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[Open Source]

I'm trying to build a gaming pc with a budget of $800 my laptop is just to shitty I can't even play tf2 on it. So I decided its time to upgrade.

Here's what I'm looking at right now:

Antec Sonata III(Built in 500W PSU)

ASUS P5Q SE PLUS LGA 775 Intel P45

Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600

Radeon HD 4850

4GB Kingston 1066 RAM

640GB WD HDD

LG DVD BURNER(May take from older pc)

Right now I'm looking at about $706+shipping that's all with just newegg prices.
The thing I'm wondering about most is will I be able to do some OCing with that MOBO, I'd like to OC the Q6600 to about 3GHz. I also plan on getting a second fan for the front of the case.

I'd go with the e8500 instead of the q6600. I've had both cpus in this machine on a similar mobo (P5Q Pro) and the e8500 is better for gaming even without overclocking. It also overclocks much better than the Q especially if you are not getting a cooler.

 

[Clever Pun]

I'm trying to build a gaming pc with a budget of $800 my laptop is just to shitty I can't even play tf2 on it. So I decided its time to upgrade.

Here's what I'm looking at right now:

Antec Sonata III(Built in 500W PSU)

ASUS P5Q SE PLUS LGA 775 Intel P45

Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600

Radeon HD 4850

4GB Kingston 1066 RAM

640GB WD HDD

LG DVD BURNER(May take from older pc)

Right now I'm looking at about $706+shipping that's all with just newegg prices.
The thing I'm wondering about most is will I be able to do some OCing with that MOBO, I'd like to OC the Q6600 to about 3GHz. I also plan on getting a second fan for the front of the case.

I just did a Q6600 build for right at $800 with shipping when applicable. However, I was able to save ~$100 buying my processor and case (an Antec Three Hundred) from microcenter. If you have a microcenter nearby, check them for prices. Either way, try to buy the case locally because that's the only thing that will kill you on shipping if you buy it from newegg.

Also, if you don't mind 800 ram, I would recommend this G.Skill over your kingston. It's both cheaper, and higher quality.

 

[Hazaro]

I'm trying to build a gaming pc with a budget of $800 my laptop is just to shitty I can't even play tf2 on it. So I decided its time to upgrade.

Here's what I'm looking at right now:

Antec Sonata III(Built in 500W PSU)

ASUS P5Q SE PLUS LGA 775 Intel P45

Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600

Radeon HD 4850

4GB Kingston 1066 RAM

640GB WD HDD

LG DVD BURNER(May take from older pc)

Right now I'm looking at about $706+shipping that's all with just newegg prices.
The thing I'm wondering about most is will I be able to do some OCing with that MOBO, I'd like to OC the Q6600 to about 3GHz. I also plan on getting a second fan for the front of the case.

Solid, just get this RAM instead.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231122
You only need 800 for 3.2Ghz
Toss this cooler in as well
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835200035

*Go for the Quad, a 3.2Ghz Core 2 is not getting CPU bound anytime soon.

 

[brain_stew]

I'd go with the e8500 instead of the q6600. I've had both cpus in this machine on a similar mobo (P5Q Pro) and the e8500 is better for gaming even without overclocking. It also overclocks much better than the Q especially if you are not getting a cooler.

Can't agree with that. Any Core 2 past 3ghz is more than enough for any dual core optimised game. After that you might as well have the extra 2 cores for future benefits. If you're not planning to overclock, then yes, if gaming is a priority, the E8500 is a decent buy. A crappy buy for anyone who is willing to clock though.

Oh and yes, 800mhz RAM is all that is needed and that cooler linked by Hazaro is perfect for a budget build.

 

[rc213]

=X

 

[FoxSpirit]

Oh yeah, short interlude: there's a small radiator on the Intel DG965WH mobo that prevents a Gainward HD4850 Golden sample from fully sliding into the PCIe slot.
Only 1mm or so, so it's not problem, but at first I was really all "Oh noes!!!"

 

[godhandiscen]

GAF, my GTX295+ is here. What are the Nvidia essentials I need to know. The last NV card I owned was a 7 series.

 

[Hazaro]

GAF, my GTX295+ is here. What are the Nvidia essentials I need to know. The last NV card I owned was a 7 series.

Nothing?
Rivatuner?

Spoiler

Maybe a bigger case to hold all that WHOOP-ASS

That's all I can think of.
What were your ATi essentials?

 

[godhandiscen]

Nothing?
Rivatuner?

Spoiler

Maybe a bigger case to hold all that WHOOP-ASS

That's all I can think of.
What were your ATi essentials?

CCC? I don't know man, I was wondering if stuff had changed ever since then. And yeah, my other components are in a tier above my case, but atm I am broke.

Should I use Rivatuner over the EVGA OC application?

