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Official 2008 "I Need A New PC" Thread

S

Slavik81

Member
SRG01 said:
Do you have a monitor that you can reuse?

Go take a look at kosma's $399 budget Crysis machine. It's pretty good.
Click to expand...
Nope. Entirely from scratch.

Kosma doesn't actually list the specific components he uses, either.
 
S

SRG01

Member
Althane said:
My brother plays games, but none of them are so graphically intensive that it'd need a high end card. Then again, cards aren't TERRIBLY expensive.

So:

Internet Surfing.
Game Playing (enough to play, say, Dawn of War at high end graphics. Oblivion on medium, so on)
General Storage (so large HD)

That's about it. Most my family has moved on to use laptops or has left the house, so, yeah. It's mostly to keep pictures and important documents around. I've been meaning to have them go for a external hard drive, but they don't want it. Bleh (coulda gotten a 1 TB one cheap from school, too)
Click to expand...

Kosma's $399 build would probably suffice, but you'd have to add on a few costs such as a HDD and case/PSU.

Slavik81 said:
Nope. Entirely from scratch.

Kosma doesn't actually list the specific components he uses, either.
Click to expand...

Case, PSU, and HDD/optical drives are actually parts that you don't need specifics for, especially if you aren't an enthusiast. If you're running a higher-end system, you either spec out a larger wattage PSU, or select a more efficient/higher quality one.
 
A

Althane

Member
I'll check that build out. Thanks.

Now, does anyone have any suggestions on reading or experience on how to actually physically build it? The basic that I've picked up is "avoid static like the frickin' plague", and that other than that, comptuer components are relatively hardy.

Hmm, for this new computer, would you suggest XP or Vista. I know XP, and I've heard a lot of hate on Vista...
 
S

Slavik81

Member
SRG01 said:
Case, PSU, and HDD/optical drives are actually parts that you don't need specifics for, especially if you aren't an enthusiast. If you're running a higher-end system, you either spec out a larger wattage PSU, or select a more efficient/higher quality one.
Click to expand...
I'm more interested in motherboard. It's the thing that's least clear what I should get and it's the most fundamental from what I understand (as well as the most likely to be incompatible with something).

I'm also pretty interested in the monitor. The rest I can pretty much just read newegg or check performance reviews for the quality-price ratio.
 
S

SRG01

Member
Slavik81 said:
I'm more interested in motherboard. It's the thing that's least clear what I should get and it's the most fundamental from what I understand (as well as the most likely to be incompatible with something).
Click to expand...

There are a few things you want to look for in a motherboard:

a) Fastest RAM it can handle
b) Chipset/on-board functionality
c) Socket
d) Are you overclocking?

Personally, I recommend ASUS because their quality is out of this world.

In short, choose a motherboard that can support 800 or 1066MHz DDR2 memory. Pay attention to the max memory too. The socket is self explanatory (ie. it should fit the CPU!). As for the chipset, I admit that I haven't been paying close attention to the chipset news, so some other poster can answer that for me.
 
R

Ravenn17

Member
kmfdmpig said:
500 Watts should be plenty of room for now and for future upgrades. With Vista you'll want to b ee sure to get the Vista 64 (if you're getting 4GB of Ram). The reason is that Vista 32 only reads 4GB of RAM total. This includes system RAM and other RAM such as on video cards and sound cards. With Vista 32 you'd have about 3.2-3.4 GB of useable RAM, while with Vista 64 you'd have access to all of your RAM and still room to expand down the road.

Here are some different speaker sets that come highly recommended. I have the X-230s and I highly recommend them for affordable decent speakers:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16836121123
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16836113161
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16836121130
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16836121014
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16836121122
Click to expand...

Nevermind, the post above mine is pretty informative.
 
N

NovemberMike

Member
Slavik81 said:
I'm more interested in motherboard. It's the thing that's least clear what I should get and it's the most fundamental from what I understand (as well as the most likely to be incompatible with something).

I'm also pretty interested in the monitor. The rest I can pretty much just read newegg or check performance reviews for the quality-price ratio.
Click to expand...

