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[Dice]

The apple screens are IPS panels (if I remember right) , which have better viewing angels and colors (IMO) at the slight expense of response times.

Not according to the tech specs. They don't have the balls to outright admit that it's a TN panel but the listed color range confirms it. If you're shelling out that kinda dough, shell out $300 less and get the IPS Dell.

Ok I have a major problem with my video card I think. At points the screen goes blank and after a few seconds a few icons will start to appear but things don't respond quickly. My mouse seems to stop for 5 seconds and then it will jump to where I moved it. It doesn't happen all the time, but when it does I need to reboot the computer to get it back to normal. Is this a problem with the video card drivers or is the card just fucked up? The card is a HIS HD5850, btw.

Okay I searched and found your original post. Your hardware setup sounds okay, and what you describe sounds like Windows Explorer crashing and restarting. It probably is the drivers.

 

[Baker]

How does that Windows Vista/7 scoring thing test your hard drive? I have a 640gig WD Black but it only gave it a 5.9. Everything else was 7.7-7.9 so it's pissing me off.

 

[TheExodu5]

How does that Windows Vista/7 scoring thing test your hard drive? I have a 640gig WD Black but it only gave it a 5.9. Everything else was 7.7-7.9 so it's pissing me off.

I'm not sure, but your WD is slow as molasses compared to SSDs, so it's not really surprising that it's low.

 

[TheExodu5]

Where is the next logical step i can take this set up.

Windows 7 HP
q6600 at 2.9ghz
4890 1gig (no oc)
4gigs of ram

is it worth upgrading to any of the other 775 cpus

I wouldn't upgrade anything. Stay put for a while. You've got some solid hardware.

The only upgrade you can do if you really wanted to is the video card. That's a pricey upgrade though.

 

[LM Grifter]

Got my first laptop and decided to switch to apple, 15" 2.66 4GB RAM, 320 GB HD and 8600GT card. I use PC very rarely for games but do a ton of other things so for that purpose it is good.

 

[TouchMyBox]

How does that Windows Vista/7 scoring thing test your hard drive? I have a 640gig WD Black but it only gave it a 5.9. Everything else was 7.7-7.9 so it's pissing me off.

WEI gives just about every 7200rpm HDD a 5.9. Judging a computer based on it's WEI score is like judging a person based on their gamerscore. :lol

 

[HungryPillow]

I was supposed to fix my fiancee's computer but I caved in and bought a 5850 for myself, gave her my 4870, and bought a 160GB Intel SSD :lol

Told myself I wasn't going to jump on the SSD bandwagon until at least late this year when prices fall some more, but that didn't work out. You always read how great and fast it is but nothing really prepares you for the first time actually trying it out... holy fucking crap.

 

[Krauser Kat]

Is the 1156 Socket going to having any life when ddr3 becomes cheaper? I was always confused by them releasing a middle ground socket and not just mid level cpu on the 1356 socket like they have in the past.

Especially when Amd Sockets and mobos can support amd-amd3 chips on one motherboard.

 

[vocab]

How does that Windows Vista/7 scoring thing test your hard drive? I have a 640gig WD Black but it only gave it a 5.9. Everything else was 7.7-7.9 so it's pissing me off.

Don't worry about that dumb ass test.

 

[Leatherface]

Woot! Just upgraded my PC for $660 tonight!! I really hated pressing the "Purchase" button though. Spending that kind of cash makes me feel greedy lol. Anyway, here's my haul:

Stuff I already had that will transition to the new rig:

*Windows 7 64bit
*EVGA GTX275 (thanks to a GAF member in the buy sell trade thread)
*CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V
*YATE LOON 120mm Case Fan (x4)
*ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro (CPU Cooling)
*Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB HD
*Generic DVD Burner


NEW STUFF Item List

1 x ($14.99) Sunbeam RHK-BA Rheobus 5.25" Bay 4 Channel 20W Fan Controller
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811998808
________________________________________

4 x ($1.39) POWER CABLE | POW-ADT-3PY RETAIL
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812189063
________________________________________

1 x ($288.99) CPU INTEL|CORE I7 920 2.66G 45N R
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115202
________________________________________

1 x ($169.99) MB ASROCK X58 EXTREME 1366 RT
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157163
_______________________________________

1 x ($149.99) MEM 2Gx3|OCZ OCZ3G1600LV6GK R
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227365
________________________________________

1 x ($59.99) Rosewill DESTROYER Black Gaming ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147144
________________________________________

