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New System Build - Suggestions

post #1 of 61
11/29/07 at 9:29am
Thread Starter 
Well - my current build is a bit delayed due to the pissing match between Intel and Nvidia. In my case, this is not necessarily a bad thing.

This is what I'm looking at so far:

Power Supply
SILENCER® 750 QUAD $169 (purchased)

Motherboard
UNDECIDED

Processor
Intel "Yorkfield" Q9450 $310 (evidently not purchased)

RAM
OCZ Reaper HPC PC2-9200/1150 (purchased)

Video Card
UNDECIDED

Sound Card
Sound Blaster X-Fi Platinum Fatal1ty Champion Series $115 (purchased)

AM Cooling
Zalman CNPS9700LED $69 (purchased)

Hard Drive 1 (OS, Apps) WD SE16 320GB $79 (purchased)
Hard Drive 2 (Games, Storage) Samsung Spinpoint F1 750GB $179 (purchased)

Optical Drive
Samsung SH-S203B $34 (purchased)

Case
Antec P182 $140 (purchased)

Operating System
Vista Ultimate 32-bit $169 (purchased)

Let me know what you think.

Edit: Removed original drive configuration
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post #2 of 61
11/29/07 at 10:22am
The X-FI Fatality 64mb seems to be the gamers choice for about 150$...Also I don't understand, you build a top end machine and put a lower end video card in it? Are you trying to save money or cut a corner ?

As for hard drives, maybe get two raptor 150Gb Raid Zero drives, that would speed things up.
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post #3 of 61
11/29/07 at 11:20am
Thread Starter 
The video card I chose is due to the purported imminent release of 10.1 cards. So - saving money for right now, unless the 9000-series cards come out around the same time the other Yorkfields are released (around Jan 10).

I like the raptor idea, but I will have to put all 4 of the drives in the lower hard drive bay of the case in order to fit the larger video cards (hopefully the 9000-series will be a bit smaller than 8800gtx/ultra). Heat then becomes an issue as I would have 3x10k rpm drives with .5" of each other. The latest gen 7200rpm drives with 32mb cache should work exceptionally well...but I am having trouble finding them in the 250gb flavor.

I know there are several other cases available, but I chose the P182 for my specific needs (size, noise).
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post #4 of 61
11/29/07 at 11:37am
no sound card?
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post #5 of 61
11/29/07 at 11:42am
Thread Starter 
Was deciding between a couple of X-Fi cards...the Xtreme Gamer and the Xtreme Gamer pro fatal1ty...

I like the Platinum version due to drive bay input/output (easy to connect headphones). Really leaning.

Really leaning toward the Plat. version.
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post #6 of 61
11/29/07 at 12:05pm
Thread Starter 
You know - the funny thing is this...

All of this started because I went shopping for yet another AGP card for my current rig (they actually make a 7950 in AGP) trying to stretch it a bit longer - then I played the Crysis Demo on a current high-end rig.

Needless to say, my AGP shopping days are over.
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post #7 of 61
11/29/07 at 12:51pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Buck47 View Post
Was deciding between a couple of X-Fi cards...the Xtreme Gamer and the Xtreme Gamer pro fatal1ty...

I like the Platinum version due to drive bay input/output (easy to connect headphones). Really leaning.

Really leaning toward the Plat. version.
they're both rip offs IMO.. but whatever you want.
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post #8 of 61
11/29/07 at 12:59pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Buck47 View Post
Was deciding between a couple of X-Fi cards...the Xtreme Gamer and the Xtreme Gamer pro fatal1ty...

I like the Platinum version due to drive bay input/output (easy to connect headphones). Really leaning.

Really leaning toward the Plat. version.
I had the X-fi extreme gamer and I enjoyed it thoroughly. I actually miss it very much now that I had to resort to stock sound because the desktop was sent back to it's hopefully final home.
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post #9 of 61
11/29/07 at 1:35pm
now that we are on the topic....Does it really make a difference from say my On Board 7.1 Gigabyte sound system to a XFi Gamer sound card????I mean I have 6 different plug ins for sound, how much better could it get?
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post #10 of 61
11/29/07 at 1:58pm
Thread Starter 
Well - I just purchased the X-Fi Plat Version from the Egg.

There is currently a $50 rebate, bringing the total to $114.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16829102014
Rebate Expires Dec 3.

Now THAT is a screaming deal for the features this card has...
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post #11 of 61
11/29/07 at 2:05pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dukefrukem View Post
they're both rip offs IMO.. but whatever you want.
You could recommend something

I read your v3.0 specs - gaming on a 1080p TV is indeed quite an experience.
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post #12 of 61
11/29/07 at 2:12pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rockinfella2k View Post
now that we are on the topic....Does it really make a difference from say my On Board 7.1 Gigabyte sound system to a XFi Gamer sound card????I mean I have 6 different plug ins for sound, how much better could it get?
It can get much better. While some onbard sound controllers have good sound, PCI or external cards sound great and offer much better functionality/game support. Most offer true surround in either 5.1 or 7.1 configs. The majority of games use some advanced form of EAX, only available with a card.
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post #13 of 61
11/29/07 at 2:23pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Buck47 View Post
You could recommend something
are you using a 7.1 setup?
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post #14 of 61
11/29/07 at 2:25pm
Thread Starter 
5.1 - I edited my response above...like the 1080p idea in your setup.

I was gaming on 1080i until I picked up my 40" 1080p this spring. VERY nice.
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post #15 of 61
11/29/07 at 2:55pm
so buy a 5.1 sound card for $50. Sound Cards are not advancing in technology as fast as video cards but i always see expensive sound cards. They just aren't worth the money.

And yes the 1080p setup is absolutely phenomenal. I would never go back to a puny 17-22 inch screen.
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post #16 of 61
11/29/07 at 3:04pm
Thread Starter 
Already got the 7.1 with drive bay connections and remote for a wicked deal.

On the other subject - Bioshock looks AWESOME in 1080p
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post #17 of 61
11/29/07 at 3:13pm
i would agree with you.

check out some screenshots i took here

http://www.notebookforums.com/thread203056.html
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post #18 of 61
11/29/07 at 4:24pm
Thread Starter 
Still - I am in a bit of a quandry about hard drives. Should I RAID or not?
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post #19 of 61
11/29/07 at 5:00pm
Depends.

What motherboard are you going to use. I see everyone arguing about a a soundcard, but you don't have the most important part down.

What are you going to use for the motherboard?

=)
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post #20 of 61
11/29/07 at 5:24pm
Thread Starter 
Probably a MB with the X38 chipset. They seem to be the more reliable quad overclockers and will support Penryn.

Looking at ASUS Maximus Formula and P5E3.
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