This is my first time building my own pc so I am asking you what you think about it and what I should change,

Club 3DHD4870 X2

Intel®Core™ 2 Duo E8400

ChieftecCFT-750-14C (750Watt)

Enough Watt???

ASRockX48TURBOTWINS-WIFI

HitachiDeskstar P7K500 (320GB)

OCZ4GB 1066-555 XTC Plat

Do you guys think I should go for DDR3 RAM or should I just stick to the DDR2 RAM?

Enough Watts, and stick with DDR2

EDIT: and Sweet set-up you got there

I'm surprised no one commented on the Asrock X48 TurboTwins. When I've created threads on this board, someone had to mention that it's a bad mobo or get a new mobo. It's a good mobo for overclocking, just not for extreme overclocking. And the voltage options on the motherboard is laughable. I would go with a great DDR2 motherboard over the Asrock X48 mobo any day. But it looks like you have the money, so why not just get a $300 DDR2 or DDR3 motherboard? You'll be thanking the stars when you can overclock that E8400 to 4.0ghz, easy. I have to say, the Asrock X48 TurboTwins mobo isnt that bad. I managed to overclock it to 4118mhz or 4.1ghz, but you're really limited with the voltage options in the BIOS. NB, SB, VIT are selected by low, middle, high, highest instead of actual voltages. And it's extremely difficult to set another RAM divider without having the system crash on you. You end up stuck at an underclocked ram, and higher timings that you wanted. After my experience with DDR3 and Asrock DDR2/DDR3 mobo, I would choose something else. I would go with the best DDR2 motherboard out there with extreme overclocking, and 4GB of DDR2 Ram and Vista 64-bit OS. The rest is dust. DDR2 Ram has not reached it's full maturity yet, but yet it's very mature, therefore, it gives the best performance. DDR3 at the moment is very young, with very loose (high) timings, not to mention very expensive. Take it from me. Get DDR2 Motherboard and DDR2 Ram. You'll have an easier time overclocking and you'll be able to tighten up that ram to impeccable timings. Not only will it perform better than the counterpart DDR3, you'll be saving plenty of money to do other customizations to your PC build.

As for the PSU. Are you planning to Quadfire? (2) HD4870x2? If so, you will need at least a 1000watt PSU. One HD4870x2 consumes about 400watts. So do the math. If you dont plan to Quadfire, then 750watt is more than enough.

AsusP5E64 WS Evolution

Is this a good choice? Or should I go for a cheaper DDR2 mobo? and should i get DDR3 ram with this mobo too if i plan to get this one?

Asrock isn't a very good company so switch that outmastershake575

It isnt. At least not yet. Asus owns Asrock but it's like a low-end company of Asus. Take it from someone like me who has the Asrock X48 TurboTwins. It took me a lot of work to get my CPU to 4.1ghz, when it should have taken me a fraction of the time with another mobo, assuming you'll be getting a great mobo. If you're not going to overclock, then get it. But seeing as how you want a DDR3 setup, you better overclock or else you're throwing your money down the drain. No one spends money on DDR3 unless they plan to overclock, because it's expensive stuff. But honestly, you can get even better performance with DDR2. At his point, DDR3 is not stable, like I said, loose timings, and benchmarks are neck and neck with DDR2, that's assuming you overclock your DDR3 ram. The timings and maturity of the DDR2 cannot be beat,unfortunately, at least, not for another 6 months to a year, from now.

Well I want to try to overclock this setup but I am kinda new to OC'ing so im kinda scarred Im gonna fck my pc up XD
And No im not getting another gpu for crossfire :P I dont have enough money for that >.

AsusP5E64 WS Evolution

Is this a good choice? Or should I go for a cheaper DDR2 mobo? andshould i get DDR3 ram with this mobo too?

gunit3000

If you're going to get a DDR2 mobo, you cant use DDR3 RAM on it. Only hybrid motherboards like the Asrock x48 can do that.

Tell us what your goals are first.

1) Overclocking (mild or extreme?) Example. Are you going to overclock your E8400 to 3.6-3.8 or 4.0ghz and beyond?

2) Crossfire setup? You will need (2) PCI-E x16 lanes. Not PCI-E x16 and x8 dual-mode.

3) DDR2 or DDR3? DDR2 is inexpensive, mature, great and reliable performance, fastest timings.

DDR3 is expensive, young, good but not great performance for its class, and slow timings.

4) What games do you plan to play? Crysis being most demanding and the only game you should worry about. Although, you shouldnt be wasting tons of money just to play one game.

5) What's your budget? $1000, $3000?

6) Is this PC for day to day desktop usage and gaming, or for video-editing, photoshop, multi-tasking?

7) How long do you plan to keep this PC? How long do you want it to last?

8 ) Do you plan to make future upgrades? If so, keep that in mind because the Power supply is very important, as well as the motherboard in terms of your limitation.

