Intel core 2 Quad Q9650 3.00 ghz processor package

[Disco_owner]

need your opinions on the following system;

*Intel core 2 Quad Q9650 3.00 ghz processor
*Asus pQ5 - intel chipset Motherboard
*1TB 7200 rpm dual channel IDE hard drive
*1GB Nvidia 9400GT 16 x 3D PCI-E video card
*21.5" Samsung 2233SW 5ms Widescreen LCD Monitor
*Dual Layer DVD-RW Drive
*ASUS AC97 digital Audio sound card
*5.1 channel speaker system
*ATX medium tower case
*Gigabit Network card


for extra $165 upgrade to 2TB

[HangOver]

need your opinions on the following system;

*Intel core 2 Quad Q9650 3.00 ghz processor
*Asus pQ5 - intel chipset Motherboard
*1TB 7200 rpm dual channel IDE hard drive
*1GB Nvidia 9400GT 16 x 3D PCI-E video card
*21.5" Samsung 2233SW 5ms Widescreen LCD Monitor
*Dual Layer DVD-RW Drive
*ASUS AC97 digital Audio sound card
*5.1 channel speaker system
*ATX medium tower case
*Gigabit Network card
for extra $165 upgrade to 2TB

hmmmm always interesting looking at systems especially top end stuff :D

Quad core, have a quick look at the cost of low end i7 processors, they cost a bit more maybe 200 approx, but will obliterate any off the shelf dual/quad core.
Saying that theres very little you will be able to do with a 3Gb Quad that it will struggle with, very little as in, well, probably nothing.

Asus pQ : don't really know anything about them I stick to intel or gigabite

Hard drive, curious that you have chosen IDE when sATA is faster, check out sATA drives the actual cost difference will be negligible.

1GB Nvidia 9400GT: The 9400GT is a re-badged and overclocked 8500GT. You would be better off going for a 9500GT, 9600GT or derivative with 512MB of ram instead of the 1GB the better chipset will make much more of an improvement then the additional DDR2 512MB ram.
Failing that look out for anything with DDR3 ram, It would be better for video. I suppose it depends if your a heavy gamer pay for a slightly better card if, like me you play a game about once every two months then I wouldn't worry about it. Get a quote for the next card up though, it might only be $20-30 ?

*21.5" Samsung 2233SW 5ms Widescreen LCD Monitor
for me usually a screen is a screen if you like it buy it, i'm not that much into audio/picture quality as long as it works I'm happy.

*Dual Layer DVD-RW Drive
usually more or less the same not even worth buying a more expensive one unless you burn a LOT of dvds/cds or you want blue-ray.

ASUS AC97 digital Audio sound card
I havent looked but i think the AC97 sound is inbuilt to the motherboard? so you cant do anything abut that anyhow * see my comments about audio/video as long as it works :D

*5.1 channel speaker system
*ATX medium tower case
*Gigabit Network card
pretty much common an all systems now, no need to change.

As for the 2TB upgrade don't bother unless you want to raid them.
By the time you fill 1TB an additional 1TB will have dropped in price so you can fit one later for cheaper

You didn't mention ram?

Hope i gave you some stuff to think about :twisted:

[solmanic]

Just a couple of things...

You might consider a 1GB ATI 4870 graphics card. Much cheaper than Nvidia and the Asus mobo aupports crossfire, so you can add another one if you feel like it.

I presume the mobo is a P5Q not PQ5?

Also, don't underestimate the value of a good power supply with decent cable management. It's a PC so you'll be poking around in there periodically out of necessity so it pays to keep it tidy. Also, a higher spec power supply will give you more grunt down the track when you swap out the graphics card for a 4GB model and an 8-core processor, and it will probably be quieter too. I got an OCZ Stealth X-Stream 600W one and it just transformed my box from the cr@ppy one the manufacturer stuck in there.

[Disco_owner]

hmmmm always interesting looking at systems especially top end stuff :D

You didn't mention ram?

