# New Gaming Build!



## farid (Dec 20, 2008)

Heya all, this is a new build im doing for a friend, which GPU its better GTX260 or 4870?, and which MOBO between Gigabyte and ASUS its better? I will OC his processor to 4.0 GHZ.

This is the main build:

CPU: E8400

MOBO: ASUS P5Q Pro OR GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3R

GPU: EVGA GTX 260 OR SAPPHIRE RADEON 4870 1GB

RAM: G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500)

PSU: CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V

HDD: Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 250GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s

LCD: ASUS VH226H Black 21.5" 2ms(GTG) HDMI Widescreen 16:9 Full HD 1080P

Case: COOLER MASTER RC-690-KKN1-GP

Heatsink: ZALMAN 9500A 92mm

Also, if you can recommend me another case cheaper than the Cooler Master, that can fit the GTX260/4870 plz let me know, thx for the advices


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## silkstone (Dec 20, 2008)

Personally i'd go for the gigabyte 4870. But there isn't much between the options, Check out some reviews and benchmarks comparing the cards. They perform different on diff games with diff settings, see what games your friend will be playing and go with the numbers.

Go for a cheaper coolermaster case 330/331 (if i remember correctly) are a decent low price case.

p.s. Go for a AcBel PSU if u can find one, good quality medium tier psu's at 50% of the price


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## Wingo101 (Dec 20, 2008)

farid said:


> Heya all, this is a new build im doing for a friend, which GPU its better GTX260 or 4870?, and which MOBO between Gigabyte and ASUS its better? I will OC his processor to 4.0 GHZ.
> 
> This is the main build:
> 
> ...




I would go for the ASUS board because it's got more than 1x PCIe 16x slots. It's also a very good overclocker!

The GTX 260 would be a great buy, see if you can get a Leadtek GTX 260 Extreme +. It's clocked at the same speed as a stock Leadtek GTX 280 & has very good overclocking potential.

BTW: I think you should consider a better CPU cooler ie. Zalman 9700.


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## farid (Dec 20, 2008)

Wingo101 said:


> I would go for the ASUS board because it's got more than 1x PCIe 16x slots. It's also a very good overclocker!
> 
> The GTX 260 would be a great buy, see if you can get a Leadtek GTX 260 Extreme +. It's clocked at the same speed as a stock Leadtek GTX 280 & has very good overclocking potential.
> 
> BTW: I think you should consider a better CPU cooler ie. Zalman 9700.



Should I get an E7200 instead of the E8400? 
Id rather buy Nvida than ATi, but the P5Q supports only Xfire right?


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## silkstone (Dec 20, 2008)

If you do go for the 260 hold off a month and wait for the 55nm 260's to come out. you'll kick yourself if you don't


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## silkstone (Dec 20, 2008)

farid said:


> Should I get an E7200 instead of the E8400?
> Id rather buy Nvida than ATi, but the P5Q supports only Xfire right?



7200's are good and can reach 4g no prob. 8400's are much better but almost twice the price (where i am) what were you thinking of doing with the extra $$ if you went with the 7200?

And yes you are right p5Q only supports crossfire.

If i were you i'd get a 7200 and 2x4850's for the same price as a 8400+4870
+ go for a coolermaster v8 if you have enough remaning, they kick a**

Regarding your case, i just checked. i have a coolermaster 330. The local (room) temp is 32, my case temp is 35C. I just added 3 extra fans and works like a charm.


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## farid (Dec 20, 2008)

silkstone said:


> 7200's are good and can reach 4g no prob. 8400's are much better but almost twice the price (where i am) what were you thinking of doing with the extra $$ if you went with the 7200?
> 
> And yes you are right p5Q only supports crossfire.
> 
> If i were you i'd get a 7200 and 2x4850's for the same price as a 8400+4870



Hmmm sounds great, let me talk to my friend then to see what he thinks bout that, thx a lot! ^^


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## techjunkie (Dec 20, 2008)

silkstone said:


> If i were you i'd get a 7200 and 2x4850's for the same price as a 8400+4870
> + go for a coolermaster v8 if you have enough remaning, they kick a**



+ 1


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## silkstone (Dec 20, 2008)

BTW great choice of monitor. Check Asus dead pixel return policy before buying tho. Some manufacturers have sucky RMA's and there nothing more annoying than a black dot in the middle of your screen.

(i had to RMA 2 LG displays before i got a good one)


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## farid (Dec 20, 2008)

silkstone said:


> BTW great choice of monitor. Check Asus dead pixel return policy before buying tho. Some manufacturers have sucky RMA's and there nothing more annoying than a black dot in the middle of your screen.
> 
> (i had to RMA 2 LG displays before i got a good one)



Lawl ok, I will, thx a lot for the advices Silkstone


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## Wingo101 (Dec 20, 2008)

silkstone said:


> 7200's are good and can reach 4g no prob. 8400's are much better but almost twice the price (where i am) what were you thinking of doing with the extra $$ if you went with the 7200?
> 
> And yes you are right p5Q only supports crossfire.
> 
> ...




