PC compataility help

by MerlinatoR • 28 Jul 2008, 11:13 • Journals
Buying a couple of PC's and just wanted to know if there were any compatibility issues with this stuff, and also thoughts on perhaps better options. I had some help from United Kingdom crumbs but thought best to 110% as we both aren't true techs. Any problems please say, or any better options (no extreme changes please) also links to scan and overclockers are so you can see the hardware only.

PC-1
Mobo = Asus P5N-T Deluxe nForce 780i (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard
RAM = Corsair 4GB DDR2 XMS2 Dominator PC2-8500C5 TwinX (2x2GB) Supplied with Airflow Fan
CPU = Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550, Yorkfield Core, S775, 2.83 GHz, 1333MHz, 12MB L2 Cache
Graphics Card(s) = BFG GeForce 8800 GT OC2 512MB GDDR3 HDTV/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) x2, OR BFG GeForce GTX 280 H2OC 1024MB GDDR3 TV-Out/Dual DVI (PCI-Express)
Hard Drive = Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB SATA-II 32MB Cache - OEM (WD1001FALS)
Power Supply = Antec Quattro 1000W PSU
DVD/CD Drive = Asus DRW-2014L1 20x DVD±RW IDE Dual Layer Lightscribe ReWriter
Case = Thermaltake VA9003BWS Kandalf Full Tower

PC-2
Mobo = Asus P5N-D nForce 750i SLi (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard
RAM = Corsair 4GB DDR2 XMS2 Dominator PC2-8500C5 TwinX (2x2GB) Supplied with Airflow Fan
CPU = Intel Core 2 Quad Q9450, Yorkfield Core, S775, 2.66GHz, 1333MHz, 12MB Cache
Graphics Card(s) = BFG GeForce 8800 GT OC2 512MB GDDR3 HDTV/Dual DVI (PCI-Express)
Hard Drives = Western Digital Raptor 74GB 10000RPM SATA 16MB Cache - OEM (WD740ADFD) and Western Digital Caviar Black 750GB SATA-II 32MB Cache - OEM (WD7501AALS)
Power Supply = Antec Quattro 850W PSU
DVD/CD Drive = Asus DRW-2014L1 20x DVD±RW IDE Dual Layer Lightscribe ReWriter
Case = Thermaltake VA7000SWA Shark Aluminium Full Tower

thanks for any help :)
Comments
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INSTi 28 Jul 2008, 12:15
contact the mobo's manufacturer and ask what psu and ram are most compatible to it. it's the only way you'll be on the safe side since everyone uses different equiptment to test their hardware.

Oh and you dont need such psu's for just one or 2 gfc cards, rather go for a quality 600 or 650 watt
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MerlinatoR 28 Jul 2008, 12:35
main reasoning, on my current PC I had a 650 and that blew. the price difference of 1000w is not that great compared to others, and I would be looking to upgrade and perhaps overclock.

My feeling was I could never have enough.
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INSTi 28 Jul 2008, 12:40
quality >*

And if you really wanna know what psu + ram to use, call them and ask, they will tell you what's most compatible, you could risk up to 30% performance drop if you happened to choose the wrong components for the motherboard afaik.
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MerlinatoR 28 Jul 2008, 12:49
ok nice thanks. :)

in terms of quality, psu options? I heard things about all the manufacturers, seems it relies a lot on personal opinion. cant see much difference as they all just say the wattage ;p
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INSTi 28 Jul 2008, 13:07
last time: call the manufacturer of the mobo!!! :D
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bira 28 Jul 2008, 13:47
I miss u :'(
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INSTi 28 Jul 2008, 14:27
/j #Imissu2 :>
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bira 28 Jul 2008, 15:07
its all empty :'<

YOU DON'T MISS ME :<
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Teslanaut 28 Jul 2008, 12:49
you don't need 1000W...

maybe this will help you http://www.extreme.outervision.com/psucalculatorlite.jsp
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MerlinatoR 28 Jul 2008, 12:56
comes out at 773w

I would prefer 1000w over 850 with that outcome, personally.
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infi_ 28 Jul 2008, 12:15
too much information o_o
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Grumly 28 Jul 2008, 12:16
Are you rich ?
I just need 150€.
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MerlinatoR 28 Jul 2008, 12:36
the hdds in your profile alone is more than 150 euros :P
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squalli 28 Jul 2008, 13:51
If thats true then its expensive ;<
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mstk 28 Jul 2008, 12:22
imo the PSUs are way too strong, you never need 1000W also I really wouldn't buy neither 8800 gt nor gtx 280 but radeon 4870
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pala 28 Jul 2008, 12:23
omfg 1000W :D
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Gemini 28 Jul 2008, 12:28
:o looks good, you must be loaded :(
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MerlinatoR 28 Jul 2008, 12:31
PC#1 is mine, and I work.

