E-Peen Enlargement (Fun w/ Hardware)

Because I have nothing better to do and no one can really stop me, I figured I might as well share my latest experience in throwing together pieces of silicon and plastic into something that can convey information through flashing patterns of light into one's visual cortex.

This will probably take more than one post, so I'll start with the basics. I'm still receiving the final shipments of parts, so most of this will be first impressions on the hardware itself. While I ran a quick test to see if the thing at least POST's, that's all I've done with the parts connected to one another and the power turned on. Anyway...

1. Mobo: ASUS P5Q
An interesting, even sub-optimal choice for a gaming rig. For two reasons: first, it uses the 8-pin ATX plug for the CPU. Definitely something to watch out for when picking a PSU; while theoretically you can get away with just sticking a 4-pin(which I have done in the past) in there, it will NOT POST with this particular mobo. Asus has done a good job hiding this fact; all the screenshots that are detailed enough to even show the plug depict it with a 4-pin cap over half the plug, but don't be fooled, you WILL need an 8-pin or 2 4's in that spot.

The second "flaw" in this board is that it was not built for SLI. Don't even bother, there's not even a second slot for another card to go. I consider SLI to be a pain in the ass and not worth it, esp. with ridiculous size of video cards nowadays, so it's not a downside for me. This seems like a pretty solid board if you aren't looking to build a complete monstrosity.

2. Proc: Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield
I won't comment on the performance because I haven't booted in OS yet with this thing. One thing I will comment is THANK ZAKARUM they fixed the stock fans that come with the chips. One thing I don't want to hear when pushing those pegs into the mobo is the cracking sound of silicon screaming that their old heat sinks packed standard as part of the intel experience. Also, the fan was damn silent on POST; to the point where I didn't even notice the damn thing had booted until that pleasant Asus logo showed up on the monitor. Yeah, that doesn't say much, but compared to the ridiculous full-blast my old Pentium-D fan was getting, it's a big jump.

3. GPU: Zotac 9800gtx 512mb DDR3
I will not comment personally on the performance because I haven't tested that yet (though I have commented profusely on the size already). I will say that if nobody on this side of the globe heard of Zotac, they have now. Spec-wise, it's the best card you can get in the ~200 price range, and one of the best 9800 GTX's period, and will likely surpass many of the first wave GTX+'s.

It's factory overclocked, and also, this monster eats two 6 pin pci-e jacks from the PSU. No surprise, but if you're looking to SLI, you should consider that when looking at the PSU, because the pci-e plug adapters that come with this thing don't seem to work--my dry run w/ just the proc, PSU, and GPU didn't even try to POST until I removed the adapted plug and actually put in the two legit pci-e's from the PSU. Fan is also surprisingly civilized for its size, though I imagine that things will not be so quiet while gaming.

Also, while I have made less rational comments about the size, people upgrading from much lesser cards will be somewhat shocked at the bulk when they see this thing for the first time. Zotac needs leibensraum. It takes up two slots worth of space and also runs the length of the mobo, completely occluding at least one of the lesser pci-e ports and potentially blocking access to drive bays. Still, an investment in a piece of hardware like this would justify also getting a case that will accomodate its needs.

4. PSU: OCZ GameXStream OCZ700GXSSLI 700W
To date, I've found that, interestingly enough, the stickiest issue when combining hardware is the power supply--there's just so many variables that go into whether a PSU is compatible with whatnot, and it's not nearly as standardized as the other stuff. This one seems to fit my needs quite nicely. Plenty of power in all the right places, the right plugs (2 4-pin ATX's fix the mobo issue), and is very cleanly packaged and runs quiet enough. There is a good sized fan in there, and plenty of breathing room. 'nuff said. The PSU is one of those things that wins little praise if it does the job correctly, but invites endless wrath if it doesn't. In my case, the former is true.

I might do a followup when everything gets in and the box is completely finished.