-
Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.
Official 2008 "I Need A New PC" Thread
- Thread starter Kosma
- Start date
Shinz Kicker
Banned
chespace said:
do you game with 3Sli cards ? or play at 2600 by too much. i7 isnt worth it yet, especially if you monitor doesnt ever refresh past 60.
(i can only dream of 120hz capping a crysis on a samsung ln46850) I really want to start building my new rig though.
Good deal for anyone who is close to a Fry's, Q9550 + mobo for $229:
http://newspaperads.mercurynews.com/ROP/ads.aspx?advid=32664&adid=7218476&subid=24359588&type=
Mobo isn't great and most likely won't have any ability to overclock, but if you are just looking to build a stock system or already have a decent mobo or planning to get one the price is still cheaper than the CPU alone from other places.
http://newspaperads.mercurynews.com/ROP/ads.aspx?advid=32664&adid=7218476&subid=24359588&type=
Mobo isn't great and most likely won't have any ability to overclock, but if you are just looking to build a stock system or already have a decent mobo or planning to get one the price is still cheaper than the CPU alone from other places.
VictimOfGrief
Banned
larvi said:
Screw the motherboard, I would put it up on Craigslist for $40 bucks and take that price on the processor any day of the week. :lol
Angry Grimace
Two cannibals are eating a clown. One turns to the other and says "does something taste funny to you?"
Oooh, i7s are up on newegg
920: $304.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115202
940: $584.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115201
965: $1,059.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115200
But che's right. Stop looking.
The absolute cheapest you can even get in on Nehalem is
920: $304.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115202
940: $584.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115201
965: $1,059.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115200
But che's right. Stop looking.
The absolute cheapest you can even get in on Nehalem is
godhandiscen
There are millions of whiny 5-year olds on Earth, and I AM THEIR KING.
Mine.brain_stew said:
brain_stew
Member
Shinz Kicker said:
3ghz should be the minimum you can manage. 3.6ghz isn't uncommon with a Q6600 if you're willing to push it.
Don't forget the pricy DDR3 memory either and honestly, if I was spending that much money there's no way I'd be happy with an MSI motherboard. I'd be wanting a decent ASUS or Gigabyte board at the very least.
Angry Grimace
Two cannibals are eating a clown. One turns to the other and says "does something taste funny to you?"
Wasn't suggesting anyone buy it; just saying what the cheapest I could possibly configure an i7 compatible mainboard on newegg would be, given that the only option you have is X58. I think that's a perfectly legitimate concern; there's a reason MSI has the only X58 board well under the 280~ range.brain_stew said:
RAM, you have more option as to how much you want, but a 6GB 3xchannel kit is 220 at the cheapest. You're looking at 1000+ for a rig, even if you cheapout on everything.
brain_stew
Member
Angry Grimace said:
At this point in time Core i7 only makes sense for those that must be at the bleading edge. If you're planning a new rig anway and want to be rocking a 4870X2 or GTX 2xx SLI then by all means go Core i7 but for those that want bang for buck and those that already ahve a 775 setup, its simply a waste of cash.
Look at it this way, my E5200 @3.62ghz will offer the exact same experience in game for anyone with a 4870 or lower, and that's a processor that can be had for less than $250 with 4GB of RAM, a nice Gigabyte P45 motherboard and a very decent CPU cooler that'll manage that sort of OC no bother. Its really hard to justify an extra $450 on top of that for what will essentially play your games at nigh on identical speeds.
I was looking at prices on Core i7 parts for future reference, my plan is to buy after the OMG! had warn off and prices settled a bit. Then I find this computer on Dell.
Dell Studio XPS
-Core i7 920
-X58 chipset (only one graphics card slot though)
-6gig DDR3 memory
-ATI 4850
-24 inch LCD
-750GB HDD
Basically I tried to match the price on new egg for the build and it came up costing more than this deal. Now I know the Dell only has 1 slot for a graphics card, but I wasn't planning on crossfire/SLI. What you guys think? Can you beat the price? I want to stick with the new socket since I'm the kind of guy who buys a computer once every five years (with a few upgrades here and there) and want as few hick-ups as possible when upgrading, etc.
Don't kill me!! >_<
Dell Studio XPS
-Core i7 920
-X58 chipset (only one graphics card slot though)
-6gig DDR3 memory
-ATI 4850
-24 inch LCD
-750GB HDD
Basically I tried to match the price on new egg for the build and it came up costing more than this deal. Now I know the Dell only has 1 slot for a graphics card, but I wasn't planning on crossfire/SLI. What you guys think? Can you beat the price? I want to stick with the new socket since I'm the kind of guy who buys a computer once every five years (with a few upgrades here and there) and want as few hick-ups as possible when upgrading, etc.
