Anyone have any current information when the Q9450 will be released? I want to build my new computer around it and i definitely don't want to miss out. -Thanks
i would holf the Q9450 yet. wait for the reviews to come in, and if you are OCing, then wait to find if they have the electronmigration problem. i would recommend a 3870X2, or SLI9600GT but remember this, if you want an intel chipset mobo, and want SLI, the 9800GX" is the way to go, if you want SLI with two cards, then the 750i chipsets for a cheaper sli capable mobo, or the 790i (but wait for DDR2 support) (although DDR3 is getting MUCH more affordable, with 2GB 1333MHz being only £100 (and at this time last year 800MHz 2GB was this much for DDR2)) the reason i say 790i is becuase they are superb OCers, even with an immmature BIOS, and are much much more stable than the 780i boards.
tbh I'm not overly concerned about the Electromigration, I just wouldn't mess with the voltage - at all. By the time I'll be able to afford one there'll probably be either a fixed revision or a new CPU that doesn't suffer that anyway. On the dual cards issue, the twin 9600s are nice, although as you say, it's 9800GX2 (and therefore big bucks) to get SLI on a non-nvidia chipset motherboard, and I'm not overly impressed with nvidia chipsets. For crossfire, I'm not so sure, the HD3870X2 is all well and good, but the traditional way of doing it seems to be preferable, espeially if you've got a 16+16 board. Even if you haven't I doubt it would run any worse than the 3870X2, and you can disable crossfire with that. With the single card, I have a feeling that the games that won't work with crossfire, won't work. full stop. As for the 790i, good overclocker though it may be, I'm perfectly happy with how well the P35, X38 and so on overclock.
How's this setup look or is there something I should change- Case: Antec 900 - $119.99 PSU:Seasonic 650W - $129.99 Motherboard: EVGA 132-CK-NF78-A1 780i SLI - $259.99 RAM: Patriot Viper 4GB(2 x 2GB) DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) - $154.99 Processor: Intel Q6600 Quad Core 2.4Ghz - $249.99 GPU: Foxconn GeForce 9600GT *2 - $309.98 - CPU cooler: Thermalright ULTRA 120 - $59.99 Case/CPU cooler fans: Scythe 120mm "Slipstream" 1900RPM 110CFM *2 - $17.98 GPU cooler: ARCTIC COOLING ACCELERO S1 Rev 2 *2 - $59.98 + ARCTIC COOLING Turbo Module Sleeve Dual VGA Fan *2 - $15.98 HDD's: Westerm Digital 500GB SATA 3.0GB/s 8mb cache *2 - $189.98.
all seem superb. but i would get better HDDs. the new 750GB F1 by samsungs with 32MB of cashe are knocking the raptor 150GBs door with OS loadin times and write speeds, and even loading game levels, but random seeking is the only thing it falls on. (compared to the raptor, still beats all but the newer 1TB F1 drive)
Everything looks good. Listen to Shaf, also I would get this PSU instead... http://www.buy.com/prod/corsair-tx-650w-atx12v-power-supply/q/loc/101/206178324.html
season make the HX series, and so i would choose them. the TX and VX are made by CWT (who arent bad, just not as good as seasonic) but if it is cheaper, then it is worth it
and with it being $30 cheaper, i would go for it. but if you want SAM style quietness go for the saesonic
Seasonic and Corsair units are both supremely quiet (the VX I believe is Seasonic too, it's only the TX that's channelwell) but the corsairs are slightly quieter at high load levels. As for the HDDs, either are superb, the WD5000AAKS is still an excellent, quiet, fast drive, I've had a few, they're great.
If anyone happens to see a q9450 available for a good price please let me know. I just got an advertised e-mail from micro center for 349.99 but they were sold out
Well my man it's just a wait and see right now. I just got a Q6600 and it's a great CPU as well. It will only set you back 200 if you want to get that. Give it a week and you will be able to get one from eBay.
no, it's a Seasonic. http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/540 Not that this really matters of course, CWT and Seasonic are both good PSU manufacturers.
Case: Antec 900 - $119.99 PSU:Seasonic 650W - $129.99 Motherboard: EVGA 132-CK-NF78-A1 780i SLI - $259.99 RAM: Patriot Viper 4GB(2 x 2GB) DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) - $117.99 GPU: Foxconn GeForce 9600GT *2 - $309.98 - CPU cooler: Thermalright ULTRA 120 - $59.99 Case/CPU cooler fans: Scythe 120mm "Slipstream" 1900RPM 110CFM *2 - $17.98 GPU cooler: ARCTIC COOLING ACCELERO S1 Rev 2 *2 - $59.98 + ARCTIC COOLING Turbo Module Sleeve Dual VGA Fan *2 - $15.98 HDD's: Westerm Digital 500GB SATA 3.0GB/s 8mb cache *2 - $189.98 I got my Q9450 ordered for $355.99 shipped and I just want to be 100% sure if it will be compatible with the motherboard selected above. I know jack about building computers and I would rather sound lame than to get something non compatible creating a major headache so am I good to go? Also, someone mentioned elsewhere that this setup will be loud so I'm curious "How loud is loud" and what is the parts that could be different to make it quieter? - Thanks Bros
The Antec 900 case, while very noisy with the fans at full speed, with them set to low is relatively quiet, at 22dB for the 120mm fans and 24dB for the 200mm at the top. (At full speed the 120s are about 38dB and the 200mm is about 32dB, a PC can only be considered quiet below 30dB) You've bought two exceptionally noisy and powerful case fans - they won't be necessary in any system, I can assure you. 1600rpm is as fast as you should ever need a 120mm fan in a case, or there's something wrong with your coolers. You will want to seriously undervolt those Scythe fans, preferably by using a 5.25" bay fan controller, a speed reduction cable for fans that powerful could be dangerous. The turbo cooling fans for the Accelero coolers are also unnecessary - the fans that come with the Accelero are plenty powerful enough. Actually scratch that, the S series doesn't come with fans, so you'll need those. They actually seem to be relatively quiet fans (I'm guessing around 26dB) so you'll be ok with those. The Q9450 will be compatible with the 780i SLI board, but it probably won't overclock very much.
Sam should be able to help you with the fan noise(he is kinda freakish about it -- sorry Sam), but might I suggest you go with the Thermalright HR-03 GT for your VGA cooling? It does perform better than the Accelero.