Whirlpool

I am planning on building a new PC and so i want to see if anyone could help me make it better or cheaper with same performance / parts.

MY RIG will consist of:

Case: Cooler Master CM Stacker 832 - $305.20 (www.mwave.com.au)
Mobo: Evga nVidia nforce 750i SLI FTW - $253.00 (www.Itestate.com.au)
CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 - $245.00 (www.msy.com.au)
CPU Cooler: Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme - $70.00 (www.skycomp.com.au)
PSU: Silverstone DA650 650-Watt - $181.00 (www.skycomp.com.au)
GPU: Galaxy Nvidia 9600 GT 512MB - $170.00 (www.msy.com.au)
RAM: 2 x 2GB OCZ sli ready 6400 800MHz DDR2 - $145.00 (www.umart.com.au)
HDD: 2 x Samsung 500GB 7200-RPM ($95 each) - $190.00 (www.umart.net.au)
DVD Burner: Pioneer Dual-layer RW DVD burner - $45.00 (www.mwave.com.au)
Keyboard: Razer Tarantula - $117.00 (www.skycomp.com.au)
Mouse: Razer Deathadder - $76.00 (www.skycomp.com.au)
Monitor: Samsung 24" widescreen LCD 1920x1200 245BW - $539.00 (www.itestate.com.au)
Speakers: Logitech Z-4 - $95.00 (www.umart.net.au)
Fans: 4 x Antec TriCool 120mm Blue LED ($27 each) - $108.00 (www.skycomp.com.au)
Fans: 4 x AeroCool 140mm Streamliner (UVBlue LED) with 120mm adapter ($30 each) - $120.00 (www.coolpc.com.au)

Total = $2,659.00

As for the graphics card I am thinking of perhaps buying another 9600GT and SLI but am currently waiting to see if I should just get 1 as a TEMPORARY card and when the new 9900s come out get them and SLI them.

And btw this RIG is both for gaming and using programs such as Autodesk maya which involve 3d modeling/animating/Rendering.

I welcome all suggestions about my System and hope to be able to improve it if it isn't good enough already.

Also if anyone can find a cheaper price for any of those parts in sydney, please share it with me but keep in mind postage costs as well if pick ups are not available.

THANK YOU ALL IN ADVANCE.

Read post below. Soz.

CPU: Intel Core Quad Q9300 2.50GHz $325 (MSY)

Motherboard: ASUS P5K PRO $155 (MSY)

PSU: Corsair HX-520 $129 (PC Manias)

RAM: 2x2GB A-DATA 6400 $93 (MSY)

CASE: Antec P182 $195

GPU: 512MB ASUS 9800GTX $405

HDD: 2 x Samsung 500GB 7200-RPM ($95 each) - $190.00 (www.umart.net.au)

Keyboard: Razer Tarantula - $117.00 (www.skycomp.com.au)

Fans: 2X Scythe Slip Stream Fan 1200rpm $40

Mouse: Razer Deathadder - $76.00 (www.skycomp.com.au)

Optical Drive: ASUS DVD Drive $35 (MSY)

CPU Cooler: Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme - $70.00 (www.skycomp.com.au)

Monitor: Samsung 24" widescreen LCD 1920x1200 245BW - $539.00 (www.itestate.com.au)

TOTAL: $2400ish..

You should definately overclock the CPU.

h a r d s t y l e z writes...

...

Nice the only thing i would change is upgrade the CPU to a Q9450 mainly because the extra cache and the little extra clock speed. Still under budget too.

h a r d s t y l e z writes...

Corsair HX-620.

But i've heard many good reviews about the da650 and also it has 54 amps on a single rail which reduces power leakage. and btw how many amps does the HX-620 have and is it singular rail?

Get 8800GT and SLi it.

I want to sli the 9900s when they come out and therefore i dont want to spend too much on the graphic cards. I am getting a 9600 as a temporary card.

Are you going to overclock?

Yes.

Get some Scythe fans... They are way better.

