New build, suggestion and feedback please.

[Baroo]

Heres my build. all my other info is below.

<CPU-- Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor Model BX80570E8400 - Retail

<Mainboard-- DFI LP LT X38-T2R LGA 775 Intel X38 ATX Intel Motherboard

<RAM-- G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Model F2-6400CL5D-4GBPQ

<GPU-- Undecided** 8800gt, 9800gtx, hd 3870, Xfire 3870s

<HHD-- 2xWestern Digital Caviar SE16 WD6400AAKS 640GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM

<Power-- PC Power & Cooling S75QB 750W EPS12V Power Supply 100 - 240 V UL, ULC, CE, CB, RoHS - Retail

<DVD/CD-- ASUS 20X DVD±R DVD Burner w/LightScribe Black SATA Model DRW-2014L1T Retail

<Audio-- ASUS Xonar DX 7.1 Channels PCI Express Interface Sound Card - Retail

<Case-- XCLIO Windtunnel Fully Black Finish 1.0 mm SECC Chassis ATX Full Tower Computer Case - Retail

<OS-- Vista Ultimate 64 bit




==========================================================



1. What YOUR PC will be used for. That means what types of tasks you'll be performing.

-gaming, gaming, & more gaming. light photo shop, light open office task, very light video editing. I'll play a twitch shooter, starcraft II, but mostly MMOs. WoW, AoC, Warhammer, Eve, Jumpgate2. etc.


2. What YOUR budget is. A price range is acceptable as long as it's not more than a 20% spread

-about 2k$ give or take some.


3. What country YOU will be buying YOUR parts from.

-USA


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.

-anything that keeps my system stable, i prefer name brands over scare stuff made in countries I never heard of before.


5. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts, and if so, what those parts are.

-No, however I do have a hard drive I might move over at a later date.


6. IF YOU have searched and/or read similar threads.

-read a few


7. IF YOU plan on overclocking or run the system at default speeds.

-default speeds for now, i'll do light overclocking, just bumping my FSB up a bit when it's needed. Or about a year into the system.

8. WHEN do you plan to build it?

- i would like to start to order parts in a month. I'll probably order the case HHD, DVD/cd and power supply in a week or two. I'll order the Mobo, CPU, videocard, ram & everything else at the same time.

=========================================================

just a quick question.

During gaming would I gain any benefit with a quad core over a dual core processor? [[i found this thread http://forums.anandtech.com/me...=2187504&enterthread=y
so there really isn't any/many games that support quad core so I might switch to a E8500]]


Also, I'm looking for stability. I just would like a rock solid machine.




EDIT: updated build

 

[DSF]

Go dual core. Stick to the E8400. The E8500 isn't worth the extra expense. Also, I noticed you're buying an SLI motherboard but only a single graphics card. Don't waste your money - if you're using a single graphics card go with an Intel chipset like the P35.

There are better power supplies for the money, but if you're running a single card set up you don't need anywhere near 800W anyway.

 

[Baroo]

Originally posted by: DSF
Go dual core. Stick to the E8400. The E8500 isn't worth the extra expense. Also, I noticed you're buying an SLI motherboard but only a single graphics card. Don't waste your money - if you're using a single graphics card go with an Intel chipset like the P35.

There are better power supplies for the money, but if you're running a single card set up you don't need anywhere near 800W anyway.

Thanks, I switched to the e8400, didn't notice the price difference before.

as for the sli board, my second choice is dual 8800gt's. I forgot to note that, but it's now fixed.

 

[ther00kie16]

Looks fine but if you are going with a single video card, try the Gigabyte P35 DS3R. Also, if you are going to go SLI, maybe 8800GTSs (g92), which are same as 9800GTX except for lower factory clocks, instead of 8800GTs. Lastly, audio on current boards are very good so many people will recommend trying onboard sound first and if you don't like it or find it lacking in anyway, get a sound card later.
I see that you won't order the video card for another month. By then, new video cards will be out so you should wait to see the reviews/pricing on those.

 

[Baroo]

I was looking at 2 of these: http://www.evga.com/products/m....asp?pn=512-P3-N808-AR

but the gts looks nice too: http://www.evga.com/products/m....asp?pn=512-P3-N845-AR


also, would I need to flash the bios on a Gigabyte P35 DS3R to run a 45nm cpu?




btw the vcards are cheaper at newegg, i just linked there cause I had that page open.

 

[ther00kie16]

Are you planning to buy direct from EVGA? They are much cheaper ~$200 at places like newegg.
Looking at reviews on newegg, it seems like the original F1 bios didn't support 45nm but you could boot into bios and flash it. However, it's been months so the board should be shipped with a newer bios now since they are up to F11.

 

[Baroo]

Originally posted by: ther00kie16
Are you planning to buy direct from EVGA? They are much cheaper ~$200 at places like newegg.
Looking at reviews on newegg, it seems like the original F1 bios didn't support 45nm but you could boot into bios and flash it. However, it's been months so the board should be shipped with a newer bios now since they are up to F11.

I mostly buy from newegg, zipzoomfly and once from tiger direct, everything went well, but I just didn't dig them.





updated build, switched out power supply for a 750watt.

 

[Sharkie13]

Yeah a 9800GTX2 will own dual 8800GT's any day of the week. Get at least the new GTS's or maybe even an 8800GTX if your budget can handle it.

