# $3000+ish computer: Is this a good build?



## germs (Jun 11, 2008)

I've gotten a TON of help from you guys here, which has helped me shape this build significantly. But before I hit the order button from good ol' newegg, I thought I'd double check here first!

Motherboard:  ASUS P5E3 PREMIUM (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131276)

Memory: 2x  G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (4 GB total ) (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231178)

Fans: 6x Scythe SY1225SL12H 120mm "Slipstream" (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835185059)

DVD drive:  ASUS Black 20X DVD+R 8X DVD Burner with LightScribe (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135156)

OS: windows XP 64 bit

CPU: Q9450 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115042)

PSU:  SILVERSTONE DECATHLON DA850 850W (has a single +12V 70A rail) (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817256022)

Graphics card: 8800 Ultra (already own this) (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130346)

Heatsink: Thermalright ultra 120 extreme (not on newegg... need to find the next best place!)

Case: TJ10 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811163089)

Hard drives: 3x  Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD6400AAKS 640GB 7200 RPM 16MB (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136218)

FDD:  SAMSUNG Black 1.44MB 3.5" Internal Floppy Drive (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16821103203)

What do you guys think? Will all this work well together?


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## jbunch07 (Jun 11, 2008)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233012
that heatsink is just as good as the TRUE


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## Thermaltake (Jun 11, 2008)

u dont need a floppy also get an dvdd drive liteon


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## ShadowFold (Jun 11, 2008)

I think you should get a Xigmatek instead...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233003&Tpk=S1283

Everything else looks good tho!

And you will want a Floppy! I hate flashing from windows..


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## calvary1980 (Jun 11, 2008)

I don't like this build at all. you most likely won't need a floppy drive, pick up a flash drive. is it really necessary to have almost 2 Terabytes of space? I suggest something small like a 150 for windows and a 500 for space. I would also change the Power Supply to a Corsair HX1000 and these fans

- Christine


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## DanishDevil (Jun 11, 2008)

Just ordered a set of these:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231142

They might be worth it over the Pi heat spreaders.  We're finishing up a review of some Crucial DDR3, and they use the same IC's as the ones I bought (Micron D9GTR), and they barely get warm.  Crazy heat spreaders, and even a fan, are unnecessary.  And I think they just look odd 

Q9450s have an FSB wall that prevent you from going past about 3.6GHz.  Consider if you really need a quad-core.  If you don't encode video while doing 3-4 other tasks, not really worth it IMO.  I sell E8500's pretty often on here if you're interested, and every one that I've had hits 4.5GHz under water.

SS Decathalons are GREAT.  I've got the DA750, and LOVE it!  Only thing they suck at is efficiency, so if you're paying the electric bill, you might want to look elsewhere...

Other than that, a Velociraptor would be awesome


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## Odin Eidolon (Jun 11, 2008)

sure you should get a xigmatek!
Do you really use the floppy?
I dont think that mobo is the best x48 out there, but i'm not a ddr3 expert. Gave you seen some reviews?
Get a e8500 instead of a quadcore, it will bring you far more overclocking fun!

For the case i like more the
COOLER MASTER cosmos S      http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119150

GIGABYTE 3D Aurora 570     http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811233013

APEVIA X-JUPITER S-Type
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811144203

NZXT Zero Black/Silver         http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811146029


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## germs (Jun 11, 2008)

calvary1980 said:


> I don't like this build at all. you most likely won't need a floppy drive, pick up a flash drive. is it really necessary to have almost 2 Terabytes of space? I suggest something small like a 150 for windows and a 500 for space. I would also change the Power Supply to a Corsair HX1000 and these fans
> 
> - Christine



I just never want to run out of space. Ever. According to the PSU calculator posted in the sticky, I will only need 750 watts (with OCing), so I thought 850 was a good number. I don't see the difference in the fans, other than the Slipstream (mine) moving a little more air. All I've been basing fan choices on so far is CFM and db, though.

If the Xigmatek is just as good as the TRUE I suppose they would work the same, so that would be personal preference, right? (I like the TRUE, mainly because I've heard so much about it).

For the OCing, I've heard of people hitting 3.9 on air cooling. 3.6 or 3.9 would be great for me, I don't see another quad core that would let me go higher within my budget. I usually run a bunch of stuff at once and it would be nice to not have to bother closing it so much, and I want to keep this computer for a while, by then quad cores will likely be taken advantage of in games.

The thing I like about the case is the dedicated video card cooling, especially because my videocard idles at around 72C in my current case, which has decent cooling. And the big mesh holes to cool the hard drives.