Could you suggest me with a good one and include a link please, thanx.

Also should i get all my fans as 120mm? would they be good enough or should i take advantage of having 4 140mm fans?

And why do you need 8 120mm fans?

I am going to have two in the front, one at the top, one at the back, four on the side and the case comes with two 120mm fans aswell so i'm going to have two on either side of my ultra 120 Extreme.

Thanx for the help. :)

Grr.. Read my above post. Guess it didn't edit properly..

eL-Hak3r writes...

But i've heard many good reviews about the da650 and also it has 54 amps on a single rail which reduces power leakage. and btw how many amps does the HX-620 have and is it singular rail?
Corsair HX-620 has 50A on a single +12V rail, HX-520 has 40.

Single rail or mult rail really does not matter, neither is really better than the other.

Corsair HX and Silverstone Olympia are both excellent PSU's, the Corsair's more popular because it is modular, and is a lot quieter. The Silverstone DA series is the same as the OP but with modular cables BTW.
PSU_Recommendations

CPU: Intel Core Quad Q9300 2.50GHz $325 (MSY)

I thought of that but thought maybe it might be abit expensive however if it really makes a difference then i might consider it. I am going to upgrade to a QX9770 or a QX9650 later on in about a year or so when they drop in price so take that also in mind.

Motherboard: ASUS P5K PRO $155 (MSY)

is this an sli motherboard because i am definitely going to be SLIing, btw i am also pretty convinced that i'm going to be getting the Evga 750i FTW.

PSU: Corsair HX-520 $129 (PC Manias)

is that a singular rail PSU and how many amps does it have? also how does it compare to the silverstone da650?

RAM: 2x2GB A-DATA 6400 $93 (MSY)

is this 800 MHz and is it good and reliable? is it a good overclocker? would you feel much difference when SLIing GFX and using sli ready RAM as opposed to using non sli ready ram?

CASE: Antec P182 $195

I'm getting the CM stacker 832 because i like it but i will check out this case and may even consider it.

GPU: 512MB ASUS 9800GTX $405

Thats a little expensive if i end up getting a 9900 when they come out

Fans: 2X Scythe Slip Stream Fan 1200rpm $40

What is the CFM (airflow)of this fan and where would i get them for that price?

Optical Drive: ASUS DVD Drive $35 (MSY)

I know that pioneer dvd burners are better than others and faster aswell so correct me if i'm wrong and if i'm not then $10 extra is not a big deal.

THANX VERY MUCH FOR YOUR TIME EVERYONE, I will give you guys credit when i create a movie of me making my comp ... lol :)

g1raffe writes...

Corsair HX and Silverstone Olympia are both excellent PSU's, the Corsair's more popular because it is modular, and is a lot quieter. The Silverstone DA series is the same as the OP but with modular cables BTW.
PSU_Recommendations

Thanx for the link very much appreciated but i have a question about the Corsair HX-620, will it be future proof for maybe two 9900s in sli?

Thanx

eL-Hak3r writes...

Mobo: Evga nVidia nforce 750i SLI FTW - $253.00 (www.Itestate.com.au)

Why waste $100+ on an SLi mobo, just get something like the GA-EP35-DS3P.

CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 - $245.00 (www.msy.com.au)

Q9300.

CPU Cooler: Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme - $70.00 (www.skycomp.com.au)

Noctua U12P. Much better value package, u get heatsink, fan and premium thermale paste for $9 extra, well worth it.

GPU: Galaxy Nvidia 9600 GT 512MB - $170.00 (www.msy.com.au)

Just get a 9800GTX, screw waiting to do an SLi setup, the 9800GTX will be good for another year or so easily.

The Wiz writes...

Why waste $100+ on an SLi mobo, just get something like the GA-EP35-DS3P.
Just get a 9800GTX, screw waiting to do an SLi setup, the 9800GTX will be good for another year or so easily.

