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[TouchMyBox]

NCIX is the only one I'm seeing that builds from the parts you select. Maybe I should just bite the bullet and buy from MAINGEAR or something. Its twice as much but seems like way less headache.

Paying someone $50 to steal all the fun away from you? Madness!

 

[Salaadin]

Dude just get a 1.5 TB Western Digital Caviar Black with 64 MB cache. They are like 90 to 110 bucks. A 1TB one is probably like 70

Im looking more for speed over storage and for that, SSD seems to be the way to go.

Paying someone $50 to steal all the fun away from you? Madness!

Lol. I also thought about paying someone to build mine for me but ended up doing it myself. I had very little prior experience (installed graphics card when I was 12 and took apart a PS2 once) and I found it to be very easy, interesting, and rewarding. I loved it.

 

[Flynn]

Paying someone $50 to steal all the fun away from you? Madness!

hehe the last thing I need is to add another project to my list of shit to do.

Honestly, I'm considering ordering this Gateway from Amazon and calling it a day.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0032UXXZO/?tag=neogaf0e-20

 

[Max]

Hi PCGAF, I have a problem and I never no idea where else I could post it;

Currently up to date in drivers for my 4890, but i'm getting weird lighting blotchy textures/shadows in Deus Ex and the Death to Spies demo.

Screenshots here:
http://i46.tinypic.com/10defly.jpg
http://i49.tinypic.com/1rat83.jpg

I've noticed in videos on youtube that the games aren't supposed to look like that, and they're the only two i've noticed this problem with so far.

Help would be appreciated.

Posted about it on the ATi forums, nothing helpful

http://forums.amd.com/game/messageview.cfm?catid=260&threadid=136089&enterthread=y

 

[Shambles]

hehe the last thing I need is to add another project to my list of shit to do.

Honestly, I'm considering ordering this Gateway from Amazon and calling it a day.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0032UXXZO/?tag=neogaf0e-20

I have no idea why OEMs continue to insist to throw way too much memory in their machines and yet cheap out on the GPU. For gaming I wouldn't go below a 5770 nowadays

"Next-generation eSATA port " :lol

 

[Lkr]

I have no idea why OEMs continue to insist to throw way too much memory in their machines and yet cheap out on the GPU. For gaming I wouldn't go below a 5770 nowadays

"Next-generation eSATA port " :lol

5750 sounds great
"with 1 GB of dedicated video memory. Loaded with advanced technology and support for Microsoft DirectX 11, the HD 5750 has the power and premium features you need for fully immersive gameplay as well as the capability to expand your visual real estate across up to three displays. With ATI Eyefinity technology, you get the ultimate immersive gaming experience innovative "wrap around" multi-display capabilities. "

:lol :lol :lol :lol

 

[Shambles]

I tried to honestly look at the other OEM machines for one I could recommend as halfway decent but the pricing on them is pretty horrible all around. You're just really better off building it yourself or paying NCIX the 50$ to put it together for you. If you have a memory express in the area check them out too.

Edit: Ah, i see you're in the States, I was under the impression that you were Canadian Flynn. That's really strange that they bundle everything on the US website. Even still there seems to be a lot of options. Perhaps they're worried about being sued by retards who break their CPUs trying to insert them the wrong way. It is the USA after all, they're probably win.

Nope, I see lone Intel chips. Weird.

 

[Nightz]

Anyone know anything about the Antec 900 SE? Fry's is having a sale on it (down to $59.99 after rebate). Is it the exact same as the regular Antec 900, just a different paint job?

http://www.frys.com/product/6075488

Deal ends tomorrow so if it's good, I'll stop by tomorrow after work.

Ended up going today and picking one up. They had some on display and IMO it looked better than the regular 900. It's exactly the same, just with a silver trim.

Now that I have my case, time to order everything else. I've helped my buddy build lots of computers, but this will be the first one I do all by myself.

 

[Metalic Sand]

What would be the best GPU at $200. Looking at DX11 stuff. Going to be upgrading in a few months.


Im using a GTS 250 atm. It overclocks pretty shitty. Is Nvidia making any $200 range DX11 stuff soon?