 

[Hazaro]

CCC? I don't know man, I was wondering if stuff had changed ever since then. And yeah, my other components are in a tier above my case, but atm I am broke.

Should I use Rivatuner over the EVGA OC application?

It's the same thing. :lol
I added some display info for RivaTuner so I use that.
Oh and download the latest drivers of course. (Or an older version if you want. It's all good)

 

[Chairhome]

Is this a good deal? $99 and free shipping from Newegg for a 1TB WD HDD.

 

[godhandiscen]

It's the same thing. :lol
I added some display info for RivaTuner so I use that.
Oh and download the latest drivers of course. (Or an older version if you want. It's all good)

Told you man, I have never used Rivatuner.

 

[Hazaro]

Told you man, I have never used Rivatuner.

I've only briefly used CCC, but I'm pretty sure Rivatuner is better is a lot of aspects (assuming the software is updated).
Yes/No?

 

[MWS Natural]

Hey guys, i just wanted to stop in to give a hearty recommendation for Maingear computers. I have had their prelude pc for about 8 months now and have had zero problems. I was uncomfortable choosing a boutique since all i have ever bought was Dell before but with Dells build quality tanking i went with Maingear and am glad to say i did.
I will stick with them for future purchases until they give me a reason not too. They make Dell look like a two bit operation even when Dell was a much better company.

They have a really nice SFF PC, I might have to take a serious look at their company when I am ready to buy later this year.

 

[Shadow780]

This guide is really helpful, if you're interested.

Core i7 920

Asus P6T

Corsair dominator 6Gb 1600 MHz

Asus Radeon 4870x2

Vista 64 Ultimate

Corsair 705TX

Antec 1200

6x Blu Ray burner

1TB 7200 drive

Samsung 24in 1900x1200

Thermalright True black 120 ~$70


$2400 + tx and shipping lets say $2550. Do you still want to buy from dell?

edit: lol I just realized my system costs over 3k new in parts only. I should be travelling instead.

Cool, thanks, ordered all the parts, this is gonna be my mom's PC if I'm not as clueless as I like to think.

If I fail I'll come back and haunt you guys.:lol

 

[Zyzyxxz]

I was waiting fora 4870 deal, Lo and Behold! Only $200+shipping and you get the excellent warranty service.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150338

Just ordered one and with the money I save I'm gonna buy an aftermarket cooler.

Any suggestions?

 

[Cheeto]

I was waiting fora 4870 deal, Lo and Behold! Only $200+shipping and you get the excellent warranty service.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150338

Just ordered one and with the money I save I'm gonna buy an aftermarket cooler.

Any suggestions?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835118006
I've got this one. It's silent and keeps my 4850 below 35c at all times. Only problem was that I couldn't plug the fan into the onboard slot without remaking the plug. You can also just plug it into your motherboard, but then you don't get any fan control...not a big deal though because there isn't much difference in noise between on/off.

 

[Tenks]

I may have an odd question. Ok my new rig has a GeForce 295 GTX. The monitor only came with an RGB cable with DVI converters (single link.) Since I didn't have a double link DVI laying around I tried to hook this set up into my computer but it wasn't giving out a signal. I'm going to ASSUME it is because its not liking the DVI/RGB stuff and I really hope its not defective. Can anyone shed some light on this?

The graphics card has 1 HDMI more and 2 DVI ports.

 

[Ranger X]

Ok here's my updated rig.
This time I really doubt it will change. Should buy at the beginning of next week after some sweet sweet money tranferts

ATX Antec three hundred (black)
Intel Core i7 920
Radeon HD 4830
Western Digital Caviar 640 gb
Asus P6T X58 motherboard
ViewSonic VA2226W, 5ms, 22'
Vista Home Premium 64 bits
ATX Antec Earth EA650, 650w
Kingston KVR DDR3 tri channel (6 gb)

.

+ tax and some keyboard/mouse combo + DVDwriter = 2000$ CAN

 

[Hazaro]

Please spend more and buy a 4850 at least :[

It's only a tiny bit more.

 

[godhandiscen]

WOW.

Very High preset settings. 1600x1050

Trackmania before. 4870x2 OC'd.

Trackmania now GTX295 Stock.

I will post more impressions later. I didn't think this was going to be an upgrade. I swear. I only did it because this card was meant to be cooler (actually its hotter even with the fucking backplate). However, I gotta give props to Nvidia. I wish I had a 1080p monitor to see if the 4870x2 catches up at higuer resolutions. BTW, I have no reason to make up this difference. If anything, I have been a hardcore ATI fanboy for years, and I am still one, but I always like to have the best card, and it all seems to indicated this is the one.

 

[Ranger X]

Please spend more and buy a 4850 at least :[

It's only a tiny bit more.

