the 8800 gt links and a 9600 gt cost just about the same - should i go for a 9600 with only 64 stream processors and for a 50-75 MHz faster core or should I stick with the 8800 with 112 stream processors and a 600mhz core?

that asus motherboard is still mad expensive haha - i'm used to paying below $150 for motherboards. is the p45 too new to adopt right now?

8/26/2008 3:05:35 PM

The 8800GT is still slightly faster than the 9600GT IIRC. What memory and CPU are you going to be using, and are you going to be overclocking at all? That'll help picking out a mobo a lot easier.

8/26/2008 3:26:53 PM

Just ordered some stuff...

*ASUS P5K PRO LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard
*COOLER MASTER ATX Mid Tower Case
*Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz
*EVGA 512-P3-N873-AR GeForce 9800 GTX+ 512MB 256-bit GDDR3
*CORSAIR 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400)
*CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply
*Seagate Barracuda 7200.11, 1TB SATA
*Vista Home Premium 64-bit
*LITE-ON 20X DVD±R DVD Burner

I haven't built a system and put vista on it yet. Hopefully I won't have any trouble. I'm pretty excited about the video card. It'll see some use on the 50" 1080p plasma. I'll OC the processor a bit, I've read that one runs well.

8/26/2008 4:00:07 PM

^that'll be a very nice rig indeed

8/26/2008 4:23:45 PM

haha yes, that's a pretty awesome system right there.

8/26/2008 4:26:46 PM

^^^

im about to order most of those components too

edit: although Im going to get a different video card. Either a GTX 260 superclocked or radeon 4870, not sure yet.

[Edited on August 26, 2008 at 4:29 PM. Reason : video card]

8/26/2008 4:28:55 PM

All of it was ordered from newegg. The ram, PSU, and vid card all have $20 rebates.

8/26/2008 4:33:50 PM

Quote :

"The 8800GT is still slightly faster than the 9600GT IIRC. What memory and CPU are you going to be using, and are you going to be overclocking at all? That'll help picking out a mobo a lot easier."

here's what i was thinking - it comes to about $1k

GIGABYTE GA-X48-DS4 LGA 775 Intel X48 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
DIAMOND 4870PE5512 Radeon HD 4870 512MB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail
ENERMAX MODU82+ EMD625AWT 625W ATX12V Ver.2.3 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Modular Cabling Active PFC Power Supply - Retail
Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 Wolfdale 3.16GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor Model BX80570E8500 - Retail
G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-8500CL5D-4GBPK - Retail

and no i won't be overclocking

8/26/2008 5:53:56 PM

I've debated between Gigabyte and Asus mobos before, and always just went with Asus. This will be the 4th system I've built with Asus boards. Only (minor) issue I had was with the last system I built. Had to use a flash drive to update the bios before it would recognize the 3.16GHz Wolfdale. Pretty sure you'll have the same problem with your gigabyte. I figured I'd save the $20 and OC past that anyway.

I was also going to go with the G.Skill 1033MHz ram you listed, but did some reading and most people said there really wasn't much of a difference to make it worth the cost. What I got was cheaper and then had a $20 rebate.

That'll be a good system though.

8/26/2008 6:10:42 PM

To the BIGcementpon parts list, a question:

Why a P5k P35? I was looking at a P5Q Pro P45, as it has a PCIe 2.0 instead of 1.0 (im assuming) as I was going to get a 9800 GT that was PCIe 2.0.

Heres what I was thinking of going with (version 2.0):

ASUS P5Q Pro LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
XFX PVT98GYDLU GeForce 9800 GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16
G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 F2-6400CL5D-4GBPQ - Retail
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz LGA 775 Quad-Core Processor - Retail
Antec BP550 Plus 550W ATX12V V2.2 - Retail
Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD5000AAKS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM

Will I see a major difference between a P35 PCIe 1.0 (with a 1.0 card) vs. a P45 PCIe 2.0 (with a 2.0 card)? Im trying to find ways to save a few bucks here and there. Also, with the above listed components is the 550w psu still enough if Im not planning on adding another card.

The last thing Im still in the air about is Vista vs. XP. I think I'll have the system to run Vista, but are most of the device driver issues solved by now? I also read about the memory paging tweaks/fixes and they sounded pretty solid.

8/26/2008 6:19:31 PM

Quote :

"Why a P5k P35? I was looking at a P5Q Pro P45, as it has a PCIe 2.0 instead of 1.0 (im assuming) as I was going to get a 9800 GT that was PCIe 2.0."

Definitely something I overlooked. Is this going to be a fatal flaw?

