-
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
VictimOfGrief
Banned
Sure.Azzurri said:No, but it's FUN
I'm just pointing out you don't need to. I'm still running my Q6600 at stock speeds and it's more than plenty for me at this time. Probably won't overclock the thing for another couple of years.
No opinions?Des0lar said:Ok guys, my PC is slowly starting to die, so I thought it was time for an upgrade.
Current Setup is a Intel 3Ghz Hyper Threading (the fake dual-core :lol ) 1Gb of noname RAM and a GeForce 6600GT.
I'm thinking about getting Intel Core Duo E8400, a Radeon 4870, 4GB RAM.
So far so good, but I still don't know what Mainboard to get. Should have Crossfire X support.
Also I'd need some overclocking advice
Your recommendations GAF? Good choices?
Thanks in advance
A friend of mine suggested the NVidia 260GTX instead of the 4870. Good/Bad/Equal?
Also, is there a reason to get DDR3 RAM or should i stick to DDR2?
godhandiscen
There are millions of whiny 5-year olds on Earth, and I AM THEIR KING.
Look at the benchmarks, the 4870 is better than the 260 by a 5-10% margin accross the majority of titles. The difference is so obvious that there are boxes branded with a sticker that claims this difference. If its your only card and you will pay full price for it, there is no reason to go for a 260 over a 4870.Des0lar said:No opinions?
A friend of mine suggested the NVidia 260GTX instead of the 4870. Good/Bad/Equal?
Also, is there a reason to get DDR3 RAM or should i stick to DDR2?
BTW, anybody with experience with a 4870x2? I am getting one for the release of WAR and I don't know if I should go for ASUS (which has never failed me) or the OC MSI version.
I found the 22" Acer I've been looking at...too many decisions! It -is- a little flimsy, and it's not a MARVELOUS glossy picture or anything, but I guess it might do. (i.e. I looked at it in the store and messed with it)
Of course, the ones in the store were all running VGA (even though this was full-res VGA). Isn't DVI supposed to look better?
I guess I'd better order that tonight since the $195 Newegg price goes off though. I'll just hope for no dead pixels and that the box isn't torn up or stolen on delivery.
I've also decided to just go ahead and get the Gigabyte P35 motherboard ($85 + $9), the $170 e8400, and the $85 WD 640GB hard disk like tomorrow if there aren't any new newegg deals. I guess I'll end up paying like $1050 or $1100 anyway. GAF HAS FAILED ME ETC.
Of course, the ones in the store were all running VGA (even though this was full-res VGA). Isn't DVI supposed to look better?
I guess I'd better order that tonight since the $195 Newegg price goes off though. I'll just hope for no dead pixels and that the box isn't torn up or stolen on delivery.
I've also decided to just go ahead and get the Gigabyte P35 motherboard ($85 + $9), the $170 e8400, and the $85 WD 640GB hard disk like tomorrow if there aren't any new newegg deals. I guess I'll end up paying like $1050 or $1100 anyway.
GAF HAS FAILED ME ETC.Des0lar said:No opinions?
A friend of mine suggested the NVidia 260GTX instead of the 4870. Good/Bad/Equal?
Also, is there a reason to get DDR3 RAM or should i stick to DDR2?
Kadey said:
Yes, there's supposed to be a new 260 GTX released soon with a few more shader processors than the 'OG' 260. It's supposed to be just enough to beat the 4870. I would wait another week or two and compare the benchmarks. Even if you plan to get a 4870, you might see a price drop when the new 260 drops.
Ehh, isn't Phenom K10?
I think those are actually revisions (die shrink plus architectural changes) but still the "same" basic architecture.
EDIT: Well, I'm not sure exactly was is different since I haven't done enough research, but I'm pretty sure both are still K10. Anyways, they usually try to make architectures last more than a year.
I think those are actually revisions (die shrink plus architectural changes) but still the "same" basic architecture.
EDIT: Well, I'm not sure exactly was is different since I haven't done enough research, but I'm pretty sure both are still K10. Anyways, they usually try to make architectures last more than a year.
...so, I just discovered monoprice.com while I was picking out the last few things I needed. $4.27 for two 18-inch SATA cables, INCLUDING shipping? YES PLEASE. Better than $6 or $7 on Newegg for a little cable.
