[humvee]

Yes, my friends, it is that time of the year again. I believe that there is no better time for a new rig than Christmas, with two weeks' vacation to build and overclock the mess out of it. Not to mention get some games in

.

Here's what I'm thinking so far... My budget is ~$1500-$1800, but I won't complain if the build ends up a little bit over or under.

CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E8600 Wolfdale 3.33GHz

MB: DFI LP DK P45-T2RS PLUS

RAM: OCZ Reaper HPC 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 1066

PSU: Antec TPQ-850 850W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Certified CrossFire Ready

GFX:2x SAPPHIRE 100257L Radeon HD 4870 512MB in Crossfire

Monitor: ASUS VW222U Black 22" 2ms(GTG) Widescreen LCD Monitor

HDD:2x Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD6400AAKS in RAID-0

Case: Antec P182

Cooling: XIGMATEK HDT-S1283

XIGMATEK ACK-I7751 Retention Bracket

Arctic Silver 5

OS: Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate SP1 64-bit

Other: SAMSUNG 22X DVD±R DVD Burner

SAMSUNG Black 1.44MB 3.5" Internal Floppy Drive

Total: $1843.34

Any input y'all have is greatly appreciated!

 

[Sam1990]

Here's some things you can look into:

24" monitor - better for that crossfire setup
Blu-ray drive - would be nice with a 24" monitor
C2Q CPU

 

[Deism]

$75 for a 640gig hard drive? That's real nice. I paid 125'ish for my 200gig baracudas.

I like everything you've got in there, especially the mobo i've got one relatively similar in my Christmas build too.

Anything else (case/cpu heatsink) i'd change is just based off of personal taste.

I'm no expert but I agree with the list

 

[mechtech]

change the PSU to Corsair:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139006

invest in a 24'' monitor, you need 1920x1200 res to even begin to push that system.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16824009125

Get a 4870x2 instead. The crossfire performance is a bit more efficient because it's all on 1 card, and you also get 1GB video memory per card (which is important, new games already can pass 512 video memory usage)

It's a bit over budget, but the changes are good. If you need to bring it back down into budget, just cut one of the hard drives off, RAID will bring the smallest noticeable difference in performance.

 

[reezin14]

Everything looks fine IMO,except if your going cf with 2 cards get the 1GB versions,they cost more but you'll get better performance that will last a while longer.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...70+1GB&x=0&y=0

 

[humvee]

I think I'll upgrade to a 24" monitor and HD4870x2, but drop the CPU down to the E8400 and cut an HDD to try to stay *close* to my budget.

A Blu-Ray drive is an eventual upgrade... I'll wait until prices start to fall on the burners. Also, I think a dual core is better for my current needs than a quad.

Thanks for the input guys! Keep it coming.

 

[gunzkevin1]

I agree with the upgrades and the updated ones ( 4870x2, e8400, etc.) This thing will be sweet. Cant wait to see some benchmarks.

 

[-iceblade^]

Quote:

Originally Posted by humvee Yes, my friends, it is that time of the year again. I believe that there is no better time for a new rig than Christmas, with two weeks' vacation to build and overclock the mess out of it. Not to mention get some games in . Here's what I'm thinking so far... My budget is ~$1500-$1800, but I won't complain if the build ends up a little bit over or under. CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E8600 Wolfdale 3.33GHz MB: DFI LP DK P45-T2RS PLUS RAM: OCZ Reaper HPC 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 1066 PSU: Antec TPQ-850 850W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Certified CrossFire Ready GFX:2x SAPPHIRE 100257L Radeon HD 4870 512MB in Crossfire Monitor: ASUS VW222U Black 22" 2ms(GTG) Widescreen LCD Monitor HDD:2x Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD6400AAKS in RAID-0 Case: Antec P182 Cooling: XIGMATEK HDT-S1283 XIGMATEK ACK-I7751 Retention Bracket Arctic Silver 5 OS: Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate SP1 64-bit Other: SAMSUNG 22X DVD±R DVD Burner SAMSUNG Black 1.44MB 3.5" Internal Floppy Drive Total: $1843.34 Any input y'all have is greatly appreciated!

