In Process - Need advice - Would like to buy today.

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icyicicle

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Feb 10, 2009
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Here's what I got so far:

Package on newegg that ends today 2/23:
Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - $88.00
LG 22X DVD±R DVD Burner Black - $19.99

Western Digital Caviar Black WD5001AALS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - $74.99
CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W - $99.99
G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 - $54.99
XIGMATEK HDT-S1283 120mm Rifle CPU Cooler - $29.99

Package for $379.98
MSI R4870-T2D1G Radeon HD 4870 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card
MSI X58 Pro LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard

I'm leaving out mail in rebates for these pricing.

The price before the chip is: $747.93

As you can see, the motherboard has the capability of expanding to two cards. However I'm not sure if the power supply can handle the expansion. Is there anyone that can validate that adding a second card with this setup would work without any other modification?

My last thing is the chip. If I go with a Duo I'd like the one listed below and same for the Quad. I really don't understand what I'd gain by spending an extra $90 on the quad chip. As far as I know, most applications don't even utilize more than one core. If that is still the case, and still the case in the future(1-1.5 years), I'd probably go with the Duo. Any input on why I should pick the Quad would be appreciated. I would really like to understand why people are buying these chips.

Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 Wolfdale 3.16GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor Model BX80570E8500 - $187.99

Which would bring the final price for the duo to: $935.92

Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 Yorkfield 2.83GHz LGA 775 95W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80569Q9550 - $279.99

Which would bring the final price for the quad to: $1027.92

Any input for modifications and advice would be respected. Thank you in advance.
 
T

TheGuitarist

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Jan 29, 2009
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I cannot give advice as I'm still learning, but I can point out that you need a socket 775 mobo for the kind of chips you're looking at. The 1366 mobo is for the Intel i7 chips.
 
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icyicicle

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Feb 10, 2009
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I dropped the ball on watching the socket on the MB. Was getting pretty late last night as I was putting this together and just went with the package thinking the slot was the same. It's funny though, I had this board picked out before I had made that mistake.

GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3P LGA 775 - 134.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128358

Will the PSU you recommended support two 4780s? In the description it says supports dual 8800s and lower. I would think 750W would be enough but I want to be sure.

Currently I do not do any of those things regularly listed under the conditions for getting the quad. Saying that, I've actually done Flight Sims, CAD type software and databases but I feel I don't do them enough at this point in my school/future work place to make the additional speed worth $90 at this time. I'll stick with the Duo, thanks for putting it in simple terms.

I swapped out the cooling fan and HD you recommended. Thanks for the tips on those.

Currently with my changes it's:

Subtotal: $943.41
Shipping: $33.95

Grand Total: $977.36

Which isn't bad. I wanted to get as much as I could for no more than 1,000.

I will probably buy later tonight, changes pending on more input/advice. Thank you to everyone so far who's taken the time to look this over.




 
H

Helloworld_98

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Feb 9, 2009
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If you want it to be future proof, don't buy 775, it's a dead socket, it's just as dead as 939, 754, 478 etc.

If you want more power, don't buy an E8xxx series, go amd and buy a 720, it's cheaper and more powerful.

So Q9550 or 9450 if you can find one, or a 720 for $150 cheaper and you could get DDR3. Also in some places the I7 is less than the Q9550 so you might be able to get an I7 build, especially with a $1000 budget.
 
techwizard08

techwizard08

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Jan 2, 2009
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@helloworld

Socket 775 is in no way obsolete, and given the E8700 getting ready to drop, still kicking a little.

A 1000k budget is low for an i7--you would likely have to critically compromise on a part (GeForce64-bit anyone? :p)
 
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icyicicle

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Feb 10, 2009
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So the AMD 720 is the "living" socket for AMD? I probably will never upgrade the chip, but based on what you said is this a better package in terms of performance and price?

