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Official "I need a new PC!!" 2009 Edition
- Thread starter VictimOfGrief
- Start date
grap3fruitman
Banned
Just ordered:
Antec Three Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Case $58.95
GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3P Motherboard $134.99
EVGA 896-P3-1260-AR GeForce GTX 260 896MB $179.99
Rosewill RD500-2DB 500W Power Supply $49.99
Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 Yorkfield 2.83GHz LGA 775 95W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80569Q9550 $264.99
Rosewill RCR-IM5001 USB2.0 75 in 1 internal Card Reader $19.99
OCZ Reaper HPC 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) x2 $129.98
Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST31500341AS 1.5TB $129.99
LG Black Blu-ray/HD DVD-ROM & 16X DVD±R DVD Burner SATA Model GGC-H20L $109.99
Order Total $1084.85
I was supposed to be looking at cars, not computers. Oh well. =\
Antec Three Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Case $58.95
GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3P Motherboard $134.99
EVGA 896-P3-1260-AR GeForce GTX 260 896MB $179.99
Rosewill RD500-2DB 500W Power Supply $49.99
Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 Yorkfield 2.83GHz LGA 775 95W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80569Q9550 $264.99
Rosewill RCR-IM5001 USB2.0 75 in 1 internal Card Reader $19.99
OCZ Reaper HPC 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) x2 $129.98
Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST31500341AS 1.5TB $129.99
LG Black Blu-ray/HD DVD-ROM & 16X DVD±R DVD Burner SATA Model GGC-H20L $109.99
Order Total $1084.85
I was supposed to be looking at cars, not computers. Oh well. =\
lowlylowlycook
Member
grap3fruitman said:
You are trusting your $1000+ computer to that rosewill power supply?
lowlylowlycook said:
Gotta agree with that.
Here's a good PSU:
Corsair 550W - $99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139004
edit:
even better deal here:
Corsair 650W - $94
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139005
Here's another, if you want the quietest PSU you can get (though Corsair + Seasonic are right behind as the second quietest PSU)
Enermax Pro82+ 525W - $109
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817194034
Quick networking question:
I have two routers: a Linksys WRT610N and a D-Link DIR-825. Both are simultaneous dual-band 2.4/5ghz N gigabit routers, so like the exact same thing except different brands.
Using my same cable internet connection (obviously switching between the two routers), how come Steam download speeds are different between them? The Linksys gives me much faster download speeds, 1.7MB/s and up, while the D-Link only gave me ~1MB/s.
All of the routers' settings were left at default. I don't have any problems, I am just curious.
I have two routers: a Linksys WRT610N and a D-Link DIR-825. Both are simultaneous dual-band 2.4/5ghz N gigabit routers, so like the exact same thing except different brands.
Using my same cable internet connection (obviously switching between the two routers), how come Steam download speeds are different between them? The Linksys gives me much faster download speeds, 1.7MB/s and up, while the D-Link only gave me ~1MB/s.
All of the routers' settings were left at default. I don't have any problems, I am just curious.
lowlylowlycook
Member
MWS Natural
Member
brain_stew said:
Yeah once I buy the full version I will do this, didn't know if custom configs work on the demo.
Hazaro said:
What settings did you wind up with? I love the monitor except for the annoying ass wobbling when I type, was trying to find a replacement stand or something.
lowlylowlycook
Member
Sleeker said:
I don't see how you'd need to upgrade that unless you are obsessed with crysis or have some crazy monitor.
Then again I've heard on 1Up yours that you need to upgrade every 9.5 days so I could be wrong.
bigmit3737
Member
Grayman said:
The PC I am building has those same specs.
I am probably going to upgrade to a Quad Core when the prices drop.
I bought a nice cooler for the E5200 so hoping to overclock to 3+.
bigmit3737
Member
grap3fruitman said:
Couldn't you have managed an i7 processor for those prices?
TheHeretic
Banned
grap3fruitman said:
PSU is poor, with that sort of budget you could have had i7 as well. An i7 920 is $280, could have had the RAM and Motherboard for much the same pricing.
TheHeretic
Banned
Hazaro said:
Antec Sonata III 500, really good case+psu combo for single gpu setups.
I'm going to be building a new PC some time this year so I just thought I should start reading up on it.
I've always preferred Asus for my motherboards in the past as they have always been the most reliable and I like their attention to details. The last PC I built was at least 3 to 5 years ago and my current rig is almost 5 years old already. However, I noticed that these days, people seem to prefer Gigabyte when it comes to motherboards. Has anything changed?