Now if I only knew where to get Arctic Silver 5...ah well Newegg, have some more shipping money. You win.
Now if I only knew where to get Arctic Silver 5...ah well Newegg, have some more shipping money. You win.
ColdDeckEd
Member
Blizzard said:I found the 22" Acer I've been looking at...too many decisions! It -is- a little flimsy, and it's not a MARVELOUS glossy picture or anything, but I guess it might do. (i.e. I looked at it in the store and messed with it)
Of course, the ones in the store were all running VGA (even though this was full-res VGA). Isn't DVI supposed to look better?
I guess I'd better order that tonight since the $195 Newegg price goes off though. I'll just hope for no dead pixels and that the box isn't torn up or stolen on delivery.
I've also decided to just go ahead and get the Gigabyte P35 motherboard ($85 + $9), the $170 e8400, and the $85 WD 640GB hard disk like tomorrow if there aren't any new newegg deals. I guess I'll end up paying like $1050 or $1100 anyway.
If you are this stressed out now, the wait for all these parts is going to kill you
ColdDeckEd said:If you are this stressed out now, the wait for all these parts is going to kill you
WHERE ARE MY SEDATIVES
(the first half of parts are arriving tomorrow)
Thanks for the help, guys. Amusingly, it turns out that I have like every single part identical to one of my online friends, except for the motherboard and the HD4850 manufacturer (Asus vs. VisionTek). That gives me a little confidence, at least, that the stuff is good.
And apparently johnnyguru is very tough on power supplies, so I'm hopeful in that department as well.
bee
Member
Blizzard said:...so, I just discovered monoprice.com while I was picking out the last few things I needed. $4.27 for two 18-inch SATA cables, INCLUDING shipping? YES PLEASE. Better than $6 or $7 on Newegg for a little cable.
Now if I only knew where to get Arctic Silver 5...ah well Newegg, have some more shipping money. You win.
your gigabyte mobo should come with 4 sata cables they're good ones too as they have a little metal locking mechanism
Blizzard said:WHERE ARE MY SEDATIVES
(the first half of parts are arriving tomorrow)
Thanks for the help, guys. Amusingly, it turns out that I have like every single part identical to one of my online friends, except for the motherboard and the HD4850 manufacturer (Asus vs. VisionTek). That gives me a little confidence, at least, that the stuff is good.
And apparently johnnyguru is very tough on power supplies, so I'm hopeful in that department as well.
Yes he is.
bee said:
I hate that.
godhandiscen
There are millions of whiny 5-year olds on Earth, and I AM THEIR KING.
What? I have a Phenom 9850BE and I am happy with it. TBH my processor kills any game.otake said:
I dont know, but I have never needed more performance than what I have. I really think that no game can be bottlenecked by a Quad core at this point, and AMD sells them for $200.Blizzard said:
godhandiscen
There are millions of whiny 5-year olds on Earth, and I AM THEIR KING.
I don't intend to be on AMD's side. I was just refering to my experience. When I bought my hardware a couple months ago, that was the price of my processor.Hazaro said:
Hopefully AMD launches a 3.0GHZ+ Phenom soon because I am itching to upgrade.
zoku88 said:
Mmmm, I'm not too sure on the history of the whole thing, since there was a bit of a mess back then when K10 disappeared from the roadmap and Phenom appeared again afterwards.
What has been confirmed is that these cores are 65nm X2 chips with upped cache
. However, according to some posters on HardOCP, they're most likely reject Phenom chips, which may mean poor OC performance.Again, depending on price point, these chips will be very attractive to the non-enthusiast crowd.
Oh, of course.SRG01 said:
I was just debating the name you used, since Phenom is definitely not K8 and K9 doesn't exist (and AFAIK, people had been calling it K10 up to the point the Phenom name was given.)
Btw, more cache as in L2 or L3?
EDIT: What 65nm? I thought AMD was supposed to come out with 45nm sometime soon...
fatigues_gasolini
Member
otake said:
I have a AMD X64 Dual Core Black Edition that runs like a dream. Going quad core in a few months.
zoku88 said:
Man, now that I'm not in school anymore, my brain has been kind of messed up. :lol Let's backtrack a bit.
