New build or wait?

Q

quidlor

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Oct 20, 2008
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My main concern is should I be waiting for the Core i7's to be released or just build a new one now? I don't mind waiting 1-2 months if the i7 will be released or at the very least released and the prices of memory or cpu's will drop significantly. That being said, I've written out the below.

-- What your budget is (and whether it includes taxes, shipping charges, and/or other costs)
$1500 CAN with tax, I don't mind going $100-200 over but would like to keep it at $1500

-- Which parts you need within that budget
New build

-- What the system is going to be used for
Mainly gaming, FPS, WoW with new expansion, media center gets used a lot to watch movies and TV

-- All of the components that you already have and/or are planning on reusing
TV Tuner, a bunch of hard drives just used as storage, speakers, mouse, keyboard, dvd rom drive

-- Which components you are considering getting (list out your components with model numbers/names along with links to the stores you're getting them from)
Don't have any yet, was looking at the ATI 4870x2 but I heard that's a little much unless i'm running a 26" monitor.

-- The question(s) you have -- or, the reason you made the thread in the first place
Just looking for a good solid system, I don't mind OC it if need be, but not looking to burn out a new computer. I'm currently running 2gigs AMDX3 3800+ with ati x1900xtx which isn't cutting it anymore.

What I was considering (high-level):

CPU - Intel Quade Core ???? I don't mind OC
CPU cooling - whatever is good to keep temps down without sounding like a jet engine
Motherboard - preferably good on board audio with some good bells and whistles
Memory - 4gigs at least
Storage - Either RAID 0 or a nice WD Velociraptor drive
Video - ATI 4870x2 ??
Case - Doesn't matter, I can pick that one out
PSU - Quiet is better but not at a ridiculous price
Monitor - I want to get a 24" but doesn't need to be in the $1500 budget

any help would be appreciated!

The stores I'm looking to purchase from are www.tigerdirect.ca www.canadacomputers.com or www.ncix.com (CAN)

Thank you!
 
I would recommend waiting until the i7s come out, which will drop the prices. Prices should drop even more as we enter the new year. You can also take a look at www.newegg.ca
 
If you can -- as in, you don't need a computer right now -- wait until after the Core i7-based boards and processors arrive.

If you can't wait, there have been several <$1500 build threads posted over the past week. I recommend looking at a few of them, as they may give you ideas as to what to get.
 
Thanks guys, maybe I'll hold out. Is there any kind of a time line for this though? Like I said if I'm waiting more than 2 months I'd rather just upgrade now.
 
I don't know when the mainstream (read: inexpensive) Core i7 components will arrive.

If you can't wait that long, take a look at some of the more recent build threads for ideas. You may find some things you like now.
 
Honestly, I would just get it now. The i7 won't affect prices of the previous generation that much because they will start off at such a high price premium. Being too high of a price compared to the previous generation keeps them from eating into each other's markets. Kinda like how if a new graphics card came out from ATI or Nvidia, it would be at such a high price that the 4850 and 8800 won't be particularly affected.

It will take some time for prices to be affected by the introduction of the i7 so I would just buy now.
 
Yah I was thinking about going for it now. Now I need some help putting together some parts.

Can anyone be of some assistance please?

PS - Thanks for the welcoming helping hand to these forums.
 
Here's a variant of one build that I recommended in an earlier post (all prices in CAD from NCIX):

$89 - Cooler Master RC-690 ATX mid tower case
$136 - Corsair TX550 750W power supply
$250 - Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 quad core Socket 775 processor
$54 - Xigmatek HDT-S1283 CPU cooler & ACK-I7751 retention bracket (optional)
$170 - Gigabyte GA-EP45-DS3R Intel P43 ATX motherboard
$75 - G.Skill 2x2GB DDR2 800 dual channel RAM kit
$200 - Two Western Digital WD6400AAKS 640GB SATA300 HDD
$610 - AMD/ATI HD4870X2 2GB PCI-E 2.0 video card
=====
$1584 - Subtotal (not including shipping, taxes, or rebates)

If you like to play some of today's games at high settings, with the resolution of the monitor you're considering, the HD4870X2 is a good choice.
 
Thanks for the reply! Checking it out now. What would be the difference between the q9550 and and 4870 1gig compared to what you have?
 
Less eye candy at 1920x1200 if you go with the HD4870 1GB over the HD4870X2.

Only a 10% performance increase with the Q9550.
 
