Finalizing Gamer PC! Help me through last stretch :D

[ark300]

Hello, all. This is my near final list of desired parts for my new desktop. Primary purpose would be for gaming. This is my first time building a PC so I don’t know all too much about it, but I did leave OC and Crossfire options open…I think. But yeah, critique my build, let me know if I could go better on some spots or if things aren’t compatible. I have some questions at the end of the list

Motherboard - $159.99
ASUS P5Q-E LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131296

Processor - $169.99
Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz 6MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115037

Video Card - $289.99
POWERCOLOR AX4870 512MD5-PPH Radeon HD 4870 512MB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131117

RAM - $87.00
CORSAIR 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145184
or
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145194
or
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820220269

Hard Drive - $59.99
Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3250410AS 250GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148262

Processor Cooler - $34.99
XIGMATEK HDT-S1283 120mm Rifle CPU Cooler
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233003&Tpk=xigmatek S1283

Processor Cooler Bracket
XIGMATEK ACK-I7751 Retention Bracket - $6.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233019

Thermal Compound
ARCTIC COOLING MX-2 Thermal Compound - $6.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835186020

Power Supply - $119.99
CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V NVIDIA SLI Ready ATI CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139006

DVD Drive - $23.99
LITE-ON Black 20X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 20X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 20X DVD±R DVD Burner - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106263

Case - $84.99
COOLER MASTER RC-690-KKN1-GP Black SECC/ ABS ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119137

OS
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 64-bit English for System Builders 1pk DSP OEI DVD - $99.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116488

Total - $1144.89 ~ $1145.00

Questions:

1. Does the manufacturer of the parts have any effect of the compatibility of the parts? Are certain manufactures known for better quality and effectiveness? If so, are there any in my list that I should stay away from?

2. I have three different RAM listed. I’m pretty sure the last two would be better than the first because of their better timings (the #-#-#-#). Which one would you recommend?

3. Are there any tips on getting good deals through Newegg? I know they have the rebates… Do they actually work? Would it be foolish to calculate my total cost after all rebates? I know they have special offers at certain times, but other than waiting for said offers… are there any other ways I could save some bucks?

4. Case(sigh). I’m torn between a couple of cases. I want it to be somewhat quiet. Of course, I want it to have adequate cooling/temp and obviously have it be able to fit all my parts. I was thinking Antec 900(scared of possible noise), Coolermaster RC-690, and also, on the expensive side Coolermaster Cosmos 1000(Reviews say it’s big and quiet). What would you all recommend?

5. Monitors. I’m building this new PC from scratch and I will also need a monitor. I’m looking in the area of 20’’ – 24’’. Does 22’’ plus stretch your games out if they don’t support the aspect ratio? I think most games are 4:3 aspect ratio, but sometimes offer it for 16:10, which is what I think the big monitors use. I would like to have a 22’’ or 24’’ monitor, but I don’t want to worry about the game being stretched out. (Games I want to play at max settings are some FPS like GoW or Half Life 2, World of Warcraft, City of Heroes, Starcraft 2 and Diablo 3(when they come out), of course all at highest possible settings). Additionally, I hear that you want a sub 5 ms time. High contrast ratio 3000:1 +, and brightness around 330cd/m2. So, yeah. You guys know of any good big LCD gaming monitors

Sorry for all the questions. I’m really excited, almost going to order my parts, but just checking to see if everything is good to go.

Thanks in advance.
I look forward to hearing your responses,

Jeff

 

[CGR]

to the forums

1. Some boards dont like some ram modules. You may want to check to see if that board has a ram compatibility list and check your memory choices against it.

2. Go for the better timings.

3. I never buy items based on rebates. If they have a rebate cool however I always look at the non rebate price since you are not guaranteed to receive the rebate.

4.The antec 900 is a great case. Not sure how loud the fans are, you can always replace them with quieter ones if needed.

5.Look into Dell panels. Any of them that says ultrasharp would be your best bet.

 

[glock19owner]

If you want to run crossfire later...and since you are using a D2C CPU...

You might want to concider a X48 board...the P45 boards run at 16x8 crossfire vs. 16x16 with the X48 chipsets...

Now if you do plan on updating to a quad core later and dont want to upgrade the MB...then you should stay with the P45 board...


The antec 900 is the bigger brother of the 300...which I have and uses the same fans...they are adjustable...even at high they are not very loud...one thing I did though was replaced the stock fans with 100+CFM fans...when you put the HDD's in front of the stock fans...they are great for cooling the HDD's...but very little airflow gets past them...this is why I upgraded the fans...

 

[OnDborder]

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

Monitors?- Samsung makes good 22-24 inch ones. I read that HP makes good 22+ monitor s too.