PC#2 is my 14 year old brothers, and he is paying for it himself with money he has saved (he only gets £10 a month pocket money! :P) always wonder why people 16-18+ have poor PCs ;)
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Gemini 28 Jul 2008, 12:47
ahh kool man :)

i just started a new job so i dished out some money on a new mobo. probly the same spec as yours but i just <3 the looks
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INSTi 28 Jul 2008, 13:11
tell your parents they're parenting a future criminal by only giving him 10 a month :DDDD
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MerlinatoR 28 Jul 2008, 13:13
its upto 15 now, as he turned 14 years last month. but agreed 15 a month is harsh! :P
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Quazz 28 Jul 2008, 13:57
d00d i get nothing/month -__-
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Teslanaut 28 Jul 2008, 12:36
buy a Samsung Spinpoint F1 hdd (750gb or 1tb) and a ATI Radeon HD4870
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MerlinatoR 28 Jul 2008, 12:39
with the 4870, thats an easy straight swap if I get the PCI-Express one? I dont have to change anything else because of compatability?
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Teslanaut 28 Jul 2008, 12:42
change the motherboard because nForce 780i and 750i SLi motherboards don't support ati's crossfire
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MerlinatoR 28 Jul 2008, 12:47
For PC1

and

For PC2

they should be ok? can use the same RAM with these two aswell, I think.
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Teslanaut 28 Jul 2008, 12:53
better buy a X38 or X48 mobo for crossfire

image: 4854845_g_02
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dejx 28 Jul 2008, 12:58
750 is on old platters, 320, 640 and 1(afaik) are on the new onez
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Teslanaut 28 Jul 2008, 13:00
dno, but I just bought the 1tb version :p
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dejx 28 Jul 2008, 13:02
tested it out with hdtach maybe?
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Teslanaut 28 Jul 2008, 13:04
haven't received it yet
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dejx 28 Jul 2008, 13:07
ahh k, just wondering cuz i am totally confused if they had the old or new platters. And yeah is true what u said about X38 + X48 :/ pretty sucks
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duumed 28 Jul 2008, 12:42
I wouldn't take mobos with nvidia chipset or those psus. also i'd rather go for ati hd4870
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destiny 28 Jul 2008, 12:43
send me one of them please ;<
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sine 28 Jul 2008, 12:53
If you've decided to go for an ATi card get the Asus Maximus Extreme mobo. It's great for overclocking, nice to work with it's and it's optimized for gamers. Plus CrossFire works far more efficiently than SLi at the min (damn you drivers!).

The 1TB Samsung SpinPoints mentioned above are also cheaper than the Caviars. I'd cross-check all of the prices you've got on there with the ones available on eBuyer, scan and dabs aswell as you'll be able to shave a few quid off on both builds.

Overall, both builds looks nice to me. I'd only change the optical drive as lightscribe is a pos imo :-( and maybe recommend a dual core with a higher clock speed to your brother as they are a bit cheaper and still probably more suitable for a gaming machine.
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MerlinatoR 28 Jul 2008, 13:02
indeed, the overclockers links were for pure reference - the prices there are a bit extreme, to say the least. :D


Im swaying heavily towards the ATI card now, just on the feedback. my brother will need some extra money so saving some on the cpu would be good for him.

so something like: http://www.scan.co.uk/Product.aspx?WebProductId=736334 for my PC2?

any recommended DVD drives?
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sine 28 Jul 2008, 13:11
Yeah, I have an E8400 running at 3.8GHz with stock cooling and all it took was a single bios setting. They're great processors imo!

As for DVD drives, errrrrm....I'd go SATA because IDE cables are chunky buggers and a pain in the arse to manage if you like to keep your case tidy-ish. It's also quicker. Sony, Pioneer, Samsung, they're all good as far as I know. Is down to personal preference I think, although someone could prove me wrong!

If you fancy giving lightscribe a go though grab the one you originally listed. I've only played with it a little and in theory it's good, but the labels don't really turn out that well I've found so far. Mine was also a litle tempremental, although it was an LG model rather than an Asus one.
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dejx 28 Jul 2008, 12:57
Mobo: ok if u want to have SLi then go for it (P5N-T) but i wouldn't recommend that neither i would recommend nvidia nowadays since they are just way to expensive for their power.
Ram: heh same i wouldn't go for 8500 (1066mhz) chips. They are worth only if you are extreme overclocker (for boosting up frequencies more than 1066 n stuff). My opinion is something from Crucial (micron chips are the best but frkin expensive), TeamGroup Xtreem edition or Corsair with DHX heatsinks. Ofc 800mhz if its possible on CL4 latencies.
CPU: Dunno how in England with prices but if they are already down i'd go for Q9550, but if they are not there is no need to add more money for that cpu since it has the same cache same MT but only 200mhz more core speed.
GPU: SLi or CfX is shit for now (too lazy to explain why : D). I would wait for HD4870x2 :! but ok if you are full of money GTX260
HD: your turn, my opinion 2x Samsung F1 640Gb in RAID0 :XD
PSU: Overkill, 1000W is worth buying only with 2x gtx280 or smtn similar but as i said b4 if money is not the problem take it. Otherwise 750W should be enough

What i would buy:

