Noob new build!

[doug2507]

Hi,

I've had a Rock Xtreme64 for a while now and no longer need a laptop so have decided to build my own desktop. It will be used for gaming and media (music/vids) only. I've managed to get a spec i'm happy with after spending hours of research on the net but would like the opinions of others to keep me on the right track! Any suggestions whether good or bad would be appreciated! Also, a point in the right direction of where to source parts wouldn't go amiss.(apart from ebay/ebuyer)

Spec:

Case: Silverstone TJ07 or Zalman GT900

PSU: Thermaltake Toughpower 1200w (W0133)

Mobo: Asus Striker Extreme II Ultra 790i or Asus Maximus

CPU: QX9650

Mem: OCZ Platinum 4 GB PC3-12800 DDR3 (2X2gb)/xtc mem cooler or DDR2 Reaper 8500

Cooling: Dont really have an idea on this. Plans for the future are to o/c so water might be best. Zalman/swiftech/koolance?

GPU: 9800GX2 with possible addition of another down the line.

Sound: X-Fi Xtreme Gamer

HD: 2X Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 500GB SATA (32mb cache)

CD/DVD: 2X Plextor 810SA/T3B

O.S: Vista Premium 64bit

Cheers,

Doug.

 

[kataras]

Spec:

CPU: QX9650

hey and welcome to the forums.

one thing i would like to advice is unless you got sh1tloads of money in your bank account, dont bother with QX9650, go for Q9550, its like three times cheaper, but you can overclock sh1t out of that one, and it will match the performance easy. i know you do get unlocked multiplier on QX but to me it just doesnt sound right spend half of the pc build money on cpu.

watercooling, some nice d-tek fuzion block, thermochill rad, laing pump (18w) i am not sure if there are any 9800GX2 blocks out there, so you might need to have a look at that one.

Good etailers:

scan.co.uk

watercooling.co.uk

i dont know why you dont like ebuyer.com but i have used it for like 3 years and its been fine

komplett.co.uk

...a lot more

 

[doug2507]

Cheers for the reply man. I've nothing against ebuyer, its just i've had a look and they seem to be pretty good for prices so was looking for somewhere that might compete with them.

Think i'll stick with the QX9650. I can get one cheapish and there's a big jump between that and the qx9770. The biggest dilemma for me is the mobo and ram. I dont want to be spending 3x the money on a ddr3/790i setup when a 780i/ddr2 will perform equally, or more to the point, not noticabley different.

Thanks for the advice on cooling as i hadnt a clue where to start! Was thinking of a Zalman Reserator XT. will i need any additional parts to go with this? I know i'll need a GX2 block but not sure on what else.....

 

[Phoenix]

Hey and welcome

Now, as for your setup, the optimal performancewise will be the 790i/DDR3 so you won't run into any FSB-bottlenecks if you wanna OC your graphicscard, as you're going for the 9800GX2-card. I wanna see the benchies when you're up and running. Anyhow, why bother with Vista 64bit? 32bit ftw! Remember, Vista64 demands all drivers to be digitally signed by Microsoft, which can post as a problem down the line. I was actually also looking at the Thermaltake Toughpower for my new build, but decided to go with the Antec Truepower Quattro 1000w instead, and it's working great for me.

 

[nepas]

zalman reserator xt is that a passive?If it is a passive and from what I've read elsewhere then passive is not a good idea with most modern quads and such like(also have noticed that the zalman seems to have a high failure rate as well)

 

[Phoenix]

I've also heard some nasty things about Zalmans WC-kits being a plastic piece of s***. But I can't really verify that.

 

[doug2507]

Didn't know that! Its a pretty expensive option as well coming in way over £200. I thought it would be 'the easy option' getting an external unit as i have no experience with w/c. I'm sure somebody will keep me right on here. Seems like a decent bunch of guys on here compared to other forums when you mention high end components and they think you're an idiot with money to burn. reviews on here seem to be spot on as well!

Will there be any issues with size for components with either of the 2 cases previously mentioned?

 

[nepas]

well i cant speak from experience,but the tj-07 seems to win hands down everywhere(and i want one)

as for w/c the lads on here will help you out no end,i just went and bought a cheap "all in one kit" just to get me used to the idea of w/c

 

[doug2507]

whats the deal with the OC3D clan? Do you have try outs? I've been an avid fragger since UT came out and have been in and out of clans since but not on a regular basis. If you guys have a weekly meet or something give us a shout!

 

[doug2507]

Right, i've finally sorted out the spec for my build. Saving some cash by using different LG dvd's instead of the plextors and mem might be different. Planned spec now is:

Case: Coolermaster Cosmos S Black Aluminium Case - No PSU

PSU: Thermaltake Toughpower 1200W Modular PSU 14cm Silent Fan 12vATX SATAx8 20+4pin

Mobo: XFX nForce 790i Socket 775 3 way SLI 1600FSB DDR3 onboard audio ATX Motherboard

CPU: Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9650 Socket 775 3GHz (1333MHz) L2 12MB Cache Retail Boxed Processor

Mem: ???????

GPU: XFX 9800 GX2 Dual GPU 1GB DDR3 Dual DVI PCI-E Graphics Card

Sound: Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Gamer - Fatal1ty Professional Series

HD: 2X Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 500GB SATA II (32mb cache)

CD/DVD: 2x LG 20x Lightscribe DVD Drives (with black fascia)

Monitor: Dell 2408WFP 24" Monitor 1920x1200 3000:1 6ms

O.S: Vista Premium 64

I was going to go with 4gig ocz platinum 12800 but the guy i'm getting the parts through doesnt stock it and recommended Corsair twinx xms3 10600. With the mobo being 1600mhz FSB and the cpu having the ability to oc to 1600mhz (400mhz), should i be looking to get DDR3-1600 to match??

I'll be changing to w/c once up and running.