 

[jred2k]

Budget: $800-1000 CAD
Main Use: Gaming, general usage
Monitor Resolution: 1920 x 1080


Games I see myself wanting to play right now are TF2 and Portal 2 when it comes out. I might become interested in other games in the future, but for now I do most gaming on console.

Basically, I've got my first well-paying job and I'd like to take the opportunity to build a PC. The main thing I need help with is how to make sure that I'm getting parts that will be compatible. I'd also like to have it so that when I upgrade in the future it can be incremental and I won't need to upgrade several pieces at once.

 

[MidgarBlowedUp]

Don't you want to wait a few weeks and see what happens with 5850/5870 pricing? Besides, I thought you mentioned selling your current card and just going with a single 5850.

Yeah but that's not any fun.
Also, I have a buyer for one of my 5770's if I don't like the setup. I'm sure I can sell the other one off rather easily as well but, I also have another system in my basement that desperately needs an update, and a 5770 would make a good candidate. It's already getting my old Mobo and PSU plus an old Athlon X2 I have lying around. It just needs some ram and a good GPU to be up and running again. So it isn't like I'm completely wasting my money. I'm pretty much building a second system anyway. Only thing left of my old basement system will be the case, hdd and, the display. So this stuff will definitely be put to good use regardless if I Xfire or not. I'm actually pretty happy with my single 5770 at the moment.

Still, I'm just anxious to try Xfire out, should be a fun experiment.

 

[MidgarBlowedUp]

hehe the last thing I need is to add another project to my list of shit to do.

Honestly, I'm considering ordering this Gateway from Amazon and calling it a day.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0032UXXZO/?tag=neogaf0e-20

Well, it does come with a place to put a sandwich, fries, and a drink.

 

[Adonymous]

Total: $1,619 w/ Shipping...

I need a computer for gaming and adobe creative suite (mostly Photoshop and DW, but like to play around with AE and Premier Pro every once in a while)

What do you guys think of this PC?

Any changes? Upgrades? Unnecessary things?

This is an upgrade from my 2005 bough... 3.0GHz Pentium 4, 1GB and Integraded graphics card build...

Do you think this build is worth the money?

 

[Hazaro]

What would be the best GPU at $200. Looking at DX11 stuff. Going to be upgrading in a few months.

Im using a GTS 250 atm. It overclocks pretty shitty. Is Nvidia making any $200 range DX11 stuff soon?

1 week till GTX 460 slots in at $200/$230

hehe the last thing I need is to add another project to my list of shit to do.

Honestly, I'm considering ordering this Gateway from Amazon and calling it a day.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0032UXXZO/?tag=neogaf0e-20

Lets not be hasty here.
If you get a premade I'd go with an HP or DELL, they have some decent options.
But then you need to sort out all of their crap!

Budget: $800-1000 CAD
Main Use: Gaming, general usage
Monitor Resolution: 1920 x 1080
Games I see myself wanting to play right now are TF2 and Portal 2 when it comes out.

So I whipped these 2 up.

.
.
.

:lol GAF has the same background color

 

[Felix Lighter]

Total: $1,619 w/ Shipping...

I need a computer for gaming and adobe creative suite (mostly Photoshop and DW, but like to play around with AE and Premier Pro every once in a while)

What do you guys think of this PC?

Any changes? Upgrades? Unnecessary things?

This is an upgrade from my 2005 bough... 3.0GHz Pentium 4, 1GB and Integraded graphics card build...

Do you think this build is worth the money?

8 GB of ram seems unnecessary. This triple channel kit would save you almost $100.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231304&Tpk=ripjaws%201600%206gb

 

[Hazaro]

Total: $1,619 w/ Shipping...

I need a computer for gaming and adobe creative suite (mostly Photoshop and DW, but like to play around with AE and Premier Pro every once in a while)

See my above image. Just swap out i7 or i5.
I'd really recommend an SSD too.

 

[Leunam]

Don't you want to wait a few weeks and see what happens with 5850/5870 pricing? Besides, I thought you mentioned selling your current card and just going with a single 5850.


Is the system pre-built? Just Googling it should give you most of the specs and you can even find exact breakdowns of each part if you look around.