8/26/2008 6:23:45 PM

Well, the board you listed was a 1.0 PCIe, and the card was a 2.0 PCIe....However I think a 2.0 will work in a 1.0, but Im not 100% sure as I just started researching this stuff like 2 days ago. If it does work I would also assume it wont be maxing out its potential as if it was in a 2.0 board?

8/26/2008 6:35:46 PM

Yeah, but I don't want some stupid minor issue to cause me trouble. Glad you noticed that... I called newegg and they said it wouldn't be a problem to return the "wrong" unopened box and to go ahead and order what I want. So the P5Q Pro it shall be - they're the same thing other than pcie v2. I'll wait a little while to order incase someone else wants to chime in.

I went with Vista 64-bit on this machine to take advantage of being able to handle the full 4gb ram and that of the video card. Also wanted to be able to run DirectX 10.

I found this: http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum-replies-archive.cfm/836276.html
Same info on a few other sites. Gonna go ahead and order the other mobo. Thanks for calling me out on that!

[Edited on August 26, 2008 at 7:17 PM. Reason : well, they're basically the same thing. a few differences.]

[Edited on August 26, 2008 at 7:26 PM. Reason : link]

8/26/2008 7:01:03 PM

you really don't wanna buy a 9800GT over an 8800GT, it's just the Nvidia switcheroo, same card, new name, and likewise idiots buy it.

8/26/2008 7:57:05 PM

Ok, quick question. I need to buy a new copy of Windows XP 64 bit or Vista 64 bit to finish up my new computer. Can someone recommend me one or the other. The guy at the store says "buy Vista", I've heard that Vista is a memory hog however, and it has problems running many applications.

8/26/2008 8:21:08 PM

I run XP64 and have no qualms with it, but I'd say for the average user, go Vista x64 because of driver issues, and if you're building a new computer with like 4gigs of ram because it's hella cheap now days anyway, why not make use of it anyway?

8/26/2008 9:01:01 PM

Quote :

"you really don't wanna buy a 9800GT over an 8800GT, it's just the Nvidia switcheroo, same card, new name, and likewise idiots buy it."

Are the GTX's also rebranded 8800's?

So an 8800gt that is 2.0 is pretty much the exact same card? Im seeing the cheapest 2.0 8800gt is around $120, the 9800gt I had listed was $150, so what am I getting for the extra 30? If the answer is nothin then I'll get the 8800gt instead. Lookingto stay in the 100-150$ range.

8/26/2008 9:06:44 PM

Can anyone recommend a decent/inexpensive TV tuner card. I'm going to be running Vista Business 64 bit. I just want to be able to plug cable into the card and watch basic TV.

Primary video card will be a GTX 260 superclocked

8/26/2008 11:10:00 PM

Quote :

"So an 8800gt that is 2.0 is pretty much the exact same card? Im seeing the cheapest 2.0 8800gt is around $120, the 9800gt I had listed was $150, so what am I getting for the extra 30?"

You're getting nothing but a reflashed BIOS, get the 8800GT.

edit: and the 9800GTX is basically a rebranded G92 8800GTS core with slightly faster clocks, Nvidia's entire 9 series line (sans maybe the GX2) was a joke.

[Edited on August 27, 2008 at 12:31 AM. Reason : .]

8/27/2008 12:29:01 AM

Do you guys think this is an error? Newegg is charging $31 to ship a GTX 260 superclocked, most other cards are free shipping or ~$8 at the most. Everything else is free shipping so I'm not gonna spend $30 to ship a video card

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130372

8/27/2008 10:28:38 AM

that's really weird, why not just buy the reference clocked EVGA 260 and clock it up to or past the superclocked though? It has normal shipping.

8/27/2008 10:37:38 AM

just ordered the first part

CORSAIR DOMINATOR with DHX Technology TWIN2X4096-8500C5DF 4GB PC2-8500 (DDR2-1066) DDR2 Memory Retail ***Free Shipping***

$107.80 after $40 MIR

http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=10008006

8/27/2008 10:47:52 AM

^best memory out there IMHO

either do:
32-bit XP or
64-bit Vista
(i'd stay away from 64-bit XP)

in terms of the motherboard and PCIe 2.0 versus 1.0, you will not notice a difference unless you go with a dual-GPU video card that needs the extra bandwidth over a single slot. if you are just using a single-GPU or single-GPU's in SLI, it won't make that much of a difference. and yes, you can put a 2.0 card in a 1.0 slot, it is backwards compatible like USB for example.

Quote :

"and the 9800GTX is basically a rebranded G92 8800GTS core with slightly faster clocks, Nvidia's entire 9 series line (sans maybe the GX2) was a joke."

except it's not just a BIOS flash, the hardware itself can handle the higher clocks stock versus overclocking the hell out of an 8800GT, yes it's not new architecture (except 9800GX2) but that's why they have product refreshes. now the 9800GTX+ was a joke (it truly is just an OC'd 9800GTX)

[Edited on August 27, 2008 at 12:21 PM. Reason : .]

