New Build Advice

[Unknown Person]

Hi, I'm planning on building a new computer (my first actual build), and right now I'm currently planning out the parts. My current computer (Athlon 64 4000+, 6800GT) has been doing well for the past 3 years and a change would be really nice.

So, this new computer is mainly going to be used for a combination of light gaming (CS:S, Half Life 2, Oblivion, etc), multitasking (I generally have up to 8 applications up at one time), programming, audio editing, and will also function as a hub for watching movies (I'd like to connect my HDTV to my computer). I'm currently running 2 monitors, and would like to run 3 on this new system, but I would also like to connect my HDTV to my computer as well. I do not plan on overclocking (I'm with the philosophy of "you get what you pay for", and I'd like to keep this computer for as long as possible )

So right now I have picked a fairly general selection of parts with prices (these are the quickest prices that I found, not necessarily the cheapest) from various online retailers, and I need a bit of advice on the motherboard, power supply, and GPU(s). Here's the current complete parts list I have compiled (All CDN prices):

CPU $351.52 x1 Intel Core 2 Quad Q9450 @2.66GHz http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=12200BD5998&vpn=EU80569PJ067N&manufacture=INTEL
Motherboard $158.99 x1 Asus P5N-D 2-Way SLI nVidia nForce 750i SLI Chipset Dual-Channel DDR2 667/800Mhz 2x PCI-Express 2.0 HD Audio SATA/eSATA GigaLAN Support Core 2 Quad Processor & 1333Mhz System Bus http://www.canadacomputers.com/index.php?do=ShowProduct&cmd=pd&pid=017296&cid=MB.157
RAM $179.98 x2 A-DATA DDR2 800 240pin 4GB Kit (2x2GB) Unbuffered-DIMM Non-ECC Memory (w/ Heatsink) http://www.canadacomputers.com/index.php?do=ShowProduct&cmd=pd&pid=016576&cid=RAM.346.307
Video Cards $341.26 x2 BFG GeForce 9600GT OC 675MHZ 512MB 1.8GHZ DDR3 http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=10720BD2013&vpn=BFGE96512GTOCE&manufacture=BFG
Case $138.99 x1 Antec P182 Advanced Super Mid Tower Case- Gun Metal Black http://canadacomputers.com/index.php?do=ShowProduct&cmd=pd&pid=013501&cid=CS.664
PSU $112.99 x1 Corsair TX Series TX650W 650W ATX 12V 52A 24PIN ATX Power Supply http://www.canadacomputers.com/index.php?do=ShowProduct&cmd=pd&pid=015708&cid=PS.808
HDDs $193.98 x2 Western Digital Caviar (WD6400AAKS) 640GB SATAII 7200RPM 16MB Buffer (OEM) http://www.canadacomputers.com/index.php?do=ShowProduct&cmd=pd&pid=018205&cid=HD.443.877
DVD $59.98 x2 LG GH20NS10 /Black SATA DVD-Writer 20xDVD+R/-R 8x DVD+RW/6x DVD-RW 12xDVD+/-R9 Dual Layer 48x CD-R 32xCD-RW OEM http://www.canadacomputers.com/index.php?do=ShowProduct&cmd=pd&pid=016856&cid=CR.184
Floppy $8.99 x1 NEC 1.44MB Floppy Disk Drive Black (OEM) http://canadacomputers.com/index.php?do=ShowProduct&cmd=pd&pid=013114&cid=HD.837
Sound Card $50.99 x1 Creative Sound Blaster X-FI Xtreme Audio 24BIT Sound Card 7.1 PCI-E X1 (OEM) http://www.canadacomputers.com/index.php?do=ShowProduct&cmd=pd&pid=015653&cid=SC.483
Misc $7.99 x1 Arctic Silver 5 High-Density Polysynthetic Silver Thermal Compound http://canadacomputers.com/index.php?do=ShowProduct&cmd=pd&pid=003060&cid=FN.687

Subtotal $1,605.66
Total With Taxes $1,814.40

Ideally, I'd like to keep the budget at where it is already, but another $100 will not kill me (that much).

So here are the issues:

1) I hear that the current nForce motherboards are buggy and have issues, but since I do plan on running 4 outputs (3 monitors + HDTV), I guess I don't have much of a choice but to use two video cards and thus get a motherboard that both supports DDR2 memory and two PCI-Express slots. I couldn't find any Intel motherboards that have two slots, but I do not intend on running SLI. Are there any economical motherboard choices I have? Any specific brands?

2) I'm not quite sure how much wattage of a PSU I should get, or whether I should or should not spend the extra money on modular cables. The above list says I'm going to run 2x 9600GTs, which I hear do not use that much power, but (see below) I'm not quite sure about the video card configuration. Is the 650W Corsair a safe choice? I do not plan on upgrading major parts in the future, so I don't need the "extra wattage" for the safe side. (By the time I do end up upgrading, a new computer is probably the more economical choice).

3) Like mentioned above, I want to run 3 monitors and an HDTV. For all I know, there is no single GPU solution that will handle this type of load well. This means I'll have to get two video cards. What are my choices? I know that new video cards are coming soon, but those come at some intense prices that'll break my budget, plus I'll need two of them. Since I do not intend on running in SLI, do these cards need to be identical?

Another issue with this setup that I haven't figured out yet is how I'm going to connect my HDTV. My HDTV has a DVI input, and a regular computer-in audio input which I am currently using (although I have to disconnect one of my monitors since I only have 2 DVI slots in my current GPU), although the audio is not quite ideal. Ideally, I'd like to be able to use an HDMI cable (my HDTV has no seperate HDMI-audio inputs), but I'm a bit confused about how the audio would work. Do any GPUs have an HDMI with audio feature? Will it break my budget?