The new X2s that are coming out are the 65nm Phenom rejects. Deneb (the 45nm Phenom) is coming out next year sometime.
From what I've seen, it's 512MB L2 per core and 2MB L3 shared. Not great, but not horrible either.
Lol, you mean 512KB per core, right? Don't we all wish it would be MB?SRG01 said:
Interesting fact, but Nehalem actually only has 256KB per core, I believe (it has like, 8MB of L3, though.)
I don't know. It seems to have a small IO file, so it doesn't make the OS boot any faster (actually, its kinda slower than mechanical drives, sometimes, IIRC.) Most ppl would prolly use an SSD for an OS drive, I'd imagine.SuperEnemyCrab said:
BravoSuperStar
Member
Anyone planning on picking up one of those new intel SSD's shipping this week? Reviews have been extremely favorable, but $600 for 80gb is hard to swallow.
zoku88 said:Lol, you mean 512KB per core, right? Don't we all wish it would be MB?
Interesting fact, but Nehalem actually only has 256KB per core, I believe (it has like, 8MB of L3, though.)
Yeah, I think Intel's success has proven that it doesn't matter how much cache it is per core, but how much there is in total regardless of it being shared or not.
And man, I need some coffee. Kind of hard to go from 3+ cups a day to... nothing. :lol
lachesis
Member
Okay... I built my 2nd computer last week, and so far it's working out rather good. Much better than I anticipated. Now I'm onto overclocking my main computer that my wife uses for 3d rendering.
Thing is the processor is Q6600, B3 stepping. I added an aftermarket cooler (Zalman 9700 - I wish I researched more and got the T.R.U.E. with 120...) - and it seems have cooled down quite a bit.
My agenda was to have 2 bios settings - one for regular use @ stock speed, and another for OC for 3d rendering.
As per stock setting, I was able to lower down the Vcore to 1.13 or so. After Vdroop, it's like 1.07! LOL! Passed Prime 95 24hr torture test, so I think it's pretty much set. Core temp is not as cool as I hope it would be - but I'm pretty comfortable with it. Idling at 42/39/39/39, and at 100% load after 24 hour was 56/52/50/50. Once the core0 spiked to 58 degrees, but went down to 55-56 in a few second and stayed there. NB is at auto setting, as well as SB.
However I have a little bit of trouble OC'ing. I'm trying to set it at 333mhz fsb and 9 multi - and so far I gotten it few hour stable at 1.2875 esque Vcore. Have yet to do 24 hour testing - but it's little hotter than I hope it would be.
Idling around 45/42/41/41 but it spikes up to 66/65/63/63. Sometimes core0 spikes up to 68c.
My room temp is not as cool as some of you - around 78-80F... but I'm just little worried about CPU temp. I understand B3 stepping for q6600 max temp is at 62.2c - and it's way past that point. (And I was running hotter than that with my stock cooler - imagine that.)
Plus my 8800 GTS (g92) 512 is producing quite a bit of heat - so I don't think it's really helping at all. I did add another 120mm intake fan for my Antec P182 case though.
One has suggested I might be better off running faster FSB and lower multi - 400mhz x 8 that is - but not sure it would reduce the heat. (I'm guessing it would produce even more heat due to faster FSB).
My question is... is 68c core temp is terribly unhealty for my cpu, or do I have some pretty good headroom over intel's official max temp for the cores?
I'd appreciate any input!
Thing is the processor is Q6600, B3 stepping. I added an aftermarket cooler (Zalman 9700 - I wish I researched more and got the T.R.U.E. with 120...
) - and it seems have cooled down quite a bit. My agenda was to have 2 bios settings - one for regular use @ stock speed, and another for OC for 3d rendering.
As per stock setting, I was able to lower down the Vcore to 1.13 or so. After Vdroop, it's like 1.07! LOL! Passed Prime 95 24hr torture test, so I think it's pretty much set. Core temp is not as cool as I hope it would be - but I'm pretty comfortable with it. Idling at 42/39/39/39, and at 100% load after 24 hour was 56/52/50/50. Once the core0 spiked to 58 degrees, but went down to 55-56 in a few second and stayed there. NB is at auto setting, as well as SB.
However I have a little bit of trouble OC'ing. I'm trying to set it at 333mhz fsb and 9 multi - and so far I gotten it few hour stable at 1.2875 esque Vcore. Have yet to do 24 hour testing - but it's little hotter than I hope it would be.
