New Machine Build

BadPvtDan · Post by **BadPvtDan** » 21 Apr 2008, 02:06

Here are the specs...tell me what you think.
EDIT: See below

I will carry over my Nvidia 8800 GTS 512 MB video card.
RAM and hard drive TBD.

btaylo24 · Post by **btaylo24** » 21 Apr 2008, 02:59

All depends on what your budget is..

If I was in USA I'd like one from these lot!
http://www.falcon-nw.com/

I'd also look at the E8 or 9 range of processors , not sure what the price is in USA. Better price/performance maybe?

Also the Q6600 is still a great buy at the price its at...And can be over clocked (well seems all the new Intels can be over clocked like mad)

That case, does it has dust filters over those massive fans?
Mobo looks fine

Ford Friendly · Post by **Ford Friendly** » 21 Apr 2008, 04:00

Not to be a killjoy, but that case is "deactivated". I would double check if it was actually still carried/for sale.

One other thing, for a 8800 GTS, my local computer geek recommended a minimum of a 600w power supply - especially since I intended to have 3 HDD's, 2 DVD/CD's, and at least three other perfipheral cards in my system. Still, the 8800 GTS itself begs for power, the more the better.

Something to thinnk about.

Ford

btaylo24 · Post by **btaylo24** » 21 Apr 2008, 04:10

What about this case

http://www.in-win.us/b2/b2.html

BArry

BadPvtDan · Post by **BadPvtDan** » 21 Apr 2008, 12:23

Ha Ha Barry.
I already have the case actually. It is still sitting in the box. I will snap some pictures of it when I get home. I'll have to take a look at yall's recommendations. Price isn't really an issue but I never like to shell out the big bucks for something that will be half the price in six months. That's just bad economics.

As far as the video card...the most important thing (I have read) is not necessarily the wattage but the amount of rails the PSU has. Hell, I have it running on a 375 watt PSU now

Thanks for the tips and keep them coming. I have not built my own machine in many years and things sure have changed (since the Dark Ages).

Firebird · Post by **Firebird** » 21 Apr 2008, 14:37

Dan,
Built myself a new PC in January and I would echo what Ford said don't bother with the E6600, which is dual core, go for the Q6600 which is quad core, each at 2.4mhz. It is easily overclocked to 3.0mhz for each processor w/o expensive cooling solutions.

Easily the best chip around in a 'bangs for bucks' scenario.

Also would recommend a raid array solution that includes striping (0, 0+1 or 5) on multiple HDs as this allows for faster reading of data. Does make a difference.

Ford Friendly · Post by **Ford Friendly** » 21 Apr 2008, 16:21

Firebird wrote:Dan,
snip.. I would echo what Ford said don't bother with the E6600..snip

Just to be clear, I never said anything about the E6600. I only related a power supply recommendation vis a vis the 8800GTS from my local computer geek. I don't have a clue about the E6600 cpus.

Firebird · Post by **Firebird** » 21 Apr 2008, 19:16

My mistake, Ford. Didn't mean to put words in your mouth, got your post mixed up with Barry's in my mind.

However, I standby my my selection of the Q6600 over the E6600 for the reasons stated.

Fastair · Post by **Fastair** » 21 Apr 2008, 23:41

Hi all,
Looking at a possible build myself, well with help. Firebird, if I may ask and with those specs, what kind of outlay are you looking at please?
If its not a too personal question........

Many thanks,
Regards

scottr5213 · Post by **scottr5213** » 22 Apr 2008, 00:25

Asus makes very good motherboards but I would look at a higher wattage powersupply. Try looking here there powersupplies are almost bulletproof. http://www.pcpower.com/index.html

Firebird · Post by **Firebird** » 22 Apr 2008, 03:55

Fastair,
It really depends. One thing is where you live. In the UK its dearer than the US and I can't speak about other places.

In percentage terms, the largest chunk of cash will go on your graphics card, if you buy a new one. I got an Nvidia 8800GTX, which was about £30-£40 cheaper than packages including software that I would never use.

On the processor front I was able to get the Q6600 for only a small amount more than the E6600, which taking into account the jump in processing power there and its massive overclocking capability its just too good to overlook.

For the Hard Drives, the Samsung SpinPoints were by far the best deal, I got 4x500GB. It may be more than most people will need but they were so cheap it was too good to miss.

