Yet Another Rate My Build

kencleary

Sorry guys you're probably sick of these types of threads but with a few PC games coming out in September - Battle of Britain, Empire Total War etc, I reckon it's about time to build myself a new machine. Thanks to this forum i've come across the wonderful hardwareversand.de and played around to get myself what i think is a fairly capable machine but i'd very interested in hearing any opinions on it.

Couple of random questions too - It is right to go with Vista rather than XP? and in general am i right to buy now or are there any kick ass hardware developments expected between now and September that it would be worth waiting till then to buy. Finally any idea what the likely noise output of my build would be - I live in a small apartment so don't want the roof lifted off with fans!

Thermaltake Soprano DX BWS VE7000BWS ohne Netzteil €85,98
ATX-Netzteil OCZ GameXStream 700 Watt SLI Ready €96,18
4096MB-Kit OCZ PC2-6400 ReaperX HPC Enhanced Bandwidth, CL4 €94,74
Intel Core 2 Quad Q9450 tray, 12MB, LGA775, 64bit €292,89
XFX 9800GX2 680M 1024 MB DDR3 DUAL DVI XXX, PCI-Express €430,06
Scythe Andy Samurai Master, Sockel 478,775,754,939,AM2 €33,78
MS Windows Vista home premium 64bit Englisch €76,89
Samsung HD103UJ 1TB 32MB SATA II €120,99
ASUS P5K-E/Wifi AP, Sockel 775, ATX €102,75
LG GGC-H20L Retail €107,82
Rechner - Zusammenbau 19,99

Sum: €1,462.07

Thanks.........

Sqaull20

Looks pretty good to me, though I would tone a few things down to leave a bit of cash for the new Nvidia and Ati next gen cards coming in late summer/ Autumn..

Q9450 are going for a big premium over the Q6700..

As far as overclocking goes the Q6700 has a higher multiplier which could lead to higher overclocks. It would take a 400 MHZ FSB to get a Q6700 to 4 GHZ. Were as a Q9450 would need a 500 MHZ FSB for the same overall frequency ( most top at 460fsb without crazy voltage changes )

I would get a Q6700 myself, its €100 and a better overclocker..

I wouldnt touch the 9800gx2, I had one for a few days and wasnt impressed at all, I couldnt tell the difference between it and running my 2 x 9600gt's, I later tried 2 x 8800gtx's and they had a nice performance increase over the 9800gx2 when AA and other effects were turned on.I would get 2 x 8800gts and upgrade to a next gen card around christmas when they start to show age..

I dont like those Thermaltalke Soprano's at all, I had a cheaper version for a few weeks and found it very flacky.I would go with a Lian Li Aluminium case, really solid case with great cooling and space..

Power supply is ok, I would go with a Corsair 750watt myself, they have 2 x 8pin adapters and have great reviews..

I would get a more modern board too, like a Msi 750i with ZALMAN cpu cooler and 3 way Sli..

Its nearly €300 cheaper, faster when overclocked and has better quality motherboard, case, power supply, ram



If you need wifi add in a wireless network card..

somakasvh

that heatsink is ****e.
get the thermalright ultra-120 extreme. its pretty much the best on the market

wouldnt be mad on the case either
I'd go for a Coolermaster Dominator, an Antec P182 or if you really want that window, a NZXT Tempest.
Lots of airflow for that GX2

MooseJam

I wouldn't buy a Samsung hard drive myself, don't have any solid reason other than it's not really their thing

Sqaull20

Nvidia GT200 is coming out in mid June..

It should be twice as fast 2 x 8800Ultra..

You should wait...

kencleary

Thanks for the advice guys - particularly on the case. Very hard to know the quality of a case just looking at it on a website. Reckon i'll probably hold out till June/July and see how the new Nvidia chipset does.