[New System Build] Striker II Based Q9450

[Lesardah]

I am a gamer, but not quite an enthusiast. I built an SLi AMD 3200+ three years ago, upgraded the video card twice (now a EVGA 7900 GTO), and now it's long in the tooth and needs replacing. I used to be up to speed with hardware, but now I am solely focused on my DBA duties, making hardware difficult to keep up with. I feel it's best to ask the experts!

At any rate, I have looked around, read some forums, read some reviews, and have pieced the system together that I think will be a solid performer, and semi-future proof. I am only looking at numbers, however, and not neccessarily what makes sense. There are specifics I do not understand the benefit on a cost-per-performance basis, such as my choice of DDR and the GeForce 260 over the 280, or the 8800 I see often.

Also, please bear in mind that this is a time sensitive splurge, and I'm really not willing to wait a few months for new technologies. My total lack of discipline will make sure I have no cache of cash by then!

On to the stats:

Case: Thermaltake Armor+MX VH8000BWS Black Aluminum / Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
Power Supply: Thermaltake toughpower W0117RU 750W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply
Cooling: Thermaltake CL-W0175 Water Cooler
Memory: OCZ Platinum 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory
Motherboard: ASUS Striker II Extreme LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 790i Ultra SLI DDR3 ATX Intel Motherboard
CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad Q9450 Yorkfield 2.66GHz LGA 775 95W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80569Q9450
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 260 FTW Edition 896-P3-1266-AR Video Card
Hard Disks: SAMSUNG Spinpoint F1 HD753LJ 750GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
DVD RW: HP 20X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe Black SATA Model DVD1070i

Price Tag (if sole-sourced): $1900.00

I also wanted to know if it is possible to modify the Evga GeForce GTX 260 with a water cooling block. I noticed it has a large outer casing (or heat spreader, I'm not sure).

Thanks in advance!

 

[killyou400p]

gtx 260 is a waste of money and performance. I believe with the money of a gtx260 you are able to buy 3870x2, 4850, 4870.
HD 4870 ati being the best.\
Everything looks fine to me.
Oh and also motherboards... Dont get Nvidia nforce 790i Ultra SLi mobos. Kinda waste of money if you ask me, unless going Nvidia all the way.
You can keep the 790i ultra if you get the gtx 280.
But get Asus p45 motherboards. Save 50-100$ and the same performance.
Gigabytes are good too.
Im not saying it is complete crap, but it isnt worth its price, but it will do you good even if its a lot.

 

[cal8949]

.

 

[cal8949]

it is a 200-250 price difference between ddr2 and ddr3 for the motherboard and ram

and why would you want to buy a $440 nvidia mother board??

get a
ASUS RAMPAGE FORMULA LGA 775 Intel X48 ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131284
$270

and a

OCZ Reaper HPC 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227289
$130

270+130=400
the mother board and ram you want cost's $720 together. you will save $320 and get a tiny performance drop.

the asus rampage is one of the best intel boards you can buy

just buy a nice air cooler. water cooling isn't worth the price and with a cheap water cooling setup you would be just as good if you had air cooling

 

[Lesardah]

Whoa. That 4870 is astounding for the price, and the GIGABYTE GA-X48T-DQ6 offers me the same features I need as the Striker II from what I can tell. Is there anything I will lose (besides knocking $200.00 off the price tag)? It looks like I will gain 6-10% with the 4870.

I haven't ever used an ATI card before, always used NVidia. I bought an SLi motherboard three years ago with a "Just in case" mindset, and never bought double cards for it (It's an A8N SLi Deluxe). If I keep buying a new PC every three years, and a new mid range video card every year and a half, will I really need SLi or Crossfire if I usually run my games at 1280x1024 (or it's widescreen equivalent)? I'm not huge on effects, as long as I get over 30FPS with decent graphics.

This seems like a move that cannot lose, from what I can tell. Again, is there anything the Gigabyte won't get me that the Striker II will, besides SLi?

Thanks again, Cal & Kill. Good, solid advice.

 

[cal8949]

well its hard to find an intel board over $150 that doesnt have crossfire so just get a crossfire board and you might never need a crossfire but its there if you do. i dont know of any features you will be losing switching between those boards. if any thing its just small

 

[cal8949]

look at these charts comparing ddr3 to ddr2. it might help you decide

http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,2845,2159833,00.asp