That is a good suggestion, but just keep in mind that games are becoming more CPU intensive. So for future proofing, I would suggest you get the 8400 or even a quad core.

As for the motherboard, if you really need SLi you can get an ASUS P5N-D 780 SLI. Then as silkstone mentioned, wait for the 55nm GTX 260.

EDIT: The above MB only supports DDR2-800.

This one supports DDR2-1066 ASUS P5N-T Deluxe 780 SLi


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## silkstone (Dec 20, 2008)

Wingo101 said:


> That is a good suggestion, but just keep in mind that games are becoming more CPU intensive. So for future proofing, I would suggest you get the 8400 or even a quad core.
> 
> As for the motherboard, if you really need SLi you can get an ASUS P5N-D 780 SLI. Then as silkstone mentioned, wait for the 55nm GTX 260.
> 
> ...



You're right, but a E7200 can reach e8400 speeds it just has 2mb less cache, i think an Xfire 4850+4ghz setup would be more futureproof than just having 2mb extra cache. the quad cores are also a good deal, but your looking at at least another year before they are fully taken advantage of in games.


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## Wozzer (Dec 20, 2008)

Go for th 4870 1GB.


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## Wingo101 (Dec 21, 2008)

silkstone said:


> You're right, but a E7200 can reach e8400 speeds it just has 2mb less cache, i think an Xfire 4850+4ghz setup would be more futureproof than just having 2mb extra cache. the quad cores are also a good deal, but your looking at at least another year before they are fully taken advantage of in games.



Right you are.

farid, just remember to invest in a good CPU cooler if you're gonna take the CPU to 4GHz.


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## nguyenpeter76 (Dec 21, 2008)

Wingo101 said:


> Right you are.
> 
> farid, just remember to invest in a good CPU cooler if you're gonna take the CPU to 4GHz.



xigmatek s1283 should do the trick. get the retention bracket as well to make it easier to put on the cpu cooler.


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## johnspack (Dec 21, 2008)

The p5q-pro supports upto 1200mhz ddr2 and with ket's modded bios,  will oc like mad.  Specs for the p5q-pro: http://www.asus.com/products.aspx?l1=3&l2=11&l3=709&l4=0&model=2269&modelmenu=1


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## silkstone (Dec 21, 2008)

nguyenpeter76 said:


> xigmatek s1283 should do the trick. get the retention bracket as well to make it easier to put on the cpu cooler.



That hsf looks good too, you should be able to fit 2 120mm fans on it if there is room.
I have the coolermaster 92mm baby-brother version and it works great


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## boredgunner (Dec 21, 2008)

The HD 4870 outperforms the GTX 260 in most tests, but for a little bit more you can get a GTX 260 CORE 216 which beats both.

As for the PSU, you can get a superior COOLER MASTER Real Power Pro 650W for the same price.  The only difference is that it has more amperage on the +12V rails (total).  The COOLER MASTER Real Power Pro 750W PSU sells for the same price right now on newegg (after rebate $79.99).  With this PSU you are ready for SLI if you ever go that route.  The E8400 is your best bet for a CPU, it overclocks like a champ.  At 3.6 ghz with 1.350V core (1.4V FSB), my E8400 runs very stable and the heat is the same as it was stock.  G.SKILL memory is generally not recommended.  I have some myself, G.SKILL themselves say they aren't good for overclocking.  I agree with that XIGMATEK CPU cooler that was recommended, tests show it is a very effective and the price is unbeatable.


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## farid (Dec 21, 2008)

Hmmm ok, so I talked to my friend, Im gonna stick with this:

CPU: E8400
MOBO: ASUS P5Q Pro
RAM: Dont know if I should go with the G.SKill. How bout Corsair? Suggestions plz! 
Heatsink: Xigmatek S1283+Bracket+AC Thermal Paste
GPU: Im going with GTX260, I love Nvidia so im gonna stick with em. Not sure if should get an EVGA, Zotac or XFX. Suggestions?
PSU: Gonna stick with CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W, or may an OCZ ModXStream Pro OCZ600MXSP 600W Modular PSU???
LCD: Gonna stick with the ASUS, seems like a great choice
HDD: Seagate
Case: Not sure yet, maybe that Cooler Master, or Lian-Li. Suggestions?


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## techjunkie (Dec 21, 2008)

If you are still going wtih the E8400 you might consider the Q6600. Its about the same price and you could probably get it to 3.6 gig


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## Wingo101 (Dec 21, 2008)

farid said:


> Hmmm ok, so I talked to my friend, Im gonna stick with this:
> 
> CPU: E8400
> MOBO: ASUS P5Q Pro
> ...



Remember that the P5Q Pro only supports Xfire, so if you're gonna go with Nvidia you should wait a little longer for the 55nm GTX 260s. You can get any brand you want, but try to look for a factory overclocked GPU like the Leadtek GeForce GTX 260 Extreme +.

Corsair RAM is very reliable, so you can't go wrong there.

The Corsair PSU is better.


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