8/27/2008 12:16:31 PM

ok, some of the 9800GT's are using 55nm G92 cores which obviously allow higher clocks, but a lot of them were just 65nm 8800GT's that were reflashed by vendors.
http://www.fudzilla.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=8649&Itemid=1
edit: just like the rebranding of the 8800GS to the 9600GSO


[Edited on August 27, 2008 at 12:39 PM. Reason : .]

8/27/2008 12:36:59 PM

Ok so I placed the order for the DDR2-1066 RAM and now I'm looking at this graphics card--

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814143119&nm_mc=OTC-pr1c3grabb3r&cm_mmc=OTC-pr1c3grabb3r-_-Video+Cards-_-BFG+Technologies-_-14143119

BFG Tech BFGE88512GTSE GeForce 8800GTS (G92) 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail
Overclocked at 675MHz core

$160 after $30 MIR

I think I'm going with the E8500 but I can't decide on a motherboard for the life of me. The Asus P5Q (I can't even pick one of the specific models because I don't really know the difference between them) and the Gigabyte GA-EP45-DS3L are hard to choose between. I'm looking to spend less than $150 on the motherboard. Don't need RAID. Would like to leave it open for upgrading the video card(s) in the future but other than that, nothing really matters - I probably won't change the RAM or processor until I build a new system a couple of years down the road.

And I have an Antec TruePower 430W PSU right now - do you think it'll power this system?

8/27/2008 1:13:20 PM

^430W seems a bit low, but should work

why the E8500? it's a hefty premium over the E8400, and the only benefit I can think of is if you overclock it because of the higher multiplier.

why the 8800GTS over the 9800GTX+ OC?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121265 for $9 more

[Edited on August 27, 2008 at 1:47 PM. Reason : .]

8/27/2008 1:46:07 PM

not anymore, the e8500 only costs about $10 more than the retail e8400.

edit: oops, it's $20 more and yea, if you're going nvidia, get the 9800gtx+

[Edited on August 27, 2008 at 1:51 PM. Reason : .]

8/27/2008 1:49:38 PM

Quote :

"430W seems a bit low, but should work"

yeah i think i'll upgrade if i ever go SLI/Crossfire but until then, I don't think it should be a problem

Quote :

"why the E8500? it's a hefty premium over the E8400, and the only benefit I can think of is if you overclock it because of the higher multiplier."

no overclocking reasons, but just because it's only $20 for a little bit faster speed - and I don't upgrade my proc until I build a new computer usually so $20 will probably pay for itself over the 2-2.5 years I use it - that was my only justification

Quote :

"why the 8800GTS over the 9800GTX+ OC? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121265 for $9 more"

thanks - i got that one instead

so any motherboard suggestions? i really want to finish ordering this thing today

[Edited on August 27, 2008 at 1:54 PM. Reason : .]

8/27/2008 1:53:15 PM

Quote :

"yeah i think i'll upgrade if i ever go SLI/Crossfire but until then, I don't think it should be a problem"

well if you want to go SLI, you'll need to determine that now as only certain motherboards support it. worse case scenario by the time you upgrade most cards may be dual-GPU but on a single PCIe slot.

i'd go Asus P5Q Pro (SLI)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131299

or Gigabyte GA-EP45-DS3L (non-SLI)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128345

or Gigabyte GA-EP45-DS3R (supports SLI)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128344

I have a Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L and love it.

[Edited on August 27, 2008 at 2:10 PM. Reason : .]

8/27/2008 2:01:09 PM

this will be a solid P45 chipset board for running the above components, especially if you're not going to be overclocking.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131299

8/27/2008 2:04:33 PM

Quote :

"well if you want to go SLI, you'll need to determine that now as only certain motherboards support it. worse case scenario by the time you upgrade most cards may be dual-GPU but on a single PCIe slot."

screw SLI - i probably won't ever do it. dual GPU will be good - so i really just need something with one pcie 2.0 x16 slot i guess

but that still doesn't help narrow it down -so many choices haha

Quote :

"this will be a solid P45 chipset board for running the above components, especially if you're not going to be overclocking. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131299"

cool - looks good. anyone have any objections?

[Edited on August 27, 2008 at 2:07 PM. Reason : .]

