new build... needs critique...

[anime_dude07]

okay, so it's been a while since i've been on here, but I figured since i'm planning a new build, i'd put it on here and let you all tear it apart before i go buying anything. that way i know i'm getting the best bang for my buck. what I want to do with this is host an mmorpg from it, so it's gotta be able to hold its own as a server pc... so any help i get is muchly appreciated. so here goes...

cpu - xeon 5130 or x5365 (major price difference, is it worth it?)

mobo - open to suggestions

ram - open to suggestions, mostly want to stay with 2gb sticks to maximize on performance, rather than having 2 x 1gb...

gpu - crossfire if possible, i havent heard many possitives on going with SLI, but definately want dual/multiple monitors...

psu - antec tru power quattro 850w

hdd - dual seagate baracude 7200.11 1.5TB, if the mobo will support dual hdd that is

cpu cooling - thermalright ultra 120 w/ scythe slipstream 120mm

also i'm thinking of water-cooling, so i would need some suggestions there as well, unless a simple heatsink/fan setup would suffice.

 

[Peter.Cort]

for a mobo, you'd be good with a p45, i'd go with a DFI or biostar p45 chipset board. i personally like dfi, and the biostar p45 (don't remember the exact model off the top of my head) is the best oc'ing mobo out.

for ram go with some ocz reapers or ballistix tracers if they are still double sided tracers.

with the biostar p45 you can crossfire so get 2 4870s. and with water cooling you'll notice a huge temp difference, if thats worth it to you, up to you.

 

[anime_dude07]

for a mobo, you'd be good with a p45, i'd go with a DFI or biostar p45 chipset board. i personally like dfi, and the biostar p45 (don't remember the exact model off the top of my head) is the best oc'ing mobo out.

for ram go with some ocz reapers or ballistix tracers if they are still double sided tracers.

with the biostar p45 you can crossfire so get 2 4870s. and with water cooling you'll notice a huge temp difference, if thats worth it to you, up to you.

the only problem i see with these mobos is that they wont support the 771 pcus i have listed, unless you can suggest any higher-end 775 intels...

ocz reapers aren't a bad idea... suggestion noted...

and as far as the water cooling is concerned, all im saying is i dont want to hit the power button and fry the system because it overheats on fire-up(thats an exageration, of course but you get the idea)...
so as far as watercooling is concerned, have any suggestions on what to cool and what peices to use/brands to recomend?

 

[philbar71]

this is the only mobo i know of that has dual lga771 Newegg.com - Intel BOXD5400XS Dual LGA 771 Skulltrail D5400XS Extended ATX Motherboard - Intel Motherboards crazy expensive but sli and crossfire.

 

[gurusan]

You don't need a server mobo....a powerful desktop setup will do just fine as a server.

I would go for the E0 Q9550 or Q9650....both will most likely do 4ghz on air cooling.

A P45 chipset board would be good as it can handle large amounts of memory nicely and also it's just a great chipset.

You don't really need crossfire or SLI as there are dual-gpu single card offerings from nvidia and ati, although at this point I would recommend the 4870x2.

 

[philbar71]

^ just go with what he said. the mobo i listed and 2 xeon procs would be overkill.

 

[gurusan]

yeah a clocked 45nm quad + 4 or 8gb ram and a large bandwidth connection should be able to host decently.

On the other hand, you may want to wait until Nehalem as it seems from the specs that it would be a very nice server setup. 4 cores, 8 threads....

 

[anime_dude07]

considering the budget i have currently, of $0, i will be waiting anyways, so maybe i'll wait til they post some benchies before setting anything in stone...

*edit*

okay i have a question... whats l2 cache and how does it play into the differentiating factors between two or more cpus?

and another question.. what's hyperthreading?

(wow... i feel like a noob having to ask all these questions... but you never learn unless you ask, right?)

NEWEGG.COM - G.SKILL 16GB (4 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Quad Kit Desktop Memory

just out of curiosity... is all that really necessary?

 

[anime_dude07]

OCZ Platinum Edition 8GB (4 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Quad Kit Desktop Memory

G.SKILL 8GB (4 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1100 (PC2 8800) Quad Kit Desktop Memory

CORSAIR XMS2 DHX 8GB (4 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Quad Kit Desktop Memory

which is better?

 

[Nagasama]

considering the budget i have currently, of $0, i will be waiting anyways

lol...classic