I have read the reviews for the motherboard, and heard that it OCs very well, (when it works), so I thought I'd give it a shot.



DanishDevil said:


> Just ordered a set of these:
> 
> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231142
> 
> They might be worth it over the Pi heat spreaders.  We're finishing up a review of some Crucial DDR3, and they use the same IC's as the ones I bought (Micron D9GTR), and they barely get warm.  Crazy heat spreaders, and even a fan, are unnecessary.  And I think they just look odd



Those look good. I'm planning on OCing the memory as well of course, but one question first. Will I be able to set the memory multiplier to around 2/1 (I think I put it right, I mean so that the memory gets an FSB of 800mhz, in order to dual channel 1600)? If so, that would be sweet, and I would definately grab that RAM.

Antoher question about RAM, then. What speed should I get. Howm much more important is timing over speed itself? This DDR3 1800 8-8-8-21 is within my price range (coincidentally the same heatspreaders as before; I don't really care how the heatspreaders look though, as long as they work well) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231191
Would this be a better choice than the 1600 you suggested?

Last edit: Is it a wise choice to disable my paging file in this computer? I'd think so, but last time I tried that some programs ran weird. Could have been my imagination though!


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## farlex85 (Jun 11, 2008)

Looks pretty good to me. You could get a good psu w/ those specs for cheaper than that I think. And like Danish was saying, the q9450 has some trouble landing oc's. The 8500 and q9550 are both coming down drastically in price pretty soon, but who knows when, intel isn't rushing it. I think an 8500 would be your best bet for now, wait for nehalem to get a quad. Other than that, looks like a top o the line build.


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## DOM (Jun 11, 2008)

do you need a mobo that cost that much ? with nehalem getting closer i dont see the point on getting things that cost so much as your going to need a new mobo if you want to upgrade to nehalem 

cpu wont get 4GHz unless your lucky but should do 3.6GHz but alot of the X38 chipset couldnt idk why but 

case not worth it imo 


so i say no on good build to much money unless you want to show off it looks nice but its not worth it unless you got money to burn if so give me some  lol


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## germs (Jun 11, 2008)

I admit I'm not exactly up to date with this whole Nehalem thing. I was planning on keeping this computer for 2-3 years before upgrading again, which is why I'm getting a quad core.

I do want to show it off, but performance comes before looks in my book.


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## generalhoultz (Jun 11, 2008)

i would lave the graphics card for at least 1-2weeks =)


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## WarEagleAU (Jun 11, 2008)

Your case choice and PSU choice are fine. Them Decathalons have been getting rave reviews. I cant fault Christine for her Corsair HX1000 choice either, its modular as well, but I think it have split 12v rails. If you really need a floppy, Id go for one with memory card readers built in. Flashing from a thumb drive is just as easy AND it holds a hell of alot more data than a floppy. You can even run a DOS type antivirus program through it. Mobo is awesome, with mostly great reviews. Im not much on knowing Intel and their boards/chips but you look at have some great ones. I like DDs memory though, Micron D9GTs take volts and heat well so youd be good to go.


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## germs (Jun 11, 2008)

I guess I don't need the floppy... my actual intention was to only plug it in when i needed it, wasn't aware I could use a USB for everything! Good to know.


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## WarEagleAU (Jun 11, 2008)

Also, Id recommend Samsungs SATA or IDE DVD-/-R/RW w/lightscribe. Asus has been hit or miss with their burners on a multitude of things.


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## spearman914 (Jun 11, 2008)

S1283 gets my vote. Cheaper and beats the true in every way. Might try Q6700 instead. Higher multi and 65nm.


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## germs (Jun 12, 2008)

spearman914 said:


> S1283 gets my vote. Cheaper and beats the true in every way. Might try Q6700 instead. Higher multi and 65nm.



Isn't 45 nm better than 65? I think it is for heat at least... thought it affected performance as well.

So would it be better to have a Q6700 with a x10 multiplier, or a Q9450 with x8 multiplier (and 45nm, with a bit more cache)? I'm definitely going to overclock. I would imagine heat would be the limit for the 6700, whereas the FSB might be the limit for the 9450? If money isn't an issue, which would be best?



WarEagleAU said:


> Also, Id recommend Samsungs SATA or IDE DVD-/-R/RW w/lightscribe. Asus has been hit or miss with their burners on a multitude of things.



Oops. Forgot to list that my DvD drive has litescribe. I will look into the Samsung however.

Also: DanishDevil to check my other reply please


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## DaMulta (Jun 12, 2008)

If I was going to build a 3000 computer and already had a video card. You can bet big money there would be a QX9770 in my list.