Another option would be to use hardware reporting programs like the following.

CPU-Z

http://www.cpuid.com/softwares/cpu-z.html

http://www.cpuid.com/medias/images/en/softwares-cpuz.jpg[img]


[b]GPU-Z[/b]

[url]http://www.techpowerup.com/gpuz/[/url]

[img]http://i.tpucdn.com/gpuz/screen1.gif[img][img]http://i.tpucdn.com/gpuz/screen2.gif[img]


[b]Speccy[/b]

[url]http://www.piriform.com/speccy[/url]

[img]http://www.piriform.com/media/10113/speccy1_473x370.jpg[img]


The last program may not be as well know as the first two, but it's from the same people behind CCleaner, Piriform. I actually recommend trying it out. You'll get temp readings of your CPU, GPU, and HDDs. Along with model numbers, bios, chipset and revision versions, you also get fairly thorough breakdowns of your HDDs and ram (health, timing, etc.).[/QUOTE]

Thanks for the help. I'm going to try Speccy later.

 

[Felix Lighter]

[2 builds with great commentary]

That's awesome. You should get a medal for all the help you've been offering in this thread. You make me feel a bit foolish for going with the i7 but for some reason I'm still glad I have it.

 

[Shambles]

That's awesome. You should get a medal for all the help you've been offering in this thread. You make me feel a bit foolish for going with the i7 but for some reason I'm still glad I have it.

The 930 is an awesome chip and the best in it's price range. It's just that price range is higher than what most people can afford. I'm jealous though.

For that i7 above he'll want to go with memory in sets of 3.

 

[UrbanRats]

YAY!!!!
I just finished building my new PC tonight!
my first time and... everything seems to work!

Now i have to wait for my second HDD and windows 7 to arrive.

I got a problem though: one pin, from the big ass 24 pins connector(from the PSU) was broken.. the cable was flying around and in the pin there was no metal connector.
The BIOS still works, though.
The PSU is a Corsair HX 750w, btw.
and the mobo isa a Gygabite p55a-ud4.

Is it dangerous? What should i do?

 

[Flynn]

Lets not be hasty here.

Thanks for putting all the work in. I wound up going with the devil I know and ordered an Alienware from Dell. I spent way more than the budget I put out here, but they gave me zero interest credit for a year so I kind of went nuts.

 

[Ermac]

That's rather vague, particularly with the $90-100 range being one of the more crowded price brackets. Can you recall anything else about the case?

Color? Features? Door? Brand (or even any letters in the brand's name)?

I believe the last few pages have mainly touched on some of the already released usual mid-tower suspects


Antec 900
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...129021&cm_re=Antec_900-_-11-129-021-_-Product

Antec 900 II
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...129058&cm_re=Antec_900-_-11-129-058-_-Product

Cooler Master HAF 922
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119197&cm_re=HAF_922-_-11-119-197-_-Product

Cooler Master CM690
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000V95YOC/?tag=neogaf0e-20

Cooler Master CM690 II
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119216&cm_re=CM690-_-11-119-216-_-Product

Cooler Master Storm Scout
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...9196&cm_re=Storm_Scout-_-11-119-196-_-Product

Fractal Design Define R2
http://www.quietpc.com/gb-en-gbp/products/ultragrade/fd-definer2

Lian Li Lancool K-62
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811112239




Or, perhaps, you meant the upcoming Corsair 600T?

http://www.corsair.com/products/600t/default.aspx


If so, it will cost a bit more than $100.

Much thanks, it was actually the Corsair 600T. Though it seems bit procey at 150. Hmm

 

[Lkr]

when i enable manual fan control in CCC, does it only take effect under load? I want 100 fan speed even when idling, stupid 5850 is idling at 47C

 

[Hazaro]

YAY!!!!
I just finished building my new PC tonight!
my first time and... everything seems to work!

Now i have to wait for my second HDD and windows 7 to arrive.

I got a problem though: one pin, from the big ass 24 pins connector(from the PSU) was broken.. the cable was flying around and in the pin there was no metal connector.
The BIOS still works, though.
The PSU is a Corsair HX 750w, btw.
and the mobo isa a Gygabite p55a-ud4.

