Computer build

[Gisli]

I hope people will bear with me one more time on this computer business. Here is what I've come up with for a possible build, largely based on many of the posts I've seen here. Please let me know if you think I've got some sort of incompatibility built in, have something that is out of place (too high or too low in performance as it relates to the rest of the system) or anything that I am missing. I'm especially concerned if I need some extra fan or cooling element. Note that I've got monitor, mouse, keyboard, headphones (though I might replace any/all independently of this).

Mother Board
ASUS P5N-D LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 750i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131232
$134.99

CPU
Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 Wolfdale 3.16GHz 6MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115036
$189.99

Memory
CORSAIR 4GB (2 x 2GB ) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) [2 of, for 8 GB total]
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145184
$82.00 (-$20.00) TWO OF = $164 (-40.00)

Graphics Card
EVGA 512-P3-N801-AR GeForce 8800 GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130318
$134.99 (-$20.00)

Power Supply
CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139006
$109.99 (-$20.00) -- Labor day sale

Hard Drive
SAMSUNG Spinpoint F1 HD502lJ 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152098
$69.99

Case
XION Onyx XON-301 Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Case w/ 140mm Green LED Fan
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811208020
$74.99 (-$10.00)

CD/DVD
ASUS Black 20X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X SATA DVD Burner
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135165
$31.99

Windows Vista 64
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116488
$109.99

[LeMieux]

If you wait until tomorrow you can get a top of the line GFX card from eVGA's website for 150-200$. If you are going to get a 8800, get a GTX or above, no reason to get less for how middle of the road they are now.

Also I'd personally go for a higher speed single core processor if this is mostly for gaming. It seems the gaming industry is quite a few years away from making good use of multi-core tech. I'd also invest in a decent case fan, the OC cards can get hot and unless you manually control the fan speeds, they underclock the on-card fans a lot.

EDIT: Also unless you aren't too concerned about it, I'd make sure your motherboard can receive above 800hz memory.

[Aoann]

I have 2 side fans a front fan and a top fan in my case.

It looks good to me but I am not an expert by any means.

My preference is not Intel on CPU. I also would get a bigger power supply then you'd possibly need.

[Dall dies to much]

couple things:

what size monitor? (aka what resolution)

really has to do with the video card and the Mobo selection.

also
try this case, I personally dislike the Fast and furious style. simple and not in your face is more my thing.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129042&Tpk=Antec%20Three%20Hundred (and no frigging shipping charge FTW, its sitting on my floor right now waiting for parts)( if you want more picks bro, I can snap some photos and link them in)


or this case. nice and clean
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811112130

but no free shipping and does need to be modded with a top blow hole




power supply -- good (yesterdays order)
ram -- good
HD fair try this one or the one below
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136218
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148288
burner -- good
Opsys -- good use thius code at the Egg for $10 more off EMCAJCJBA (orded this today)
processor -- check the e8400 .. save a bit.. and also use this code for $5.00 off HARDOCP82505 (ordered this yesterday)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115037 (simple overclock to get it to e8500 speeds)
ok.. font messign with me..

you can game the new egg cart to make it keep spewing out free shipping.. just flip parts around

other video cards to consider:
Geforce 9800 gtx +
ATi 4850
ATI 4870
Geforce 260 GTX

the 8800GT is a couple gens behind now, still a "good" card, just not the amazing item it was 9 months ago

[LeMieux]

I have 2 side fans a front fan and a top fan in my case.

It looks good to me but I am not an expert by any means.

My preference is not Intel on CPU. I also would get a bigger power supply then you'd possibly need.

Holy crap, are you making a wind tunnel out of your box? :eek:

[Markhos]

Personally, I prefer Asus or MSI or even XfX before eVga. I never had problems with Asus or MSI cards. But its all personal preferences hehe

[Aoann]

Holy crap, are you making a wind tunnel out of your box? :eek:

two on side/front are intake - one on back and top are output fans.

so yes. it sounds like one too. It has blue lights in all the fans so it glows too :D

[Aoann]

Personally, I prefer Asus or MSI or even XfX before eVga. I never had problems with Asus or MSI cards. But its all personal preferences hehe

I have Asus. Had one before as well.