I will I will. Only later

Right now i'm at the absolute max this set can cost me and my main use isn't gaming.

 

[Hazaro]

WOW.

Very High preset settings. 1600x1050

Trackmania before. 4870x2 OC'd.
vs.
Trackmania now GTX295 Stock.


I will post more impressions later. I didn't think this was going to be an upgrade. I swear. I only did it because this card was meant to be cooler (actually its hotter even with the fucking backplate). However, I gotta give props to Nvidia. I wish I had a 1080p monitor to see if the 4870x2 catches up at higuer resolutions. BTW, I have no reason to make up this difference. If anything, I have been a hardcore ATI fanboy for years, and I am still one, but I always like to have the best card, and it all seems to indicated this is the one.

Welcome to Nvidia Moneyhat gaming.

I will I will. Only later

Right now i'm at the absolute max this set can cost me and my main use isn't gaming.

Use Windows 7 until November! :lol

 

[vpance]

So is everyone running Vista? I need to dual boot with XP. DX10 worth it?

 

[godhandiscen]

Welcome to Nvidia Moneyhat gaming.

Use Windows 7 until November! :lol

lol. Teh c0nsp1ra-z.

How do I force AA, I need it for Warhammer Online.

 

[Clever Pun]

I will I will. Only later

Right now i'm at the absolute max this set can cost me and my main use isn't gaming.

From what you've said about your needs over the past few weeks, I think what you have now is a great build.

 

[ccgenerals]

lol. Teh c0nsp1ra-z.

How do I force AA, I need it for Warhammer Online.

go to the nvidia control panel and click on 3d settings i think

 

[brain_stew]

lol. Teh c0nsp1ra-z.

How do I force AA, I need it for Warhammer Online.

You can create per application profiles in the Nvidia control panel and they'll kick in when the relevant exe runs. Honestly, Nvidia's profile support is much better than ATI's

 

[godhandiscen]

You can create per application profiles in the Nvidia control panel and they'll kick in when the relevant exe runs. Honestly, Nvidia's profile support is much better than ATI's

Ohh, CCC forces you to launch the game by activating a profile. I am liking this better I believe.

 

[brain_stew]

Ohh, CCC forces you to launch the game by activating a profile. I am liking this better I believe.

Yeah, the one thing I was disapointed in giving up when moving to the 4850. Especially since I've got so use to launching my games through Steam.

 

[Keen]

So got my parts and started throwing shit out of my case and putting new in. God damn it was dusty, haven't really bothered to clean it for the past couple of months, guess I have to make a habit of it now.

And ok, I knew that the new gfx-cards would be big, but this was fucking ridiculous. It made my X800XT look like a midget. I'm even forced to buy a new DVD-burner with SATA, because the IDE connection was in the way of the GTX 295. :lol

 

[godhandiscen]

So got my parts and started throwing shit out of my case and putting new in. God damn it was dusty, haven't really bothered to clean it for the past couple of months, guess I have to make a habit of it now.

And ok, I knew that the new gfx-cards would be big, but this was fucking ridiculous. It made my X800XT look like a midget. I'm even forced to buy a new DVD-burner with SATA, because the IDE connection was in the way of the GTX 295. :lol

Can you report your temps? Mine is running at 51 *C and I don't like that. Specially since I have the backplate.

 

[Cheeto]

lol. Teh c0nsp1ra-z.

How do I force AA, I need it for Warhammer Online.

Can you force AF and post your findings?? Awhile back when I was playing, AF was seriously game breaking to the framerate.

 

[Ranger X]

Welcome to Nvidia Moneyhat gaming.

Use Windows 7 until November! :lol

Hey seriously I've thought about that. :lol

But meh, I feel lazy and I don't really want to go the beta route just in case of problems.

 

[bee]

nvidia profile manager is fiddly imo, use this

http://www.nhancer.com/

 

[VictimOfGrief]

So got my parts and started throwing shit out of my case and putting new in. God damn it was dusty, haven't really bothered to clean it for the past couple of months, guess I have to make a habit of it now.

And ok, I knew that the new gfx-cards would be big, but this was fucking ridiculous. It made my X800XT look like a midget. I'm even forced to buy a new DVD-burner with SATA, because the IDE connection was in the way of the GTX 295. :lol

I take my cases down to the local gas station, have them hit the air for the tires and blow out my cases every 6 months. Been doing that now for almost 6 years.

 

[VictimOfGrief]

Check out the Steam store for the details!

 

[pelicansurf]

I have a question: I have an ATI Radeon HD 3850, a pretty meh video card. I tried using the Catalyst Auto-Tune to overclock my card but everytime i try playing a game with my card overclocked it pretty much just crashes the game/computer.

Should I use another program to overclock my card? Should I not bother to overclock my card((((!!)? What to do?

Thanks.