1 x ($-2.99) DISCOUNT FOR PREFERRED ACCOUNT
$-2.99 (rush shipment fee waived / ships 1/22)
________________________________________


**For anyone looking to upgrade, I did a ton of research and if you are going to stay with intel, this is pretty much the best bang for your buck I can find. The CPU is the best intel chip without breaking the bank (and has a clear upgrade path). The motherboard supports 3 channel ddr and has a ton of features reserved for more expensive boards. The memory is high quality and inexpensive compared to other brands. The case if fucking FANTASTIC especially for $60 (it comes with 3 120w fans and is outfitted to take up to 7 right out of the box). All in a all a great haul IMO.

 

[brain_stew]

Woot! Just upgraded my PC for $660 tonight!! I really hated pressing the "Purchase" button though. Spending that kind of cash makes me feel greedy lol. Anyway, here's my haul:

________________________________________


**For anyone looking to upgrade, I did a ton of research and if you are going to stay with intel, this is pretty much the best bang for your buck I can find. The CPU is the best intel chip without breaking the bank (and has a clear upgrade path). The motherboard supports 3 channel ddr and has a ton of features reserved for more expensive boards. The memory is high quality and inexpensive compared to other brands. The case if fucking FANTASTIC especially for $60 (it comes with 3 120w fans and is outfitted to take up to 7 right out of the box). All in a all a great haul IMO.

I'm not trying to be a party pooper here but it really doesn't. $1000 six-core workstation CPUs aren't a viable upgrade route and that's all that there is confirmed atm, with very little chance of anything at mainstream pricing likely to hit the socket. Socket 1156 has its issues (mainly the dodgy Foxconn sockets) but a i5-750 definitely offers more bang for your buck, you're saving around $150 or more yet getting better gaming performance and a drastically decreased idle power usage.

 

[brain_stew]

Is the 1156 Socket going to having any life when ddr3 becomes cheaper? I was always confused by them releasing a middle ground socket and not just mid level cpu on the 1356 socket like they have in the past.

Especially when Amd Sockets and mobos can support amd-amd3 chips on one motherboard.

Socket 1366 and its accompanying chips is just too expensive to sell at mainstream prices that's why Intel needed another socket for the mainstream. Neither platform has any viable upgrade options on Intel's roadmap at the current moment in time.

 

[vocab]

Anything over the I5-750 is breaking the bank. At least for me. The fact that you can squeeze up to 4.0Ghz+ on a cheaper processor just screams better value.

 

[brain_stew]

Anything over the I5-750 is breaking the bank. At least for me. The fact that you can squeeze up to 4.0Ghz+ on a cheaper processor just screams better value.

Well I can understand going with a i7-860 if you're heavy into encoding/3D modelling/rendering or something but other than that, yeah, you're hitting seriously diminsihing returns and the gap is nothing a quick OC can't fix.

 

[Danj]

Looks like the Acer 8942G is starting to come in stock now... in the absence of stock of my other choices it looks like that'll probably end up being what I get.

 

[UrbanRats]

Ok GAF, here i am again, with some final questions about my (future)rig.

So my final config based on your advices would be:
Ati Radeon 5850
Intel i5 750 2.66ghz
??? MoBo
2x 2GB ddr3 1333 RAM
HDD samsung F3 500GB 7200rpm
PSU 500w
a cheap dvd burner (found one at 20€)
a BluRay player(open to suggestions, i've seen one from LG for 90€)
--
Given that, i would like some help about these things:

1) Case department, i've looked a bit around, and i found two particulare case that i like:
Aerocool syclone 120 140mm & Aplus Twin-Engine Tower, both are around 80/100€.
Wich one is better?Are they ok, performance-wise?I know they're incredibly cheesy etc etc, but i like them exactly fro that reason.. so bad, they're good. :lol

2) Monitor: i found two interesting choises here:
ASUS VW246H 24" Wide 19x10FullHD Multimed HDCP 2ms for 216€
&
ASUS VH242H 24" Wide 19x10FullHD Multim.HDCP 5ms for 198€
Are there noticeble difference between the two?Both 1080p with HDMI port, both 24" etc etc..

3) Blu Ray player: a decent one?Suggestions?


Thanks to whoever will help

So, i'll add another question:
4) Is there an Intel ddr3, intel i5 compatible MoBo cheaper than this: Intel® Desktop Board DP55KG?

I know those are dumb questions, but i really don't wanna risk to fuck up.

