Hello, I am kind of new to this and i could use some suggestions. So far i've come up with this. Case- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811215006 RAM- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145198 Monitor- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824009157 Radeon 4870x2- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131116 Motherboard- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157129 I can't decide which processor to get, any suggestions would be helpful. Processor w/power supply combo E8600- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115054 Q9550- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115041 I heard the E8600 is better for gaming, but I wanted to be sure. Open to all suggestions, thanks.
You will find a Q6600 with epic cooling puts all others to shame. It's a lot cheaper, and can be overclocked to 4ghz+.
Will i need a better heatsink or will the one that comes w/ the CPU be good enough? Also, how long would you expect the life to be? Here is another Case i found, are the fans good enough? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129021&Tpk=antec 900 Are all of the other parts ok? thank you.
since you are using a 4870x2 you dont need an expensive x48 board so you can get an cheaper p45. the e8600 will get a few more fps but it will not make much difference. i would not get a daul core for gaming right now because game are really starting to become multithreaded. mobo http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128358 ram http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231122 psu http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139006 cpu http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115018 cooler http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835154001 if you have more money to spend you could also get the new core i7 that was released today. cpu http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115202 mobo http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130216 ram http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145221 or http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231223
core i7 is faster than core 2. it also has a big advantage when doing multimedia stuff like ripping dvd's. ddr3 does not currently have any major speed benefit over ddr2. but a core i7 system will be faster. so if you want to spend the extra money to get the new faster system you can. or you can spend less on a core 2 and upgrade later.
yes. i have seen the 920 get to 4ghz. im not sure if that is on air or water. here is a screen shot. you can expect to get it to 3.4-3.8. http://images.bit-tech.net/content_images/2008/11/overclocking-intel-core-i7-920/1-4.png
With the Antec 900 and the cooler you suggested would i be able to overclock the i7 to the speeds you mentioned?
that cooler wont work for i7. only for core2. i7 uses a different socket and needs a different heat sink.
From what I've read, the i7 920 is generally not stable at 4Ghz, the highest speed I'd really recommend 24/7 is 3.6Ghz. Do not concern yourself with i_am_alex's post, he doesn't know what he's talking about I've owned both the Q6600 and Q9550, new Q6600s will not run stable beyond 3.4Ghz, the Q9550 is good for around 3.6, 3.8 if you find an E0 stepping chip. That's all I really need to add, krj's advice is solid, as always.
As it happens, the older ones could be overclocked to about 4.1-4.2Ghz, but you needed watercooling, an outrageous (and unsustainable) voltage to do it, and they'd only be stable enough to 3dmark, not to run all the time. They'd only run at 3.6Ghz 24/7, and the newer ones won't even make that.
