Aces High Bulletin Board
General Forums => Hardware and Software => Topic started by: lambo31 on July 20, 2007, 02:10:19 PM
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I want to build a new pc and must admit that I'm confussed to the point I don't know what I'm confussed about. I want some thing higher end so that it's not out dated in 3 years like the pc I built last time. So I've managed to save about $2500 in my pc budget. I'm also looking for it to be easily upgradeable in the future. Any and all suggestions would be welcomed and appreciated.
thx Lambo
Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case (http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16811129021)
Model #: Nine Hundred
Item #: N82E16811129021
$139.99
$139.99
ASUS M2N32-SLI Premium Vista Edition Socket AM2 NVIDIA nForce 590 SLI MCP ATX (http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16813131163)
Model #: M2N32-SLIPremiumVist
Item #: N82E16813131163
$219.99
-$10.00 Instant
$209.99
EVGA 768-P2-N835-AR GeForce 8800GTX 768MB 384-bit GDDR3 (http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16814130079)
Model #: 768-P2-N835-AR
Item #: N82E16814130079
$599.99
-$15.00 Instant
$584.99
PC Power & Cooling Silencer 750 Quad (Black) EPS12V 750W Continuous @ 40°C (825W Peak) Power Supply 100 - 240 V UL, ULC, CE, CB, RoHS - (http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16817703009)
Model #: Silencer 750 Quad BK
Item #: N82E16817703009
$249.99
-$50.00 Instant
$199.99
AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+ Windsor 3.0GHz 2 x 1MB L2 Cache Socket AM2 Processor - Retail (http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16819103773)Model #: ADX6000CZBOX
Item #: N82E16819103773
$169.99
$169.99
G.SKILL 4GB(2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail (http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16820231122)
Model #: F2-6400CL5D-4GBPQ
Item #: N82E16820231122
$244.99
-$10.00 Instant
$234.99
Seagate Barracuda ES ST3500630NS 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM (http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16822148151) Model #: ST3500630NS
Item #: N82E16822148151
$149.99
$149.99
PLEXTOR Black 18X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 18X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache ATAPI DVD Burner (http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16827249018)
Model #: PX-800A/SW
Item #: N82E16827249018
$68.99
$137.98
Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer 7.1 Channels (http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16829102006) Model #: 70SB073A00000
Item #: N82E16829102006
$90.99
$90.99
Microsoft Windows XP Professional With SP2B 1 Pack - OEM
Model #: E85-04741
Item #: N82E16832116059 $139.99
$139.99
Subtotal:
$2,058.89
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A few thoughts....
If you're planning on future expansion, Intel is the way to go at the moment. You get a ASUS P-5K and it'll support the next generation of chips as well (due out later this year). The Conroe chips take less juice, give off less heat, and overclock to a larger %, and most at a cheaper price than comparative AMD chips.
An E6420 runs only about $180, an E6600 only about $222, and the ASUS mobo probably about $120-$130 or so (haven't checked, going from memory, and I may be wrong).
I'm not sure about the G.Skill quality, just make sure they've got heat spreaders. You've got a very high end system with lots of heat-creating devices. You'll want your RAM to 1) be able to withstand a bit more head and 2) be overclockable in the future.
I.E. If you get an E6800 (hypothetical) and run it at stock for 3 years, after that you might want to start overclocking to keep up with the "latest and greatest" and you won't want to replace the RAM because it doesn't overclock well.
Other thoughts: There are DVD-RW drives out there that cost less for the same features. You can usually find them in the $40 range. Why spend almost $70 for the same thing?
Unless you have surround sound, IMO you don't need a Xi-Fi. An Audigy2 is a lot less expensive for the same results (unless you REALLY work with sounds a lot and need to be able to hear the best quality when editing them). Also considerably less.
$130 for a case is also quite steep. Sometimes you have to (the way a case looks is important to me, as is how it functions). However, if it's going to be locked in a cabinet or under a desk invisible to your eyes, perhaps an uglier (cheaper) case?
And, my final thought: $600 is a huge wad of cash to lay down on a video card that still doesn't have decent drivers, and that still has a bunch of folks complaining about bugs, artifacts, mistakes, etc. Some have no problems. Some have lots. I wouldn't want to put that much green on something that may or may not work.
EDIT:
P.S. One last thought. If you have such a high-end system, are you going to keep your existing monitor/LCD, or use the $$ you have left to get a better one? Food for thought.
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Thx Krusty,
That's just the feed back I've been searching for. I don't need the sound card to be all that, since I use a head set a lot.
Future exspanion is high on my priority list, thx for that info.
As far as the monitor goes I was looking at the Samsung with 2ms response time.
thx again
Lambo
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I would agree on the Intel front; an Asus P5K board with an E6600 would be a better choice and Intel will be with that socket for some time to come. I'd also agree that the Audigy2 series is more than enough soundcard power, so you can save some money there. I also agree about the G.Skill RAM; it's not bad, but Corsair is much better for not that much more cash.
