bobdragster

I've decided to do major research into a high-quality PC for myself. I plan to start purchasing parts in the next two months. I've built quite a few PC's, so I am well experienced, but There are some things I still need to learn. These things include, but are not limited to; Overclocking in general. RAM timings, speeds, and latencies. Motherboard and CPU fsb overclocking. CPU multipliers. Finally, last but not least, RAID setups for speed and Data backup.

Any information on how these things work would be greatly appreciated, and if you can post them in their specified thread (Linked above and below) that would also keep things in good order and organization. While on the subject, I would actually like to emphasize that this thread be a sort of "Home" for my build, and that anything other than comments, or general suggestions for the whole build should be posted in their specified threads.

Now, onto the specifics of the build. I am looking into a great gaming and multitasking PC with great room for overclocking, future proofing, and upgrades. I am looking to get an Intel Q9550 with the new E0 stepping, a 1GB ATi 4870, 4GB of RAM, and the ASUS Rampage X48 mobo. Below are the questions and information that I have, and need. You help will be greatly appreciated.

[CPU] Intel Q9550 Questions and Help


ASUS RAMPAGE FORMULA Questions and Info

DDR2 RAM Questions and Info

ATi Radeon 4870 Questions and Info

Computer Case Questions and Info.

Power Supply Questions And Info


Hard Drive/RAID Questions and Info


Hopefully this all goes well, I've been reading through the boards over the past few weeks and just made my first post earlier today. Thanks for any input and help. +REP will be given for any help!

Wahkee

Antec 850W $139.99:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817371009

Antec Twelve Hundred 159.99:
http://www.buy.com/prod/antec-twelve...207906548.html

Seagate 500gb 69.99:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822148288

and/or you can look into a raid setup w/ two of these 320gb:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822145129

The Antec 850W PSU can handle the 4870s in crossfire, so you wont have to worry about your power.

Antec Twelve Hundred is an excellent case for cable management, or if you dont care about looks, go with this
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...119160&Tpk=haf
(its butt ugly, but it has EXCELLENT cable management and cooling, its really your personal preference between the antec and HAF)

the seagate that I suggested is an excellent drive you wont be disappointed with it.

You can also get 2xhitachi's and run them in raid 0 or raid 1. (raid 0 increases speed/load times, but if one drive dies, all your data in them will be erased. In raid 1, you wont see much performance increase, but if one drive dies eventually, the data will be transferred to the single drive)

Or you can get two hitachi's to put in raid 0 for your OS and games and use the 500gb seagate for movies, and all your other stuff.

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-Wahkee

ZealotKi11er

1GB 4870 ~ 300$ 1 4870X2 ~ 500$. For 200$ i would get he 4870X2 and you dont have to go xfire and you dont have to spend the extra 100-150 to go X48. Also for HDD get WD 640GB.

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HD4870 1GB @ 800Mhz/4Ghz
Q6600 @ 3.8Ghz/1900Mhz

Robilar

I'd suggest the Asus P5E Deluxe. I have this and the Rampage Formula.

both are X48 and are virtually identical except for bling. You can flash the P5E Deluxe over t0 the rampage formula bios easily.

In my testing, they hit identical FSB with Quads. It will save you about $100


For power supply, go with Corsair TX750W. Plenty for a pair of 4870's or an X2 and its better quality than pretty much any other power supply in its class.


For hard drives go with the WD AAKS 500GB models. 2 of these in RAID 0 is very solid.


Where do you plan to get the E0 Q9550? they are not available yet in North America (tankguys is taking orders but they have no stock yet)

Robilar

For RAM there are very few 2x2 GB DDR2 kits that will hit 1200 mhz stable. (most of the 2x1 GB kits will).

I'd suggest G. Skill though

G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1200 (PC2 9600)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...01&Tpk=G.Skill

Robilar

Definitely go for the 1 GB Version of the 4870.

Either Asus or Visiontek ( 3 year/lifetime warranties)

MasterKromm

- RAM -
G.skill 2x2gb 1100mhz 5-5-5-15 1.8-1.9 vDIMM for $130 + S/H

The extra 100mhz is not worth the $170 premium, though as others might tell you, G.skill aggressively bins their memory and given that there is a 1200mhz speed grade odds are the 1100mhz kit won't get 1200mhz stable... Still there's always a chance, especially if the 1200mhz kits aren't selling they may just rebadge them to 1100mhz or perhaps they have stopped making the 1200mhz speed grade entirely? Would explain their almost indefinite OOS status.

Anyhoo, long story short the above linked kit gets my vote. To test for stability use Memtest

- Mobo/Chipset -
Unless you plan on going CF at some point you should probably consider acquiring a p45 chipset mobo... They're cheaper and OC 45nm quads just as well as x48s.

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...d.php?t=203236

Even the DFI LP P45-T2RS's 4 phase d-PWM was enough to get 4.0ghz+... To test for overall system stability, CPU/board/ram, you should use Prime 95 and run the blend test for at least 12+ hrs.

- Vid Card -
I like your decision, the 1gb 4870 is a monstrous card. Robilar hit the nail on the head with his Asus/Visiontek recommendation. Unfortunately (AFAIK) visiontek has yet to offer a 1GB 4870. The 1GB 4870 is more than adequately cooled by the stock HSF.

