VictimOfGrief
Banned
For us running 64-bit OS'es though, that's not a problem.
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Official 2008 "I Need A New PC" Thread
- Thread starter Kosma
- Start date
I've been a bit out of the loop when it comes to PC parts, so I'd appreciate some feedback on the following parts for a PC I'm considering building.
Antec Sonata III 500 Black 0.8mm cold rolled steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 500W Power Supply - Retail
$149.95 -$20.00 Instant $129.95
ABIT IP35 Pro LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
$169.99
MSI NX8800GTS 512M OC GeForce 8800GTS (G92) 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail
Mail-in Rebate
$224.99
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6700 Kentsfield 2.66GHz LGA 775 95W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80562Q6700 - Retail
$299.99
G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-6400CL5D-2GBNQ - Retail
$84.99 -$40.00 Instant $44.99
Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3250410AS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
$64.99
Antec Sonata III 500 Black 0.8mm cold rolled steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 500W Power Supply - Retail
$149.95 -$20.00 Instant $129.95
ABIT IP35 Pro LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
$169.99
MSI NX8800GTS 512M OC GeForce 8800GTS (G92) 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail
Mail-in Rebate
$224.99
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6700 Kentsfield 2.66GHz LGA 775 95W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80562Q6700 - Retail
$299.99
G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-6400CL5D-2GBNQ - Retail
$84.99 -$40.00 Instant $44.99
Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3250410AS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
$64.99
VictimOfGrief
Banned
I'd get 4GB instead of G.Skill's 2GB.
Check out the ADATA RAM I got for $73 bucks for 4GB.
Check out the ADATA RAM I got for $73 bucks for 4GB.
Get a Q6600 instead and save $100, you won't notice a difference at all, especially if you plan to overclock. Also with ram being dirt cheap right now, I'd say its better to get 4GB instead of 2GB, Vista will really benefit from more ram (assuming you are running Vista). Everything else looks fine, although I don't know how efficient the 500W PSU inside the Sonata is.
Oops, yeah, I planned on getting 4GB from the get go (I plan on getting Vista 64 bit). About the CPU, the price was $230 for the Q6600. Is the Q6700 easily overclocked with the included heatsink and fan? I don't mean to really push overclocking, but if I can easily, and safely do it, then I will. Now that I mention that, is there a great and cheap heatsink/fan combo I can use?
prodystopian
Member
Either save some cash and get the Q6600 or wait a bit and get the faster, cooler, betteratsavingbabies Q9450. Careful, as most places have the OEM part which has no cooler and a shorter (1 year as opposed to 3 year) warranty. The retail version should be out soon.
Also, I agree about getting 4gb. DDR2 is very cheap and extra RAM is great. I have 2gb because I used RAM from an old build and I am considering upgrading soon.
The GTS has a much better (quieter and cooler) fan.
The Q6700, Q6600 and Q9450 are all overclockable with the stock HSF. If you want a cheap HSF, I am using the Coolermaster Hyper TX2, which is cheap (usually <$25), cool and quiet. It is usually rated just under most of the ~$60 coolers.
Also, I agree about getting 4gb. DDR2 is very cheap and extra RAM is great. I have 2gb because I used RAM from an old build and I am considering upgrading soon.
zoku88 said:
The GTS has a much better (quieter and cooler) fan.
IJoel said:
The Q6700, Q6600 and Q9450 are all overclockable with the stock HSF. If you want a cheap HSF, I am using the Coolermaster Hyper TX2, which is cheap (usually <$25), cool and quiet. It is usually rated just under most of the ~$60 coolers.
CrookedRain
Member
The stock cooler on the 8800GTS 512 is a million times better than the one on the 8800GT. I was so happy after I exchanged my 8800GT for it.
TheGreatDave
Banned
Smart GAFers, tell me what's going on here.
I've had tons of trouble with my RAM. Mainly because I'm stupid. It turns out my wonderful motherboard can only take 4GB of RAM. But with that realisation, I've just got two 2GB sticks in there now. However, when I boot on my PC, I see this:
Yet in Windows, I see this
What's all that aboooooooot?