9) If you plan to overclock, do you have an aftermarket CPU heatsink/cooler/fan in mind? You will need it.

Dont forget case fans, to keep the air circulation cool and moving from front to back (intake to exhaust).

This may sound overwhelming, but it's better to do the research and know what you're getting into instead of having to make all these change while you already have your build made. Next thing you know, you have to settle for what you have because you passed your return policy date, or it's just too much hassle to make changes. Also, it depends on what standards you have. If you're okay with a decent build, then whatever will work.

Oh, btw. Get the E8500 instead. It has a higher multiplier which helps a lot, and it's about a $10-20 difference in price, with more clock speed. It's a great dual-core CPU, that's if you want a dual-core.

And No im not getting another gpu for crossfire :P I dont have enough money for that >.gunit3000

Then save some money by getting a P45 motherboard.

1) I never OC'ed a CPU before but I want to learn how to get it up to 4.0ghz

2) Don't want to buy another GPU. Maybe in the future

3) DDR2 seems to be the best choise for me (moneywise)

4) High demanding games

5) 1800 dollars? (1200eruo)

6) Ofcourse gaming :P

7) 2 to 3 years

8 ) I bought a agp system 3 years ago (stupid me >.

8) I will in the future

9 I read that u could OC an e8400 to 4.0ghz with just fan/aircooling? but im not sure wich one to get cuz im really new in the oc scene

edit: Maybe i will skipp the whole oc part because I have never done it before and i dont wanna wreck these expensive parts >.

8) I will in the future

9 I read that u could OC an e8400 to 4.0ghz with just fan/aircooling? but im not sure wich one to get cuz im really new in the oc scene

gunit3000

Yup. You can. Getting an E8400 to 4.0ghz may be a bit more taxing on your CPU than getting an E8500 to 4.0ghz. It's up to you. Like I said, it's only a $10-20 difference. I'm not sure if newegg.com is still offering a free copy of World in Conflict with the purchase of an E8500. Can you shop at newegg.com?

Edit: Looks like the deal is over but there is a new combo deal. Check it out if you want.

Im from the netherlands >.< So I dont think I will be buying at newegg :P

If i keep it at stock speeds (in this case e8500) will it bottleneck a 4870x2 gaming wise?

Im from the netherlands >.< So I dont think I will be buying at newegg :P

If i keep it at stock speeds (in this case e8500) will it bottleneck a 4870x2 gaming wise?

gunit3000

It may bottleneck in Crysis in high resolution. From personal experience, When I left E8500 at stock speed, it wasnt enough for Crysis with an HD4870, barely playable at 1680x1050 with stock speed E8500. But in your case, we're talking about an HD4870x2. It may bottleneck. You can give it a try. Push comes to shove, overclock your CPU to like 3.6-3.8 ghz and it'll run like a dream.

Crysis is GPU-dependent, but the lack of speed on your CPU will bottleneck the graphics card. You can overclock so you'll be perfectly fine.

but thats the problem xD I dont know how to OC (only a bit, i have always been a console gamer but sony failed me) :P so maybe my build is to "High" for my standards

but thats the problem xD I dont know how to OC :P so maybe my build is to "High" for my

standardsgunit3000

OC'ing isnt that hard. You have plenty of people on here that can help you. You can easily reach 3.6-3.8ghz with only upping your CPU frequency. I was able to get up to 3.6 almost 3.7ghz by just changing the CPU frequency on stock voltage. With an HD4870x2, that's all you'll need. Crysis will be spanked.

This might help a bit...

http://www.legionhardware.com/document.php?id=717&p=1

Depends on the res, at a res such as 1024x768 you will be cpu limited. At 1280x1024 and above the workload will start to shift onto the GPU.jmnderson69

Thanks that website did help me out.

I will try to get it up to 3.6ghz/3.8ghz

Edit: So if I change the FSB to 400mhz I should be able to get to 3.8ghz with an e8500 that is stable without an extra fan right?

Do I also need to change the PCI Express bus frequency to 100mhz?

Thanks that website did help me out.

I will try to get it up to 3.6ghz/3.8ghz

Edit: So if I change the FSB to 400mhz I should be able to get to 3.8ghz with an e8500 that is stable without an extra fan right?

Do I also need to change the PCI Express bus frequency to 100mhz?

gunit3000

By default, the PCI Express should be at 100mhz. Leave it at 100mhz. It is highly recommended not to up the frequency. As for the FSB, it all depends on what multiplier you are using. I used 400 x 9.5 to hit 3.8ghz. But it should be in sync with your RAM for best performance.

As for the extra fan, you mean the CPU heatsink right? I would recommend Tuniq Tower. It's awesome. There's also the Thermalright 120, and Arctic Freezer Pro 7. They're all around $60 and lower.