I am pretty convinced to SLI so i'm not going to change the Mobo and also bear in mind that I am getting a 24" monitor and although i admit that even on a 24" the 9800GTX is very good i wanna be future proof for about two years, so i will probably be getting the 9900s and sli them when they come out.

Q9300.

I am already thinking of maybe changing the Q6600 on my list to a Q9300 or a Q9450 but am concerned about the price and whether its worth getting them or not cause i'll be upgrading the cpu in about a year or so to a QX9650 or QX9770 when they drop in price so will it be worth it compared to the Q6600. I'm also gonna overclock everything as much as i can on a stable level so bear that in mind also.

Noctua U12P. Much better value package, u get heatsink, fan and premium thermale paste for $9 extra, well worth it.

Is the actual heatsink better than the ultra 120 Extreme because i've done some research about the ulrta 120 Extreme and so far as i know its the best heatsink, though it might not be the best value. so is the one you mentioned better than ultra 120 extreme?

Thanx again

eL-Hak3r writes...

I am pretty convinced to SLI so i'm not going to change the Mobo and also bear in mind that I am getting a 24" monitor and although i admit that even on a 24" the 9800GTX is very good i wanna be future proof for about two years, so i will probably be getting the 9900s and sli them when they come out.

I think you should forget about future proofing. The technology cycle is getting quicker and quicker so there is always new tech out and older tech drops in price. The best idea is to stay a step behind and then you get good value as well as good performance. You can be sure that whatever GFX cards are out in 2 years will be better than anything out now and I'm sure there will be gems like the 8800GT that are cheap and perform great.

If you bought a 9800GTX that will last at least a year, then you can buy a new card then to replace it. SLi 9900's will cost a lot and are not going to be worth it in the end, even with a 24" monitor.You need to look past the number sin benchmarks and realise that 150 fps is not needed to play games, although it is arguable, as long as a card can manage 30 fps then games are playable.

i'll be upgrading the cpu in about a year or so to a QX9650 or QX9770 when they drop in price so will it be worth it compared to the Q6600.

What's the point? CPU's are good for a long time and don't need upgrading all the time. Whatever you buy now wont need an upgrade for at least 2 years. I'd spend the extra now on a Q9300 and not bother upgrading. In 2 or 3 years you can start again, as you'll need a new mobo to support the different socket.

Is the actual heatsink better than the ultra 120 Extreme because i've done some research about the ulrta 120 Extreme and so far as i know its the best heatsink, though it might not be the best value.

Yeah, most tests put the Thermalright 120 as the best, however the U12P is not far behind and usually matches it too. With the 120 you gotta buy a fan and thermal paste on top of that price. It does come with thermal past but u'd probably want something better. For ~$80 you can't go wrong with the U12P ay, it is one of the best coolers around, is quiet and is probably the best value you can get really.

eL-Hak3r writes...

I am going to have two in the front, one at the top, one at the back, four on the side and the case comes with two 120mm fans aswell so i'm going to have two on either side of my ultra 120 Extreme.

At what point are you going to realise that half as many fans will do the same job, and much quieter as well? 2 at the front, one at the back, 1 good high volume on the component side, a high volume exhaust on top. That's enough, if you want really hardcore, then have one on the other side blowing onto the underside of the mobo tray. The whole point is to have an airflow in the case, so the internal temp isn't too different compared to ambient, it doesn't have to be a gale in there.

eL-Hak3r writes...

Thanx for the link very much appreciated but i have a question about the Corsair HX-620, will it be future proof for maybe two 9900s in sli?
Cant say for certain as the 9900 cards arent out yet, and we dont know how much power they will need, but Id give two of them in SLI a 95% chance or so of running on a HX-620 or OP650. If the OP650 can run something, the HX-620 will as well, and vice versa.

The Wiz writes...

I think you should forget about future proofing. The technology cycle is getting quicker and quicker so there is always new tech out and older tech drops in price. The best idea is to stay a step behind and then you get good value as well as good performance. You can be sure that whatever GFX cards are out in 2 years will be better than anything out now and I'm sure there will be gems like the 8800GT that are cheap and perform great.

