New Gaming PC Build

[BYS2]

Hey,

So i'm gonna build a new computer mostly for gaming and some engineering simulations i sometimes run (SPICE, Quartus, Matlab etc...). Since i've never done this i'd be glad is someone could check over this list of parts i came up with. I've done alot of research on compatibility issues and overclocking (which i am planning on doing) but i still have a few issues that i would like to clarify before i actually buy the stuff.

A bit of a background: i would like to be able to run all latest games (except crysis) at 1680X1050 at highest quality (including bioshock, supreme commander and gears of war) at an average frame rate of at least 40fps. I also have a dual monitor setup.

So here goes:
Processor: Pentium Core 2 Quad Q9450 Link (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115039)
Motherboard: Asus P5K Premium/Wifi Ap Link (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131190&Tpk=P5K%2bPREMIUM)
Video Card: Asus 8800GTS (G92) Link (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121218)
RAM: OCZ 4GB (2x2048) DDR2 1066 PC2-8500 Reaper HPC 4GB Edition Link (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227289&Tpk=OCZ2RPR10664GK)
OR
2X OCZ 2GB (2x1GB) DDR2 1066 PC2-8500 Platinum SLI-Ready Edition Dual Channel Link (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227181&Tpk=OCZ2N1066SR2GK)
Power Supply: Thermaltake Toughpower 750W ATX W0117RU Link (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817153036&Tpk=W0117RU)

These are the key components, i have not listed the other stuff (harddrive, sound card etc..)

So the parts above are what i'm thinking of getting. But i just have a few concerns:
1. Asus P5K Premium motherboard only has a PCI-E x16 expansion slot, but my Asus 8800gts (G92) video card uses PCI-E 2.0 x16 slot. I have read that PCI-E 2.0 is backwards compatible with PCI-E 1.1 and i should just be able to plug the video card in without issues. But i'm just wondering if there will be any performance degradation at all from using doing this. I understand that the video card won't use up all the available bandwith anyways, but is there any possible problems with doing this? I have not yet looked at the actual interface and protocol differences between the 2 standards but i would assume there are some differences which might create problems. Also, i heard that PCI-E 2.0 is NOT compatible with the older PCI-E 1.0 or PCI-E 1.0a and many people have problems with this especially with older chipsets. But i do not know if my motherboard uses PCI-E 1.1 or the older 1.0 or 1.0a. Should i get a X38 mobo instead of this P35 one? X38 supports PCI-E 2.0 for sure so that would resolve this. The X38 mobo that i would get is the ASUS P5E Link (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131219). The price difference between the X38 and the P35 i mentioned above is $50.

2. Asus P5K mobo says it supports 4X ddr2 1066 but from reports that i have read, there are issues with using 4 X 1gb sticks of 1066 ram. Mobo memory controller can't seem to handle all the mem banks being filled. Although i've read that it runs 4 sticks of 800mhz ddr2 fine, i have seen numerous reports that 4 sticks of 1066 does not work and the mobo downclocks the ram to 800mhz instead. Futhermore, you can't OC it. Anyone have any definite confirmation on this issue?

3. Also, what are your opinions on using 2x2gb sticks instead of 4x1gb? advantages of 2x2gb is that it has better OC potential (2 sticks to match instead of 4), lighter loads on the mem controller, but the sticks themselves usually have looser timings than 1gb sticks. So which ones do you think are better? the 2x2gb or the 4x1gb that i listed above? i can get both at pretty much the same price ($5 more for 2x2gb compared to the 2 sets of 2x1gb) right now and i'm leaning towards the 2x2gb because of the better OCing and because of the issue with P5K mobo not being able to handle 4 sticks of 1066 ram (issue 2 above). Oh and the timings on the 1gb are 5-5-5-15 and the 2gb are 5-5-5-18 which is quite similar from what i've read.

4. Right now i am getting 1066MHz PC28500 ram, but i'm wondering if thats the right kind. I have read that FSB:RAM speed ratio should be 1:1 (or as close to it as possible). Is this information correct? If so then, my quad Q9450 processor has 1333Mhz FSB, since it is quad pumped this translates to an actual speed of 333MHz. This means that my RAM should also be 333Mhz X 2 = 666 MHz (for dual channel). So is 1066Mhz ram overkill? i am planning on OCing for sure so that probably changes some things. I am hoping to get the Q9450 up to 3.5ghz OCed on air. From all the literature that i've read, the P35/X38/X48 boards should be able to do this no problems at all (different story with nForce chipset). So say i want to OC my processor to 3.2-3.5 Ghz or so, how would this affect the FSB:RAM ratio and stuff.