Idling around 45/42/41/41 but it spikes up to 66/65/63/63. Sometimes core0 spikes up to 68c.
My room temp is not as cool as some of you - around 78-80F... but I'm just little worried about CPU temp. I understand B3 stepping for q6600 max temp is at 62.2c - and it's way past that point. (And I was running hotter than that with my stock cooler - imagine that.
)Plus my 8800 GTS (g92) 512 is producing quite a bit of heat - so I don't think it's really helping at all. I did add another 120mm intake fan for my Antec P182 case though.
One has suggested I might be better off running faster FSB and lower multi - 400mhz x 8 that is - but not sure it would reduce the heat. (I'm guessing it would produce even more heat due to faster FSB).
My question is... is 68c core temp is terribly unhealty for my cpu, or do I have some pretty good headroom over intel's official max temp for the cores?
I'd appreciate any input!
HomerSimpson-Man
Member
Been looking for a new inexpensive card and the 8800GT and 9800GT both have appealing prices for performance but what's the difference between a 8800GT and 9800GT?
brain_stew
Member
HomerSimpson-Man said:
Nothing. They're the exact same card, choose whichever is cheaper.
Shao Kahn Brewing a Stew
Banned
HomerSimpson-Man said:
9800 is 8800 rebranded. Same specs. Hell, there are BIOS Mods out there to rename 8800 t0 9800 :lol
HomerSimpson-Man
Member
brain_stew said:
shagg_187 said:
Why the heck did Nvidia do that? So a person is basically paying $20 or more for a just the number 9?! :lol
Looks like I know what I'm getting!! Thanks guys.
brain_stew
Member
HomerSimpson-Man said:
I think you just answered your own question.
HomerSimpson-Man said:
Basically. They were kicking themselves for a while after releasing the G92 under the 8 series since they were already ahead of their competition on the older cores, so I guess someone there just said "fuck it" and decided to have a do-over since they were still holding up so well (and to their credit, they really do).
evil solrac v3.0
Member
brain_stew said:
and the price diff. between the 9800 GTX and the 9800 is pretty small too. :lol but i'm happy enough with two 9600 gt that my girlfriend got me for my birthday.
evil solrac v3.0 said:
9800GTX+ is just a higher clocked 9800GT I believe, but it's probably not worth getting. Either stay at the ~$120 and get a 9800GT or go up to ~$170 and get the HD4850. Well, I guess there is also the Hd4870/GTX260 step of $300, but not as many people want to go that high.
Zzoram said:
Nah, the 9800 GTX+ is a substantial step up. It and the 4850 are pretty much sitting at the same point in performance (tending to trade blows from game to tame), and all the pushing and shoving in the mid-range market has put them at nearly the same price point now. Very good card for the price at the moment.
Four boxes arrived today...one small package and like two boxes still to come! Final (I hope) build, assuming everything arrives:
Antec 300 case
Corsair 550VX (or whatever the number is) power supply
Gigabyte GA-EP35-DS3L motherboard + Intel Core 2 Duo e8400 (and Arctic Silver 5)
4GB Corsair XMS2 DDR2 RAM
Western Digital Caviar 7200 RPM SATA 640GB hard disk
VisionTek 512MB ATI HD 4850 video card (I read something today about nVidia having better performance...are they all more expensive though?)
random DVD burner without LightScribe
Windows Vista Home Premium
22" Acer LCD monitor (cheap TFT TN etc. I assume, but hopefully okay)
Couple of SATA cables just in case
Going to try starting out with Comodo firewall + Avast!
Didn't get a mouse or keyboard...probably should get a new mouse.
Total price for EVERYTHING listed above, assuming I get back $55 in rebates:
$1041.11
This is obviously over $1000 and quite a bit over the $600-700 computer most people presumably get. So my questions are twofold:
ONE: Did I blatantly overspend and/or waste money, out of curiosity? For future reference and whatnot.
TWO, perhaps more important: What things, such as utilities and driver/BIOS updates, should I make sure I don't miss when I first start installing stuff? Like, memory checking utilities? Everyone seems to mention Catalyst Control Center, so I suppose I should use that (should I use the Catalyst drivers or whatever, or am I thinking of something else?)...
