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omghaxcode

Senior member
Feb 8, 2007
376
2
76
This is what I'm thinking right now. Does anyone have any advice on hardware? I was thinking about buying 1 4870 x2 now and buying another one once the price drops in a few weeks.


4870 x2 crossfire
The Tagan BZ 1100 watt PS
WD VelociRaptor 300GB
Cooler Master Cosmos S (not sure I love this case so I'm really open to other things)
4 x mushkin 2GB DDR2 1066
Core 2 Quad Q9550
MSI P45 Neo2-FR (how does this compare to the MSI P7N Diamond)

now all I have left is a bigger monitor and some optical drives. right now I have lite-on and one failed on me after 1.5 years. I don't plan to buy lite-on again so any advice? also I've read the monitor review thread but obviously I'm buying this for hardcore gaming but all the monitors "rated" for hcg are like 24 inches and under. I understand that gamers like 19" monitors but when I play I play for the movie-like experience. I remember a 30" dell on there some time ago. maybe the Dell 2007WFsomething. I see the 3007 WFP on there but I don't like that "Believed to have overly fuzzy anti-glare coating. No A-TW polarizer (so, white glow visible)" blurb. I'm looking for 27" to 30" and price wise I don't want to go too high over 1,000 if I don't have to. $800 would be great.
 
DSF

DSF

Diamond Member
Oct 6, 2007
4,902
0
71
The Corsair 1000HX is less expensive, also modular, and will power the rig without a problem:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...7&Tpk=corsair%2b1000hx

I would get DDR2-1000 since it will be less expensive and I doubt you'll be going past 500 MHz FSB anyway. 8GB also doesn't do anything for gaming as opposed to 4GB.

If you don't want Lite-On, Samsung is a pretty good choice for optical drives. The fact is all the major manufacturers are pretty much equal. I understand not wanting to go with a company that sold you a bum unit, but there's a chance of getting a dud from anyone.

For Crossfired 4870x2s I reckon you'll want an X38 or X48 motherboard so that you'll get the full PCI-e 2.0 x16 bandwidth on both slots. In Crossfire the P45 only runs at x8/x8.
 
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MarcVenice

Moderator Emeritus <br>
Apr 2, 2007
5,664
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Buy a single HD4870X2, no need for a crossfire board like that. I like DSF's power supply suggestion, you could go even cheaper, like the antec true power quattro 850w for $140, it will still EASILY power a HD4870X2.

How about a antec p182 instead, or a antec 1200, if the combo deal still apply's with the p5q pro from asus it's not that expensive. Or look at some lian li's.

As for the monitor, ask on the video Cards and Graphics forum. There's a few gamers with 30" screens, like n7 I think. He will be able to steer you in the right direction. 30" is HUGE though, it's nearly the same size as my HDTV, and jeez, I couldn't imagine it sitting on my desk, having to game on it, I'd have to sit away several feet. I think 24" is the sweetspot, BIG, yet not to big, and affordable for sure.
 
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omghaxcode

Senior member
Feb 8, 2007
376
2
76
I have my heart set on crossfire because I like to max graphics and enjoy games like a movie. I understand that it is a huge price to pay for what some might think a trivial benefit but I don't mind paying. as for the 1000 watt supply, isn't that a bit low for these cards? I thought 1000 would be like the bare minimum. also I know that CPU is great but is it up to the level of that crossfire system? I don't want to be limited by CPU. thanks for your help
 
DSF

DSF

Diamond Member
Oct 6, 2007
4,902
0
71
Originally posted by: omghaxcode
I have my heart set on crossfire because I like to max graphics and enjoy games like a movie. I understand that it is a huge price to pay for what some might think a trivial benefit but I don't mind paying. as for the 1000 watt supply, isn't that a bit low for these cards? I thought 1000 would be like the bare minimum. also I know that CPU is great but is it up to the level of that crossfire system? I don't want to be limited by CPU. thanks for your help
Click to expand...

If you like playing with all the eye candy on a 30" screen I don't think there's any game that's meaningfully CPU limited. Even if there were, you're not going to be much faster than a Q9550 anyway.

Edit: And as far as the power supply question, 1000W is more than plenty. JonnyGURU, who works in the PSU industry, runs a dual-FX60, dual-8800 Ultra system off of an 800W PSU. Don't believe the hype about large PSUs.
 
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omghaxcode

Senior member
Feb 8, 2007
376
2
76
alright that power supply looks great then, I trust corsair so I'll sub that in. thanks for the tip

what does everyone think of the ASUS Rampage?
 