- Hard drives -
I'd recommend 2x of either(2 platter HDDs):

Western Digital 640GB for $75 shipped or
Seagate 640GB for $80 shipped

RAID 0(striped) for improved performance and double the capacity unfortunately exposure to data loss is doubled since only 1 drive failing will wipe all data. RAID 1(mirrored) basically each drive stores the same data, duh mirrored, if one dies/fails the data is preserved on the other. The downside to RAID 1 is a read performance penalty compared to a single non-raid drive and you only have the max capacity of the single smallest drive in the array. RAID 5 (striped w/ parity) is also an option, but requires 3 or more disk drives.

If you're not dealing with sensitive data I'd go RAID 0 for the performance boost and just back up important files to a NAS/EXT HDD/Ect.

- PSU -
I'm partial to Corsair, so I second robilar's suggestion and give their TX750W my vote...

It's actually $88 shipped after 10% off promo code (corsair20) and $20 MIR at newegg.

-EDIT-

With respect to the actual settings for each component you requested, it's best not look at a specific guideline since there are many factors to be considered... Most important would be the CPU itself, if you land a "golden one" it might run 3.6+ghz on 1.2 vCORE or less and a "dud" might need ~1.35 vCORE to do 3.6ghz. There's even parity amongst the same chipsets/mobos they too can experience similar differences... Take for example the older x38 chipset, what was the biggest difference between it and x48s? Originally the x48s were rumored to be manufactured on the 65nm process, however that was not the case. In essense they turned out to be the same as a x38 only "binned higher". But what does that mean? Just like a "golden CPU" that means less voltage to run stable -> less heat generated -> greater OC potential... Though, ultimately FSB/CPU voltage scaling does begin to deteriorate and a threshold/wall is met where the law of diminishing returns kicks in and the extra voltage applied no longer translates into any meaningful increase in frequency.

However there are established maximum voltage values that you should not flirt with or even exceed for any prolonged period of time... IIRC ~1.36 vCORE, ~1.35 VTT, ~1.6 SB/PLL for 45nm C2D/C2Q.

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bobdragster

Thanks for the help and advice everyone, including people who posted more specific suggestions in each thread. Using your suggestions and help, I have come up with the following build.



I have decided to stick with the Rampage X48 board because of great reviews concerning how well built it is, options in the BIOS, overclocking stability, and so-forth.

I've decided on the GSkill 4GB DDR2 1100 due to good reviews as well as a suggestion from MasterKromm. I looked up the kit and it seemed to be quality and, depending on the binning, possible to clock even higher than 1100. First though, I want to get it and mess with the timings, just see If I can get any quicker timings.

I may be going with the PowerColor 4870 1GB. It has an improved heatsink and that means better airflow, and higher OC'ing.

Two Seagate 640GB hardrives. They have two platters for higher speed, 32MB cache, and put into RAID 0 they will be sufficiently quick.

This one is personal taste, but I wanted a quality build, good airflow, and logical setup for parts. The Lian-Li PC-V2010b I chose seemed to be the best choice for me, and though it is on the pricier side, I know that with Lian-Li, you REALLY get what you pay for.

Corsair 750tx appears to be the best choice for this build, thanks for the suggestion from a few people.

Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 for the obvious reasons...

I actually decided to go with the Xigmatek cooler for the CPU instead of what a few people have suggested. I have heard nothing but good things about it, and it's a great price.


Anybody got any input? Things I should change, or think about adjusting, or adding into this?

Thanks for all the help so far everyone, +REP to all.

MasterKromm

Overall the X48 is (IMHO) a better chipset than the P45... But remember, we're talking $150 premium over the P5Q pro. I'm not trying to change your mind or anything just stating that it's a big price difference and one that is more easily justified if CF might become an option down the road.

I don't know much about Powercolor, but I don't like that HSF... It looks like it will dump a large portion of the heat generated back into the case which will raise internal temps and consequently the temps of all other components. Also I'm not even too sure of the warranty policy they offer, I looked into the various graphics card AIBs and collected their warranty info... Powercolor's was one of the harder to find information. You might want to wait until Asus's 1GB 4870 comes back in stock.

Finally, while I think Lian Li makes great cases, I also believe they're too expensive... Here's a couple others worth considering:

Combo: Antec 1200 + 1.5TB Seagate Hard drive for $280 shipped with promo code OCT20. Which is actually $70 dollars cheaper shipped than the Lian Li, oh and did I mention it comes with a 1.5TB hard drive?!?

CM Cosmos S for $185 after $30MIR + S/H

-EDIT-

The rest of the build is spot on and the issues I raised were mostly from a price perspective... So if you have your heart set on the case or mobo go for it.

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bobdragster

The Powercolor card... well I'm not exactly sure I want to go with that. I hear great things about the brand but I have no personal experience with them. I may end up putting this end of the build at the latter stages, just so I can get the Asus or Visiontek card.

As far as the case goes, I am really on the fence about the Antec 1200. It offers great cooling and lots of space, and I know it's quality build. The only thing I'm worried about is that I'm not really sure I like the way it looks. But other than the Lian-Li I chose, I may go for something in the CoolerMaster Cosmos line. Great cooling, great construction quality, and well laid out, I just have to decide which one to get.

I think I'm definite on everything else, but we'll see. I'll have updates soon on when the parts will be coming in.