 

[Leatherface]

I'm not trying to be a party pooper here but it really doesn't. $1000 six-core workstation CPUs aren't a viable upgrade route and that's all that there is confirmed atm, with very little chance of anything at mainstream pricing likely to hit the socket. Socket 1156 has its issues (mainly the dodgy Foxconn sockets) but a i5-750 definitely offers more bang for your buck, you're saving around $150 or more yet getting better gaming performance and a drastically decreased idle power usage.

I'm not planning to upgrade after this for awhile (obviously) and there will surely be more available with this socket type which is why I went this route. Admittedly, I wasn't aware the i5-750 gave me better performance though. Why is that?

u pooped my party damn it!

 

[BlaneH]

Any current links to a 450-600 US build? I've been looking at both of these but they are probably not up to date and figure this thread would know better.

http://www.pcper.com/hwlb.php?guide4=y#guide4
http://www.maximumpc.com/article/features/how_build_awesome_pc_647

My current rig is ancient so I am years and years behind the current hardware. I therefore find it pretty daunting to try and catch up on whats late and great. Especially since I can't afford it. I have about 320 GB of storage to bring over to my new system and DVD RW drive but that's about it and even then I'm probably dropping in new HDs.

I'd like to be able to game but it's not at all a requirement. I'd rather have storage/processing performance than dump my money into a graphics card that I won't use often. Playing Civ 4/CS:S is about as deep as I ever got into PC gaming. Any helpful links or builds would be greatly appreciated. I CAN go over 600 if I wait till tax return time but I'd really like to try and keep it as close or under that number as possible.

Basically just looking for your basic solid all rounder budget rig. Its what my current build was when I did it and it lasted me years reliably so far but it's just time to put her out to pasture.

 

[BudokaiMR2]

Okay I know this isn't the place but i looked around even though search seems to be disabled.

For some reason my PC is glitching out when I try to start Freedom Force. The odd part is that I can start Freedom Force vs. 3rd Reich just fine but when I try to start the normal game the screen flashes black, minimizing and maximizing a few times before giving me an error. I am on Windows 7

 

[Kamaki]

Right so I only got my new PC a little while back and basically the only game I use it for is TF2.

That is beyond the point though, I was thinking about getting a new screen going from my 15" to a 22". Probably this one. Just wondering if anyway had a screen like this and could vouch for its quality. Also if anyone does have it, would you mind telling me it's longest width? As I've got to fit it into this 52.05cm gap and according to Amazon it's 52cm, I wonder how accurate that is.

If that's not good any recommendations on screens? Basically need the VGA for the PC and want the HDMI for the 360.

 

[JudgeN]

Where is the next logical step i can take this set up.

Windows 7 HP
q6600 at 2.9ghz
4890 1gig (no oc)
4gigs of ram

is it worth upgrading to any of the other 775 cpus

Maybe OC the Q6600 a little more to the 3.2-3.4 area but other then that your good for a year or so.

 

[I NEED SCISSORS]

Thanks to the budget PC thread I was able to throw all this together a few months ago:

XFX Radeon 4890 1GB
Corsair XMS 4GB RAM @ 1066Mhz
Asus MA478-AM
Corsair 550w PSU
AMD Phenom ii X2 550

For around £430, plus a brilliant BenQ 22" 1080p monitor with HDMI for just £155. I didn't try to unlock the 3rd and 4th cores in that 550. Maybe it's possible, but I just don't have the technical skill to do so. This PC is amazing enough though, it's chomped through many games i've thrown at it at max settings and 60fps. My only issue is microstutter in some games - Half Life 2 is the worst offender so far which is a shame. It's also a little loud so i'm going to invest in a cheap Scythe Shuriken aftermarket cooler.

 

[MoFuzz]

There's a used Q6600 being offered by someone locally that is guaranteed to OC to 3.5 GHz. Would this be a worthwhile upgrade over an E8400? It is being listed at $150 CAD but I might be able to talk them down a bit.

I figure I could sell my E8400 for roughly the same cost, and that way I get two extra cores which is slowly becoming more and more important for games.

Also, is there much performance difference between a Q9550 and Q6600 after both are OC'ed?

 

[evlcookie]

Furmark

Thanks, I forgot all about that.

Looks like my gpu temp (memio) is hitting just under 100c with 85% fan speed on my S1. Guess what i will be doing all day today :lol . Not too sure why it's that high, everything else is very cool. Lots of testing testing testing to be done.

