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If you were going to build the best gaming tower? ($1700 budget)

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yeah thats a good thought, I'm not one of those hardcore guys that go out and try to keep up with latest n greatest non stop tho, and wouldn't the R250 cost an insane amount? I know ATI isn't known for their low prices for the most part (except the x800XL). I just want a badass gaming system that will last the next 3 years very well...

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Originally posted by: SylEm
yeah thats a good thought, I'm not one of those hardcore guys that go out and try to keep up with latest n greatest non stop tho, and wouldn't the R250 cost an insane amount? I know ATI isn't known for their low prices for the most part (except the x800XL). I just want a badass gaming system that will last the next 3 years very well...

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well, pixel shader 3.0, whilst debatable, isnt there for r3/4xx parts. over next 3 years, will be important feature. worth considering. dont get me wrong, r 4xx is very strong architecture, specially when u consder its nothing more that r3xx on steroids. i reccon the XL possibly the better buy there. good all rounder. just steer clear of those pointless, nasty, horrible 12 piped PRO parts.

karlos
 
wow bro, I'm totally newbed out, u just spoke a different language to me lol. What u mean r3xx and r4xx blah blah, I have no idea what ur talkn about man, sorry =(.

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Originally posted by: SylEm
wow bro, I'm totally newbed out, u just spoke a different language to me lol. What u mean r3xx and r4xx blah blah, I have no idea what ur talkn about man, sorry =(.

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sorry dude.

ok the r3/4/5 is the code name for the diffrent generations of ati GPU. the x is for the model, for example, a radeojn 800 XT was r420, whilst the x850XT is r480.

so, r3xxs series cards are: 9500/pro 9600/pro/xt 9700/pro and 9800/pro/xt
r4xx ( ati confuses even me with all these ) x800/pro/xl/xt/xt-pe ( in order of performance ) and x850/XT/XTPE

r5xx is codename FUDO and is the one out in may.

hope this helps
karlos
 
ahh ok got u, thnx for clearin that up =). Aight so u think I should go lower maybe go 6800GT and wait for the new card in may? 6800GT is what Im usin in my current system, but its AGP...

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Ok, sry about that. Changed the VC to PCI-e.
It's now $1701, but I guess you don't need teh DVD burner, right?
 
a 6800 ultra eh? I heard u could over clock the GT and get the same performance and save urself $200, that true?

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Actually yes. You won't save quite $200, but that is a good way to go.
So do you have a 6800 GT now? If so, what do you plan to do with it?
 
Originally posted by: SylEm
k that system looks pretty badass. Couple questions tho (sorry if I'm buggin guys, I just don't wanna mess up):

1. That motherboard I've never heard of, is it good? Also I noticed its only 1 PCI express x16, shouldn't I want 2?
2. How does the corsair value ram compare to the XMS pro series?
3. How will that system hold up if I DO plan to OC processor, video card, and ram?

*EDIT: Ike0069 I just noticed that video card is APG, the motherboard is PCI, won't that be a problem?
Click to expand...

OK, to answer these:
1. If you don't plan to OC, this MB should be fine. I've never personally used any NF4 boards tho.
2. The value RAM has 2.5 CL, while the XMS has 2.0 CL. The XMS will also OC better, but you stated you don't plan to do that so I don't see any reason to pay at least double the price for slight changes only realistically noticeable during a benchmark test.
3. That is a NF4 ultra board vice a NF4 SLI. I'm not too big on SLI, but that is always an option for you.
 
Originally posted by: Ike0069
Actually yes. You won't save quite $200, but that is a good way to go.
So do you have a 6800 GT now? If so, what do you plan to do with it?
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Its a eVGA 6800GT VGA card, I planned on giving my buddy my old system but if u wanna buy it from me u can, cuz I could use the money from it for my new system.

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Originally posted by: SylEm
Originally posted by: bunnyfubbles
With $1700 and no need for monitor, soundcard, or optical drives...a gaming system...definately 6800GT SLI and at least a Raptor.
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really? Cuz most people here are saying 850XT, and not to get SLi...but yeah, that raptor sounds badass.

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because SLI is clearly king of performance. Yeah the 850XT might be the fastest all around single card solution, but you've got $1700 and no need to buy a monitor. I had roughly $700 and chose the X800XL, 3000+ (overclocked) and DFI nF4 LanParty Ultra-D. $1000 more and a gaming system in mind I'd definately go SLI.

You can grab two 6800GTs off of newegg for under $800, an SLI motherboard for under $200, an AMD A64 for under $200, a 74GB Raptor for under $200, a capable case and PSU for $200 and a gig of ram for under $100. That's $1700 with room to spare because you can get all those items for less than I quoted. What else could you want/need in a gaming system that would make it the fastest/best gaming system for $1700?

And I'd definately consider overclocking. Even the low end socket 939 3000+ can reach high speeds on stock cooling and voltage. Which is considered fairly safe. Some can reach 2.6GHz, but don't get your hopes up, you should be thrilled to reach 2.4GHz, even 2.2GHz is nothing to laugh at, which is almost guaranteed these days. Heck, even at the stock 1.8GHz, the 3000+ can keep up with a 3.6GHz P4 in some games, and the biggest factor in games is definately the video card, certainly SLI is the way to go, SLI'd Ultras is a bit irrational and out of reach, even for your hefty budget.

Granted if this wasn't a gaming machine, I might recomend different parts but $1700 definately allows for SLI, and I'd DEFINATELY take SLIed 6800GTs and a 3000+ even with no overclocking over a 850XT and a 4000+.