The mobo is pretty much just making sure it handles everything you want it to. The primary concern is whether it has the same socket as your CPU (LGA775 for intel and AM2 for amd most likely), has a PCIE-16x slot and is compatible with your ram (most likely ddr2). If those two work, then you will most likely have a functional computer with your parts. After that, you should make sure it supports the more advanced features of your parts (ie. 1066 ram or a 1333mhz FSB). After that, make sure it supports the features you want like RAID, 7.1 onboard audio, integrated graphics or 6 Sata ports (ie. any of these that you want).

If you find a part you like I would recommend posting it on here before you buy it. These are details such as what chipset it is using and how well it overclocks that might not be readily apparent and having more experienced help might be useful for. If you follow what I have up there, though, you should have something that will do 90% of what you want.
 
S

Scottlarock

Banned
because of this thread, I made a quick stop to Compusa and picked up a 'e-geforce 8600GT 512mp' for $85 and an extra meg of ram $20'

my emachines:lol Pentium D can now run tomb raider anniversary maxed out, and crysis on 800x600 with all low settings:lol

before I was just using the onboard chip with 1 meg and couldn't play shit. so far I'm happy with my $105 investment. any game that came out 6+ months ago are mine.
 
R

Ravenn17

Member
EVGA GeForce 8800GT 512MB - $229.99
SAMSUNG 906BW Black-Silver 19" - $229.99
Antec earthwatts 430W Power Supply - $69.99
Logitech X-230 Speaker System - $38.99
SAMSUNG DVD/CD Burner - $31.99
Western Digital 500GB 7200 RPM Hard Drive - $104.99
CORSAIR 4GB(2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 - $114.00
ASUS NVIDIA nForce 650i SLI Intel Motherboard - $114.99
Microsoft Windows Vista 64-Bit - 109.99
Sony NEC 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-ROM - $17.99
LIAN LI PC-61 Black Aluminum ATX Computer Case - 109.99
Intel E8400 Wolfdale

How does this look? I'm a bit over my budget. Any recommendations on what I could possibly change? ($1200-$1300 budget).
 
B

Borys

Banned
Scottlarock said:
because of this thread, I made a quick stop to Compusa and picked up a 'e-geforce 8600GT 512mp' for $85 and an extra meg of ram $20'

my emachines:lol Pentium D can now run tomb raider anniversary maxed out, and crysis on 800x600 with all low settings:lol

before I was just using the onboard chip with 1 meg and couldn't play shit. so far I'm happy with my $105 investment. any game that came out 6+ months ago are mine.
Click to expand...

:lol

Sometimes even the cheapest upgrades breathe a new life into an old PC.

Enjoy some (older) PC games!
 
S

Scottlarock

Banned
Borys said:
:lol

Sometimes even the cheapest upgrades breathe a new life into an old PC.

Enjoy some (older) PC games!
Click to expand...
:lol I started turning over games to see when thiers were made.

I bumped up the overclock of the card just a bit.
 
K

Kosma

Banned
Scottlarock said:
because of this thread
Click to expand...

Thread Mission Status: Success!

Ravenn17 said:
How does this look? I'm a bit over my budget. Any recommendations on what I could possibly change? ($1200-$1300 budget).
Click to expand...

That rig looks really good, but to lower the budget a bit you could go with 2GB Ram, 32 Bit Vista and a Geforce 9600 or Ati 3870 instead of the 8800, both a lot cheaper and pretty close performance wise.

34rhij7.png
 
A

Andokuky

Banned
Ok here's hopefully my final order setup, to be placed later today:

CPU: AMD Athlon 64 x2 5000+ - $100
MOBO: BIOSTAR TF560 - $80 ($70 after rebate)
Video: MSI GeForce 9600GT - $180
RAM: Corsair 2GB DDR2 800 - $53 ($28 after rebate)
Case: HEC ATX Tower - $60
Samsung DVD drive - $30
APEVA 20 pin PSU to 24 pin adapter - $4

The case I bought has a 585W PSU in it. Reading reviews, there are people with far more in their systems than I will have in mine that are using it with no problems. If anything happens I'll just pay up for a better PSU. Grand total with this setup is $519 after shipping, around $485 after rebates.
 