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## farlex85 (Jun 12, 2008)

germs said:


> Isn't 45 nm better than 65? I think it is for heat at least... thought it affected performance as well.
> 
> So would it be better to have a Q6700 with a x10 multiplier, or a Q9450 with x8 multiplier (and 45nm, with a bit more cache)? I'm definitely going to overclock. I would imagine heat would be the limit for the 6700, whereas the FSB might be the limit for the 9450? If money isn't an issue, which would be best?
> 
> ...



I would go for the q9450. Less voltage and heat, and although the q6700 can usually reach higher clocks the q9450 is faster clock for clock, enough so that it balances out speedwise. I think the qx9770 is overpriced, but like DaMulta said, you already got the vc, a very expensive part of the system. You could get a q9550/x3360, which has an 8.5 multi, which is also overpriced atm and will drop by about half soon. When it does the q9650 will take its placed as the top-end overpriced non-extreme chip, w/ a 9 multi. The qx9770 is definately the best though, lots of options.......

Edit: Actually if you do decide to go extreme, why not the qx9650? Since they have unlocked multi's, I'm not really sure of what the advantage of the qx9770 is over the qx9650, other than a stock fsb of 400. I guess it might be higher binned, but $500 more for a better binned chip...........


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## DaMulta (Jun 12, 2008)

You can get to 5.0Ghz on chilled water on a QX9770. I bet it would run 4.3 4.4 24/7

I love the QX9650 stock even it's just fast. I hit 4.0Gh with ease.


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## DaMulta (Jun 12, 2008)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...ubCategory=280&SortField=0&PageSize=10&page=1


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## DonInKansas (Jun 12, 2008)

For 3 grand, why not go water?


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## germs (Jun 12, 2008)

DonInKansas said:


> For 3 grand, why not go water?



I guess I just don't understand it enough. I've heard some horror stories about it, how it can fail and ruin your electronics. I'm not sure how it works, and this computer will need to be transported between college and home a lot of times per year, on a plane. Is it possible to do that with water cooling, including running it in a dorm room?




DaMulta said:


> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...ubCategory=280&SortField=0&PageSize=10&page=1



I don't see what you linked me there. That links me to a bunch of combo deals with the 780i boards.

I can't afford a faster quad core.


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## jbunch07 (Jun 12, 2008)

germs said:


> I guess I just don't understand it enough. I've heard some horror stories about it, how it can fail and ruin your electronics. I'm not sure how it works, and this computer will need to be transported between college and home a lot of times per year, on a plane. Is it possible to do that with water cooling, including running it in a dorm room?



i dont think you will have a problem with that if you make sure all your fitting are nice and tight and are really carefull.
im in college my self and just put a w/c setup in my rig. but i dont know how it would do being shipped around allot. i move back and forth to college and take my comp with me but i drive.


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## CrackerJack (Jun 12, 2008)

looks good, good luck!!!

idk about a floppy drive. I would rather flash with a pen drive or even a cd.


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## calvary1980 (Jun 12, 2008)

if your going to spend $300 on a case buy this it will save you alot of headaches when it comes to liquid cooling.

- Christine


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## germs (Jun 12, 2008)

jbunch07 said:


> i dont think you will have a problem with that if you make sure all your fitting are nice and tight and are really carefull.
> im in college my self and just put a w/c setup in my rig. but i dont know how it would do being shipped around allot. i move back and forth to college and take my comp with me but i drive.



I'll consider it, especially since my case has holes for water cooling tubes.

Do you know any good starter/intro guides? I could just google it, but seeing as you seem to have experience with it, you might know an accurate one to begin with.

My level of basic is "is the water a closed ciruit, or it is pulled from a faucet? Is there a radiator?" I know NO knowledge of it.



calvary1980 said:


> if your going to spend $300 on a case buy this it will save you alot of headaches when it comes to liquid cooling.
> 
> - Christine



The only problem with that is that I need this to be as quiet as possible, considering I have no idea how my roommate will tolerate noise next year. It is tempting though, with all those fans.


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## jbunch07 (Jun 12, 2008)

germs said:


> I'll consider it, especially since my case has holes for water cooling tubes.
> 
> Do you know any good starter/intro guides? I could just google it, but seeing as you seem to have experience with it, you might know an accurate one to begin with.
> 
> ...



the man to talk to about water cooling would be "intel igent" he helped me allot with w/c and he knows his stuff allot better than I.


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## germs (Jun 12, 2008)

Thank you.

Final question: I'm going with DDR3 1800, does anyone know if my motherboard can hit the memory multiplier needed to dual channel this stuff (900 mhz, so around 1:2, maybe a bit more at the start)?