 

[Alucrid]

Quick question, I only have one ethernet port at my dorm and our wireless network usually sucks. Can I buy a wired/wireless router, hook it up to the jack in my dorm, then connect my pc/laptop/gaming consoles to the router either wirelessly or wired?

 

[Hellsing321]

So I think I fixed my driver problem. I cleaned house and downloaded the hotfix version of the latest ATI drivers and things seem fine now. I have a question about the source engine and ATI cards though. Playing Counter-Strike Source I'm getting over 300fps but all the characters seem jerky when they move. Almost like they're lagging but even bots move that way when I make a local game with bots. Is this a known issue with ATI cards or is something else going on?

 

[vocab]

So I think I fixed my driver problem. I cleaned house and downloaded the hotfix version of the latest ATI drivers and things seem fine now. I have a question about the source engine and ATI cards though. Playing Counter-Strike Source I'm getting over 300fps but all the characters seem jerky when they move. Almost like they're lagging but even bots move that way when I make a local game with bots. Is this a known issue with ATI cards or is something else going on?

Try to mess with vsync, and also try to cap fps at 101 with max_fps 101. The jerky ness only happens on CSS for me, while other source games are fine.

 

[darthbob]

Anything I should upgrade from this?

CPU @ 3.4GHz
DDR2 PC6400
64-bit Win7

 

[Beowulf28]

Could someone explain to me the performance differences between:

a Intel Pentium Dual Core @2.8 ghz
vs
Intel Core 2 Duo @ 2.6 ghz

 

[MoFuzz]

Anything I should upgrade from this?
CPU @ 3.4GHz
DDR2 PC6400
64-bit Win7

That's a pretty recent setup. The only setup I'd maybe suggest is a video card swap if you're gonna be gaming at higher resolutions. 8800 GTS is only good up to 1440x900 for new games or maybe 1680x1050 for somewat older games.

Is there a specific task where you feel you aren't getting enough performance?

Could someone explain to me the performance differences between a Intel Pentium Dual-Core @2.8 ghz vs Intel Core 2 Duo @ 2.6 ghz

I assume you're comparing the E4700 Core 2 Duo to a E6300 Dual-Core?

Core 2 Duo's and Pentium Dual-Core's are generally using the same tech, but in this case, the Core 2 is a 2nd generation chip, while the Dual-Core is newer. As such, the E6300 will get far better performance across the board. It runs cooler, more efficiently (thanks to smaller 45nm architecture) and you'll manage a much better overclock out of it.

Gotta be careful with Intel's naming process though, they often have two different chips with completely different performance that share the same name. i.e. E6300 Pentium Dual-Core will utterly decimate a E6300 Core 2 Duo.

 

[Beowulf28]

That's a pretty recent setup. The only setup I'd maybe suggest is a video card swap if you're gonna be gaming at higher resolutions. 8800 GTS is only good up to 1440x900 for new games or maybe 1680x1050 for somewat older games.

Is there a specific task where you feel you aren't getting enough performance?

I assume you're comparing the E4700 Core 2 Duo to a E6300 Dual-Core?

Core 2 Duo's and Pentium Dual-Core's are generally using the same tech, but in this case, the Core 2 is a 2nd generation chip, while the Dual-Core is newer. As such, the E6300 will get far better performance across the board. It runs cooler, more efficiently (thanks to smaller 45nm architecture) and you'll manage a much better overclock out of it.

Gotta be careful with Intel's naming process though, they often have two different chips with completely different performance that share the same name. i.e. E6300 Pentium Dual-Core will utterly decimate a E6300 Core 2 Duo.

I have this CPU:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16819116091

I was using "Can You Run It?" and it said my CPU is under the recommended settings for Mass Effect 2 which is 2.6 ghz core 2 duo.

 

[luiztfc]

I posted the following in some random thread, but this seems to be the suitable place.

I was wondering if anyone can recommend me some place or seller to buy the microsoft gaming receiver (so I can use my xbox 360 controller on my pc). But, I live in Brazil which means that the seller/store must be online and able to ship overseas.

I did some research on Ebay and I was afradf of counterfeiting. Can I trust this one, for example, http://cgi.ebay.com/BRAND-NEW-Micro...ZVideo_Games_Accessories?hash=item5638969a5e?

 

[MoFuzz]

I have this CPU:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16819116091

I was using "Can You Run It?" and it said my CPU is under the recommended settings for Mass Effect 2 which is 2.6 ghz core 2 duo.

