building new computer

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Alex3951

n00b
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Dec 16, 2006
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Hi, im building a new computer....this will be me second time doing it. been a long time though. here's what i'm going to go for:

Windows Vista
Cooler Master 690 Case
OCZ 850W GameXStream SLI power supply
OCZ Platinum XTC 2X2G DDR2 800MHz Dual Channel Kit
Athlon 64 X2 6400+ Socket AM2 Dual Core 3.2Ghz 2000FSB 90nm
(will be upgrading the cpu again later if a faster Quad core comes out from AMD.)

Asus M3A32-MVP Deluxe
Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Platinum FATAL1TY CHAMPION SERIES

What I need help on is the graphics card... i THINK i've narrowed it down to these two cards.

BFG GeForce 8800 GT OC2 Video Card - 512MB GDDR3
http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3485042&CatId=1826

OR

Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 2900XT 512MB DDR3 DirectX 10

http://www.a-power.com/product-3828-615-1

I don't really know what to look for with video cards, so any opinions would be appreciated on these two cards... or ANY other recommendations for cards. I will be using this computer for some games, ..i'm not a huge gamer, but i have a few new games i'd like to play with no problems. Games like (flight sim X, call of duty 4), also using for comp for encoding videos, watching dvds.

Thanks in advance

/Alex
 
way to much for the 8800gt, dont ever pay 300$ i think for a 8800gt. You can get hte 8800GTS for 300$

http://www.hardocp.com/

Scroll down a lil bit and look at the " screwed on your dell order " post.
 
are you sure about the amd chips? don't get me wrong, i've loved amd products since the k7, but the c2d chips are so much faster clock for clock that you're actually leaving performance on the card, especially as you migrate from mid-range to premium level graphic accelerators.
 
so would the Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 2900XT 512MB run games preety decently? or could i even risk going for something cheaper?
 
Windows Vista
Cooler Master 690 Case
OCZ 850W GameXStream SLI power supply
OCZ Platinum XTC 2X2G DDR2 800MHz Dual Channel Kit
Athlon 64 X2 6400+ Socket AM2 Dual Core 3.2Ghz 2000FSB 90nm
(will be upgrading the cpu again later if a faster Quad core comes out from AMD.)

Asus M3A32-MVP Deluxe
Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Platinum FATAL1TY CHAMPION SERIES
Click to expand...

that PSU, when pushed to its "rated" load will jump just out of spec (granted that PSU uses slightly diff caps, but its very very similar, you can expect the same, if not worse, ripple). PSUs rated that high at that cheap a price that sound too good to be true, usually are.

As I was writing this I first recomended the Thermaltake toughpower, then i included the Antec quattro, then the Antec quattro got its own paragraph and I think im not even going to mention the toughpower. The Quattro seems to be an excellent buy. The performance of the 3.3V in jonnys review was superb, the performance in [H]'s review was "inexplicably" bad. I donno. I'll send this thread to jonny and see what he thinks...

but anyways enough about PSUs.

Don't even consider the HD2900XT. It has been replaced by cheaper better performaning part: the HD3870. The HD3870 is cheaper then the 8800GT, and the performance difference is apparent. If your budget is above ~$260 then go for the 8800GT, if its below $260, go for the HD3870. If your looking to spend more like $350, the 8800GTS 512mb sounds like a good plan.

man I gotta get going so ill sum up my other point:

for core 2, you get the same performance for the price, but the Core 2's overclock like banshees.
 
I had a Sapphire HD 2900 XT and I switched to an EVGA 8800 GT Superclocked. My 3DMARK score went up by about 2000 and I got about 8 fps more on average in Crysis. In my opinion I would go with the 8800 GT and also use a core 2 duo instead of AMD cpu.
 
Wow, no common sense here..


He is Canadian... Which means he has to use ncix/tigerdirect, and it will also be more expensive,
 
thnks for all the responses. I will most likely go with the 8800 gts. Still gonna stick with AMD cpu though. :)
 
Well seems like you've made your decision but just too throw my 2 cents in:

I'd go with a C2d and an 8800GT. You can get an 8800GT for *roughly* $100 cheaper then the 8800GTS from what i'm seeing. So why not spend that $100 on a better CPU instead of a GPU? I love AMD and I plan to stay with them since my CPU I have no can overclock from 2.1ghz to 3.1ghz pretty easy plus it was only $60. I'm a student so money is tough to come by and AMD works for me but if you can afford it i'd go C2D or maybe even get a Q6660. The quad 2.4ghz from Intel. I hear that thing OC's to 3.5 easy.
 
MrHood22 said:
Well seems like you've made your decision but just too throw my 2 cents in:

I'd go with a C2d and an 8800GT. You can get an 8800GT for *roughly* $100 cheaper then the 8800GTS from what i'm seeing. So why not spend that $100 on a better CPU instead of a GPU? I love AMD and I plan to stay with them since my CPU I have no can overclock from 2.1ghz to 3.1ghz pretty easy plus it was only $60. I'm a student so money is tough to come by and AMD works for me but if you can afford it i'd go C2D or maybe even get a Q6660. The quad 2.4ghz from Intel. I hear that thing OC's to 3.5 easy.
Click to expand...

ah! im kinda in your shoes. i got an amd 3600+ x2 for around 60$, runs great :D
 
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