Key word, gaming, you've got enough money to do it (high end SLI), and you want to game. Why not? If you had other needs such as if you needed a monitor and software and other such things you might be bound to a single card solution, but that doesn't seem to be the case.
 
Don't bother with Raptors. The 2% more performance isn't worth the $100 more and the 130GB less space 😛
 
Originally posted by: A5
Don't bother with Raptors. The 2% more performance isn't worth the $100 more and the 130GB less space 😛
Click to expand...
2% huh? Where did you come up with this number? maybe you are thinking of the first released 36 GB Raptors. They gave no where near the performance they initally believed would be produced, but the new 72 GB Raptors defintely give a significant performance improvement.

As for SLI, you just need to decide if it's worth it. With a 3800+ and a 6800GT you will be able to play any game at max settings (1600x1200, details at high/very high) while keeping fps > 30 with the possible exception of Doom3. You could get a cheaper processor with SLI, but your CPU will bottleneck the system and any fps gains will be minimal. Now you could always get an SLI board and then wait to get another VC if you'd like, but I just don't see that as pratical. That is why I suggest a non-SLI board.
 
ok, so I was reading about SLi, the only thing SLi is used for is dual video cards right? I heard putting 2 6800GT's together is useless cuz I'll only get about 20fps more than with one single one. Am I right so far? If thats the case then no, I don't wanna go SLi right now, I'll just get a cheaper motherboard that will do good for my 64 bit processor. Hit me back to confirm plz.

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yeah Im only running 1280x1024 on my LCD screen right now, cuz its 17". So I should stay AWAY from SLi right? What motherboard should I get then?

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Originally posted by: ribbon13
I highly reccomend an ATi card for your display situation.

$100 Seasonic Tornado 400
$35 Evercase E4252BB-53
$10 Ever Cool FAN-AL12025M12CA

$147 DFI LANPARTY UT NF4 ULTRA-D
$190 AMD ADA3200BIBOX
2x$190 Patriot PEP1G3200LL
$485 Radeon X850 XT Platinum

$180 Western Digital WD740GD

~$1527

I edited my above list to better match your needs. With a $1700 budget there is no reason to not get a Raptor and at least a 3200.
Click to expand...


thats a nifty setup, but the hard-drive will be pretty small with only 74GBs lol....

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Originally posted by: ribbon13
Wanna talk about depriciation of value? SLI is an exponential step over an x850 for that.

http://graphics.tomshardware.com/graphic/20041222/vga_charts-09.html

look at the bottom chart to see the most pwnage... x850 xt pe is $455. 6800GT SLI is $800? 6800U SLI is $1000? yeah... nice value per dollar there...

Also are you running an LCD? Getting SLI to run at 1280x1024 would be fvcking stupid.
Click to expand...

By your link and reasoning, I could claim the X850XT is a joke and complete rip off compared to the X800XL. $155 more for minimal gains in the one game you provided?

Yeah, if you only play Half Life 2, its obvious you then go for the Radeon. HOWEVER if you play Doom 3, FarCry, Battlefield, or UT2k4, (4 of the 6 games tested) the results are very dramatic in favor of SLI (however you conveniently linked the one test that favors the Radeon). Granted they didn't even test 1280x1024, however it should fall inbetween 16x12 and 10x7.

SLI isn't perfect, it doesn't off double the performance. But with a $1700 budget it is an acceptable option. IMHO you either go all out to your budget's max, or you hold back and save some money coming in well under the budget.

The X800XL or single 6800GT is more than acceptable. 1GB modules are pretty much overkill right now (too expensive per MB and not enough performance bennefit in games)...and here you were trying to convince us that double for an insane ammount more and negligable performance gains was far from worth it...only in my case I could argue SLI provides far more performance gains than 2GB of ram does over 1GB (especially when 2x1GB is roughly 4x the cost of 2x512MB).


I dunno, this just seems like one of those situations where SylEm needs to actually determine what he needs for himself. And then come back for recommendations. $1700 doesn't mean $1700 needs to be spent.

What games are we looking at? How serious are we about gaming, is it a liesurly thing or are we in it for some competition as well?

Answers to questions like that would help us to help you better customize your system instead of "whats the best gaming rig $1700 can buy"
 
well with that being said here it goes:

I'm hardcore gaming, like I own my own server for CS source so I'm on all the time there. I play WoW, EQII and also KOTORII. I beta MMORPGs all the time. I also use adobe photoshop CS a lot and plan on doing video editing soon (small amount but still am doin it). I don't OC a whole lot, just maybe my video card since I've never doen it before. I probably will when I learn how to. That help man? sorry if I'm screwing u guys up.

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Photoshop and video editing? 2GB wouldn't be a bad idea. 2GB of ram is still gonna be 2GB of ram later... it's usefulness isn't going to go away that quickly compared to video cards. The X800 XL suggestion isn't bad at all. I suggest looking into buying a Toledo(dual-core) in the future as it would be useful to you.


bunnyfubbles... point me to a x800 xl for $155? $350 at monarch

edited above list again ^^ x800 xl $347 shipped at ZZF
 
If you want to run 2GB doesnt that force you into a 2T command rate with an AMD board. AMD's are built for speed (like a motorcycle) not tough work (like a trailer truck). My recommendation for Intel increases in this instance.
 
Not when you run just 2 DIMMs, which is why I was reccomending 1024MB modules.

As for you Intel reccomendation.. I've seen Toledo's in action and they will be available at retailers in a matter of months. So you're full of it. ^^
 
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