:twisted:

4GB DDR2 800.

[Disco_owner]

Just a couple of things...

You might consider a 1GB ATI 4870 graphics card. Much cheaper than Nvidia and the Asus mobo aupports crossfire, so you can add another one if you feel like it.

I presume the mobo is a P5Q not PQ5?

Also, don't underestimate the value of a good power supply with decent cable management. It's a PC so you'll be poking around in there periodically out of necessity so it pays to keep it tidy. Also, a higher spec power supply will give you more grunt down the track when you swap out the graphics card for a 4GB model and an 8-core processor, and it will probably be quieter too. I got an OCZ Stealth X-Stream 600W one and it just transformed my box from the cr@ppy one the manufacturer stuck in there.

Sorry , that would be correct , it is P5Q.

[d@rk51d3]

4GB DDR2 800.

Can you go DDR2 1066?

[HangOver]

hmmm I would say in practicle terms the dsifference between 800 and 1066 ram is about > < this much for day to day tasks you wont even tell the difference.

Max your board out with DDR ram as much as it will take, price for 1GB DDR ram at the moment about $10 :cool:

[HangOver]

this post looks like it could be a good can of worms to poke around in :)

re: the PSU, I sort of agree with you but from a cost/performance point of view a 400w would be adequate and 500w would have room to spare.
Bear in mind a PSU works to peak performance at about 80% load.

I buy 400w PSUs for 3.0 GB dcore's and they seem to stand the test so far.
But as you say buy bigger and if you need and extra video card or two it'll handle it. The only downsie to that is the cost from a 4--W to a 600W would be about 2 to 3 times the cost.

[Disco_owner]

hmmmm always interesting looking at systems especially top end stuff :D

Quad core, have a quick look at the cost of low end i7 processors, they cost a bit more maybe 200 approx, but will obliterate any off the shelf dual/quad core.
Saying that theres very little you will be able to do with a 3Gb Quad that it will struggle with, very little as in, well, probably nothing..

I have to agree , there probably won't any be applications ,tasks or games that I can throw at this processor that it would lack in performance ,it would keep up quite nicely , even with the amount of video work I'm planning on doing later down the track


Asus pQ : don't really know anything about them I stick to intel or gigabite

Neither did I , I asked one the IT Guys at work what he thought of this particular card , he reckons it was one of the better card on the market.


Hard drive, curious that you have chosen IDE when sATA is faster, check out sATA drives the actual cost difference will be negligible.

Actually I hadn't chosen this option , the package inluded IDE 2 dual channel hard-drive , But I'd probably have the option of going to SATA2. as you said , it may cost a little more , I'll look into it.


1GB Nvidia 9400GT: The 9400GT is a re-badged and overclocked 8500GT. You would be better off going for a 9500GT, 9600GT or derivative with 512MB of ram instead of the 1GB the better chipset will make much more of an improvement then the additional DDR2 512MB ram.
Failing that look out for anything with DDR3 ram, It would be better for video. I suppose it depends if your a heavy gamer pay for a slightly better card if, like me you play a game about once every two months then I wouldn't worry about it. Get a quote for the next card up though, it might only be $20-30 ?

I'll investigate this option , if the price difference is not significant i'd be looking at the 9500 or 9600 card.


*21.5" Samsung 2233SW 5ms Widescreen LCD Monitor
for me usually a screen is a screen if you like it buy it, i'm not that much into audio/picture quality as long as it works I'm happy.

I was the same until recently when my Employer replaced all the CRT screen with LCD monitors , to be honest they're are nice to look and I found less harsher on the eyes , but it's more of a space saving thing .


ASUS AC97 digital Audio sound card
I havent looked but i think the AC97 sound is inbuilt to the motherboard? so you cant do anything abut that anyhow * see my comments about audio/video as long as it works :D

Agree , the 5.1 Surround sound thingy doesn't really appeal to be that much ,I'm more of a believer of Function than Form.