Don't kill me!! >_<
Shinz Kicker
Banned
Lmo911 said:
I dunno if it would even be worth it without SLI/ Crossfiring, Have you seen the Bench Marks.
brain_stew
Member
Lmo911 said:
Price? You'll see no benefit from a core i7 CPU in games if you're using a 4850 for graphics but ofcourse it should be good for your next graphics upgrade.
Personally I'd never buy a OEM PC because of the locked down BIOS, no overclocking means that my measily E5200 (clocked to 3.62ghz) is actually a better gaming CPU, the only time the 920 would pull away is when running quad core optimised games. However, if you've no desire to overclock it could be a very good deal for you, and sets you up nicely for future upgrades.
You can save more than $100 if you just go with 3 gig plus the basic GPU then upgrade these yourself.
Shinz Kicker
Banned
zoku88 said:
true, Video processing probably rocks on the i7 but the leaps gpu power on the video has been pretty intense.
im an illustrator and i usually work with huge illustrator/photoshop files the new use of gpu processing is gonna make the jump to cs4 so satisfying.
BoboBrazil
Member
brain_stew said:
Does Dell use an exclusive motherboard like HP? If not you could just find out the motherboard and flash the bios from the motherboard maker. I'm curious to know which x58 motherboard they are using. $1500 is a damn good deal...
godhandiscen
There are millions of whiny 5-year olds on Earth, and I AM THEIR KING.
New benchmarks for the current cards.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-hd-4870-x2,2073.html
It seems the best videocard in overall is the 900GX2. Who would have thought. At least for Crysis it destroys the 4870x2, and then it gives an above decent performance in any other game. But then again when it comes to accumulated framerate across all titles in all configurations the 4870x2 wins.
Had a review so comprehensive as this one showed up months ago I would have saved myself $300 and opted for a 9800GX2.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-hd-4870-x2,2073.html
It seems the best videocard in overall is the 900GX2. Who would have thought. At least for Crysis it destroys the 4870x2, and then it gives an above decent performance in any other game. But then again when it comes to accumulated framerate across all titles in all configurations the 4870x2 wins.
Had a review so comprehensive as this one showed up months ago I would have saved myself $300 and opted for a 9800GX2.
brain_stew
Member
godhandiscen said:
The card is severely limited by its 512MB framebuffer. Try using it in high resolutions with AA and you're going to hit a performance brick wall.
godhandiscen
There are millions of whiny 5-year olds on Earth, and I AM THEIR KING.
1600x1050 is my max resolution. Don't get me wrong, I love my 4870x2, but I realize it isnt the best choice for everybody. I am still waiting for that one game which I will love and on which only the 4870x2 can give me the best settings. So far that game doesn't exist. I should have considered that. I will still jump on a 5870x2 at first chance though.brain_stew said:
So some final questions.
I completely forgot that windows 32 bit won't give me my full 4 gigs of ram. Hell, it might give me less than 3 considering I need to address the 896 MB on my gpu. So should I get vista 64 to get the extra gig or so? Will I actually see the benefit?
Are there any other benefits of actually going to 64 bits?
I completely forgot that windows 32 bit won't give me my full 4 gigs of ram. Hell, it might give me less than 3 considering I need to address the 896 MB on my gpu. So should I get vista 64 to get the extra gig or so? Will I actually see the benefit?
Are there any other benefits of actually going to 64 bits?
brain_stew
Member
godhandiscen said:
I've got to be honest here, the 4870X2 is simply a bad buy for anyone gaming at 1680x1050. The GTX 260 (216) would be the card I'd go for, no need to spend anymore than that.
VictimOfGrief
Banned
The well rumored now GTX280x2 or whatever it will be called is said to be the 4870x2 killer.... going back to the days of the 9800x2 card. Honestly as of late, neither ATI or Nvidia have done any refreshes worth jumping ship from my 8800GT that I have. At this point, I don't see any compelling Christmas releases for any new cards, and most likely it will fall into 2009 for any major refreshes of either vendors card lineups.
I'm back and building another computer. Let me know what you think about this build.
