8800GTX 768MB pair with Intel or AMD?

[Script917]

Hi, im posting this here because I need the advice of gamers.
My ex girlfriend wants me to build her the ultimate sims machine, she has about 2k to drop on a PC. All she plays is the sims, and she?s obsessed. She wants this game to run beautifully. She also wants something that will last her through the Sims 3,

Here are the two computers I built, one AMD based, the other Intel Based.

What do you think is best?

AMD version:

GIGABYTE GA-MA790FX-DS5 AM2+/AM2 AMD 790FX ATX AMD Motherboard

AMD Athlon 64 X2 6400+ Windsor 3.2GHz 2 x 1MB L2 Cache Socket AM2 Processor

EVGA 768-P2-N831-AR GeForce 8800GTX 768MB 384-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail

2X Patriot Extreme Performance 4GB(2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory

Thermaltake Purepower W0100RU ATX 12V 2.0 500W Power Supply 115/230 V UL, CUL, TUV, FCC, and CB certification

Western Digital Raptor X WD1500AHFD 150GB 10,000 RPM 16MB Cache Serial ATA150 Hard Drive






Intel Version:

GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS4 Rev. 2.0 LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard

Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz 2 x 4MB L2 Cache LGA 775 Processor

EVGA 768-P2-N831-AR GeForce 8800GTX 768MB 384-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail

2X Patriot Extreme Performance 4GB(2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory

Thermaltake Purepower W0100RU ATX 12V 2.0 500W Power Supply 115/230 V UL, CUL, TUV, FCC, and CB certification

Western Digital Raptor X WD1500AHFD 150GB 10,000 RPM 16MB Cache Serial ATA150 Hard Drive


Othor thoughts,

Do you think it would be better to run 4gb of this DDR2 1066 instead of 8gb of DDR2 800?
WINTEC AMPX 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory


Im also wandering if this video card would be better?
SAPPHIRE 100211 Radeon HD 2900XT 1GB 512-bit GDDR4 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card

Im not planning on overclocking anything since she lives in a diffrent city and i cant offer support. Everything will be left stock.

I'd also appreciate any other ideas or suggestions. Maybe im looking in the wrong direction.

 

[taltamir]

Wow... this is WAY more then needed for the sims... But it will be one blazing fast computer that would play anything really really well...

Forget the AMD version... AMD is currently in a rut. Only reason you would buy an AMD processor right now is to upgrade an existing AM2 motherboard (which I just did a week ago... but since you are building from scratch...)

The intel version is good with a few modifications.
The 8800GTSv3 is coming out in 5 days, it should outperform the GTX and cost much less. the 1GB version of it could potentially outperform the ultra.
The 8800GT of either 256MB/512MB editions is much cheaper then the GTX and only slightly slower. the 512MB version is now priced gouged by 50% (from 220$ to 330$) and it is less then 10% slower then your card. If you want more then one of those can provide then put two in SLI, and get much more then a single GTX for the price of one GTX. Since I prefer NOT to sli though I would recommend sticking with new 512MB or 1GB 8800GTS that will come out in 5 days.

I would use Seasonic or the Antec earthwatts power supply instead. 500watts is about right.


The radeon 2900XT is SLOWER then the much cheaper Radeon HD3870 (220$ MSRP, gouged to 270$) that came out two weeks ago.. which is slower still then the 8800GT (200-250MSRP, gouged to 270-330). There is absolutely NO reason to buy the 2900XT.

In fact the ONLY cards you should even consider are HD3850, HD3870, 8800GT, 8800GTSv3.

 

[Syntax Error]

$2000 computer just to play The Sims? Isn't that a bit overkill?

Meh, it's your money, so I suppose the Intel system has more longetivity; the AMD processors don't really stack up against Intels in a lot of benchmarks; whether or not that's going to affect Sims gameplay, probably not. However, for the money, I'd much rather get the Intel system.

Also, drop the Raptor and get a good 7200 RPM 500GB hard drive, the RPM differences will only really be seen if you constantly access your hard drive (always downloading torrrents, transferring files, copying files) and in load times. I'd rather get storage space than a marginal and a diminishing increase in speed..

 

[SLU Aequitas]

I think that the 8800GTX is just a whee bit overkill for the Sims 2, especially considering my little sister is playing it on a P4@3.0GHz, 2GB DDR2, 128mb X300 at near full details at 1280x1024. If your GF wants a Sims 2 machine that will last up to, and most likely through, Sims 3, the 8800GTX is way overkill, and you're better off with the 8800GT if you can find it at a more reasonable price, the 38x0 AMD series, or any of the last-gen top cards (x19x0) will all be more than enough to play Sims 2 maxed out. Use the extra money for more HDD space, some more RAM if you plan on going the Vista x64 route, or be crafty and use some of it to get her something nice, like a nice WS monitor

If you're not overclocking at all, the AMD platform becomes much more attractive, but I can't speak for it myself as I went the OC'd C2D route, but there should be some older articles on this site dealing with price/performance ratios for C2D/AMD. Again, you're not going to need a top-of-the-line system to max out the Sims 2 and have snappy performance generally.

Also, there's no reason to get the 2900 anymore, the 38x0 series is much better.

4GB of RAM is overkill in most situations other than Vista x64, where it can be nice. 2GB of RAM is the sweet spot right now, and very cheap as well. Depending on your CPU, you should be looking most likely at DDR-667 or DDR-800, I haven't seen many people advocating using anything more than that.


Just because your girl has 2k to put down on a computer doesn't mean you should waste it; current decisions you've made (namely the 8800GTX, 8GB RAM) aren't even close to needed.

 

[Syntax Error]

To add on to my previous post, I would also agree that $2000 is WAY too much for Sims 2, and probably even a Sims 3; it's not like the next one is going to have graphics like Crysis, most likely. You can easily get a $500-600 computer that runs Sims perfectly. No need to spend more than you need, unless she's going to want to play Crysis or something.

 

[taltamir]

I noticed that if you have ALL the expansions installed and a ton of extra content then the sims2 takes many minutes to load on my brothers X2 1.9ghz Brisbane with 2GB of ram and a 8600GTS video card on a 500GB western digital caviar...

If his girlfriend has a bloated sims2 installation then the faster processor, faster hdd, etc, WILL help her.. and she DOES want it to last through the sims3...

However future proofing is wasteful in computers... it will cost her less to buy a computer that maxes out sims2, and then buy a computer that maxes out sims3 when sims3 arrives.

Anyways, AMD is not good even if you DON'T plan to overclock... it is worse both in overclocking potential AND in performance per dollar in stock speeds, AND in performance per watt, AND in max performance available...
Right now AMD totally sucks... Which is a shame. I have been buying AMD exclusively for 4 years straight.

 

[SLU Aequitas]

Hmmm, I was pretty sure AMD was still competitive on the lower end of the CPU market, however, for the relatively small difference in prices, I really can't recommend them over the C2D, I'm not arguing over that point, just saying its a possibility considering what it's being used for.

With a large installation of the Sims 2, the major increase in performance that I've seen is properly defragmenting and rearranging the physical location of the program on the physical HDD, I use JKDefrag for all of my defragmenting needs, and it has shown me very significant (subjective!!!) gains on load times across games (Sims 2 for my sister on the old P4 X300 machine, and The Witcher for my current machine).

 

[Script917]

She definitely has what you would call a bloated sims installation. Every expansion know to man. lol

I?m pretty surprised at how resource hungry this game is. I?m not sure most people realize it unless they know a sims fanatic.

She?s running it on a AMD 64 2800+ right now with 512k ram, and onboard ATI 6600 graphics (or 6000) cant remember. It?s a Biostar mobo.

Any way, it runs like complete shit.

I run a Raptor for the OS on my PC and im convinced, I love the things and I think it will be great for loading all of those damn expansions.

I just want to build her something nice because I was told that the PC above (the one she currently has) would blow the sims away, and she was vary disappointed. (Granted she only paid like 250 to build it.)

Thanks for the info.


So should i be looking at coir 2 duos instead of quads?

Can you guys recommend a good CPU?

Should I tone down the mobo? What should I look for in a mobo?

 

[bfdd]

Asus P5k p35 mobo $109 newegg
Core 2 Duo E6750 $189 newegg
That patriot 4gb kit is awesome I have two of them in my pc(8gb) but you need to have a 64bit os, so 2gb kit could be good.
3850 $169 newegg
Seagate 500gb sataII $119.99 newegg
PC Power & Cooling 610w $118.99 newegg

Should be more than enough and save a ton of cash for her.

 

[SLU Aequitas]

Sims 2 will not benefit from Quad core, nor will most average users notice any difference. You're much better off with a C2D.

The C2D e6550 is $169.99 w/Free Shipping @ the Egg. The C2D will be a huge jump up from that 2800+

Again, the 8800GTX is overkill for the Sims 2! I'd look into the 38x0 line if you need the absolute best performance, or the 8800GT if you can find a good price, or last gen's high-end cards.

Stick with the Raptor if you want it, and throw in another 500GB 7200RPM for storage, using the money saved from not wasting it on the 8800GTX and 8 GB of RAM (2GB will be more than adequate).

As for mobos, I'm not that knowledgeable, I just spent time around the motherboard forums and ended up with the Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3R, which is an excellent OCing mobo for me, but I can't recommend anything personally, sorry.

 

[sandorski]

wtf? just go to best buy and grab whatever is $500. Seriously, there's no "ultimate" sims machine.

 

[Script917]

I think you would be surprised if you had dealt with the game.

Running it on a slow PC really hinders the game. It?s not near as interactive. And it runs very slow.

 

[sandorski]

Originally posted by: Script917
I think you would be surprised if you had dealt with the game.

Running it on a slow PC really hinders the game. It?s not near as interactive. And it runs very slow.

Video card might matter, but any Newer CPU is going to run it fine.

 

[bfdd]

Script I've played it, but that should be more than enough what I linked. Like I said bout the ram, if you had 64bit OS use 4gb but if not get a fast 2gb kit. The 3850 should handle it too.

 

[taltamir]

Against sandorski, sims2 bloats REAL fast. Just install the original game and run it and its fine on anything you can find at frys for 500$... but let it bloat and it will stall on a top end machine. It is just a not very efficient engine.

Any P35 mobo from either asus, gigabyte, or MSI - best bang for buck chipset for C2D
Core 2 Duo E6750 $189 - second fastest C2D processor, and you wouldn't get ANY benefit from quad core in sims as it is not quad core enabled.
That patriot 4gb kit you wanted - plenty of ram
Antec earthwatts 500watt psu - inexpensive and very good quality.
8800GT 256MB edition 200$ - should max out the graphics
Rapor hard drive - Much faster load times for os and games

This sets you with as good as you can get with current tech. If she plays nothing but the sims there is no point going any higher....

 

[Borealis7]

i think you all missed the point:

My ex girlfriend wants me to...

who cares what she wants?! she aint your girl no more!
move this topic to L&R under the title "i'm having trouble moving on".

and no one should spend 2000$ to play Sims. that woman is hormonal/crazy.
Buy her a tampon and keep the rest of the money.

 

[taltamir]

maybe thats why they separated

anyways I have seen guys who have an "ex girlfriend with benefits"...

 

[Script917]

I can tell you either don?t get pussy, or your married. Whatever the case, I pity you so I?ll explain.

This chick gives head like a porn star. I?m 300 miles away in college, trust me man, I?ve had no trouble getting over her.

I make it a point to never sever a bridge from a female unless she can?t handle herself and it affects my life in a negative way.

