64 Bit Build Help and Reccomendations

[TwinTipFlip]

I am building a pc for college. I chose to build a desktop becuase it is much cheaper than a comparable laptop or paying a company to build the same pc for more. I would like to use windows vista 64 bit. I dont know much about hardware compatabilty. I am buying the parts on newegg and having a local pc store put together the system together and install the os for 90 dollars. Dont critize me for being a noob to this as I have never built a pc.

My questions will be this for all the following hardware; are these parts 64 bit compatable and will they all work together?

Western Digital VelociRaptor WD3000GLFS 300GB 10000 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16822136260

XFX PVT98UZHBU GeForce 9800 GX2 1GB 512-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814150305

OCZ Reaper HPC 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model OCZ3RPR13334GK - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814150305

ASUS Striker II NSE LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 790i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16813131293

Intel Core 2 Quad Q9450 Yorkfield 2.66GHz LGA 775 95W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80569Q9450 - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16819115042

Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate SP1 English NA DVD - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16832116473

Are there any 64 bit requirments for games, dvd/cd drives ect?

 

[DaveSimmons]

Go to newegg and type "9800 gx2" into the search box. Instead of paying $500 there is an MSI for $415 after rebate, a PNY for $395 AR, an EVGA for $430, a Palit for $420 . . .

Are you planning to buy a second GX2 card? If not, you don't need a SLI motherboard.

Also, why DDR3? You could get 8 GB of DDR2 (silly for games though) or get 4 GB of DDR2 and save $100+

 

[Cutthroat]

The only part that needs to be 64bit to run a 64bit OS is your CPU, and that one is fine.

 

[ther00kie16]

Why SLI + GX2? With the newer video cards, it's much better to get a 4870 or maybe a GTX 260/280

 

[MarcVenice]

Overkill. Throwing money at a PC doesn't get you anywhere.

Velociraptor might be nice, but you can almost buy three 750gb HD's for the same money. If you buy two, you will have 5 times as much storage space, 1 HD to run the OS, 1 HD to run games/apps, they will be quieter, and won't be much slower at all when it comes to loading times.

Are you sure about that 9800gx2? You're buying a $375 motherboard, you could buy this one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16813136045 for 200$ less, and buy 2 HD4870's instead, which will significantly outperform a 9800gx2.

The q9450, $330, when a q6600 or a e8400 costs $200. In fact, a e8400 will be faster in games, your main thing right? Time to save another $130.

Windows Vista Ultimate, do you even know what advantages it has over Vista Home Premium? You should get a OEM version for 100$, and buy the 64bit dvd's for $10. Almost $200 saved.

RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16820231166 plain old ddr2, 1/3th the cost, 100% of the performance of that ddr3.

Don't you need a case? A PSU ?

I think I just saved you upwards of $350-400, might mean nothing to you, but then again, does buy you a few gallons of gas if nothing else. And, I increased your future's rig performance by at least 20%. Any questions?

 

[TwinTipFlip]

THanks for all resposnses, they all help. I really like the idea of buying multiple hard drives for the same cost. Would it be a good idea to raid the hard drives into a stripe pattern (raid 0)? I also plan on slightly overclocking the q9450 to 3.0ghz. My sisters friend has done some over clocking and thinks this could/would be very stable. It would also be nice to future proof my system with the raw power of a quad core.

I cannot for the life of me figure out what oem vs regular is for windows vista. Isnt oem for "system builder selling the pc. Could you explain more in depth how I could purchase a lesser version of vista and upgrade? I might in the future upgrade to 8 gb of memory but its very unlikely.

I would like to eventually sli the cards but this is currently a medium budget build.

I cant find the hd4870 anywhere its all sold out. I am looking at the exact card I have becuase it has a higher memory clock speed and core clock speed. Isnt that good?

Do you think that it is better to get two hd4870s now (if i can find them) or buy one 9800gx2 and another later.

Memory- call me a noob but I thought ddr3 was faster than ddr2. Can you upgrade both ddr2 and ddr3 to 8gb? I might be misunderstanding but what I took from the memory post was that you can only get 4 gb of ddr3. I am confused to say the least.

Thanks for all your help again, Im tring to learn something about computers....

 

[MarcVenice]

Goddamnit, typed a lenghty response, now it's all gone :S

Ok, trying to sum this up: DDR3 is like 2-5% faster, for three times the price. If this is a medium budget build, stick to ddr2 1066mhz, 2x2gb for $85-90. Just trust me on this one, or look it up on google, it has something to do with the CPU's FSB speed, quadpumped, vs the memory speed, which is double pumped. Long story short, all you REALLY need to max out your CPU's potential ram wise, is ddr2 667mhz. And not ddr3 1333mhz ram, that's 3 times as expensive.

And you can't compare clockseeds between videocards and different kind of memory. The 9800gx2 uses gddr3 memory, where as the HD4870 uses gddr5. All that matters in the end is the bandwith, and that's the Memory Interface, 256-bit on both the 9800gx2 and the HD4870, multiplied by the speed of the memory. The memory on the HD4870 is lots faster then the 9800gx2, resulting in lots more memory bandwith. Can't go into detail, but in the end the 9800gx2 might look faster due to higher numbers, but that's plain wrong.

I would buy 2 HD4870's in crossfire on a x38/x48 mobo, especially since buying a second 9800gx2 requires something like a 1000-1200w PSU, those are very expensive, and add to the cost of your build. If you want more power then 2 HD4870's, then you can always replace 1 of those HD4870's for a HD4870 X2 due out in a month or two. This will require something like a 850w PSU, like the antec TPQ 850w, for $150.

No, don't raid, raid gives abysmal if any performance gains, yet doubles the chance of failure. Do not do it, not worth the hassle, you'll be more then happy with two 750gb HD's.

As for buying an OEM version of Vista, this is tricky. It's a somewhat grey area. First of, OEM versions are completely legal, you're building the system right? That makes you a systembuilder. OEM buyers are not elligible for customer support though, but if you don't need it, why pay for it? Besides that, and here is where it gets tricky, OEM versions have 1 more limitation. If you swap your mobo/cpu for example, the Vista installation might ask for a reactivation. Meaning you have to buy a new OEM version. And, I'm not saying this is legal nor am I condoning this, but if you're motherboard DIES, and you have to replace it, and it asks for reactivation, and you call customer support, and explain the situation, they will often let you reactivate it for free. Now, this wouldn't be illegal, or they wouldn't allow you to do so. Up to you to decide if it's worth the hassle and the money you save with it.