As for the 2TB upgrade don't bother unless you want to raid them.
By the time you fill 1TB an additional 1TB will have dropped in price so you can fit one later for cheaper

I wouldn't , Just put it out there for opinions of what people thought of the upgrade , I doubt I'll ever Fill 1TB , but as you said If I did ,I'd have the option of purchasing another 1TB HDD or even 2TB down the track.



Just a couple of things...

You might consider a 1GB ATI 4870 graphics card. Much cheaper than Nvidia and the Asus mobo aupports crossfire, so you can add another one if you feel like it.

I had an earlier Ver of an ATI graphics card in my Media centre I built a while back , I was quite happy with it's performance until the Fan on top of the processor came off :o but the fan design on the new card seems to be more robust and a better desgin. so I bought another ATI card and installed it, no issues so Far.


Also, don't underestimate the value of a good power supply with decent cable management. It's a PC so you'll be poking around in there periodically out of necessity so it pays to keep it tidy. Also, a higher spec power supply will give you more grunt down the track when you swap out the graphics card for a 4GB model and an 8-core processor, and it will probably be quieter too. I got an OCZ Stealth X-Stream 600W one and it just transformed my box from the cr@ppy one the manufacturer stuck in there.

I've got true 500w ATX power supply lying around somewhere , which I could install if I think the power supply that is supplied with the package is inadequate. and I agree with better cable management set up , I spent a few more $$$ and had this set up in my Media centre , much easier to work inside the box where everything is nice and Tidy.


Can you go DDR2 1066?

As mentioned Difference between 800 DDR2 and 1066DDR2 would be hardly noticeable.


...I buy 400w PSUs for 3.0 GB dcore's and they seem to stand the test so far.
But as you say buy bigger and if you need and extra video card or two it'll handle it. The only downsie to that is the cost from a 4--W to a 600W would be about 2 to 3 times the cost.

which brings me back to a point , If I was to put together a system with all the options mentioned above then I'd be better off Just buying all the Bits seperately from the computer markets like I did with my Media centre and put it together myself instead of buying a complete Package . may be I should do a Poll , what parts would you buy seperately to put a High end system together...

CPU...
Motherboard...
RAM...
Harddrive...ie SATA2 IDE2 , etc
Graphics card...
Monitor...
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.

[HangOver]

IMO your better off buying specified parts from one dealer then get them to assemble.
You get a full warranty then and they have to fix it not you ;)

[Disco_owner]

IMO your better off buying specified parts from one dealer then get them to assemble.
You get a full warranty then and they have to fix it not you ;)

I hear ya , but I reckon I'd have more Fun assembling the bits together and getting up/running with Windows 7, that way I know exactly how I've built it and not having to rely on the parts supplier / Computer outlet to fix any issues with it unless it's hardware related in which case I can take the specific part off and take it back to them. I 've never bought a complete computer package from any shop , and this would have been the 1st time I've considered it.

[Pedro_The_Swift]

I dont understand?

you build a whopper of a system, enough proccessing power for a small 3rd world nation,,
and you stick a basic graphics card on it,,

The only thing that warrants that much power is video processing of some kind,,
(or games)

so stick a decent card in it,,
you'll thank me later--

go here--
Charts, benchmarks Gaming Graphics Charts 2009, Sum of FPS Benchmarks 1920x1200 (http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/gaming-graphics-charts-2009/Sum-of-FPS-Benchmarks-1920x1200,1200.html)

[Disco_owner]

I dont understand?

you build a whopper of a system, enough proccessing power for a small 3rd world nation,,
and you stick a basic graphics card on it,,

The only thing that warrants that much power is video processing of some kind,,
(or games)

so stick a decent card in it,,
you'll thank me later--

go here--
Charts, benchmarks Gaming Graphics Charts 2009, Sum of FPS Benchmarks 1920x1200 (http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/gaming-graphics-charts-2009/Sum-of-FPS-Benchmarks-1920x1200,1200.html)

What do you recommend Pedro?

