Well, I found out that doesn't work so well. So I guess I'm stuck building one out of real computer parts. Ideas/suggestions? Just the box, no monitor or anything. I'm ballparking $1000 USD, but let's be liberal and pretend max budget is $1500.
International model
Building a new machine... out of old government cheese and empty beer bottles
Well, I found out that doesn't work so well. So I guess I'm stuck building one out of real computer parts. Ideas/suggestions? Just the box, no monitor or anything. I'm ballparking $1000 USD, but let's be liberal and pretend max budget is $1500.
All I can say is that my life is pretty plain
I like watchin the puddles gather rain
And all I can do is just pour some tea for two
and speak my point of view
But its not sane..
I just want some one to say to me
Ill always be there when you wake
Ya know Id like to keep my cheeks dry today
So stay with me and Ill have it made
And I dont understand why I sleep all day
And I start to complain that theres no rain
And all I can do is read a book to stay awake
And it rips my life away but its a great escape..
All I can say is that my life is pretty plain...
International model
Whatever, I can talk to myself, alone, in my own thread.
Ahem, anyways, more towards what I was looking at... maybe people have some opinions on specific hardware:
ASUS P5N-E SLI LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 650i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail $140
BFG Tech BFGR88768GTXE GeForce 8800GTX 768MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Video Card - Retail $550
Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 Conroe 2.4GHz LGA 775 Processor Model BX80557E6600 - Retail $316
Crucial Ballistx Tracer DDR2 PC28000 1GB (1 stick) memory $245
And I'll obviously need a case, powersupply, and drives, but the mobo appears to have all the slots for those, so those I can get later, these being the essential parts. Ideas? Should I cheap up a bit on the graphics card? Is this too much... I'm looking to hit that price point where it's efficient. Like, the processor... there are better processors, but the 25% increase in performance isn't worth the 100%+ jump in price. But of course, video cards always seem to be the bottleneck... so is it wise to go with the SLI setup? I'm not entirely sure. Just sure that I want to build this rig soon (I've been waiting a year) and I don't want to be arsed again for a while. If I understand correctly, this board can take quad core processors later, a second video card, and 3 more sticks of ram, on top of several drives, so I figure this is a solid investment for now and later. Thoughts?
All I can say is that my life is pretty plain
I like watchin the puddles gather rain
And all I can do is just pour some tea for two
and speak my point of view
But its not sane..
I just want some one to say to me
Ill always be there when you wake
Ya know Id like to keep my cheeks dry today
So stay with me and Ill have it made
And I dont understand why I sleep all day
And I start to complain that theres no rain
And all I can do is read a book to stay awake
And it rips my life away but its a great escape..
All I can say is that my life is pretty plain...
Elite
uhh dont do quad core yet.......
i kno the processor you have picked out isnt quad core
but intel's "quad core" processors arent true quad core
theyre simply 2 dual core chips stuck together
just a thought for later
~
Originally Posted by b1gwi11
...
What's dual core then?
Banned
two single chips stuck together?
Elite
dual core is 2 chips on the same die
the "quad core" that intel is advertising is 2 seperate chips stuck together
whereas true quad core would have all 4 chips on one die
hence my suggestion to wait until the true quad core comes out
Cookie Thief
I think you're over doing it. People focus too much on the upgradability too.
What you need is a well balanced computer. From what I see, you're going to play games mostly.
You want a good video card, maybe not the best of the moment since they always come with something new and you'll feel ripped off. You can always upgrade this one anyway.
As for the CPU, you're rarely bottlenecked by that.
A E6400 should do the job for you, as it would for just about anyone.
Stop penis envy for once and save $100.
Besides those babies overclock like crazy and quite safely on top of that, so if you feel like getting a E6600 out of your E6400, it's a kids game.
Since you're planning to run a big video card, and maybe upgrade later, you need a good strong power supply.
That's why i've put the 850W GameXStream from OCZ in there.
I currently own a 700W GameXStream which runs my rig without a hassle (see specs at the end)
I've added a good DVD burner, I consider NEC to be one of the best brand around at the moment in terms of DVD burners.
I've added a sound card, because once you taste X-Fi there's no going back to onboard.
You'll love the crispiness of this baby, besides there's also advanced effects you'll find in games only available with X-Fi sound cards.
As for the motherboard, alot of people have been very satisfied with this board.
It's a strong, reliable and very powerful board.
Not SLi, I always considered SLi to be useless. If you take 2 mid cards you end up with the big card.
If you take 2 big cards, you end up spending too much for nothing, as most games won't take the advantage of these two cards and anyway in a month you'll be beaten by 1 card.
