cvmocanu

Hello,

I plan to buy a new computer soon and I thought it's wise to ask more people about my choices.
Here is what I have in mind:

Motherboard : ASUS Maximus II Formula (200 EUR)
CPU : INTEL E8600 - Core 2 Duo, 3.3GHz (230 EUR)
Video card : ASUS EAH4870X2 Radeon HD 4870 X2 (460 EUR)
RAM : Corsair TWIN2X4096-6400C4DHX, 2x2GB, DRR2-800 (100 EUR)
HDD : 2 x Western Digital VelociRaptor WD3000GLFS (480 EUR)
PSU : Zalman ZM850-HP - 850W (160 EUR)
Case : Thermaltake Kandalf LCS (240 EUR)
DVD writer : Samsung SH-S203P (40 EUR)
Keyboard : Logitech G15 2005 or G11 (80 EUR); hope I will still find G15 2005 (had that cool wheel)
Mouse : Logitech MX 518 (45 EUR)
Display : Samsung SyncMaster 2493HM, 24'', 1920x1200 (360 EUR)

In total it's about 2500 EUR and this is kind of my budget (can go a few hundreds higher but I don't really want to).

And here are my reasons:

Motherboard
- it's a P45 chipset based mobo because I don't trust NVIDIA on chipsets and it's not a X48 because I don't plan to use CrossFire (P5 has 2 PCIe ports, but each is 8x unlike 2 x 16x on X48)
- has hardware RAID (Speeding HDD)
- performs fine in reviews
- I trust ASUS as a brand

CPU
- fastest Core 2 Duo
- I plan to overclock it and would like not to increase the voltage; from the reviews I read this processor is the most stable with this kind of overclocking (probably brought by the new E0 stepping)

Video card
- needed a bad video card because I want to play all the games maxed out at 1920x1200
- the only thing better than this (but only slightly and not in all games) is 2 GTX 280, and that's at least 300 EUROs more. It's a no-brainer who provides better value here

RAM
- 2 x 2GB seems the best/enough for now (will use Vista or XP 64 bit editions)
- I trust the brand
- it's on ASUS' Qualified Vendor List which means it has been tested with the motherboard so I won't have problems

HDD
- 2 pieces of the fastest hard-drive available
- will use RAID 0
- solid state hard drives are just too expensive now (perhaps in a few years...)

PSU
- has enough juice (including amps)
- respected brand
- performs ok in reviews
- it's very quiet

Case
- looks cool
- it's quiet
- it has water cooling and I want that (I like it quiet), but I am not ready to make case modifications. I'm sure that if I were to cut the case myself it would look horrible

DVD RW
- from the reviews it seems ok
- has LightScribe which might come in handy

Mouse
- it's wired (had some bad experiences with gaming using wireless mice)
- can change DPI on-the-fly while you are in the game
- it's lighter than G5 (I don't like brick mice - heavy and big)

Display
- I like 24'' / 1920x1200
- it performs ok in the reviews
- has HDMI
- looks nice
- has TN panel which means it's cheap and it doesn't have noticeable input lag; I don't mind viewing angles: I will be gaming right in front of it


The video card will probably be the most noisy component and I will probably buy a water block as soon as I know there is no fabrication problem with it. I heard that mounting a water block voids the warranty so I want first to make sure I won't return it.

What do you think?
Will I have any incompatibilities?
Known issues with any component?
Are my choices correct?

P.S. Sorry for the huge post.


Thank you.


edit:
- added clarifications
- added links to the components' specifications
- updated prices

temeteus82

Hi there and welcome to DriverHeaven!
First the WD VelociRaptors are a bit over kill from my point of view. Get few 1TB WD's instead in RAID0. The speed is good and you got a lot of space
For PSU I would get the CoolerMaster RealPower M850.
CPU get Quad core it will come handy when the games start to use multiple cores

Those are the changes that I would do...

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Ferret_Style

Great system imo. The only thing i would suggest is going quad core versus dual core considering for about $40 more (not sure what that is in euro) you get 4 cores with 12 mb cache if you go for the Q9550 or 9450. Other then that very solid system. I have that memory and love the fan that comes with it.

The only thing missing is what cooler for the CPU?

And another note. If you want to save some cash get 3 of the Segate 7200.11 drives. They are very quick and low cost for the drives. This would give you the ability to run raid 5 and protect your data along with having high speed.

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"You might be Eaten by a Grue" MC Frontalot!

BlueMak

The specs are ok, but too high in price, where are you buying it from?

