New Build....on a budget

[Softail]

So I cobbled together a new build on a budget:


Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3250310AS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
Crucial Ballistix 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz LGA 775 Quad-Core Processor
ASUS P5N-D LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 750i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard
EVGA 512-P3-N801-AR GeForce 8800GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card
NZXT Alpha Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case with Open Window (2x 120mm fans)
Logitech 967561-0403 Black USB + PS/2 Cordless Standard Desktop EX110 Mouse (Got tired of cords everywhere)
Reused my Antec HE Neo 550W PS.  (and its not even pulling half of that)
Reused an IDE HP DVD/CD Burner Drive from the old machine.

Its benched a repsectable 11,890 on 3DMark06.  Beats the heck out of the 1,540 I was getting with the old rig (Compaq Presario Case, MSI KVM Mobo with AMD 64 3000+ and a Nvidia 6600GT card.

I load the hi-res texture pack.  Set AHII to use 1024 bit graphics.  Set resolution to 1280x1024.  Turn on "Preload" for everything and it provides a constant 60FPS on my Samsung 205BW LCD Display.  On my NecMultisync 950E CRT...it held 85 steady.   This is in all aspects, GVs, furballs of 20 and flying 10 feet above tree top level.  The CPU never exceeds 100F and the ambiant case temp is about 110F after hours of flying.  Now if I could only fly as well as this thing runs ;-)

Softail

[Masherbrum]

I'd recommend going to Tigerdirect ASAP and getting one of the remaining E8400's.   As Skuzzy alluded to in another thread:  "If you aren't doing more than gaming, the Q6600 is actually worse than the E8400."    I was looking at this very same processor, but chose the faster E8400.   I just ordered the E8400 today.    I also talked to Skuzzy and he flat-out recommends PC Power & Cooling for PS's.   I regret building my current PC without his input.   I learned my mistake and annoyed the **** out of him all week.   Yesterday we talked for about 15 minutes and it was invigorating to finally cement decisions that I had been teetering on.   

I currently have an eVGA 7900GT and I'm not satisfied with their quality of allowing these cards to leave their sites, with blatant trash heatsinks.   I'll be looking at BFG or something else when I get an 8800GT (or GTX) in May/June.

[DREDIOCK]

So how much did this "budget" system run ya?

[Softail]

I'd recommend going to Tigerdirect ASAP and getting one of the remaining E8400's.   As Skuzzy alluded to in another thread:  "If you aren't doing more than gaming, the Q6600 is actually worse than the E8400."    I was looking at this very same processor, but chose the faster E8400.   I just ordered the E8400 today.    I also talked to Skuzzy and he flat-out recommends PC Power & Cooling for PS's.   I regret building my current PC without his input.   I learned my mistake and annoyed the **** out of him all week.   Yesterday we talked for about 15 minutes and it was invigorating to finally cement decisions that I had been teetering on.   

I currently have an eVGA 7900GT and I'm not satisfied with their quality of allowing these cards to leave their sites, with blatant trash heatsinks.   I'll be looking at BFG or something else when I get an 8800GT (or GTX) in May/June.

Thanks for the input.   Since I plan on running a few VMWare sessions on this the Quad will help with multiple OS's running at once.   Work machine by day....party box at night.    Since this was "on a budget" and I already had a solid PS, I "re-appropriated" it.   If I go SLI or add some more drives to this, I will upgrade the PS.    As with all equipment, only time will tell if these components will last.   As for Evga cards....I got it for $164 so we'll see how she goes.
 

[Softail]

So how much did this "budget" system run ya?

about $750.  Was looking at "gaming" machines but didn't want to spend $1500!

  KB&MS LOGITECH|EX110 CRDLS DSKTP RT  1 $30 (extravigance coulda reused my existing KB+Mouse)
     
  VGA EVGA 512-P3-N801-AR 8800GT 512M  $164 (after rebate)
  CPU INTEL|C2Q Q6600 2.40G 775 8M R      $240
  CASE NZXT|CS-NT-ALP-WOW RT               $60  (it has a "too kewl" window....no window save $10)     
  HD 250G|ST 7K 8M SATA2 ST3250310AS     $60  (smaller drives cheaper)   
  MB ASUS P5N-D NF750I SLI 775 RETAIL      $150 (the 680i version is cheaper...but no V2.0 pci-e)
  MEM 1Gx2|CRUCIAL BL2KIT12864AA804 R     $30 (after rebate...winxp pro wont go above 3GB...otherwise I woulda gotten 4GB)

Reused my Antec HE Neo 550W PS.  (and its not even pulling half of that)
Reused an IDE HP DVD/CD Burner Drive from the old machine.
Reused WinXP Pro.