Nvidia Geforce GTX 295 ???

[Pedro_The_Swift]

Taking a sedative,,,
then look at the prices!!:p

but seriously folks,,

any of the latest cards should be ok,,
I think just a single great card is always better than two wanna-be's.

A GTX will require a VERY good PSU,,

with those specs and a GTX you should be able to lock the box for 18 months to two years.

and probably the only decent method of future proofing your PC.:cool:

[Disco_owner]

Taking a sedative,,,
then look at the prices!!:p

but seriously folks,,

any of the latest cards should be ok,,
I think just a single great card is always better than two wanna-be's.

A GTX will require a VERY good PSU,,

with those specs and a GTX you should be able to lock the box for 18 months to two years.

and probably the only decent method of future proofing your PC.:cool:

:D

Yeah , I saw the pri$e :twisted: If I end up building this Beast , I don't particularly want to upgrade it for another 3-4 years either.

[C0L0N3L]

..cant be bothered to read the whole thread.. but

what are you using it for? you CPU is awesome... but doesnt seem to match with all the other parts your getting..

*Intel core 2 Quad Q9650 3.00 ghz processor - Good

*Asus pQ5 - intel chipset Motherboard - which one exactly.. Gigabytes are very good too something like GA-EP45T-UD3R maybe

*1TB 7200 rpm dual channel IDE hard drive - using this as an OS drive? or expanding on your data?

*1GB Nvidia 9400GT 16 x 3D PCI-E video card - pretty crap card if you want to play games. Id be looking at a ati 4770 or higher or nvidia 9800 - 250 (It would be a good idea to go for factory overclocked mid range cars and change it every six months or so and sell your old one. (factory overclocked cards tend to hold their value) plus you will always be able to play the latest games without any problems.)

*21.5" Samsung 2233SW 5ms Widescreen LCD Monitor - I would go a 24" mainly cause you can watch full HD movies

*Dual Layer DVD-RW Drive - blu ray?
*ASUS AC97 digital Audio sound card - im pretty sure thats onboard crap.. if you serious about sound you'll have to pay about 100+ to get a sound card not worth it unless your a Hard core gamer or have awesome headphones/speakers

*5.1 channel speaker system - a lot of people go logitech.. but they are really muddy sounding.. altech lansing make good speakers edipher i think is another brand

*ATX medium tower case - most of these are personal preferences.. but if you don't care coolermaster 690 is a great case

You'll need a PSU I wouldnt go with one that comes with a case, i just dont think it would be powerfull enough I would look around the 700+ watt range a thermaltake q750 would be plenty enough power for you.

*Gigabit Network card this is on board with all new boards.. some even have two

where are you getting this from $165 for 1 TB seems a little excessive

[bruiser69]

If I were you I would go for the fastest core 2 dual Intel processor. Unless you are into serious video editing the faster dual core processors will outperform the slower quad core CPUs.
As others have mentioned you should definitely go for a better graphics card. The Radeon HD4830 for $191 (typical online price) or Geforce 9800GT for $259 will satisfy your needs unless you want to run games such as Crysis at 1920x1080. I would not go for the top models such as Radeon 4890 ($408) unless you are a serious gamer because these cards draw approx 100W(Watts) at idle!! Add the draw of the rest of the computer & you wouldn't want to leave in on 24/7 unless you want a massive power bill.
I would also consider two or three 500Gb hard drives instead of the 1Tb.
The 500Gb drives are dirt cheap at present, and this will give you some data security from hard drive failure.

Cheers..B;)

[Pedro_The_Swift]

I thought this,,,
Gigabyte GA-EX58-EXTREME Core i7 Motherboard
http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Products/Motherboard/Products_Overview.aspx?ProductID=2957

:cool: