New Comp Advice

Chamsie · 02-22-2007, 03:57 PM

Well have saved up about $4000 and I'm debating if now is the time to upgrade my comp and how much I should spend. My current comp was self built and about 3 years old , not one upgrade since I bought it for around 1 grand. Basic specs are P4 2.4ghz, 1gig ram, and a 128mb ati card. Still runs but definitely needs to be replaced.

- Is right now, with everything coming in the next few months, a good time to upgrade? I understand there is always new stuff on the horizon but it appears to be many sites and posts I've read say that holding off is wise right now.

- I feel comfortable building my own comp, but wouldn't mind paying a little extra for peace of mind if I know I'm not getting screwed to awfully bad. Are there any sites out there that offer pretty good prices?

- While I do have around $4000 to spend, I much rather spend 2-3g. I'm in need of new everything (dual monitors, parts/case, sound system etc). I want to be able to play current stuff like Vanguard and stuff coming out later this year like Crysis. Is 3g going to be enough or should I expect to set more money aside for this.

That's about all I wanted to ask before I dived in and started to try and piece my machine together. If you had any links or parts you recommend that would be great. Plan on using newegg just like I did before. Thanks in advance for any help and I'll probably post my initial thoughts on what I plan to build in a few days on this thread for some more advice.

Vorph · 02-22-2007, 04:42 PM

Core 2 Duo E6600 cpu
eVGA 680i motherboard
2x2GB G.Skill PC2-6400 RAM
eVGA 8800GTS 640MB video card
OCZ GameXstream 700w PSU
Antec P180 case

Rest doesn't matter much. Get a 150GB Raptor if you feel like spending the money, as big a storage HD as you want (the biggest 7200rpm ones are getting into the ballpark of Raptor speeds now), whatever sound card you want, DVD burner if you need it (I like the LG GSA-H42N currently), etc.

Total cost of all that (including the miscellaneous stuff) was just over $2k last time someone asked the same question. If you decide you want to go all out, get a second 8800 and a Dell 30" LCD.

As for whether or not now is a good time, the only reservations I'd have would be that ATI is due to ship their DX10 cards in about a month.

Chamsie · 02-22-2007, 04:52 PM

Thanks Vorph, your the man!

Sorry about adding my own thread, know this is about a once a week type thing. Just when I'm putting this kind of money down on something I don't follow closely get some doubts.

Morbeas · 03-01-2007, 11:27 AM

Vorph, if money was no object, which motherboard, CPU (Intel please) and video card would you get?

Also, what do you think of the following setup?

Asus Striker Extreme mobo
Intel Core 2 EX6800 CPU
BFG Technologies GeForce 8800 GTX PCI-E, 768MB GDDR3

Thanks man...

Vorph · 03-01-2007, 12:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HardOCP

The ASUS Striker Core 2 Duo motherboard is overpriced and underperforms compared to the eVGA and BFGTech 680i solutions in the marketplace based on NVIDIA’s reference 680i motherboard design. There is no way we can advise you look to the ASUS Striker as a Core 2 Duo enthusiast solution. Simply put the ASUS Striker strikes out.

There you go.

The rest is what I'd get too. Well, I'd probably go with the QX6700, but I do things that can actually use quad core. Most people would probably prefer 300MHz more clock over 2 extra cores, considering the QX6700 and X6800 are basically the same price.

BFG and eVGA are both fine for the video card. eVGA has a slight advantage if you plan to buy the most expensive factory OC card, because theirs has a heat sink that covers the entire PCB. Not sure it's worth an extra $50-100, but if price is no object...

Chamsie · 03-05-2007, 03:21 PM

So I built my comp using the parts listed above and when I go to system and view my specs it's only showing 2.75gigs of ram.

I went with what Vorph recommended, 2x2g sticks, and on boot up shows 4 gigs. Is there something I need to do to have windows recongnize the other 1.25 gigs on the system? Or is this one of the cases where its there and being used, just not being displayed?

Vorph · 03-05-2007, 03:33 PM

You'll need 64-bit Vista to see the rest. Your pci, pci-e, and onboard components are using up the rest of the address space in 32-bit XP. You can free up a bit by making sure everything in the bios that you aren't actually using is disabled.

Akileese · 03-09-2007, 05:06 PM

Should I go with an Athlon X2 or a duo core? From what I hear from people who built new PCs, it seems to be 50/50.

The Dauntless One · 03-09-2007, 05:17 PM

Core 2 Duo outperforms AM2 in the same price range and a more overclockable.

Akileese · 03-09-2007, 06:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Dauntless One

Core 2 Duo outperforms AM2 in the same price range and a more overclockable.

Thanks. That's all I need to know.

Warrik · 03-09-2007, 11:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vorph

Core 2 Duo E6600 cpu
eVGA 680i motherboard
2x2GB G.Skill PC2-6400 RAM
eVGA 8800GTS 640MB video card
OCZ GameXstream 700w PSU
Antec P180 case

Rest doesn't matter much. Get a 150GB Raptor if you feel like spending the money, as big a storage HD as you want (the biggest 7200rpm ones are getting into the ballpark of Raptor speeds now), whatever sound card you want, DVD burner if you need it (I like the LG GSA-H42N currently), etc.

Total cost of all that (including the miscellaneous stuff) was just over $2k last time someone asked the same question. If you decide you want to go all out, get a second 8800 and a Dell 30" LCD.

As for whether or not now is a good time, the only reservations I'd have would be that ATI is due to ship their DX10 cards in about a month.

Ive found that Gskill can sometimes be picky RAM to work with when it comes to components. Corsair, Mushkin or OCZ are solid choices for RAM. Also, Id reccomend Tagan for PSU.

Hippos II · 03-10-2007, 12:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vorph

eVGA has a slight advantage if you plan to buy the most expensive factory OC card, because theirs has a heat sink that covers the entire PCB. Not sure it's worth an extra $50-100, but if price is no object...

Make sure you look at the placement of things around the pci-e slot if any of you look into buying that card, as it will become unusable unless you do some cutting on the cooler (my roomate couldn't get to his SATA ports).

Also, if you get that motherboard, or I think any other 680i motherboard, FLASH THE BIOS FIRST THING unless you feel like corrupting your SATA drives. I know two people who bought the eVGA 680i board and both of them had at least one of their drives stirred and shit on within an hour.

*edit G.Skill works with that particular 680i motherboard he recommended.

Hippos II · 03-10-2007, 01:05 AM

Another thing, if I were you I would just play the waiting game. There are reports of significant price cuts on Intel processors that should occur April/Mayish, along with the introduction of new processors (dirt cheap quad cores, I think I saw one that will supposedly be for $300). NVIDIA is also about to launch the full 8300GS-8800ULTRA line around that same time so the prices should be a lot fairer for a DX10 card with more on the table (albeit from one company).

Dom Devore · 03-10-2007, 10:27 AM

If you like the look of the 680i boards, but are unsure of the stability and common issues it has, but want 2 16x pci-e for SLI then you should take a look at the Asus P5N32-E plus . It uses a hybrid setup of 650i with a 570 southbridge I believe. It's about $50 cheaper than the evga 680i AR. It's built from the Striker extreme, just without the back LCD display and a different heatsink setup and different chipsets. It's been getting some good reviews as well.

bit-tech.net | Asus P5N32-E SLI Plus

It's the board I was going to get until I had to go with the Gigabyte DS3 due to cash limitations.

Dom Devore · 03-10-2007, 10:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hippos II

Another thing, if I were you I would just play the waiting game. There are reports of significant price cuts on Intel processors that should occur April/Mayish, along with the introduction of new processors (dirt cheap quad cores, I think I saw one that will supposedly be for $300). NVIDIA is also about to launch the full 8300GS-8800ULTRA line around that same time so the prices should be a lot fairer for a DX10 card with more on the table (albeit from one company).

The C2D price cuts are currently targeted for April 22, though that could change of course.

* Core 2 Quad Q6600 - Down to $530 from $851
* Core 2 Duo E6700 - Down to $316 from $530
* Core 2 Duo E6600 - Down to $224 from $316
* Core 2 Duo E6400 - Down to $183 from $224
* Core 2 Duo E6300 - Down to $163 from $183

02-22-2007, 03:57 PM	#1 (permalink)
Chamsie Registered User Join Date: Sep 2004 Posts: 102	New Comp Advice Well have saved up about $4000 and I'm debating if now is the time to upgrade my comp and how much I should spend. My current comp was self built and about 3 years old , not one upgrade since I bought it for around 1 grand. Basic specs are P4 2.4ghz, 1gig ram, and a 128mb ati card. Still runs but definitely needs to be replaced. - Is right now, with everything coming in the next few months, a good time to upgrade? I understand there is always new stuff on the horizon but it appears to be many sites and posts I've read say that holding off is wise right now. - I feel comfortable building my own comp, but wouldn't mind paying a little extra for peace of mind if I know I'm not getting screwed to awfully bad. Are there any sites out there that offer pretty good prices? - While I do have around $4000 to spend, I much rather spend 2-3g. I'm in need of new everything (dual monitors, parts/case, sound system etc). I want to be able to play current stuff like Vanguard and stuff coming out later this year like Crysis. Is 3g going to be enough or should I expect to set more money aside for this. That's about all I wanted to ask before I dived in and started to try and piece my machine together. If you had any links or parts you recommend that would be great. Plan on using newegg just like I did before. Thanks in advance for any help and I'll probably post my initial thoughts on what I plan to build in a few days on this thread for some more advice.

