Getting ready to upgrade hardware.

EGGO

Diamond Member
Jul 29, 2004
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It feels almost like making a christmas wish list when you start looking for parts. I'm kind of jumping the gun, more than likely out of sheer boredom, but at least I can get the bulk of the research over and done with. I plan to get the build going by the end of summer. For the most part, I'm keeping the hard drives, optical drives, Windows XP and other misc. stuff from my 2004 build.

Purpose of build: The computer will be used for design. I do 2d and 3d rendering. Games are not really going to be played, if at all. There will also be music creation, but I'm not an enthusiast. Mostly what I'll need is just 5.1 surround sound support.

Budget: Let's keep the max at about $3,500

Processor: Intel Core 2 Extreme QX7600 (as of now $970)

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-965P-DQ6 This was reviewed over at the motherboard section of the site. I think that if I use this, there may be no need for my sound card, which is the Audigy2 ZS Gamer Edition. (as of now $223)

Memory: CORSAIR XMS2 Dominator Looks like I'll have to sell my old 2GB memory as the new motherboard will be needing it to be more compatible. (as of now $315)

PSU: I'm not sure if my Enermax Noisetaker 600W would help me anymore. Should I up the wattage to 700W? It will need to be determined after I figure out what Graphics Card I suppose.

Case: That Tsunami Dream has got to go. Now I'm looking at the LIAN LI PC-V1200Bplus II Black which Newegg will sell for about $250. I'd love to get the one that's meant as a server, but that's over $330 and in the end, that one would be just for looks.

Graphics Card: Here's where I'll need help. I'm upgrading from my BFGTech 6800 Ultra (which is an AGP). The last build was made to do both gaming and design. It seems that now gaming is not going to happen anymore, as I find myself being very uninterested anymore. Good for life, maybe not so good for the budget. I'll require a graphics card that would allow me to do my 3d renderings. I don't plan to do hardcore 3d animations, mostly just doing still pictures.

All in all, without the Graphics Card and the PSU, I've used up about $1,888 of the $3,000-500 budget. Leaving me with about $1,112.

At this point, I'll sell my parts that I have for the current PC. No idea how much it will be, since it may have to be sold altogether. Since it's pretty dated (2004) I'm not going to expect a goldmine from this pile other than the RAM.

Graphics: BFG 6800 Ultra OC (AGP)
Motherboard: MSI K8N Neo2 Platinum
RAM: Corsair TWINX2048-3200PRO (that's 2GB of memory)
Case: ThermalTake Tsunami
Water Cooling: Koolance EXOS Al (Couldn't do internal cooling)
 

LightningRider

Senior member
Feb 16, 2007
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Well if you don't play any games, you don't need something amazing like you said. I would, in your situation just pick up a 7600GT or something along those lines. Mid range card of the Geforce 7 series that should suit pretty much all of your needs. Shame your 6800 Ultra is AGP you could have probably gotten by with it as well.
 

EGGO

Diamond Member
Jul 29, 2004
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Originally posted by: LightningRider
Well if you don't play any games, you don't need something amazing like you said. I would, in your situation just pick up a 7600GT or something along those lines. Mid range card of the Geforce 7 series that should suit pretty much all of your needs. Shame your 6800 Ultra is AGP you could have probably gotten by with it as well.

Inclined to disagree. With 3d rendering, I really need a very powerful graphics card, something that demands more than gaming rig ones. Not to say that the 6800 wouldn't have gotten by, I'll agree with you on that. Had I the budget, I'd go for the NVIDIA Quadro FX 4500, just look at its specs and you would understand.
 

crimson117

Platinum Member
Aug 25, 2001
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Originally posted by: EGGO
Originally posted by: LightningRider
Well if you don't play any games, you don't need something amazing like you said. I would, in your situation just pick up a 7600GT or something along those lines. Mid range card of the Geforce 7 series that should suit pretty much all of your needs. Shame your 6800 Ultra is AGP you could have probably gotten by with it as well.
Inclined to disagree. With 3d rendering, I really need a very powerful graphics card, something that demands more than gaming rig ones. Not to say that the 6800 wouldn't have gotten by, I'll agree with you on that. Had I the budget, I'd go for the NVIDIA Quadro FX 4500, just look at its specs and you would understand.
So why not get a NVIDIA Quadro FX 3500 for about $900?

EDIT: Check out http://www.nvidia.com/object/IO_11761.html
 

EGGO

Diamond Member
Jul 29, 2004
5,504
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Originally posted by: crimson117
So why not get a NVIDIA Quadro FX 3500 for about $900?

EDIT: Check out http://www.nvidia.com/object/IO_11761.html

Definately am going to look at it. Mostly what I'm trying to do now is weigh my options on the graphics cards. Such as "best in class" but the thing is that it's hard for me to see which ones are better suited for it, especially when I see how today's graphics cards are practically parallel in price and tech specs seem to look the same.