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## DaMulta (Jun 12, 2008)

germs said:


> I guess I just don't understand it enough. I've heard some horror stories about it, how it can fail and ruin your electronics. I'm not sure how it works, and this computer will need to be transported between college and home a lot of times per year, on a plane. Is it possible to do that with water cooling, including running it in a dorm room?
> 
> 
> 
> ...



I think you can if you moved a few things around








Who needs that much HDD space? Just buy more HDD when the time comes up, they are cheap these days...



Stock fan on a QX is pretty damn good BTW.


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## iBP_Rickochet (Jun 12, 2008)

I'd say go for a Qx9650, it overclocked just as well as a Qx9770 in our testing.

What's up with the x48 mobo? Nothing wrong with the board, but it only supports xfire. Go with an ASUS Striker II Extreme and get SLi. Since you already have an nVidia card, you're halfway there.

Can't tell you if the x48 mobo will hit ddr3 1800 (though it should...), but I know the Striker II does with good memory modules.


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## germs (Jun 12, 2008)

I just can't afford a processor over 400 dollars. But no SLI got me thinking: what a bad choice I was about to make, thanks guys.

I've heard so much about the ASUS Striker II Extreme, but most of it has been bad. People report all kinds of problems, but I could deal with RMAing the board. My only question is, can the northbridge waterblock be removed and replaced with a better one? Apparently, the one that it comes with leaks, and I don't want to take any chances.

Also, will this board still dissipate heat effectively with air cooling? I'll be overclocking with air before I try water.


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## DaMulta (Jun 12, 2008)

I have that board, and the latest bioses seem to have fixed the issues. 

The waterblock on it does not leak, it's that people use those crappy fittings that came with it.

That combo for the board is a pretty good one IMO.


This is what I am doing for my chipset on that board.

This will fit on most cases
http://www.dangerden.com/store/product.php?productid=255&cat=90&page=1
Black Ice GTX120 3/8s fittings(the block is for 3/8s and 3/8s will fit through pci slots on the case.

http://www.dangerden.com/store/product.php?productid=279&cat=23&page=1
DD-CPX1 12V Pump

http://www.dangerden.com/store/product.php?productid=53&cat=27&page=1
Danger Den Dual 5 1/4" Bay Reservoir

http://www.dangerden.com/store/product.php?productid=58&cat=7&page=1
Tygon 3603 Tubing 3/8" ID 5/8" OD


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## germs (Jun 12, 2008)

DaMulta said:


> I have that board, and the latest bioses seem to have fixed the issues.
> 
> The waterblock on it does not leak, it's that people use those crappy fittings that came with it.
> 
> ...



I will take your word for it on the motherboard. It will work fine being air cooled too though, right? I'm assuming your water cooling hardware is the best? It would be great to have a list of what I need, which is basically what you gave me.


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## richjordan255 (Jun 12, 2008)

of course its a good build


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## FatForester (Jun 12, 2008)

Since you're going to be moving your computer around a lot, just stick with air cooling at least for the peace of mind. If you're typing a research paper you don't want to be worrying about a fitting falling off and shorting your computer. Chances are that would never happen, but stick with the safe route. 

Damulta, if he's not wanting to spend more than 400 dollars on a processor, I doubt he'll want a Q9770 or Q9650- much less spending 150 dollars on water cooling. 

I'm going to agree with a lot of people and say ditch the floppy for a memory card reader. I'm going to suggest the Xigmatek S1283 as well since that seems to be the best cooler around for the price. As far as hard drives go, I bought a Samsung F1 750GB from ZipZoomfly for $110 bucks, and so far I'm very impressed. It's only 10 bucks more than the WD 640GB at newegg, but you get 110GB for the trade-off.


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## germs (Jun 12, 2008)

FatForester said:


> Since you're going to be moving your computer around a lot, just stick with air cooling at least for the peace of mind. If you're typing a research paper you don't want to be worrying about a fitting falling off and shorting your computer. Chances are that would never happen, but stick with the safe route.
> 
> Damulta, if he's not wanting to spend more than 400 dollars on a processor, I doubt he'll want a Q9770 or Q9650- much less spending 150 dollars on water cooling.
> 
> I'm going to agree with a lot of people and say ditch the floppy for a memory card reader. I'm going to suggest the Xigmatek S1283 as well since that seems to be the best cooler around for the price. As far as hard drives go, I bought a Samsung F1 750GB from ZipZoomfly for $110 bucks, and so far I'm very impressed. It's only 10 bucks more than the WD 640GB at newegg, but you get 110GB for the trade-off.



