New rig, the sweetspot.

[cytg111]

New rig, the sweetspot
Budget: high, but wanna keep it sane, on the good side of the cost-benefit equation.
Used for: coding (java, c++, whatever) and drooling over the latest game eyecandy.
Want : to overclock.

Q9450 : quad core goodness, i understand they dont oc as well as the dualcore part. I suppose im lucky if it goes over 3.0 ?

Motherboard : good question, x48 based, but wich one? and should i go ddr2 or ddr3? and will my choice here hurt my overclock (does it really matter, 2.6->3.n n<3)?

Ram : 4gigs mandatory, 8 gigs nice. but 8gigs of high quality DDR3 is not cheapo. Again, does it matter in terms of oc?

gfx : 9800gx2 (how much noise does these beasts make?)

powersupply : advice ?

main disc : 150g raptor or some ssd.

and at last : Im not even sure about the quad core .. im reading about E8400+'s hitting 4GHz and above .. that just fast-fast, would it be a better tradeoff all around?
When coding ill typically have a virtual machine running, problary with some version control etc. A database of sorts and one or two ide's (eclipse/idea/netbeans/msvs).. and 10-20 firefox tabs on the side .

So guess my main question is something like this;
How high can i expect to take a Q9450? And if thats not high at all, does a E8400 in my case make more sense.

 

[modoheo]

Don't get DDR3 RAM - tiny performance gain, big increased price. 2 X 2gigs of DDR2 800 or 1066 is the sweetspot.

The 150gig Raptor is obsolete - the 300gig VelociRaptor is twice as large and fast. The sweet spot is the WD AAKS 640gig HD though.

Why get an expensive crossfire capable X48 board if you're going with a single graphics card?

Check the stickied "Attention System Builders" thread in this forum for a lot more info.

 

[Chosonman]

everything modoheo said plus if can afford it go quad if you want bang for the buck dual. And since you said you are running a virtual machine you might want to lean toward quad.

 

[cytg111]

modoheo -> i misread the title of that thread, so i skipped it the first round about .. i read the title as someone, like myself, looking for advice.. But that thread is gold.. thanks!

 

[Magusigne]

PSU: Antec 850w Monster Modular PSU @149.99 shipped go big or go home Honestly this PSU has it all, modular and 850w! Thats probably going to keep you set for a LONG time..and its on sale from 249.99.
Honestly I'd go for that one as far as cost/benefits go. Corsair 620hx is always a good choice too.

I don't think I'd go with the gx2 personally. It produces ALOT of heat (they all do nowadays though). Since your looking at the x38/x48 line of motherboards definately do 2x 4850's in crossfire. Which would be cheaper than the GX2 and out perform them in many area's.

CPU: Go 9450 if your running a VM. Long term benefits go to the Quad core if you want slightly "future" proofed. Could get it to 3.2 or 3.6 on air I imagine.

 

[cytg111]

Thanks ...

one more thing .. going from 2 to 4 bricks of ram, (4->8gigs) how bad will that hurt my oc-ability ? alot ?

 

[MarcVenice]

For single GPU a p35/p45 or even a p43 mobo will suffice. If you ask me you shouldn't buy a 9800gx2 though. Better get a HD4850 or HD4870. And if you get a x38/x48 mobo you can crossfire two HD4850's or HD4870's.

You could go with a quad, I read about the q9450 going for 250$ at fry's tomorrow. Not sure if I read correctly though, but worth checking out ! Stick with 2x2gb of ddr2 800/1066 mhz, both go for $85. If you want 8gb you can always buy another 2x2gb of the same ram. Powersupply, depending on your videocard setup, for a 9800gx2 I'd get a 650w PSU. For dual HD4870's I'd get a 850w PSU. For dual HD4850's I'd get 650/750w. Corsair is a good brand, 620hx for modular, 650tx/750tx are nice. Antec true power quattro 850w is a good unit for $150.

As for the HDD, perhaps get a 300gb velociraptor, but you might as well get two 750gb samsung F1's for that money. The latter will still be plenty fast.

 

[modoheo]

If you go crossfire on the 4850's or 4870's, then I'd check the certified list and pick a PSU accordingly:
http://game.amd.com/us-en/cros...ex_components.aspx?p=3

This one looks very nice for the price:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16817104043

 

[Magusigne]

Cytg, I'd ask that specific question in a new thread in the memory and storage department. N7 would be the person to ask.

I can overclock to 4ghz using 2x2 and 2x1 kits=6gb and all 4 dimms populated.

Now depending on how HIGH you overclock that would be the deciding question.

I'd think you probably would want twice the ram with a mild overclock then 50% less ram in vista with a larger overclock (200-400mhz difference perhaps?)

And marc is right, most test show that raptor's are somewhat of a waste of money (its your money to waste though). I'd personally go with Marc's preference of the 2x750gb's!

 

[cytg111]

thanks again .. after some more reading i think ill go the 4850 route on a crossfire ready board .. it just makes too much sense in all regards .. seeing its a dirt cheap card theres two routes to take in a year, crossfire or toss it
about the psu .. as always ill end up with 4-5-6+ discs smashed away in the chassis .. so may as well invest in the psu for those as well..
im going to storagereview to get a feel of the velociraptor

 

[MarcVenice]

This one looks WAY better: http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16817371009

That should run dual HD4870's, no reason why it shouldn't really.