[Dall dies to much]

having ordered my Evga card today... for one simple reason... if they come out with a 260/280 revision like there is rumored... I got 90 days to trade it in and pay the difference to Evga for the newer card. trade-up is a beauty of a thing with them and I can still get my rebate from them ;)

[Gisli]

Well, I called EVGA three times while I was screwing around with the upgrade attempt. They answered the phone pretty promptly each time, gave me knowledgeable information and advice, and I learned a few things. So even though I'm ending up returning that first card, I want to stick with them if I can.

[LeMieux]

Buy a card directly from their website tomorrow. Their labour day sale is 60% off almost every card.

And yeah, for OC cards eVGA and BFG are my choices. Both of their CS is top notch.

[Dall dies to much]

yup.. here is the sale... guess what is NOT on that list?

GTX 260
GTX 280

http://www.evga.com/articles/428.asp

[LeMieux]

If you can get get as many fans in your case as Aoann, I'm sure that the case you have selected can handle the 8800 Ultra just fine and that's 50$ for a significant jump for the price.

[Gisli]

Wow! Looking at the EVGA website was a real eye-opener. They show all these variations side-by-side, with the various clock speeds. Even just sticking with the 8800GT, I can get a faster card cheaper, since I can get one with a faster clock speed. I'll definitely look into getting something on sale tomorrow. Thanks for the info!

[Dall dies to much]

hey gisli, what monitor size/rez are you planning on playing on? I can give you a better idea of what cards you should be looking at and if buying that 750i mobo is worth it (see my post on the first page :P )

also if you are planning on going over 22" matters for the future

[Gisli]

Dall -- Right now I've got a pretty crappy monitor. Acer AL1917, 1280 x 1024 resolution. I'll look into replacing it later. But I don't think I'd get anything super big.

How about this motherboard that EVGA has on sale?
nForce 680i LT SLI 775 A1. Regularly $199, on sale for $99.99.
http://www.evga.com/products/moreInfo.asp?pn=122-CK-NF67-A1

[Dall dies to much]

Dall -- Right now I've got a pretty crappy monitor. Acer AL1917, 1280 x 1024 resolution. I'll look into replacing it later. But I don't think I'd get anything super big.

How about this motherboard that EVGA has on sale?
nForce 680i LT SLI 775 A1. Regularly $199, on sale for $99.99.
http://www.evga.com/products/moreInfo.asp?pn=122-CK-NF67-A1


ok, so even if you go to 22" as a max you'll be playing at 1650x 1050 rez. makes things easier

give me 10 mins to run down any issues with th e8400/e8500 family of processors and issues with 8 gigs of ram

[LeMieux]

That motherboard gets a resounding...'eh' from me. I wouldn't chince out on the motherboard as it's likely going to be the last thing you ever replace. Get something that at least supports DDR3.

[Wazdakka]

That motherboard gets a resounding...'eh' from me. I wouldn't chince out on the motherboard as it's likely going to be the last thing you ever replace. Get something that at least supports DDR3.


That looks like a good mobo for the price to me Gis. I disagree on the ddr3. By the time you have to have it (or ddr 4 or whatever) you'll need a new computer again.


Either way i have been very happy with my EVGA. Solid brand.


And Dall, i have 8gb with an e8400 if that helps.

[LeMieux]

Lol, well that's just me. I've been using the same box for 10 years, and I only replace parts when I need to. So I like to plan far into the future to make sure that I only have to tear apart the whole thing once every 3-5 years.

[Aoann]

And for the love of beer, buy a better monitor.

[Wazdakka]

And for the love of beer, buy a better monitor.


Of course, the lower your resolution, the less video card you need, heh.

[Gisli]

Waz, which MoBo are we talking about now? Do you think the EVGA MoBo they have on sale is OK? Or did you mean the original ASUS board?

[Dall dies to much]

That motherboard gets a resounding...'eh' from me. I wouldn't chince out on the motherboard as it's likely going to be the last thing you ever replace. Get something that at least supports DDR3.


your adding Exponential cost to the build with little real world gaming gain , especially if he wants 8 gigs.

having said that, he could just wait 4-5 months for the next gen intel processor


that mobo will need a bios flash for the e8400/e8500 processor more then likely, but it looks like they solved most of the issues since release of the board. (1+ year ago)

looks like there might be issues with 8gigs (4 sticks). issue I am seeing right now, most of these problems are over a year old, and pre- SP1 for vista...



if you have ZERO plans of adding a second video card to the board, I would suggest looking at Intel p43/p45 boards

[Gisli]

Yup, I have zero plans to put in a 2nd video card. :) So what MoBo would you suggest? Given that I think I'll go with the e8400 CPU and 8GB of 800 memory?