Intel Core 2 Quad Q9450
Asus P5Q Deluxe Intel P45
Crucial Ballistix Tracer RED 4GB
Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 4870 512MB GDDR5 (or 4870x2 l8r)
Samsung SpinPoint F1 1TB (diff prices as here, otherwise id take 2x 640)
Corsair TX 750W
rest is your turn :D
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Yoy0 28 Jul 2008, 13:21
Just i prefer E8X00 for processor, rest is nice :)

btw i use Corsair TX650W for my config, so it'll be ok with 650W for this cfg it's useless to take 750W.
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dejx 28 Jul 2008, 13:44
dualcore cpus are best choice for now, even i am getting E8200 in few days. But i would still take quadcore since it have better performance in multi threaded applications (what i need the most). Clock to clock ofc they are a lot faster. 750W if he will try to connect them via CfX/SLi!
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Yoy0 28 Jul 2008, 18:04
I use a CF of HD2900XT ;>
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dejx 28 Jul 2008, 18:13
i mean SLi with GTX 260 / 280 or 2x 4870x2
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MindGamee 28 Jul 2008, 13:43
They're all compatible

wouldn't get such a high wattage psu though, no point, its not the ***W that counts, its the 12+V rail, don't know much about it, but corsair =win, I have a 520W psu running a quad and an 8800 with loooads of extra things too, but cant be bothered listing them all :)
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TheRealNicky 28 Jul 2008, 14:07
Merl, send one to me pls - you gonna get a "spare-rib-dinner" ( u know how they look like :D ) and my 8 years old laptop for it :DDD
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MerlinatoR 28 Jul 2008, 15:29
tempting, oh very tempting. I was very jealous of when I saw the rib pics! :D
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TheRealNicky 28 Jul 2008, 22:54
Then dont think twice, you know its the one and only right thing to do :p
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crittie 28 Jul 2008, 15:13
How much those are going to cost? 0o
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MerlinatoR 28 Jul 2008, 15:30
PC1 including mouse keyboard etc is around £1600 and PC2 my brother has £900, but I can lend him some if need be, looks better for him to go to around £1100.
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crittie 28 Jul 2008, 15:42
Ok.

I am thinking of getting a new comp as well but my budget isn't that big so I think I will go for E8400 and neither taking SLI nor CF.
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MerlinatoR 28 Jul 2008, 15:33
most likely changes will be ATI 4870's for both (maybe crossfire for PC1) and ill ring the mobo manufacturer or scour their site. Perhaps changing the HDD to the samsung one - will depend on the prices when it comes to ordering.

thanks for all the input, puts a technewbs mind at rest a bit. :O)
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dejx 28 Jul 2008, 18:14
don't buy nForce mobo then!!
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MerlinatoR 28 Jul 2008, 18:27
yup yup ;] x38/x48 crossfire compatible mobo, maximus is one Im looking at aswell as others.
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dejx 28 Jul 2008, 20:13
old maximus formula is nice but they did one stupid mistake @ ASUS. They released maximus II formula after but it is based on P45 and not x38/x48. P45 has one major problem, cuz it only support x16 per one slot and x8/x4 per second in crossfire mode.
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swedey 30 Jul 2008, 15:06
Hiya Merl i just spoke to Diccy, i odered a pc yesterday, and we had the same budget :)

This is what i took: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v673/petta/heltklartsistanulol-1.jpg

Here is some specs for card: image: gtx

And plz dont take the raptor, here is some reviews and stuff: http://www.anandtech.com/storage/showdoc.aspx?i=3291&p=2

Get back to me in a pm if you want too get some more tips :)

And plz god NO!!! the: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-009-TT&groupid=701&catid=7&subcat=&name=Thermaltake%20VA7000SWA%20Shark%20Aluminium%20Full%20Tower%20-%20Silver

I have it, and the honeycombs make the pc sound like shit even though you have the fans on lowest. The honeycombs are just pure shit
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MerlinatoR 30 Jul 2008, 18:08
thanks for the info swedey, I dont think I can talk my brother out of getting that tower though, its one of the best looking for his pricerange and its well fanned. ;)

Ill just have to say a little "told you so" x)
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swedey 30 Jul 2008, 18:26
yeqa i had it for 3 years now, the fan thingy infront really sucks, cos it collect dust with in 1 week, you need to clean it every 2 weeks lol.
Also the honeycombs, even though i have my fan on lowest it sounds like. Crap lol :D

I had it for 3 years as i said, and we both can say "told you so" after :p

I would suggest him to get a Lian-Li case :)

Also i read you want "HD4870" yea i was going for that too, but some alkd me out of it (from own expience and others). The card is uber good, but what the missed too do is drivers that works, everyone i talked too who have it, says you get fps drops etc cos there isnt any driver to fix it. So i rather pay for a bit "worse" card then have amazing gfx but fps drops and freeze points. :)

I researched alot before i took what i have in my configuration, checked alot of reviews and talked to people who knows the stuff in various pc forums :)

Oh here´s a little pic of my commando center atm: image: DSCF2104
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