Thanks for any help any of you can provide for me. Seeing this is my first build, I would prefer not to mess up on any parts. Although I'm planning the build now, I'll probably end up getting the parts at the end of July. If there are any other issues with the parts I listed above, or if you need any more information, please tell!

 

[DSF]

1) The issues aren't horrendous, but they're enough that I wouldn't buy an Nvidia-based motherboard. (Keep in mind this is coming from someone with no need for a two-card setup, so most of the appeal of Nvidia chipsets doesn't apply to me.) There are a number of Intel boards with 2 PCI-e slots, but not all of them run at the full x16. I believe X38 and X48 do. I'm not sure, but I think P45 boards run at x8/x8 when they have two slots, and I'm not sure how that affects dual-GPU performance.

2) 650W is plenty. Even a good 550W or so PSU would be enough for two 9600GTs I would think.

3) The cards don't need to be identical since you're not going with SLI. What are you expecting to display on each of your monitors? If only one is going to be doing heavy 3D work like gaming, you really wouldn't need to buy two gaming cards. You could get a less expensive auxiliary card to run the two monitors that are just doing 2d work like web browsing/programming. A less powerful card would also require less bandwidth, and might allow you to get away with a P35 motherboard that runs one PCI-e slot at x16, and one at x4.

Overall it looks like you're on the right track.

 

[Unknown Person]

Originally posted by: DSF
1) The issues aren't horrendous, but they're enough that I wouldn't buy an Nvidia-based motherboard. (Keep in mind this is coming from someone with no need for a two-card setup, so most of the appeal of Nvidia chipsets doesn't apply to me.) There are a number of Intel boards with 2 PCI-e slots, but not all of them run at the full x16. I believe X38 and X48 do. I'm not sure, but I think P45 boards run at x8/x8 when they have two slots, and I'm not sure how that affects dual-GPU performance.

Ah, that's nice to know. Don't P45 boards only support DDR3 memory though? I'm running DDR2, so that'd be a bit of an issue.

Originally posted by: DSF
2) 650W is plenty. Even a good 550W or so PSU would be enough for two 9600GTs I would think.

Hm, yeah. I've been doing some power supply research (The AnandTech forums have some very useful information ), and everyone seems to like the Corsair models. I also found the 550W model which is around $20 cheaper, so that's a plus. What about modular cables, though? Corsair's models are quite a bit more expensive with less wattage, but would the increased price be worth it?

Originally posted by: DSF
3) The cards don't need to be identical since you're not going with SLI. What are you expecting to display on each of your monitors? If only one is going to be doing heavy 3D work like gaming, you really wouldn't need to buy two gaming cards. You could get a less expensive auxiliary card to run the two monitors that are just doing 2d work like web browsing/programming. A less powerful card would also require less bandwidth, and might allow you to get away with a P35 motherboard that runs one PCI-e slot at x16, and one at x4.

Well, I seriously doubt that I'll be playing 3 games at once, so two gaming cards would not make much sense. With the current setup in mind, it probably would be nice to have my first video card to have a DVI and an HDMI output (1920x1200 and 1080p respectively), one being my main center monitor, the other being the HDTV (since I probably will not be watching movies and playing games at the same time ). For the other two monitors, I could consider a cheaper non-gaming card, since the two sub monitors (running 1280x1024 and 1650x1050) won't be running any games, and will probably be just displaying information or light graphics like Photoshop/Sibelius/FireFox/etc.

Originally posted by: DSF
Overall it looks like you're on the right track.

Thanks, that's nice to know.

 

[DSF]

Originally posted by: Unknown Person
Ah, that's nice to know. Don't P45 boards only support DDR3 memory though? I'm running DDR2, so that'd be a bit of an issue.

Nope, there are DDR2-based P45 boards.

The only chipset I know of that out-and-out requires DDR3 is Nvidia's 790i. I think even X48 has some DDR2 boards.

Originally posted by: Unknown Person

Hm, yeah. I've been doing some power supply research (The AnandTech forums have some very useful information ), and everyone seems to like the Corsair models. I also found the 550W model which is around $20 cheaper, so that's a plus. What about modular cables, though? Corsair's models are quite a bit more expensive with less wattage, but would the increased price be worth it?

Corsair's PSUs are well built, quiet, efficient, and put out their advertised wattage. That makes them quality PSUs, and they come with a five year warranty. There are other good choices in Seasonic, Antec and a few other manufacturers. Modular cabling is nice, but not a must. The P182 should have plenty of room, but in a smaller case like my Solo modularity is very nice to have.

Originally posted by: Unknown Person
Well, I seriously doubt that I'll be playing 3 games at once, so two gaming cards would not make much sense. With the current setup in mind, it probably would be nice to have my first video card to have a DVI and an HDMI output (1920x1200 and 1080p respectively), one being my main center monitor, the other being the HDTV (since I probably will not be watching movies and playing games at the same time ). For the other two monitors, I could consider a cheaper non-gaming card, since the two sub monitors (running 1280x1024 and 1650x1050) won't be running any games, and will probably be just displaying information or light graphics like Photoshop/Sibelius/FireFox/etc.

I don't know a whole lot about HDMI and which cards have an HDMI and a DVI output. I'm sure someone can help you out with that, and if you don't get a favorable response here, you could always ask that question specifically in the Video Cards and Graphics forum.