Author Topic: Thinking about this system (Read 967 times)

BoilerDown · « **Reply #15 on:** July 30, 2007, 04:39:55 PM »

As everyone has said, that video card is total crap. You want a 6800, 7600, 7800, 8600, 8800 if you go NVidia. Getting a GT or GTX or whatever is fine for any of those numbers.

And you'll need an upgraded power supply like they've been saying. I'd get a 500 watt or better if you get a high end video card, you don't want to run your power supply too near its upper limit, or it WILL fail.

scottydawg · « **Reply #16 on:** July 30, 2007, 06:18:22 PM »

Quote

Originally posted by BoilerDown
As everyone has said, that video card is total crap. You want a 6800, 7600, 7800, 8600, 8800 if you go NVidia. Getting a GT or GTX or whatever is fine for any of those numbers.

And you'll need an upgraded power supply like they've been saying. I'd get a 500 watt or better if you get a high end video card, you don't want to run your power supply too near its upper limit, or it WILL fail.

I would stay away from the lower numbers on the NVidia. I've got a 7900GTX-512 that is a screamer, but I did have a 6800 GT that was a total pig.

There are a lot of variables to consider when choosing a power supply, the watt rating is only a part of it, you want to choose one with high efficiency, low thermal output (related) and a quiet fan (if not passively cooled).

Dichotomy · « **Reply #17 on:** July 30, 2007, 06:58:34 PM »

ya I was really close to pulling the trigger on that system until my squaddies dragged me away and took my credit card away...

bottom line is I've got $1100 total and I need the operating system. Need everything to be plug and play or already built.

I know I posted about this earlier this year but I had to take care of my wifes comp first.

Scratched together my nickels and dimes and got my summer bonus so

ideas?

scottydawg · « **Reply #18 on:** July 30, 2007, 07:51:39 PM »

Quote

Originally posted by Dichotomy
ya I was really close to pulling the trigger on that system until my squaddies dragged me away and took my credit card away...

bottom line is I've got $1100 total and I need the operating system. Need everything to be plug and play or already built.

I know I posted about this earlier this year but I had to take care of my wifes comp first.

Scratched together my nickels and dimes and got my summer bonus so

ideas?

I just emailed you before I read this.

humble · « **Reply #19 on:** July 31, 2007, 09:55:08 AM »

1)

For $1100 "soup to nuts" you can build a pretty decent system. If you dont want/cant build yourself you should be able to get a pretty decent box. I bought a compaq (my son has now) and learned two things.

a) the OEM MB doesnt get driver support like a retail build.
b) tech support is clueless on helping you with regard to upgrades

So its not as simple (in some cases) as just popping in a new component. All these systems have a logical partition with failsafe designed to make the box "idiot proof"...which can cause all kinds of problems if you upgrade.

On the otherhand you can get some screaming deals on OEM..

Looking at newegg...

"Gaming rig" ~$1100

2nd "gaming rig" $1200

I didnt see a single "rack" box I'd buy in the ~$1000 range....all had crappy and/or integrated VC's.

I dont like the reviews on the two I linked but they certainly seem to be "reasonable"...

Tiger direct box...

I'd look at PC club...

The stock box comes with quad core, 8500gt etc for roughly $1000.

Again I (or you) can build better for less...but here are some prebuilt options...

Krusty · « **Reply #20 on:** July 31, 2007, 12:56:55 PM »

Quad core = overly expensive for no benefit in return

8500 = heavily stripped down version of the 8800 (a mere shadow of the elder brother)

Question is: Does that $1100 count EVERYthing? Or are you re-using keyboard, mouse, monitor, speakers, CD-ROMs from the previous system? Are you making a NEW computer (and giving the old one to somebody else?) or are you "upgrading" and keeping existing parts?

Dichotomy · « **Reply #21 on:** July 31, 2007, 01:11:46 PM »

giving the old box to my eldest kid krusty. monitors etc I've got plenty of.

Krusty · « **Reply #22 on:** July 31, 2007, 02:07:41 PM »

Cc, that's good, because they can take a chunk out of the total

Of the options Humble listed, I'd go for this one at tiger:
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2940993&CatId=114

Use the rest of your money to buy a copy of XP Pro SP2 (or hell, XP Home if you're saving money). Aside from the unknown motherboard quality, the parts themselves look fairly good. Note that it's got 4GB max, but only 2 slots, and it's giving you 2x 1GB sticks, so you can't upgrade later unless you ditch both of those and get 2x 2gb sticks, or unless you upgrade the mobo later.