C

Cheeto

Member
Andokuky said:
Ok here's hopefully my final order setup, to be placed later today:

CPU: AMD Athlon 64 x2 5000+ - $100
MOBO: BIOSTAR TF560 - $80 ($70 after rebate)
Video: MSI GeForce 9600GT - $180
RAM: Corsair 2GB DDR2 800 - $53 ($28 after rebate)
Case: HEC ATX Tower - $60
Samsung DVD drive - $30
APEVA 20 pin PSU to 24 pin adapter - $4

The case I bought has a 585W PSU in it. Reading reviews, there are people with far more in their systems than I will have in mine that are using it with no problems. If anything happens I'll just pay up for a better PSU. Grand total with this setup is $519 after shipping, around $485 after rebates.
Click to expand...
That's a pretty kick ass setup for the money. Good Job

Andokuky said:
Idk what either of those mean, I have never shopped for an LCD monitor before. How about this one:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236027
Click to expand...

For just a bit more you can get one of the highest rated 22" monitors on Newegg.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824009094
 
R

RJT

Member
Hey mates, I need some help...

I have a weird bug in all my 3d games, so I guess it must be my videocard.

Check out these images:

4q23kn.jpg


op2weo.jpg


It's adding some weird geometry to my games, which causes severe framerate drops. I can play for 5 minutes with no problem, and then these start to pop up.

I tried updated drivers from nvidea and unofficial Omega drivers, both with no luck. I'm thinking it may be a hardware problem... (luckily, I think it is still under warranty)

Any help from Gaffers?

EDIT:
forgot to add my specs:
MSI P965NEO 775 Motherboard
Intel 4 D915+ 2.8 DualCore
DIMM DDR2 1024Mb 533
POV GF7600GS 256DD2


Additional request: can I play modern games with a 7600GS? I'm thinking of Bioshock, UE3 games... XB360 games, mostly (not trying to run Crysis).
 
C

Cheeto

Member
Problem like that is almost always the GPU's fault. If you've overclocked, dial it back a bit. If you haven't, RMA it.
 
M

Manager

Member
I'm building a computer mostly for video editing. I'll be using 32 bit for now, so I'm wondering:
Should I buy 3 gb or 4 gb ram?
I've heard I only get out max 0.3 gb of the fourth stick, but I'm mostly thinking about Dual Channel. I'm not completely sure how it works, but shouldn't 1.3 gb in Dual Channel work better than 1 gb without DC?
Can I have the first two sticks in DC, and have the third without DC? Or does all sticks have to be in DC?

I guess I could buy 2x1gb and 2x512mb, but as DC doesn't give THAT big boost it just seems like a waste of money.

RJT said:
Hey mates, I need some help...

I have a weird bug in all my 3d games, so I guess it must be my videocard.

Check out these images:

It's adding some weird geometry to my games, which causes severe framerate drops. I can play for 5 minutes with no problem, and then these start to pop up.

I tried updated drivers from nvidea and unofficial Omega drivers, both with no luck. I'm thinking it may be a hardware problem... (luckily, I think it is still under warranty)

Any help from Gaffers?
Click to expand...

Have you checked the temperature? Overheated graphics cards can show that, I think.
 
R

RJT

Member
Thanks guys. I don't think I'm overclokcing it (my brother built the PC, so I'm not sure), so I'll check with the store.

The stupid thing is, I bought the PC more than one year ago and it always had this problem, but since I haven't played too much I didn't even try to solve it. Since 2 year warranties are mandatory for computer equipment, maybe I can still get a new card. It would be great if I could update to an 8800 or 9600 with a big discount. One can hope...
 
K

Kadey

Mrs. Harvey
See if this helps.

Go to your display properties. Right click on desktop. Click advanced, then go to troubleshooting. Turn your hardware acceleration down.
 
R

RJT

Member
Nope... Stills happens. Unless I turn it all the way down. That way I can't even load the game.
 
K

Kadey

Mrs. Harvey
Google GPU-Z. Dl it and check your temp. We'll check it to see if your GPU is really overheating. To me it sounds like driver conflicts which happens often.
 
C

Cheeto

Member
Yeah, it wouldn't hurt to goto Add/Remove Programs and remove all instances of Video Drivers. Then re-install the latest.
 
K

Kosma

Banned
DangerStepp said:
This thread is amazing and just what I've been looking for. Mad props to the OP.
Click to expand...

