Need advice building a new system

[Mastametz]

I'm running the system in my sig, which is an amazing system still really. It runs everything like a pro. Basically a bang-for-the-buck system. It was supposed to be the best easy overclocker and such as well, although I never had any luck AT ALL overclocking it, I don't know why. I made it a point to buy FAR too much power, because I think power is the most important part. And while my friend's computers are burning out parts, under mild use, my computer is still running strong after several years, and tons of abuse. That being said

I'm looking to build a bang-for-the-buck system. (I was going to build a doom machine, and charge it all on credit, because it feels like I'm not spending money at all....but then I decided it was unwise ) I think I'm going 32bit, unless someone has a good reason to go 64. I don't see any reason that I would need dual video cards. Want 2-4 gigs of ram. Single processor (unless someone has a good reason to do otherwise). Capacity to overclock would be a bonus. Mostly will be a gaming rig, but I do like to multitask. Like, I'll be playing a game, and defragging a hard drive (not the drive the game is on) at the same time, and maybe doing web design at the same time. I'm running a RAID0 array now, and despite the nothing but bad I've heard about RAID0, I've never had any problems with it, and I do notice a significant speed increase on a few things, which I'm sure is bottlenecked by other pieces of hardware (and hopefully won't be so much with the new comp.) I've ALWAYS used AMD, ABIT, and ATI, but am no longer partial to anything. I do intend on running Vista, only because I need to be proficient with it so I can service it.

So I need some advice on what to get, and to make sure that everything is going to fit together properly.

I'll update this post as I decide on parts.

Keep in mind I'm prepared to change out any at all parts on my list here, at any given moment, if someone gives me a good reason to do so.

Also I PREFER buying things from newegg, but if another site has the same part for significantly lower, I'll buy from there.

Thanks in advance.




WHAT I HAVE PURCHASED:

Intel Core 2 Quad Core Q6600 2.4Ghz 8M 1066 CPU SLACR (G0 stepping) - $175 (ebay)

ASUS P5Q Pro LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard - $140 (Newegg)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...A-Approvel-_-Content-_-text-_-N82E16813131299

=Crucial Ballistix Tracer 4GB (4 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) $154 (Newegg)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...A-Approvel-_-Content-_-text-_-N82E16820148070

COOLER MASTER Centurion Case - $50 (Newegg)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...A-Approvel-_-Content-_-text-_-N82E16811119068

PC Power & Cooling S75QB 750W PSU - $145 (Newegg)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...A-Approvel-_-Content-_-text-_-N82E16817703009

Scythe DFS123812-3000 "ULTRA KAZE" 120 x 38 mm Case (CPU) Fan - $10 (Newegg)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...A-Approvel-_-Content-_-text-_-N82E16835185054

Thermalright Ultra-120 Extreme Heatpipe CPU Cooler - $57 (Petra's Tech Shop)
http://www.petrastechshop.com/thulhecpucos.html

SVC.com Premium Heatsink Lapping Kit - $12 (SVC)

DVD BURN LG|GH22LS30 22X LS SATA - $26 - Newegg
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...A-Approvel-_-Content-_-text-_-N82E16827136153

Windows Vista Ultimate 64bt - $75 (Through a Microsoft friend)

Acer AL2216Wbd Black 22" 5ms Widescreen LCD - $195 (Newegg)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...A-Approvel-_-Content-_-text-_-N82E16824009094

ASUS EAH4850/HTDI/512M Radeon HD 4850 - $180 (Newegg)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...A-Approvel-_-Content-_-text-_-N82E16814121253

Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3250410AS 250GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive OEM - $60 (Newegg)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148262

OCZ OCZTFRZTC Freeze Extreme Thermal Conductivity Compound - $7 (Newegg)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835202006


Rough total for all taking into account mail-in-rebates and shipping costs -

$1100


Thanks everyone for their advise. I'll post again when I get it all put together and start working on OCing it and such.

 

[David]

Personally (and I'm looking at bang-for-buck quad core rigs myself) I'd look at either a Phenom 9950BE (which are really really cheap over in the UK compared to the Q6600, about 75-80% of the price) or if you have a bit more money a Q9xxx Intel. Plenty of grunt for multitasking.

I'd also get as much RAM as you can afford without going bust (always been something I recommend) so around 8GB should see you right for a number of years without costing a complete fortune.

Once you nail down what chip you want the board required will follow.

 

[ou_phidelt]

What is the budget and resolution of your monitor?

 

[Mastametz]

My budget is as much as it needs to be for my system. I have a thousand dollar credit line I could rack up, but I don't want to max it out if I can help it.