Comes with speakers and keyboard/mouse also. Not vital, but nice to have. Just get an OS, a monitor, and you've got a rig!

scottydawg · « **Reply #23 on:** July 31, 2007, 02:17:43 PM »

Quote

Originally posted by Krusty
Cc, that's good, because they can take a chunk out of the total

Of the options Humble listed, I'd go for this one at tiger:
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2940993&CatId=114

Use the rest of your money to buy a copy of XP Pro SP2 (or hell, XP Home if you're saving money). Aside from the unknown motherboard quality, the parts themselves look fairly good. Note that it's got 4GB max, but only 2 slots, and it's giving you 2x 1GB sticks, so you can't upgrade later unless you ditch both of those and get 2x 2gb sticks, or unless you upgrade the mobo later.

Comes with speakers and keyboard/mouse also. Not vital, but nice to have. Just get an OS, a monitor, and you've got a rig!

I would say 'unknown motherboard quality' is a deal breaker there.

Fulmar · « **Reply #24 on:** July 31, 2007, 02:21:32 PM »

Quote

Originally posted by scottydawg
I would say 'unknown motherboard quality' is a deal breaker there.

- VIA P4M890/ VT8237R Plus Chipset

Yeah....never heard of that chipset on that motherboard. Pass.

scottydawg · « **Reply #25 on:** July 31, 2007, 02:35:26 PM »

Quote

Originally posted by Krusty
Cc, that's good, because they can take a chunk out of the total

Of the options Humble listed, I'd go for this one at tiger:
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2940993&CatId=114

Use the rest of your money to buy a copy of XP Pro SP2 (or hell, XP Home if you're saving money). Aside from the unknown motherboard quality, the parts themselves look fairly good. Note that it's got 4GB max, but only 2 slots, and it's giving you 2x 1GB sticks, so you can't upgrade later unless you ditch both of those and get 2x 2gb sticks, or unless you upgrade the mobo later.

Comes with speakers and keyboard/mouse also. Not vital, but nice to have. Just get an OS, a monitor, and you've got a rig!

Actually, looking further down the specs, it's got an Abit IP-95 Motherboard. Abit is a decent mobo manufacturer, chipset is OK, not great. I've had hit/miss with them but their quality is OK. As for the memory, I'd be surprised if 4Gb is the max... it's got 4 slots. Maybe though.

Krusty · « **Reply #26 on:** July 31, 2007, 02:49:12 PM »

A lot of older mobos have 4GB limit. Even just a year old, some have 4GB limit. It's more common than 8GB.

The ASUS brands are normally good, yes, but the features and capabilities of any given mobo depends more on the layout, the design, and how badly they wanted to save money (if it's a budget board, which this seems to be). Anyways, it's got 2x DDR1 slots and 2x DDR2 slots. You can only use 2 at a time (no mixing of memory types allowed).

My current "upgrader" mobo has a similar feature.

A 256MB Ge 7600GTS/GT runs around $120 nowadays for PCIe, so you don't have to spend $300 if ya dun' wanna

The system you described isn't bad. Like you said, not the latest but still capable of playing AH. Not sure how much upgradability the socket 939 has (aren't they doing away with that? Or am I thinking of something else?).

For me, it's Socket775 all the way

(but don't let that influence your choice, dicho!)

Dichotomy · « **Reply #27 on:** July 31, 2007, 03:26:17 PM »

Thank for all the replies guys. Scottydawg has the hookup for me. Details very soon

I really appreciate all the help on this subject over the past year.

Not that I'll fly any better but the flames will be prettier as I go blazing to earth soon

Dichotomy · « **Reply #28 on:** August 27, 2007, 07:54:55 PM »

well I promised the details and here's what Scottydawg hooked me up with

AMD Athlon 64 x2 3800+
ASUS A8N-SLI Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 SLI ATX AMD Motherboard
OCZ Platinum 2GB (2 x 1GB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Dual Channel
Kit
Antec TRUEPOWERII TPII-550 ATX12V 550W Power Supply
Antec LifeStyle SONATA II Piano Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
ATI 100-505103 FireGL V5000 128MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card (no good
for gaming)
2- Seagate Cheetah SATA 3.0Gb/s 250GB drives
+Noise killer kit and an extra 120MM rear fan.
NVIDIA geoforce 8800 video card
Windows XP Pro

I'm freakin in love with this machine. It's fast, quiet, and looks at my old system and laughs. I want to kick the morons at DHL that decided to bang it around enough to loosen the hard drives. Scotty and I got that sorted out and it's running fine.

Scotty.. I've said it in private and I'll say it in public THANK YOU SO MUCH for helping me out. I owe you huge.

scottydawg · « **Reply #29 on:** August 27, 2007, 07:59:46 PM »

Glad I could help you out brother. Don't forget that Texas Two-Piece Warranty I gave you:

You break it, you got two pieces!

J/k

Let me know if you have any problems.

NOTE: I removed the FireGL (it's more of a CAD card) and installed an XTX GeForce 8800GTS card with 320 of DDR3 RAM.

I almost didn't want to send it to him, that card was so sweet.