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Silent.Sin
Gawd
- Joined
- Jun 23, 2003
- Messages
- 969
Let's get these out of the way first:
1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Heavy browsing, moderate file/app serving, media transcoding, heavy gaming
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
$600. Yes
3) Where do you live?
DC Area
4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. Please be very specific.
CPU, Mobo, RAM
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
BFG LS-450 (29A on 12v), NEC EA231WMi monitor
6) Will you be overclocking?
Yes
7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
23.1" 1920x1080
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
This month
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? etc.
eSATA, SATA 3, USB 3.0, hyper-threading if I go Intel
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? 32bit or 64bit?
Win7 Ultimate 64bit (will need to run XP compat mode)
Here is what I've narrowed it down to, and the reason why my rum is gone:
Common components:
RAM (2x2GB) - $115 willing to change for OC potential or if there are better buys out there. I just went for a lower latency part that did 1333+ but I'm really out of the RAM loop so give me some advice here.
AMD:
955BE - $160
GIGABYTE GA-890GPA-UD3H ~$150ish, already available in some retailers or releasing this month
Total - $425
Pros: Great price/performance/feature combo. Hybrid CrossfireX to save power along with the best IGP on the market today. "Future proof" with AMD likely to continue AM3 support through next year.
Cons: Not the highest performer out there. Need to run CPU balls to the wall in order to compete with Intel platforms = higher power usage at load.
Intel - here's where things get iffy because I live near a microcenter. I'll list the 1156 build just to show you why I'm not even really considering it too much:
LGA-1156:
i7-860 - $230 + tax
GIGABYTE GA-P55A-UD4P - $170 + tax after rebate
Total - $515
Pros: Lower power consumption + higher stock clocks than 920.
Cons: Turning on SATA 6.0 / USB 3.0 turns the PCIe 16x slot into 8x because of Lynnfield arch (not much of a problem now, but could be in the future if I get other PCIe devices or if I upgrade PSU and go multi-gpu). CPU more expensive than the more desirable 920. Price too close to the 1366 option.
LGA-1366:
i7-920 - $200 + tax
GIGABYTE GA-X58A-UD3R - $220
Total: $535
Pros: Highest performer and oc potential. I only care about dual channel for now, but this allows for easy upgrade to 6GB + triple channel which is nice. Gulftown possible if I fall into a pile of money. Much more open platform in terms of USB/SATA/PCIe options vs 1156.
Cons: Most expensive.
Other thoughts:
I generally build systems to last 3+ years (running an X2 3800+ from early 2006 right now) so I'm not looking into the budget oriented junk bin to save a few bucks that will come back to bite me in the ass later. SATA 3 and USB 3.0 support are non-negotiable. I haven't listed any combo deals because they change daily almost. Leaving out the hsf because that would be a common component and I can choose one myself. I only really need dual channel RAM, PSU limits any multi-gpu setup for the time being, and I will be installing an SSD within the next year or so when the smaller chips come out and prices drop so I want SATA 3 (6Gb/s) for the headroom.
I'm well aware of the i5-750, but if I'm going to go Intel I might as well get some HT action to make my desktop experience as smooth as I can get it. i5-750 build would be about $465 so I would be more inclined to chop another $40 off and go w/ AMD for 4 threads I think but you guys could change my mind there.
I will be upgrading my GPU sometime soon and am 99% sure it will be of the Radeon variety so the AMD option gives me ~$100 in my pocket towards that + Hybrid CrossfireX.
Sorry for the lengthy post. I really don't think I'd be a sad panda with any of the builds above, but wanted to see some feedback from the forum before I go dropping my loot. Thanks.
1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Heavy browsing, moderate file/app serving, media transcoding, heavy gaming
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
$600. Yes
3) Where do you live?
DC Area
4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. Please be very specific.
CPU, Mobo, RAM
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
BFG LS-450 (29A on 12v), NEC EA231WMi monitor
6) Will you be overclocking?
Yes
7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
23.1" 1920x1080
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
This month
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? etc.
eSATA, SATA 3, USB 3.0, hyper-threading if I go Intel
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? 32bit or 64bit?
Win7 Ultimate 64bit (will need to run XP compat mode)
Here is what I've narrowed it down to, and the reason why my rum is gone:
Common components:
RAM (2x2GB) - $115 willing to change for OC potential or if there are better buys out there. I just went for a lower latency part that did 1333+ but I'm really out of the RAM loop so give me some advice here.
AMD:
955BE - $160
GIGABYTE GA-890GPA-UD3H ~$150ish, already available in some retailers or releasing this month
Total - $425
Pros: Great price/performance/feature combo. Hybrid CrossfireX to save power along with the best IGP on the market today. "Future proof" with AMD likely to continue AM3 support through next year.
Cons: Not the highest performer out there. Need to run CPU balls to the wall in order to compete with Intel platforms = higher power usage at load.
Intel - here's where things get iffy because I live near a microcenter. I'll list the 1156 build just to show you why I'm not even really considering it too much:
LGA-1156:
i7-860 - $230 + tax
GIGABYTE GA-P55A-UD4P - $170 + tax after rebate
Total - $515
Pros: Lower power consumption + higher stock clocks than 920.
Cons: Turning on SATA 6.0 / USB 3.0 turns the PCIe 16x slot into 8x because of Lynnfield arch (not much of a problem now, but could be in the future if I get other PCIe devices or if I upgrade PSU and go multi-gpu). CPU more expensive than the more desirable 920. Price too close to the 1366 option.
LGA-1366:
i7-920 - $200 + tax
GIGABYTE GA-X58A-UD3R - $220
Total: $535
Pros: Highest performer and oc potential. I only care about dual channel for now, but this allows for easy upgrade to 6GB + triple channel which is nice. Gulftown possible if I fall into a pile of money. Much more open platform in terms of USB/SATA/PCIe options vs 1156.
Cons: Most expensive.
Other thoughts:
I generally build systems to last 3+ years (running an X2 3800+ from early 2006 right now) so I'm not looking into the budget oriented junk bin to save a few bucks that will come back to bite me in the ass later. SATA 3 and USB 3.0 support are non-negotiable. I haven't listed any combo deals because they change daily almost. Leaving out the hsf because that would be a common component and I can choose one myself. I only really need dual channel RAM, PSU limits any multi-gpu setup for the time being, and I will be installing an SSD within the next year or so when the smaller chips come out and prices drop so I want SATA 3 (6Gb/s) for the headroom.
I'm well aware of the i5-750, but if I'm going to go Intel I might as well get some HT action to make my desktop experience as smooth as I can get it. i5-750 build would be about $465 so I would be more inclined to chop another $40 off and go w/ AMD for 4 threads I think but you guys could change my mind there.
I will be upgrading my GPU sometime soon and am 99% sure it will be of the Radeon variety so the AMD option gives me ~$100 in my pocket towards that + Hybrid CrossfireX.
Sorry for the lengthy post. I really don't think I'd be a sad panda with any of the builds above, but wanted to see some feedback from the forum before I go dropping my loot. Thanks.
