The Official Budget-Conscious Dream Machine!

The 600W OCZ is alright, but the quality of OCZ units doesn't quite match that of Corsairs. The StealthXStream is the only OCZ PSU worth buying, the GameXStreams have too much ripple and aren't as powerful as the numbers suggest, and the ProXStreams blow your ears off.

 

I agree, it's nowhere near the raw power and stability of a 620HX. But for the price I paid, I got way more than my money's worth. It should be fine for me for years to come.

If I find I need something better. I'll bite the bullet and get a 620HX.

 

Sorry for the double, but I'd like to add something of a different issues.

I'm heavily considering a Q9450 with a Gigabyte X48 board, though possibly an X38-DS4. Sam, can you tell me the difference between DS4-DS3-DQ6 and the like?

I'm still going for the 4870 so that leaves me open for crossfire when the time comes. If I make this total upgrade, I'm going to be getting the 620HX for sure. Also, I'm going to be staying with WinXP Pro 32-bit. Vista is nice but it kills performance and can be a bit annoying to use.

Also, would it be smart to go for Xfire right away or should I wait for more price drops?

What do you guys think? Any suggestions? Price is not a major concern but should be taken into account.

 

They don't make a DS3 X48 motherboard. The DQ6 has more SATA ports and internal USB headers than the DS3. 2 more SATA ports and 2 more internal USB headers. Also it has better cooling and probbaly overclocks better.

 

DS3 is the standard board with normal power regulation. The DS3L, DS3R, DS3P are just variations upon that by features. The DS4 I believe is the step up from that with high efficiency regulators and the like, and the DQ6 is the full house of several-phase regulation and other high performance, high durability components.
The X38-DS4 and X48-DS4 are pretty much identical boards apart from the chipset, to my knowledge, they look pretty much the same.

Abuzar is right, they don't make a DS3 for either the X38 or X48 chipsets.

 

Look at estuansis bragging. Price is not a major concern. lol just kidding

 

He's not exactly your typical 'must have the latest and greatest' buyer is he? Lol give him some time in the sunlight.

 

He had a 8800GTX way before I sold mine.

He buys latest and greatest, just hasn't done so recently

 

Well, I have enough money for my own interests apart from helping with bills and groceries. So ~$1000 for an upgrade is the least of my financial worries at this point. I state that to mean I could get an X38-DS4 or possibly an X48-DQ6 if it was worth the extra. Just not something overpriced like a GTX280. Sorry if it sounds like bragging. You know I'm not like that

So I would probably be happy to get the X38-DS4? I can't see any reasons to go higher than that considering the X48 is basically almost the same chipset just with a few new negligible features. I don't use a ridiculous amount of USB devices or HDDs or anything. I really just want better chipset cooling(the copper pipes) the option for crossfire.

And yes, they ARE identical. It's the same with the P35-DS3L and the 965P-DS3. Everything right down to the silkscreen printing near the slots is the same. That's why chipset is less of a worry than brand. My current favorite remains Gigabyte with nothing else notable coming to mind.

So here's what I want to get:

Q9450
Gigabyte X38-DS4
Sapphire 4870(anything better or is everything still reference?)
Corsair 620HX

How does that sound? Any improvements or is that about the best for the money?

 

Sounds like an excellent parts list. As far as I know all the 4870s are still reference.

 

Yup sounds good. The X48 only guarantees higher FSBs which we can get by overclocking so it doesn't matter.

 

I highly doubt the X38-DS4 would be a problematic overclocker...

 

So it's settled. Order made

Yes, I intend to take the 9450 to 3.4GHz and only 3.4GHz. That seems to be the sweet spot for performance/heat/fan noise. Anything over will see an improvement in heavy arithmetic, but not games.

It'll be a shame to see my E6750 and 8800GTS go now but I hope the Quad and 4870 fill the hole in my heart

I get sentimentally attached to my components. I'm such a sap

 

Lol you're not alone there mate, not at all...
Should be good - and I agree wholeheartedly with your decision to take the Q9450 to 3.4Ghz.

 

Pansies! Growing attached to your computers.

I should get rid of mine this week. Hopefully.

 

Well ours have given us months, years of service. Yours don't get a chance! lol

 

My point exactly. My E6750 has been with me for well over a year now and has been through some serious sh*t with me in that time.

I'm keeping all my old components though and making a second build. I only really need to put in a spare HDD(500GB Samsung) and some new RAM, which is in my order. Some Patriot DDR2-800, which isn't bad at all and should allow me to keep the OC if I keep it near stock. Though I might lower it to 3GHz so I can drop the voltage and save on power.

I was thinking of selling the secondary build but I changed my mind. I need a torrent/LAN box anyway

But an upgrade is certainly due if I want to play Crysis, Mass Effect, and future games at native res. I really love Crysis especially and I think it's one of the best games to come out in years.

All of the new stuff is going back into my Thermaltake Armor and the old stuff is staying in the Raidmax Smilodon.

 

now if your gonna get rid of the E6750. give me a PM...

here is another board you could look at.

GA-EP45-DS4P
it has the newest chipset and is alot cooler.also able to do crossfire. from what i have read about it, it works great with the Q9450.

 

Rob, the EP45 board can do proper crossfire due to the 8x/8x lane config.

 

P45 dual boards are nice, but I'd probably only recommend them if the second 16x slot was going to be used for something other than a graphics card, or not used at all. The X38/X48 chipsets have crossfire written all over them.