Pimp my PC

[Hostile]

Your mission:
To give me upgrade options for my tired gaming PC but keep the cost below $600 (tax & shipping incl.). I play WoW and FPS shooters and typically watch 6-8GB blu-rap rips on my smaller screen while playing WoW.

Current Hardware
CPU: Intel Core2Duo E6550 @ 2.7GHz
Mobo: Gigabyte EP45-UD3R Rev1
RAM: 8GB (4x2GB) G-Skill DDR2 (F2-8500CL5-2GBPK)
Video: BFG 8800GT OC
PSU: PCP&C 750W Silencer
HD: WD Black 640GB
Case: CM 690 II Advanced
Displays: Main - Dell 2407WFP (1920x1200)
Secondary - Sony SDM-HS94P (1280x1024)

Caveats:

1. I'd prefer known hardware combinations that work. Also, I would prefer to re-use anything I can (ie HD, case, PSU)
2. CPU - AMD or Intel I really don't care, I'm open to either.
3. Video - I'm looking at a minimum of the GTX460 1GB or 5850, in that range.
4. RAM - I have 4x1GB of DDR3 1066 I can use to hold me off until March if it means I can go with a better CPU or mobo now.

Begin!

(Specific form fields from sticky to be in compliance.)

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Gaming - WoW and FPS. I do frequently like to watch 6-8GB blu--ray rips on my 2nd monitor while playing WoW. As of now I have to play them in a window, my current system can't handle them fullscreen while WoW is running.

2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
$600, not too worried about tax and shipping.

3) Where do you live?
US

4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. "Everything" is not a valid answer. Please list out all the parts you'll need.
CPU, Mobo, Videocard and maybe RAM (if the DDR3 1066 I have won't work).

5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
Case, PSU, Monitors, Heatsink, RAM9 (if I can use DDR3 1066)

6) Will you be overclocking?
no

7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
24" 1920x1200 (main for games) and 19" 1280x1024 (secondary for web)

8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
Parts for X-mas

9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? etc.
SLI, would be nice to have, but not mandatory

10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? 32bit or 64bit?
64-bit Windows Home Premium

 

[Dangman]

Which DDR3 1066 RAM set do you have? i.e what's the max rated voltage for that RAM? BTW you were jamming two different methods of listing RAM speeds there. It's either DDR3 1066 RAM or PC3-8500, not DDR3 8500.

What exactly do you mean by "Parts for X-mas"?

 

[Hostile]

Which DDR3 1066 RAM set do you have? i.e what's the max rated voltage for that RAM? BTW you were jamming two different methods of listing RAM speeds there. It's either DDR3 1066 RAM or PC3-8500, not DDR3 8500.

My bad, it's DDR3 1066 / PC3-8500.

2x Hynix 1GB PC3-8500U (HMT112U6TFR8C-G7)
From the Hynix datasheet - DDR3-1066 -G7 1.875 7 13.125 13.125 37.5 50.625 7-7-7

2x Samsung 1GB PC3-8500 (M378B2873FHS-CF8)
From the Samsung datasheet - DDR3-1066 (533MHz @ CL=7, tRCD=7, tRP=7)

If I can get by with the 4x1GB sticks above until March (when I can buy 8GB of better RAM) then maybe I can afford to spend more on the processor and mobo.

What exactly do you mean by "Parts for X-mas"?

I'm looking to buy the parts around Christmas.

 

[DirtyB]

A lot can change in 2 months.

 

[Dangman]

I'm looking to buy the parts around Christmas.

Hmm, then I recommend asking/creating a new thread again near that time. DirtyB is right: things can change in two months time. Parts we recommend today may not be the same parts we recommend two months from now.

 

[Hostile]

Besides prices dropping slightly (unless some fabs burn down or something) what is really going to change between now and late November? New architectures aren't expected until Q1 2011 and are most likely going to be out of my price range anyway.