Gotcha. In that case it should run just fine as long as you have a decent video card and 4GB RAM.

It won't be a 60 fps constant, but it'll certainly run at a higher resolution and framerate than the 360 version. Bearing in mind that performance is almost always worse in sequels
due to enhanced/additional eye candy & physics.

 

[Beowulf28]

Gotcha. In that case it should run just fine as long as you have a decent video card and 4GB RAM.

It won't be a 60 fps constant, but it'll certainly run at a higher resolution and framerate than the 360 version. Bearing in mind that performance is almost always worse in sequels
due to enhanced/additional eye candy & physics.

Thanks I currently have a HD 4850 1GB and 2 GB of ram so I'm hoping I can atleast get a solid 30 frames.

 

[brain_stew]

There's a used Q6600 being offered by someone locally that is guaranteed to OC to 3.5 GHz. Would this be a worthwhile upgrade over an E8400? It is being listed at $150 CAD but I might be able to talk them down a bit.

I figure I could sell my E8400 for roughly the same cost, and that way I get two extra cores which is slowly becoming more and more important for games.

Also, is there much performance difference between a Q9550 and Q6600 after both are OC'ed?

Well I just made the switch from a 3.6ghz E5200 to a 3.34ghz Q6600 and in my case the answer was most definitely, yes. Of the games I've tried, SR2, GTA4, L4D2, Ghostbusters and Fuel have all seen tangible (sometimes huge) gains. You can probably get most of that $150 back for your E8400 so it might be worth your while, Q9550 were just too overpriced for me too consider.

 

[MoFuzz]

Well I just made the switch from a 3.6ghz E5200 to a 3.34ghz Q6600 and in my case the answer was most definitely, yes. Of the games I've tried, SR2, GTA4, L4D2, Ghostbusters and Fuel have all seen tangible (sometimes huge) gains. You can probably get most of that $150 back for your E8400 so it might be worth your while, Q9550 were just too overpriced for me too consider.

Have you found the performance from single-threaded workloads to be much worse? I just bought a new CPU cooler for this rig and I'm really tappin' my foot as to whether or not to use it on the existing E8400 I've got in there as opposed to picking up the quad at the same time and OC'ing that.

Thanks again for the advice on the E5200 overclock a couple pages back BTW. I dialed it down to 3.45 GHz - 300 x 11.5. Seems to be running fine now at 1.38 voltage in the BIOS and 2 hours stable OCCT.

 

[Spy]

I apologize about slacking on the OP, my grandmother died a couple weeks ago but now I'm back. What did I miss?

 

[MoFuzz]

I apologize about slacking on the OP, my grandmother died a couple weeks ago but now I'm back. What did I miss?

Not much really. Fermi was silently released by nVidia at half the price point of the Radeon 5000 series and Intel's integrated graphics solutions have improved to the point where they have now surpassed ATI in the market is all.

 

[brain_stew]

I have this CPU:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16819116091

I was using "Can You Run It?" and it said my CPU is under the recommended settings for Mass Effect 2 which is 2.6 ghz core 2 duo.

You're fine, don't listen to recommended specs, they're worthless.

 

[brain_stew]

Have you found the performance from single-threaded workloads to be much worse? I just bought a new CPU cooler for this rig and I'm really tappin' my foot as to whether or not to use it on the existing E8400 I've got in there as opposed to picking up the quad at the same time and OC'ing that.

Thanks again for the advice on the E5200 overclock a couple pages back BTW. I dialed it down to 3.45 GHz - 300 x 11.5. Seems to be running fine now at 1.38 voltage in the BIOS and 2 hours stable OCCT.

If anything I saw an increase as I went from a 300mhz FSB to a 420mhz FSB and the extra cache negated the 45nm architecture improvements.

 

[brain_stew]

Not much really. Fermi was silently released by nVidia at half the price point of the Radeon 5000 series and Intel's integrated graphics solutions have improved to the point where they have now surpassed ATI in the market is all.

Not quite, but they're finally competitive at least:

http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/showdoc.aspx?i=3724&p=3

 

[Hellsing321]

Try to mess with vsync, and also try to cap fps at 101 with max_fps 101. The jerky ness only happens on CSS for me, while other source games are fine.

Thanks. It worked like a charm.