Great choice on the video card; that thing rocks--chews up STALKER and Oblivion like they're not even there. They run pretty quietly, too.
Plextor has long been my favorite optical drive maker; their stuff is just better. If you don't really do much burning, a cheap Lite-On or Asus optical drive will work acceptably well.
I would disagree with Krusty's point about the case. Cheap cases just suck, whether it's cutting up your hands (or wires) during installation or the damn rattles and hums that don't go away. The reason I wouldn't buy the Nine Hundred series case is that it's too damn loud (and a bit gaudy). If you want a great case, check out Antec's P182 series--they come in gunmetal black and polished stainless steel, and while they're a right ***** to wire up inside, they're quiet, cool-running and stylish without being ostentatious. Only catch for your system is that you'd need to remove the PSU fan assembly in the case, as that PCPC PSU is longer than the ATX 2.01 standard (but well worth the money). In reality, you could easily get away with the PCPC Silencer 610 model.
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I'd probably stick with the E6420 Intel. The Conroe chips are incredibly easy to overclock, even on the stock coolr. Read the Tomshardware forums and you should be able to get the E6420 up to 2.8ghz on the stock cooler. I have the E6400 (the older 2mb cache version) and I keep it at 2.66ghz and have reached 2.8ghz w/o a problem.
I use G.Skill Ram in my comp. The timings on mine are 4-4-4-12 which is good for overclocking. If you are going to overclock the computer like I said in the paragraph above, look for tighter timings like mine. 5-5-5-15 are not the greatest timings - but will do just fine if you are not overclocking the system. G.Skill is a good brand, Corsair is better but both companies have a lifetime warranty so get which is cheaper or better price/performance. I have 4 x 1 gb chips in my system, both the same G.skill part # and bought at two separate times. They detected and overclock without a problem. But I did pay $220 back in January for the first set and $80 for the 2nd 2x1gb set in May. Amazing how the RAM chip market responds to supply and demand.
I've always enjoyed Asus board. I've never had a problem with them, but as I've read reviews it seems their quality has lacked a bit in the last couple years. Stick with an Intel board, the chipsets are better than what AMD has to offer.
Good Hard drive selection in that Baracuda.
Your power supply is another good choice. Good reviews on it.
I'll 2nd that recommendation on Plextor. I've had my 8x DVD-RW about 4 1/2 years now. I had purchsed other brands before in CD-RWs in the past, Sony, Samsung, Optorite (real cheap) and they all crapped out after about 2 years. Other than a 16X Toshiba DVD drive I have, the Plextor has served me very well.
As for the soundcard, the X-Fi's are good. Creative has bad drivers for Vista, but I see you're running XP. If you have the money to burn, stick it in the X-FI. The Audigy 2's are good. I'm still rocking my original Audigy Platnium after about 5-6 years. Oldest part in my computer.
That Antec is a good case. My buddy has one and I was impressed with it.
But like everyone else has said, stick with the Intels.
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If you have the money to burn and want a good system, you've planned a fairly good one.
If you want to be Krusty McPenny Pincher, then you can strip it down a bit. :lol
There is an Intel price cut coming in the next couple days BTW, check the C2D or C2Q's prices next week.
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:lol :rofl :aok
My penny pinching is only so that the money saved can be put into kick-arse speakers, better monitor, Saitek x52, CH pro pedals, etc etc etc :rofl
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right now Intel is far ahead of AMD...and its next generation is just sitting waiting on AMD's next release. So for now it does make sense to go Intel...and if your going intel then the p-35 set of MB's seems to make the most sense. I dont think anyone can argue with any aspect of what you layed out on other then personal preference.
Memory would be an example, I'd grab
2G (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820231128&ATT=20-231-128&CMP=OTC-pr1c3grabb3r&cm_mmc=OTC-pr1c3grabb3r-_-Memory+(Desktop+Memory)-_-G.SKILL-_-20231128) of these vs your 4...
But all in all its a very good build...
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WOW thx for the reply's!!! A lot to re-evaluate. I have decided to go with the P5K3 motherboard. I'm considering the E6700 for the CPU. The rest I just don't know yet since I haven't had time to really look.
I do know I have a better starting point now than I did 2 days ago.
Lambo
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Have to agree with the 2GB recommendation also; no need for 4GB in 32-bit WinXP/Vista.
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As Fulmar noted there are price cuts and new processors coming from Intel very soon:
http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/intel/showdoc.aspx?i=3038&p=2
so be sure to wait just a tad.