Is it dangerous? What should i do?

Note which pin is missing/broken. Is it the normal missing one?(I think most psu have one missing)
http://www.smpspowersupply.com/connector_atx_pinout.GIF

Then make a post on jonnyguru forums.
http://www.jonnyguru.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=3

The 930 is an awesome chip and the best in it's price range. It's just that price range is higher than what most people can afford. I'm jealous though.

For that i7 above he'll want to go with memory in sets of 3.

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/109?vs=47
I stand by that 1366 is only for xFire/SLi or other 'enthusiast' stuff like large RAID setups or what have you.
If you want the benefits of HyperThreading you can get a i5-860 on 1156 socket. Save that money on the motherboard.

Most motherboards can run dual and triple channel and triple has next to zero real world performance benefit.
If you only need 4GB, get 4GB (Just make sure its 1.5-1.65V). The cost of 6GB isn't that much more though.

when i enable manual fan control in CCC, does it only take effect under load? I want 100 fan speed even when idling, stupid 5850 is idling at 47C

That's pretty low already :lol
If CCC is not working try RivaTuner

 

[Vega$]

I just bought a Intel E3300 and a Nice MB. Gaming has been Great.

I am looking for a Cheap AMD Quad Core Build, where i am able to use DDR2 Memory instead of the Expensive DDR3

 

[Lkr]

Got it working with Afterburner.

47C is bad when it raises your room temp and your old GPU idled at 36C

 

[Hazaro]

I just bought a Intel E3300 and a Nice MB. Gaming has been Great.

I am looking for a Cheap AMD Quad Core Build, where i am able to use DDR2 Memory instead of the Expensive DDR3

DDR3 is $10 more expensive and you'll lose motherboard features.
Just nab the DDR3. As for a budget build look up a few posts.

 

[MidgarBlowedUp]

Speccy

http://www.piriform.com/speccy

The last program may not be as well know as the first two, but it's from the same people behind CCleaner, Piriform. I actually recommend trying it out. You'll get temp readings of your CPU, GPU, and HDDs. Along with model numbers, bios, chipset and revision versions, you also get fairly thorough breakdowns of your HDDs and ram (health, timing, etc.).

This is great. Thank You.

I'm still looking for a PSU good enough to Xfire two 5770's
OCZ Fatal1ty 550W $65 with a $15 mail in rebate and free shipping.
or
CoolerMasterGX 650W $69 free shipping. The 750W is only $10 more.

 

[M.Bluth]

Been wondering about when are we supposed to see anything of the Southern Islands cards?

cause if i'm not mistaken, we got lots of info about Evergreen around this time last year or even a bit earlier

 

[Hazaro]

Been wondering about when are we supposed to see anything of the Southern Islands cards?

cause if i'm not mistaken, we got lots of info about Evergreen around this time last year or even a bit earlier

Last news (June):

AMD did not show off any new GPUs at Computex, even behind closed doors, but that Southern Islands is still on track for a 2010 launch.

So eventually?

I'm still looking for a PSU good enough to Xfire two 5770's
OCZ Fatal1ty 550W $65 with a $15 mail in rebate and free shipping.
or
CoolerMasterGX 650W $69 free shipping. The 750W is only $10 more.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139005

$71 shipped after rebate. Much better PSU too.

*Note that the GX750w failed 2 of the hot load tests from jonnyguru's review (The only real trustworthy PSU review site, besides 1 or 2 others that have professional load testers)

 

[Hazaro]

INTERNET

 

[demosthenes]

Note which pin is missing/broken. Is it the normal missing one?(I think most psu have one missing)
http://www.smpspowersupply.com/connector_atx_pinout.GIF

Then make a post on jonnyguru forums.
http://www.jonnyguru.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=3

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/109?vs=47
I stand by that 1366 is only for xFire/SLi or other 'enthusiast' stuff like large RAID setups or what have you.
If you want the benefits of HyperThreading you can get a i5-860 on 1156 socket. Save that money on the motherboard.

Most motherboards can run dual and triple channel and triple has next to zero real world performance benefit.
If you only need 4GB, get 4GB (Just make sure its 1.5-1.65V). The cost of 6GB isn't that much more though.