AMD Phenom II X3 720 2.8GHz Socket AM3 95W Triple-Core Black Processor Model HDZ720WFGIBOX - Retail

OCZ Reaper HPC 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model OCZ3RPR16004GK - Retail

GIGABYTE GA-MA790XT-UD4P AM3 DDR3 AMD 790X ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail

$369.97 for the combo deal.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.162052

It's basically 3 dollars cheaper than my "old setup" however I didn't verify that the CPU fan will fit this socket.
 
I

icyicicle

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Feb 10, 2009
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Yeah I tried this and hit like 1200, so did the AMD build above.
 
H

Helloworld_98

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First I said $1000, and if you had a 1 million dollar budget then you would have an IBM SuperComputer with five Tesla S1070's. Note that although their NVidia they don't use SLI.

Yeah AM3 and AM2+ are the living sockets of AMD, If you have a $1000 budget then go for an AM3 mobo, since you have the money for DDR3.

I came up with...


ASUS M4A78T-E AMD 790GX AM3 Phenom II/Athlon X4/Athlon X3/Athlon X2 Socket AM3 5200 MT/s PC3-10600 (DDR3-1333) ATX Motherboard Retail

$137.99

PATRIOT Extreme Performance Viper Series PVS34G1600ELK 4GB PC3-12800+ (DDR3-1600+) CL9 Dual Channel DDR2 Memory Retail

$139.99

AMD HDZ720WFGIBOX Phenom II X3 720 Black Edition 2.8Ghz Socket AM3 95W 2.80 GHz Desktop Processor Retail

$159.99

EVGA 896-P3-1255-A1 Geforce GTX 260 896MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 (2.0v) Video Card Retail

$229.99

PC Power and Cooling S75QB Silencer 750W Quad Power Supply (Black) Retail

$130.49

Zalman CNPS9700 LED Ultra Quiet CPU Cooler w/Super Thermal Grease ZM-STG1, Fan Speed Controller FAN MATE 2 Retail

$62.49

THERMALTAKE VJ40001W2Z Aluminum/Plastic Mid Tower Case Black Retail

$93.49

WESTERN DIGITAL Caviar Green WD5000AACS 500GB SATA II 7200 RPM 16MB Buffer Hard Drive Bulk

$58.99

Comes to ~$983 after rebate. Damn DDR3 is expensive on your side of the pond.
 
I

icyicicle

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Feb 10, 2009
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This is the current build:

Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

$88.00

LG 22X DVD±R DVD Burner Black IDE Model GH22NP20

$21.99

Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive

$79.99

PC Power & Cooling S75CF 750W EPS12V SLI NVIDIA SLI Certified (Dual 8800 GTX and below) CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply

$109.99

XIGMATEK HDT-S1283 120mm Rifle CPU Cooler

$29.00

Nippon Labs 15 ft. USB2.0 A/male to B/male cable Model USB-15-AB

$7.99 (Comes in combo with the fan)

XIGMATEK ACK-I7751 Retention Bracket

$8.49

AMD Phenom II X3 720 2.8GHz Socket AM3 95W Triple-Core Black Processor Model HDZ720WFGIBOX

OCZ Reaper HPC 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model OCZ3RPR16004GK - Retail

GIGABYTE GA-MA790XT-UD4P AM3 DDR3 AMD 790X ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail

$369.97 (For the combo)

MSI R4870-T2D1G Radeon HD 4870 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card

$219.99

Subtotal: $935.41

Current worries: Fan is compatible with socket type, it does not directly say I am unsure can anyone verify/recommend a new one? Pretty sure everything else is compatible, but not absolute. I'm pretty set on this right now, not so sure about the CPU as I don't know much about CPUs in general these days (I was Comptia A+ Certified 5 years ago and knew quite a bit then). Pretty set on the card, I did some research it seems it stomps the 260 unless one is running at higher res, which I won't be doing.
 
I

icyicicle

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Feb 10, 2009
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Good point. Looks like I won't be getting my case at newegg as it is cheaper elsewhere. I didn't even think to check if it was IDE when I saw the combo. Thank you, I would have been a little pissed when I opened that up.
 
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