I'll be getting a new monitor. (I still have a CRT)

And is there really any reason I'd need 8gb of ram? I mean, If there's reason to, I'll get 8gb of RAM, but I can't see myself ever using enough RAM to justify that. Although.. I will be using Vista

 

[David]

And is there really any reason I'd need 8gb of ram? I mean, If there's reason to, I'll get 8gb of RAM, but I can't see myself ever using enough RAM to justify that. Although.. I will be using Vista

It depends what you do with it. For multitasking when there are some heavy RAM-eating programs open (eg photoshop with a ton of RAW files) I reckon it can be handy. It also saves you upgrading later. It all depends on your budget. The system I'm looking at building works out about £700 with 8GB RAM or £650 with 4GB. Hence, I'd probably go 8GB.

 

[Kivin]

For gaming, I really don't think you're going to get much mileage out of 8GB of RAM. I'd be more interested in getting some really good 4GB stuff; the kind you can overclock the balls out of. Otherwise, just save your money.

Like David said, if you do a lot of photoshop work, or work on large databases in MsSQL, or other various memory hog tasks, it might be useful.

 

[Mastametz]

I think I'll get 2x2gb sticks, and if I need to later on, I can throw 2 more sticks in

 

[hajalie24]

your going to need vista 64-bit to use all that ram

 

[Mastametz]

I guess my next question is, is 2x 2gb cores better than 1x 4gb core? I expect it's situational. If so, what's the situation?

 

[David]

2x2GB is better than 1x4GB. Cheaper, and allows you to make use of the dual-channel feature (the system can access both sticks at once, which as far as I'm aware increases performance by up to ~5%).

 

[Mastametz]

I'm talking cpu, not RAM.

 

[ou_phidelt]

I'm talking cpu, not RAM.

I am not sure what you mean.

$1000:


After rebates it comes down to $931 so there is still some wiggle room left. Since you seem to really like RAID I threw two of the 640GB WD in there. Depending on what monitor you go with you may need more power there. But without knowing the resolution makes it hard. If you wanted to cute down on the price you could go with one of the OCZ power supplies on sale, a single 640GB drive, and a cheaper P43 motherboard.

 

[Mastametz]

I'm wondering how this

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...ch-_-Processors+-+Desktops-_-Intel-_-19115017

stacks up against

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...ch-_-Processors+-+Desktops-_-Intel-_-19115036

 

[ou_phidelt]

Depends on what you want to do. Gaming, go with the dual core. Encoding, folding, or other tasks that can take advantage of the quad then it would be the way to go.

 

[Mastametz]

Well, in the interest of not having to buy a new computer in the next 2 years, I'm thinking I should build a 64bit system. (Whether or not I'll run a 64bit OS right now, I haven't decided.) So I suppose that narrows down my cpu choice quite a bit, now I have to decide between Intel and AMD....

 

[ou_phidelt]

If you go with Vista I would strongly suggest going with 64bit as 4GB's of memory really makes a big difference.

Intel vs AMD: There are not many instances where AMD makes since right now, maily low budget non-OC's systems and HTPC with integrated video. If you are willing to OC Intel makes the most sense, you'll get more performance for the dollar. But if you prefer AMD you can still get perfectly suitable system that will perform fine, just not quite as fast.

 

[Mastametz]

Alright so I'm looking for a 64-bit Intel cpu, and a board for it.
Anybody got any complaints with ABIT boards? I'll probably get one

 

[Mastametz]

Well...I'm thinking now that by the time Vista is considered a decent OS, Windows 7 will have come up. Now I'm thinking I might go with XP 64 bit.... I do love my XP....

 

[ou_phidelt]

Alright so I'm looking for a 64-bit Intel cpu, and a board for it.
Anybody got any complaints with ABIT boards? I'll probably get one

I wouldn't go with Abit. They have recently stopped making motherboards so you would not likely be getting any updated BIOS's or RMA's. Stick with Asus, Gigabyte, DFI, etc. Se above for my suggestion in your budget range. You could probably squeeze in an E8400 if you wanted.

Well...I'm thinking now that by the time Vista is considered a decent OS, Windows 7 will have come up. Now I'm thinking I might go with XP 64 bit.... I do love my XP....

I would recommend against XP64. The driver support is poor at best. It just never really took off as more than 3GB of memory was just not that beneficial to most users. With Vista the additional memory makes a noticeable increase in performance and is dirt cheap. I say either go with 32bit XP or 64bit Vista.

 

[Mastametz]

Thanks alot for that info.

I just made a purchase.

Intel Core 2 Quad Core Q6600 2.4Ghz 8M 1066 CPU SLACR (G0 stepping)

so from there I can buy a motherboard... then decide on a video card... then decide on a case that will my mobo and video card will fit it...then a psu...yadda yadda.

oh need a cpu heatsink/fan as well

and I'm now leaning heavily towards Vista 64bit.