I've always preferred Asus for my motherboards in the past as they have always been the most reliable and I like their attention to details. The last PC I built was at least 3 to 5 years ago and my current rig is almost 5 years old already. However, I noticed that these days, people seem to prefer Gigabyte when it comes to motherboards. Has anything changed?
ElyrionX said:
Simply put, Gigabyte generally has the best-OC-for-the-buck. If you're into OC or just looking for a cheap relatively feature-rich motherboard that won't let you down, Gigabyte is the prime choice.
But like with any motherboard, specific models may have specific quirks, so read a review or two before purchasing.
lowlylowlycook
Member
Hazaro said:
Heh, I shouldn't have posted instead of going to bed. I thought that was an Earthwatts PSU.
So, very limited budget here. What would a good (and relatively future-proof) budget gaming PC look like these days? I've been looking around some myself but the choices are overwhelming. :/
Here's what I've come up with so far:
AM2+ Mainboard
AMD Athlon X2 7750
Ati Radeon 4850/1GB
4GB RAM
How far would I get with these core components? Keep in mind that I have a 1920x1080 monitor and would like to run most games in native resolution, if at all possible.
Here's what I've come up with so far:
AM2+ Mainboard
AMD Athlon X2 7750
Ati Radeon 4850/1GB
4GB RAM
How far would I get with these core components? Keep in mind that I have a 1920x1080 monitor and would like to run most games in native resolution, if at all possible.
letsbereasonable
Member
Rufus said:
I'm in a similar situation for building a second machine and at first settled on those exact specs, but I think I'm going to bump the CPU up to the x4 720 (oc). I game at 1680x1050 so I can probably use the 4850 or 4770 an be fine, but for your rez I would probably look for a deal on a 4870.
brain_stew
Member
Rufus said:
1080p on a budget requires a GTX 260 (216) (or 4890 if you can afford it).
Try and jump up to a Phenom X3 720, its a pretty damn big leap.
4GB RAM will do you fine, stick with PC6400 ona budget, no real performance compromise here either. Basically a little boost in budget will serve you well for a much longer time really, it'll be cheaper in the long run imo.
On a tighter budget the E5200 clocked to 3.4ghz with this cooler is a smart idea.
Have a look at:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103649&Tpk=x3 720
and
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127430
Both offer ridiculous value for money.
This is a nice motherboard, latest chipset, great OCing and expansion options, awesome brand:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128387
Edit: Ah crap the price has bumped up on that GTX 260 in the time I made this post! Hvae a look at this one then I reckon:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150361
brain_stew
Member
rocK` said:
Well ATI's 4890 is undoubtedly a better option in your price range but this is still a safe buy:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130475
grap3fruitman
Banned
I wasn't aware they were a bad brand. I got that same power supply for a previous build a year and a half ago and haven't had issues with it.lowlylowlycook said:
I wasn't aware the difference was so small... Crap.bigmit3737 said:
I've contacted Newegg and it's too late to cancel my order, but I might just refuse the package.TheHeretic said:
Can you guys suggest a decent build around the i7? I'm not too familiar with it. Is it much better for gaming and what-not?
brain_stew
Member
grap3fruitman said:
Well, the fact is, of the the three possible options you chose the worst one.....
Sorry to break it to you but both a Phenom ii and Core i7 would have been a smarter investment. I'll have a go at putting together a core i7 rig for you, gives me an excuse to bunk off my revision.........
Edit: How about this:
Much better use of your money if you ask me.
Rufus said:
It would be unwise to go with this CPU now since new 45nm K10 based Athlons are launching literally this week. They come with: higher clocks, bigger cache, higher IPC, lower power consumption, better PPW, lower temps, DDR2/DDR3 (AM2/AM3) support... the works.
Be on the lookout for Athlon II X2 250
MWS Natural
Member
MWS Natural said:
Hazaro? You probably missed my question.
I just upgraded my rig:
Phenom II X3 720 BE
3 x 2 GB DDR3 10666 (got them cheap as a kit)
Radeon HD4890
Gigabyte GA-MA790XT-UD4P
There's two things that I'm wondering:
1) I have a "old" NorthQ PSU 500w. Do you think it will be sufficient for this rig? It's not a requirement to OC, but if it's possible with this PSU, I'll definitely do it.
