New Computer Build....your thoughts

Hey everyone -

I have been saving my pennies for a little close to 6 weeks now. I have been driving myself crazy on what to buy for a new gaming/home computer. I have been an avid AMD fan for years and my current system (try not to laugh) is an AMD 4000+ Socket 939 and Abit Nforce 4 board.

Well I recently built an AMD 920 system on a AMD 770 platform and it was 'ok' nothing really impressive. My friend is happy with it so thats all that matters. Anyway I was looking at building an Intel system this time around. i7 and soon i5 looks very attractive but it's out of my budget range. I was leaning towards an already flooded 775 market.

Here is what I have so far brand new waiting to choose the rest.
BFG Geforce GTS 250 512MB Video Card
Seagate Barracuda 640GB 7200rpm SATA HDD 32MB Cache

Here is what I am looking at getting (Within my $700 budget)
CoolerMaster Storm Scout Case
Asus P5Q Pro Turbo LGA 775 Motherboard
Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 2.83Ghz LGA 775 CPU
Kingston HyperX T1 4GB (2GBx2) PC2 8500 1066Mhz Ram
OCZ ModXStream Modular 700Watt PSU SLI Certified.
LG DVD Burner SATA
Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro 92mm Fan - CPU Cooler
1st PC Corp. 4-pin ATX Extension Cable

I am not an overclocker but I have read several complaints about the stock cpu cooler you get with an Intel CPU. So many happy people with the Freezer 7 Pro.

The 4-pin extension cable is necessary because this case has the PSU on the bottom and the 4-pin CPU ATX connector on the motherboard is at the very top of the board. This cable allows another 12" of length.

I think I have done a ton of research and hope to avoid any build issues. I also picked up some right-angle SATA cables with the latch lock feature.

I'm hoping this system will get me by for light-medium gaming and essential tasks for a few years. Any input greatly appreciated.

In my opinion I would stick to a dual core system for now.
Theres not too many games that would utilizes 4 cores (if any).
I would also use my old case...the extra money you save going Dual instead of Quad + the cost of a case would let you put it towards a GTX 275 or an ATI 4890
Just my opinion

Check out the E8600/8400. I think that is a good dual core 775 choice.

If you're looking at the PSU on newegg, its a fantastic deal right now:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...N82E16817341018

I've heard many people say modular is not the way to go, but I have a modular PSU and have never had any issues... just be aware.

not the way to go? I've only heard glowing reviews about modular PSUs. Makes cable management sooo much easier.

Unless you plan on OCing, I don't personally think you need a different CPU cooler, especially for the quad-core (if you go for a higher performance dual-core though, you may want one).

I pulled the plug and bought exactly what's on my original post. I may not need a Quad-Core but the Q9550 seems to have E0 stepping for great clocking if I choose to. I am not an expert in overclocking, but I have the capability if I so choose to. Games are going to take advantage of 4 Cores somewhere in the next few years. There is already some light of this is GTA IV.

I figured it may be somewhat overkill system for now, but games are getting larger in file size and I'm hoping it will last me 2+ years. I may upgrade end of the year from the GTS250 to a GTX275 or similar.

For now the GTS250 is every bit a O.C. 9800GTX from what I am reading and thats a great card. The rebate was good on this card from BFG.

I most of all pray I don't get any defective or DOA items. I hate RMA'ing things and waiting with the 'egg'.

Will stay in touch on the new build guys, "Thanks"...

PS: Modular Power Supplies only makes sense, why have cables your not using left to dangle in your windowed case???

If you're already getting the GTS 250, then you might want to look into replacing it with a GTX 275 in the future, or just buying a second GTS 250 and running it in SLi

The Asus P5Q Pro Turbo motherboard does not support SLi. I had SLi before and did not see a real big difference in gaming. I know it's there but to me Crossfire and SLi is just another way for ATi and Nvidia to sell more video cards. "You need 2, 3 or even 4 vid cards" to be at max settings."

I don't buy it, one great card is plenty enough for me.

actually sli/xfire makes a difference at high resolutions like 1920x1080 and higher.

Having bought a GTX 275 in the past and knowing the requirements read a minimum of 550W for power, I was going to recommend a bigger power supply since you have a quad core and all the other stuff. I personally would've went with a sli or crossfire set up also since you seem like you're preparing for the future. You configure your computer properly and you probably can get more power than seen previously from the video card situation.

Monique

Check out my signature

Running 2x 775 nvidia boards - both 780i XFX & EVGA

There's no better intermediate range confuguration in my opnion

1x dual 260GTX Core 216's
1x triple 8800gt's

775 isn't a bad option for the next year or so!!

P.S. Had to cut back my F@H output with ambient temps of 95f everyday since its summer here!

This is an interesting discussion.. thank you for sharing.


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