 

[OatmealMu]

My Corsair HX520W power supply has been steadily getting louder as of late. Since I'm having Newegg replace my recently purchased 5750, I figured I'd save a trip to the post office and try the same with my PSU. It's just some fan noise, but I built this PC to be quiet. Well, they've decided to grant me an RMA! I purchased it in 2007, and while it has a 5-year warranty, I assumed Corsair would blow me off. Now I know why I spent $130 on a PSU when I could've spent half that.

Has anyone ever sent a PSU back to Corsair? It uses modular cables, and I spent what seemed like an eternity trying to fit everything behind the mobo tray on my P180. I'd rather not do that again, so I was hoping I could send just the PSU back.

Anyone know?

 

[Rich!]

So, I need to build a new PC. £400 is my limit (exluding graphics card - that can wait until my birthday later on).

Would this be a decent rig for the price?

AMD Phenom II X4 3.4ghz quad, 8mb cache (http://www.ebuyer.com/product/186428)
ASUS M4A78-E Motherboard with intergrated graphics and HDMI (essential for me, because I wont have a GFX card at first) (http://www.ebuyer.com/product/160931)
Kingston 2GB DDR2 1066mhz RAM (http://www.ebuyer.com/product/165306)
Corsair 450w PSU (http://www.ebuyer.com/product/131052)
Seagate 250gb 7200rpm HDD (http://www.ebuyer.com/product/139225)
Sony DVD-RW D/L RW (http://www.ebuyer.com/product/170014)

Also, a neat case for £25 that's had excellent feedback. Altogether, with post and packaging, it comes to £408.

And once I've got the money later on, I'll be buying a Radeon 5570 for it. Which I hear is a reeeaaal good card.

 

[pseudocaesar]

So, I need to build a new PC. £400 is my limit (exluding graphics card - that can wait until my birthday later on).

Would this be a decent rig for the price?

AMD Phenom II X4 3.4ghz quad, 8mb cache (http://www.ebuyer.com/product/186428)
ASUS M4A78-E Motherboard with intergrated graphics and HDMI (essential for me, because I wont have a GFX card at first) (http://www.ebuyer.com/product/160931)
Kingston 2GB DDR2 1066mhz RAM (http://www.ebuyer.com/product/165306)
Corsair 450w PSU (http://www.ebuyer.com/product/131052)
Seagate 250gb 7200rpm HDD (http://www.ebuyer.com/product/139225)
Sony DVD-RW D/L RW (http://www.ebuyer.com/product/170014)

Also, a neat case for £25 that's had excellent feedback. Altogether, with post and packaging, it comes to £408.

And once I've got the money later on, I'll be buying a Radeon 5570 for it. Which I hear is a reeeaaal good card.

Get 4gb of Ram. 2gb is pointless if you intend on getting the Phenom II X4 and a 5570, and I would get this HDD instead. Its bigger, cheaper, and better.
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/182433

 

[Rich!]

Get 4gb of Ram. 2gb is pointless if you intend on getting the Phenom II X4 and a 5570, and I would get this HDD instead. Its bigger, cheaper, and better.
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/182433

Oh man, that hard drive is a steal. Thanks!

About the RAM, I assumed that speed > amount? If not then I'll just go for 4gb of a lower speed for now, as it'll cost the same.

 

[pseudocaesar]

Oh man, that hard drive is a steal. Thanks!

About the RAM, I assumed that speed > amount? If not then I'll just go for 4gb of a lower speed for now, as it'll cost the same.

No problemo, the WD Caviars are pretty much the go to HDD of choice for non SSD.

 

[Hazaro]

Oh man, that hard drive is a steal. Thanks!

About the RAM, I assumed that speed > amount? If not then I'll just go for 4gb of a lower speed for now, as it'll cost the same.

RAM speed is sub 0.5% for most applications.

Even for overclocking now the speed they need is minimal.

 

[chuckddd]

Oh man, that hard drive is a steal. Thanks!

About the RAM, I assumed that speed > amount? If not then I'll just go for 4gb of a lower speed for now, as it'll cost the same.

RAM speed is how fast it'll run and still be stable. If you're not going to overclock, just make sure you get 4gb. If you're going to overclock, get RAM that will go as fast as your bus is going to go.

 

[Rich!]

RAM speed is how fast it'll run and still be stable. If you're not going to overclock, just make sure you get 4gb. If you're going to overclock, get RAM that will go as fast as your bus is going to go.

I was planning on overclocking to 3.8ghz, but after thinking about it I've realised I really don't need a processor that stupidly fast. :lol