Thanks again!
Antec 300 case
Corsair 550VX (or whatever the number is) power supply
Gigabyte GA-EP35-DS3L motherboard + Intel Core 2 Duo e8400 (and Arctic Silver 5)
4GB Corsair XMS2 DDR2 RAM
Western Digital Caviar 7200 RPM SATA 640GB hard disk
VisionTek 512MB ATI HD 4850 video card (I read something today about nVidia having better performance...are they all more expensive though?)
random DVD burner without LightScribe
Windows Vista Home Premium
22" Acer LCD monitor (cheap TFT TN etc. I assume, but hopefully okay)
Couple of SATA cables just in case
Going to try starting out with Comodo firewall + Avast!
Didn't get a mouse or keyboard...probably should get a new mouse.
Total price for EVERYTHING listed above, assuming I get back $55 in rebates:
$1041.11
This is obviously over $1000 and quite a bit over the $600-700 computer most people presumably get. So my questions are twofold:
ONE: Did I blatantly overspend and/or waste money, out of curiosity? For future reference and whatnot.
TWO, perhaps more important: What things, such as utilities and driver/BIOS updates, should I make sure I don't miss when I first start installing stuff? Like, memory checking utilities? Everyone seems to mention Catalyst Control Center, so I suppose I should use that (should I use the Catalyst drivers or whatever, or am I thinking of something else?)...
Thanks again!
Blizzard said:Four boxes arrived today...one small package and like two boxes still to come! Final (I hope) build, assuming everything arrives:
Antec 300 case
Corsair 550VX (or whatever the number is) power supply
Gigabyte GA-EP35-DS3L motherboard + Intel Core 2 Duo e8400 (and Arctic Silver 5)
4GB Corsair XMS2 DDR2 RAM
Western Digital Caviar 7200 RPM SATA 640GB hard disk
VisionTek 512MB ATI HD 4850 video card (I read something today about nVidia having better performance...are they all more expensive though?)
random DVD burner without LightScribe
Windows Vista Home Premium
22" Acer LCD monitor (cheap TFT TN etc. I assume, but hopefully okay)
Couple of SATA cables just in case
Going to try starting out with Comodo firewall + Avast!
Didn't get a mouse or keyboard...probably should get a new mouse.
Total price for EVERYTHING listed above, assuming I get back $55 in rebates:
$1041.11
This is obviously over $1000 and quite a bit over the $600-700 computer most people presumably get. So my questions are twofold:
ONE: Did I blatantly overspend and/or waste money, out of curiosity? For future reference and whatnot.
TWO, perhaps more important: What things, such as utilities and driver/BIOS updates, should I make sure I don't miss when I first start installing stuff? Like, memory checking utilities? Everyone seems to mention Catalyst Control Center, so I suppose I should use that (should I use the Catalyst drivers or whatever, or am I thinking of something else?)...
Thanks again!
Don't use the ATI drivers included in the box, go to the ATI website and get the latest drivers from there instead.
You didn't overspend since your $1041 includes a monitor. The HD4850 is a very good choice, it's the best card at that price.
ColdDeckEd
Member
Blizzard said:Four boxes arrived today...one small package and like two boxes still to come! Final (I hope) build, assuming everything arrives:
Antec 300 case
Corsair 550VX (or whatever the number is) power supply
Gigabyte GA-EP35-DS3L motherboard + Intel Core 2 Duo e8400 (and Arctic Silver 5)
4GB Corsair XMS2 DDR2 RAM
Western Digital Caviar 7200 RPM SATA 640GB hard disk
VisionTek 512MB ATI HD 4850 video card (I read something today about nVidia having better performance...are they all more expensive though?)
random DVD burner without LightScribe
Windows Vista Home Premium
22" Acer LCD monitor (cheap TFT TN etc. I assume, but hopefully okay)
Couple of SATA cables just in case
Going to try starting out with Comodo firewall + Avast!
Didn't get a mouse or keyboard...probably should get a new mouse.
Total price for EVERYTHING listed above, assuming I get back $55 in rebates:
$1041.11
This is obviously over $1000 and quite a bit over the $600-700 computer most people presumably get. So my questions are twofold:
ONE: Did I blatantly overspend and/or waste money, out of curiosity? For future reference and whatnot.
