New Computer - Your Thoughts

M

MACH_OnE

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Dec 30, 2000
Messages
1,044
Hey everyone,

Back again after a long spell. I've been out of the game for a LONG time, but figured with my love of TF2, it's time to get a new computer. I should have the following all lined up.

Intel Core2 Duo E6400 LGA775 2.13GHz 1066MHzFSB Processor-Retail

ASUS P5B-VM LGA775 ATX DDR2 800

eVGA GeForce 8800 GTS 320MB PCIE x16 Dual DVI Video Card

Raptor 150 Gig 10,000 RPM Hard Drive

4Gig DDR 2800 Memory


So, what are the [H]-reader's thoughts on this rig? Keep in mind that it falls within my $1000 budget.
 
CPU - for the price of the E6400 you might as well get the E6750 at 2.66ghz which is clocked higher at a cheaper price. Or.. get the 45nm E8400 3Ghz for a little more. If you want quad core, Q6600 with G0 stepping. This version of the Q6600 will allow you to overlock better than previous steppings.
http://clubit.com/product_detail.cfm?itemno=CA1938460

Mobo - for the price of that Asus board you can get the Gigabyte DS3L for $90. That Asus board has an older G965 chipset. The P35 Gigabyte board has the P35 chipset that supports the 45nm Dual Core Wolfdales and Quad Core Yorkfields cpus.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128059

Video - Get a 512MB 8800GT over that 320MB 8800GTS. 320MB 8800GTS is slow compared to the 8800GT. Or... if you so choose you can also get the 9600GT that was recently released. Slightly slower than the 8800GT but, you can find a majority of them at under $200.
8800GT http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127329
9600GT http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130328

HDD - 500 Gig Sata 3.0gb/s is good enough for $100. Raptors cost more and too small. Raptors are not recommended nowdays.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136178

Memory - 4gig DDR2 sounds good. G. Skills 2 x 2gig for $90
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231122

All these components I specifed is well below $1,000
 
That would have been a great system a year ago. ;) :p

The E6400's pricepoint has been replaced several times over already. E6420 (added 2MB more L2 Cache) replaced it first, then the E6750, and now the E8400. Instead of lowering prices, Intel introduces better chips at old price points, so you basically get more for the same amount of money. If you can find the E8400 for around $200, that would be a great deal -- but most places are overcharging right now since they were just released (Microcenter had them for $190, but are now sold out).

The P5B-VM, as HardwareGuru mentioned, is based on the old chipset as well. Did you need a microATX board? If so, the Asus P5E-VM HDMI or Gigabyte GA-G33M-DS2R are better choices. If you don't need a mATX board, go for a P35 chipset-based board instead. If you don't need Crossfire/SLI, stick with a P35 board. If you don't need anything fancy, the Abit IP35-E and Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L (if you need legacy ports) are your good-but-cheap options (they can OC great w/ better chipset cooling). If you need RAID, the GA-P35-DS3R is good and has 8 SATA ports, but the MSI Neo2-FR has better cooling for the chipset/mosfets (though you're sacrificing 3 SATA ports). If you need Firewire, the Asus P5K fits the bill. If you want/need both RAID and Firewire, check out the Abit IP35 non-pro, if you can find it in stock (typically $120 - $25MIR). The higher end boards are the Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3P, DS4, Asus P5K-E, and the crowd favorite, Abit IP35 Pro. The DFI boards are also good, if you like tweaking the hell out of a million BIOS settings.

The 8800GTS 320MB and 640MB models were based on the G80 GPU. They have since been replaced by the G92-based cards: 8800GT 512MB and 8800GTS 512MB -- both of which outperform the older GTS cards (both 320MB and 640MB). If you have a 22" monitor or smaller, the 8800GT should suffice. If you have something larger, 1920x1080 or higher, then the GTS 512MB or HD3870X2 would be better. Ideally, for 24"+ resolutions, you'd want SLI or CrossfireX.

Raptor's aren't worth their price premium anymore, IMO. Though, they still are the fastest seeking drives, there are drives that have faster transfer rates. The new WD drives using the 320GB platter(s) have higher transfer rates than the Raptor -- heck, even my 'cuda.10s have higher transfer rates than my Raptor. :( Though, there should be a new raptor coming out soon, based on that same 320GB platter.
 
The thing is, I ordered this computer in October. The guy I'm getting it from has been dicking me around for months. The reason for the original post was basically to see if the rig I was getting was still worth the $988 I spent on it (Coolermaster case w/ PSU and DVD-R included.)

I have a creeping suspicion that I should have just built this thing on my own.
 
yeah sell the 6400 and get an e2200 , got mine for 50 bux , then buy a 45nm quad when they come out
 
ghostshell98 said:
yeah sell the 6400 and get an e2200 , got mine for 50 bux , then buy a 45nm quad when they come out
Click to expand...

Why sell it? I've been quite happy with mine when it's running at 3.2GHz.

Hold onto it and sell it when the e8xxx/q9xxx come out.
 
MACH_OnE said:
The thing is, I ordered this computer in October. The guy I'm getting it from has been dicking me around for months. The reason for the original post was basically to see if the rig I was getting was still worth the $988 I spent on it (Coolermaster case w/ PSU and DVD-R included.)

I have a creeping suspicion that I should have just built this thing on my own.
Click to expand...

Oh, you already bought it?!?! Well, its still slightly outdated stuff to be buying new in October'07. In October, the E6750 would have been the CPU to get, and everything else I mentioned above still applies, except for the 8800GTS 512MB (I don't think it was out yet, but IIRC, the 8800GT was already out).

Get your money back and build it yourself.

colinstu said:
Why sell it?
Click to expand...

I guess because you can get more for it now than you could later?
 
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