-EDIT

This one looks good too: http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16817256007

And if you REALLY want overkill, try this one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16817182096

Yes, it's rosewill, but it's a pretty good PSU. Read here: http://jonnyguru.com/modules.p...iews&op=Story4&reid=60

 

[cytg111]

Thanks so much so far, this is what i've come up with

final Build, Release Candidate 1
cpu : Q9450 + XIGMATEK HDT-S1283 120mm Rifle CPU Cooler
motherb :ASUS RAMPAGE FORMULA LGA 775 Intel X48 ATX
ram :8G (4x2) CORSAIR DOMINATOR DDR2 1066
psu :Be quiet! Dark Power PRO BQT P6-PRO-1000W (saxed from amd's approved for crossfire list)
gfx :some 4850(maybe even crossfire from the getgo)
hd :velociraptor or a couple of AAKS 640gig's .. and a few 1TB drives for 'storage'
Casing - to be decided.. something with lots and lots of drive bays
- the rest i've got in spare parts lying around.

While not fanatic about it i would still like to keep the noise down .. somewhat heh. would rather loose a 100mhz overclock than loose an ear!

 

[DSF]

Even for Crossfired 4850s you don't need anything near 1000W. 750 would be just fine.

 

[cytg111]

I hear you .. but what about adding another 3-4 1T drives along the way?
Also .. I assume such a beast 1kw+ psu will have a good chance at handling nehalems too...

 

[DSF]

A system with two HD4850s in Crossfire would probably use between 400-500W at full load. Even if you add the hard drives, you're still fine. The problem with buying a 1kW+ PSU is that you run the risk of running the system under 20% of the PSUs capacity when you're idling, and efficiency can take a dive.

 

[Magusigne]

Originally posted by: DSF
A system with two HD4850s in Crossfire would probably use between 400-500W at full load. Even if you add the hard drives, you're still fine. The problem with buying a 1kW+ PSU is that you run the risk of running the system under 20% of the PSUs capacity when you're idling, and efficiency can take a dive.

Yup. A good 750W is perfectly fine.

I still would go with the modular 850w Antec Quatro.

You can't lose either way (but i think the 850w is a better deal IMHO)

 

[modoheo]

Surprisingly, the Corsair 550vx is actually certified by ATI for 2 X 4850 in crossfire. Talk about a great deal:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16817139004

I'd still go with the Corsair 750tx or the Antec Quadro 850w for extra headroom though. They're both great values.

 

[cytg111]

Thanks .. ill go with the Antec Quadro 850w then .. and order later tonight.
Ill resurrect this thread once my new puppy is up and running (tax deductable machines are just that much sweeter)

 

[cytg111]

Thanks for all the help guys, I ended up ordering these parts

- Antec TruePower Quattro 1000 - EC - Strømforsyning ( intern ) - ATX12V 2.2/ EPS12V 2.91 - AC 100-240 V - 1 kW - aktiv PFC
- Antec Nine Hundred - Tower - ATX - ingen strømforsyning - klassisk sort - USB/FireWire/Audio
- Processor - 1 x Intel Core 2 Quad Q9450 / 2.66 GHz ( 1333 MHz ) - LGA775 Socket - L2 12 MB ( 2 x 6MB ) - Box
- ASUS EAH4850/HTDI/512M - Grafikadapter - Radeon HD 4850 - PCI Express 2.0 x16 - 512 MB DDR3 - Digital Visual Interface (DVI), HDMI ( HDCP ) - HDTV ud
- Samsung SyncMaster 2693HM - Flad skærm - TFT - 26" - widescreen - 1920 x 1200 / 60 Hz - 400 cd/m2 - 1000:1 - 3000:1 (dynamisk) - 5 ms - 0.2865 mm - HDMI, DVI-D, VGA
- ASUS Rampage Formula Republic of Gamers Series - Bundkort - ATX - iX48 - LGA775 Socket - UDMA133, Serial ATA-300 (RAID) - 2 x Gigabit Ethernet - FireWire - High Definition Audio
- 2x Corsair XMS2 Dominator Xtreme Performance TwinX Matched - Hukommelse - 4 GB ( 2 x 2 GB ) - DIMM 240-pin - DDR II - 1066 MHz / PC2-8500 - CL5 - 2.1 V
- 2x WD Caviar Blue WD6400AAKS - Harddisk - 640 GB - intern harddisk - 3.5" - SATA-300 - 7200 rpm - buffer: 16 MB

Cant wait to put it together, allthough its kinda sad im going to need 64bit vista to utilize all 8gigs in windows!

 

[cytg111]

cross your fingers for a massive overclock! heh

 

[betasub]

I see you went with the Antec TruePower Quattro 1kW PSU. The Quattros are good for powering multiple gfx cards, having 2x8pin and 2x6pin PCIe power plugs. The 850w would've been more than enough for your current build - the 1kW is just begging you to add a second gfx card and additional HDDs. At least it'll have a good home in the bottom of that NineHundred case. :beer:

 

[cytg111]

yea about the psu, i'm kinda impressed with 4870x2 .. gonna pick that up when it comes out near me, until then the 4850 will keep me warm.. so i need the power

 

[cytg111]

SO .. here I am.. loaded with vista64-ultimate(sigh) and ubuntu-amd64 as well.
Running nice and smoothly so far
i hit a few oc' options in the bios from auto to crazy, and is now hovering at 3.51GHz, not too bad if it remains stable. Will get a few games and get some performance testing done later.

Thanks to everyone involved