Memory I got 2mb only as I am avoiding Vista, the choice of memory is really determined by your choice of motherboard, but I got a great deal for fast Ballistix chips.

The motherboard I got was the Abit IP35 Pro. Very nice and very happy with it.
Taking into account that the board is what defines the spec of your machine and therefore cost, start with what you want from your machine and decide on the board first.

One other point of experience. Although I had an ATX motherboard and replaced it with another I found that I couldn't physically fit it in my existing case, problem being the size of 8800GTX and the number of HDs, so I had to buy a new Coolermaster case as well that was deeper.
Finishing off the quietest 850W power supply that I could find, taking into account Ford's comments, and a decent CPU fan I got it all done for £1100.

What I couldn't believe was how cool the Q6600 runs and therefore how much quieter the machine is. One final tip make sure that if you are going to run XP with RAID HDs make sure you have an internal Floppy. XP will only load third party RAID drivers from internal floppy, Drive A:, an external USB one will not be good enough. You can slipstream the drivers into a XP installation disc but its not a simple op in most cases.

Hope some of this is useful. The best part about building it yourself is that you can collect the parts over a period of weeks/months to spread the cost if you need to.

Fastair · Post by **Fastair** » 22 Apr 2008, 08:38

Wow,
Many thanks for that Firebird, very grateful for the pointers. A friend of mine is looking to do similar, so i shall probably start a parallel build. Mutual support and all that.

Thanks again,
Regards

ronniegj · Post by **ronniegj** » 22 Apr 2008, 20:13

I would like to echo scottr5213's recommendation for source of powersupply. I couldn't have been happier with my dealings with those folks, and it was the very high ratings from Maximum PC magazine that originally sent me to them for my power supply. BTW, you get what you pay for!

Ron

BadPvtDan · Post by **BadPvtDan** » 14 Jun 2008, 03:07

OK so this has been going slow due to limited time to do research. I haven't built a machine in years and things have changed much.

So...I have thus far:
ASUS P5Q LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6813131295

Intel Core 2 Quad Q9300 Yorkfield 2.5GHz 6MB L2 Cache LGA 775 95W Quad-Core Processor
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6819115043

Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6811129021

Rosewill RX850-S-B ATX12V v2.2 & EPS12V v2.91 850W Power Supply 100
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6817182072

Now if I have botched things up that's too bad for me because I have already bought this stuff! Next is memory and 2 hard drives to run in a RAID configuration.

ronniegj · Post by **ronniegj** » 14 Jun 2008, 05:12

You haven't indicated video card yet. They now have dual core video chip and plenty of memory on board. Hight dollar tho. Still, what's the point in building a new flight sim computer if your not gonna max it out. I will be holding off on mine until around the first of the year so that I can save up the money I was putting into my truck payments - that will give me a bit over 3k to work with. Maybe just order a Dell max gaming machine, or maybe build it myself (think this will be unlikely now as don't think I'm up to the effort anymore). Good luck. What you have so far seems interesting! Maybe a little overkill on the CPU, but we will just have to wait and see.

Ron

Firebird · Post by **Firebird** » 14 Jun 2008, 09:04

Sounds like a good spec,Dan.
The one thing that I would mention is that FS9 won't use SLI graphics, so unless you wanted it for something else don't bother with twin graphics cards.

I don't know how it will work with the dual core cards that Ronnie talks about, but my guess is that it won't use all the processing power available. So you will benefit only if you are multi-tasking.

BadPvtDan · Post by **BadPvtDan** » 14 Jun 2008, 11:38

I am still going to use my 8800 GTS video card. I can always get another if I want to do SLI but that is down the road. I was split between a dual core cpu with a bigger cache vs this quad with a smaller one. It is not as great for gaming but a good machine for multi-tasking. Sure as heck it will still be good for FS9

From all reports I can OC to at least 3.0. So, we'll see!

BadPvtDan · Post by **BadPvtDan** » 29 Jun 2008, 19:38

OK I am putting this beat together now and I am wonderfully nervous. I am going to power this machine down and steal the 8800 GTS. Wish me luck!

SMOC · Post by **SMOC** » 29 Jun 2008, 20:45

Have fun storming the castle!

BadPvtDan · Post by **BadPvtDan** » 29 Jun 2008, 21:58

Well, I got stopped at the drawbridge. The system powers up but I get no video, no keyboard/mouse and no beeps. I'm not sure what's wrong