Hur hur don't forget every poster that answers questions. These guys = this thread, my OP just kicked it off.

This thread has been made possible thanks to contributions from (and prob more):

WhatRuOn
Kabouter
Zoku88
MirageDwarf
SleazyC
SRG01
NovemberMike
Borys
 
H

Hitmeneer

Member
I'm planning on buying a new pc as soon as the Q9450 hit the stores. I wanted a good price/performance pc and one not as loud as the one I got now (it's like a vacuum cleaner >_> ). I'm mainly use it for gaming and a bit of 3d design (SolidWorks):


- HP W2207 TFT screen
- Intel Q9450
- Artic Cooling Freezer 7 (CPU cooler)
- GeForce 8800 GT 512 MB-ram
- Arctic Cooling Accelero S1 + 120 mm Nexus Real Silent (VGA cooler)
- Gigabyte GA-P35 DS3/4
- 2 x 2 Gig RAM (OCZ or Kingston ValuaRam)
- Antec Solo Case (with one 120 mm and one 92 mm both from Nexus)
- Corsair CMPSU-520HXEU (Power Supply)
- Logitech X-540 (sound system)
- Creative X-Fi XtremeMusic (Sound Card)
- 300 GB Samsung HDD
- Logitech G15 Keyboard
- Logitech MX518
- Windows Vista 64 bit


So anything I forgot? Anything anyone would do differently? Any tips etc?
 
C

Cheeto

Member
Hitmeneer said:
I'm planning on buying a new pc as soon as the Q9450 hit the stores. I wanted a good price/performance pc and one not as loud as the one I got now (it's like a vacuum cleaner >_> ). I'm mainly use it for gaming and a bit of 3d design (SolidWorks):
So anything I forgot? Anything anyone would do differently? Any tips etc?
Click to expand...
Any particular reason why you are adding a sound card? And are you 100% sure the sound card has 64bit drivers?
 
D

dallow_bg

nods at old men
Any recommendations on a Home Media PC case?

Something large enough that I can put a full size video card in it.
 
S

SRG01

Member
dallow_bg said:
Any recommendations on a Home Media PC case?

Something large enough that I can put a full size video card in it.
Click to expand...

Asus Pundits can fit some full-sized cards, but you'd have to tweak the case.

A few people managed to put the Hauppauge 250 full-sized in it.

edit: Err. May be the 150.
 
S

SRG01

Member
Hitmeneer said:
I'm planning on buying a new pc as soon as the Q9450 hit the stores. I wanted a good price/performance pc and one not as loud as the one I got now (it's like a vacuum cleaner >_> ). I'm mainly use it for gaming and a bit of 3d design (SolidWorks):


- HP W2207 TFT screen
- Intel Q9450
- Artic Cooling Freezer 7 (CPU cooler)
- GeForce 8800 GT 512 MB-ram
- Arctic Cooling Accelero S1 + 120 mm Nexus Real Silent (VGA cooler)
- Gigabyte GA-P35 DS3/4
- 2 x 2 Gig RAM (OCZ or Kingston ValuaRam)
- Antec Solo Case (with one 120 mm and one 92 mm both from Nexus)
- Corsair CMPSU-520HXEU (Power Supply)
- Logitech X-540 (sound system)
- Creative X-Fi XtremeMusic (Sound Card)
- 300 GB Samsung HDD
- Logitech G15 Keyboard
- Logitech MX518
- Windows Vista 64 bit


So anything I forgot? Anything anyone would do differently? Any tips etc?
Click to expand...

Is the HP screen any good? It's not a common brand that I would buy LCD screens from...
 
J

jvalioli

Member
SRG01 said:
Is the HP screen any good? It's not a common brand that I would buy LCD screens from...
Click to expand...
The only real problem I have with it is that it stretches 16x9 content to fit the screen. That's not really important if you're only using it for your PC though.

Also the speakers suck.
 
Z

zoku88

Member
In general, I would go for monitors that support 1:1 pixel mapping. Of course, I use my PS3 with my monitor, so....
 