5. The power supply i am thinking of is a decent one but i see some cheaper alternatives with larger wattage so i was wondering about this. The 2 alternative supplies i am thinking of are the Antec TruePower 850W Link (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371009&Tpk=TPQ-850) or the OCZ GameXStream 1010W Power Supply Link (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341007&Tpk=OCZ1010GXSSLI). By the way, all the links i am posting are newegg links but i am not actually buying from newegg. So the prices on newegg for the Antec and OCZ are more expensive, but where i am getting it from, the 1010W OCZ is cheapest followed by Antec 850W followed by the Tt 750W. The dilema is that the Tt only supplies 750W but costs me over $30 more than the OCZ 1010W! I know that 1010W is not required right now. But the PSU is the one part of this new build that i want to be future proof since i will reuse it in my next build (maybe 2 years times). All three are getting excellent reviews for stability, robustness etc for the most part. An important difference is in the amount of 8 pin PCI-E connectors (for future video cards or even the 9800GX2 right now needs one). The Tt comes with 1x 6 pin PCI-E and 1x 8 pin PCI-E, the Antec comes with 2x 6 pin PCI-E and 2x 6+2 pin PCI-E while the OCZ comes only with 4x 6 pin PCI-E. Therefore, the OCZ seems to have the least future proofing, but i have read that you can easily get a 6 to 8 pin adapter and make a 8pin PCI-E video card run. However, using these adapters is NOT recommended by certain groups (eVGA people and alot of others) since it might cause several problems. Firstly, 6pin PCI-E power cables deliver 75W (although connector is rated at 108W) while 8pin PCI-E cables deliver 150W. This means that it might be possible for a very power hungry GPU to malfuntion (or not OC properly) if its supposed to use a 8pin PCI-E and you use a 6pin PCI-E. Secondly, i have read that using the adapter might cause the overloading of one of the 12V rails on the PSU.

Sorry for the long post, but i really want to get these issues sorted out before i buy this stuff. I understand that some of my questions are probably not conventional ones and are pretty detailed but i would appreciate any insight you have

Oh and what are your general impressions of my rig? any good? Any serious problems with the components?

Thanks

[Dizz]

Little bump for you BYS2 for Ricky, Shy, Wise, and Jamie to look at.

Here is a post from Ricky where he is putting together possible top notch computers at this link, which yours is looking as such:

http://forums.mysuperpc.com/showthread.php?t=1639

First things first for what these fella's are going to ask you. What is your budget?

Also....concise. It is kind of hard to read all this when most folks are at work and trying to be quick. :)

[shyster]

Okay lets take a crack at this.

<Cracks Knuckles>

Firstly you have the right parts in mind, at least the type and capability wise. Now as for my personal opinion on them:

Q9450: I have not used it, but it is supposed to be awesome from all the things I have read, well worth the price if you are going to fully utilize it.

Asus: I have abosolutely nothing good to say about them. I would personally recommend either a Gigabyte or an Abit board. The same is true for the video card. I have not used one of their cards, but they are also not know for their cards either. I find Evga is usually resonably priced with others and offers better support and warrenties.

OCZ RAM: I have not heard too much about this company so I do not know their quality, but they seem to have good reviews. The most important thing about RAM espeically when looking at 1066 is to make sure the board itself lists it as vendor supported ram (or some name similar to that) you can always find those listings on the board makers homepage.

PSU: Again do not know much about these brands, but the Corsair HX series, are supposed to be some of the best PSU's out there. They are more expensive than some other PSUs and do not have as high of a power rating 620 is the biggest I believe. However Currently the only computer that might take that much power is one that is running six sticks of ram, two CPUs, and two big video cards. You mentioned that you wanted a big PSU for future proofing, but personally I would prefer something that is totally stable, has a longer shelf life, and is very efficient. And also in regards to future proofing, while things are getting bigger and using more energy, they are also getting smaller and using less. Just taking a look at the new Intel chips proves this point, the 45nm technology uses less power than the 64nm, and the video cards are going to start integrating that in the future as well I believe.

Now on to actually pretending to answer your questions:

1. I believe PCI-E is PCI-E 2.0. I could be wrong, but it is unlikely that new boards would not have the 2.0 installed on them.

2. Asus is junk. Jamie will swear by them and other people have not had problems with them, but just taking a look through their forums shows how many people have problems with their boards. I do not know about your board specifically, but they are very strict about their Vendor lists, if you do not get supported RAM then they will blame you and call you an idiot. That said if you do actually get the listed RAM more often than not I believe that the RAM will clock correctly. Still I suggest going with one of the other two main makers.

3. I prefer 2x2 since it allows future upgrading should the need arise, with 1x2 you need to use up all the slots so if upgrading you get a smaller bonus, plus you waste the ones you have to pull out.

4. No idea! However I know people who have that same setup and I do not think it is "overkill." I do not know the specifics of it, but I think the 1066 is the timing that matches up against the 1333, not the math that you had.

5. Pretty much said all I know above.

This post has some facts, but is mostly speculation, or personal opinion so take it as such.

Also for a really good idea at a parts list, check out the recently posted stickies

Recommendations: Mid-range and Top-Notch