[j0k3r]

Now running:
Gigabyte GA-EP35C-DS3R
Core 2 Quad Q9450 w/ Thermaltake V1 (I bought the Asus Silent Knight II, but it was open box and it was missing the retaining clip(!!), so I am sending it back to Newegg)
4GB Corsair XMS2 PC6400
BFG 8800GTS OC 512MB
Antec P180 <--- This case rocks my socks off.

I just got done playing a couple rounds of UT3 on the highest settings you can go at 1680x1050, and it was smooth as silk. I might actually be able to run Crysis on this. Futuremark scores coming shortly, I am downloading now.

[Mr. Ali]

Thats a rockin system. Thats the exact chip I wanted to get. I think you were considering the e8400 at first, if I am right, for what reasons did you switch to the q9450?

For me, I first considered it because it will be more future proof than the e8400 but now, I am concerned at the 2.66ghz clock speed vs 3.0ghz since most of the things I will be doing only use one or two cores. I am still on the fence, I keep changing my mind

EDIT: WTF? how is windows reporting 4.0gb of ram, every computer I have installed 4gb of ram in has reported anywhere from 3.3 to 3.5gb.

EDIT2: Is the stock HSF that comes with the q9450 the same as the one that comes with the e8400? The e8400 comes with one thats about 2inches high (super small). Just wondering if its bigger because of the extra cores.

[j0k3r]

Originally Posted by Mr. Ali

Thats a rockin system. Thats the exact chip I wanted to get. I think you were considering the e8400 at first, if I am right, for what reasons did you switch to the q9450?

For me, I first considered it because it will be more future proof than the e8400 but now, I am concerned at the 2.66ghz clock speed vs 3.0ghz since most of the things I will be doing only use one or two cores. I am still on the fence, I keep changing my mind

EDIT: WTF? how is windows reporting 4.0gb of ram, every computer I have installed 4gb of ram in has reported anywhere from 3.3 to 3.5gb.

EDIT2: Is the stock HSF that comes with the q9450 the same as the one that comes with the e8400? The e8400 comes with one thats about 2inches high (super small). Just wondering if its bigger because of the extra cores.

I switched from the e8400 because more cores are going to be more beneficial for me in the long run. This chip is VERY overclockable. There are guys hitting 4Ghz+ on AIR. I haven't run it up yet, but it is multiplier locked, so everything has to be done through the FSB.

It depends on your BIOS whether Windows will report 4GB of RAM or not.

The stock fan is super tiny, it doesn't look like it would do anything.

...and now for the results, this is Vantage, not regular 3DMark. These scores are pretty good for stock speeds from what I have seen:

[jake]

Nice system man. I am running almost the same thing, but I have the Q6600 instead. Other than that, 4G PC6400, BFG 8800 and P35 north bridge are all the same.

[MSP]

VERY nice. I haven't run the Vantage benchmark yet, I'll have to try that.

I like how Vista idles sucking so much RAM. Nice to know I'm not the only one.

[sims]

nice upgrade! I'm also on a similar system but with a q6600, abit P35 board and 8800GT.

Tell me your going to overclock, right? its such a waste not to on these chips.

I was originally super happy with the P180. the layout and design is very good, but the build quality isn't nearly as good as the old 1080sx's. I accidently stubbed into the front door that swings open and it almost broke off! i had to super glue it just so it didn't hang off. Nothing about it is as sturdy as the 1080 was.

[demonizeZ]

i dont think its bios that show 4 gig. Vista after sp1 upgrade shows 4 gig but its only shows 4 gig wont use more then 3gig .

just out of curosity what revision is your board and what bios version ya using?



Its a nice board i have its older model GA p35c ds3r. board rocks ddr2 and ddr3 the only minus point about that board is its only 1 pcie x16 but high end gfx rocks on it. as for ya going with quad thats cool specialy if ya run alot of virtual os simultaniously or running servers in virtual.

[ShabazKillaX]

Originally Posted by Mr. Ali

EDIT: WTF? how is windows reporting 4.0gb of ram, every computer I have installed 4gb of ram in has reported anywhere from 3.3 to 3.5gb.

Edit the boot.ini file and add /PAE to enable physical address extension.

[ShabazKillaX]

Originally Posted by MSP

VERY nice. I haven't run the Vantage benchmark yet, I'll have to try that.

I like how Vista idles sucking so much RAM. Nice to know I'm not the only one.

It's called SuperFetch

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/pro...rformance.mspx

Linux has been doing this for years

[ShabazKillaX]

Nice build. If you're going to overclock it I would suggest the Thermalright Ultra 120 heatsink. I've got one on my Q6600@3.4ghz and it keeps the temps real low.

[gB dAvId x]

Originally Posted by ShabazKillaX

It's called SuperFetch

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/pro...erformance.msp

Linux has been doing this for years

We are sorry, the page you requested cannot be found. See below for search results close to your request, or try a new search.

[Chainblade]

nice system! boy does it make my computer seem like crap...

[j0k3r]

Originally Posted by demonizeZ

i dont think its bios that show 4 gig. Vista after sp1 upgrade shows 4 gig but its only shows 4 gig wont use more then 3gig .

just out of curosity what revision is your board and what bios version ya using?



Its a nice board i have its older model GA p35c ds3r. board rocks ddr2 and ddr3 the only minus point about that board is its only 1 pcie x16 but high end gfx rocks on it. as for ya going with quad thats cool specialy if ya run alot of virtual os simultaniously or running servers in virtual.

I tried to find it, but maybe I am on crack. I thought I read somewhere that MS released a patch so that Vista will show when you have 4GB installed, but it was BIOS dependent. Again, I could be on crack.

On EDIT: Found the article: The system memory that is reported in the System Information dialog box in Windows Vista is less than you expect if 4 GB of RAM is installed
The headline I read had summarized the article incorrectly. With SP1 Vista will now report that it is has 4GB even though it can't use it all.

Crysis auto-detected me for high settings. It looks and runs great. I have no idea what FPS I am getting, but it runs very smooth and I have not seen any noticeable lag or slowdown. Who said this game sucks? I am loving it so far. It feels a lot like Far Cry.

[Chainblade]

so how much did you end up paying for this system?

[ShabazKillaX]

Originally Posted by gB dAvId x

We are sorry, the page you requested cannot be found. See below for search results close to your request, or try a new search.

fixed the link

[j0k3r]

Originally Posted by Chainblade

so how much did you end up paying for this system?

The upgrades were around $650. I would say all told in the system right now not including monitor or anything, is right around a G.

Full specs:
Everything above +
Seagate 750GB hard drive
Western Digital 300GB hard drive
Antec 680w PSU
NEC DVD ROM/Writer/etc.
Lite-On DVD ROM

I use onboard sound and LAN.

[WoodButcher]

Nice pc jok3r, I'm sure your better of w/ the quad. The dual cores may get you higher clocks but what to do when you programmers really start to use all four, will the dual cores become obsolete or just web browsers?