TWO, perhaps more important: What things, such as utilities and driver/BIOS updates, should I make sure I don't miss when I first start installing stuff? Like, memory checking utilities? Everyone seems to mention Catalyst Control Center, so I suppose I should use that (should I use the Catalyst drivers or whatever, or am I thinking of something else?)...
Thanks again!
Like it has been stated, the monitor adds alot to the overall cost but I think you will be glad you got a new one once you start using it, its a nice step up from a 17'' monitor.
You could have saved money by getting a cheaper case, cpu, memory, monitor etc, but you've assembled a nice collection of parts that'll serve you very well for the next couple of years. I am somewhat regretting not going for a e8400 or q6600 instead of e2180 because I know that within a year I'm going to replace it.
lachesis said:Thing is the processor is Q6600, B3 stepping. I added an aftermarket cooler (Zalman 9700 - I wish I researched more and got the T.R.U.E. with 120...
-9700 is a fine HS, you are not talking much of a difference.
-Kind of a hassle, if you keep your voltage mild, it wouldn't make much of a difference, it's not like the OC mauls your CPU.
-Those temps are fine. Remember most programs you will run that will hit 65C, will probably only hit 55C on a Program that is not ORTHOS.
Also good results for a B3 stepping, but I don't think you will able able to push it much farther without dumping voltage.
Remember that the 65nm is meant to run on 1.35V! Intel says it's A-Ok to run it that high, so if you need the extra speed go for it. Don't be shy to push to 1.45V either if your HS can handle it
If you are feeling extra adventurous you can lap your HS and CPU, but make sure to wear hand protection, the 9700 fins are SHARP. Probably see a 4C drop with a B3.
Nothing like rubbing sandpaper on a $200 processor.
**Since we are on the subject of IHS and paste...
I highly recommend if anyone is buying new paste to use ICD7 or "IC Diamond 7 Carat"
It's a 92% micro diamond mush paste which is awesome :lol I saw a 2C drop from AS5, and the average of 130 people says the same, plus it's cheaper/same price, has no burn in time, is non conductive and non-capacitive.
And it's made of frikken diamonds. I mean seriously. :lol
lachesis
Member
Hazaro said:-9700 is a fine HS, you are not talking much of a difference.
-Kind of a hassle, if you keep your voltage mild, it wouldn't make much of a difference, it's not like the OC mauls your CPU.
-Those temps are fine. Remember most programs you will run that will hit 65C, will probably only hit 55C on a Program that is not ORTHOS.
Also good results for a B3 stepping, but I don't think you will able able to push it much farther without dumping voltage.
Remember that the 65nm is meant to run on 1.35V! Intel says it's A-Ok to run it that high, so if you need the extra speed go for it. Don't be shy to push to 1.45V either if your HS can handle it
If you are feeling extra adventurous you can lap your HS and CPU, but make sure to wear hand protection, the 9700 fins are SHARP. Probably see a 4C drop with a B3.
Nothing like rubbing sandpaper on a $200 processor.
Thank you for your input. I thought about lapping - but just little scared.
I do plan on re-selling this old B3 Q6600... Originally I was going to inherit to my 2nd rig (now with E7200), but when I found out I have B3... I'll be selling it dirt cheap in a couple of years and a good quad core.And as per 9700 fins... Yes. My hands after installing it, looks like it was attacked by minature wolverines. LOL!
It's good to know that it's "okay" to go abit higher than intel's spec'ed max temp... I'll see what happens if I go for 400x8 this time around at stock (1.325v) voltage.
lachesis said:Thank you for your input. I thought about lapping - but just little scared.
And as per 9700 fins... Yes. My hands after installing it, looks like it was attacked by minature wolverines. LOL!
It's good to know that it's "okay" to go abit higher than intel's spec'ed max temp... I'll see what happens if I go for 400x8 this time around at stock (1.325v) voltage.
Definitely, the Q6600 after the price drop was and still is an amazing chip, especially since you can find em used for $140.
If it was a G0 would you not swap? Selling it after a few years means it'll be worth like $40 or something either way :lol Just 3.0 or 3.2 instead of 3.6
Doesn't matter for gaming (except Supreme Commander)