That being said I think I'm going to just go for a video card upgrade now (most likely a GTX460 1GB), stash some holiday case and re-assess in March once we have more info on Sandy Bridge and Bulldozer.

My CPU and RAM should be stout enough for me to see a definitive improvement with a new videocard, right?

 

[Dangman]

Besides prices dropping slightly (unless some fabs burn down or something) what is really going to change between now and late November? New architectures aren't expected until Q1 2011 and are most likely going to be out of my price range anyway.

Newer SSDs and new AMD cards in 5 days from now. As such I'd hold off on the GPU upgrade until you know exactly what those new AMD cards bring to the table.

Generally, parts can be out of stock within a short amount of time as well.

My CPU and RAM should be stout enough for me to see a definitive improvement with a new videocard, right?

Depends: If the CPU is OC'd, yes. If the CPU isn't OC'd, probably wouldn't notice a huge difference.

 

[hossdaddy]

sounds like a good idea to me.

 

[Hostile]

Newer SSDs and new AMD cards in 5 days from now. As such I'd hold off on the GPU upgrade until you know exactly what those new AMD cards bring to the table.

Generally, parts can be out of stock within a short amount of time as well.

SSD isn't in the picture as of now but yea, I hear you about the new AMD cards- I will definitely see what the new 6-series has to offer.

Depends: If the CPU is OC'd, yes. If the CPU isn't OC'd, probably wouldn't notice a huge difference.

I'm OC'd to 2.7GHz right now. I haven't had any luck getting past that which is pretty disappointing since this CPU supposedly good for over 3GHz.

My GPU is pretty long in the tooth at this point- it's what, 4 years old now? If I replace the video card by Christmas (GTX460 or 6-series if it's worth it) then I should be in good shape for March to upgrade the CPU and mobo when Sandy Bridge and Bulldozer are (supposed to be) out. At that point I'd have a really solid system that should be good for another 2-3 years of gaming.

 

[Hostile]

It's a month later and I'm still trying to decide on a videocard. I'm looking at the following:

EVGA GTX470 Superclocked - $269.99
EVGA GTX460 FTW - $239.99
XFX Radeon HD 6870 - $269.99

Mom wants my Christmas list (lol) so I need to make a decision in the next week or so. I'm leaning more towards Nvidia since I'll be upgrading my cpu/mobo/ram around March and it seems there are fewer issues with SLI vs Crossfire.

Suggestions?

 

[thesixth]

It's a month later and I'm still trying to decide on a videocard. I'm looking at the following:

EVGA GTX470 Superclocked - $269.99
EVGA GTX460 FTW - $239.99
XFX Radeon HD 6870 - $269.99

Mom wants my Christmas list (lol) so I need to make a decision in the next week or so. I'm leaning more towards Nvidia since I'll be upgrading my cpu/mobo/ram around March and it seems they have less issues with SLI (vs Crossfire).

Suggestions?

Uhh why would anything have issues with SLi vs Xfire? If youre upgrading your mobo and CPU just buy one that supports both, most good mobos these days do.

 

[PTNL]

It's a month later and I'm still trying to decide on a videocard. I'm looking at the following:

EVGA GTX470 Superclocked - $269.99
EVGA GTX460 FTW - $239.99
XFX Radeon HD 6870 - $269.99

Mom wants my Christmas list (lol) so I need to make a decision in the next week or so. I'm leaning more towards Nvidia since I'll be upgrading my cpu/mobo/ram around March and it seems there are fewer issues with SLI vs Crossfire.

Suggestions?

Read the brand new [H] review of the 6870.
(The last page will be especially of interest.)

I'd personally go for the 6870 -- the 470 is on par with the 6870, and the 6870 runs cooler and quieter while keeping my electric bill smaller.

 

[Hostile]

From what I've seen from various reviews online SLI seems to just work better than Crossfiire more of the time.

I clarified my previous post.

 

[Hostile]

Read the brand new [H] review of the 6870.
(The last page will be especially of interest.)