8/27/2008 2:05:26 PM

i was editing my last post, didn't see stepmaniadud's post, P5Q Pro was on my list as well, so that's 2 votes

if you read the last 8 pages, you'll see how many people have it
Jrb599, KillaB, AndyMac, chargercrazy, Nashattack

though i still love my gigabyte boards too.

first recommended it here:
message_topic.aspx?topic=472002&page=11#11748267
for Nashattack

[Edited on August 27, 2008 at 2:43 PM. Reason : 8 pages ]

8/27/2008 2:34:35 PM

thanks

i ordered it

[Edited on August 27, 2008 at 2:39 PM. Reason : .]

8/27/2008 2:39:31 PM

Ordering one as well.

8/27/2008 3:53:28 PM

parts ordered

Antec Three Hundred Black ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

ASUS P5Q Pro LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard

VisionTek 900244 Radeon HD 4870 512MB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card

OCZ GameXStream OCZ600GXSSLI 600W ATX12V SLI Certified CrossFire Ready Active PFC Power Supply

Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 Wolfdale 3.16GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor Model BX80570E8500

CORSAIR 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TWIN2X4096-6400C5

Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD6400AAKS 640GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive

SAMSUNG 22X DVD Burner Black SATA Model SH-S223F

8/27/2008 8:28:56 PM

^amazing build as well, this thread is starting to make me feel bad about my computer now And wtf is it now, "let's all build a new PC month" or something? haha

8/27/2008 9:01:56 PM

^^amazing build as well

i upgrade a new part at least once every month or two.

i also have a mediaPC & server that I maintain almost as regular as well.

[Edited on August 27, 2008 at 9:07 PM. Reason : .]

8/27/2008 9:06:36 PM

I highly recommend the P5Q Pro.

8/27/2008 9:42:17 PM

^^^^ nice, very similar to what i got

i just couldn't bring myself to order that vid card - it would have cost double what i paid for the rest of the upgrades just to get that card and a new PSU

i don't play crysis or anything else too demanding on the vid card anyways - cod4 will run on anything, even my laptop

8/27/2008 9:56:48 PM

lol, it'll definitely run fantastic on your new computer. What resolution do you run?

8/27/2008 10:19:01 PM

well i'd been runing 1024x768 on my 7600gt but i can probably do 1280x1024 with this card

8/27/2008 10:23:20 PM

yea, I'd say with 4xAA 16xAF at 1280 1024 in CoD4, you probably won't drop below 120ish FPS.

edit: ok, maybe not that high, by definitely never below 60.

[Edited on August 27, 2008 at 10:34 PM. Reason : .]

8/27/2008 10:30:27 PM

I was going in to purchase Windows Vista 64 bit today. I go to Intrex computers, and the guy at the counter starts talking to me about it. He asks me what kind of operating system that I have now, and what do I want my computer for. I answered a little gaming nothing major, and he told me that I should stick with windows windows XP 32 bit because there won't be that much of a noticeable difference.

Can I get a second opinion?

8/27/2008 10:43:05 PM

^^ people run it at 250 constant - i wonder how

^ depends on your system. what are the specs?

[Edited on August 27, 2008 at 10:44 PM. Reason : .]

8/27/2008 10:43:30 PM

Processor: 8400 Wolfsdale
Graphics cards: Geforce 8600 GTS
Ram: 4 gigs ddr 800

8/27/2008 10:49:04 PM

you could go vista if you wanted

i haven't upgraded because it's not necessary for me

8/27/2008 10:50:12 PM

you can get ridiculous framerates in CoD4 by removing the FPS cap and forcing shader model 2.0 (I do this and cap it at 125fps), no way you're gonna get that high all the time/at all with shader model 3.0 though.

[Edited on August 28, 2008 at 12:43 AM. Reason : .]

8/28/2008 12:43:28 AM

Don't get any screen tearing? You should always run vertical sync if you can. Caps it at 60fps.

8/28/2008 1:37:01 AM

I despise V-sync, on many games there's a very noticeable (at least to me) input/visual delay running v-sync as opposed to off, and no, I don't really get any tearing.

edit: and many games feel much more fluid to me running much faster than 60FPS, may just be a personal thing, I dunno

edit again: on a side note, when will it be worth it upgrading my current setup, possibly after core i7? I currently am running an e6750@3.2, 4 gigs of 4-4-4 800, a 680i (although I've never even considered sli, just obtained because I found a deal a while back), and a G80 640 GTS with a mild overclock, and everything in it feels weak compared to pretty much anything recently released :/ I mainly just want a better video card, but if more games are supporting quads, then I dunno.


[Edited on August 28, 2008 at 2:02 AM. Reason : .]

8/28/2008 1:53:02 AM

All the parts I ordered the other day are supposed to come in today - except the motherboard. Gotta wait until tomorrow for the P5Q Pro. Sucks!

Quote :

"And wtf is it now, "let's all build a new PC month" or something? haha"

Financial Aid FTW!

8/28/2008 11:51:52 AM