First post here at Anandtech, and first new system in a while... (HELP!)

[diabx0r]

Hey, guys!

Well, I have been reading this site for... years.

I am currently running an NF7-S 2.0, a 2500+, 9800 Pro, 2 gigs of corsair XMS 3200, a 430 watt PSU, and a few SATA Maxtors.

It's time for a new box.

I know I am going for an E6600 Intel (Unless you guys strongly suggest something else).

I'm guessing a 7950 would more than suffice.

2 gigs of corsair?

Just give me some suggestions!

I am mainly stuck on what mobo to get.

I'm thinking about going all out and getting a 1000 watt PC Power and Cooling PSU.

I know this is a lot to go through at once, but I really appreciate it.

-Alex

 

[LW07]

I would suggest going for an E6400 and getting this X1950XTX for $400. Either that or wait for the 8800GTS to come out and drop to that same price.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814102045

 

[diabx0r]

Originally posted by: LW07
I would suggest going for an E6400 and getting this X1950XTX for $400. Either that or wait for the 8800GTS to come out and drop to that same price.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814102045

Hrm... it's definitely a thought.

I really have a bad taste in my mouth about ATI, though, and my buddy just went from a 1950 to a 7950 and a lot of problems disappeared into thin air the second he made the switch.

Hrm..

Any ideas on the mobo?

And I'm guessing a 1000w PSU would be overkill.

How are the Antecs?

I realize that no matter what I pic in this range, it's going to spank my current box into oblivion.

I just want quality.

 

[johnos]

1000wat dude?
ermmmmm.............your going to have what, like 2 GPUs 2 CPUs, 10gb DDR2 1066mhz ram......10hardrives?

i would say the E6400, a gigabyte GA-965P-DS3 mobo or the GA-965P-S3 if u want to save a bit of money
ram looks fine, but whatever cheapest really.......look at the memory guides around here.....unless your going to be overclocking anything from a good brand will probably do you.

what exactly do u do with ur computer?

 

[LW07]

Originally posted by: diabx0r

Originally posted by: LW07
I would suggest going for an E6400 and getting this X1950XTX for $400. Either that or wait for the 8800GTS to come out and drop to that same price.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814102045

Hrm... it's definitely a thought.

I really have a bad taste in my mouth about ATI, though, and my buddy just went from a 1950 to a 7950 and a lot of problems disappeared into thin air the second he made the switch.

Hrm..

Any ideas on the mobo?

And I'm guessing a 1000w PSU would be overkill.

How are the Antecs?

I realize that no matter what I pic in this range, it's going to spank my current box into oblivion.

I just want quality.

I have an ATI Card myself(An X1900XT 512mb) and it runs great on my system. No problems.

A 1000W PSU wouldn't be overkill these days, as video cards and other hardware are getting more and more power hungry. What 1000W PSU are you considering?

I went to my X1900XT 512mb from a 7800GT and I had stuttering problems at first, but then I used driver cleaner to clean the nvidia drivers and everything is now going very well.

 

[diabx0r]

Originally posted by: johnos
1000wat dude?
ermmmmm.............your going to have what, like 2 GPUs 2 CPUs, 10gb DDR2 1066mhz ram......10hardrives?

i would say the E6400, a gigabyte GA-965P-DS3 mobo or the GA-965P-S3 if u want to save a bit of money
ram looks fine, but whatever cheapest really.......look at the memory guides around here.....unless your going to be overclocking anything from a good brand will probably do you.

what exactly do u do with ur computer?

You're right, the 1000 watt is overkill... it's just that I saw it and was like <3

I do a lot of crap with my box. I play pretty much every new game that comes out.

I do a lot of coding on my box, and some video editing.

Hrm... I'm also looking at a new monitor.

Any suggestions on an LCD?

Also, I OC like a mad man.

Something tells me I'll be ocing quite a bit.

And nah, I'm only grabbing 2 gigs of memory for now, but Corsair has always done me well.

So basically, a good heatsink/fan and a good LCD. I'd prefer a 20+ inch LCD.

