Building a new rig, want some input.

[Kylethedarkn]

Ok so I plan on building my self a pretty decent computer and right now I'm planning it out, until I actually have the money to buy it. Here's what I already have and don't need to buy:

ATI Radeon 4650 HD 512mb
Samsung 16x Lightscribe DVD/CD Read/Write Drive
1 300gb HD
500W Power Supply


And here's what I plan on buying:

GIGABYTE GA-EP43-UD3L LGA 775 Intel P43 ATX Intel Motherboard
Intel Core 2 Quad Q8400 Yorkfield 2.66GHz 4MB L2 Cache LGA 775 95W Quad-Core Processor
Pinnacle Dazzle DVD Recorder
OCZ Platinum Edition 8GB (4 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM
Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive
COOLER MASTER Elite RC-332-KKN1-GP Black SECC ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
PPA 2377 USB 2.0 Multi Card Reader - Retail

Does this look like a good rig and is there anything I could improve for the same price? Also what kind of speed do you think this computer will actually have?(Especially with Windows 7)

 

[cybercore]

Nice rig, Kylethedarkn, wish you assemble the best of it. I have 2 points:


1. I am not familiar with your motherboard, but try to get it with 2 PCI-Ex 16x and with a Raid controller. I couldn't find an Intel based MB like that (available to buy), and I don't feel good about it. Going SLI or Crossfire and conneting HDDs in a Raid is sure an asset.


2. Video card, I bougt ATI beause I had read many positive reviews about it, but now I'm not sure because to me it looks like ATI does poorly on antialiasing, unlike my previous GF 6600. So, I feel I should have gone for NVIDIA GTX or simply NVIDIA GF9800 GT. Do your own research, and also see this Link Removed and Link Removed due to 404 Error picture. One good thing though is that luckily I haven't had any issues with the Sapphire Catalyst driver 9.3, neither with Vista x 64 nor with 7 x 64. Gaming is fine.

 

[Matt]

From what I've seen, the Intel i5 is comming out sometime in Q3/Q4 2009, so I would recommend waiting, and seeing how the prices on those are.

 

[Radenight]

You've got a pretty good rig there.. As far as speed goes that should be more then enough.. Depending on what you'll be doing with it of course..

I don't have a Core i7 rig but my brother does so I've had plenty of time to use it.. I have to say I find my AMD Phenom 2 X4 Deneb 955 BE (3.2GHZ) is a little faster then his Core i7 (his is the 2.66ghz model).. That being said his would more then likely beat mine hands down when it comes to hardcore gaming (by that I mean all settings maxed in Crysis Warhead) but for most other things I honestly found the Phenom 2 to be a little better.. It all comes down to personal preference really.. You can research the sh!t out of parts but in the end it all depends on what your going to be doing with it..

I'd say stick with the plan you have.. The only thing that you might want to change is the Motherboard.. I agree with cybercore there.. One with 2 X16 PCI-Express 2.0 slots would be more beneficial.. You might not want SLI or Crossfire now but down the road you might decide you do.. Futureproofing is a good thing..

Good luck with the build.. Let us know how it works out..

 

[john3347]

Check your processor

Check the Intel matrix and make sure your proposed processor is virtual XP compatible if that function is, or may become, important to you. There seems to be no pattern, just some are compatable and some are not. It seems not to be related to either price or age.

 

[john3347]

I would suggest Seagate HDDs, instead of other brands. I use them almost exclusively in all my client builds... never a regret.

Drew

I would second Drew's suggestion here. I have experienced two harddrive failures in more than 20 years and both have been Western Digital Caviar drives. One new, replaced under warranty, the other one was old and subjected to moderate abuse during its life.