2) Why the fuck is it so fucking hard to get ONE single module of RAM these days? All I see is kits, kits, kits and kits. And I would like a 2GB stick to fill out the last RAM slot, so the system will utilize dual channel mode. Does anyone know where or how (in Europe) I can acquire a single RAM module that is compatible with my current RAM? (basically OCZ, PC3-10666, CL7)
Phenom II X3 720 BE
3 x 2 GB DDR3 10666 (got them cheap as a kit)
Radeon HD4890
Gigabyte GA-MA790XT-UD4P
There's two things that I'm wondering:
1) I have a "old" NorthQ PSU 500w. Do you think it will be sufficient for this rig? It's not a requirement to OC, but if it's possible with this PSU, I'll definitely do it.
2) Why the fuck is it so fucking hard to get ONE single module of RAM these days? All I see is kits, kits, kits and kits. And I would like a 2GB stick to fill out the last RAM slot, so the system will utilize dual channel mode. Does anyone know where or how (in Europe) I can acquire a single RAM module that is compatible with my current RAM? (basically OCZ, PC3-10666, CL7)
It's worth it, but not much so for gaming unless you have SLi/Crossfire at a high res.grap3fruitman said:
Rosewill 500w's aren't bad, but they do have a stigma from their previous models.
Tech Report / Anandtech mostly, Guru 3D also. I'll read most reviews on a new CPU or graphics card.Rufus said:
Usually the 20 page Anandtech article + TechReport benchies are enough.
Looks like it has the amps on the 12V to meLime said:
So I did.MWS Natural said:
I have on the monitor:
20 Brightness
75 Contrast
nVidia Control Panel:
50 Brightness
0 Digital Vibrance
50 Contrast
0.65 Gamma (Ran the 'Display Optimization Wizard' then tweaked compared to my other LCD)
Ok, people, reading about all these new PC games has made me quite excited. I'm going to need a new rig sooner than I thought and will be using it for Dragon Age, L4D 2 and Starcraft 2.
The thing is, is it a good time to buy now? Is there any reason to wait a couple of months before buying? Any expected price drops?
I was looking at the prices for the i7 and those things are expensive. Bite the bullet for better future-proofing or go for the older dual/quad cores?
EDIT: Also, it doesn't make sense for me to buy a new copy of Vista since 7 is right around the corner right? I'm thinking of just using my old copy of XP for the time being till 7 hits.
The thing is, is it a good time to buy now? Is there any reason to wait a couple of months before buying? Any expected price drops?
I was looking at the prices for the i7 and those things are expensive. Bite the bullet for better future-proofing or go for the older dual/quad cores?
EDIT: Also, it doesn't make sense for me to buy a new copy of Vista since 7 is right around the corner right? I'm thinking of just using my old copy of XP for the time being till 7 hits.
ElyrionX said:
Don't go for vista, 7 is supposed to hit by the end of the year.
I would wait for an upgrade for a few reasons. A SSD is one of the biggest performance boosts currently, and they continue to drop in price. New generations of cards are due to hit in 2009 and 2010, so the older generation should get a lot cheaper when that happens. i7 price drops hopefully. My current plan is to wait till Win 7 hits and then go for an i7 rig with a SSD.
brain_stew
Member
ElyrionX said:
Now is pretty much the best time in half a decade to go ahead and build a rig, components have never been so cheap and game requirements so comparatively low. Right across the board from $500 to $1200 you're getting so much more for your money than just 12 months ago, its insane.
A happy compromise for those on a budget is an AM2+ motherboard 4 gigs of PC6400 and an X3 720, its a great blend of current day performance, future upgrade options and future performance benefits (from the extra core). Might as well just go with the Windows 7 RC, then upgrade in a years time.
Minsc
Gold Member
dionysus said:
I think when Win 7 hits in October/November, it will cause prices to increase, as things will be marked up for the inevitable hundreds of thousands of orders placed for Windows 7 machines.
We'll see. But it's certainly a possibility.
Core i7 won't see huge price drops either I'm thinking, the Core i5? line is the consumer line, so that is what will be marketed at lower prices.
If you wait a solid year, you'll have a great prices on SSDs, Windows 7 SP 1, & DX11 cards which will blow the 4890 X2s and 295 SLIs in the smoke will be out as well.
I don't see a whole lot changing with CPUs, in terms of Core i7s being blown away by something else, like these DX11 cards will do to the current high end ones.
brain_stew
Member
dionysus said:
I can't agree with this at all. There's always a new generation of card on the horizon, and they're currently around 6 months out. More than that though, even low end current hardware is maxing out games, these new cards won't be needed by your average joe for a good while yet (even though us lot may still buy them) and DX11 is 2-3 years away from being relevant.