 

[dBTelos]

7950 = 460W Enhance ENP. SLi 7950 = Corsair HX620W

 

[diabx0r]

Originally posted by: dBTelos
7950 = 460W Enhance ENP. SLi 7950 = Corsair HX620W

Awesome, thanks, man.

I'm probably going to do SLI, so I might as well go for the Corsair.

 

[Googer]

First post here at Anandtech, and first new system in a while... (HELP!)

That got my attention, I would be more than happy to assist.

 

[Googer]

Originally posted by: LW07
I would suggest going for an E6400 and getting this X1950XTX for $400. Either that or wait for the 8800GTS to come out and drop to that same price.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814102045

Go with a 7600GT and use the money you saved to buy a DirectX 10 video card in a few months. In the mean time take that money and grow it in some sort of short term investment.

The e6600 is the slowest CPU you can get with a 4MB cache (2mb per core). Getting an e6400 would get you 2MB of cache (1MB percore effective).

As far as the RAM goes, stick with criucial for several reasons;

1. Service
2. Support
3. Guaranteed Compatability
4. Superb Overclocking Potential (If that is your thing)
5. Great Price/Value
6. Lifetime Warranty
7. Faster Ram usualy nets you a 1-2% boost in performance yet it may cost you 150-300% more cash.
8. http://tinyurl.com/z39w3

Dont waste precious $$$ on overpriced ram if you want faster frame rates, get Crucial spend the $100-300 that it would cost you to obtain the faster memory and get a faster CPU instead.

An extra $300 could get you a Quad-Core Extreme Edition CPU or as a second pick a faster video card either one will net you a better FPS to dollar ratio than fancy RAM.

 

[Gautama2]

Originally posted by: Googer

Originally posted by: LW07
I would suggest going for an E6400 and getting this X1950XTX for $400. Either that or wait for the 8800GTS to come out and drop to that same price.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814102045

Go with a 7600GT and use the money you saved to buy a DirectX 10 video card in a few months. In the mean time take that money and grow it in some sort of short term investment.

The e6600 is the slowest CPU you can get with a 4MB cache (2mb per core). Getting an e6400 would get you 2MB of cache (1MB percore effective).

As far as the RAM goes, stick with criucial for several reasons;

1. Service
2. Support
3. Guaranteed Compatability
4. Superb Overclocking Potential (If that is your thing)
5. Great Price/Value
6. Lifetime Warranty
7. Faster Ram usualy nets you a 1-2% boost in performance yet it may cost you 150-300% more cash.
8. http://tinyurl.com/z39w3

Dont waste precious $$$ on overpriced ram if you want faster frame rates, get Crucial spend the $100-300 that it would cost you to obtain the faster memory on a faster CPU. An extra $300 could get you a Quad-Core Extreme Edition CPU or as a second pick a faster video card both will net you a better FPS to dollar ratio than fancy RAM.

Few months? If hes planning on going sli, just wait a week or two and snag a 8800gtx

 

[Googer]

Originally posted by: Gautama2

Originally posted by: Googer

Originally posted by: LW07
I would suggest going for an E6400 and getting this X1950XTX for $400. Either that or wait for the 8800GTS to come out and drop to that same price.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814102045

Go with a 7600GT and use the money you saved to buy a DirectX 10 video card in a few months. In the mean time take that money and grow it in some sort of short term investment.

The e6600 is the slowest CPU you can get with a 4MB cache (2mb per core). Getting an e6400 would get you 2MB of cache (1MB percore effective).

As far as the RAM goes, stick with criucial for several reasons;

1. Service
2. Support
3. Guaranteed Compatability
4. Superb Overclocking Potential (If that is your thing)
5. Great Price/Value
6. Lifetime Warranty
7. Faster Ram usualy nets you a 1-2% boost in performance yet it may cost you 150-300% more cash.
8. http://tinyurl.com/z39w3

Dont waste precious $$$ on overpriced ram if you want faster frame rates, get Crucial spend the $100-300 that it would cost you to obtain the faster memory and get a faster CPU instead.

