1st time poster...long time reader....need help

Alright people, I've been reading posts on these forums for about 4-5 months now, but I've yet to make a post.

Today, I made a trip to my local B & M store (fry's) and purchased an Antec 1200 case (OMG its huge) and a Hard drive (500 gb WD). So, up until now i've been doing so much reading here and at anandtech, pcper.com, etc....

I'm ready to dive in head first and build my first PC. I've been working in the IT field for 5 years and am really excited to build a custom machine, overclock it, rip movies, and play games.

So, The processor I've chosen (but haven't ordered is an E8400 or E8500). I will go aftermarket cooling, but probably not right away. After the chip breaks in I'll work about aftermarket cooling of the air variety (maybe water one day...but I say crawl before you can walk).

I'm looking at picking up an EVGA 9800 GX2 for my graphics card. Originally I was looking at an ATI HD 4870 or A 9800 GTX+ (and then adding another)... but the wattage and heat tradeoff makes me want to spend more now instead of augmenting later.

So, if I want to go with a 9800 GX2 and use a Sata HDD and a Sata DVD/RW ..... what Mobo would you guys recommend. I know I have a huge case but I plan on adding an X-Fi card and possibly a wireless NIC for a short while until I run tons of cable through my new place.

I'm looking for good overclocking capability and a solid board with room for expansion. I've looked at a lot of boards and really don't know where to go. I'd say my maximum price point is $250, but i'd feel better about spending around $150.

Also, if any of you have used an antec 1200, 900, or 9800 gx2 and have a recommended PSU i'd be reading and willing to listen to your opinions. I know I'll get some sound advice here...and please don't hesitate to set me straight.

I'd say one of the Asus P5Q's, whichever variant fits your need. Asus's website will tell you the differences between the 6 models, or however many there are. I just placed an order that included a E8500, and did alot of research on boards, and chose the P5Q-E to go along with it. $160 board, and from what I've read, P45 chipset is the way to go if you're not planning on running a Crossfire setup. No need for a X38/X48 chipset board with the GX2 (my GX2 will be coming along in about 2 weeks). Hope that advice helps

I agree. The Pro would be a good choice as well. The differences appear to be the -E supports 16GHB of memory and adds e-sata but looses a PS/2 port, not bad for $10. The networking chip is different but which is better I couldn't say.

Thanks for the advice. I've been eyeing the ASUS boards. That P5Q-E seems to be highly regarded, and I like the numerous (8) SATA connections. I'm only starting with one hard drive, but I could see myself running 3 or 4 one day. Also, I'll be able to hookup that E-Sata port on the front of my twelve hundred case.

Kind of a newbie question here, but I see that the memory standard on that board (and most of the other p45 asus boards) is DDR2 1200. From what i've been reading... it is possible to buy DDR2 1066 memory and overclock it to that 1200 mhz point right? I'm afraid when it comes to aftermarket parts and overclocking I'm pretty much a novice....hoping to change that with some more reading and hands on experience.

1 more question. The 9800 GX2 takes an 8 pin PCIe power connector. Your garden variety 6pin+2 PCIe connector will work for this right? The EVGA 9800GX2 i've been eyeing apparently doesn't ship with the adaptor. If it doesn't work I'm assuming this adaptor could be picked up locally for less than 10 bucks at fry's or somewhere..... can anyone confirm?

I'm super stoked to get this underway, but i'd really feel better if I had a few more votes of confidence.

Rabidhilljack said:

Thanks for the advice. I've been eyeing the ASUS boards. That P5Q-E seems to be highly regarded, and I like the numerous (8) SATA connections. I'm only starting with one hard drive, but I could see myself running 3 or 4 one day. Also, I'll be able to hookup that E-Sata port on the front of my twelve hundred case.

Click to expand...

That's pretty much why I got the P5Q-E. I do plan on running a raid 0 eventualy, and will use one of my old hard drives in a external enclosure to back up some stuff, and those use eSata.

Rabidhilljack said:

Kind of a newbie question here, but I see that the memory standard on that board (and most of the other p45 asus boards) is DDR2 1200. From what i've been reading... it is possible to buy DDR2 1066 memory and overclock it to that 1200 mhz point right? I'm afraid when it comes to aftermarket parts and overclocking I'm pretty much a novice....hoping to change that with some more reading and hands on experience.

Click to expand...

Don't pay too much attention to the memory standard on motherboards. All motherboards I've seen will support all the speeds, low to high pretty much. You could get 1066 ram, and overclock it to 1200, but that's all dependent on the ram. It all depends on how you run it.

Rabidhilljack said:

1 more question. The 9800 GX2 takes an 8 pin PCIe power connector. Your garden variety 6pin+2 PCIe connector will work for this right? The EVGA 9800GX2 i've been eyeing apparently doesn't ship with the adaptor. If it doesn't work I'm assuming this adaptor could be picked up locally for less than 10 bucks at fry's or somewhere..... can anyone confirm?

I'm super stoked to get this underway, but i'd really feel better if I had a few more votes of confidence.

Click to expand...

The 9800GX2 takes a 6 pin and 8 pin connector. I know the 2 extra pins on the 8 are just grounds, so if that's what your extra +2 pins are then yes, it would work. Depends on the PSU. You can get connectors from online vendors, I don't shop locally, but if you lived near a Fry's I'm sure they'd have something like that.

Thanks for your help guys. I plan to finish ordering my stuff today. From what i've seen it looks like a 650 watt psu with a 6 pin and 6+2 pin 12v connectors will do the trick for me. Now I just need to find one with long cables to reach the far corners of this massive case. Looks like the Corsair TX650 and any antec 650 watt psu will be a good bet...anyone care to chime in with their preference? I'm open to suggestions.... Not sure modular is a priority for me. I think I'll have enough room to hide cabling.

And...
Welcome to the Forum! http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?t=491697

Rabidhilljack said:

Thanks for your help guys. I plan to finish ordering my stuff today. From what i've seen it looks like a 650 watt psu with a 6 pin and 6+2 pin 12v connectors will do the trick for me. Now I just need to find one with long cables to reach the far corners of this massive case. Looks like the Corsair TX650 and any antec 650 watt psu will be a good bet...anyone care to chime in with their preference? I'm open to suggestions.... Not sure modular is a priority for me. I think I'll have enough room to hide cabling.

Click to expand...

I only read the first half of your post and thought 'TX650' before you even mentioned it Nice loooooong cables..

Well, the damage has been done.

I should have all this loot by Wednesday:

Mobo - ASUS P5QE
CPU - E8400
PSU - Corsair TX650
Case - Antec 1200 (already have)
HDD - 500 GB WD Caviar (already have)
Video - EVGA 9800 GX2
Mem - 4 gigs (2 x 2gb) 1066 G.Skill PC8500



Now I still need to get a few more items:

Monitor (24" ... jury's still out on this one)

CD/DVD Burner (picking up tonight with a gift card)

Artic Silver 5 (" " " ")

Aftermarket HeatSink (gotta see what will fit and still allow me to use a 120mm fan in the door....may nix the fan idea if I can't cram something good in there)

new mouse + keyboard + mouse pad (have oldies for build time...but they'll need to replaced once I get busy gaming).


Almost there

Sounds similar to my build. I have a P5Q-E, E8500, and 320gb WD SE16 Caviar coming tomorrow. The 9800GX2 will be along in about two weeks. Already have the 24" monitor

The side fan doesn't help much considering all the fans the 1200 has...

Just get a nice cooler for your chip.