1. do you NEED a floppy drive?
2. with that budget i'd be looking at a 24" monitor
3. may as well go with an E8400 or E8500. the extra multi doesn't justfy the price leap

 

[chessmyantidrug]

Two 4870s on a 22" monitor is beyond overkill. One would be more than enough if you don't want to reach for a 24" monitor. I would suggest one 4870 now and one down the road if you aren't satisfied. If you have your heart set on a CrossFire setup, I would get 1GB cards instead. Actually, I'd get them regardless, especially if you plan to go CrossFire down the road. Either way, I would go with one card now and another down the road. There's no need to start your build off with overkill.

You could save money by going with an E8500. It won't overclock quite as well as an E8600, but you'll see very little performance difference between the two. The price difference between the E8400 and E8500 is close enough to justify reaching for the E8500. You can't go wrong with either so long as you get an E0.

You can take the money saved from the CPU and video card and get a 24" monitor.

 

[_^MeRcY]

Quote:

Originally Posted by humvee Yes, my friends, it is that time of the year again. I believe that there is no better time for a new rig than Christmas, with two weeks' vacation to build and overclock the mess out of it. Not to mention get some games in . Here's what I'm thinking so far... My budget is ~$1500-$1800, but I won't complain if the build ends up a little bit over or under. CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E8600 Wolfdale 3.33GHz MB: DFI LP DK P45-T2RS PLUS RAM: OCZ Reaper HPC 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 1066 PSU: Antec TPQ-850 850W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Certified CrossFire Ready GFX:2x SAPPHIRE 100257L Radeon HD 4870 512MB in Crossfire Monitor: ASUS VW222U Black 22" 2ms(GTG) Widescreen LCD Monitor HDD:2x Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD6400AAKS in RAID-0 Case: Antec P182 Cooling: XIGMATEK HDT-S1283 XIGMATEK ACK-I7751 Retention Bracket Arctic Silver 5 OS: Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate SP1 64-bit Other: SAMSUNG 22X DVD±R DVD Burner SAMSUNG Black 1.44MB 3.5" Internal Floppy Drive Total: $1843.34 Any input y'all have is greatly appreciated!

why not swtich processor with a Q9550/9450 and get the Samsung 1tb FJC hard drives. MUCH faster and great space.

 

[chessmyantidrug]

For one, a Q9450 shouldn't be anyone's first, second or third option for a quad. For two, a dual-core processor will do just fine in a gaming build. An E8500 should do as well as a Q9650 in most games. The video card is usually the limiting factor considering today's games don't even take full advantage of all the processing power at our fingertips.

 

[45nm]

Here are my recommendations.
Q9550 E0 (you stated you wish to overclock).
4870 X2 (because motherboard is P45)
Maximus II formula (best P45 motherboard imo)
OCZ Vendetta 2 with Arctic Cooling MX-2
Antec 1200
Corsair 750W or 1000W.

 

[tkserenity]

i hate DFI bios. but overall its a good board. if ur going to overclock and you arent used to DFI bios have fun

EDIT-go for a QUAD imo

 

[D.J.S.]

I love the build p45 ftw , just agree on the 8400 instead , and I would say to get a
4850x2 they are 2gb cards and beat gtx280's its the same proc as the 4870 anyhow
just waaay cheaper, you can also xfire 4850 with 4870 at some later time.
This way you get the full 16x pci-e 2 lane

 

[chessmyantidrug]

A 4850X2 is a bit much for a 22" monitor. A 4870 more than enough. I ran the WiC benchmark yesterday with settings maxed and averaged 34fps on my 24" monitor. I would have more need for a 4850X2 than he would.