An extra $300 could get you a Quad-Core Extreme Edition CPU or as a second pick a faster video card either one will net you a better FPS to dollar ratio than fancy RAM.

Few months? If hes planning on going sli, just wait a week or two and snag a 8800gtx

Early reports suggest that the 8800GTX is highly dependant on a fast CPU to achieve decent frame rates. I think history may be repeating it's self. Like the 9700pro and geForce 5--- FX series, when nVIDIA produced a first generation DX9 chip dependant on on a fast CPU while ATi made a part that was fast no matter what system it was in.

My suggestion is to wait and see what ATi produces and get a cheap card to hold you over.
Valve is excited about Quad Core.

 

[Gautama2]

Originally posted by: Googer

Originally posted by: Gautama2

Originally posted by: Googer

Originally posted by: LW07
I would suggest going for an E6400 and getting this X1950XTX for $400. Either that or wait for the 8800GTS to come out and drop to that same price.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814102045

Go with a 7600GT and use the money you saved to buy a DirectX 10 video card in a few months. In the mean time take that money and grow it in some sort of short term investment.

The e6600 is the slowest CPU you can get with a 4MB cache (2mb per core). Getting an e6400 would get you 2MB of cache (1MB percore effective).

As far as the RAM goes, stick with criucial for several reasons;

1. Service
2. Support
3. Guaranteed Compatability
4. Superb Overclocking Potential (If that is your thing)
5. Great Price/Value
6. Lifetime Warranty
7. Faster Ram usualy nets you a 1-2% boost in performance yet it may cost you 150-300% more cash.
8. http://tinyurl.com/z39w3

Dont waste precious $$$ on overpriced ram if you want faster frame rates, get Crucial spend the $100-300 that it would cost you to obtain the faster memory on a faster CPU. An extra $300 could get you a Quad-Core Extreme Edition CPU or as a second pick a faster video card both will net you a better FPS to dollar ratio than fancy RAM.

Few months? If hes planning on going sli, just wait a week or two and snag a 8800gtx

Early reports suggest that the 8800GTX is highly dependant on a fast CPU to achieve decent frame rates. I think history may be repeating it's self in the 9700pro and geForce 5--- FX series, when nVIDIA produced a first generation DX9 chip dependant on on a fast CPU while ATi made a part that was fast no matter what system it was in.

My suggestion is to wait and see what ATi produces and get a cheap card to hold you over.
Valve is excited about Quad Core.

Well if he kept the e6600, and maybe even overclocked it I don't think it would be a problem would you?

 

[Googer]

Originally posted by: Gautama2

Originally posted by: Googer

Originally posted by: Gautama2

Originally posted by: Googer

Originally posted by: LW07
I would suggest going for an E6400 and getting this X1950XTX for $400. Either that or wait for the 8800GTS to come out and drop to that same price.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814102045

Go with a 7600GT and use the money you saved to buy a DirectX 10 video card in a few months. In the mean time take that money and grow it in some sort of short term investment.

The e6600 is the slowest CPU you can get with a 4MB cache (2mb per core). Getting an e6400 would get you 2MB of cache (1MB percore effective).

As far as the RAM goes, stick with criucial for several reasons;

1. Service
2. Support
3. Guaranteed Compatability
4. Superb Overclocking Potential (If that is your thing)
5. Great Price/Value
6. Lifetime Warranty
7. Faster Ram usualy nets you a 1-2% boost in performance yet it may cost you 150-300% more cash.
8. http://tinyurl.com/z39w3

Dont waste precious $$$ on overpriced ram if you want faster frame rates, get Crucial spend the $100-300 that it would cost you to obtain the faster memory on a faster CPU. An extra $300 could get you a Quad-Core Extreme Edition CPU or as a second pick a faster video card both will net you a better FPS to dollar ratio than fancy RAM.

Few months? If hes planning on going sli, just wait a week or two and snag a 8800gtx

Early reports suggest that the 8800GTX is highly dependant on a fast CPU to achieve decent frame rates. I think history may be repeating it's self in the 9700pro and geForce 5--- FX series, when nVIDIA produced a first generation DX9 chip dependant on on a fast CPU while ATi made a part that was fast no matter what system it was in.

