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Custom system: system builders, what do you think of this hardware selection? - pa2ad0x Ok did some research, and tooled around on Newegg, found: Intel Core 2 Quad Q9300 Yorkfield 2.5GHz LGA 775 95W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80580Q9300 - Retail $270 XFX PVT98FYDDU GeForce 9800 GTX(G92) XXX 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail $220 Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3250410AS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM $60 ASUS 20X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe Black SATA Model DRW-2014L1T - Retail $35 ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro 92mm CPU Cooler - Retail $32 Windows Vista (blah) $99 GIGABYTE GA-EP35C-DS3R LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Dynamic Energy Saver Ultra Durable II Intel Motherboard - Retail $140 (**was looking for a SLI ready board that supported DDR3 1333 but couldnt find it?**) Patriot Viper 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model PVS34G1333LLK - Retail $200 COOLER MASTER Centurion 534 RC-534-KKN2-GP Black Aluminum & Mesh bezel / SECC Chassis ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - AND COOLER MASTER eXtreme Power RP-550-PCAR 550W ATX from factor 12V V2.01 Power Supply - Retail $92 550 watts enough? With shipping its all $1200, already have a 19" LCD and speakers, USB mouse, would need a new USB keyboard but I can get that anywhere. System builders, what do you think?

Best Answer: First: SLI is not supported on non-NVIDIA motherboards (let's ignore Skulltrail, it's crazy expensive). If you want SLI, I'd suggest going to: http://www.slizone.com/page/home.html and reading up on what you're going to need. If you want to combine multiple graphics cards on an Intel-chipset motherboard, you can do Crossfire with ATI video cards. I'd recommend a X48 (or X38) based board for that, because there may be bandwidth issues if you use something like a P35 or P45 board. Before spending the extra money on SLI or Crossfire, you might want to consider this: http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1317582 and think about just getting a really good single-card setup. If you do go for a single-card setup, maybe take a look at the Asus P5Q-E motherboard (or others in the P5Q line). Some other advice: From a few benchmarks I've seen, it doesn't seem like spending extra on DDR3 memory instead of DDR2 will provide an improvement in gaming proportional to the cost. For example, given a choice between spending an extra $90 or so on DDR3 memory or getting a Radeon 4870 instead of the 9800gtx, I'd go with the 4870 (of course, if you're going to do SLI, then get an NVIDIA card). Also, consider getting a better (both more powerful and better quality) power supply, especially if you plan on upgrading in the future. I like the Corsair PSUs (and they get great reviews), but PC Power & Cooling and others make good supplies as well. - Ratufa

Looks like a good price for one of the newer Intel Quad-cores... I'd definitely recommend staying with that chip. Graphics card good. Good job getting the OEM hard drive... saves you money. Might want to get a better DVD burner. I bought a cheap one (under $50), and I've been a little unhappy with it. It is loud, beeps all the time, and lags sometimes. Seems like a lot of money for Arctic cooling. How much are you buying? You don't need that much... I believe I spent $7 on my Arctic cooling stuff... and I have plenty of left overs. Vista OEM should be fine... you can reinstall Windows OEM software as many times you like on one hardware configuration only. Beware your OEM version might not work anymore if you buy a new motherboard in the future. Never heard of your motherboard... I prefer aBit boards (asus second). They've gotten awesome in the past year or so. Since you're building a sweet rig, you should upgrade your PSU. Get atleast 700 watts. Your components, especially your graphics card, will suck up a lot of power. Can't comment on your RAM since I've never researched DDR3 1333. The only thing I recommend is that you make sure your motherboard can actually RUN RAM that fast. I have 1066 RAM, but my board functions more smoothly at 800 - sw0mgt

550-600 if its high efficiency should be enough. Your board and ram brands are garbage. You can get the wattage drain of each device from the specification, usually in their manuals.... For ram, only Corsair or Kingston For Board, top boards are intel and tyan good boards are asus and msi - shdwsclan

Good choices. I would change the power supply to thermaltake. Also good choice on the hardware --- Seagate now offers a 5 year warranty on their drives, even if it's OEM. See how much more the Seagate Perpendicular drives are. Finally, stick with Kingston RAM. Stick with Intel boards. They are great to deal with and come with a lifetime warranty. Good luck. - Dominik

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