You have a point there, i'll have to do some more thinking and research still though, but i dont think i'll get the 8800GT anymore, i thought of it at first but now its a little old and if i want to sell it later on, it would be harder to sell it for a good price so IF i go with only one card, then i probably would think of the 9800GTX 512MB.

What's the point? CPU's are good for a long time and don't need upgrading all the time. Whatever you buy now wont need an upgrade for at least 2 years. I'd spend the extra now on a Q9300 and not bother upgrading. In 2 or 3 years you can start again, as you'll need a new mobo to support the different socket.

Ok but i'm not only using this computer that i'm going to build for gaming, i'm also using it for making 3d animations and 3d rendering which uses a lot of CPU power. Autodesk Maya for example uses mainly CPU to render and thats why i want to upgrade to a QX9650 or QX9770 later on maybe within a year or so, but overall i am thinking of getting maybe a Q9300 or a Q9450 instead of the Q6600. Could you please tell me the specks of the Q9300 and the Q9450 and also advise me on which one is more worth and if the difference between them are only a bit or quite noticable.

Yeah, most tests put the Thermalright 120 as the best, however the U12P is not far behind and usually matches it too. With the 120 you gotta buy a fan and thermal paste on top of that price. It does come with thermal past but u'd probably want something better. For ~$80 you can't go wrong with the U12P ay, it is one of the best coolers around, is quiet and is probably the best value you can get really.

Ok, thanx for that, i might actually consider it then. Can you send me a link of it possibly cheapest place i could get it from.

THANK you for your wise adivce. :)

g1raffe writes...

Cant say for certain as the 9900 cards arent out yet, and we dont know how much power they will need, but Id give two of them in SLI a 95% chance or so of running on a HX-620 or OP650. If the OP650 can run something, the HX-620 will as well, and vice versa.

Ok thank you for that. I'm guessing though that they'd be trying to make the 9900s more power efficient and so hopefully the HX-620 and the da650 will be able to run them without a problem.

THANX for the reply.

eL-Hak3r writes...

IF i go with only one card, then i probably would think of the 9800GTX 512MB.

Well that is probably your best option, just get a single 9800GTX and change the mobo to a non-SLi one to save you the premium you pay for them. The GA-EP35-DS3P is my recommendation.

As for CPU:

Q9300 2.5GHz/45nm/1333FSB/6MB ~$320
Q9450 2.66GHz/45nm/1333FSB/12MB ~$400

Only 0.16GHz difference but the 9450 has double the cache. Probably go the 9450 as I'm sure the extra cache will probably help with CPU intensive tasks, although you can always overclock either of them.

Ok, thanx for that, i might actually consider it then. Can you send me a link of it possibly cheapest place i could get it from.

staticice.com.au/cgi-bin...gi?q=noctua+u12p

The Wiz writes...

As for CPU:

Q9300 2.5GHz/45nm/1333FSB/6MB ~$320
Q9450 2.66GHz/45nm/1333FSB/12MB ~$400

Only 0.16GHz difference but the 9450 has double the cache. Probably go the 9450 as I'm sure the extra cache will probably help with CPU intensive tasks, although you can always overclock either of them.

I thought that the Q9450 might be a better option however it'll be almost double the price of a Q6600 which is quite a bit. But i'm going to try and change some things in my list so that the total price is remained at a reasonable price.

staticice.com.au/cgi-bin...gi?q=noctua+u12p

If i was going to get it, i'd get it from mwave since i'm getting other things from there aswell so its worth the extra 5 bux on top of the 80 bux, however i dont like the fan on the heatsink and also since i'm already planning on getting two fans for my heatsink, i'd probably just go with the ultra 120 Extreme and use its stock paste. But thanx for the advise.

I'll be relisting what i'm going to get soon, after i reassure on some other things and then see what you guys think about it.

THANX AGAIN

eL-Hak3r writes...

I thought that the Q9450 might be a better option however it'll be almost double the price of a Q6600 which is quite a bit.

