Build Now or Wait for August?

[ccubed]

1. What YOUR PC will be used for: Gaming, general computing, watching movies (possibly output to 46? HDTV.)

2. What YOUR budget is. $1000-1500

3. What country: USA, or other if Ebay (see later notes)

4. IF YOU have a brand preference. Western Digital, Intel (for now.)

5. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts: Possibly old PCI Audigy soundcard, maybe one of the SATA hard drives for extra storage.

6. IF YOU have searched and/or read similar threads: Yes, obsessively.

7. IF YOU plan on overclocking or run the system at default speeds. Minor overclocking is a possibility.

8. WHEN do you plan to build it? I WAS going to wait until end of August for the ATI 4870x2 release, but I?m getting the shakes to buy now due to some current deals.

As I said, I?m going crazy right now looking at all the various deals for computer parts right now. I need to upgrade in the next couple of months for Fallout 3 and Warhammer Online (the latter shows how pathetic my current computer is since War will NOT be a performance hog.)

From the Hot Deals thread I found the *potential* 25% code for Microsoft Cashback purchases on Ebay. As a result I can possibly get the following parts I was thinking of getting for a new system:

Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 for about $155 total (shipping included.)
SAMSUNG 245BW 24" LCD for about $285 total.
And a SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 4870 for about $265 total.

Here?s the full on build as a Newegg Wishlist:

Edited to add breakdown:
SAMSUNG 245BW Black 24" 5ms Widescreen LCD
Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor Model BX80570E8400
ASUS P5Q Pro LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard
CORSAIR 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400)
Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD2500AAKS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
SAPPHIRE 100243L Radeon HD 4870 512MB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card
CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply
COOLER MASTER RC-690-KKN1-GP Black SECC/ ABS ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
Logitech G15 2-Tone USB Wired Standard Gaming Keyboard
Logitech G7 Black 6 Buttons Tilt Wheel USB RF Wireless Laser Mouse
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 64-bit English

I don?t know if the 25% Ebay deals will still exist then, nor the various current parts deals included in my scheming. Should I give in to my madness and put this sucker together now, or wait for August?

 

[DaveSimmons]

A single 4870 ought to be good enough for 1900x1200 with only a few games needing their settings trimmed. So the main reason to wait is that you're willing to spend the extra money for one or two games.

What would be silly is to buy an X48 motherboard and 1 x 4870 now instead of the 4870x2 and a $100 cheaper P45 motherboard next month.

If you want the power of 2 x 4870, just wait. Sign up for GameTap and play some retro games like Baldur's Gate for a month.

 

[ccubed]

Well I wasn't waiting until August to actually buy the burly 4870x2, I was just anticipating price changes as a result of the new tech. I also wasn't planning on Crossfiring 4870's at least not until far down the line when my single card starts to come up short (which is why I went with the p45 mobo even though I don't currently need the Xfire support.)

I'll edit the original post to make the actual build list more clear so you don't actually have to click over to the Egg.

 

[DaveSimmons]

That list looks good, except you might want to get a 320GB WD instead (if you can find a single-platter model). The single-platter 320 and 2-platter 640 will both be faster than that 250GB. Not a big deal either way though.

In the other direction, if you can live with only an overclock to 3.6 GHz, you could get a $100 P43 chipset motherboard instead of the P5Q. The P43 won't have crossfire (or RAID) but the P45 crossfire is gimped to x8,x8 instead of x16,x16 anyway.

A Tweaktown.com test had the P45 running slower than x48 in crossfire with just 4850 cards, 4870s would probably be worse.

 

[ccubed]

I think the 250gb I listed is part of that same Caviar series as the 320. They're listed as having the same specifications as far as timing. I just went with the 10 dollar cheaper one since I already have a hard drive I can probably use for storage.

By the way, is it a good idea to separate drive functions? By that I mean is it a good idea to have a hard drive for OS, a hard drive for Programs, and a hard drive strictly for storage? If so, how do you prioritize speed? Assuming you can't do both, would OS need to be fastest or programs, edit: especially when considering gaming performance? I know storage doesn't need to be speedy which is why I'll probably use this old one I've got.

 

[ccubed]

Revamping due to costs/opportunities/OCD/desperation:

Here's a Link to the Newegg Wishlist:

CPU = Core 2 Duo E7200 2.53ghz (hoping to OC with the cooler)
Mobo = Asus P5Q 775 P45 (for combo deal + maybe Crossfire down the line)
RAM = 4gb Corsair DDR2 800 (2x2)
GPU = Asus Radeon HD 4850 (wanted 4870, but this is better for budget)
LCD = LG L226WTY-BF 22" (stepped down from 24" after looking in store and changing GPU + COST)
HD = Western Digital Caviar SE16 320gb
Case = Antec Nine Hundred (suckered me with -40 MIR)
PSU = Corsair 650TX 650W
Keyboard = Logitech G11 (want the macros, don't want to pay 20 bucks for LED)
Mouse = Logitech G7 Wireless Laser Mouse
OS = Windows Vista 64 bit Home Premium
Cooler = ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro 92mm CPU Cooler

Now I need some encouragement to get my act together and pull the trigger on this. I waited and hemmed and hawed over things the past few days and saw some opportunities slip away and cost me.

So what says the great masses?

 

[DSF]

Meh, deals come and go. They'll be back again next week, so I wouldn't beat yourself up over it.

Looks like a pretty good list, although I would do a little more research on the WD 320GB. At one point you weren't guaranteed to get a single-platter version, meaning not all the drives sold under that model # were the same in performance as I recall. I don't know whether that's still the case or not.

Either way, if you're going to be storing the movies you watch on your computer, you might want the 640GB anyway.