Western Digital Caviar Black WD1001FALS 1TB 7200 RPM Hard Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136284
CORSAIR DOMINATOR 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR2 1066 Desktop Memory
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145214
ASUS Maximus II Formula Intel P45 Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131319
Intel Core 2 Duo E8600 Wolfdale 3.33GHz Dual-Core Processor
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115054
CORSAIR 620W 80 PLUS Certified Modular Active Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139002
EVGA GeForce GTX 260 Core 216 896MB Superclocked Edition Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130400
Western Digital Caviar Black WD1001FALS 1TB 7200 RPM Hard Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136284
CORSAIR DOMINATOR 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR2 1066 Desktop Memory
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145214
ASUS Maximus II Formula Intel P45 Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131319
Intel Core 2 Duo E8600 Wolfdale 3.33GHz Dual-Core Processor
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115054
CORSAIR 620W 80 PLUS Certified Modular Active Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139002
EVGA GeForce GTX 260 Core 216 896MB Superclocked Edition Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130400
VictimOfGrief
Banned
Spy said:
Why not swap the E8400 for the E8600 if you're overclocking?
Labombadog
Member
Killer Rig! Labombadog Approves!Spy said:
acura_speed
Member
Spy said:
Have you looked at building a new i7 build? You seem close enough in price with this build that it would seem to make better since to go ahead and future proof with an i7 build. I may be totally off, it's just what I thought when looking at your build. Although I'm not sure the performance of the i7 920 vs Core duo 8600. Just a thought.
Labombadog
Member
The price would be VERY different. Plus he is not using SLI so it would be pointless to go for the i7. Plus most games only utilize 2 cores, so the 8600 would dominate since you can overclock it past 4.0ghz.acura_speed said:
acura_speed
Member
Labombadog said:
I wouldn't say it's Very different. I guess it depends on what you get. The differences would be in ram, cpu, and motherboard. These are a few I just quickly looked up on newegg and it seems fairly comparable in price for possible added longevity with the i7. As far as 2 cores versus 4 I guess there is plenty of debate i that alone, although it seems that more and more games/programs are starting to use 4 cores. I'm not sure how the i7s (particularly the 920) overclock. I just think that it is worth something to be able to upgrade in the future much easier if needed.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820220278
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115202
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130216
I'm not sure if the you're in need of the 1tb drive, but if not this 640gb is well reviewed and recommended and a great price/size ratio.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136218
If you did decide to stay with the core duo I agree with VictimOfGrief and would get an E8400 and save the money. As well as look for alternative for the motherboard and 800mhz ram. It just seems like during a transition time like this, it's not the best idea to get the highest end gear on soon to be dated architecture, but that's just an opinion.
Okay, one more question for those more informed than I:
I have a choice between a very fast Core 2 Duo and a slightly less fast but still fast Core 2 Quad.
As someone who will do moderate but not heavy multitasking (say, play some TF2 while also surfing the internet/watching youtube videos) which would be the better choice for me?
I have a choice between a very fast Core 2 Duo and a slightly less fast but still fast Core 2 Quad.
As someone who will do moderate but not heavy multitasking (say, play some TF2 while also surfing the internet/watching youtube videos) which would be the better choice for me?
PhoenixDark
Banned
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157130
I recently bought this mobo, and I'm wondering how I connect my monitor to it. I have a 17 inch LCD monitor (Emachines)
I recently bought this mobo, and I'm wondering how I connect my monitor to it. I have a 17 inch LCD monitor (Emachines)
godhandiscen
There are millions of whiny 5-year olds on Earth, and I AM THEIR KING.
I have a dual monitor setup 2x 1680x1050. So I imagine it helps, specially with Supreme Commander and DemiGod Beta, but these are 2 special cases. If I didn't like these 2 games, I guess there would be no dual monitor justification (at least in games, but they help me with projects). Also, I have tried a GTX280 on WAR on a friend's rig, and I noticed his fps close to 40fps during 20 on 20 PVP battles whereas mine stays over 60fps all the time. Another gain is the ability to add as much AA as I feel like. However, all these are "special cases". As I mentioned before, I could have saved myself a couple hundred dollars, however, it isn't a bad buy, since it still have its benefits.brain_stew said:
Also, do you know at which prices are the Phenom II's launching?
Opiate said:
Single threaded games will run slightly faster on the Dual but multi-threaded games will run significantly faster even at a lower clock speed on the Quad. There may not be many games out now that utilize four threads, but that is quickly changing.
The new version of Source that powers Left 4 Dead uses all 4 cores, and it's safe to assume that Episode 3 will as well. Far Cry 2 also runs significantly better on quad core CPUs.
AZ Greg
Member
Need some help:
I have onboard sound and started using my headphones with the proper jack in the back since it doesn't get interference like the headphone jack on the front of the stack. However, when using my headphones, the volume out of the back jack is much quieter than the front jack. Any way to turn up the volume for the back jack? I alread have the main volume from the toolbar at its max. Using Vista btw.
