First build?

[olly4891]

Morning all,

Just wanted to run my list of components past a few more experienced people than myself as I basically dont know what im doing...

Essentially I will want my PC for some online gaming playing flight sims (IL-2 Sturmovik) and some non-online gaming with first person shooters (COD 4, Farcry etc...) plus the usual net downloads and what not.

So my budget is around AUS $1000 excluding monitor and extras like keyboard, mouse and speakers (i'm going to pick these up a little later), but for the time being this is what I have compiled having read through a number of the very useful threads and stickys in this forum:

All searched for and priced from: https://www.ple.com.au - Prices shown in Australian Dollars

Case - TT M9 430W BLACK [VI1430BWS] ($139)
http://www.ple.com.au/?p=snapshot&inventory_id=35271

MOBO - ASUS P5QL PRO DESKTOP BOARD# [P5QL-PRO] ($145)
http://www.ple.com.au/?p=snapshot&inventory_id=37401

CPU - INTEL CORE 2 DUO E8400 3.00GHZ 2X3MB# [BX80570E8400] ($235)
http://www.ple.com.au/?p=snapshot&inventory_id=32011

GRAPHICS CARD - EVGA GTS250 756M/2200M 512MB/D-DVI # [512-P3-1150-TR] ($219)
http://www.ple.com.au/?p=snapshot&inventory_id=41811

RAM - KINGSTON HYPER X 1066MHZ 4GB KIT # [KH8500D2K2/4G] ($99)
http://www.ple.com.au/?p=snapshot&inventory_id=42291

HDD - WD CAVIAR BLACK 500GB 7200/32MB/SATA2 # ($91)
http://www.ple.com.au/?p=snapshot&inventory_id=41771

OPTICAL - ASUS DVD RW 22x BG/BK/ +/-/DL/LS/IDE # ($69)
http://www.ple.com.au/?p=snapshot&inventory_id=39401


My main concern is whether or not all these components will 'mate' together? Do you see any major concerns that would recommend changing any of these parts or does it all pretty much look hunky-dory?

Thanks heaps in advance!

- Olly

[Khalil]

I like everything you have choosen other than the Power supply in that case. I don't think 430W is enough.
If you could spend a little more and get this http://www.ple.com.au/?p=snapshot&inventory_id=28671 it will be a much better way to go.

[glc]

Good call - that 430w Thermaltake PSU can't handle that video card, it's really an old ATX 1.x unit retrofitted with a 24 pin main connector. It doesn't have anywhere near the +12v amperage needed to run a PCI-E video card. If you need to save some money, you can use DDR2-800 ram, you only need 1066 if you are going to be overclocking heavily.

[olly4891]

So basically i'm going a little over the top with the RAM and not enough with the PSU?

Upgrade the case with better PSU using: ANTEC SONATA 3 PIANO BLACK 500W
http://www.ple.com.au/?p=snapshot&inventory_id=28671

and downgrade the RAM to something like: KINGSTON HYPER X 800MHZ 2GB KIT http://www.ple.com.au/?p=snapshot&inventory_id=39081

Is the lower MHz (800 in lieu of 1066) going to make that much of a difference in the performance? Or will the fact its 2GB rather than 4GB be more of a sticking point?

I'm a little concerned that the 2GB 800MHz may not be enough in the near future and ill find myself wanting more later on. Is it worth going for something like this:

CRUCIAL BALLISTIX TRACER 6400 2 x 2GB 800
http://www.ple.com.au/?p=snapshot&inventory_id=42761

instead of the KINGSTON HYPER X 800MHZ 2GB KIT?

Or am i just worrying about something thats not really going to make a huge difference at the end of the day...

Thanks.

[glc]

http://www.ple.com.au/?p=snapshot&inventory_id=30841

2x2 DDR2-800 kit. The Corsair C5 ram is known stable in Asus P5Q series boards. The Ballistix is not.

http://www.ple.com.au/?p=snapshot&inventory_id=38501

Radeon HD 4850 - same performance as a GTS 250, $30 less, and not as power hungry. Even that 500w Antec is marginal with a GTS 250.

[olly4891]

Thanks for all your help so far...much appreciated.

So in total I've come up with...

CASE - ANTEC SONATA 3 PIANO BLACK 500W ($225)

Motherboard - ASUS P5QL PRO DESKTOP BOARD# [P5QL-PRO] ($145)

CPU - INTEL CORE 2 DUO E8400 3.00GHZ 2X3MB# [BX80570E8400] ($235)

RAM - CORSAIR 4GB KIT TWIN2X PC6400C5 800M# ($89)
http://www.ple.com.au/?p=snapshot&inventory_id=30841

GRAPHICS - GIGABYTE HD4850 ZM 625M PCIe/512MB/DVI/HDMI# ($189)
http://www.ple.com.au/?p=snapshot&inventory_id=38501

HDD - WD CAVIAR BLACK 500GB 7200/32MB/SATA2 # ($91)

OPTICAL - ASUS DVD RW 22x BG/BK/ +/-/DL/LS/IDE # ($69)

Is that a bit more like it?

[Khalil]

You will have a very nice build and it will game well for you. Let us know how it comes out.

[olly4891]

Thank-you both very much...

Now all i gotta do is put the bloody thing together

[shadowpr]

Might also want to change to a sata dvd drive.

[glc]

http://www.ple.com.au/?p=snapshot&inventory_id=39981

[olly4891]

So...12 mthns onwards and I have to say I am relatively happy with my setup!

To start with it was the best thing i'd ever used and easily handed any and all my jobs...(mostly gaming).

However, I have now come to the point where I find the PC lacking a little. Particuarly when playing WoT and trying to run FRAPS at the same time. Fraps will run nicely in the background, but as soon as i hit the 'record' button, the game gets very clunky. To the point where i no longer use fraps as it severly hampers game play.

So my question is: going from my last post being the final product i put together, where is the weak point and what would i be best off upgrading first?

I get the feeling the graphics card may be slowing things down a little, as i occasionally get messages in game telling me my settings have been auto-reduced to cope with the map/textures/rendering etc etc...

However, based on others posts, if i upgrade the graphics card, am i also going to need to upgrade other components? PSU for example?

Any ideas/help much appreciated...

Thanks - Olly

[glc]

The 4850 is still a good card, but that is what's limiting you. You should have no problem upgrading it, as long as the new card doesn't require more than 500 watts.

From ATI/AMD, you can go up to a 6870 or 6950. A 6970 needs 550 watts. Nvidias in this class use too much power.

Your CPU and motherboard have a lot of useful life left in them.

[olly4891]

Many thanks for the reply.

Will look into trying to use the control centre and overclock the graph card a bit first.

See if that helps.

If not, then im going to start pricing up the 6870 & 6950.

Cheers again

[olly4891]

Sry to keep bumping an old thread back to the top here, but just wondering about the HD 6950...

Specs state: PCI Express 2.1 x 16

My mobo has: PCI Express 2.0 x 16

Will they be compatable together? (obviously i dont know the difference between the two, and will now be going to search for an answer, but figured I should ask the question here anyways...)

[glc]

No compatibility issue. However, you are going to be near the limits of your power supply.