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Official "I need a new PC!!" 2009 Edition
- Thread starter VictimOfGrief
- Start date
Liberty4all
Banned
Thanks I'll keep looking around then. I just want something I can plug in and play ... and hopefully will not need upgrading for at least a couple of years.
edit: What sort of graphics card should I be looking for in a system?
edit: What sort of graphics card should I be looking for in a system?
Zombie James
Banned
brain_stew said:Only 3ghz? Pfft, she's begging for more!
Go on, see if you can manage a 1ghz OC.
Ha, I probably could
Fast enough, for now.
Korranator
Member
Any suggestions for a good heat sink/CPU fan combo? I currently have a Zalman, and I'm not happy with it's performance. Plus it's a pain in the ass to install it.
Crazymoogle
Member
Damn. Now Newegg.ca and NCIX are both out of stock on the 120GB Vertex. (Newegg even delisted it?!) Maybe I need to take a closer look at the X-25 (sigh. so expensive though...)
MWS Natural
Member
Crazymoogle said:
Why don't you just wait? They will probably be much cheaper once Windows 7 hits, it's what I am waiting for.
Zombie James
Banned
Crazymoogle
Member
MWS Natural said:
I'm already running Win7 beta, and I'll be switching to Win7 RC in a few weeks, which will be the perfect time to get it going on an SSD. (I have to switch regardless - the beta expiry is coming soon.)
Size vs. Price has been a bit lumbering recently, anyway; everybody is too focused on fixing their parts after the whole JMicron disaster. I see 120GB getting more affordable but the cuts are going to be pretty gradual (Intel just cut X25 prices...by $50? And they have easily the worst size bins). If the PCIe parts were competitive we may have seen faster price competition, but I think the cheapest PCIe part we may see this year will be over a thousand dollars US.
The Vertex is appealing because you can get 50% more space for the same price as the X-25M, and Indilinx and OCZ have been providing pretty eye-opening firmware support for the product.
Im posting from my new PCmadmook said:
havent played a game yet but i like the monitor I ended up getting. CPL were out of stock on the E2200HD so i spent even more than I was meant to and got the E2400HD, really liking it so far, and the keyboard/mouse i got is amazing (microsoft x6 and logitech g9)
my GPU came with far cry 2 which i was pretty pumped about! Free stuff woo!
Diablohead
Member
A friend of mine earlier in the year was talking about solid state drives, it sounds rather cool to half the time of your windows bootup or load app's triple the speed.
I would love a small SSD just for my main app's and windows but I hear they are damn expensive right now.
I would love a small SSD just for my main app's and windows but I hear they are damn expensive right now.
Zombie James
Banned
MWS Natural said:
Sweet!
Cosmo Clock 21
Banned
So I'm looking to take advantage of the 35% off Vostro coupon that's going on. Here's what I've got configured right now:
What I'm wondering is if I should really be taking the $125 upgrade from a 2MB to a 3MB cache instead of upgrading RAM, battery life, etc. Just how much of a performance increase am I getting from a 3MB?
brain_stew
Member
Bamelin said:
Horrible, really. These two PCs are an infinitely better buy, and are all ready to go, no upgrading required to get it upto gaming spec.
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883229086
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883229064
Cosmo Clock 21 said:
2-3%, if that.
That GPU is a piece of crap, that's the first place to start with your upgrades. Still, it looks like you're cheaping out in most areas, its generally not the most cost effective way to go about buying a PC, bang for buck is what you should be going for. Low speed Core 2s are fine if you can OC them, but that's not an option in a Dell machine.
4GB is the minimum amount of RAM any modern PC should have, although this is the easiest part to upgrade yourself.
Cosmo Clock 21
Banned
So why the heck would it cost $125 to go from 2.1GHz 2MB L2 cache to 2.4 GHz 3MB?
As for the GPU, it's the only discrete graphics option available >_> I guess I should have mentioned that I'm looking for something cheap and portable that I can run some modern games on, since I'm not exactly a hardcore PC gamer. Vostros generally seem to give you pretty good bang for your buck, but maybe I should be looking elsewhere?
