New mid-level gaming system

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gilmorad

n00b
Joined
Aug 29, 2008
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9
Hello!

I just discovered this awesome forum. There's a ton of good information and tips, and I was hoping you guys could help me out. My current machine can't handle newer games coming out. I'm looking for something that can handle Warhammer online, Spore, WoW, etc. that will last few years. I've done some of my homework reading through these forums, but there's still much reading to do. While I'm reading, I was wondering if anyone had any recommendations for my situation? I'm not looking to spend too much, under $1000.

CPU:
Q6600 (seems to be the quad to get)
I wiill not overclock for the most part; might a few years out when it gets older.

Video:
8800GT (seems to be the one to get)
I will not SLI unless it will make a big difference in a couple years.
- 8800GTS do you get much value for the extra cost?
What brand/card would you recommend?

Motherboard:
I've seen a few posts about Gigabyte GA-EP45-DS3R LGA 775. Is that the one to get?
I wasn't thinking about RAID unless someone has an affordable suggestion.
Only need SATA slots for 2 HDs, DVD, etc. Do motherboards use IDE anymore?
As mentioned above, limited to no overclocking.

Memory:
4GB DDR2, what brand/type/frequency?

Power supply:
I have no idea what to look for.

Harddrive:
What's a good, fast SATA harddrive?

Case:
Have any suggestions? Is it cheaper just to get one locally (Frys,etc)?

Are SATA DVD writers that much faster than IDE?

I have a 19" wide screen. It's currently set to 1440x900ish.

Shooting for Vista 64, but might stick with XP since I have a copy.

Have mouse/keyboard/speakers.

Thanks!!
 
I recommend getting this build:

Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 CPU - $190
Gigabyte GA-EP43-DS3L Intel P43 Motherboard - $90
G.Skill F2-6400CL5D-4GBPQ 2 x 2GB DDR2 800 RAM - $77
VisionTek 900241 Radeon HD 4850 512MB PCI-E Video Card - $185
Western Digital WD6400AAKS 640GB 7200RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - $85
Samsung SH-222F 22X DVD±R SATA DVD Burner - $25
Corsair 750TX 750W PSU - $98
Antec 300 ATX Case - $40 from Fry's.
Xigmatek HDT-S1283 120mm Rifle HSF - $37 & Retention Bracket - $7
----
$834 plus tax and shipping


The case normally retails for $60. So save the $20 and get the case from Fry's. The HD4850 is actually one of the best bang for the buck cards now. It's faster then HD4850. If you want to use all 4GB of RAM, then get Vista Home Premium 64bit. If you don't mind being only able to use 3 to 3.5GB of RAM and if your copy of XP is transfereable, then stick with XP.
 
Those are good systems(i wouldn't consider them mid level)

My system is mid level, got a 8600 GTS running.
 
Thanks for the tips Danny!

I was seriously debating the 4850 over the 8800GT. The 8800 is much more pervasive, but it has also been out quite a bit longer (9 months?). I'd rather pay another ~$60 for a longer lasting card (and omg a bit more than 7x the number of stream processors). It's DX10.1 compatible too. Are there a lot of driver issues with this card though? I've seen numerous threads about Catalyst driver issues.

Is the added cooling for if I wanted to overclock it? I saw a couple of posts about how hot the 4850 is though.

The 750watt power supply seems like a bit of an overkill, but I can understand another $10 for room to grow in the long run.

The one question I have is the motherboard. What does P43 / P45 mean? Would I be getting less of something from a P43? A quick search didn't reveal anything.

Thanks a bunch!!!
 
The HD4850 would last a little longer than the 8800GT now. I'd say it's worth the cash. Not a ton of driver issues either. You'll see many threads about cards with driver issues, Nvidia or ATI.

The HSF that I recommended is for the CPU, not video card. But yes the HD4850 does run a bit hot. But don't worry, it's rated for those high of a temperature.

Yes the Corsair 750W is total and complete overkill but it's simple one of the best bang for the buck PSU out now.

The only difference between the P43 and P45 is that the P43 does not have Crossfire support whereas P45 does. That's it.

@ 3far4shot

Those are mid-level rigs. The 8800GT and HD4850 are firmly in the mid-range category in terms of price and performance. The 8600GTS is now a low-end.
 
Great, thanks for the information.

I don't know anything about Crossfire (using two video cards). Would it be worth considering getting a motherboard with the extra slot and putting another 4850 in there 2 years from now for more juice before a big upgrade, or is that a silly idea? Do you get much performance out of Crossfire?
I'm also thinking about having room for another 4GB in 2 years when 4GB doesn't go very far (assuming a 64-bit OS), especially since memory is pretty cheap.

How is Vista 64 with backward compatibility? Sometimes I like to play older games like Warcraft 3, Diablo 2; will those run on Vista? I can't seem to get C&C/Red Alert to run on XP, so I can imagine games a couple years old wont be very happy.

Thanks!
 
Nah, don't bother with Crossfire. In two years, there will definitely be a a cheap $100 card that could outperform your Crossfire setup. But you do get a bit of a performance increase with Crossfire.

