.nomac Posted February 2, 2008 Share Posted February 2, 2008 Hey there! I have my computer since four years now and it still does what it's meant to do, but it could do better so I'm planning to buy a new one in march. My computer is mostly used for gaming and computer graphics with Adobe Photoshop or Autodesk Maya. Years ago I used to use Macs (Performa 450 and another one...) and I would like to try out the "new" Mac OS X. It's really only "trying out" because I haven't touched Macs for so long but I'd prefer to buy a pretty much OS-X-comptabile system in case I like Apple's OS. Windows Vista and Gentoo Linux is also going to be installed (for games and some applications that do not work under Linux/OS X). So basically, that's what I thought to get: Processor: Intel Xeon X3350 280 € | Overclocking to 2,8 GHz or 3,2 GHz would be nice. CPU Cooling: Thermalright IFX-14 + Nanoxia FX12-2000 70 € | I only read good reviews about this one. CPU Cooling: Thermalright Ultra 120 eXtreme + Nanoxia FX12-2000 55 € | Lighter, less bulky and also a very well performing cooler. Mainboard: Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3 80 € | A lot of users use the Gigabyte P35-Series for their OSx86-PCs, so I hope this one's good. Mainboard: DFI LANPARTY DK P35-T2RS 110 € | A lot of overclocking options, hardware should be compatible. Memory: Corsair XMS2 DHX Series Kit 4096MB 90 € | I'm also thinking about buying 8 Gigabyte. Memory is cheap today. Videocard: XFX GeForce 8800 GT 625M 210 € | HCL says it works. Apple's Mac Pro uses one. Can't be too bad I hope. Harddisk: Seagate Barracuda ES.2 500GB 110 € | Yeah, I like Seagate. DVD-Writer: Pioneer DVR-212DBK SATA 40 € | Don't know what to say about this one. WLAN-Card: D-Link DWA-556 0 € | Gift cards rule! I read it would work without any patches. PSU: Enermax Liberty 500W ATX 2.2 90 € | I read in a magazine, that this one would be very efficient. Case: Chieftec Mesh 70 € | Simple and big enough. 1040 € so far. A Lian-Li case, 8 GB of memory or a GeForce 8800GTS G92 would also be nice. So what do you think about this configuration? What would you make different? Greets, .nomac Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Synaesthesia Posted February 2, 2008 Share Posted February 2, 2008 Looks like a great setup, really! Very powerful! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~pcwiz Posted February 2, 2008 Share Posted February 2, 2008 I have the DS3P and its great, works well. I also have the Pioneer DVR-212D, and its pretty good but the only problem is that if you put an OSx86 DVD (HFS+), you can't eject it before booting into the OS. Everything looks great in your setup! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.nomac Posted February 3, 2008 Author Share Posted February 3, 2008 I'm glad to hear, there's nothing bad in my config. I tried to use the same parts you can find in Apple's Mac Pro. But there's still one question: Is it possible to build a Hardware-RAID that will work with Mac OS X86? Someone told me in IRC, that RAID won't work under OSx86 with a P35-DS3R. Is there another RAID-Controller for RAID1 you can recommend? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
u1m2 Posted February 4, 2008 Share Posted February 4, 2008 I would recommend some changes Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme is just as powerful as IFX-14, is lighter and less bulky. I have one cooling a 3.6 GHz E6600 and at full load the cores won't heat more than 58-59 degrees. Best to use with two low rpm 12cm fans. For overclocking I would suggest no other brand than DFI. The bios is extremely detailed giving you all the power you need to clock higher or overclock the same using less voltage on the components. You can just about tweak anything. The new Lanparty DK P35-T2RS is a steal at around 110 euros. I haven't checked the compatibility yet but here is lan+sound info for you Marvell 88E8053 + Realtek ALC885 ... In case X3350 is unavailable: Xeon X3220 is more common and can be found for 60-70 euros cheaper than the 3350. It has a 9 multiplier compared to 3350's 8 which should help overclocking it while keeping the FSB lower. For example 9x400=3.6 GHz whereas 8x450=3.6GHz. If you can find a G0, code : SLACT, it should use less voltage and operate cooler. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.nomac Posted February 6, 2008 Author Share Posted February 6, 2008 I would recommend some changes These are always welcome. Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme is just as powerful as IFX-14, is lighter and less bulky. I have one cooling a 3.6 GHz E6600 and at full load the cores won't heat more than 58-59 degrees. Best to use with two low rpm 12cm fans. I doubt that the Thermalright Ultra 120 eXtreme is as powerful as the IFX-14, but that fact that it's lighter and less bulky is a good argument. I'm sure it's a good cooler, and it less expensive than the IFX-14, but the IFX-14 has this backside cooler and looks so... "aggressive". Hard decision... For overclocking I would suggest no other brand than DFI. The bios is extremely detailed giving you all the power you need to clock higher or overclock the same using less voltage on the components. You can just about tweak anything. The new Lanparty DK P35-T2RS is a steal at around 110 euros. I haven't checked the compatibility yet but here is lan+sound info for youMarvell 88E8053 + Realtek ALC885 ... I just took a look at this one. Looks like a dream. Compatibility is important for me and it seems like the DFI has no fancy features I will never use (except RAID which I would use if supported by OSx86). This is definitly worth thinking about. On the other hand, I only read good comments on the Gigabyte P35-Series (in this forum as well in another german hardware forum and some hardware shops), so I think this will also be a good base for my new PC. On top of that there are lots of tutorials how to get OSx86 running on the Gigabyte P35-Series and tbh. I really don't need such an "Overclocker's Toy", although I think it would be in good hands if I had one. :-) And we have another hard decision right here... In case X3350 is unavailable:Xeon X3220 is more common and can be found for 60-70 euros cheaper than the 3350. It has a 9 multiplier compared to 3350's 8 which should help overclocking it while keeping the FSB lower. For example 9x400=3.6 GHz whereas 8x450=3.6GHz. If you can find a G0, code : SLACT, it should use less voltage and operate cooler. Alright, this decision is not so hard: NO WAY. I was looking forward to the 45nm Yorkfield Intel processors and I will not buy the older Kentsfield CPUs even if they have a higher multiplicator and aren't much slower. AFAIK are they going to be released in March, so they will be available then. Thanks for your helo u1m2. Greets, .nomac PS: If I knew the DFI Board worked fine with OSx86, I'd definitly buy the DFI. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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