As for the GPU, it's the only discrete graphics option available >_> I guess I should have mentioned that I'm looking for something cheap and portable that I can run some modern games on, since I'm not exactly a hardcore PC gamer. Vostros generally seem to give you pretty good bang for your buck, but maybe I should be looking elsewhere?
ok I'm not sure what's wrong, but my computer won't detect either one of my Radeon 3870s. I guess one problem is that whenever I restart my computer, Windows tells me that it detected something on the high definition audio bus or something. I ignore it since everything works. Recently, one of my hard drives crapped out so I turned everything off (I usually keep my PC on 24/7) and checked the HDDs and I can't get it to boot anymore. There is no beeping of any kind.
So to sum things up, I'm looking for a new GPU that is better than the 3870, but is a budget card now, so under $150 please.
So to sum things up, I'm looking for a new GPU that is better than the 3870, but is a budget card now, so under $150 please.
brain_stew
Member
Cosmo Clock 21 said:
Oh wait, this is a laptop? Arghh, totally glossed over that. No, that upgrade is not worth the $125 at all. Well, that makes the specs more reasonable.
Just don't expect miracles out of that 9300M, what's the total cost btw?
brain_stew
Member
YYZ said:
You should really try reinstalling Windows or putting that card in another machine before declaring it dead.
Still, if you are going forward with a GPU upgrade then:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130434
Slightly over budget but worth every last penny.
The PC won't boot though, and unfortunately I don't have another motherboard with PCI-e to test it out. I guess I could bring the cards to a store, but I'm too damn lazy.brain_stew said:
I have to figure out how to make sure my motherboard is configured properly 100% which is a pain in the ass.
The video cards aren't dead I think, not sure. The same thing happened before and I swapped the video cards and it booted (only one was in the machine at that time).
It's not 1 graph of a bad compared 3D06 run :lolMWS Natural said:
Well they actually did a full review and that card is looking pretty sweet.
A problem could be this though:
While they didn't make the best RAM, it was cheap. HyperX and Samsung are left to make the GDDR5 now...
This happened to the 8800GT also when they had to switch to Samsung memory when Qimodia had a shortage, but that was GDDR3.
Either way looks like a solid card for the money. Performance / $ right now is absolutely incredible.
I really want to freeze myself until my parts get here :lol
Is there a resource out there that compares DRM and modability between distributions of games? I figure that steam avoids securerom and such but I do not know if the games are as open as disc versions. I want to look at Crysis, Warhead, Mirrors Edge, Fallout 3, and maybe R6V2.
Is there a resource out there that compares DRM and modability between distributions of games? I figure that steam avoids securerom and such but I do not know if the games are as open as disc versions. I want to look at Crysis, Warhead, Mirrors Edge, Fallout 3, and maybe R6V2.
Cosmo Clock 21
Banned
After taking off the processor upgrade and bumping the memory up to 3GB so the coupon applies, the total sits at $603.50 after tax and S&H ($569.40 before).brain_stew said:
brain_stew
Member
Cosmo Clock 21 said:
Seems a fair deal.
Grayman said:
I can fully recommend Gamersgate, Impulse, gog.com and Steam. Stick with them 4 and you'll be fine.
Minsc
Gold Member
Diablohead said:
Is $100 really THAT expensive, if all you're planning on putting on it is the OS and some basic software, $100 buys the second best consumer SSD on the market.
How big is Windows 7 anyway? My XP installation is less than 4 gigs, windows 7 has to be under 10 right? Or hopefully around there. Still leaves plenty of space, even on a measly 30 gig drive.
Comes out in a week too.Grayman said:
FO3 questions: http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=472
Echoes of Pink
Member
Hey guys, I just got a generous refund back from taxes and I decided to spend it on a new computer. I have about $800 to spend and I'm looking to build something I can do some gaming on.
Two specifics - 1. I have a 1440x900 monitor that I will be using at first but will expand to a 1080p monitor in the future. 2. I'm a big fan of Ubuntu and plan on at least dual booting, so compatibility is important to me.
