my turn to get a new computer :) it's gonna be used for some 3d cad & the like & to play some fallout3 / left4dead / deadspace etc...

here is what i am currently looking at... no realy budget atm...
i'll be running xp-pro to start with but may change to vista later on.

Gigabyte GA-EP45-DS4P P45+ICH10R DDR2 1200 1600 MHz PCI-E 2.0 SATAII RAID GLAN 1394a 8Ch TPM ATX
Intel ATX E8500 CORE 2 DUO/3.16GHz/6MB/1333FSB/LGA775
Kingston DDR2 4(2x2G)PC6400 800Mhz - KVR800D2N5K2/4G
Western Digital 1TB SATAII 32M 3GB/s(WD1001FALS)
Asus EN9800GTX+ 512MB DDR3 HDMI
CoolerMaster Centurion 5 RC-T05 with 460w PSU
Liteon 20XDVD Dual Layer DVD+- Beige SATA DH-20A3S

the only thing i am not real sure about is the mobo... too many fkn options damnits... so comments?

Good luck with the PSU
obligatory 'asus or go home'.
i hate gigas***e.

Get some 1333 rated ram.

I'd prob go for a 4870 instead of the 9800GTX as well.
I have been quite impressed with the 4850 I am currently running.
Personal preference really, they are in the same performance bracket.

Vista 64 would be the best choice too as you are running 4 gig of RAM. XP64 was pootastic.

are coolmaster psu's no good? i've never used 'em before... just going by computer threads of late.
what asus mobo would you use with this sorta system?

(edit) rubba: from what i've read so far there didn't seem to be any real advantage in getting faster than 800mhz ram... & isn't 1333 only for ddr3?

last edited by demon at 12:13:23 17/Nov/08

When in doubt, get a mac?

I've got a new coolermaster PSU.. no problems thus far.

its just that its underrated, 400-500w isnt big these days
600W+ is where its at, coolmaster are good though

XP64 was pootastic.

Im using xp64 and its great... havent had any issues so far.

last edited by Strik3r at 12:19:25 17/Nov/08

get the DS3P, no point in paying the extra for the DS4P. I have the DS3P and run an e8400 at 3.6GHz in it with that same kingston 4gb kit.

Chuck out the 9800 and get an HD4870 - newer, faster, better.

That PSU won't cut it imo, get a Corsair HX520, Antec Earthwatts or Thermaltake Toughpower.

First thing you need to do when you put the rig together. Timedemo demo2.

First thing you need to do when you put the rig together. Timedemo demo2.

8000 fps these days shad?

Well over 1000 fps the last time I checked.

Didn't I post a thread with benchmarks of a modern system a few months ago? Yeah, >1300fps sounds familiar.

gigabyte :(

When in doubt, get a mac?

so that is why so many clueless people end up with macs..

First thing you need to do when you put the rig together. Timedemo demo2.

might seem like teh blasphemy but no point really coz ever since i started getting over 400fps in quake i vsync'd to stop the tearing on quick turns.

so i am hearing ppl don't like gigabyte... other brand mobo recommendations?

also... is the reason ppl advise on a more powerful psu coz they are badly rated? coz i can't see how the hardware i listed above would use more than ~300w. :/

I like gigabyte.

gigabyte are widely regarded as currently the best quality motherboards - asus let them take over.

demon you need at least 300W on the 12V rail alone, that's the thing. I'd recommend getting something with a 30A 12V rail. You want some margin, remember these things are frequently rated at those outputs at cold temperatures.

I have the DS3P and run an e8400 at 3.6GHz in it with that same kingston 4gb kit.

Oh yeah, I have basically the same rig, what cooling you using to overclock to that?

I like gigabyte.

Out of interest ... why the 9800gtx+ ?
Could get a 4850 for (2 cartons of beer) less and the performance difference between the too will be less then a carton of beer

i picked the 9800gtx+ coz the newer 260/280gtx are heaps more with not a huge performance diff in games that i could see. i didnt really check out the 4850/4870 coz i'm nvidia fanboi! :p i realise ati are probably totally fine these days but they are still alien to me :D

those 48xx cards f***ing rock

your loss

also asus 98000gtx+(512) is $299... asus 4870(512) is $419. the asus gtx260(896) is $419 too... would the 4870 still outperform the gtx260?

i'll go the ati card if it is definitely better.

512M 4870 Asus is $354 at umart.

Look at some reviews nube, tomshardware should have some good comparisons

Oh yeah, I have basically the same rig, what cooling you using to overclock to that?

Just a cheap Thermaltake Big Typhoon. Bumped the voltage to the CPU by a tiny bit (think it's at 1.25V from memory)...but that mostly just compensates for the slight voltage droop from the board anyhow.

also asus 98000gtx+(512) is $299... asus 4870(512) is $419. the asus gtx260(896) is $419 too... would the 4870 still outperform the gtx260?

Firstly ... its all IMO and I am no expert...