 

[Ranger X]

Quick question:

ATX Antec Earth EA650

Does this work for an X58 motherboard? tks


.

 

[brain_stew]

I have a question: I have an ATI Radeon HD 3850, a pretty meh video card. I tried using the Catalyst Auto-Tune to overclock my card but everytime i try playing a game with my card overclocked it pretty much just crashes the game/computer.

Should I use another program to overclock my card? Should I not bother to overclock my card((((!!)? What to do?

Thanks.

Download Furmark and use its stability test to test your overclocks before using them in games.

 

[pelicansurf]

lol furmark crashed. it couldn't even reach the stability test. sadface.

 

[godhandiscen]

I have a question: I have an ATI Radeon HD 3850, a pretty meh video card. I tried using the Catalyst Auto-Tune to overclock my card but everytime i try playing a game with my card overclocked it pretty much just crashes the game/computer.

Should I use another program to overclock my card? Should I not bother to overclock my card((((!!)? What to do?

Thanks.

Not all cards overclock. Its a luck of the draw. Yours evidently can't. Also, Overclocking a card doesn't gain you more than 2-3fps. I have experience with it. Its pointless. I still do it for benching purposes, not for gameplay.

 

[avaya]

I got a fright yesterday after doing a Crysis Bench and 3D Mark Vantage, RealTemp said my i7 920 reached 89 degrees!!! WTF.

I've got it OC'ed to 3.6GHz, idle was ~37 degrees with a Noctua 1366 cooler. Is RealTemp always accurate?

Have bought it back to 2.93GHz and i'm idling at ~28 degrees.

Can you report your temps? Mine is running at 51 *C and I don't like that. Specially since I have the backplate.

My EVGA GTX 295 running at 48 degrees idle, in an Antec 1200 case with all case fans on the lowest setting.

51 degrees is fine for these, since yours is the + version I think it's normal.

 

[Slavik81]

As someone considering putting together an i7 system in an attempt to ensure the system's upgradable a few years down the line... Does anyone think that a lack of USB 3.0 is going to be a big drawback for that?

 

[bee]

Overclocking a card doesn't gain you more than 2-3fps. I have experience with it. Its pointless. I still do it for benching purposes, not for gameplay.

completely untrue

 

[Keen]

Can you report your temps? Mine is running at 51 *C and I don't like that. Specially since I have the backplate.

Posting from the new setup. Everything went well aside from me having to buy a new dvd-drive. Started up on the first try, which is always nice. Fiddling around and installing stuff, so I'll check the temps a bit later, and I saw someone already answered you. What's a good program to monitor temps btw?

 

[Open Source]

Posting from the new setup. Everything went well aside from me having to buy a new dvd-drive. Started up on the first try, which is always nice. Fiddling around and installing stuff, so I'll check the temps a bit later, and I saw someone already answered you. What's a good program to monitor temps btw?

RealTemp

 

[Ranger X]

As someone considering putting together an i7 system in an attempt to ensure the system's upgradable a few years down the line... Does anyone think that a lack of USB 3.0 is going to be a big drawback for that?

For a few years I don't see it as a prob. USB2 is so huge that everything will still compatible for some years again i'm sure. At some point you might be slow compared to new connections but I supposed you'll still be compatible.

Anyhow, that's the bet i'm personally taking and im buying a Core i7 PC right now.

.

 

[Crazymoogle]

Well, I was planning on an i7 build but a firesale nearby left me instead with a Dell Pro Workstation T3400 for much less than a custom build would cost me.

Q6600 / Quadro / 4x1GB DDR2 / X38 board [PCIE: X16x1,X8x1] / 525W PSU

Because it's a pro workstation it doesn't look nearly as proprietary as standard Dell builds. All of the PSU motherboard plugs look standard, there is clearly room for two slot cards, no proprietary cables that I can see. But the PSU has me wondering a little bit:

+5v/22A, +3.3v/17A, +12VA/18A, +12VB/18A, +12VC/18A (525W max output)

Does that seem to be enough for a GTX285, 4870x2, or GTX295? Any? Forum comments seem to indicate they are conservative with their stronger PSUs.

The only other issue is it has dual 6pins, no 8pin. Are converters safe? I keep seeing "no way, 1 week only" and "absolutely 100% harmless" comments.

Pretty slim build otherwise; I have a single SATA DVD drive and small hard drive, might add an SSD later but that's about the limit. I'm using a 22 inch panel, I'd like to not cheap out on the card.

 

[Hazaro]

Not all cards overclock. Its a luck of the draw. Yours evidently can't. Also, Overclocking a card doesn't gain you more than 2-3fps. I have experience with it. Its pointless. I still do it for benching purposes, not for gameplay.

Maybe THAT card, but it completely effects ingame performance. What are you talking about.