greensha

Hello all,

I'm new to these forums, so I hope I'm posting this in the right place.

I'm planning on building a rig to use primarily for gaming, but for some video editing stuff too. I've not really been keeping up with all the latest technology news, but here's a component list I threw together at Newegg this morning.

Thermaltake SwordM VD500LBNA Black/ Silver Aluminum Extrusion ATX Full Tower Liquid Cooling Computer Case

Thermaltake Toughpower W0133RU ATX12V / EPS12V 1200W Power Supply

ASUS MAXIMUS EXTREME LGA 775 Intel X38 ATX Intel Motherboard

Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9770 Yorkfield 3.2GHz LGA 775 136W Quad-Core

ZALMAN WB5 Water Cooler

2 x VisionTek VT3870x2OC1G Radeon HD 3870 X2 1GB 512-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card

2 x Patriot Enhanced Performance 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1866 (PC3 15000) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model PVS32G1866LLK

2 x Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST31000340AS 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive

ASUS 20X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe Black SATA Model DRW-2014L1T

Creative 70SB046A00000 7.1 Channels PCI Interface Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer Fatal1ty Professional Series

NEC Display Solutions LCD2470WNX White 24" 6ms(GTG) Widescreen LCD Monitor


I plan on overclocking the CPU to 4GHz, more if I can get it faster. I think I probably need the water cooling but I'm not sure if an all-in-one solution like the Thermaltake case would be best. I don't know enough about water cooling to feel comfortable picking a separate case and cooling system... any advice would be welcome. I'm going to run the HD's in a SATA 1 configuration for safety. I had thought about getting another pair to run as SATA 0 for speed and put my gaming programs on that. Is the speed gain significant?

Have I missed anything from list? I know I don't have an OS on there yet. Any thoughts about Vista and which version to get? How is 64 bit for gaming?

Thanks in advance,

Andy

mortimersnerd

There is really no need for a QX9770. You can get a Q6600 and OC it to 3.2 in about 2 seconds. On water you can probably hit 4. Not worth the money.

Do not get a WC kit. They generally suck.

Vista 64bit it much better than xp 64bit but both still have their issues. I would go with Vista64

__________________
"If you think education is expensive, try ignorance"

justarealguy

Seconded.

Get a Q6600 or an E8400, OC it to 3.6 or 4.0 respectivly.

For that setup you really don't need a 1.2KW power supply, you'd be fine with a solid ~700.

XP64 bit has some issues, allthough not as bad as most think. I'd stay away from it..

Also, instead of getting 4x1gb ram modules, why not look at the 2x2gb sticks? They put less strain on your memory controller and could add some overclocking potential on the CPU.

__________________

EmerilLIVE

If you have the money, the QX9700 is great i'm sure you understand the concept of diminishing returns and are fully aware that the more mainstream processors such as the Q6600 and E8400 have a significantly better Price/Performance ratio, but based purely on performance, even considering O/Cing, the Q9770 is the best. One thing I would highly recommend is to get an X48 chipset motherboard as it is the newer replacement of the X38. It implements several new features in the ICH10(R) southbridge as well as official support for 1600mhz FSB, which X38 is only official to 1333mhz. The QX9770 is an 1600mhz FSB processor.

bowman

Thermaltake water cooling is not a good idea. Kits are usually not recommended in the first place, but if you have to get one.. It better not be Thermaltake.

I've heard of all sorts of leaks and faulty components - my dad had the pump on his Big Water simply stop, leading to overheating (although the chip survived).

Instead of spending so much on the unlocked multiplier processor I think you should focus more on the other components like the water blocks, pump, radiator (if you're going water cooling). If these things spring a leak or fail you're looking at a PC that is at best out of service and at worst completely ruined and short circuited.

__________________

Fold on your:

45nm

You should consider X48 or 790i Ultra for mobo and cpu should probably be Q9550. Video card ok , no watercooling.

tonton

Hey greensha,

That setup look really good. Don't listen to them about not buying the QX9770 and buying the Q6600 instead. If you have the money go for the QX9770 its 100X better than the Q6600.

Armadi110

judging by your choice in components i suggest you buy a dell

__________________
The world rotates to the ultra heavy beat!

Xfire | My OCN Wallpaper :] | CAD Renders | Geometry Wars Thread | Gallery

greensha

Thanks for the quick replies!

I switched to the ASUS Premium X48 MB and changed my RAM to Patriot Viper 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600. The memory is slower than what I had originally chosen, is this a big deal?

Money is not really a consideration. Work is paying for this, so I don't really have to cut corners if I don't have too.

What's the consensus on water cooling?

Andy

EmerilLIVE

Why even reply to the thread if you have nothing to add to the discussion. Go get your panties un-waded and come back if you can add anything useful.