Softail

[xStrato]

You can build a much cheaper machine that can play this game at full graphics. I am running a Pentium D Dual Core 3GHz processor, Nvidia 7600 AGP, 1 GB RAM and I run may game at 1600 x 1200. I even load the textures into memory and have the high resolution pack installed. I can't load the skins into memory, but I could add another gig and solve that problem.

[Softail]

You can build a much cheaper machine that can play this game at full graphics. I am running a Pentium D Dual Core 3GHz processor, Nvidia 7600 AGP, 1 GB RAM and I run may game at 1600 x 1200. I even load the textures into memory and have the high resolution pack installed. I can't load the skins into memory, but I could add another gig and solve that problem.

I never said this was the "cheapest" possible build for AHII.  That wasn't my goal.  My goal was to get a "good" machine that is multifunctional for both applications and games.  Run AHII and "other" games (much more graphically intensive) without problems and be able to keep up with technology for the next 3-4 years. 

Softail

[Getback]

I'd recommend going to Tigerdirect ASAP and getting one of the remaining E8400's.   As Skuzzy alluded to in another thread:  "If you aren't doing more than gaming, the Q6600 is actually worse than the E8400."    I was looking at this very same processor, but chose the faster E8400.   I just ordered the E8400 today.    I also talked to Skuzzy and he flat-out recommends PC Power & Cooling for PS's.   I regret building my current PC without his input.   I learned my mistake and annoyed the **** out of him all week.   Yesterday we talked for about 15 minutes and it was invigorating to finally cement decisions that I had been teetering on.   

I currently have an eVGA 7900GT and I'm not satisfied with their quality of allowing these cards to leave their sites, with blatant trash heatsinks.   I'll be looking at BFG or something else when I get an 8800GT (or GTX) in May/June.

Softtail, E8400 is the way to go.

[IronDog]

I'd recommend going to Tigerdirect ASAP and getting one of the remaining E8400's.   As Skuzzy alluded to in another thread:  "If you aren't doing more than gaming, the Q6600 is actually worse than the E8400."    I was looking at this very same processor, but chose the faster E8400.   I just ordered the E8400 today.    I also talked to Skuzzy and he flat-out recommends PC Power & Cooling for PS's.   I regret building my current PC without his input.   I learned my mistake and annoyed the **** out of him all week.   Yesterday we talked for about 15 minutes and it was invigorating to finally cement decisions that I had been teetering on.   

I currently have an eVGA 7900GT and I'm not satisfied with their quality of allowing these cards to leave their sites, with blatant trash heatsinks.   I'll be looking at BFG or something else when I get an 8800GT (or GTX) in May/June.

Karaya I opted for the MSI 8800 GT.It was lowest price,and I liked the cooling.It is doing a great for me.I was using two evga 7950 GT's in SLI configeration.I've had MSI in the past,and they have always served me well.Hope this helps.
IronDog

[633DH98]

Is there any advantage of a 2GHz Dual processor vs. a 3.4Ghz PIV if the game is only programmed to use one side of a dual processor?  I'm thinking of upgrading a Celeron equipped 775 mother board PC with a PIV and a video card.  Is it better to spend more on the video board than the processor for higher frame-rates?

[BaldEagl]

Is there any advantage of a 2GHz Dual processor vs. a 3.4Ghz PIV if the game is only programmed to use one side of a dual processor?  I'm thinking of upgrading a Celeron equipped 775 mother board PC with a PIV and a video card.  Is it better to spend more on the video board than the processor for higher frame-rates?

The game uses both cores in a dual core processor.

Post the specs on what you're looking at buying in this forum for comments before you buy along with what you are budgeting.  I'm sure you'll get some useful tips to help you get the most bang for your buck.

[Getback]

Is there any advantage of a 2GHz Dual processor vs. a 3.4Ghz PIV if the game is only programmed to use one side of a dual processor?  I'm thinking of upgrading a Celeron equipped 775 mother board PC with a PIV and a video card.  Is it better to spend more on the video board than the processor for higher frame-rates?

Bald Eagle is correct. The game uses both cores and it is a noticeable improvement over a single core. Skuzzy has said several times that the game is more processor intensive than video intensive. Frankly, I would go with the E8400 chip.

[SkiMan]

  It's a solid build Softail.

got the house rumbling with the 7.1 yet?