And is the extra 4GB of any real value? It seems it should be, especially for the price. But maybe not? Especially if there are doubts about the other components handling it? I'm feeling burned by the fact that my current computer wouldn't handle the 4 sticks.

[LeMieux]

To be honest, 6gig at the moment is probably the most you'll ever need. Most programs will allocate at most 3gigs, so the other 3 are just keeping everything in the background running.

[Dall dies to much]

I just bought this one today:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131299

having said that, I plan on overclocking the hell out of the e8400

this one I was considering for my build and will be using it for saithia's build

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131322

or

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131329

there is also:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128347



difference between the p43 chipset and the p45

p45 has a second PCI-E x16/x8 slot and over clocks a "bit" better
so a p43 board will work fine for you



To be honest, 6gig at the moment is probably the most you'll ever need. Most programs will allocate at most 3gigs, so the other 3 are just keeping everything in the background running.


concur, 8 gigs will be nice for massive photo edit or Video encoding.. but for a gaming box... just don't see the need honestly. the WAR client was using a max of 1.4 gigs during 3.3 beta, with stupid memory leaks

[Gisli]

LeMieux - While I have no doubt that what you say is correct, I don't think I can buy one stick for half the price of two sticks. And I'm not sure what the effects are of not filling both banks. So I don't think going 6GB is much of a win. The question is whether I'll do just as well with 4GB.

[LeMieux]

I can't honestly see a situation where you'll need more than 4 gigs, no. 2 gigs max for Warhammer, half a gig for windows after it's optimized, the rest for periphrial programs.

[Dall dies to much]

ya, have to agree here about the 8 gigs V 4 gigs...

drop the ram down to 4 gigs
Grab one of the $100 p43 mobos
drop the processor to e8400

take the cash and ram it into a "great" single video card solution

also, check my case selection... or if that isn';t you style.. find one with free shipping that is... and take that shipping money and ram it into the video card

just did a quick add up... doing all that will drop your price by ~$150 bucks... take that money and check out the gtx 260s

[Gisli]

half a gig for windows after it's optimized

That is something I need to learn about. :) But not until next week...

[Gisli]

OK, Dall, that all makes sense, whether or not I go higher on the video card.

Now, if I'm willing to spend about $200, what is going to be really noticeably better than an 8800GT?

[Dall dies to much]

is it sad i am having a blast doing this... some days I really miss being in the industry.... then I wake up.... and remeber :crazy::wallbash:


5 mins bro.. links to reviews inbound

[Aoann]

OK, Dall, that all makes sense, whether or not I go higher on the video card.

Now, if I'm willing to spend about $200, what is going to be really noticeably better than an 8800GT?

Nothing! :)

[LeMieux]

Best card you're going to get for 200$ without waiting for some super amazing deal half a year down the road is probably that 8800 Ultra from eVGA.

[Dall dies to much]

http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3341&p=1

just look at the nubers in the 1650x1050 colume... that 22" monitor range

also there is hard Ocp method of review (which I love)

http://www.hardocp.com/article.html?art=MTUyNCwsLGhlbnRodXNpYXN0


honestly.. at 22" monitor range...

in order:
8800 GT 512
8800 GTS 512 <-- very important, the 320 or 640 are older versions.. go figure
ATi 4850
geforce 9800 GTX+
ATI 4870 OR geforce GTX 260

and considering you are the Zerg overlord.... more horse power to draw all the other folks stuck to your ass, the better :horse:

revised the video card lists for you

[LeMieux]

You can grab that 9800 GTX for 170$ at eVGA too.

[Aoann]

hmmm. I say stick with the 8800. But that is just me

[Dall dies to much]

You can grab that 9800 GTX for 170$ at eVGA too.

ya, the difference between the 9800 GTX and the 9800 GTX+ is the GTX+ is factory overclock, basicly meaning it was "speed binned" tested to be sure it can handle that increase in speed

[Gisli]

Here's the full list in that price range from the EVGA sale:


512-P3-N806-A1 (http://www.evga.com/products/moreInfo.asp?pn=512-P3-N806-A1) 512MB, 8800 GT SSC, PCIe 2.0, D+D+H $ 209.99 $ 119.99
640-P2-N821-AR (http://www.evga.com/products/moreInfo.asp?pn=640-P2-N821-AR) 640MB, 8800GTS PCI-E, D+D+HD HDCP w $ 199.99 $ 139.99
640-P2-N827-AR (http://www.evga.com/products/moreInfo.asp?pn=640-P2-N827-AR) 640MB, 8800GTS KO ACS3, PCI-E, D+D+ $ 249.99 $ 139.99
512-P3-N841-AR (http://www.evga.com/products/moreInfo.asp?pn=512-P3-N841-AR%3C) 512MB, 8800GTS PCI-E 2.0, D+D+HD HD $ 219.99 $ 149.99
512-P3-N871-AR (http://www.evga.com/products/moreInfo.asp?pn=512-P3-N871-AR%3C) 512MB, 9800GTX PCI-E 2.0, D+D+HD HD $ 199.99 $ 169.99
768-P2-N887-AR (http://www.evga.com/products/moreInfo.asp?pn=768-P2-N887-AR) 768MB, 8800 Ultra Superclocked, PCI $ 549.99 $ 199.99

So the question is: What do I actually get for the higher price? I can see more memory. But is there much bang for the extra buck? I've come to the conclusion that when they sell me an overclocked card, that translates into "We guarentee that you cannot overclock this card anymore, because we already did and we charged you for it."

[Dall dies to much]

hmmm. I say stick with the 8800. But that is just me


old tech... need new and improved!!! 11!! :2guns::cursing::punk::starwars:

ok... I'll stop

[Aoann]

old tech... need new and improved!!! 11!! :2guns::cursing::punk::starwars:

ok... I'll stop

Um, Negative.

[LeMieux]

Actually with companies like eVGA and BFGTech you are more or less buying a lifetime warranty on an overclocked card. That's always been my feeling anyway.

[Dall dies to much]

Here's the full list in that price range from the EVGA sale:


512-P3-N806-A1 (http://www.evga.com/products/moreInfo.asp?pn=512-P3-N806-A1) 512MB, 8800 GT SSC, PCIe 2.0, D+D+H $ 209.99 $ 119.99
640-P2-N821-AR (http://www.evga.com/products/moreInfo.asp?pn=640-P2-N821-AR) 640MB, 8800GTS PCI-E, D+D+HD HDCP w $ 199.99 $ 139.99
640-P2-N827-AR (http://www.evga.com/products/moreInfo.asp?pn=640-P2-N827-AR) 640MB, 8800GTS KO ACS3, PCI-E, D+D+ $ 249.99 $ 139.99
512-P3-N841-AR (http://www.evga.com/products/moreInfo.asp?pn=512-P3-N841-AR%3C) 512MB, 8800GTS PCI-E 2.0, D+D+HD HD $ 219.99 $ 149.99
512-P3-N871-AR (http://www.evga.com/products/moreInfo.asp?pn=512-P3-N871-AR%3C) 512MB, 9800GTX PCI-E 2.0, D+D+HD HD $ 199.99 $ 169.99
768-P2-N887-AR (http://www.evga.com/products/moreInfo.asp?pn=768-P2-N887-AR) 768MB, 8800 Ultra Superclocked, PCI $ 549.99 $ 199.99

So the question is: What do I actually get for the higher price? I can see more memory. But is there much bang for the extra buck? I've come to the conclusion that when they sell me an overclocked card, that translates into "We guarentee that you cannot overclock this card anymore, because we already did and we charged you for it."


heh.. i see it as " we tested this chip and it is more stable at higher speeds"

Evga also warrenties you for overclocking and adding after market coolers (as long as you don't trash the card putting the cooler on)

i would grab that ultra... just wow.. insane price drop

having said that... for .. oh..40 bucks more after rebate....

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130370

but we get to play the power/price creep issue

[Gisli]

OK, after the changes, here is where I am at:

Mother Board
ASUS P5QL-E LGA 775 Intel P43 ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131322
$109.99

CPU
Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz 6MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115037
$169.99, use CODE HARDOCP82505 $164.99

Memory
CORSAIR 4GB (2 x 2GB ) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145184
$82.00 (-$20.00)

GPU
EVGA e-GeForce 8800GT SSC 512MB (EVGA website sale)
http://www.evga.com/products/moreInfo.asp?pn=512-P3-N806-A1&family=GeForce%208%20Series%20Family
$119.99

Power Supply
CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139006
$109.99 (-$20.00) -- Labor day sale

Hard Drive
Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST3500320AS 500GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148288
$79.99

Case
Antec Three Hundred Black ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129042&Tpk=Antec%20Three%20Hundred
$59.99 - FREE SHIPPING

CD/DVD
ASUS Black 20X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X SATA DVD Burner
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135165
$31.99

Windows Vista 64
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116488
$109.99 -- Use CODE EMCAJCJBA, $99.99

So, two questions.
1) If I were to step up to the 260 GPU for $240, would I have to change anything else to accomodate it?
2) I'll ask again: Do I need to add any additional fans or other cooling to that case? For either graphics card?