I

Insertia

Member
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883113044

I bought this and a nice 19" monitor for $870. Really nice deal. FEAR auto detected my settings and everything was pretty much maxed out and it was smooooooth. Pretty amazing considering when I played through it on my laptop it was a low-res choppy slideshow. :)

My prob is I want to take the ATI Radeon HD 2400XT out and put a 8800gt in. I don't know if the PCI slots in this system meet the requirements for the 8800gt. 8800gt needs PCI-E x16 2.0 My system has PCI-E x16, not sure if it has the 2.0 part.

Basically I know jack shit about PCI slots, just know how to dump the card in. Can someone take a look at the link and tell me if my mobo meets the requirements for the 8800gt?
 
R

rabhw

Member
Insertia said:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883113044

I bought this and a nice 19" monitor for $870. Really nice deal. FEAR auto detected my settings and everything was pretty much maxed out and it was smooooooth. Pretty amazing considering when I played through it on my laptop it was a low-res choppy slideshow. :)

My prob is I want to take the ATI Radeon HD 2400XT out and put a 8800gt in. I don't know if the PCI slots in this system meet the requirements for the 8800gt. 8800gt needs PCI-E x16 2.0 My system has PCI-E x16, not sure if it has the 2.0 part.

Basically I know jack shit about PCI slots, just know how to dump the card in. Can someone take a look at the link and tell me if my mobo meets the requirements for the 8800gt?
Click to expand...

According to that page, you should be fine. It only has one PCI-E x16 slot so you'd just pop one card out and put in the 8800GT. I don't see the power supply ratings on the specs for that machine but you should be fine, given that it's powering a Phenom and a 2400XT currently. For the record, PCI-E 2.0 video cards are backwards compatible.
 
N

NovemberMike

Member
Insertia said:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883113044

I bought this and a nice 19" monitor for $870. Really nice deal. FEAR auto detected my settings and everything was pretty much maxed out and it was smooooooth. Pretty amazing considering when I played through it on my laptop it was a low-res choppy slideshow. :)

My prob is I want to take the ATI Radeon HD 2400XT out and put a 8800gt in. I don't know if the PCI slots in this system meet the requirements for the 8800gt. 8800gt needs PCI-E x16 2.0 My system has PCI-E x16, not sure if it has the 2.0 part.

Basically I know jack shit about PCI slots, just know how to dump the card in. Can someone take a look at the link and tell me if my mobo meets the requirements for the 8800gt?
Click to expand...

pcie-2.0 is backwards compatible with pcie1.1, so there shouldn't be a problem. The only problem would be if the MoBo doesn't support it, which most should.

As of right now, pcie-2.0 means all of jack shit for performance.
 
mr stroke

mr stroke

Member
SRG01 said:
Is the HP screen any good? It's not a common brand that I would buy LCD screens from...
Click to expand...


the screen is AMAZING........it has a really high gloss to the screen which makes the contrast pop out at you.I looked for weeks at BB and Frys and couldn't find anything else that looked as clean and vibrant. For a cheaper TN pannel its about as good as you can find in that price range(as long as you like the high gloss screen)
 
H

Hitmeneer

Member
SRG01 said:
Is the HP screen any good? It's not a common brand that I would buy LCD screens from...
Click to expand...

As above:

It is one of the best/the best 22' TN panels. The colors are way better then of the popular Samsung C/BW227 series. Also they don't use three different panels, like Samsung, so you don't end up with a bad screen :p.
For me it is also a plus that you can adjust the hight, because I'm almost 2 meters :) .
As far as I know it DOES have 1:1 pixal mapping btw.

I btw choose a soundcard, because I think sound is important for games and I like music (AudioSurf ftw :) ), and it provides better quality then the one on the motherboard.
 
M

MoxManiac

Member
Hitmeneer said:
As above:

It is one of the best/the best 22' TN panels. The colors are way better then of the popular Samsung C/BW227 series. Also they don't use three different panels, like Samsung, so you don't end up with a bad screen :p.
For me it is also a plus that you can adjust the hight, because I'm almost 2 meters :) .
As far as I know it DOES have 1:1 pixal mapping btw.

I btw choose a soundcard, because I think sound is important for games and I like music (AudioSurf ftw :) ), and it provides better quality then the one on the motherboard.
Click to expand...

Are there any HP panels with both DVI and HDMI? Would it be preferrable to the Gateway HD2200? (which has both DVI and HDMI, and 1:1 pixel mapping, but supposedly poor color)
 
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