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MarcVenice

Moderator Emeritus <br>
Apr 2, 2007
5,664
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Dude, it's the 12th of august. It's the day ATI released their new flagship videocard, the HD4870X2, it gives the same or better performance then 2 crossfired HD4870's. It simply has 2 HD4870 gpu's on a single PCB, with TWO, 2, gigabyte of ram, 1gb for each gpu core, making it ideal for HIGH resolutions. Here's the thread with pretty much every single credible review in it: http://forums.anandtech.com/me...=2216525&enterthread=y I liked guru3d's review and the one from hardware canucks. AT's own review ain't to bad either, but imo it lacks some details compared to others, and not many games are benched either ( the review was up late, more games might be added later when they have more time)

And no, this videocard does NOT require a crossfire motherboard.
 
JPB

JPB

Diamond Member
Jul 4, 2005
4,064
89
91
I agree with Marcvenice. There is no need for Crossfire. One X2 should be more than plenty.
 
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Abu Som3a

Junior Member
Aug 29, 2007
19
0
0
How about this:
$320 (5%OFF) - Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 Processor
$37 ($10MIR) - XIGMATEK HDT-S1283 120mm Rifle CPU Cooler
$120 - (Coupon EMCAJAHAD) - ASUS P5Q Pro P45 Intel Motherboard
$93 ($30MIR) - OCZ 2X2GB DDR2-1000 Desktop Memory
$532 - Sapphire HD4870 X2 2GB Video Card
$85 - Western Digital WD6400AAKS 640GB Hard Drive
$25 - SAMSUNG SATA 22X DVD Burner
$300 - Antec TruePower Quattro TPQ-1000 1000W Power Supply
______Antec Twelve Hundred Computer Case


The PSU should have enough juice to power another HD4870 X2, should you ever decide to run a quad-crossfire setup in the future.

Note that Newegg only allows one coupon per order, so you will have to make a separate order on the case.

MS live is also offering a 5.5% cashback on newegg orders.
http://search.live.com/cashback/stores

If you have any inquiries regarding my recommendations, feel free to ask.
 
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omghaxcode

Senior member
Feb 8, 2007
376
2
76
wow how does that live thing work? where does the 5.5% go? that is 200 bucks... do I get it in cash? credit? how does that work?
 
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MarcVenice

Moderator Emeritus <br>
Apr 2, 2007
5,664
0
0
The antec TPQ is NOT enough for 2 HD4870X2's, peak power has shown to be like 750w with dual HD4870X2's... Hell, for a single HD4870 with a HD4870X2 for tripple crossfire 850w probably won't cut it... http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3372&p=10 Look at that hehe, AT even mentions that it's just the GPU at full load, imagine what the power draw will be with a q6600 or better CPU, you cuold easily add 150w ...
 
DSF

DSF

Diamond Member
Oct 6, 2007
4,902
0
71
There's a thread about it somewhere if you poke around the Hot Deals section. The way it worked for the eBay MS Live cashback was that your 5% is held by some website for 60 days, and then you can withdraw it from them. When you make your purchase and sign up for the cash back deal you have to register with that website.
 
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Abu Som3a

Junior Member
Aug 29, 2007
19
0
0
Originally posted by: MarcVenice
The antec TPQ is NOT enough for 2 HD4870X2's, peak power has shown to be like 750w with dual HD4870X2's... Hell, for a single HD4870 with a HD4870X2 for tripple crossfire 850w probably won't cut it... http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3372&p=10 Look at that hehe, AT even mentions that it's just the GPU at full load, imagine what the power draw will be with a q6600 or better CPU, you cuold easily add 150w ...
Click to expand...

Damn o_O...Thanks for pointing that out

Well, how about this:
$300 - Antec TruePower Quattro TPQ-1000 1000W Power Supply
______Antec Twelve Hundred Computer Case
 
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omghaxcode

Senior member
Feb 8, 2007
376
2
76
that live thing seems cool. do you think I should get an afermarket cpu cooler? I wasn't even thinking about it because I don't plan to OC much if at all.
 
DSF

DSF

Diamond Member
Oct 6, 2007
4,902
0
71
If you're not planning to overclock then there's no real need to worry about it unless you're trying to build the absolute quietest system possible.
 
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MarcVenice

Moderator Emeritus <br>
Apr 2, 2007
5,664
0
0
WHY the x48 mobo? You're buying a HD4870X2 for frecks sake, why spend 100$ more on a mobo that has dual pci-e slots that you probably will never use, unless ofcourse you want to OC that q9550 to hell and back, and a x48 mobo might be needed to hit a high FSB? Such overkill on the PSU as well. Your money, but you could spend it better then that. I'd also get this ram: http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16820231145 Still has plenty of oc-ing potential, you're not gonna hit 500fsb anyways.

Unless you've got money to spare, you could also look at it like this. If you cut back on the mobo and PSU, and save yourself $200, and another 100$ on the ram, you could spend $300 again in lets say 6 months, for a new videocard or whatever it is you want. Or to upgrade to nehalem, coz you seem to like high-end components ...
 
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MarcVenice

Moderator Emeritus <br>
Apr 2, 2007
5,664
0
0
You're going to crossfire 2 HD4870X2's ? I suggest a better powersupply then, something 1200 wattish.
 
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