I've had tons of trouble with my RAM. Mainly because I'm stupid. It turns out my wonderful motherboard can only take 4GB of RAM. But with that realisation, I've just got two 2GB sticks in there now. However, when I boot on my PC, I see this:
Yet in Windows, I see this
What's all that aboooooooot?
Manp
Member
TheGreatDave said:Smart GAFers, tell me what's going on here.
I've had tons of trouble with my RAM. Mainly because I'm stupid. It turns out my wonderful motherboard can only take 4GB of RAM. But with that realisation, I've just got two 2GB sticks in there now. However, when I boot on my PC, I see this:
Yet in Windows, I see this
What's all that aboooooooot?
search the bios for something called "memory remap" (or similar, refer to the manual) and enable it.
TheGreatDave said:Smart GAFers, tell me what's going on here.
I've had tons of trouble with my RAM. Mainly because I'm stupid. It turns out my wonderful motherboard can only take 4GB of RAM. But with that realisation, I've just got two 2GB sticks in there now. However, when I boot on my PC, I see this:
Yet in Windows, I see this
What's all that aboooooooot?
Your OS is possibly using memory paging to access the other portion of the 4GB. Technically, most systems can access over 3.x GB of RAM, but it needs to page the upper portion to do so, which may or may not result in a performance hit in some systems.
KennyLinder
Member
I am very soon going to be building a PC. It's the first PC I will have built in years, so have a quick question regarding the initial installation/booting.
Firstly, do you still need a floppy drive these days? I am hoping/assuming you build it, turn on, select bios to boot from CD, install Windows, then reboot and switch to booting from hard drive. Job done. No messing around with floppy discs is there?
Thanks
Firstly, do you still need a floppy drive these days? I am hoping/assuming you build it, turn on, select bios to boot from CD, install Windows, then reboot and switch to booting from hard drive. Job done. No messing around with floppy discs is there?
Thanks
KennyLinder said:I am very soon going to be building a PC. It's the first PC I will have built in years, so have a quick question regarding the initial installation/booting.
Firstly, do you still need a floppy drive these days? I am hoping/assuming you build it, turn on, select bios to boot from CD, install Windows, then reboot and switch to booting from hard drive. Job done. No messing around with floppy discs is there?
Thanks
Yup, no floppy needed.
I have no where else to turn! After buying a "gaming lap top" and realizing its pure shit, I have decided to go the distance. I have no clue whats good and whats not good any advice would be good.
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6700 Processor HH80562PH0678MK - 2.66GHz, 8MB Cache, 1066MHz FSB, Kentsfield, Quad-Core, OEM, Socket 775, Processor
Intel DX48BT2 Motherboard - Intel X48, Socket 775, ATX, Audio, PCI Express 2.0, CrossFire Ready, Gigabit LAN, USB 2.0, Firewire, eSATA, RAID
OCZ Dual Channel 2048MB PC10600 DDR3 1333MHz Memory (2 x 1024MB)
Visiontek Radeon HD 3850 Video Card - OC Edition, 512MB GDDR3, PCI Express 2.0, CrossFireX Ready, (Dual Link) Dual DVI, HDTV, HDMI Support, Video Card
Apevia Black/Black X-Plorer ATX Mid-Tower Case with Clear Side, Fan Controller, Front USB and Firewire Port, PowerUp 800-Watt PSU
Western Digital Caviar SE16 500GB Hard Drive - 7200, 16MB, SATA-300, OEM
Sony DRU190A 20X DVD Rewritable Drive - 20x DVD±R, 8 DVD+RW, 6x DVD-R, 8x DVD±R DL, ATAPI/EIDE, Black
Sorry for the shitty wall of text but I don't know what I should leave out of the description or not. The whole thing is around $1220 which I am willing to spend. Is this a good deal or am I missing anything?
