Back from the far reaches of the netherworld...and time for a new PC...advice plz!

[fubar569]

I have been far out of this loop for far too long...just scumming by on homebuilt spare parts PCs and random junk i'd throw together. I have "the itch"...you know..."the itch"...to build another PC...something decent and worth my time!

I'm not looking for teh uber-1337 pwnzing gaming PC or something stupid high end...

what i do need is a general "hey...head this direction and here's what you missed" type of thing...

last "1337" pc i built totally from scratch was a twin evap cooled dual AXP 1700+ oc to 2.3ghz with a 4 drive RAID-0 array...yeah...slightly old school...next was an "uber-toaster" Qbic with an overclocked AXP and a 2 drive raid-0, 9800pro, et. al...

i did have a laptop but sold it. that was a core 2 duo 1.66ghz box with 2gb of ram and a geforce 7300go 256mb card...

like i said...out of the loop for far too long...

I know dual core/quad core is the "in" thing right now...but what seems to give best bang for the buck? I'd be looking at 3+ghz easily as i'd like some headroom for semi-recent games that my crap boxes cannot play...mostly C&C 3 and the like...

Graphics cards...well i used to drool and gurgle over the AIW series but i believe they are no more? that makes me sad...should i jump to an Nvidia SLI setup or ATI Crossfire? how does a mid-range pair of cards compare to a single high end card for simple gaming? i need at least a VGA/DVI/HDMI/S-vid/something output...I'd likely be piping this to a TV at some point and i'd like to be prepared...

RAM? never too much of this...2-4gb of course...

Hard Drives...seems SATA finally took off and hit mainstream since my last build...this is good i take it...but i still have an adaptec PCI 4ch U160 SCSI card here. If any motherboards still have at least 1 legacy PCI slot i bet somehow this thing gets used...why? cause i can...if i don't...i'm looking at another RAID array...prolly RAID 5 so i have some sense of data security with slightly increased speed...around a 400-500gb total space would be optimal...

Is there a nice motherboard out there that does the dual/quad core thing, 4gb ram, integrated raid functions with a nice onboard sound for cheapish (not basement, but not 300 bucks either) just to get me started again? what about a power supply?

goddammit i feel like such a frickin n00b atm....

thanks for any help guys...i really appreciate it...

 

[tiraides]

How about you help us out here...?

• What is your budget? Are shipping and/or taxes included within that budget?
• Where do you live? Where are you (planning on) buying everything at?
• Which components do you need to get? Which components do you already have? Which components are you going to reuse (from older builds)?
• What are you going to use your computer for? Which games/programs are you going to use?
• Do you plan on overclocking? Are you going to use water (or some other form of "exotic") cooling?
• Which monitor are you using? What resolution do you use? Are you using multiple monitors? Do you plan on buying a new/multiple monitor(s) any time soon?
• Which features do you want on the motherboard?
• How long do you want this system to last? Are you (planning on) making any incremental upgrades during that time?

Again, be as specific AND as brief as possible.

You should also check out some of the more recent "help me build" threads for ideas on which parts you may want to get.

 

[fubar569]

budget is whatever is required to get the job done...tentatively a 1,000 dollar budget...i can shop the FS/FT forums to save some cash like normal...likewise don't mind buying new if required...

Purpose: mainly media...some light gaming...C&C 3, Crysis (not at 1600x1200 either...), etc...i just want them to be playable cause i feel like im missing out on alot right now...It'll also be used for surfing the net an obscene amount and music of course. It will be hooked to a 5.1 surround system (PC or home entertainment based) so i prefer a digital out of some sort...

I have an old 15" monitor for the time being. Looking to upgrade to a flat panel again or jump right to a 32" ish LCD TV...

I need almost all components. Case, PS, board/cpu, etc. The only component i have that might be able to be recycled is the adaptec 4ch U160 SCSI card, but this is not a requirement. I can ditch it if i have to since it's legacy PCI and seems everything now is PCI-E...

Overclocking is in the cards as it might be the only way to get me to where i want to be for cheap. i do not plan on using water or exotic cooling to get me there so that leaves air cooling only. I have seen reports of very nice C2D overclocks on air...same with C2Q...I'm sure there's many a nice stable 3.0+ghz combo out there for me to pattern from...

how long it'll last? til it blows up. i typically get 3+yrs out of a system unless i find it to no longer suit my needs anymore. heck...i'm still running on an AXP Palomino core chip right now if that tells you anything...