But the 9800gtx is more inline with a 4850. And a 4850 is cheaper.
eg. Toms sum of fps totals at 1680*1050
ATI Radeon HD 4870 (512 MB) - 595.80
NVIDIA Geforce GTX 260 - 587.80
ATI Radeon HD 4850(512 MB) - 536.50
NVIDIA Geforce 9800 GTX - 534.80 (ie. not a GTX+ )
(Same story at 1920 *1200 which is my native)

The 4870 appears to almost always beat the gtx260 (until you start talking nutty resolutions like 2560*1600 which is what a 30"+ LCD monitor? ... if you can afford that you don't care about video card costs).

SLI/cf/x2 meh ... I hear both implementations suffer microstutters in "unsupported" games.

BTW msy range of video cards is a bit sucky. And umart seems to be a bit lite on ATI options. I am getting a Palit 4870 SONIC 1G bios overclocked for 429 (from PCGoGo). So for $10 I got an extra 512MB and factory overclocking.... (could have got it a bit cheaper at gamedude) ie. 512MB v review a 1gb review

ps. I am no expert, but I am upgrading my 8800gtx to a 4870 after using a 4850 on the missus pc.

i looked into doing sli/crossfire but couldn't see the value in it & a few ppl were talking about problems with multi-monitor support when using sli, & i definitely wanna use 2 monitors. i only care about 1680x1050 resolution coz i rekn i'll be using 22" widescreen lcd for a while yet.

msy are kinda sucky (especially thier s***ty website)... but they are walking distance from my work so f*** driving to milton for umart if i don't have to :P

no point paying out your arse for an asus hd4870...they're all reference cards so all brands are the same...

MSY have pretty reasonable service for how cheap they are.

4870's are ok if you can put up with the s***ty drivers and the insane amount of heat they put out. Typical ATI just build something s*** then run it stock at melting point.

I would never buy a gigabyte even though I believe they are ok. After a decade with ASUS and not a single problem I just stick with them. If that changes then so will my boards.

Ditto but with gigabyte for me, never an issue so will stick with that i have success with.

Card wise, 4850 definitely, unfortunately Catalyst Control Center is a steaming pile of s*** which no matter how hard you try, you cannot scrape off your shoe.

If your having trouble with graphics drivers try:

http://www.omegadrivers.net/

Have tried it with Fallout 3, have yet to try it with Far Cry 2, Will try it with Left 4 Dead in the next couple of days. Just the guy who does this cuts them down a lot. Less install, tighter on space too.

This is from his ABOUT section:

ABOUT THE OMEGA DRIVERS AND THIS SITE:

The purpose of the Omega Drivers is to provide gamers with an alternate set of drivers, ones that have more options and features than the original sets. The drivers contain optimizations, extra features (like OC capabilities), more resolutions and internal tweaks that can give them the edge in a gaming environment over the normal drivers, which are often tailored for synthetic benchmarks. All Omega driver sets are tested (unless noted) by myself in my own PC or in an alternate PC (in the case of the Nvidia drivers) to ensure maximum compatibility and reliability.
I do this hobby in my spare time, since I have a personal life and a day work, so don't expect me to be up-to-date with everybody or everything, that means, don't send me E-Mail with questions like"When is the next set going to be released?" or "Are your drivers faster than "insert company here" drivers?", cause they will NOT be answered. When new official drivers are released by a company, expect an Omega release based on them, but don't expect a release date to be given, they will be ready when they are ready...

Important note:
I'm not God, so don't be calling me like that or pretend that I'm one, I only serve Jesus and His will, that's why I do this service in my spare time, I want to leave a mark in the world and let Him know that I did something good and noble for the world... make people happy ;-)

Thanks and God bless you all,
Angel "Omegadrive" Trinidad
Visit me in my MySpace!

http://www.omegadrivers.net/omega_drivers.php

Can someone find out if the ATI ones are any good? Dunno if any of this supports Crossfire or SLI though.

There is a review in this months atomic on them. They said PB cracks a fat when you use them

i ended up getting an nvidia gtx260 gfx card & an antex sonata 3 plus case with neopower550w psu... & the video card wouldn't fit in the fukn case !@#!$! the gtx260 is fukn massive!!! it's ~270mm long & takes up 2 rear slots. it extends about 60mm past the edge of the motherboard & his the hdd cage. i was going to return the case & get one the card would fit in but i really like the antec sonata3 so i got my aviator snips... cut 2 x 10mm slots in the hdd cage & bent the tab of metal down... now the card fits but i lost one hdd position out of 5. no biggie though coz i have 2 x 1tb hdds in there :D

Vista 64 would be the best choice too as you are running 4 gig of RAM. XP64 was pootastic.

Whatever you do, don't make this mistake. Install Vista 32.

I ran Vista 64 for about 6 months and then reformatted and put Vista 32 back on.

4GB of RAM is best option too. I ran 8GB (with Vista 64) and had practically no increase in benchmark. Now I have 4GB extra sitting in my PC doing nothing (since I reverted to Vista 32) - until I work out what to do it.

I have 9800GTX and am happy with it.

Whatever you do, don't make this mistake. Install Vista 32.

I ran Vista 64 for about 6 months and then reformatted and put Vista 32 back on.

4GB of RAM is best option too. I ran 8GB (with Vista 64) and had practically no increase in benchmark. Now I have 4GB extra sitting in my PC doing nothing (since I reverted to Vista 32) - until I work out what to do it.

WTF?