As for Vista 64 with backwards compatibility, it's fairly decent. Just run the games in XP compatibility mode and as administrator and you should be set.
 
cross post at:
http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?p=1032968638

What do you guys think of the performance/price of the Q9400 or the Q9550 against the Q6600? It's a technology shrink, faster FSB, and unified cores. (Does it make much difference that the cores are unified over a pair of dual cores?)
I'm debating which one to get. I'm not a big fan of overclocking, so I wont push either very hard, at least initially. I'm looking for a processor that will last me a few years, and the Q6600 is looking like it's at the bottom of the barrel.

Also, the motherboard is still good for a Q9400, right? It's on the supported list.

Thanks!
 
The Q9550 is not worth the costs IMO. It's roughly $140 more then the Q6600 but you only get about 10% to 12% extra performance. Way too much for a such a small increase. I would not recommend getting the Q9400 right now since you can get the Q9450 for the same price:
Intel Core 2 Quad Q9450 CPU - $280

The Q9450's larger L2 cache should provide it a small performance increase over the Q9400. At $280, the Q9450 is a decent choice. 10 to 12% faster than the Q6600, uses less power and produces less heat for $90 more than the Q6600.

And the motherboard is still good for the Q9450, Q9400 and Q9550.
 
gilmorad said:
Any ideas why that Q9450 is so much cheaper than the one at Newegg? Is it the same stepping?
Click to expand...

Being competitive and/or trying to clear out inventory. Same stepping. Either way, you save money. Microcenter always cuts prices on Intel CPUs. Though a good majority of those deals can only be picked up in-store and not online. Luckily the Q9450 can be bought online.
 
Danny Bui said:
The HD4850 would last a little longer than the 8800GT now. I'd say it's worth the cash. Not a ton of driver issues either. You'll see many threads about cards with driver issues, Nvidia or ATI.

The HSF that I recommended is for the CPU, not video card. But yes the HD4850 does run a bit hot. But don't worry, it's rated for those high of a temperature.

Yes the Corsair 750W is total and complete overkill but it's simple one of the best bang for the buck PSU out now.

The only difference between the P43 and P45 is that the P43 does not have Crossfire support whereas P45 does. That's it.

@ 3far4shot

Those are mid-level rigs. The 8800GT and HD4850 are firmly in the mid-range category in terms of price and performance. The 8600GTS is now a low-end.
Click to expand...


You made me sad:(. So if i want to get a high end card for my 19'' Widescreen monitor(1400x900) what card is good?(8800 GT?)
 
Looks like Danny has you covered. :)

3far4shot said:
You made me sad:(. So if i want to get a high end card for my 19'' Widescreen monitor(1400x900) what card is good?(8800 GT?)
Click to expand...

For a 19", I'd consider the HD4850 high end. :p

In terms of gaming, yes, those rigs above are on the higher end of the midrange level. High end gaming typically goes hand in hand with high resolution gaming. And high resolution gaming needs high end graphic cards, like the HD4870 and the GTX280. ;)
 
enginurd said:
Looks like Danny has you covered. :)



For a 19", I'd consider the HD4850 high end. :p

In terms of gaming, yes, those rigs above are on the higher end of the midrange level. High end gaming typically goes hand in hand with high resolution gaming. And high resolution gaming needs high end graphic cards, like the HD4870 and the GTX280. ;)
Click to expand...

Well thats good, it's cheap and will perform well.:)
 
The stock intel cooler comes with TIM pre-applied, and it works fine. However, if you need extra, then yes, pickup some AS5. Be sure to clean the CPU/HSF before each remount, and reapply the TIM.
 
Q9550
HD 4850
Decent PSU
Cheapy decent PCI 2.0 MB with 16x PCI 2.0 slot.

That may be close to your budget.
 
er.. Isn't an e8400 better for gaming? I realize newer games will be developed with 4 cores in mind, but an easy overclock w/e8400 seems to be viable, right? Outside of Supreme Commander and select other games already made w/2+ core multithreading, most if not all hardware reviews favor the fast dual core over a slower quad.
 
kencheeto said:
Outside of Supreme Commander and select other games already made w/2+ core multithreading, most if not all hardware reviews favor the fast dual core over a slower quad.
Click to expand...

At lower resolutions. It's been shown that once you start cranking up the resolution, you're more GPU bound than CPU bound. At 1280x1024 and above, the difference between the E8400 and Q6600 is pretty small, if any. At 1920x1200, it simply doesn't matter whether you have the Q6600 or E8400. Some reading:
http://www.guru3d.com/article/cpu-scaling-in-games-with-quad-core-processors/
 
I see. Good to see somebody that does more reading than I do (which used to be considerable, less so now that classes have begun...) :)
 
The way technology ages, there is no such thing as high-end.. just 'in the moment'.. :p As long as it does what you want it to do at the speed you want it to do it, what's the problem!
 
No... there is a high end... it just changes quickly, like the technology. :p
 
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