That's pretty low already :lol
If CCC is not working try RivaTuner

I think it's the i7-860:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115214&cm_re=i7_860-_-19-115-214-_-Product

I think that would be a happy compromise for me between i5 and i7

Would you then recommend one of the above mother boards you mentioned in your post up above?

 

[Amneisac]

sweet psu deal

So I guess this is going to be a good deal even in a month or two? I'm building a computer, not really in a big hurry so I'm trying to pick up the parts like PSU, Case, and HDD for as good of a price (for good quality) as I can find over the next two months.

 

[Salaadin]

Ive talked myself into it and decided to buy an Intel X25M 80GB SSD. I dont need one until FFXIV releases so Ill watch prices until September-ish and maybe catch a deal. I see I can get a used one for 197 bucks but Im not sure how much I can trust a used SSD. Anyone ever do that? Howd it go?


Anyways, Im always reading about people that have their OS on one HDD and other stuff on another and everything all spread out to help increase speed. What is the best way to do this? OS and some programs plus FFXIV on the SSD with everything else on the regular HDD?

What about steam? Backing up the steamapps folder means I wont have to re-download anything right? Id just re-install steam and drop in the backed up folder and Im good to go? I guess the only thing Id really need to hunt down are game saves right?

 

[demosthenes]

Ive talked myself into it and decided to buy an Intel X25M 80GB SSD. I dont need one until FFXIV releases so Ill watch prices until September-ish and maybe catch a deal. I see I can get a used one for 197 bucks but Im not sure how much I can trust a used SSD. Anyone ever do that? Howd it go?


Anyways, Im always reading about people that have their OS on one HDD and other stuff on another and everything all spread out to help increase speed. What is the best way to do this? OS and some programs plus FFXIV on the SSD with everything else on the regular HDD?

What about steam? Backing up the steamapps folder means I wont have to re-download anything right? Id just re-install steam and drop in the backed up folder and Im good to go? I guess the only thing Id really need to hunt down are game saves right?

I'm no expert but I know some people that do
1) HD for OS
2) HD for programs / games
3) HD for files

As far as Steam. Install Steam and then replace the Steam folder with your old Steam folder and you're done.

 

[demosthenes]

What are the advantages of triple channel memory besides a little extra? ex) 6 gig vs 4 gig (@ 2 gig/stick).

Right now it looks like going with the i7-860 would keep me at only 4 slots for RAM on the mobos but the i7-930 mobos have a lot of triple channel or am I not understanding this right. Should 4 gigs of ram be enough or should I be looking for more? I don't think I do anything crazy but I usually do have a lot of programs open at once.

 

[Amneisac]

I'm no expert but I know some people that do
1) HD for OS
2) HD for programs / games
3) HD for files

As far as Steam. Install Steam and then replace the Steam folder with your old Steam folder and you're done.

How can you run games and programs if they aren't installed on the primary partition? Is there some Windows 7 trickery I don't know about?

 

[demosthenes]

How can you run games and programs if they aren't installed on the primary partition? Is there some Windows 7 trickery I don't know about?

I'm not sure, but maybe I should just stop trying to give advice. I'm almost positive I know 2 people that do the above scenario and I thought someone else in this thread a while back said the same thing. When I brought up the HD debate I was confused about this and never had it fully answered.

 

[Mr_Brit]

What are the advantages of triple channel memory besides a little extra? ex) 6 gig vs 4 gig (@ 2 gig/stick).

Right now it looks like going with the i7-860 would keep me at only 4 slots for RAM on the mobos but the i7-930 mobos have a lot of triple channel or am I not understanding this right. Should 4 gigs of ram be enough or should I be looking for more? I don't think I do anything crazy but I usually do have a lot of programs open at once.

stick with dual channel 4GB RAM. Triple channel has almost no benefits and 6GB is overkill. If you need more in the future just pop two more sticks in.

 

[Salaadin]

I'm not sure, but maybe I should just stop trying to give advice. I'm almost positive I know 2 people that do the above scenario and I thought someone else in this thread a while back said the same thing. When I brought up the HD debate I was confused about this and never had it fully answered.