I should have mentioned this but I don't really need the hard drive space so much as I need the performance boost in windows. I have over a TB which i just use for storage and one drive for games.
Would this 640's in raid 0 be better performance than something else?
 
quidlor said:
I should have mentioned this but I don't really need the hard drive space so much as I need the performance boost in windows. I have over a TB which i just use for storage and one drive for games.
Would this 640's in raid 0 be better performance than something else?
Click to expand...

Well, the 6400AAKS HDD are one of the fastest HDD out there. If you put them in RAID 0, it's pretty much unmatched in speed, EXCEPT for the Velociraptor series from Western Digital. They are slightly faster... and put them in RAID 0, they are even faster than the 6400AAKS in RAID 0. The problem is the Velociraptors come at a large price premium.
 
$82.99 - Cooler Master 690 RC-690-KKN1-GP Black ATX Mid Tower Case
$124.99 - Corsair TX Series TX650W 650W
$224.99 - Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600
$164.99 - Gigabyte GA-EP45-DS3R
$175.98 – x2 Western Digital Caviar (WD6400AAKS) 640GB OEM
$604.99 - Palit Radeon HD 4870X2 2048MB
Total = $1378 (without taxes or heatsink and ram)

OK this is what I've come up with from www.canadacomputers.com (I figured I can just go grab it from there). The only problem is they don't carry the RAM or Heatsink you had mentioned.

Also is there another case you'd recommend that has front panel ports (audio/usb) ?

Thank you!
 
Alai said:
Well, the 6400AAKS HDD are one of the fastest HDD out there. If you put them in RAID 0, it's pretty much unmatched in speed, EXCEPT for the Velociraptor ...
Click to expand...

From what I've seen, the VRaptors can do around 100MB/s @ 7ms while the WD6400AAKS drives can do around 90MB/s @ 12ms. The seek time improves performance, but not by much; and especially not enough to outperform two of the WD6400AAKS drives in RAID0 (175MB/s @ 12ms).

http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1284410&page=4
 
enginurd said:
From what I've seen, the VRaptors can do around 100MB/s @ 7ms while the WD6400AAKS drives can do around 90MB/s @ 12ms. The seek time improves performance, but not by much; and especially not enough to outperform two of the WD6400AAKS drives in RAID0 (175MB/s @ 12ms).

http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1284410&page=4
Click to expand...

Yeah, I agree with you. I just didn't say it right. Lol. Here's the speeds.

VR RAID 0 > 6400AAKS RAID 0 > VR > 6400AAKS

And 6400AAKS in RAID 0 is much cheaper than one VR.
 
quidlor said:
$82.99 - Cooler Master 690 RC-690-KKN1-GP Black ATX Mid Tower Case
$124.99 - Corsair TX Series TX650W 650W
$224.99 - Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600
$164.99 - Gigabyte GA-EP45-DS3R
$175.98 – x2 Western Digital Caviar (WD6400AAKS) 640GB OEM
$604.99 - Palit Radeon HD 4870X2 2048MB
Total = $1378 (without taxes or heatsink and ram)

OK this is what I've come up with from www.canadacomputers.com (I figured I can just go grab it from there). The only problem is they don't carry the RAM or Heatsink you had mentioned.

Also is there another case you'd recommend that has front panel ports (audio/usb) ?

Thank you!
Click to expand...

Grab this RAM and this CPU cooler. They're virtually identical to the parts I recommended earlier.

I take it that you don't like the looks of the RC-690? Case are highly subjective based on each person's taste, so I try not to recommend a particular type or style. Regardless, make sure that the case you end up choosing has plenty of space for all of your parts and can hold at least two 120mm case fans (one for the front and one for the rear).

But since you asked: What do you think of the Antec Three Hundred?
 
Perfect! Looks good!

I think I may be picking all this stuff up soon.

Again I thank you, i'll let you know how it goes.
 
Tiraides - I can pretty much grab all these parts today, except the store that I'm going to is out of that RAM. Any other suggestions? LOL sorry!
 
Choose whichever 4GB DDR2 800 kit -- with heatspreaders! -- you could afford from one of the following brands: Patriot, OCZ, Mushkin, Kingston, Corsair, Buffalo, PNY, Crucial. I'm personally partial towards Crucial (though comparatively expensive), Corsair (XMS2), and Mushkin... but I'm sure others will chime in with their preferences.
 
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