So far I have (I lifted these from techradar's April 2009 system guide):
AMD Phenom II X3 720 - $140
Western Digital Caviar Black 640GB Hard Drive - $75
Samsung DVD Burner - $25
Antec Sonata III w/ 500W Earthwatts PSU - $120
Total so far - $360
Can the gaf pc crew help me decide between getting an am2+ or am3 motherboard (ram depends on choice of course) and what video card do you think I should get, 4870 or GTX 260 core 216?
Two specifics - 1. I have a 1440x900 monitor that I will be using at first but will expand to a 1080p monitor in the future. 2. I'm a big fan of Ubuntu and plan on at least dual booting, so compatibility is important to me.
So far I have (I lifted these from techradar's April 2009 system guide):
AMD Phenom II X3 720 - $140
Western Digital Caviar Black 640GB Hard Drive - $75
Samsung DVD Burner - $25
Antec Sonata III w/ 500W Earthwatts PSU - $120
Total so far - $360
Can the gaf pc crew help me decide between getting an am2+ or am3 motherboard (ram depends on choice of course) and what video card do you think I should get, 4870 or GTX 260 core 216?
brain_stew
Member
Echoes of Pink said:
Go with Tech Report's April Utility player, I'd really struggle to come up with anything better for the money but you're already heading along the right lines. The only variation you might want to make is which GTX 260 to take as the one they chose may have gone up in price or no longer be listed, EVGA currently have a one up on Newegg for $160 after rebate with a lifetime warranty and 90 day step up, hard to pass up.
You can get a good 15-20% performance boost out of a 260 as well, if you're willing to OC.
Zombie James
Banned
Sweet, some sites are now saying the 4770 is going to be released on April 28th instead of the beginning of May.
letsbereasonable
Member
Hazaro said:
Ah, the pad mod. Did the same thing to to the Inspiron 530 w/Q6600 I got during the crazy initial ebay rush of MS cashback. Runs like a champ.
Edit: Just a note, Vista (at least for me) won't report that it's running at 3gz, but CPUID or any CPU monitors should show the proper speed. This threw me off at first after I did it and wanted confirmation that I covered the pad properly.
I have a question regarding DDR3 and i7. There is no FSB limit for memory, but the 920 and 940 only support up to 1066 MHz? So if you want to go stock, there would be no need to go beyond PC3-8500 modules?
I don't know how much of a difference latency makes anymore, but some 1066 MHz modules sport 6-6-6-18 timings, which seem pretty good compared to the faster modules that has 8/9-24/27 timings.
I don't know how much of a difference latency makes anymore, but some 1066 MHz modules sport 6-6-6-18 timings, which seem pretty good compared to the faster modules that has 8/9-24/27 timings.
I've been looking into getting a laptop and I've just got two questions if anyone can answer them:
1. What's the general consensus on Dell Laptops? From what I've heard they seem pretty acceptable but I'm just wondering if there's anything about them that I should be aware of?
2. I've been looking specifically at the Studio 17 Dell laptops and just wondering if they're any good and if they're good value for money?
http://www1.euro.dell.com/content/p...&ref=lthp&s=dhs
Looking at the £579 or £649 in particular.
1. What's the general consensus on Dell Laptops? From what I've heard they seem pretty acceptable but I'm just wondering if there's anything about them that I should be aware of?
2. I've been looking specifically at the Studio 17 Dell laptops and just wondering if they're any good and if they're good value for money?
http://www1.euro.dell.com/content/p...&ref=lthp&s=dhs
Looking at the £579 or £649 in particular.
Diablohead
Member
Only a week or so before my new machine arrives in the post but I been constantly thinking about it's performance, for £450 I know i'm not getting the full beans available for gaming but if I can recap what I have some feedback would be great to hear.
