Building in '08

T

tekknen

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Jan 7, 2006
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So the release of Spore has me excited about video games and computers all over again, but the machine I have now has become a bit old. I would like to keep that box intact as I have many other uses for it, so outside of keyboard, mouse and monitor I am looking to build a new machine.

My last build was done way back in ’05 when SLI and 64bit were the new hot things and AMD had Intel topped and Nvidia trounced ATI with new products… the key parts of the machine looked something like this:

Case: Lian-Li PC 65b
Mobo: ASUS A8N-SLI Premium
Memo: 4g Corsair XMS DDR 400
Cpu: AMD Athlon 64 3500+ ClawHammer 2.2GHz (OC’ed a bit)
Psu: Antec TruePower 2.0 550W
Gpu: BFG 7800 GTX 256mb x2 (SLI)
Hardrive(s): Seagate nothing specials…
Sound: Creative Audigy 2ZS

I stopped gaming maybe a year after that was built and have since then turned a cold shoulder to the world of computers. That being said I am a bit rusty (although I have been doing my homework) in regards to what the new, fast products are.

The only two items I am sure I want are:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811112122 (Lian-Li PC-A10b)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136260 (Western Digital Velociraptor 300GB 10,000 rpm drive)

Outside of that I am hoping the vets here can give me a good sense of direction in regards to AMD vs. Intel, Nvidia vs. ATI, Corsair vs. OCZ, etc.

I don’t have much of a budget, but I don’t want to have to refinance anything after I make this purchase. Any comments and/or suggestions are helpful.

Thank you all!
 
If you're planning on gaming it would be helpful if we had an accurate budget. For starters, you said you don't have MUCH of a budget, so a 10k Velociraptor would most definitely be out of the question and so would a $240 case...

Tha'ts $550 in just 2 pieces.

You should let us know what size monitor and resolution you want to play and also a more accurate budget. Do you plan on overclocking at all? Right now Intel is ahead of the game. AMD's new Radeon 4800 series GPU's are great for the price. Please let us know what games you plan on playing.
 
Sorry I wasn't very clear. When I said I don't have much of a budget I meant I am willing to spend a decent amount, maybe $2,000 in addition to the items listed above. I currently use a 22" Samsung monitor and would like to play at 1680x1050 or 1920x1200 assuming the cost increase isn't unbearable.

I don't plan on overclocking. I would like to play Spore, outside of that it would be all FPS, maybe Command and Conquer.
 
You need only a fraction of that for a computer capable of running those games.

For a friend of mine I just built the following:

Antec Sonta III w/ Earthwatts 500W PSU
Gigabyte P35-DS3L
WD640AAKS
9800GT
e8400
+ ram kit of your choice

This can be had for about $600 and should do just fine for what you're asking.

If you're set on your HDD and Case choice, that's totally fine, but I'd recommend an e8400 or q6600 over most anything. As far as ram brands, I've never had much of an issue with any of the major brands, personally I'd just go for whatever is cheapest.
 
Most samsung 22" are 1680x1050 so...

I would say like a:

Q9550 (only $5 more than 9450)
4 GB DDR2 800 (G Skill)
Corsair VX550 PSU
Gigabye EP43-DS3L
Radeon 4850
WD6400AAKS
Coolermaster RC690, RC590, Antec 300, P182

~$820 + Shipping and Tax... that would last you a while with what you want to play.
 
Shit you wouldnt' even need a Q9450, a Q6600 would rock for you. Save you another 150 bucks.
 
I'm not really concerned with saving money, honestly. Everything you've listed seems decent, so I'm going to try and piece something together.

Thanks.
 
You know, the new Intel chips are coming out and are going to rock. For $350 you get the 2.6ghz i7 quad with H/T (8 virtual cores). Then you can buy some DDR3 1333mhz (it's not super expensive anymore) for under $150-$200. The mobo will be expensive, probably around 200-250. But it will be a rocking 'core' setup, that will last you several years in upgrades. Keep in mind the x58 chipset (for core i7 and ddr3) will support SLI NATIVE, so you can run a great intel chipset, but have the SLI option down the road.

The only reason I bring this up is because money doesn't seem to be an issue here. This would a great, solid, setup, without going overboard.
 
bigdogchris said:
it will be a rocking 'core' setup, that will last you several years in upgrades.
Click to expand...

I think this is what I'm going after. I'd like to build something and have it somewhat future proof even if it means it's an expensive, overkill rocket ship now.
 
bigdogchris said:
You know, the new Intel chips are coming out and are going to rock. For $350 you get the 2.6ghz i7 quad with H/T (8 virtual cores). Then you can buy some DDR3 1333mhz (it's not super expensive anymore) for under $150-$200. The mobo will be expensive, probably around 200-250. But it will be a rocking 'core' setup, that will last you several years in upgrades. Keep in mind the x58 chipset (for core i7 and ddr3) will support SLI NATIVE, so you can run a great intel chipset, but have the SLI option down the road.

The only reason I bring this up is because money doesn't seem to be an issue here. This would a great, solid, setup, without going overboard.
Click to expand...

tekknen said:
I think this is what I'm going after. I'd like to build something and have it somewhat future proof even if it means it's an expensive, overkill rocket ship now.
Click to expand...

He means, wait for Nehalem/Core i7, which is supposed to come out in November, if you can wait that long. That is, if price won't be an issue.

Also, that is, if you think you can hold out another 2 months with your current PC.
 
vsboxerboy said:
You need only a fraction of that for a computer capable of running those games.

For a friend of mine I just built the following:

Antec Sonta III w/ Earthwatts 500W PSU
Gigabyte P35-DS3L
WD640AAKS
9800GT
e8400
+ ram kit of your choice

This can be had for about $600 and should do just fine for what you're asking.

If you're set on your HDD and Case choice, that's totally fine, but I'd recommend an e8400 or q6600 over most anything. As far as ram brands, I've never had much of an issue with any of the major brands, personally I'd just go for whatever is cheapest.
Click to expand...


Buy.com had a deal on Antec Sonta III w/ Earthwatts 500W PSU for only 80 bucks. I bit on that so fast.
 
Intel has a tick/tock 2 yr cycle for their marchitecture. So, you just have to decide how often you'd like to upgrade, and when during that cycle you'd like to dive in. Personally, I like to avoid the first-kid-on-the-block phase, and I go for the die shrink phase. ;) The farther apart your upgrades, the more performance difference you'll notice between systems. With that said, I upgrade every 2 yrs, to keep my hand-me-down chain supplied with somewhat fresh hardware. :p
 
Another question: I've always used some sort of non-stock cpu cooling system but I've never tried liquid cooling which I would like to do. The only problem I have is I would like to keep a quiet computer... How much more noise does a liquid cooling unit put off as opposed to fan/air cooling?
 
Typically, liquid cooling is quieter, as long as you get quiet parts (fans, pump, etc). :p Then again, air cooling has come a long way with heatpipes and tower designs that you can reach really high OC's on good air cooling. Water cooling is now for the die hard hobbyist. Die hard OC'ers use phase change or something more exotic these days. :p
 
With that kind of budget, you really should wait for core i7 - you'll be much happier in the long run, and you will have a much more upgradable platform later
 
It seems to me that with all this fast hardware the real bottleneck is your hard drive. How well does a 10,000 rpm drive keep up with it all?
 
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