Also, any suggestions for a quality sound card under $100? I have 1 free PCIe x1 slot and 2 normal PCI slots free. I have one PCIe x16 slot as well but it's occupied by my 8800GT. The card would be used about 60% videos/20% games/20% music.
Thanks!
I have onboard sound and started using my headphones with the proper jack in the back since it doesn't get interference like the headphone jack on the front of the stack. However, when using my headphones, the volume out of the back jack is much quieter than the front jack. Any way to turn up the volume for the back jack? I alread have the main volume from the toolbar at its max. Using Vista btw.
Also, any suggestions for a quality sound card under $100? I have 1 free PCIe x1 slot and 2 normal PCI slots free. I have one PCIe x16 slot as well but it's occupied by my 8800GT. The card would be used about 60% videos/20% games/20% music.
Thanks!
PhoenixDark
Banned
jayhawker said:
Ah I see. Thanks lol, I feel dumb now
zoku88 said:
Yeah I was planning on using the computer for more than gaming, I like to do video editing, graphics etc. on the side. So I'd put those extra threads to use.
Thanks for the thoughts guys. I'd do what Stew suggested, but I think ditching the card/memory would put the monitor out of the deal. I was just surprised Dell made anything remotely close to that system.
TheGreatDave
Banned
I need a new graphics card. I've got an 8600GT and it's just not good enough, even Left 4 Dead doesn't run as well as I want. I'm in the UK and I'm willing to spend...say...up to £100, maybe £120. I have a couple of questions though:
Which is the best online retailer for this kinda stuff? I've used Overclockers UK and found them to be OK, but other than them I'm kinda ignorant.
I have an 8600GT. Can this be useful to me? I don't have an NVIDIA motherboard, does that SLI stuff work with any motherboard, or just new ones?
NVIDIA or ATI? I care about stuff like driver support and a product being supported for years, so I don't wanna go with a shitty GPU maker.
I'll love anybody that helps. I'm currently looking at this, but are 8800 cards still pretty future proof?
*edit* Oh shit, that card isn't available now. Nooooo.
Which is the best online retailer for this kinda stuff? I've used Overclockers UK and found them to be OK, but other than them I'm kinda ignorant.
I have an 8600GT. Can this be useful to me? I don't have an NVIDIA motherboard, does that SLI stuff work with any motherboard, or just new ones?
NVIDIA or ATI? I care about stuff like driver support and a product being supported for years, so I don't wanna go with a shitty GPU maker.
I'll love anybody that helps. I'm currently looking at this, but are 8800 cards still pretty future proof?
*edit* Oh shit, that card isn't available now. Nooooo.
Angry Grimace
Two cannibals are eating a clown. One turns to the other and says "does something taste funny to you?"
TheGreatDave said:
8800s aren't future proof at all. GPU cards in general aren't future proof :lol But SLI will NOT work on a mobo that doesn't either a) have an nVidia chipset, or b) is an X58 i7 rig (nVidia looks to be getting out of the Intel chipset biz). The 8800 is starting to show it's age, but will still run most current stuff okay. You might look into a GTX 260/216 core at this point if you want something that will last a bit longer.
ATI has a corner on value --> dollar, but driver support kind of sucks from what I hear. Not being a fan of sitting around tweaking random settings, I would go with nVidia, and having been already on nvidia, it's a lot easier to upgrade to a new nvidia driver-wise than Nvidia to ATI.
I'm probably about to get laughed out of this thread, buuut...
I need to buy a graphics card for my little brother. He is stuck playing on my family's 4 year old (roughly?) Dell Dimension 2400. All he wants to do is play Half-Life 2 Deathmatch online with his friends. I looked up the motherboard and it seems to only have PCI slots. Please recommend me a PCI video card that will let him run HL2 respectably. Well, as respectably as possible under the circumstances.
The last game I played on a PC was the first Half-Life, so I have no idea wtf to look for. Thanks in advance for any help.
I need to buy a graphics card for my little brother. He is stuck playing on my family's 4 year old (roughly?) Dell Dimension 2400. All he wants to do is play Half-Life 2 Deathmatch online with his friends. I looked up the motherboard and it seems to only have PCI slots. Please recommend me a PCI video card that will let him run HL2 respectably. Well, as respectably as possible under the circumstances.
The last game I played on a PC was the first Half-Life, so I have no idea wtf to look for. Thanks in advance for any help.
zesty said:
This is probably your best bet:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131082
Or this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814133245