 

[radium]

Word of warning with that CPU and mobo. Asus's auto voltage will undervolt your CPU and you have to manually adjust it or else you pay the price of frequent system crashes and lockups.

Now, this is very simple, and if you do end up getting the board I can show you the link to a thread on how you can easily do it (me getting frustrated and redduc bailing my *** out).

The board is rock solid though, and if you don't plan on upgrading to crossfire in the near future, it's a steal.

 

[ou_phidelt]

1. Some motherboards have issues with some memory. Asus typically is pretty flexible in this respect. I can't recall any serious issues off hand.

2. Here is my pick for memory. Its faster with slightly better timings at a cheaper before rebate price.

3. I don't do count MIR. If they come they come. If I can get a cheaper before rebate price I usually go that route.

4. The stock fans on the 900 are loud on high and don't move any air on low. Everyone seems to really like the 690 and for the money it is a good value. However if you can swing the price tag the Cosmos is a very nice case. It cools well but I will not fit 100 fans like the 690 so it may be a few degrees warmer. The trade off for this is a much quieter case. From what I have read it rivals the P182 for containing sound.

5. I have this Dell and have been very happy with it. The picture is very good and the built in webcam is nice for Skype. What I really like about the most is the three inputs. DVI for desktop, VGA for my notebook, and HDMI for my Xbox when my wife takes over the plasma. I am not a huge gamer but have not noticed any ill effects when I have gamed on it. Make not it is a glossy screen so if you have a lot of lights on or windows behind you glare can be irritating. It suffers from the typical narrow viewing range of most TN panels but its what you deal with in the price range. I would also look at the HP, it was my first choice but I got a deal on this when I bought my wife's laptop.

 

[glock19owner]

1. Some motherboards have issues with some memory. Asus typically is pretty flexible in this respect. I can't recall any serious issues off hand.

The only issues I have had are with the Crucial Ballistixs...they would run a few hours then error out...bios updated helped by adding a few more hours...and also the Pat. Vipers...those took me hours to get the right settings to run stable at rated 1150Mhz speeds...then comes to find out that the vipers are not compt. with the Intel boards...nvidia boards only...

 

[ark300]

Thanks for the replies everybody!

Would you all recommend that I get x48 board for possible better crossfire in the future? How much more would I be looking at?

@radium
What you said doesn't seem too good. Will the first time this happen mess up any of my parts? I'm not that tech savy, are the steps I would need to perform that difficult? As in difficult for a first time PC builder like me?

Thanks everyone for the responses!

P.S. How does this monitor look?
http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/...etail.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=dhs&cs=19&sku=320-6107

 

[glock19owner]

Word of warning with that CPU and mobo. Asus's auto voltage will undervolt your CPU and you have to manually adjust it or else you pay the price of frequent system crashes and lockups.

All motherboards either overlock/volt or underclock/volt...

My Formula runs fine set on auto...it actually does undervolt which helps in heat...but the key thing is...when you enable VDroop...your CPU voltage will not budge one bit at full loads...which is where the instability comes into play...most boards Vdroop still allows the voltage to move which can lead to instability if you are on that fine voltage line anyways...

Dont fret...they just didnt clarrify the issue all that well


As for the X48 boards...they are starting to drop in price...the rampage formula is the top of the line DDR2 X48 and its price is dropping pretty much by the week since the rampage extreme was released about a month or so ago...here soon you should see it within the sub 250.00 range...

As for DDR3...your looking at a lot more for a good X48 board...between 350.00 - 450.00...

 

[goffer]

I have an Samsung 226BW 22" screen which fits all your specs... tis a great screen

 

[ou_phidelt]

Thanks for the replies everybody!

Would you all recommend that I get x48 board for possible better crossfire in the future? How much more would I be looking at?
get what you need now. Unless you are going with two 4870's off the bat just stick with P45. Say next year you want to upgrade you video. By that time it will make more sense to get a single newer generation card that add a second 4870. Just stick with the cheaper, better OCing P45.

@radium
What you said doesn't seem too good. Will the first time this happen mess up any of my parts? I'm not that tech savy, are the steps I would need to perform that difficult? As in difficult for a first time PC builder like me?
Pretty much any motherboard is going to give incorrect voltage when left to its own fruition. The first thing I do upon first boot on any new build is adjust the voltages to stock settings. IMHO the first rule of OCing is not leave any voltage settings on auto. Nothing good but many bad things can result.

Thanks everyone for the responses!

P.S. How does this monitor look?
http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/...etail.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=dhs&cs=19&sku=320-6107

goffer: You cannot solicite sales outside the classifieds. You have been registered for two years, you should know better.

 

[goffer]

my bad... gonna edit it. I dont see the classifieds section anyhow.

 

[ou_phidelt]

You have to have 100 posts.

 

[CGR]

You have to have 100 posts.

And a valid ISP email address.