Why you ask?

Pussy.

All the women in my life are rather level headed and that?s why they are in my life. However she doesn?t know shit about computers, and she just got a new job so she?s throwing money around.

And honestly, as long as I get my cut, I don?t care at all how much she spends on a PC.


*And you wander why I stick around? Lets see,

1. Great head,
2. I?m getting paid
3. She can?t go crazy on me from 300 miles away.
4. And most importantly, she?s cool with the fact that I currently have a girlfriend.

Don?t be jealous.

 

[tuteja1986]

A computer that will play : Sim , Crysis , COD 4 , Witcher , Hellgate london , Surpreme commander , Company of heroes , World in conflict , Bioshock , UT2007

Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 2.66GHz $189.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16819115029
GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3L $95 http://www.newegg.com/Product/...escription=p35&x=0&y=0
500GB Western Digital HDD $105 http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16822136073
COOLER MASTER Centurion 534 $50 Case - Retail http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16811119106
CORSAIR CMPSU-520HX $120 http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16817139001
MSI RX3850-T2D256E OC $170 http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814127313
Crucial 2GB 6400 4-4-4-12 $75 http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16820146565
SAMSUNG SH-S203B $31 http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16827151153

$835USD :! whole case :!

Microsoft Windows XP Home $90 http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16832116056
Microsoft Windows Vista 32-Bit Home Premium $110 http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16832116202

Speaker and Monitor :! depends on your taste

Don't waste 2K :! save the cash 1K and send it slowily over the next year when new better stuff comes out. Quad core will get much cheaper and better. New GPU will come out in march that would totally destroy 8800U for one third of its price. Don't need 4GB of ram as i have never seen my computer use more than 1.7GB :! and i have played and finished all the latest game.

 

[Script917]

So if i went with an 8800GT would the E6750 take full advantage of the card, or would a the E6850 be more up to the task?

Remember, im not going to overclock anything.

 

[tuteja1986]

Originally posted by: Script917
So if i went with an 8800GT would the E6750 take full advantage of the card, or would a the E6850 be more up to the task?

Remember, im not going to overclock anything.

E4400 would take advantage of either card :!

 

[BadRobot]

Originally posted by: taltamir
Any P35 mobo from either asus, gigabyte, or MSI - best bang for buck chipset for C2D
Core 2 Duo E6750 $189 - second fastest C2D processor, and you wouldn't get ANY benefit from quad core in sims as it is not quad core enabled.
That patriot 4gb kit you wanted - plenty of ram
Antec earthwatts 500watt psu - inexpensive and very good quality.
8800GT 256MB edition 200$ - should max out the graphics
Rapor hard drive - Much faster load times for os and games

I second this build, except if you have the 2000 dollars to spend you could always by the 6850 or the Q6700. Also, if you are not going to buy the parts for a few weeks I think the next level of video cards are coming out soon.

If you are going vista 64bit you can do 8 gig of ram too, just make sure whatever MOBO you buy it supports 8 gigs...which should be most of them.

 

[Script917]

Quick question,

ASUS P5K-E/WIFI-AP LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard

GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3L LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard

the only difference I see between these two boards, (aside from the number of PCI express slots ect..) Is the south bridge one is ICH9, and the other is ICH9R.

What is the difference and is it relivent to this situation?

 

[Script917]

Regarding the earthwatts supply.

Here is a quote from a review:

The only thing that I can think of is the +5 volt line that is preventing my newly built PC from coming out of sleep when I move the mouse or hit a key. I have Gigabyte GA-p35-ds3L and I've tested all options in the bios and the OS. There is nothing left other than what I've read about with power supplies that do not allow the PC to come back from sleep without hitting the power button. Major inconvenience especially with the the Antec p180 where the power button is behind the front door.

I found that curious because that is the exact same MB I was planning to use.

Has this issue been resolved? Should I risk it? Can someone recommend a good 80+ efficiency PS in the same price range?