# Please Rate My New Build!



## DoubleTap (Nov 15, 2007)

Hello all! 

first off this is my first build in 8 years! the old AMD 1400 is showing its age. So time to build a new Machine. Not looking to build the best top performing machine out there but one that will be fairly fast and be able to handle online gaming video editing and other multimedia intrests.

here's my build

Antec 900 gaming case http://www.antec.com/us/productDetails.php?ProdID=15900

Intel Core 2 Quad Core Q6600 http://www.intel.com/products/processor/core2quad/index.htm

MSI MB - 975X PLATINUM V.2 POWER UP EDITION http://www.msicomputer.com/product/p_spec.asp?model=975X_Platinum_V.2_(Limited_Edition)&class=mb

4 - Kingston 1GB 800MHz DDR2 Non-ECC CL5 DIMM s http://www.i-tech.com.au/products/2747_KINGSTON_1GB_800MHz_DDR2_NON_ECC_CL5.aspx

2- WD 150GB Raptor 10,000rpm SATA Hard Drive for raid array. http://www.wdc.com/en/products/Products.asp?DriveID=189

500gb Seagate sata 7200rpm drive for back up http://www.seagate.com/ww/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=b9df99f4fa74c010VgnVCM100000dd04090aRCRD

Zumax 750WPower Supply http://www.zumaxpower.com/products/zu750w.htm

2- ATI HD 2900Pro 1GB GDDR4 320 Streams PCI-E Vid, Crossfire ready, HDTV, w/ Dual DVI-I http://www.firingsquad.com/hardware/powercolor_amd_radeon_hd_2900_pro_review/

Win Vista Ultimate 32bit (have 64 bit for when I replace hardware with 64bit hardware)

Plextor Super Multi Drive PX-810SA http://www.plextor.com/ENGLISH/products/px-810sa.html

All parts are purchased already with the exceptionof 1 of the ATI cards. Holding off build for 3 weeks until 2nd ATI card will be received.

thanks in advance for your thoughts and suggestions.


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## linderman (May 20, 2005)

thats a decent specification 


the only things I would alter as follows:

*Priority* = your choice of PSU is very mediocre and will give you nightmares with a high power sucking ati crossfire configuration!

I would not even open the box, send it back and get a *Thermaltake Toughpower 750 watt* Or Coolermaster Real Power Pro 850 watt

I personally would have got 2 x one gig sticks of Corsair DDR-2 800 memory with timings of 4-4-4-12 much faster than the kingston ram you bought and the corsair is much better at overclocking too ! and your CPU is a very good overclocker

32bit Win XP and 32 Vista run very sluggishly when 4 gigs are present / the 64 bit versions of both OS's love the large memory chunks but not so for their 32 bit brethen


I would not have spent the money on the raptors personally, I have two of them and was not impressed with the slight increase in speed over standard 7200 rpm drives. not worth the extra money IMHO 

but to each his own ?



enjoy your new system >>>>>> its a solid spec you should have alot of fun gaming on that beast >>>>>>> youll need a seat belt in comparison to the old AMD 1400 ray: :wave:


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## TheMatt (May 9, 2006)

The 975X does not have 1333MHz support and is technically obsolete when compared to the P965. Look at the P35 right now or an nVidia chipset. 

Also, right now the 8800GT is a much better choice than crossfire and you should go with two of those if you get an nVidia chipset.

I would also definitely take the PSU advice linderman gave you because a cheap PSU can definitely give you headaches.


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## DoubleTap (Nov 15, 2007)

good call on the PSU, I am actually considering not using the zumax and instead run the coolermaster 850. I personaly have heard to many horror stories on the thermaltake PSU.

As for the Ram I agree the corsair much better choice, however the kingston ram I got for only 70.00 for all 4 sticks. the corsair will be an upgrade in a few months. as far as the 4gb memory in the 32bit vista ultimate thats not optimal? should I just use 2 of the 4 sticks i allready have and sell off the other 2 on ebay and in a few months pick up the corsair?

the MSI board only supports upto 1066 I under stand that it was another good deal @ 45.00 so staying in the "budget" lol thats the board I went with. 

everything I can find to read on nvidia SLI vs ATI Crossfire is that crossfire wins in performance over SLI. I have read about how SLI splits the screen horizontaly giving each card 1/2 of the screen and there have been issues with this "horizontal split" that even nvidia is scratching there head at and rumors are flying about regarding a move to SLI2 which even invidia will not confirm or deni. 
The method the ATI crossfire uses is more of a "checker board pattern" with each card having the same amount of area to cover but more interwoven. and the ATI in crossfire mode are not seeing the issues that nvidia SLI are seeing. 

now if I was only going to run a single card then yes i'd go with the 8800 gt 764mb card. 

