Time To Upgrade : Suggestions Welcome

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Yz388

Limp Gawd
Joined
Feb 18, 2005
Messages
197
Been out of the pc loop for a while now...very basic questions. Planning on building myself a pc very soon, would just like to know what is the norm right now? Got about 1000 to spend (do not need a monitor)


Heard of the intel core 2 (somthing like that) Is that the intel that everyone is going for lately, and is amd still a better bargain? What would be AMD's competition for the intel core 2?

As for video cards, nvidia im sure of. 8800gts is top dog right about now, or is it best bargain?

Now for a motherboard...im lost. I see some people going for the evgas...but im lost. I do not need one with sli, as i could not or/would need another 8800 vid card. So what companys should i be looking at? Overclocking is not a huge issue. Basically, id like to know what people are typically getting now a days.

Lastly (because the rest I can figure out), hard drives. Whats with these raptors? Are they the best? I currently have a 7200 rpm 120 gig...are those not heard of anymore, or are the raptors a higher speed or somthing?


oh ya, my current montior is a 17 lcd wide (Samsung 1440/900) This would work fine with a higher end nvidia card now a days correct? Currently using a 6800GT

Thanks alot guys, and sorry for the nubish questions, like i said, its been a while.
 
AMD pretty much doesn't have any competition for the Intel Core 2 Duo chips right now. (this coming from someone that built all AMD prior to the machine in my sig) Their Athlon 64 X2 chips simply aren't as fast as long as you are willing to at least mildly overclock the Core 2 Duos. Also, C2D's OC more easily than any chip I have /ever/ worked with previously. I highly recommend them.

A P35 based motherboard is the way to go if you don't want SLI at the moment. The Gigabyte P35C-DS3R or ASUS P5K Deluxe are both good options, just look at feature set and decide what you need/want.

Raptors are not worth the price premium in my opinion. The Seagate 7200.10 (the .10 part is important) are nearly as fast, don't cost as much, and aren't as loud. Seagate retail drives also come with a 5 year warranty.

With your current display you /should/ be fine with a 320MB 8800GTS. If you think you may replace it with something capable of higher resolutions, look at the 640MB 8800GTS or even an 8800GTX.
 
First of all, thanks for the quick response. Apprechiate it.


Well, the processor I have decided on. The video card I need help to narrow down, which one of those you listed would fit in my 1000 dollar budget? Would I need the 640 mb, considering right now im using 256 6800GT? Or is it worth it in the long run?

And as for the harddrive, thanks for the tip. But are these hard drives you speak of IDE or have we moved on to somthing else?

And are you saying that my monitor would somewhat "ruin/limit" the glory of the new video card i would be buying?


Thanks again
 
IDE drives are pretty much dead and gone. SATA is the thing now. Better throughput, smaller cables, generally better all around. Most new motherboard only have one IDE channel -- enough to connect a couple of optical drives, but I'd personally suggest buying a new DVDRW as well. A 20X SATA LiteOn DVDRW is only about $33 right now.

Your monitor is fine, and so long as you intend to keep it, get the 320MB 8800 GTS (unless the 640MB comes down more and isn't that much more -- then it's probably a better long-term choice, especially if you plan to keep the machine 2-3+ years). I wouldn't worry about your monitor too much.
 
What have you decided on so far? Please list each part with as much detail as possible. Thanks.
 
Well for a processor, I was thinking maybe this. (Core 2 Duo E6600)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115003

Hard drive: Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 (Perpendicular Recording) ST3250620AS 250GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148144

Video: This is where im stuck... it seems you can spend more and more on a video card, when do you know where to draw the line? Yes I am a gamer, but come on, 500 on a video card? Dont think so. So im thinking the 320MB 8800GTS, unless I really need to go up to the 640 one, which is not too much higher.

Motherboard (Still lost, so many to choose from)

Memory (Many options, probably just find a good deal when the time comes to order, although the timings are still confusing to me)
 
Wait for the price drops. There will be much better options than the E6600 in the same price range come July 22nd.

An 8800 GTS 320MB or 8800 GTS 640MB will be fine, but I would not recommend going any lower than that at the moment if you want to game.

RAM prices are going up. It may actually make sense to buy the RAM now. I've seen a $10-20 increase in the last couple of weeks alone for 2GB of good DDR2-800 Cas4.

Motherboard: Gigabyte P35C-DS3R or P35-DS3R. Get the "C" version if you want DDR3 support in the future (not important if you ask me, others may argue it is), the "non-C" version for 4 banks of DDR2. Some will also likely say go ASUS rather than Gigabyte, but I've had very poor experiences with ASUS customer support, and so have a difficult time recommending them.

Hard drive looks fine.

Side note: please stop using italics on everything. It's kind of annoying and harder to read.
 
Alright, thanks for the tips about the price drops. Will wait.

I will probably splurge for the 640mb 8800GTS

Thanks for the mobo recommendation, will look into that. Most likely the none ddr3 support model.


Anything else I should know or take into consideration? Cases, just look for good deal, looking for somthing small, black, big fan of blue LED. When I get some time, ill start looking, as this money is burning a hole in my pocket as I type this. :D




Side Note: I liked the italics :(
 
ok, its been a while and im ready to order it up.

I still need a powersupply..

Is this memory decent? Suggestions?