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6700 Processor HH80562PH0678MK - 2.66GHz, 8MB Cache, 1066MHz FSB, Kentsfield, Quad-Core, OEM, Socket 775, Processor
Intel DX48BT2 Motherboard - Intel X48, Socket 775, ATX, Audio, PCI Express 2.0, CrossFire Ready, Gigabit LAN, USB 2.0, Firewire, eSATA, RAID
OCZ Dual Channel 2048MB PC10600 DDR3 1333MHz Memory (2 x 1024MB)
Visiontek Radeon HD 3850 Video Card - OC Edition, 512MB GDDR3, PCI Express 2.0, CrossFireX Ready, (Dual Link) Dual DVI, HDTV, HDMI Support, Video Card
Apevia Black/Black X-Plorer ATX Mid-Tower Case with Clear Side, Fan Controller, Front USB and Firewire Port, PowerUp 800-Watt PSU
Western Digital Caviar SE16 500GB Hard Drive - 7200, 16MB, SATA-300, OEM
Sony DRU190A 20X DVD Rewritable Drive - 20x DVD±R, 8 DVD+RW, 6x DVD-R, 8x DVD±R DL, ATAPI/EIDE, Black
Sorry for the shitty wall of text but I don't know what I should leave out of the description or not. The whole thing is around $1220 which I am willing to spend. Is this a good deal or am I missing anything?
Definitely get a different case and PSU, the one you are thinking of getting is cheap generic crap. I would also bump up the graphics card to at least a 9600GT or 8800GT, those 2 cards are hitting the sweet spot right now as far as performance/price ratio goes. You should also look for a SATA DVD/CD drive instead, its a lot easier to manage the cables.
Pewp said:
I'd change the motherboard for a Gigabyte P35-DS3R, or Gigabyte P35-DS3L (cheaper). You definitely don't need DDR3 1333 memory. Change that out for some DDR2 800. As someone else has said, you might wanna swap out your video card for an 8800GT or 9600GT. If you're on a tight budget, the case will work, but you might want to treat yourself to something that's built better (Antec P182 maybe.) And with the new case, buy one that doesn't come with a PSU and buy a nice Corsair PSU (450VX or 520HX/VX, or 620HX).
TheGreatDave
Banned
Manp said:search the bios for something called "memory remap" (or similar, refer to the manual) and enable it.
Can't find anything along those lines, but if it's not affecting performance I won't worry too much about it.
Now I just have 2GB of RAM I can't use that I'm gonna have to sell
Pewp said:
Everything looks fine. If you aren't overclocking, you don't have to worry about super-high quality motherboards. Case and PSU look fine too.
Might I suggest the following:
- As previous posts have said, the E8400 may be better for gaming than the Quad 6xxx series.
- Go for a 8800GTS or 8800GT if you're going the distance. I'm not sold on the 9800GX2 just yet.
- Don't bother with a Sony drive. Just go with Lite-On and you'll be fine.
Pewp said:
The 3870X2 used to be the best card on the market, until the 9800GX2 came out. Even then, it's still a bit shaky since their "top performer" status is only relegated to games that perform significantly better through SLI/Crossfire. Crysis, apparently, is not one of these games.
If we're talking about single(-core) cards, then Geforce outperforms Radeon by a large margin.
I'm planning on buying a new comp sometime during July-September so I haven't done any search for hardware yet. What I'd like to know though, is if there are any predicted price drops on the current hardware available, or if there will be any new hardware that's about to be relased which will greatly outperform the current stuff.
Any info would be appreciated
Any info would be appreciated
zon said:I'm planning on buying a new comp sometime during July-September so I haven't done any search for hardware yet. What I'd like to know though, is if there are any predicted price drops on the current hardware available, or if there will be any new hardware that's about to be relased which will greatly outperform the current stuff.
Any info would be appreciated
... We just had an Intel price drop today. Scroll up a bit!
Last question I swear....