 

[Baroo]

Originally posted by: Sharkie13
Yeah a 9800GTX2 will own dual 8800GT's any day of the week. Get at least the new GTS's or maybe even an 8800GTX if your budget can handle it.

this is where I get confused and haven't settled for a graphic card.

the 8800GT spec:
Performance
NVIDIA GeForce 8800GT
720 MHz GPU
112 Stream Processors
400 MHz RAMDAC

Memory
512 MB, 256 bit DDR3
2000 MHz (effective)
64.0 GB/s Memory Bandwidth

Interface
PCI-E 16x
DVI-I, DVI-I, HDTV-7
SLI Capable

Resolution & Refresh
240Hz Max Refresh Rate
2560x1600 Max Analog
2560x1600 Max Digital

The 8800GTS spec:

Performance
NVIDIA GeForce 8800GTS
678 MHz GPU
128 Stream Processors
400 MHz RAMDAC

Memory
512 MB, 256 bit DDR3
1944 MHz (effective)
62.2 GB/s Memory Bandwidth

Interface
PCI-E 16x
DVI-I, DVI-I, HDTV-7
SLI Capable

Resolution & Refresh
240Hz Max Refresh Rate
2560x1600 Max Analog
2560x1600 Max Digital


Links:

Originally posted by: Baroo
I was looking at 2 of these: http://www.evga.com/products/m....asp?pn=512-P3-N808-AR

but the gts looks nice too: http://www.evga.com/products/m....asp?pn=512-P3-N845-AR

here's the 9800GX2specs:

Performance
NVIDIA 9800 GX2
675 MHz GPU
256 Stream Processors
400 MHz RAMDAC

Memory
1024 MB, 512 bit DDR3
2100 MHz (effective)
134.4 GB/s Memory Bandwidth

Interface
PCI-E 16x 2.0
DVI-I, DVI-I, HDMI
SLI Capable

Resolution & Refresh
240 Hz Max Refresh Rate
2560x1600 Max Analog
2560x1600 Max Digital

 

[Baroo]

Also anyone set up a raid on teh Evga 780i board?

 

[Dream Operator]

I might suggest you check the microstutter topic in video cards. Interesting discussion about SLI. Even with the increased performace of SLI, I don't think it's that hot. I'm unloading two 9600GT's to go with one 8800GTS to hold me until I can afford GT200!! I read a lot of negative information about the 700 series chipsets. Check some of the reviews on newgg, even in the top boards, major complaints about chipset heat and video issues. I purchased the same Gigabyte board listed above. Seems P35 is pretty solid. If you're waiting a month and considering a GX2, save the money on the SLI board and put it towards GT200. You'll be rockin'!!

Also, I wouldn't go by the specs on the cards, it certainly doesn't explain the real world differences. Try benchmarks instead, it's atleast showing performace.

If you haven't bought the RAM yet, the DDR1000 version is $10 cheaper than the DDR800 at the egg.

 

[Roguestar]

Originally posted by: Baroo
Also anyone set up a raid on teh Evga 780i board?

If you're thinking of RAID-0, don't bother.

You don't really need the ultra-best-super-awesomest graphics card for MMOs, you know. You could consider saving money here and just sticking with one 8800GTS and adding more RAM.

 

[Baroo]

Originally posted by: Dream Operator
I might suggest you check the microstutter topic in video cards. Interesting discussion about SLI. Even with the increased performace of SLI, I don't think it's that hot. I'm unloading two 9600GT's to go with one 8800GTS to hold me until I can afford GT200!! I read a lot of negative information about the 700 series chipsets. Check some of the reviews on newgg, even in the top boards, major complaints about chipset heat and video issues. I purchased the same Gigabyte board listed above. Seems P35 is pretty solid. If you're waiting a month and considering a GX2, save the money on the SLI board and put it towards GT200. You'll be rockin'!!

Also, I wouldn't go by the specs on the cards, it certainly doesn't explain the real world differences. Try benchmarks instead, it's atleast showing performace.

If you haven't bought the RAM yet, the DDR1000 version is $10 cheaper than the DDR800 at the egg.

thanks.

Originally posted by: Roguestar

Originally posted by: Baroo
Also anyone set up a raid on teh Evga 780i board?

If you're thinking of RAID-0, don't bother.

You don't really need the ultra-best-super-awesomest graphics card for MMOs, you know. You could consider saving money here and just sticking with one 8800GTS and adding more RAM.

I have always second guessed setting up raids, so once again I might skip it.

 

[chinaman1472]

Unless you're playing at 2560x1600 with max settings, the GX2 is roughly ~10% faster than 8800GT SLi. The difference is you're only paying for ~$300 for 2 8800GTs, but you're gonna spend $500+ for your GX2. I guess that $200 is somewhat offset by the SLi motherboard you have to have, but the GX2 is nowhere near smashing the competition.

For those games, I'd say a single 8800GTS would be plenty unless absolutely must play on maximum settings. If so, I'd say dual 8800GT(S) would be the best option, or even dual 9600GTs.

 

[Baroo]

I might be switching my choice of motherboard out. I was thinking about a x38 intel chip set board, namely the DFI options. the reason for the x38 chip set is cheap fast ddr2 ram, but with PCI Express 2.0. and for now the x38 chip set seems more stable then the nvida 7x0 chip set. here's what I am looking at, i'll up date the OP shortly:

DFI LP LT X38-T2R LGA 775 Intel X38 ATX Intel Motherboard Link

or

DFI LANPARTY DK X38-T2R LGA 775 Intel X38 ATX Intel Motherboard Link

DFI boards have been really good to me in the past, and the more I read about the Nvidia7x0 chip set the less i want it, for now.

this also changes my thought on graphic cards since SLI is no longer an option. I'll prolly have to go with a 9800GTX or 9800GX2. or just buy a hd3870 and wait for the next gen graphic cards to come out