New computer parts | $1000

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Wihl

n00b
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Jan 27, 2004
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Currently trying to figure out what new parts to buy, with the best price-performance I can get.

This is what I have on the list so far:

CPU:
Intel Core™ 2 Duo E8400 3.0GHz, Socket LGA775, 6MB, 1333Mhz BOXED m/fläkt

MB:
Gigabyte GA-EP45-DS3, P45, Socket-775, ATX, 2xGbLAN, DDR2, 2xPCI-Ex(2.0)x16

GFX:
Sapphire Radeon HD 4870 512MB GDDR5, PCI-Express 2.0, 2xDVI/HDMI/HDCP

RAM:
Corsair TWIN2X 6400 DDR2, 4096MB CL5, Kit w/two matched CM2X2048-6400 Dimm's

Does that look ok or is there anything I should change? I'm also wondering about my powersupply.. I currently have a 'no-name' 500W PSU laying around, will that work ok with this setup? If it works ok, what will I need for crossfire 4870 if i decide to go for that in the future?

My budget is about $1000, however - I'm Swedish and everything costs a lot more here (thank you Mr. 25% Tax!) so factor that in if you give suggestions. The parts above add up to about $800.

Unrelated to this computer and it's budget, I'm also looking for a decent 22" monitor. Shouldn't be too expensive and I don't care if it's a TN-panel, as long as the backlight bleeding isn't too noticeable.

Thankful for any help you guys can give me!

PS. Sorry if there are spelling mistakes and stuff in my post, english isn't my native language. :)
 
From what I've read and been told, no name brands of power supplies can have problems with keeping voltages steady and other things.

Since the PSU powers everything, and therefore can break everything, I'd suggest spending the money on a quality one. People recommended Corsair (pretty much any model) and silverstone to me.

I was intending on overclocking though, so i think more reliable power is preferred there. But since your have a 4870 and the newer cards pull lots of power, i'd grab a better one. (Most DEFINITELY if youre going crossfire)
 
You don't need CrossFire for a 22 inch monitor (with a resolution of 1680x1050)... depending on how much gaming you intend to do, you may not even need an HD4870. If gaming is not going to be the primary task of this system, you could downgrade your card and allocate the savings towards other components.

The long story short about cheap power supplies is that you often get what you pay for. Cheap power supplies often use low-end components and/or don't follow prescribed power/safety guidelines. As a result, many "no-name" power supplies aren't able to handle the load they were rated for.

Before I make any more recommendations, I have a few questions I'd like to ask:

- What are you going to use this compuer for?
- Which games/programs are you going to use?
- Do you plan on overclocking?
- Which (other) components do you need for your build?
- Besides the PSU (which I suggest you don't use), are there any parts that you are reusing from previous builds?
 
tiraides said:
You don't need CrossFire for a 22 inch monitor (with a resolution of 1680x1050)... depending on how much gaming you intend to do, you may not even need an HD4870. If gaming is not going to be the primary task of this system, you could downgrade your card and allocate the savings towards other components.

The long story short about cheap power supplies is that you often get what you pay for. Cheap power supplies often use low-end components and/or don't follow prescribed power/safety guidelines. As a result, many "no-name" power supplies aren't able to handle the load they were rated for.

Before I make any more recommendations, I have a few questions I'd like to ask:

- What are you going to use this compuer for?
- Which games/programs are you going to use?
- Do you plan on overclocking?
- Which (other) components do you need for your build?
- Besides the PSU (which I suggest you don't use), are there any parts that you are reusing from previous builds?
Click to expand...
I wont get crossfire right now, it's more a 'in the future' thing if it starts getting a bit slow.

- What are you going to use this computer for?
Mostly gaming. I do encode video and so on from time to time but not enough to warrant going Quad, atleast not with the prices I'm looking at.

- Which games/programs are you going to use?
Adobe Premiere, After Effects, Photoshop, virtualdub etc. As for games, Warhammer: Age of Reckoning. I atleast try most of the 'good'/hyped games that get released though.

- Do you plan on overclocking?
Not initially.

- Which (other) components do you need for your build?


- Besides the PSU (which I suggest you don't use), are there any parts that you are reusing from previous builds?
1. I might use an old Antec Sonata case I have laying around but we'll see. I have yet to check how much/little room I'll have in the case though so I need to check if it's useable.
2. Got a stack of harddrives to choose from that I'll be using.
3. DVD Burner

Looking around for a decent PSU right now. What about Corsair Powersupply 650W Black,ATX/EPS, 120mm fan, 8xSATA, SLI?

EDIT: And thanks for the replies, both of you.

EDIT2: As for the monitor, I was thinking of a Samsung 22" LCD Syncmaster 2253BW but I'll have to read more reviews.
 
Unless you plan on upgrading to a large monitor (with a resolution of at least 1920x1200) within the next year, you won't need CrossFire at all. The HD4870 will play games well on the monitor you're considering.

Reusing your Sonata case (which version do you have?) may or may not be a good idea, but it depends on how many parts you plan to have inside of it. (The Sonata, I believe, is an ATX mini-tower case.) As for the hard drives, I suggest using your largest, most recently bought HDD as your main OS drive. However, if you already have an OS hard drive, you can continue using that.

For the power supply, find a decent "name brand" with at least 500 watts, uses Active PFC, and has at least 35A through all of its 12V rails. (You can find out the total amps by finding the total amount of watts used through the PSU's 12V rails and then dividing by 12. Don't add up the total amount of amps on each 12V rail as that number may not be accurate.) Some name brands to consider (though not a complete list, as you may not have all of these brands available to you) are: Corsair, Seasonic, Silverstone, Enermax (Liberty models only), Antec (Earthwatts and True Power Trio/Quad models), Thermaltake (Toughpower models only), and Cooler Master (Real Power Pro models only).
 
Alright, thanks for the feedback. I have a question about my motherboard and RAM as well. I basicly haven't been into computers for a few years now (damn university making me poor :p), so my knowledge is a bit outdated and in some cases nonexistant.

Is the motherboard good or is it lacking? I checked out a few reviews that seemed positive, but I dont know. Does anyone else use that MB?

About the RAM, would going with PC 8500 instead of 6400 give me more performance or is it marginal at best?

(At this rate I'm gonna end up not being able to pay my rent next month :) The original plan was to get a new computer for about 500, that increased to 600, 700 ... 900 and finally $1000 :p )

About the case, I was looking at the different versions of the Sonata, seems like they dont really change much on the inside though.
 
You could get a cheaper motherboard, like the Gigabyte GA-EP43-DS3L, which would work for you if you aren't going to use all of the features on the GA-EP45-DS3.

The main advantage of PC2-8500 (aka DDR2 1066) RAM comes when you're overclocking the processor beyond 3.2GHz. At stock speeds, you'll see no performance difference between the two types of RAM. If you aren't planning to overclock the processor very far (or at all), you could stick with PC2-6400/DDR2 800 RAM and save yourself some money. With the way that Intel's current processors overclock, you could even go with "value" RAM (but stick with a brand name with a lifetime warranty).

Do you have 120mm fans in the front and rear of the case? (You should have at least one, in the rear.) If not, pick up a cheap fan (or two) that pushes at least 40 CFM of air (and isn't too loud for your ears).
 
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