I mean that I'm not willing to spend $1,000 on a CPU alone. I would be willing to upgrade to water cooling later, though.

I'll also have  laptop at school, and I can sync school files between the two.

I've never used a memory card, other than in a digital camera. What other uses does it have over a flash drive?


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## DaMulta (Jun 12, 2008)

IT will work stock on air ok. When you start pumping in the volts it does really start to get hot.


I have moved my machine to lans totally water cooled with no problems.


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## germs (Jun 13, 2008)

DaMulta said:


> IT will work stock on air ok. When you start pumping in the volts it does really start to get hot.
> 
> 
> I have moved my machine to lans totally water cooled with no problems.



I mean, this mobo won't get hotter than another top end mobo on air cooling, right? Just curious since it is designed for water.


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## DaMulta (Jun 13, 2008)

It comes with a fan on the chipset, but I don't have it on there because the QX9650 stock fan is huge.....getting ready to go to a lan in the morning.


O I''m not take it water cooled at all.


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## germs (Jun 13, 2008)

DaMulta said:


> It comes with a fan on the chipset, but I don't have it on there because the QX9650 stock fan is huge.....getting ready to go to a lan in the morning.
> 
> 
> O I''m not take it water cooled at all.



Got it. What about the NB and SB though? It has the ability to be sufficiently air cooled on those too, right?

Enjoy the LAN.


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## DaMulta (Jun 13, 2008)

That's what I don't have a fan on right now. There is no ocing the NB and SB with no fan more or less.







This is my system stock


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## FatForester (Jun 13, 2008)

DaMulta said:


> IT will work stock on air ok. When you start pumping in the volts it does really start to get hot.
> 
> 
> I have moved my machine to lans totally water cooled with no problems.



Well, I was going mainly off the basis of how airports and the TSA like to throw stuff around. There's no way I'd fly my computer on any airline if there was water in it. I guess if he goes water he can drain the lines before every flight or something.


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## spearman914 (Jun 13, 2008)

germs said:


> Isn't 45 nm better than 65? I think it is for heat at least... thought it affected performance as well.
> 
> So would it be better to have a Q6700 with a x10 multiplier, or a Q9450 with x8 multiplier (and 45nm, with a bit more cache)? I'm definitely going to overclock. I would imagine heat would be the limit for the 6700, whereas the FSB might be the limit for the 9450? If money isn't an issue, which would be best?
> 
> ...



lol no.... 45 nm means high end but creates more heat and lowers overclocks while 65 nm runs cooler and overclocks better, well not all chips ....


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## [I.R.A]_FBi (Jun 13, 2008)

holy misinformation batman! someone fix this


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## farlex85 (Jun 13, 2008)

spearman914 said:


> lol no.... 45 nm means high end but creates more heat and lowers overclocks while 65 nm runs cooler and overclocks better, well not all chips ....



Um no, smaller tech=less heat+less power. Some of the 45nm chips have been having thermal sensor problems, so maybe thats what you mean, but 45nm is inheritably and invariably cooler than 65nm.


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## farlex85 (Jun 13, 2008)

[I.R.A]_FBi said:


> holy misinformation batman! someone fix this



 I'm starting to think you really are Robin........


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## spearman914 (Jun 13, 2008)

farlex85 said:


> Um no, smaller tech=less heat+less power. Some of the 45nm chips have been having thermal sensor problems, so maybe thats what you mean, but 45nm is inheritably and invariably cooler than 65nm.



I'm not talking about the thermal sensor problem..... :shadedshu


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## farlex85 (Jun 13, 2008)

spearman914 said:


> I'm not talking about the thermal sensor problem..... :shadedshu



Then I'm not sure what you were talking about. How can a 65nm be cooler than a 45nm?


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## germs (Jun 14, 2008)

DaMulta said:


> That's what I don't have a fan on right now. There is no ocing the NB and SB with no fan more or less.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



I see. What size fan do I need for the NB and SB? (So I can order it with the rest of my computer). Will I need to remove the built in water block before I put the fans on?


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## DaMulta (Jun 14, 2008)

It comes with a fan, the waterblock is connected to where it plugs in on it.


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## platinumyahoo (Jun 16, 2008)

Just a heads up on the Optical Drive, Two of my friends and I have this and two of them had a problem where it opens by its self and when you close it it opens back up. it only happend once to each of them buy one of them it got jacked up and he had to RMA it. You dont know who the OEM for those asus drives are so it might be some crap, get something with its own OEM like lite-on or samsung. I'd be pissed if i ever had a problem with my $3000 rig because of a $30 part.


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