First Gaming PC

[kingcole]

So, ever since my XBox Shat itself I've been looking into building a gaming pc. I will be the first to admit I don't know a lot about computers, but I'm trying my best to learn, and I have something of an obsession with neat expensive toys that light up and make sounds.
So I've put together several hypothetical builds, and I'm going to post my most recent and ask those of you who know a lot about this sort of thing to tear it apart. Nicely, please.
And I read the rules, too!
1. What YOUR PC will be used for. That means what types of tasks you'll be performing.
Quite a bit of gaming. However, I'm a musician so there will also be a fair amount of music storage, editing and composition, as well as some video editing and, like any good guy with no life, way too much surfing the web.

2. What YOUR budget is. A price range is acceptable as long as it's not more than a 20% spread.
I'd like to keep it at a pretty reasonable mid-budget. I don't like to idea of exceeding $1500 by very much unless it's really, really worth it. $2000 is too high.

3. What country YOU will be buying YOUR parts from.
The good ole' US of A. Newegg, most likely.

4. IF YOU have a brand preference. That means, are you an Intel-Fanboy, AMD-Fanboy, ATI-Fanboy, nVidia-Fanboy, Seagate-Fanboy, WD-Fanboy, etc, etc, etc, you get the picture. Well, since this is my first build, I haven't grown attached to any one manufacturer, but just do to the sheer amount of Antec Case fans out there, I've found myself a little turned off by their products. Go figure.

5. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts, and if so, what those parts are.
I have a nice set of Altec Lansing speakers, but that's it. A wireless Logitech mouse, but that will stay with my laptop.

6. IF YOU have searched and/or read similar threads.
All sorts of them. If there's one thing I do well, that's obsess over a hobby. Anandtech has quickly become one of my favorite forums to read.
7. IF YOU plan on overclocking or run the system at default speeds.
It's not out of the question, but if I do, not very high. I'd like everything to run for a long time.

8. WHEN do you plan to build it?
Early next year, most likely. It will be after Nehalem, but I don't see myself needing something that high-class (read: expensive), so I'll stick with what today has to offer.

Now on to the Components!
Case: Cooler Master CM-690; $74.99
PSU: Corsair CMPSU-550VX 550W; $97.99
CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550; $319.99
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3P; $136.99
Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar SE16 640GB; $74.99
RAM: G. Skill 4GB (2X2 GB) DDR2 800; $49.99
GPU: (2) Sapphire Radeon HD 4850 512MB in CF; $319.98 (159.99 each)
Monitor: Acer X243Wbd 24"; $299.99
Logitech KB & Mouse; $12.99
OS: Vista Home Premium SP1 64-bit OEM; $99.99
TOTAL: $1512.88 (before shipping and rebates)

Please let me know what you guys and gals think!
Thanks in advance.

 

[jeffw2767602]

1. Ditch the crossfire and buy a single card like a 4870 1gb, or, if you are really feeling froggy, use buy it now on ebay and get a 4870x2 for $350 or so with MS Live Cashback (see hot deals forum for more info).
2. If you plan to overclock buy the ddr2 1000mhz version of that Gskill ram, its only $15 more.
3. That PSU will be fine but I would probably go with the 610w PC Power and cooling PSU. Again this is just a personal thing but that PSU you have selected should be fine and it has 1 12v rail which is a plus.


You can overclock your components a fair amount without diminishing their lifespan very much. There is sort of a sweet spot for all cpu's and video cards. Overclocking can be really fun and is a nice little challenge. Buy a decent aftermarket cooler for your 9550 and perhaps you can get it up to 3.8 or 4ghz with a bit of luck and an E0 stepping q9550, especially with that motherboard (which is known for hitting 500+mhz fsb on quads). As long as you dont go over 1.37v your chip should last 4-5 years or maybe longer. Very nice first build btw....and good luck.

 

[akugami]

If you're going to be using Vista x64, maybe spend the extra $50-70 for 8GB of RAM. I don't know what those music apps will use but they probably like lots of RAM. I know for a fact most video editing software likes lots of RAM. Consider the Thermaltake 700W PSU (link below) for $80 after $50 rebate.

I'd agree with jeffw2767602 on getting a 1GB 4870 which is going for about $270 after rebate right now. The thing with Crossfire and SLI is the fact that the performance boost is not linear nor does it work in all games equally well.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16817153039

 

[jeffw2767602]

+1 on the 8gb of ram idea. I am personally running 4gb of the g skill 2x2gb sticks and am waiting for more funding to upgrade to 8gb total. I believe that maxing out your ram is the best way to "future proof" your machine (the parts you are buying are already in a sense obsolete so you cant really future proof, you can only make your machine more able to handle future apps with less fuss ). Even if you don't buy 8gb up front, ddr2 should continue to be very cheap and you could upgrade in the near future if you don't opt to use 8gb on the initial build.

On a side note, if you have any overclocking questions feel free to pm me or the overclocking master on this forum aigomorloa (sp?) Aigo is the man lol. I encourage you to take the leap because it is a very fun and rewarding experience. Once again good luck.

 

[JPB]

Nice choice on the motherboard as well. All of the reviews I have read on it has said that it is absolutely fantastic and has great overclocking abilities.

 

[Ausm]

I would definatly go with 8Gb of memory because it is sooo cheap right now.

 

[Denithor]

Welcome to your new addiction.

Looks like a great build, well thought out, and finally someone getting a quad will actually use it!

There are only two suggestions I'll make.

Go for the Corsair 520HX instead of the PSU you've chosen. Cheaper (after rebate) and this one has modular cables (plug in only the ones you actually need) for much easier cable management.

Second, make sure you get a nice keyboard & mouse. That's the part of the computer you directly use the most and many people overlook how much difference a nice setup can make. It's kinda like buying a Cadillac and then sticking a ragged out seat from a Pinto in there.

 

[kingcole]

Hey, thanks for all of the feedback! Wow. I went to bed and when I got up, voila! Awesome. A few questions, though.
As far as the 4870 is concerned, do you think the 1GB model shows that much of a performance boost over the 512MB to merit the extra cash? Also, all of the comparisons I have seen show the dual 4850's blowing almost every single card solution out of the water, for a lower price than many of them (like to the 280). But you think the scaling and amount of games not utilizing crossfire would be such that it would merit the slightly lower performance of a single 4870? It would save money, I suppose. Most games would run fine at 19X12?
8GB of RAM, huh? I had always read that 4 was plenty for Vista 64, but a few more never hurt anyone, especially at the costs right now . I think I'd stick with the DDR2 800, I have read that the amount is a lot more important than speed. I'll keep looking into PSU's, but I do really like the 520HX. Do you reckon that would be enough power to get a 4870 up and running? I certainly don't want to go out and overkill it with a 1K power supply like a lot of people do, but I don't want to underdo it, either.
Finally, I like that Cadillac analogy. Haha. I've been sort of Jonesing for a nicer keyboard and mouse anyhow, but when I first started looking I was of the mindset that cheaper is better, and haven't gotten away from that yet. Microsoft has some very nice ergonomic keyboards, and as far as the mouse goes, the G5? That's about all I ever hear about.
Thanks a lot everyone! This is slowly becoming a reality! *Happy computer dance*

 

[kingcole]

Bump. Sorry!