EVGA GeForce 8800 GT Video Card - 1GB DDR3, PCI Express 2.0, SLI Ready, (Dual Link) Dual DVI, HDTV
vs
EVGA GeForce 8800 GTS KO Video Card - 640MB GDDR3, PCI Express, SLI Ready, (Dual Link) Dual DVI, HDTV, Video Card
I don't know the difference between 1GB DDR3 and 640MB GDDR3
EVGA GeForce 8800 GT Video Card - 1GB DDR3, PCI Express 2.0, SLI Ready, (Dual Link) Dual DVI, HDTV
vs
EVGA GeForce 8800 GTS KO Video Card - 640MB GDDR3, PCI Express, SLI Ready, (Dual Link) Dual DVI, HDTV, Video Card
I don't know the difference between 1GB DDR3 and 640MB GDDR3
VictimOfGrief
Banned
8800GT isn't going to use all that memory. Better to go with 2 8800GT's in SLi @ 512MB.
Question for PC GAF, I have a 4 GB ram on a 64-bit vista OS. My question is since pretty much all games are code for 32bit (going into the x86 programs files folder in windows) does that mean going up to 64-bit OS won't give any enhancement in game performance for games that use a ton of ram? I'm asking because its programed for 32bit it won't know that it can go over the 2GB ram limit when your on a 64-bit OS or is it up to the OS to decide how much ram a program can use?
I hope this makes sense :lol
Also is there a way to check the system complete total ram (including video ram)?
I hope this makes sense :lol
Also is there a way to check the system complete total ram (including video ram)?
VictimOfGrief
Banned
32-bit has a 3-3.5GB limit addressing.
Now, Vista 64-bit has what's called "WoW" which is short for "Windows on Windows" which does address 32-bit apps in a native 64-bit environment. Since it is basically calculating them on the fly as far as interaction with the user, I would assume the 64-bit version would have all available memory to use for that app/game. Course I could be wrong, but it's my understanding that coming from 64-bit -> 32-bit you have the amount of RAM the 64-bit Windows sees and uses.
Now, Vista 64-bit has what's called "WoW" which is short for "Windows on Windows" which does address 32-bit apps in a native 64-bit environment. Since it is basically calculating them on the fly as far as interaction with the user, I would assume the 64-bit version would have all available memory to use for that app/game. Course I could be wrong, but it's my understanding that coming from 64-bit -> 32-bit you have the amount of RAM the 64-bit Windows sees and uses.
KennyLinder
Member
Would love it if you could answer some of my questions please guys
1. When you buy a motherboard and case, do they generally come with all the screws required for fitting in the parts (motherboard, hard disc, dvd drives etc)?
2. I want to RAID two hard discs together. How do I set this up?
3. Lots of places have been saying about adding additional fans (front, rear, etc). DO motherboard these days have lots of ports for additional stuff like this?
4. What are modular PSU's?
Thanks!
1. When you buy a motherboard and case, do they generally come with all the screws required for fitting in the parts (motherboard, hard disc, dvd drives etc)?
2. I want to RAID two hard discs together. How do I set this up?
3. Lots of places have been saying about adding additional fans (front, rear, etc). DO motherboard these days have lots of ports for additional stuff like this?
4. What are modular PSU's?
Thanks!
1. Yes, both usually come with everything you need. You may need SATA cables if you buy OEM hard drives etc however.KennyLinder said:Would love it if you could answer some of my questions please guys
1. When you buy a motherboard and case, do they generally come with all the screws required for fitting in the parts (motherboard, hard disc, dvd drives etc)?
2. I want to RAID two hard discs together. How do I set this up?
3. Lots of places have been saying about adding additional fans (front, rear, etc). DO motherboard these days have lots of ports for additional stuff like this?
4. What are modular PSU's?
Thanks!
2. Your motherboard should have RAID drivers available if it has the functionality. Best to read the instructions as the process is slightly different between motherboards.
3. You don't need slots on the motherboard. You need power connections from your PSU, and yes, you PSU should have plenty.
4. Modular PSU means that you plug your power cables into the PSU, so that you don't end up with extra cables hanging around.
KennyLinder
Member
Thanks. So generally are most PSUs modular now? I've been looking at a few and they don't seem to mention anything along those lines..
mambadragon
Banned
KennyLinder said:
no, if the power supply is modular it will mention it.