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(http://images.anandtech.com/reviews/cpu/intel/kentsfield/QX6850/3.png)
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Originally posted by 715
As Fulmar noted there are price cuts and new processors coming from Intel very soon:
http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/intel/showdoc.aspx?i=3038&p=2
so be sure to wait just a tad.
according to what I read in the link, would it be better to get the E6850?
waiting a little while isn't a problem :)
I don't have any thing set in stone, and trying to listen to the suggestions in this thread, I'm looking at getting:
Antec P182 Gun Metal Black 0.8mm cold rolled steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
ASUS P5K3 DELUXE/WIFI-AP LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard
EVGA 768-P2-N835-AR GeForce 8800GTX 768MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 SUPERCLOCKED HDCP Video Card
PC Power & Cooling Silencer 610 EPS12V EPS12V 610W Continuous @ 40°C Power Supply
Intel Core 2 Duo E6700 Conroe 2.66GHz LGA 775 Processor ?
maybe E6850 Conroe?
CORSAIR 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory
Seagate Barracuda ES ST3500630NS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
2 LITE-ON LightScribe Black 20X DVD±R Burner with 12X DVD-RAM write Black IDE Model
Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Audio 7.1 Channels PCI Interface Sound Card
and thought this might be useful also
ZALMAN 9700 LED 110mm 2 Ball CPU Cooler
So far the cost before taxes and shipping is $2309.91 at the current prices.
Thanks for all the help.
Lambo
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No question for gaming the 2 core beats the quad....although you could OC the quad. I know that AH fully supports the dual core....does it support qaud core??????? most games dont.......
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I asked Skuzzy about the quad a few days ago, he said it's best to go with a high end duel core.
Lambo
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Only thing i'd consider is going with a smaller drive. You can always create logical partitions etc as well. I know that some of the new 150G SATA's are blindingly fast and actually do help gameplay (was a write up somewhere recently). I've gone to the 3 drive architecture with a system drive, data drive and archive/backup/storage drive (using Acronos). I also have dual external drives so i'm beyond overkill...but a 2x150 (or even smaller) with a 500G "data" drive wouldn't be a bad idea with that build IMO.
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Originally posted by lambo31
I asked Skuzzy about the quad a few days ago, he said it's best to go with a high end duel core.
Lambo
The Quad will give you a little more future proof room. However, currently very few games are supporting Quad-Core (as they need to be coded to run properly). I know Valve is making CS:S and their other crap games availble with quad core support (not sure if its done yet but I know they were working on it 6 months ago). Crysis and other 'big' games of this year will be having quad core support. Older games is where you'll run into trouble.
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Originally posted by lambo31
I want some thing higher end so that it's not out dated in 3 years like the pc I built last time.
Whatever you do and however much you spend, your PC will be (or feel) outdated in three years time. Fact of life.
I find it more economical to by mid-range stuff and plan on upgrading every 18 months. That way you don't get stuck down a particular technology dead-end (socket 754 anyone :huh ) for too long.
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After taking the suggestions from this thread, I've read every thing I could find from reviews to manufacturers pages. I've even read articles on most of the components (every thing I could find). I made my choices and took the leap.
I got:
Antec P182 Gun Metal Black 0.8mm cold rolled steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
ASUS P5K3 DELUXE/WIFI-AP LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard
EVGA 768-P2-N835-AR GeForce 8800GTX 768MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 SUPERCLOCKED HDCP Video Card
PC Power & Cooling Silencer 610 EPS12V EPS12V 610W Continuous @ 40°C Power Supply
Intel Core 2 Duo E6850 (found it for $274 after price cuts went into effect)
CORSAIR 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory
Seagate Barracuda ES ST3500630NS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
2 LG 18x DVD R Lightscribe Black IDE Model
Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Audio 7.1 Channels PCI Interface Sound Card
ZALMAN 9700 LED 110mm 2 Ball CPU Cooler
Windows XP Pro
After all said and done I came in at just over $2400.
I really feel comfortable with this purchase and can't tell you guys how much I appreciate your help on this.
Lambo
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Antec 900 is one of the best cases around! P180's are the best though...Great cooling and its soundproofed!
That psu brand is really good. If your going with air hitsinks go with Tuniq Tower. Theres also a few other good ones but Tuniq tower is at the top. Most nvidia cards get really hot might get a few memory heatsinks. Other than that nice setup!
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Originally posted by Avaro
That psu brand is really good. If your going with air hitsinks go with Tuniq Tower. Theres also a few other good ones but Tuniq tower is at the top. Most nvidia cards get really hot might get a few memory heatsinks. Other than that nice setup!
Probably going to see little difference betwen the Tuniq and the Zalman unless he pushes for a max overclock on a purely air cooled system. Stock speeds, who cares.
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Originally posted by lambo31
WOW thx for the reply's!!! A lot to re-evaluate. I have decided to go with the P5K3 motherboard. I'm considering the E6700 for the CPU. The rest I just don't know yet since I haven't had time to really look.
I do know I have a better starting point now than I did 2 days ago.
Lambo
Doesnt that mB only take DDr3?
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Originally posted by Silat
Doesnt that mB only take DDr3?
yes Silat :aok
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Originally posted by lambo31
yes Silat :aok
Someone tell me why we should go $$$$$$ for ddr3 at this time?