I can't see the new generation of cards having too much downwards pricing pressure, they're set to target the high end (with its subsequent premium prices) and in the last 12 months prices have literally collapsed. We've seen an unprecedented amount of cuts in the GPU space. In the matter of a year, you can now get a card that offers more performance and OCing headroom (e.g. 4890) for less than a third of what you'd be paying less than a year ago. Pricing collapses like that only come around once in a blue moon, its way too hopeful to think there's another on the horizon.
An SSD is soemthing that can be easily added later on down the line. Pick up a sub $90 1TB Samsung F1 now and you'll have a drive significantly faster than the old Raptor drives and bags of space to boot. Add an SSD in a year or two when pricing has collapsed again.
So yeah, basically, buy now, its the best time to do so in years. Ofcourse faster and cheaper parts will hit later on, but we've seen such huge price collapses and performance leaps recently its silly to let that put you off, otherwise you'll never buy a system.
Just browsed a bit and noticed that the i5 would suit me (and my wallet) better and that's coming in September. I also looked at the prices for some SSDs and those things are insanely expensive for the pitiful amount of space you get. So do people get an extra SATA to run as a slave and stuff like videos and music gets stored in the SATA while all the programs run off the SSD?
Also, just how big of a deal is SSD?
Also, just how big of a deal is SSD?
lowlylowlycook
Member
Minsc said:
From anantech's early look it seems that the i5s might be quite nice for gaming, combining 4 cores for the games that can use it and using Turbo Boost or whatever to get good 1 or 2 core performance for those that can't.
longdi
Banned
ElyrionX said:
should post your consultancy here. more suitable.
http://forums.hardwarezone.com.sg/forumdisplay.php?f=2
generally i7 is good but for pc gaming will likely held back by the graphics card at fullhd resolution. The gains for few hundreds bucks more is like under 10fps extra at best(?)
get a quad core either from intel or amd. they cost a little more than 3 cores and is more beneficial in the near term imo.
get a good gaming mouse like razer lachesis and a mechanical keyboard. with a good gaming pc, it is hard to go back to low res sub 30fps console gaming.
brain_stew
Member
ElyrionX said:
You really ought to give the Phenom ii line some thought, its an excellent value platform with upgrade options a plenty. They're more than enough for any game out there and have excellent OCing headroom to boot, sure you can spend more going the i7 or i5 route but the actual real world results aren't going to be all that different at all as the GPU is going to be your bottleneck in most cases.
Minsc
Gold Member
brain_stew said:
I agree. If it wasn't for the fact that I'm dead set on getting a SFF with SSD, and not wasting money on Vista, I'd have a new PC.
Windows 7 RC compatibility is not completely certain with the motherboards I'm looking at, so I may have to wait till the retail copy is released. And putting a SSD on XP is a big no-no.
The ASUS mATX board will be a wildcard though. I'm hoping there's Win 7 RC on it, I really hope to buy a new PC sooner, rather than later.
brain_stew
Member
Minsc said:
So are you going to go with one of those custom speciality SFF builds you linked us to? They look like really nice machines. I'm imaging a huge celebratory post from you when your new rig finally arrives. :lol :lol Seems you've been ogling one for quite a while now. Starcraft 2 will be the straw that breaks the camels back for many I imagine.
ElyrionX said:
Currently, that is exactly how people use an SSD. The SSD for the OS and programs and a regular hard drive for media.
How much do load times bother you in games? Would you like a fast boot? For the type of games I play (rarely play games on release and not that big into FPS), going from a 8800GT to a GT260 would basically mean going from 60FPS to 200FPS. Pointless. So a SSD is a better use of that money. If you are going to be loading up the AAA games at 1080P on day 1 though, you would probably be better served spending that money on a better graphics card.
Edit. But don't listen to my advice, apparently I am an idiot. :lol
Minsc
Gold Member
brain_stew said:So are you going to go with one of those custom speciality SFF builds you linked us to? They look like really nice machines. I'm imaging a huge celebratory post from you when your new rig finally arrives. :lol :lol Seems you've been ogling one for quite a while now. Starcraft 2 will be the straw that breaks the camels back for many I imagine.
Yea, I'm really impressed with what I've seen, and am looking forward to posting a pic once it's said and done. The SFF will have it's drawbacks I'm sure, both in terms of cost & performance, but that's ok.
Starcraft 2 is going to move a lot of gaming hardware, I agree.