Intel® Core 2 Duo E7400
CPU Cooler: Standard CPU heatsink & fan
Motherboard: Asus P5KPL-AM (Intel G31 chipset,
onboard video)
Memory: 4.0GB Corsair DDR2 800mhz XMS2 (2x 2GB)
Hard Drives: 160GB S-ATAII 3.0Gb/s
Optical Drive: 20x DVD±RW DL
Graphics card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260 896MB
Sound card: Onboard 7.1 Audio
PSU: 500W Eagle
For a budget machine this is rather good right? the problem with looking at GPU reviews is that everyone has different processors and motherboards so it's hard for me to pin down what I could expect from crysis and UT3, two games I will probably play for a long time to come.
I chose the cheaper E7400 to keep price down, it says 2.8ghz which to me seems good without paying double to get the extra 0.2ghz. If worse comes to worse I will have to upgrade the processor at christmas as a present.
*edit* yeah I was close, 30GB SSD from amazon.co.uk is £93, I will keep my eyes open on them as I feel it's worth it.
*2nd edit* Another make, £80 for 32GB, damn I am so tempted to buy but I think I will also need another wire to connect it to my motherboard, my MB can support two internal drives right?
Intel® Core 2 Duo E7400
CPU Cooler: Standard CPU heatsink & fan
Motherboard: Asus P5KPL-AM (Intel G31 chipset,
onboard video)
Memory: 4.0GB Corsair DDR2 800mhz XMS2 (2x 2GB)
Hard Drives: 160GB S-ATAII 3.0Gb/s
Optical Drive: 20x DVD±RW DL
Graphics card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260 896MB
Sound card: Onboard 7.1 Audio
PSU: 500W Eagle
For a budget machine this is rather good right? the problem with looking at GPU reviews is that everyone has different processors and motherboards so it's hard for me to pin down what I could expect from crysis and UT3, two games I will probably play for a long time to come.
I chose the cheaper E7400 to keep price down, it says 2.8ghz which to me seems good without paying double to get the extra 0.2ghz. If worse comes to worse I will have to upgrade the processor at christmas as a present.
Oh right I thought the budget entry level was about $300 going by rather odd google searches the other day, I not looked much into it but if $100 can buy me enough space for windows and 3dsmax installs i'm all for it! would have to be from a UK retailer though so you can expect that $100 to mean £100Minsc said:
*edit* yeah I was close, 30GB SSD from amazon.co.uk is £93, I will keep my eyes open on them as I feel it's worth it.
*2nd edit* Another make, £80 for 32GB, damn I am so tempted to buy but I think I will also need another wire to connect it to my motherboard, my MB can support two internal drives right?
rohlfinator
Member
Intel actually unlocked the memory multipliers on the retail 920 and 940, so you can use faster memory if you want (1333/1600/1866/etc).John_B said:
Your CPU should be more than fine for those two games, and most games, really. Only a few games like GTA4 really benefit from a quad-core. And the GTX 260 should be a great card for a while also.Diablohead said:
OK Gaf, I could really use some help here.
I've been wanting a new PC for a while now, but I don't have a whole lot of money. The only game I play these days is WoW. Occasionally I'll play some CoH, but the rig I want to get is going to be a WoW rig 99.99 percent of the time.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131376
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103672
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145184
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116488
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811162042
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130297
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136199
I don't want to spend a lot of money, so what I just posted should do the job, right? I'll be getting a monitor and keyboard separately, but I really just wanted to know two things.
Are all those parts compatible with one another? And do you think that that's a good machine for WoW use only? I'm pretty much a PC noob, so any help/advice would be greatly appreciated
EDIT: The monitor I'll be running WoW on will be at 1440x900 res.
I've been wanting a new PC for a while now, but I don't have a whole lot of money. The only game I play these days is WoW. Occasionally I'll play some CoH, but the rig I want to get is going to be a WoW rig 99.99 percent of the time.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131376
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103672
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145184
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116488
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811162042
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130297
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136199
I don't want to spend a lot of money, so what I just posted should do the job, right? I'll be getting a monitor and keyboard separately, but I really just wanted to know two things.
Are all those parts compatible with one another? And do you think that that's a good machine for WoW use only? I'm pretty much a PC noob, so any help/advice would be greatly appreciated
EDIT: The monitor I'll be running WoW on will be at 1440x900 res.