A 250GB Seagate should be good. Newest technology available at the moment, which should give you the best performance.
I don't know how much of a media whore you are, so you might want to add a 500GB or so later.
The memory I choosed is high performance DDR2-800 with tight timings from OCZ.
Not alot to talk about here, it's just good memory, that's it that's all.
I've added a case, cheap one though alot of people use it for their build.
You can add 120mm fans which make it a great performer for the price.
Not too ugly either.
Intel Core 2 Duo E6400 Conroe 2.13GHz LGA 775 Processor Model BX80557E6400 - Retail $222
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115004
GIGABYTE GA-965P-DS3 LGA 775 Intel P965 Express ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail $132
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128012
OCZ Platinum Revision 2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail $214 AFTER MIR
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820227139
eVGA 640-P2-N825-AR GeForce 8800GTS 640MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 SUPERCLOCKED HDCP Video Card - Retail $409
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130080
Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 (Perpendicular Recording) ST3250620AS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM $80
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822148144
OCZ GameXStream OCZ850GXSSLI ATX12V v2.2 and EPS12V 850Watts Power Supply - Retail $190 AFTER MIR
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817341003
COOLER MASTER Centurion RC-534-KWN1-GP Black Aluminum/ SECC ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail $55
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811119110
NEC 18X DVD±R DVD Burner With 12X DVD-RAM Write Black E-IDE / ATAPI Model 7170A-0B - OEM $30
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827152076
Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer 70SB073A00000 7.1 Channels 24-bit 96KHz PCI Interface Sound Card - Retail $90
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16829102006
TOTAL: $1422 after mail in rebates
My computer:
AMD Athlon X2 3800+ overclocked to 2.45Ghz (stock 2Ghz)
MSI K8N Neo4 Platinum mobo
2GB OCZ Gold GX XTC DDR-500 @ 245mhz (490mhz DDR)
ATI Radeon X1900XT @ X1900XTX speeds
2x 320GB western digital
1x 250GB western digital
NEC 3540A DVD±RW
OCZ GameXStream 700W
Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeMusic
International model
That's what I'm talking about. Sweet. I came to a lot of the conclusions you did here just today. So I'll probably be heading this way and ordering that stuff (or similar) tonight, once I get back. Thanks!
All I can say is that my life is pretty plain
I like watchin the puddles gather rain
And all I can do is just pour some tea for two
and speak my point of view
But its not sane..
I just want some one to say to me
Ill always be there when you wake
Ya know Id like to keep my cheeks dry today
So stay with me and Ill have it made
And I dont understand why I sleep all day
And I start to complain that theres no rain
And all I can do is read a book to stay awake
And it rips my life away but its a great escape..
All I can say is that my life is pretty plain...
International model
Oh, hate to double post, but the video card is still a main point of contention. It 's really a toss up between the one I mentioned, the one you mentioned, and the ATi one (X1950 XTX or whatever). Not sure about that 100% yet, but it's one of those 3.
All I can say is that my life is pretty plain
I like watchin the puddles gather rain
And all I can do is just pour some tea for two
and speak my point of view
But its not sane..
I just want some one to say to me
Ill always be there when you wake
Ya know Id like to keep my cheeks dry today
So stay with me and Ill have it made
And I dont understand why I sleep all day
And I start to complain that theres no rain
And all I can do is read a book to stay awake
And it rips my life away but its a great escape..
All I can say is that my life is pretty plain...
Cookie Thief
Nah forget about the ATI X1950XTX. The 8800GTS and 8800GTX are the best at the moment.
Besides, the X1950XTX is a DirectX 9.0c card, while the 8800's are DirectX 10 cards. They include the latest technology to give you the best performance and visual quality in upcoming games.
International model
Case closed, folks. Bought one, and a second one to build my cousin. Many thanks to polobunny for his help. I went with most of his recommendations, except got the 6600 processor, a not as expensive power supply (but still a beast), and ditched the DVD burner, as I have one. Plus, picked up a sweet 22" monitor. Over my budget a hair before the monitor drops in, but seems to me this was a solid decision. I'll let you all know how it goes or something, but that'll probably be in the hangout, and this thread can fade into oblivion.
All I can say is that my life is pretty plain
I like watchin the puddles gather rain
And all I can do is just pour some tea for two
and speak my point of view
But its not sane..
I just want some one to say to me
Ill always be there when you wake
Ya know Id like to keep my cheeks dry today
So stay with me and Ill have it made
And I dont understand why I sleep all day
And I start to complain that theres no rain
And all I can do is read a book to stay awake
And it rips my life away but its a great escape..
All I can say is that my life is pretty plain...
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