VictimOfGrief
Banned
Correct. Otherwise it will state standard form factor.njp142 said:
VictimOfGrief
Banned
Edit. I'm a retard. :lol
vumpler said:
I'm sorry to say, but you're gonna have to let go of your 939 mobo. I had the same deal, and just opted for a total upgrade, going with new DDR2800 RAM and a dual core Intel CPU / Mobo. 939 processors are hard enough to find, and really, for the price of an old single core cpu (60 bucks for 3600+, or so), you can get a good, fairly new, amazingly overclockable dual core intel e2160 (got mine going from 1800mhz to 2925mhz rock solid stable
). I still have my old 939 mobo(Asus A8NSLI-D)/cpu (3000+)/ram(1 gig) sitting here...don't know what to do with it :lol
Ok ive been thinking about this for a while, my current setup is:
Intel Core 2Duo E6600
2GB RAM
2x 250 GB S-ata HDD's
1x Dual Layer burner
1x Floppy drive
1x Coolermaster 500Watts IGreen Power PSU
1x Asus P5W DH Deluxe motherboard
Now i want to get the 9800GTX BUT do i have a good enough PSU? My PSU states on the box that it does have the two 6 Pin PCI-E Connectors needed for the 9800GTX, but i dunno if thatll work well with 500 watts and my current setup, also, are the fans any good as the 8800gt? i heard it has a really good fan but havent heard about the 9800GTX. So anyone that has expierence with one or both cards please help me out?
PS. i dont want SLI, just one single card. The motherboard is PCI-E 1.1 but afaik 2.0 cards are bw compatible? Also, any brands to recommend? like XFX or MSI etc?
im leaning towards this one: http://www.hardwarezone.com/articles/view.php?cid=3&id=2528
edit: just found this: #
# Two dedicated 6-pin PCIe Molex power connectors required (not shared or split)
How the hell do i know if mine are dedicated??
Intel Core 2Duo E6600
2GB RAM
2x 250 GB S-ata HDD's
1x Dual Layer burner
1x Floppy drive
1x Coolermaster 500Watts IGreen Power PSU
1x Asus P5W DH Deluxe motherboard
Now i want to get the 9800GTX BUT do i have a good enough PSU? My PSU states on the box that it does have the two 6 Pin PCI-E Connectors needed for the 9800GTX, but i dunno if thatll work well with 500 watts and my current setup, also, are the fans any good as the 8800gt? i heard it has a really good fan but havent heard about the 9800GTX. So anyone that has expierence with one or both cards please help me out?
PS. i dont want SLI, just one single card. The motherboard is PCI-E 1.1 but afaik 2.0 cards are bw compatible? Also, any brands to recommend? like XFX or MSI etc?
im leaning towards this one: http://www.hardwarezone.com/articles/view.php?cid=3&id=2528
edit: just found this: #
# Two dedicated 6-pin PCIe Molex power connectors required (not shared or split)
How the hell do i know if mine are dedicated??
All that means is that the card needs two 6 pin connections from the supply, not two connection on the same lead. Since you already have the supply, just take a look.
I am curious why you want the 9800GTX when the 8800GTS performs just as well for less money? Since you aren't going to SLi, the 8800GTS (G92) is a much better choice for single card setup. As far as brands go, EVGA is universally loved.
I am curious why you want the 9800GTX when the 8800GTS performs just as well for less money? Since you aren't going to SLi, the 8800GTS (G92) is a much better choice for single card setup. As far as brands go, EVGA is universally loved.
WhatRuOn said:
i was thinking about getting one of those two, the 8800GT or the 9800GTX, but if you say the 8800GT performs just as well ill go with that instead
Any difference if i take the MSI 512MB or 1GB? Not much of a price difference but i dont know about the cooling on the 1gb, heard REALLY good things about the 8800GT 512MB MSI card.
Edit: i just read you said GTS, ill look into that then
Any recommendations on what to get? 512MB or 1 GB?