HeavyG's New Rig

**HeavyG** · 04-12-09, 08:34 PM

Alright folks... it is that time again. This time I am on a tight budget, and there are some "must haves" for my build, so I will be taking a look on what parts I want to scrap. First, let's take a look at my current build from the ground up (I have highlighted anything that will be kept for the new system):

Case: Cooler Master Cavalier (Silver) - 4 years old
Motherboard: Abit IP35 Pro - 1.5 years old
CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E6850 3.0GHz - 1.5 years old
Memory: 4 GB OCZ Reaper DDR2 800 - 1.5 years old
Hard Drive: 640 GB Western Digital Green - Pulled out of my Media PC
PSU: Cooler Master 700w Modular - 1 week old ($125)
CPU Cooler: ASUS Silent Knight
Optical Drive: Sony DVD RW - Ancient!!!!
Video Card: ATI HD2900XT - 1.5 years old
Sound Card: Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Gamer

For the old parts that will not cut it for this build, you will be missed. For the parts that will be staying for the build, welcome back!

Working on a Budget

I have a budget of $700 to complete this project. I know a lot of you are probably thinking, "holy shit, I could do a lot with $700!", but the truth of the matter is that my "must haves" are taking up almost 1/2 of my budget, leaving me $350 left to build my rig. Here are my must haves:

Case: Cooler Master Cosmos (Black) - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811119150

I have been obsessing over this case for over a year now. I love the design, and I am a big cooler master supporter when it comes to cases. Once they came out with the black edition, I was sold. I found this case on Amazon.com for $180 w/free shipping... you can't beat that with a stick. I also decided to pick up a Samsung Optical Drive for my DVD burning pleasure ($25). The black drive will match the new case.

I know a lot of people may thing I am crazy for spending this much on a case, but I will take their feedback with a grain of salt. I know a good case doesn't really make your computer any better, with the exception of superior cooling, but I really like the features on this case and I like the way it looks.

Motherboard: Asus P5K Premium (No Link)

My motherboard has been having... issues. I loved my Abit board. It was one of the best boards I have ever owned. The sad truth is that devices are starting to fail and become unrecognized... devices such as the onboard LAN that randomly disappears, and my USB devices. Needless to say, it is time for her to go. I do not want to replace my CPU and Memory, so I decided to find a replacement board for my E6850 CPU. This was a tough search as most of the big players only sell P45 chipsets and higher... which generally require DDR3 if you are getting a decent gaming board.

I found the ASUS P5K Black Pearl Edition for $120 on Google Product Search. I decided I would give it a whirl. It supports DDR2, and has 2 16x PCIe slots for crossfire support. I read reviews of the P5K boards and all I could find is that they overclock very well, which is a blessing for me since I am an avid overclocker.

Video Card

With my starting budget of $700, including the cost of my new 700w PSU, Case, Motherboard, and Optical Drive, I am already at $450. That leaves me at $250 left for me to purchase my Video Card(s) and any additional cooling devices for the new case. I originally decided on a single ATI 4870, but I started tinkering around with the idea of a Crossfire setup with two ATI 4850s.

There are arguments from both sides, but for the most part, the dual 4850s will out perform the single 4870. The problem was finding dual 4850s under my remaining budget of $250. I have seen posts from other members that dislike the option of dual video cards when a single more expensive card could do just fine. This is more of an "I want to do this" thing rather than an "I should do this" thing. I haven't used Crossfire or SLI since the old days of Voodoo 2 graphics.

I lucked out! Newegg had a special for Sapphire ATI 4850 cards at $149.99 with a $10 instant rebate and a $20 mail in rebate, making the card $119.99. I also found a coupon code for an additional $20 off making the overall purchase price $99.99 for each card! I went ahead and ordered two of them, so my quest for Crossfire gaming will begin soon.

Final Thoughts

This build is not the conventional HeavyG build that is centered around CPU/Memory/Graphics first, looks and aesthetics second. Instead, I want to update the outside of my machine first, then throw some updated replacement parts in second, with a hopeful boost to my performance with the updated graphics cards. Maybe later in the year when the price of the 4870 cards go down, I can look into getting two of them and throwing them in Crossfire.

Well that is all for now, folks. I will keep you updated on the progress of the build over the next week or so. My parts should start arriving soon, and I still have $50 left over for additional fans and maybe a memory card reader for one of my 5.25" bays. I will keep you all posted.

HeavyG

**jason_jinx** · 04-12-09, 08:44 PM

Very nice setup.

You will be blazing in all source games.

**PizzaSHARK!** · 04-12-09, 11:52 PM

The case is an important part of your system... if the case is shitty, then it's going to be shit.

I really want to keep my existing case for when I build a new system, since it's solid steel (fucker weighs in at almost 25 lbs) and one entire side is covered in gaming-related bumper stickers (including an original UT2k4 bumper sticker that was in an issue of PC Gamer), but I'll probably have to get a new one, anyway

The Cosmos line really do look pretty freaking amazing... a friend of mine was showing me the ones he was looking at the other day, with these special drawings and stuff on them. He found one with an angel on it that he said was damned near identical to one of his wife's tattoos, so he said he would be using it. $350, but considering the quality of the case... it's not so bad.

**scuba_steve** · 04-13-09, 11:47 AM

This is what Heavy means when he is having a sexy party.

**Toker** · 04-13-09, 11:53 AM

Cool.. Now just find a way to upgrade from being a dickhead.

**HeavyG** · 04-13-09, 12:44 PM

Originally Posted by Toker

Cool.. Now just find a way to upgrade from being a dickhead.

Ouch. I don't know what that was for...

**Toker** · 04-13-09, 12:52 PM

Originally Posted by HeavyG

Originally Posted by Toker

Cool.. Now just find a way to upgrade from being a dickhead.

Ouch. I don't know what that was for...

Returning some previous love..

**shatter99** · 04-13-09, 01:59 PM

There are arguments from both sides, but for the most part, the dual 4850s will out perform the single 4870.

I avoid the Intel Chipsets like the plague so I might be wrong here, but if I recall correctly, two cards will drops down to 8X PCI-E. If that is true, then get the fastest-biggest-badasses card you can and ignore dual cards.

**~~Cecil900~~** · 04-13-09, 02:06 PM

That doesnt really matter in the end, you will still get the same performance if they drop to 8x. They dont come close to maxing out PCI-E 16x.

**HeavyG** · 04-15-09, 04:46 AM

I purchased a WD Raptor 74 GB Hard Drive yesterday from Newegg. It was one of their daily "Shell Shockers" and was going for only $79.99, which is $20 less than they normally go for. It should arrive on Friday.

Some my parts have already arrived. My Optical Drive and Video Cards are here... everything else should be in by Friday.