Help Me To Spend $1500 On A Rig

[madu]

Hello guys,

 

Like the topic said I have a budget of around $1500 to build a rig and I have lot of concerns and confusions.

Hope you guys would give me some suggestions.

 

What I need:

1) Motherboard 2)CPU 3)VID card 4)Memory 5)Power supply

 

What I want with the system:

1) Mainly for playing games in 1920x1200 but I dont want to kill it. If I can play without stuttering at highest setting thats enough.

2) Frequent encoding and unrar'ing.

3) Light multi-tasking- nothing heavy. Maybe browsing internet while extracting a large file in the background.

4) Need to overclock- not for bragging but to get the max out of the cpu

 

What I need help with you guys additionally are:

1) Should I go for quad core or higher-clock dual core like 8500/8600?

2) High end mobo like Asus rampage or something average.

3) I had my mind on Asus but the new Gigabyte UD3 seems attractive with all that copper. what u guys think?

4)4870 or 4870X2?

 

Its a bit long but I really appreciate suggestions from you guys.

 

Cheers.

 

Madu.

[My_Inner_Fred]

It depends on what games you will be playing.

Go for a duo they are for light multitasking and have better gaming capabilities atm.

[madu]

It depends on what games you will be playing.

Go for a duo they are for light multitasking and have better gaming capabilities atm.

 

Thanks mate.

Games will be the usual FPS games like Crysis or COD.

Yeah I am also inclined towards a C2D.

[scr4wl]

HIS Hightech H487X2F2GP Radeon HD 4870 X2 2GB 512-bit (256-bit x 2) GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card

ASUS Rampage Extreme LGA 775 Intel X48 ATX Intel Motherboard

Intel Core 2 Quad Q9300 Yorkfield 2.5GHz LGA 775 95W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80580Q9300

COOLER MASTER Real Power Pro RS-750-ACAA-A1 750W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply

Corsair DDR3

 

That costs about $1500

 

Things to know

GPU might be overkill depending on what you play

Quad core is for multitasking more then gaming

If your only gonna be playing games go with AMD it's cheaper and will be fine

if you go with AMD look for crosshair 2 and maybe a phenom tricore(not the best but if your only gonna game then it will be fine)

Crosshair is nvidia so you should get 2 260's (but thats only if you go with AMD proc)

Edited November 4, 2008 by tacohunter52

[Queenz]

Do this:

 

 

CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz 6MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor - Retail $170

 

MOTHERBOARD: DFI LP DK P45-T2RS PLUS LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail $170

 

RAM: G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail $80

 

OS HARDRIVE: Western Digital VelociRaptor WD3000GLFS 300GB 10000 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM $270 ($240 after $30 Mail in Rebate)

 

COOLING: Thermalright Ultra-120 Extreme CPU Cooler $50

 

OPTICAL DRIVES: SAMSUNG Black 22X DVD+R 22X DVD-R 16X DVD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 22X DVD

[scr4wl]

oh is the $1500 for the whole rig

[Xtreme Gamer]

Do this:

 

 

CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz 6MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor - Retail $170

 

MOTHERBOARD: DFI LP DK P45-T2RS PLUS LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail $170

 

RAM: G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail $80

 

OS HARDRIVE: Western Digital VelociRaptor WD3000GLFS 300GB 10000 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM $270 ($240 after $30 Mail in Rebate)

 

COOLING: Thermalright Ultra-120 Extreme CPU Cooler $50

 

OPTICAL DRIVES: SAMSUNG Black 22X DVD+R 22X DVD-R 16X DVD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 22X DVD

[Turophiliac]

Hi,

Yep this is a near perfect build. Follow this build exactly, i would have chosen these parts also, although you might wanna upgrade the psu to 1000 w for future but its your decision. And for the mobo i highly reccomend the asus rampage formula. I own one now, awsome board worth it, awsome overclocker 10/10. :thumbs-up:

he definitely does not need a 1kW power supply, even if he upgrades further after the initial build, adding another 4870x2, he wouldn't max out that 750W PS. read This

 

EDIT: Almost forgot, nice build Queenz!

Edited November 4, 2008 by turophiliac

[ekiM]

Everyone so far has posted great potential build options, but I thought I'd mix it up a bit and show some support for team green....

 

[Xtreme Gamer]

Everyone so far has posted great potential build options, but I thought I'd mix it up a bit and show some support for team green....

 

Hi,

I reccomend two changes e8400 and simply get the one gtx 280

[scr4wl]

he definitely does not need a 1kW power supply, even if he upgrades further after the initial build, adding another 4870x2, he wouldn't max out that 750W PS. read This

 

Yes that is true for the 8800 gts however with all of quenz parts a ASUS rampage and 2 4870 X2's it would max out a 750 watt i've seen it happen twice. If you have a good quality 800Watt it could work. But generally it's good to go 1000watts just incase you want to add future things. Also i'm pretty sure he doesn't want two 4870X2 making all of this irrelevant because the 750watt should be just fine.

[Queenz]

Hi,

Yep this is a near perfect build. Follow this build exactly, i would have chosen these parts also, although you might wanna upgrade the psu to 1000 w for future but its your decision. And for the mobo i highly reccomend the asus rampage formula. I own one now, awsome board worth it, awsome overclocker 10/10. :thumbs-up:

 

 

Sorry but a 1000watt power supply would be overkill. First off a 4870x2 uses about 200 something watts at load, and 2 of them in crossfire use about 586watts at full load. Wattage is not everything either. You have to also consider amperage of the rails. The PC Power & Cooling 750watt power supply I selected has proven to beat 1000watt power supplies with multiple rails thanks to it's single powerful 60 amp rail. The one I choose should be more than enough for him.

 

 

As for the Asus Rampage board, I have it and yes it's a good board but for the very little performance difference it just isn't worth it. Your going to get the same overclock that you would on a X48 motherboard that you would get on a P45 motherboard. The extra money your spending on the board is for more features and accessories only.... thats about it, and it will be putting him over his budget

 

Just put it like this if your looking for a single 4870x2 a 600watt+ good quality power supply should be your choice, if your looking for 2 in crossfire a 750watt+ power supply should be your choice. Remember it's not only wattage you should be taking into consideration, it's also the brand, rails, solid capacitors, etc....