[Dall dies to much]

1) If I were to step up to the 260 GPU for $240, would I have to change anything else to accomodate it?
2) I'll ask again: Do I need to add any additional fans or other cooling to that case? For either graphics card?


1) no, your PSU is over kill as it is.. but that is a good thing
2) I would suggest (2) 120 mm fans. one for intake on the front, and one for the side panel. if that starts creeping the price up to stupid levels, run around the Egg and find a case with free shipping ;)

and with that... i am going to bed! 3am ftw here

[LeMieux]

Also...best find I could find monitor wise.

http://www.circuitcity.com/ccd/productDetail.do?oid=185618&linkid=j13774590k9470&affiliateid=k9470&mid=&om_keycode=777592&linkid=j13459594k1971&affiliateid=k1971&mid=u0t907721f9fp0c0s520

[Wazdakka]

So, two questions.
1) If I were to step up to the 260 GPU for $240, would I have to change anything else to accomodate it?
2) I'll ask again: Do I need to add any additional fans or other cooling to that case? For either graphics card?

1) Nope. Looks nicely set up for that. The PSU that you are buying looks like it will carry you into the future.
2) The case comes with two fans and has fittings for three more. If you get a 260 I'd consider sticking an antec tricool fan in each of those extra fan brackets (front and side), though that's probably overkill. I just like to fill up all available locations for fans in my computer builds.


Overall a pretty good build. Research always shows.

[Gisli]

Thank you all so much! That is just overwhelming how much help you folks provided in such a short time. I really do appreciate it. I hope that all this will help some other folks as well.

[Dall dies to much]

No probelm... been doing the reseach for the last 2 months.. so I was already buying parts this weekend myself

and as our first "rate my build" thread, this should give a lot more people a jump off point for their own build/upgrades

we had a good discussion on parts, video cards, and price points.

and I felt like this after --->:smoke:

[Gisli]

I just ordered all the parts, as listed above. I added two 120mm case fans, but otherwise did exactly the list above. I went with the "cheap" GPU -- the 8800GT. That greatly raises the odds that I'll get around to a better monitor. :)

Interesting that I couldn't avoid shipping on the case fans, that cost nearly as much as the fans! But its not much in any case.

Final damage: $889.70 before mail-in rebates (worth a total of $40). So if things go perfectly, I guess this should end up being exactly $850, not counting whatever I do about getting a decent monitor or a fancy mouse.

All was ordered from New Egg except the video card ordered direct from EVGA.

Thanks again for everyone's help, especially Dall!

[Dall dies to much]

Thanks again for everyone's help, especially Dall!


if it turns into some robotic zombie and eats your cat.. don't blame me !

and ya, new Egg gets screwy with shipping on a lot of things... like thermal paste for one.. and fans

monitors are way to subjective a subject... and the egg isn't the best place to buy from due to their dead pixcel policy

[Vadokri]

As for a monitor 22" widescreen ftw. I got mine from TigerDirect for 199 about a month ago but here is the best I found while searching

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824254035

read more reviews other than the 70 from newegg and overall it was rated 4.5 not bad imo.

[Drakhon]

Get something that at least supports DDR3.

The main problems with DDR3 come from limitations of the Front Side Bus (FSB) architecture and wont help out unless you're overclocking to the degree where you would need chilled-water cooling or more. This is solved by Nehalem (which will be called Core i7), but that will require a new motherboard and processor, so it's not worth spending extra or sacrificing other quality/features to get DDR3 support on a current motherboard.

Gisli: you seem to have pretty much decided, but in case it comes up, do not get an 8800GTS with 320 or 640MB. The 8800GT and 8800GTS 512MB both have better performance because they use a newer chip (G92 compared to G80).

Edit: Never mind, I see you have already done the ordering.