Im almost certain that I saw something like that too.

 

[demosthenes]

stick with dual channel 4GB RAM. Triple channel has almost no benefits and 6GB is overkill. If you need more in the future just pop two more sticks in.

Thanks for the input. Would any socket 1156 work with the i7-860?

If I were to go with this mobo:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128412&cm_re=GA-P55A-_-13-128-412-_-Product

Nevermind, he suggested RAM too...:lol

Would i7-860, this mobo, this ram be a good match then?

RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...274&cm_re=f3-10666cl9d-_-20-231-274-_-Product

 

[Salaadin]

Thanks for the input. Would any socket 1156 work with the i7-860?

If I were to go with this mobo:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128412&cm_re=GA-P55A-_-13-128-412-_-Product

Haz mentioned this one above, does anyone have their preferred 2x2GB ram to suggest to go with that then?

I dont use your exact mobo (I have a GA-P55-UD4P) but I use THIS RAM in mine. I checked the website and your mobo is listed as being compatible.

I dont know how that RAM compares to others though. Its been good to me aside from one of the sticks being bad when I got it. Gskill was great at getting me a replacement though.

 

[demosthenes]

I dont use your exact mobo (I have a GA-P55-UD4P) but I use THIS RAM in mine. I checked the website and your mobo is listed as being compatible.

I dont know how that RAM compares to others though. Its been good to me aside from one of the sticks being bad when I got it. Gskill was great at getting me a replacement though.

The RAM looks good, as far as your mobo, it looks like it's discontinued. No auto-notify button on the page. Being replaced by something new maybe?

 

[Salaadin]

The RAM looks good, as far as your mobo, it looks like it's discontinued. No auto-notify button on the page. Being replaced by something new maybe?

I wouldnt doubt it. I got it around September last year so its almost a year old.

 

[demosthenes]

Added your RAM to my list (it will say as long as the corresponding mobo is good with it!)

Just going to wait on some feedback for that motherboard

 

[UrbanRats]

Note which pin is missing/broken. Is it the normal missing one?(I think most psu have one missing)
http://www.smpspowersupply.com/connector_atx_pinout.GIF

Then make a post on jonnyguru forums.
http://www.jonnyguru.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=3

Thanks man, you saved my ass many times in this topic, kudos to you.
Also yes, seems like the missing pin is the one with the "N/C" from the image, still wondering why there's an orange cable flying around though.
I'll register on that forum and ask there, then.

Thanks again.

 

[Amneisac]

So how do you balance out performance between multiple cores and clock speed? My new computer will basically do nothing but play games, but is it better to get a really fast dual/quad core or something like the AMD Phenom II X6 1055T Thuban 2.8GHz 6 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 125W Six-Core Desktop Processor?

How necessary are more than two cores for games now and in the future?

Basically, here's what I'm rocking now:

I can get most games running at high detail on my 1920x1200 monitor, but I'm using an older MacPro in bootcamp and I want an actual PC with my own custom picked hardware and stuff. The MacPro is okay, but it has two physical processors and it seems like most apps have no idea what to do with the other processor.

So my question is, if I build a new computer, and I'm looking to spend around $700 total (I'm going to keep using my HD4850 so I don't need a vid card right away) do you guys imagine I'll get a big performance boost over what I have now? I'm budgeting around $200 for a new CPU.

Something like this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103727
or this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...chReport&cm_mmc=OTC-TechReport-_-NA-_-NA-_-NA

would be examples of what I'm considering.

 

[Hazaro]

Thanks for the input. Would any socket 1156 work with the i7-860?

If I were to go with this mobo:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128412&cm_re=GA-P55A-_-13-128-412-_-Product

Would i7-860, this mobo, this ram be a good match then?
RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...274&cm_re=f3-10666cl9d-_-20-231-274-_-Product

P55 chipset preferred over H55, but yes it will work in any.
Those are 2 good choices

So I guess this is going to be a good deal even in a month or two? I'm building a computer, not really in a big hurry so I'm trying to pick up the parts like PSU, Case, and HDD for as good of a price (for good quality) as I can find over the next two months.