The Raptors I picked up for 102.95 each far below retail price so what performance gain the extra 2800rpms give will be money well spent. The seagate only set me back 50.00. 


Honestly not very concerned about being "technically obsolete" hell I hung on to this old AMD 1400 for all these years and it has been as technically obsolete as someone running a Sega Genisis gaming consol now! LOL infact this old machine has just gotten to the point where it either has a bit of trouble running todays games and apps or wont run them at all. Hell it even runs Vista home basic flawlessly! 

I appreciate the advice! keep it comming!


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## 1 g0t 0wn3d (Jan 31, 2007)

The thermaltake is a great psu if it is the toughpower, i am also not aware of any issues regarding sli

If you are going with ati they have some new cards coming/ out on the 12th of this or next month


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## DoubleTap (Nov 15, 2007)

thanks 1 g0t own3d! 

yes i am waiting patiently for the soon to be released ATI's!


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## DoubleTap (Nov 15, 2007)

another thing , is it a noticable increase in performance such as app load time etc... using a raid setup or am I just wasting time setting raid up?


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## 1 g0t 0wn3d (Jan 31, 2007)

http://forums.vr-zone.com/showthread.php?t=202510


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## pharoah (Aug 28, 2006)

TheMatt said:


> Also, right now the 8800GT is a much better choice for crossfire and you should go with two of those if you get an nVidia chipset.


since when could you crossfire nvidia cards.:laugh:


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## DoubleTap (Nov 15, 2007)

pharoah said:


> since when could you crossfire nvidia cards.:laugh:


hey I'm new here Glad you pointed it out! dont want to ruffle any feathers ........ yet .......lol

good read on the link 1 g0t 0wn3d thank you!

here's a read regarding SLI vs Crossfire 

http://www.cdrinfo.com/Sections/Reviews/Specific.aspx?ArticleId=14474


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## DoubleTap (Nov 15, 2007)

TheMatt said:


> The 975X does not have 1333MHz support and is technically obsolete when compared to the P965. Look at the P35 right now or an nVidia chipset.
> 
> Also, right now the 8800GT is a much better choice for crossfire and you should go with two of those if you get an nVidia chipset.
> 
> I would also definitely take the PSU advice linderman gave you because a cheap PSU can definitely give you headaches.


Thanks Alot Matt!

now you have me looking at this MB 
http://www.mwave.com/mwave/skusearch.hmx?SCriteria=BA24107

and the madness CONTINUES!


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## 1 g0t 0wn3d (Jan 31, 2007)

That is such an old artical i am not sure that it is current as it was before the release of my card lol (last gen)


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## linderman (May 20, 2005)

anyone that can come out of that evaluation with a clear winner between x-fire and SLI is full of p00h  they are technically as dead even tied as you can get


The problematic thermaltake PSU's are the Pure Powers / they are wicked trash too 

but dont throw the toughpowers in that group / the tough power is an awesome built unit


the same is true of the coolermaster line-up / their standard line the "extreme power" is extreme JUNK

but the real power Pro is the real deal

most ALL PSU companies are suffering the same reputation from excessive market competition / only Seasonic and PC Power & Cooling have resisted throwing any trash into the market (probally Corsair too )


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## linderman (May 20, 2005)

there are not enough memory registers in the 32 bit operating systems to make use of 4 gig 


some boards can "tolerate" four gigs of memory with a 32 bit system / but I have yet to see one that performed better with 4 gigs -vs- two gigs


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## TheMatt (May 9, 2006)

pharoah said:


> since when could you crossfire nvidia cards.:laugh:


:laugh: I meant better _than_ crossfire. My bad.


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## DoubleTap (Nov 15, 2007)

I just love the arguement nvidia vs ATI. and since i'm realy not building a "Super pc" either one will more than make me happy. 

afrer linderman talked some sense into me I have my coolermaster 850 on its way! 

still thinking of that neo mobo I listed above.


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## linderman (May 20, 2005)

that P-35 NEO has all the horse power you will ever need & at a price thats about $50.00 to $60.00 cheaper than the other P35 options without getting into 3rd and 4th tier motherboard makers :wink:


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## TheMatt (May 9, 2006)

Right now ATi really isn't playing in the big boy (high end GPU) market because of their pipeline design, however the small fabrication process on the midrange and low-end cards make them ideal because of their lower power consumption and heat production compared to their nVidia counterparts.

I agree with linderman about the MSI P35 board, it is much more future proof and also a bit higher quality.


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## pharoah (Aug 28, 2006)

TheMatt said:


> :laugh: I meant better _than_ crossfire. My bad.



:laugh: i just had to pick on ya over that.


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## TheMatt (May 9, 2006)

It was funny though. :smile:


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## linderman (May 20, 2005)

:laugh: :laugh: :laugh:




one thousand *atta-boyz* are runied by one little slip of the fingers on the keyboard :laugh:


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