So i suppose a general ballpark would be:

C2D or C2Q @ 3.0+ghz
motherboard to match. mild OC options...needs to be stable
2-4gb RAM
~500gb HDD
sound capable of 5.1 and/or digital output
graphics suitable for slightly newer games (C&C 3, crysis, etc...) but not at obscene resolutions. With the potential output to a big LCD i know i'll need a good quality card however and this doesn't scare me

 

[tiraides]

Off the top of my head (prices are from NewEgg, but don't include shipping, taxes, and/or rebates):

$60 - Antec Three Hundred case
$70 - Antec Earthwatts EA650 650W PSU
$120 - MSI P45 Neo3-FR
$170 - Intel Core 2 Duo E8400
$37 - Xigmatek HDT-S1283 HSF
$7 - Xigmatek ACK-I7751 retention bracket
$85 - G.Skill 2x2GB DDR2 1000
$28 - Samsung SH-S203N
$85 - Western Digital WD6400AAKS
$190 - VisionTek HD4850
(use onboard sound for now)
$110 - Vista Home Premium 64-bit OEM
=====
$962 - Subtotal (not including shipping, taxes, or rebates)

I'm sure others will have some different recommendations, but here's a start.

 

[engiNURD]

If you want the best bang for buck, its either the E7200 ($120) or the Q6600 ($180). Most gamers are getting the E8400 ($150) and OC'ing to 4Ghz, but the E7200 comes close in performance and can OC to 3.8Ghz. Since the price drops, they're not separated by much anymore, so either should fill your needs. If you think the system would be better off 3 yrs from now with 2 more cores (quadcore), then the Q6600 is a steal at $180, and can OC to 3.6Ghz. As always with OC'ing, YMMV.

Oh, don't forget a nice, quiet HSF to keep that OC'd chip nice and cool:
$37 - XIGMATEK HDT-S1283 120mm Rifle CPU Cooler (highly recommended: $7 Xigmatek Bolt-Thru-Kit)

Danny Bui has a nice list of boards. If he doesnt post it, search for it. I'd recommend the GA-EP45-DS3L or the P5Q Pro. Both boards have good onboard sound, which is irrelevant if you're using the digital out.

For RAM, 4GB is cheap enough, so go with this kit:
$85 - G.Skill 4GB(2x2GB) DDR2-1000 F2-8000CL5D-4GBPQ

The 500GB drives are slower than the new drives using 320GB/platters. So, go for the WD6400AAKS instead.

What size monitor do you plan on buying? For a 22" or smaller, the HD4850 should suffice your needs, or the HD4870 if you want more umph. For 24" or larger, a single HD4870 may be enough, but a single HD4870X2 would be better.

EDIT: tiraides' build looks good.

 

[fubar569]

I will take everyone's advice...I have to do a bit of research but it gets me pointed in the right direction. I just have been gone for far too long...lol

i'll start checking it out later tonight

thanks all...keep it coming!

 

[MrWizard6600]

For the CPU, Nehalem (which I suspect will be marketed as Core 3) is going to hit the scene in just a few months, with a $300 SKU (2.66GHz Bloomfield, no word on gimped L2) available before x-mas. Keep in mind that the other stuff required for such a processor, like a new motherboard and DDR3 (triple channel ), will run you at least double what it would cost in the old LGA775 and DDR2 package types. I only know of one chipset, cant remember its house name but it'l be sold as X58, and its going to be expensive, and its going to be kick-ass.

As for the mainboard, P45 is a wicked overclocker as its the only chipset with a northbridge built at 65nm. X38, P35 and X48 all use a 90nm NB. A Biostar flavour of P45 has even hit an astounding 600MHz (2400MHz QDR) FSB. But again, you might wanna wait for nehalem.
edit: oh, and btw, I hate to say it but Nforce 2 was basically the last good Chipset Nvidia ever made. The 6 and 7 series, while setting several records, has been plagued with issues past 6 months of the boards life. My EVGA 680i crapped out on me after 8 months. It did so while running 504MHz FSB. RIP.

In terms of graphics cards the GT200 is going to be given a linear shrink to 55nm and the RV770 a non-linear (5 banks each 192SPs this timem same ROP and TMU count) shrink to 40nm (!!!). The smaller GT200 will probably be in the channel for x-mas, but the AMD team is going to have to hustle to get the 40nm RV770 out for x-mas from what I hear. If you wanna buy now I suggest the HD4850 or the HD4870, which are both good at AA, the the HD4870 takes it to a new level (giving new meaning to the buzz-term "free [8X] AA"). The GTX280 and GTX260 are also both cards to consider, and Nvidia might even be selling the GTX260 at a loss just to hold marketshare, but the ATI couterparts are just easier to work with on every level aside from performance (power, xfire support, heat, size, etc).

Has Samsung released any drives featuring their new 333GB platters aside from the F1 1TB? If not, you want the WD 640GB, or if your looking to gamble and save a bit of money, the WD 320GB, most of which contain a single 320GB platter, which is good as it'l be lightning quick, but some of the old slow dual 160s are floating around. Its in the revision number.

The Corsair TX750W is an excellent buy at $100, but is definatly overkill for any system with only a single graphics card and a comprehensable Hard drive setup. A 450W will handle the build I'm suggesting just fine.