My suggestion is to wait and see what ATi produces and get a cheap card to hold you over.
Valve is excited about Quad Core.

Well if he kept the e6600, and maybe even overclocked it I don't think it would be a problem would you?

Overclocking won't turn a dual core in to a quad core cpu. If you are advocating he spend a few hundred more on faster ram to make his processor run like an e6700, then I say thats a dumb idea.

Instead buy standard (crucial- same chips in corsairxms/ocz) and use that money saved to get a quad core.

 

[Gautama2]

Hmm, never said anything about ram. He should be able to get to e6700 easy with 667 on air.

EDIT: If he went with the e6600.

 

[diabx0r]

Hrm... sensory overload.

hahaha

So, go with 2 gigs of Crucial 667? Instead of Corsair 800?

I'll trust whatever you guys say, and I still kind of plan on going the 7950 route simply because I can afford it and because as soon as the 8800 comes out I can give my bud Jon my 7950, as he could use one.

-Alex

 

[Gautama2]

Well you realize the 8800 is supposed to be released in 3 days?

 

[Googer]

Originally posted by: diabx0r
Hrm... sensory overload.

hahaha

So, go with 2 gigs of Crucial 667? Instead of Corsair 800?

I'll trust whatever you guys say, and I still kind of plan on going the 7950 route simply because I can afford it and because as soon as the 8800 comes out I can give my bud Jon my 7950, as he could use one.

-Alex

I am not suggesting you skimp on speed, just don't overspend on ram. Go with the fastest that your motherboard official supports if DDR667 then that is what you buy. The only exception is if you can get faster ram for the same price (sometimes it happens).

 

[diabx0r]

Originally posted by: Googer

Originally posted by: diabx0r
Hrm... sensory overload.

hahaha

So, go with 2 gigs of Crucial 667? Instead of Corsair 800?

I'll trust whatever you guys say, and I still kind of plan on going the 7950 route simply because I can afford it and because as soon as the 8800 comes out I can give my bud Jon my 7950, as he could use one.

-Alex

I am not suggesting you skimp on speed, just don't overspend on ram. Go with the fastest that your motherboard official supports if DDR667 then that is what you buy. The only exception is if you can get faster ram for the same price (sometimes it happens).

Well, the mobo I'm looking at is 800 compat, so I figured what the hell.

Hrm... I know regardless of what I go for it's going to own my current system.

 

[Googer]

Originally posted by: Gautama2
Well you realize the 8800 is supposed to be released in 3 days?

I knew it was soon but did not know the exact date. I will be waiting for AMD-ATi's responce before I make any decisions. Nothing stinks more than being an early adopter, it almost always comes back to bite you in the butt.


After checking prices, I may have to take back what I said. Crucial is no longer a competitive company they now overcharge for their products. When I last bought ram, it was the same price and sometimes cheaper to get ram from them but it's not true anymore. In the hot deals section I posted 2GB of Corsair DDR2-800 for $199. Just don't spend any more than that on ram because it just wont pay off.

 

[Googer]

Originally posted by: diabx0r

Originally posted by: Googer

Originally posted by: diabx0r
Hrm... sensory overload.

hahaha

So, go with 2 gigs of Crucial 667? Instead of Corsair 800?

I'll trust whatever you guys say, and I still kind of plan on going the 7950 route simply because I can afford it and because as soon as the 8800 comes out I can give my bud Jon my 7950, as he could use one.

-Alex

I am not suggesting you skimp on speed, just don't overspend on ram. Go with the fastest that your motherboard official supports if DDR667 then that is what you buy. The only exception is if you can get faster ram for the same price (sometimes it happens).

Well, the mobo I'm looking at is 800 compat, so I figured what the hell.

Hrm... I know regardless of what I go for it's going to own my current system.

Then get ddr2 800.
OCZ Gold 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory $199

 

[Gautama2]

Ive got that ocz in 512x2, their great. Overclocked to ddr2 960 no probs.

 

[Googer]

oops.