__________________

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PangingJr

cvmocanu,

the lowest possible voltage use on a CPU in an overclocking is not and never been a guarantee. it still takes the luck of a draw to get a good CPU for overclocking.
also, the price of (today's) E8600 is a rip off. this's just like E6850 compared to E6750 or E8500 compared to E8400, were used to be before.
unless you plan to overclock and use your C2D CPU to the highest clock possible, (and this because E8600 may gives you more chance to reach the overclocking you’ve plan to do).
otherwise, i'd recommend you to save your money on this part and get E8500 E0 stepping instead. this's when you are insisting on getting a C2D, for whatever reasons.

if you are not insisting on getting C2D, then i recommend you buying Core 2 Quad Q9550 E0 stepping. this's the currently best buy Intel's C2Q CPU.

also, Asus P45's is very picky about the system memory in use and it's memory system performance,
since you're planing to overclock your system, 1:1 FSB and memory ratio on today's Asus P45s will give you a very poor memory performance level, so i like to suggest you make sure that the memory kit you buy, will able to run a 5:6 (in conjunction to certain CPU FSB you’ve plan to overclock to). i also suggest you look for more information on this on the Internet and thru other users’ (who already uses the similar motherboards) hardwares.

cozumel

There are already quite a few games using multiple cores and it's only going to become more & more. If you stick with just two corers then you are will be missing out on performance. Quad core is the way to go. That is a no-brainer as far as I am concerned.

The Zalman PSU is an interesting choice. It's one of the quietest you can buy and will be barely audible but with the 4870x2 and its's cooler making plenty of noise while gaming is there any real point. For this reason alone I would be going with a Corsair, Enermax or PCP&C seeing how you want rock solid stable voltages for your overclock. That is unless you plan to upgrade Kandalf to watercool the GPU too. But then the radiator fans create their own noise anyhow so it' is a hard choice

Nice build though (except the cpu imo)

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cvmocanu

Thank you!

600GB is enough for me. And I plan to also buy a 1TB drive to backup stuff I don't use often.

I have chosen a Core 2 Duo instead a Quad for the following reasons:
- speed: a Quad will never reach 4GHz (well, at least not without increasing the voltage). A Core 2 Duo can reach that speed easily. And at a much lower temperature, which means less need for high-end cooling, which means it's quieter
- most of the current games don't scale well from 2 cores to 4. Frankly I would rather have 2 higher clocked cores that 2 lower clocked ones + 2 core that are almost unused. I'm sure future games will scale better on 4 cores, but it's better to buy stuff when you need it (and get it for a better price). For example there wasn't a big need to go 64 bit a few years ago, but now, a 2GB video card or 4GB RAM forces you to have a 64 bit CPU and a 64 bit OS.
So when I will need a quad (because I will see a huge improvement in games) I will buy one. Probably cheaper too. That said, currently games are a lot more GPU bound than CPU bound.

The Kandalf's integrated water cooling comes with a tick copper water block.

I plan to buy online from Netherlands (where I live). This site is a kind of meta search engine for computer parts stores in Netherlands. I will of cource also check each site individually.
If you have a better idea I would be delighted.

I know but it seems buying E8600 is the only way to make sure I'm buying a E0 stepping processor when buying online.
I read that the new E0 stepping allows me to overclock more without increasing the voltage. I also read that the E8xxx have some problems with the thermal sensor which they fixed. I wouldn't like to see my CPU reporting 80C. Even if probably the real temp is not that high at all.

Do you have sources to back this up? Because 1:1 is exactly what I had in mind and 800MHz is enough for that.

Yes. I plan to buy a water block for that noisy GPU.
The Kandalf radiator uses 3 120mm fans fans, I hope it can cope with an additional GPU without getting too noisy. It's also located outside of the case so this should help keeping the radiator cooler.

PangingJr

No.

you don't have to take my words on this. however, for running 1:1 on P5Q-D from 450 FSB and up it will be default to memory PL 13 with CL5 memory timing, the best i can get is PL 10 (with manually adjust PL).

Everest will show a hugely different in its memory read/write/copy and lantancy benchmark results when compared to a 5:6, CL5 timing and PL 8 setting.


cvmocanu,

that sound likes you're still wanting to buy an E8600 over a Quad processor,

well, anyway, here's a thread over at the Xtremesystems forums about... Retail E8600 Overclock, Temps, Settings Thread - Page 14 - XtremeSystems Forums

this one is my favorite E8600 out there...

1,160v cpu-z reading and 4300mhz Orthos stable yet over 2 hour and 39 minutes and counting set 1,2v in bios