you'll have a spare slot for another when the price drops and you need more gpu power for that 24inch monitor in a few months time. I have that monitor BTW, its great value, and great picture quality for a TN panel.

Are you planning on buying from Hardwareversnd.de? They have Corsair TX750W which has 4x 8pin connectors (4x6pin with 8pin adapters) for not much extra cash. The gx2 needs both 8 and 6 pin connectors. Its not modular tho, its only downside. Bought one of these myself and can vouch that its very silent. Linky

I'd opt for quad myself, Intel dropped the price of the Q6700 this week, Linky

Sqaull20

Looks pretty good..

Buying from Hardwareversand?

I would ditch the 780i board and expensive ram

Personally I'd never buy a dual core at this point, Q6600 is the one most are opting for. Great overclockable cpu..

This thread has some good builds...

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055278463

I would change what you have to

Sqaull20

I had a 9800gx2 for a few days and it was a nice bit slower than 2 x 8800gtx's I have, I wasnt too big into it...

From my experience with it, a 2 x 8800gt for €150 less ( whats in stock ) would be of similar performance

http://www2.hardwareversand.de/articledetail.jsp?aid=20882&agid=554

KerranJast

Thanks for the replies lads.

PogMoThoin wrote: »

Are you planning on buying from Hardwareversnd.de? They have Corsair TX750W which has 4x 8pin connectors (4x6pin with 8pin adapters) for not much extra cash. The gx2 needs both 8 and 6 pin connectors. Its not modular tho, its only downside. Bought one of these myself and can vouch that its very silent. Linky

I'd opt for quad myself, Intel dropped the price of the Q6700 this week, Linky

Yeah buying from Hardwareversand. They have a good rep. I'll take a look at that 750W. Future proofing for another GX2 would probably be advisable.

Sqaull20 wrote: »

I would ditch the 780i board and expensive ram

Yeah that 750i board looks better option. I doubt I'll ever need tri-SLI tbh.

Is the Q6700 as good for OCing as the 6600? The case will have loads of room so airflow should be good.

Sqaull20 wrote: »

I had a 9800gx2 for a few days and it was a nice bit slower than 2 x 8800gtx's I have, I wasnt too big into it...

From my experience with it, a 2 x 8800gt for €150 less ( whats in stock ) would be of similar performance

http://www2.hardwareversand.de/articledetail.jsp?aid=20882&agid=554

Won't I have to ditch both those 8800gts in a year or so to keep FPS up? Is it not better to keep a free SLI slot and stick in another GX2 when the price drops a bit next year?

Nforce

What will you be doing with the PC......gaming,video editing etc? TBH i'd recommend the E8500 as it's newer 45nm technology, it run's cooler than the Q6600/6700 and overclocks like a demon . The vast majority of programs/games don't utilise all 4 cores of the quads. If you really want to go quad then go for a 45nm version

PogMoThoin

I feel its foolish to build a dual core pc these days with the price of quads. I find Vista runs much smoother on a quad, no need to monitor startup programs or pause av scans while gaming. I game with WMP & other progs open sometimes, try this on a dual core. 45nm quads are only <7% faster clock for clock than 65nm, not worth the extra cash if he's on a budget IMO.

Q6700 is as good as Q6600 for oc'ing and has a higher 10x multi, its a bargain at €193, its only available in G0 stepping. Only 45nm worth considering is the Q9450 as its got 12mb level2 cache, Q9300 is slightly slower than the Q6700 and has less level 2 cache.

Sqaull20

KerranJast wrote: »

Thanks for the replies lads.

Yeah buying from Hardwareversand. They have a good rep. I'll take a look at that 750W. Future proofing for another GX2 would probably be advisable.

Go for it...

Yeah that 750i board looks better option. I doubt I'll ever need tri-SLI tbh.

Board is suppose to be class, I have below board and find it to be very good...

http://www3.hardwareversand.de/3/articledetail.jsp?aid=18310&agid=659

Is the Q6700 as good for OCing as the 6600? The case will have loads of room so airflow should be good.

The Q6700 has a mutiplier of 10, overclocking is even better than a Q6600, with the board and ram you are looking you should get past 3.50ghz...

Won't I have to ditch both those 8800gts in a year or so to keep FPS up? Is it not better to keep a free SLI slot and stick in another GX2 when the price drops a bit next year?

9800gx2 is just way to expensive for what you get imo, paying €440 for €300 sli performance is crazy, having that free sli slot is great and all but in 3 or 4 months time single cards will be released that are faster than the 9800gx2.Sli performance with 9800gx2 can be buggy too, power consumption is through the roof as well...

With the next gen Nvidia and Ati card due out in late Summer, I wouldnt go spending big money on graphics...

2 x 9600gt for €224 are more than enough for the next 6 months and you will be losing very little when do you sell them on...

http://www3.hardwareversand.de/3/articledetail.jsp?aid=20878&agid=554

Sqaull20

This is what I would get...



How many fans come with that case?

I have always wanted to get the below Antec...

http://www3.hardwareversand.de/3/articledetail.jsp?aid=20463&agid=631

KerranJast

Sqaull20 wrote: »

With the next gen Nvidia and Ati card due out in late Summer, I wouldnt go spending big money on graphics...

2 x 9600gt for €224 are more than enough for the next 6 months and you will be losing very little when do you sell them on...

That sounds sensible alright. I think I'll do that.

Sqaull20 wrote: »

How many fans come with that case?

I have always wanted to get the below Antec...

http://www3.hardwareversand.de/3/articledetail.jsp?aid=20463&agid=631

Yeah that Antec is good but theres not a lot of room to work in if I decide to add more drives etc later on. The Lian Li comes with 6 x 120mm fans I think.