Yeah, I'd nab it now. PSU prices don't shuffle around a lot.

Ive talked myself into it and decided to buy an Intel X25M 80GB SSD. I dont need one until FFXIV releases so Ill watch prices until September-ish and maybe catch a deal. I see I can get a used one for 197 bucks but Im not sure how much I can trust a used SSD. Anyone ever do that? Howd it go?

OS and some programs plus FFXIV on the SSD with everything else on the regular HDD? Yes.

What about steam? Backing up the steamapps folder means I wont have to re-download anything right? Id just re-install steam and drop in the backed up folder and Im good to go? I guess the only thing Id really need to hunt down are game saves right?

You need to set up a Symbolic Link for Steam.
I'd also look at the C300 64GB for an SSD, just another to keep a eye on.

Right now it looks like going with the i7-860 would keep me at only 4 slots for RAM on the mobos but the i7-930 mobos have a lot of triple channel or am I not understanding this right. Should 4 gigs of ram be enough or should I be looking for more? I don't think I do anything crazy but I usually do have a lot of programs open at once.

The only advantage of an 860 vs 750 besides the tiny clock increase is 8threads vs 4 threads.
If any application you will use very often can utilize those extra 4 threads, then you can go with an 860. Otherwise save $80 and get an i5-750.
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/109?vs=108

As mentioned triple channel has no benefit over dual channel in real world scenarios. 4GB is enough.

So how do you balance out performance between multiple cores and clock speed? My new computer will basically do nothing but play games, but is it better to get a really fast dual/quad core or something like the AMD Phenom II X6 1055T Thuban 2.8GHz 6 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 125W Six-Core Desktop Processor?

How necessary are more than two cores for games now and in the future?

So my question is, if I build a new computer, and I'm looking to spend around $700 total (I'm going to keep using my HD4850 so I don't need a vid card right away) do you guys imagine I'll get a big performance boost over what I have now? I'm budgeting around $200 for a new CPU.

Something like this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103727
or this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...chReport&cm_mmc=OTC-TechReport-_-NA-_-NA-_-NA

would be examples of what I'm considering.

For pure gaming @ $700 I don't think you can beat something similar to this.
http://i32.tinypic.com/30iuohx.jpg

The i5 at that price range really is much better overall at nearly everything, including games. The mobo prices have finally come close in price and when you overclock it just flies.
If your budget was a little lower, then going something like this ( http://i28.tinypic.com/9a4yeh.jpg ) is a budget minded alternative.

 

[·feist·]

This is great. Thank You.

Thanks for the help. I'm going to try Speccy later.

No problem, guys. My primary go-to apps are CPU-Z, SpeedFan and Real Temp (with the last two running 24/7), but Speccy has actually proven useful as well.

Much thanks, it was actually the Corsair 600T. Though it seems bit procey at 150. Hmm

The 600T looks like a great case and while it's maybe 1 of 2 other options that I'd consider switching my current case for, I don't think I can justify it. Still, I wouldn't be surprised to see it go on sale soon after release. I have to say though, mid towers are becoming nearly as large as full towers in some dimensions. The 600 looks to be about 19/20" in height, likely 8.75/9" wide and some 21/22" (23"?) in length.

 

[Amneisac]

From NewEgg:

ASUS DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS Black SATA 24X DVD Burner - Bulk - OEM $18.99

Antec Sonata III 500 Black 0.8mm cold rolled steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 500W Power Supply $124.99

G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model F3-10666CL9D-4GBRL $93.99

Subtotal: $237.97

From Amazon:

Intel Core i7/i5 LGA1156 4DDR3-2200 CrossFireX/GBE/Raid/SATA3/USB3.0/7.1-CH ATX Motherboard GA-P55A-UD3 - Gigabyte $139.99

Intel Core i5 750 Processor 2.66 GHz 8 MB LGA1156 CPU I5-750BOX - Intel $194.99

Subtotal: $334.98

From Ebiz:

Samsung SpinPoint F3 HD502HJ 500GB SATA2 7200rpm 16MB Hard Drive $40.45

GRAND TOTAL: $613.40 (using my existing HD4850)

Can you guys just make sure I haven't totally fucked anything up with this?