Well the Q9450 is 45nm, has a faster fsb and more cache, so it is going to be noticeably faster than a Q6600, plus if you get the Q9450 you are not going to need an upgrade for a couple of years. The overclockability on the 45nm chips is also extremely good so take that into account.

however i dont like the fan on the heatsink and also since i'm already planning on getting two fans for my heatsink,

Do you mean you don't like the colour? So many people say that, I for one think it looks great, it is very unique and looks cooler (no pun intended) than the plain old boring black that most fans are.

In most tests having 2 fans instead of 1 will give little or no gain in cooling, and is only really adding to the noise of your PC. You'd be better off with just the one fan really.

The Wiz writes...

In most tests having 2 fans instead of 1 will give little or no gain in cooling, and is only really adding to the noise of your PC. You'd be better off with just the one fan really.

Ok then i might consider putting one of the fans that i was going to put on one of the ultra 120 extreme's sides in front of the case.

THANX A LOT FOR YOUR HELP.

THIS FORUM REALLY HELPED ME IN MY LIST.

Also to how much is it possible to overclock the Q9450 at a stable level using the ultra 120 Extreme?

eL-Hak3r writes...

Also to how much is it possible to overclock the Q9450 at a stable level using the ultra 120 Extreme?

Overclocking will depend on the individual CPU but many people are getting them up to 4GHZ, so I'm sure something like 3.5GHz wouldn't be too hard.

The Wiz writes...

Overclocking will depend on the individual CPU but many people are getting them up to 4GHZ, so I'm sure something like 3.5GHz wouldn't be too hard.

Cool, I'm gona try and get it up to 4.00GHz on stable and i'm pretty convinced in getting it.

But i'm still gonna go with the Evga 750i and the 9600GT.

so i won't be cutting much money off my list but be adding onto it.

Ok well I did some research and found out that the Q9300 is actually not worth getting since the Q6600 has 9 multipliers whereas the Q9300 has 7.5. The Q6600 also has an extra 2MB of L2 cache more than the Q9300 however is a 65nm CPU, but the Q9300 and the Q6600 both run at 95W, so i thought that there would be not much difference and therefore Q6600 would both be worth more and is actually quite the same.

I was planning to get the Q9450 for a while but since its $400, i don't think its worth the small amount of difference.

So here is what i've come up with so far:

Case: CoolerMaster CM staker 832 - $305.00
Motherboard: Evga nVidia nforce 750i SLI FTW - $249.10
CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 2.4GHz - $248.00
Water Cooling KIT: Thermaltake Bigwater 745 - $220.00
PSU: Silverstone DA650 650-Watt - $181.00
GPU: Nvidia 9600 GT 512MB - $170.00
RAM: Corsair TWIN2X4096-6400C5 4GB (2x XMS2 2GB) PC-6400 (800MHz) DDR2 - $106.00
HDD: 2 x Samsung 500GB 7200-RPM - $190.00
DVD Burner: Pioneer Dual-layer RW DVD burner - $45.00
Keyboard: Logitech corded wave - $57.00
Keyboard: Logitech 600 (dont wanna reck the wave keys in gaming) - $35.00
Mouse: Razer Deathadder - $76.00
Monitor: Samsung 24" widescreen LCD 1920x1200 245BW - $539.00
Speakers: Logitech Z-4 - $95.00
Fans: 3 x AC Ryan Blackfire4 UV LED 120mm Fan UV Blue (77 CFM) - $59.70
Fans: Scythe Slip Stream Fan 1900rpm SY1225SL12SH (110.31 CFM) - $19.60

Extra fees for FAN postage - $12.00

TOTAL = $2,607.40

So please feel free to judge, any corrections are welcome, but need to have a good reason..lol :)

THANX VERY MUCH FOR YOUR REPLIES.

if you're really doing graphics work the faster your cpu the better, + that extra cache will really help. I would go for a p35 or p38 board and get the q9450 tbh.