02-22-2007, 04:42 PM	#2 (permalink)
Vorph Never Go Full Retard Join Date: May 2002 Location: Hell Posts: 5,684	Core 2 Duo E6600 cpu eVGA 680i motherboard 2x2GB G.Skill PC2-6400 RAM eVGA 8800GTS 640MB video card OCZ GameXstream 700w PSU Antec P180 case Rest doesn't matter much. Get a 150GB Raptor if you feel like spending the money, as big a storage HD as you want (the biggest 7200rpm ones are getting into the ballpark of Raptor speeds now), whatever sound card you want, DVD burner if you need it (I like the LG GSA-H42N currently), etc. Total cost of all that (including the miscellaneous stuff) was just over $2k last time someone asked the same question. If you decide you want to go all out, get a second 8800 and a Dell 30" LCD. As for whether or not now is a good time, the only reservations I'd have would be that ATI is due to ship their DX10 cards in about a month. __________________ Last edited by Vorph : 02-22-2007 at 04:45 PM.

03-05-2007, 03:33 PM	#7 (permalink)
Vorph Never Go Full Retard Join Date: May 2002 Location: Hell Posts: 5,684	You'll need 64-bit Vista to see the rest. Your pci, pci-e, and onboard components are using up the rest of the address space in 32-bit XP. You can free up a bit by making sure everything in the bios that you aren't actually using is disabled. __________________

03-09-2007, 05:17 PM	#9 (permalink)
The Dauntless One Flaccid Steel Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Vancouver Posts: 1,470 -11 Internets	Core 2 Duo outperforms AM2 in the same price range and a more overclockable. Last edited by The Dauntless One : 03-09-2007 at 05:21 PM.

03-10-2007, 10:27 AM	#14 (permalink)
Dom Devore Happy Trees! Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Midkemia Posts: 585	If you like the look of the 680i boards, but are unsure of the stability and common issues it has, but want 2 16x pci-e for SLI then you should take a look at the Asus P5N32-E plus . It uses a hybrid setup of 650i with a 570 southbridge I believe. It's about $50 cheaper than the evga 680i AR. It's built from the Striker extreme, just without the back LCD display and a different heatsink setup and different chipsets. It's been getting some good reviews as well. bit-tech.net \| Asus P5N32-E SLI Plus It's the board I was going to get until I had to go with the Gigabyte DS3 due to cash limitations. __________________ Don't these talking Monkeys know that Eden has enough to go around?

02-22-2007, 04:52 PM	#3 (permalink)
Chamsie Registered User Join Date: Sep 2004 Posts: 102	Thanks Vorph, your the man! Sorry about adding my own thread, know this is about a once a week type thing. Just when I'm putting this kind of money down on something I don't follow closely get some doubts.

03-01-2007, 11:27 AM	#4 (permalink)
Morbeas Registered User Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: New York Posts: 374 +0 Internets	Vorph, if money was no object, which motherboard, CPU (Intel please) and video card would you get? Also, what do you think of the following setup? Asus Striker Extreme mobo Intel Core 2 EX6800 CPU BFG Technologies GeForce 8800 GTX PCI-E, 768MB GDDR3 Thanks man...

03-05-2007, 03:21 PM	#6 (permalink)
Chamsie Registered User Join Date: Sep 2004 Posts: 102	So I built my comp using the parts listed above and when I go to system and view my specs it's only showing 2.75gigs of ram. I went with what Vorph recommended, 2x2g sticks, and on boot up shows 4 gigs. Is there something I need to do to have windows recongnize the other 1.25 gigs on the system? Or is this one of the cases where its there and being used, just not being displayed?

03-10-2007, 01:05 AM	#13 (permalink)
Hippos II Registered User Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Dallas, TX Posts: 684 -1 Internets	Another thing, if I were you I would just play the waiting game. There are reports of significant price cuts on Intel processors that should occur April/Mayish, along with the introduction of new processors (dirt cheap quad cores, I think I saw one that will supposedly be for $300). NVIDIA is also about to launch the full 8300GS-8800ULTRA line around that same time so the prices should be a lot fairer for a DX10 card with more on the table (albeit from one company).

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