(Newegg public wishlist does not want to work, so ill post it in here)


Update Rosewill R6AS5-BK 0.8mm SECC 120mm Fan ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail Model #: R6AS5-BK
Item #: N82E16811147040


In Stock
$59.99 $59.99

Update GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3R LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
Model #: GA-P35-DS3R
Item #: N82E16813128050


In Stock
$129.99 $129.99

Update EVGA 320-P2-N811-AR GeForce 8800GTS 320MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Video Card - Retail
Model #: 320-P2-N811-AR
Item #: N82E16814130082


In Stock
Mail-in Rebate
$279.99 $279.99

Update Intel Core 2 Duo E6700 Conroe 2.66GHz LGA 775 Processor Model BX80557E6700 - Retail Model #: BX80557E6700
Item #: N82E16819115002



In Stock
$317.00 $317.00

Update OCZ Platinum 2GB (2 x 1GB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model OCZ4002048ELDCPE-K - Retail Model #: OCZ4002048ELDCPE-K
Item #: N82E16820227210



In Stock
Mail-in Rebate
$149.99 $149.99

Update Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3320620AS (Perpendicular Recording Technology) 320GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM Model #: ST3320620AS
Item #: N82E16822148140


In Stock
$79.99 $79.99

Update SAMSUNG 226BW Black 22" 2 ms (GTG) DVI Widescreen LCD Monitor - Retail
Model #: 226BWItem #: N82E16824001096

Return Policy: [LCD] Limited Non-Refundable 30-Day Return Policy

In Stock
Mail-in Rebate
$349.99 -$30.00 Instant $319.99

Update SAMSUNG 18X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe and Software Black IDE Model SH-S182M/BEBM - OEM Model #: SH-S182M/BEBM
Item #: N82E16827151145
 
The RAM in your list is DDR400. That won't work with your motherboard/cpu choice. You need DDR2-800. Here's an egghunt for you:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...cription=2gb+ddr2+800+1gb&name=Desktop+Memory

I'd recommend one of these:
$82 - Super TALENT 2GB (2x1GB) DDR2-800 T8UX2GC5
$90 - G.Skill 2GB (2x1GB) DDR2-800 F2-6400CL5D-2GBNQ

These have a nice rebate, if you don't mind rebates:
$98 - OCZ Gold 2GB (2x1GB) DDR2-800 OCZ2G8002GK ($35MIR)

For a PSU, go for the Corsair 520W from zipzoomfly or buy.com (its overpriced at the egg).

$100 - Corsair CMPSU-520HX ATX12V v2.2 and EPS12V 2.91 520W ($20MIR)

I suggest switching the CPU to the E6750 or E6850. They OC better and have a faster default speed, should you choose to not OC just yet. The E6750 is cheaper, and the E6850 is slightly higher than the E6700 you planned on going with.

You might want to go with the 640MB 8800GTS instead, for a 22" monitor.
 
thanks for the much needed help, and thanks for taking the time out to do so. I will go for the 640 vid card to go along with my 22 monitor.

Will look into the ram

As for the processor, I thought that was good enough? Your saying go to an ever better one?

I will have to see if I can fit this all in my budget.

Thanks again
 
The E6600 has pretty much been replaced by E6750 and E6850. They're not much more money at all, but run at a higher FSB speed and higher clocks by default, and they OC much better than the E6600. There's really no downside.
 
ok, updated the list.

Hopefully this is better, because i can not wait to order this stuff up.

(The processor is currently backordered)

Anything you guys see wrong, a waste, to good, should be better? I want this to be the best build for my money ( I realize I can go to different sites, but id prefer to stick with the egg for everything)

(oh ya, I went way over my budget :) haha )

UPDATED AS OF JULY 29

Rosewill R6AS5-BK 0.8mm SECC 120mm Fan ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail

GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3R LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

EVGA 640-P2-N827-AR GeForce 8800GTS 640MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 KO HDCP Video Card - Retail

CORSAIR CMPSU-520HX ATX12V v2.2 and EPS12V 2.91 520W Power Supply - Retail

Intel Core 2 Duo E6850 Conroe 3.0GHz LGA 775 Processor Model BX80557E6850 - Retail

OCZ Gold 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model OCZ2G8002GK

Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3320620AS (Perpendicular Recording Technology) 320GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM

SAMSUNG 226BW Black 22" 2 ms (GTG) DVI Widescreen LCD Monitor - Retail

SAMSUNG 18X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe and Software Black IDE Model SH-S182M/BEBM - OEM

Total Cost- 1,615
 
Yz, looks good, although i thought $1000 was the limit :p
Yea, that monitor is the best ive seen for a 22 incher
I've tested it out, GREAT color, nice design, and a "tight" screen, if u know what it mean..
Also, good blacks
But I would only squeeze that in there if you can afford it :p
Also if your going to get that you may as well get a GTX, which Is about $100 more.
Im ordering a new comp in a month or so and I'm using almost the same parts, so thats just my opinion.
 
awesome guys. Fast responses, great advice. You guys rock :)

haha ya 1000 was the limit, but as always I went over. I had to replace my 17inch wide with the 22 wide...should look great with the new video card.

As for the upgrade to the gtx, eh another 100 will hurt.

thanks bigtime for the ide advice, like i said, its been a while since i have been ordering pc parts.



will do one final update...by the way, anything else you see wrong, or does the build look good?


thanks again
 
Don't forget a CPU HSF and some AS5. The Scythe Ninja Plus Rev.B, Tuniq Tower, or Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme + Scythe S-Flex fan will suffice.

The E6750 is cheaper than the E6850, and it can OC just as good. That'll save you $100, so you can get the GTX. :p
 
^hmmm


I always figured cpu > videocard....but i could do that. Works out nicely because that means i do not have to wait for the processor to become available on the egg (out of stock)


:)
 
Yz388 said:
I always figured cpu > videocard....
Click to expand...

That all depends on what you're doing. If your running simulations all day, crunching numbers, then yes, CPU > Vidcard. However, if you're a gamer, vidcard > CPU.
 
Yea, plus the GTS doesnt have as many transistors as the GTX. The $100 to me is worth it al lthe way... oh and I'm building a rig soon, and i'm ordering basically the same parts :p
 
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