Almost done!!

[tristanic]

So I was just going to upgrade my system then I got in on that ebay deal and bought two 4870s for $425 so now i ended up doing a full rebuild. I see OCing as the most probable upgrade path in the future.

It is mainly a gaming rig and I'm keeping lots of stuff from my current setup. No preference in brands and more looking at Crysis and COD4 gamingwise.

Here's what I'm thinking of getting:

HSF: I?ve heard both that my Scythe ninja will work and also that it won?t work, any ideas?
If not, I was thinking of getting this:
$36 XIGMATEK HDT-S1283 120mm Rifle CPU Cooler

RAM: Again, no idea what I should get here so I was just going for the cheapest/fastest? Overclocking is probably in my future.

$88 OCZ Reaper HPC 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) i know it's overkill but unless I can get something much cheaper without a hit in performance I might as well go for this, right?

$93 CORSAIR DOMINATOR with DHX Technology TWIN2X4096-8500C5DF 4GB PC2-8500 (DDR2-1066) DDR2

$53 4GB DDR2 PC2-6400 DUAL CHANNEL KIT/ (2X2GB) / OCZ / VISTA UPGRADE EDITION

$85 G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1000 (PC2 8000)

$66 CORSAIR 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400)
---------------------------------
What I have: Let me know if you think I need to upgrade anything else.

PSU: Corsair Memory 750W TX750W ATX12V
Mobo: GIGABYTE GA-X48-DS4 LGA 775 Intel X48
CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz
GPU: Two Sapphire 4870s ? enroute
HDD: 2x 74GB Raptors 1x WD 640GB
HSF: Ninja
Monitor: FW900
Mouse: MX510
DVD: hp dvd40 lightscribe dvd/cd
Case: Lian Li PC-65 Silver Aluminum ATX Mid Tower
Keyboard: G15
Speakers: Klipsch 5.1 promedia ultras
OS: Vista Professional
Sound card: Audigy 2 zs Platinum

Well, I do hope that I got all the information you guys needed.

 

[DaveSimmons]

Your PSU will work for 1 - 4870, it just needs 2 6-pin connectors and ~13 A total (for the card, not including your other parts).

From what I've read a 4870 will be fine up to 19200x1200, if you want to go higher then save up for a pair.

If you might want crossfire now or later then X38 or better X48 is better than P45, since P45 runs crossfire as x8 / x8 not both at x16.

An E8400 is definitely the CPU to buy for gaming right now, the quads are more expensive and much slower at stock since cores 3-4 aren't useful for gaming.

The WD 640 GB is the hot HD right now, it has 2 dense (= fast) 320 GB platters.

 

[tristanic]

So now trying to decide where best to put my ebay/paypal discount to work. which would be the smartest buy a e8400 wolfdale for $195 with no shipping and a sapphire 4870 for $330 & $10 shipping. I still have my paypal 10% off coupon and 19% off using live.com. I'm just not sure which one is most likely to drop in price in the next month???

 

[Davegod]

This is maybe a little wide of the mark since you evidently go for high-end, but...

not sure i follow your choice of ram and mobo given you dont oc? for a mild hit in performance you could go significantly cheaper and spend the savings on the graphics, adding back the performance where it really counts for gaming. Even some P35's are well featured, with RAID (which i assume you want due to 2x raptors) and overclock reasonably.

But if you think that you might feel that the system is a little "second class" if you go for less than high-end on anything... I mean nobody wants to put their system together and feel like they compromised too much somewhere.

ps. thems some awful nice speakers to pair with Realtek onboard audio (as surprisingly good as it is).

 

[heyheybooboo]

You have an Opty 165 and a Ninja HSF and you didn't overclock?

The HSF won't fit - - sell it to me along with your mobo & cpu

<<<------ thinks you should OC the Opty and buy the HD4870 (if you can find one)

 

[tristanic]

Davegod - mobo's I just pulled them from a couple of other build threads as I have no idea what's good for intel. As for the ram, it was under $90 with some rebate so why not get the faster stuff if its pretty much the same as the slower stuff? If there is a reason to get something slower i would be happy to get it, i was just going for the most bang for my buck.

Heyheybooboo - very true, my last rig was bought with the idea i would be able to oc it, won't tell you which mobo i have for it, lol. However a couple things came up; i got a new job and now barely have the time to play around on my comp much less figure out how to OC it and i've had some memory problems, think its the board but dont have the time to really figure it out. Hence the upgrade. So With the problems and lack of time I thought I might as well just rebuild and still keep ocing as an upgrade path.

Initially I was just going to get a new hdd as the raptors have eaten their fill but then my comp just got totally borked and I'm not smart enough to fix it Definitely won't start off with cf but may add a second card in a few months when the prices drop substanially, just a thought there. Thanks for your help so far everyone!

 

[MarcVenice]

Unless you're 100% sure you're going to crossfire, you shouldn't buy such an expensive mobo. You ALSO need a WAY more powerfull PSU then that to crossfire 2 HD4870's, 750w is recommended. That'll run you $120 or so. The ram is just fine, some ram is like 10-15$ cheaper, it's cheap as hell allready, and you'll be overclock proof. I'd get a 750gb samsung f1, fast and quiet at the same time. Not sure if your Ninja will work. Onboard sound might suffice for your speakers. If not, you can always purchase a new soundcard down the road for $60.

 

[tristanic]

Well due to my seemingly impulsive nature I have 2 4870s on the way. So I have updated my original post and am now looking for suggestions on a crossfire capable mobo for an E8400 along with an appropriate psu and eveything else listed. I'll probably keep both vidcards as my 24" monitor can go up to a resolution of 2304x1440. Unless people have a compelling argument to just stick with the single card and ebay the second? Thanks again for all your help!

 

[DaveSimmons]

Search "x48" at newegg, that's the crossfire chipset to get for 2 x 4870s. I think there's a $225 ?Gigabyte? there.

 

[s44]

I'd get 850W myself for that setup.

 

[MarcVenice]

Antec TPQ 850w for 150$ is a pretty good deal.

 

[tristanic]

Updated above, just need some help nailing down the last few items, thanks!!

 

[jellyrole]

I would buy the Gigabyte x48 motherboard b/c it has the most amount of good reviews(80% at 5 eggs!). That Corsair PSU for $78 after rebate seems like an excellent price to me. It's also got 60A on the 12V rail so it'll power your machine nicely.

 

[tristanic]

So just splurged on that 25% cashback deal and picked up the mobo and CPU, still feeling a little lightheaded from the hit to my credit card. In the home stretch now though! Anyone else want to chime in on the PSU and RAM? Will probably just pick them up from New Egg or ZZF, thanks again for all your help!!

 

[tristanic]

okay, now i just need RAM (for probable overclocking) and maybe a some cooling ideas. HSF suggestions and maybe some aftermarket coolers for the 4870s? Anything else I need? Are the xfi soundcards any better than the 2zs platinum I have now?