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New Rig

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Rinne

Member
Joined
May 11, 2006
Hi, I'm building a new rig for my brother, and would like a bit of critique on the parts, especially if there are any known compatibility issues..

Processor: Intel Core 2 Quad Q9450, 12MB
Proc. Cooler: Thermalright Ultra-120 eXtreme

Mainboard: Gigabyte GA-P35-S3G (Intel P35, does it work with the Penryns?)
Ram: 4096MB-Kit OCZ PC2-8000 ReaperX

GFX: EVGA e-Geforce 8800GT, 512MB,
GFX Cooler: Thermalright HR-03 Plus (does it work with the 8800GT?)

PSU: Seasonic S12-650

Harddrives: 2x WD Caviar SE16 250GB SATA II
Hard drive coolers: 2x Zalman ZM-2HC2 (mainly for noise suppression)

DVD Drive: Samsung SH-D163B SATA
DVD RW Drive: Samsung SH-S203D bulk

Fans: 2x Scythe S-Flex 800rpm
Tower: Aerocool Aeroengine II


The main usage of the rig is gaming and it's intended to be really quite.
Overclocking is not intended, but possible if the system is pushed to it's limit. (There is no need to get max. fps in games, smooth gameplay is the goal)

He could save about 120€ on the processor by choosing a dual core, but the system is also designed to last a bit longer, and I'm wondering wether you think quad core is the way to go or not?

Regards...
 
For games I doubt the quad vs dual would make a huge difference. If you wanted to save cash stick with the dual as the board is capable of taking a quad later if he wanted to upgrade.
 
For psu, get a corsair 620HX. Other than that nice rig. Btw, I think that if you are going with a top of the line rig, you should get a top of the line gpu like the 8800 GTS (g92). It also has great stock cooling so you dont need to drop another 50 on a cooler. 8800 GT price and hr-03 price ~ 8800 GTS.
 
so many answers already :)

thanks first of all, so I think I'll stick with a dual core CPU...

Any suggestions on those? I would choose the E8200 and OC it if necessary, but I'm always open for counter arguments...

I am really unsure about the Graphics card myself, but this card costs around 170€ + the HR3 30€ =200€ while the GTS's start at around 240€, and I was unsure which manufacturer to go along with and stuck with EVGA..
Their GTS starts at 270€...

On the other hand there should still be a lot of headroom with the cheaper processor..

I did even consider the 3870X2, but didn't choose it because of lack of aftermarket coolers, and I heard it can get a little noisy...

Further advice especially on this part would be great

Thanks :)
 
I am not a fan the OCZ memory. To me the heatspeaders are overkill and a potential clearance issue. I would go with the G.Skill PC8500 set. Well worth the money IMHO.

I would stick with the quad. The dual does have the potential for higher clocks which would lead to a bit better performance in games. However if you truly intend to keep the system for 2-3yrs then the quad would probably give you better performance down the road as software developers catch up with hardware in coding for quad core chips.

I agree with the fallen one and go with a GTS. Add and Accellero rev. 2 instead of the Thermalright and come out pretty close on the money with better performance.

That PSU does not have modular cabling so you may want to gjve the Corsair some consideration as with your set-up you are not going to need those 30W and the modular cabling makes life a lot easier.
 
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