I'd personally go for the 6870 -- the 470 is on par with the 6870, and the 6870 runs cooler and quieter while keeping my electric bill smaller.

What about in comparison the the $40 cheaper GTX460 FTW?

From Anandtech's review:

Meanwhile if you care about a balance of performance and power/heat/noise, then it’s the 6870 versus the EVGA GTX 460; and the EVGA card wins in an unfair fight. As an overclocked card in a launch card article we’re not going to give it a nod, but we’re not going to ignore it; it’s 5% faster than the reference 6870 while at the same time it’s cooler and quieter (thanks in large part to the fact that it’s an open-air design). At least as long as it’s on the market (we have our doubts about how many suitable GPUs NVIDIA can produce), it’s hard to pass up even when faced with the 6870.

 

[PTNL]

What about in comparison the the $40 cheaper GTX460 FTW?

As I previously mentioned, the last page of the [H] article would be especially of interest; for this specific question, your eyes should have caught this line in the article:

On the Radeon HD 6870 it comes in about $10 or $20 higher on average at TigerDirect, but we did find one PowerColor 6870 for $240.

As for the Anandtech quote..... I long ago gave up on Anandtech's reviews of graphics cards for a variety of reasons, many of which were more eloquently summarized here.

 

[Hostile]

I see no mention of the FTW version in your link, only the "vanilla" 460 is mentioned. By all accounts the FTW just as quiet, cool, low-power and fast as the 6870. Is that not the case?

I'm going to be frank, I'm leary of purchasing an ATi card- there doesn't seem to be any stand-out amongst the manufacturers in terms of support or customer service. From what I hear XFX is the best of the ATi manufacturers but EVGA is known for their stellar support, of which I have first-hand experience. But on the other hand I only upgrade my computer every 3-4 years so I definitely want the best card within my budget.

At this point I think I'm stuck between the 460 FTW and a 6870- man, choosing a videocard used to not be this hard!

 

[PTNL]

I see no mention of the FTW version in your link, only the "vanilla" 460 is mentioned. By all accounts the FTW just as quiet, cool, low-power and fast as the 6870. Is that not the case?

I'm going to be frank, I'm leary of purchasing an ATi card- there doesn't seem to be any stand-out amongst the manufacturers in terms of support or customer service. From what I hear XFX is the best of the ATi manufacturers but EVGA is known for their stellar support, of which I have first-hand experience. But on the other hand I only upgrade my computer every 3-4 years so I definitely want the best card within my budget.

My quote only pointed out that there wasn't a price difference between the 6870 and the 460 FTW you cited.

But you do seem to have a brand preference right now for EVGA. I'm not saying anything negative about it, but just pointing out that thought will weigh a lot on your mind after your final selection (whatever that may be). So if you're confident about EVGA and it falls around your target price point, then I feel you'll be more comfortable with the 460 FTW.

Then again... You've stated a $600 budget early in the thread for the build. Perhaps you should state what your budget is for just the video card. Other members may think of or find something worthwhile once the objective bounds are established.

 

[Hostile]

My quote only pointed out that there wasn't a price difference between the 6870 and the 460 FTW you cited.

Which makes the decision between the two even harder.

But you do seem to have a brand preference right now for EVGA. I'm not saying anything negative about it, but just pointing out that thought will weigh a lot on your mind after your final selection (whatever that may be). So if you're confident about EVGA and it falls around your target price point, then I feel you'll be more comfortable with the 460 FTW.

Then again... You've stated a $600 budget early in the thread for the build. Perhaps you should state what your budget is for just the video card. Other members may think of or find something worthwhile once the objective bounds are established.

I'm looking around $250, give or take $20.

 

[PTNL]

Which makes the decision between the two even harder.

I'm looking around $250, give or take $20.

I don't see a significant difference with another card selection at that price point. I say find the one you want from the 460's, 470's, or 6870's from the various online shops, and send the product link to your mom.

 

[Hostile]

It looks like I'm going with the XFX 6870.