Is it a good time to build a computer?

[clickynext]

I'm contemplating building a new general purpose PC, but I've been out of the hardware loop for quite some time, and have no idea what's going on, what's the best stuff, and what's coming out soon.

In your opinion, based on factors like new technology coming out, prices, what's currently available, and anything else you think matters, is it a good time to build an average level PC, around the $1000 value?

 

[Blain]

Originally posted by: clickynext
I'm contemplating building a new general purpose PC, but I've been out of the hardware loop for quite some time, and have no idea what's going on

Reading threads in this forum will get you up to speed on current trends.

 

[hurtstotalktoyou]

It's a great time to buy a PC, yes. Quad-core prices are fairly low, dual-core CPUs are dirt cheap, and there are no dramatic price cuts expected in the near future. Go for it!

Before we start making suggestions, though, we need to establish a couple of things: Firstly, do you need any peripherals (e.g. monitor/printer/scanner)? Second, do you play or plan to play any graphic-intensive games, and if so which ones? Finally, do you need any features which do not come standard (e.g. firewire, TV tuner, wireless LAN, etc.)? Answer these and we'll be able to offer some advice.

 

[gtsing]

If you have an unlimited money pool then I'd wait for X38 definitely. However, since you have a 1000 dollar budget, now is a great time to buy. Everything that 'was' good (but still is) is falling in price steadily. You could probably get a high-end dual core, 2GB of good RAM, and an 8800GTS (with everything else of course) for around $1000, I didn't check it, I'm just guessing.

 

[Blain]

Originally posted by: clickynext
Is it a good time to build a computer?

In your opinion, is it a good time to build an average level PC?

Yes, it's a perfect time to build a computer. :thumbsup::laugh:

 

[betasub]

<chant> Build, build, build...

 

[Cogman]

Now is definitely not a bad time to build a computer. While there will always be something better just around the corner (penryn), I would say you should be fairly satisfied with a build now.

That being said, waiting a few more months might yield another price cut on quads and the availability of the Yorkfield... That could make around January-March a slightly better time to build.

 

[LightningRider]

I think it's a good time to build. There's always something better around the corner but I don't think Penryn will be THAT much better than what we have now so you might as well go for it.

 

[Deleted member 4644]

I think now is a good time to build unless you can wait over a year. If you wait over a year you can get Nelham or whatever its called. Penryn is not a huge improvement over Core2. So if you need something new in the next few months, now is just as good as December etc.

 

[fujimitsu]

Originally posted by: Deleted member 4644
I think now is a good time to build unless you can wait over a year. If you wait over a year you can get Nelham or whatever its called. Penryn is not a huge improvement over Core2. So if you need something new in the next few months, now is just as good as December etc.

I have to agree, prices will always be lower six months from now but I think this is a great time to buy.

You can get a system with e6750 an 8800gts and 2gb memory for around $1k as long as you don't need a monitor, and it will perform like a champ on any games that are out right now and last you quite a while.

Unless you raise your budget or wait a considerably long time, I'd buy now.

 

[clickynext]

Thanks for the replies, everyone. I've priced out a system, please tell me what you think of it if you like. =)

ASUS P5K-E/WIFI-AP
Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 500GB
Crucial Ballistix PC2-8500
XFX GeForce 8800GTS XXX
Corsair HX520 520w
Sound Blaster X-FI Xtremegamer FATAL1TY
Intel Xeon X3210 (intending to overclock to ~3Ghz via 8x375Mhz... possible?)
LG GSA-H62L DVD Writer
LG L226WTX-BN Monitor

Even without the monitor it's a bit over my original budget, but that's usually how it goes if there's nothing I really want to compromise on. I think the only thing I could get rid of is the X-FI in favor of my old Sound Blaster Live, but I like listening to music as much as anyone so even that's not great.

Figured I had to get the monitor, even though that would put me way over budget. My current old 15" monitor wouldn't do the 8800GTS justice, I suspect.

I may yet put off the upgrade for another year and wait for Nehalem in hopes of something affordable coming from that core. It seems like the Core architecture might be dead in a year or two with the new one coming out, and I don't want to catch the end of it like I caught the end of NetBurst with my previous upgrade. My current system is a PentiumD 805 w/ Radeon9600Pro, so it's old but still usable.

Anyway thanks again, please tell me what you think.

 

[konakona]

If you have money to burn, 8800gts 320mb looks like a sweet spot to me. Otherwise, if you are looking for something to tide yourself over, your choices are limited between the deals on 1900gt and 1950pro IMO. None of the other cards are quite worth the asking price and havnt dropped much in a while either. With cpus/mobos/ram, this looks like a prime time to pull the trigger, and I too would have a full system once the vid card arrives on monday. There are tons of good ddr2 deals with rebate (very slim chance of ddr3 going mainstream anytime soon), and neither peryn nor phenom looks that spectacular.

 

[clickynext]

Thanks. What's the opinion on ATi cards these days? I've bought all ATi in the past, but their drivers have really put me off. Now I don't know what happened, but for some reason it looks like ATi mid range cards totally disappeared from the face of the earth. 1950pro is a very low end card, right? How does it compare to the X800pro?

 

[konakona]

I think you got it backwards.

1950pro is significantly better than 7900gs at stock speed, although the nvidia card comes quite close with overclocking. 1950xt puts all the nv7xxx line to shame, except for 7950gx2 (a SLI card). The only problem is how hard it is to find a decent deal on it these days.

 

[Zap]

"ASUS P5K-E/WIFI-AP "
If you're not going to absolutely use the wireless, I'd say just get a cheaper board.

"Crucial Ballistix PC2-8500"
IIRC all Ballistix use the same ICs. Why not just get the PC2-6400 for $50 less shipped price, plus a $47 rebate on top of that (as of right now). I don't think the extra few RAM MHz is worth an extra $100.

"XFX GeForce 8800GTS XXX"
Great choice if you're a gamer. If you are not going to be gaming, then a huge waste of money. In your first post you mentioned this was to be a "general purpose PC" and you have not mentioned gaming.

"Sound Blaster X-FI Xtremegamer FATAL1TY"
Unless you will be using 4.1 or better EAX surround sound, then IMO a waste of money. Your motherboard choice has High Definition audio, which should sound just fine for music and even gaming. Only with EAX would there be any big (few percent) CPU utilization difference, and if you hear any difference in music, it's from added equalization that is pre-set.

"Intel Xeon X3210 (intending to overclock to ~3Ghz via 8x375Mhz... possible?)"
Software is barely catching up to dual core as it is. Sure, if someone tries they can prove that quad core is faster in a handful of apps, but generally speaking you'll get better performance out of a faster dual core. You can get the E6750 for $195 which runs at default 2.66GHz and can likely clock higher than the Kentsfield quad cores. Also, IIRC the quad cores aren't huge fans of high bus speeds.

Of course the parts you (clickynext) specified should make for a really nice system. My suggestions were to help you bring the system closer to your original budget without compromising much performance, if at all.

 

[konakona]

think about what you could have done with that money...
instead of getting ahead by a minute difference you may or may not appreciate in rare instances, you could reward yourself with a huge monitor, some decent speakers and whatnot 🙂

 

[Blain]

Originally posted by: konakona
think about what you could have done with that money...
instead of getting ahead by a minute difference you may or may not appreciate in rare instances, you could reward yourself with a huge monitor, some decent speakers and whatnot 🙂

Should I have waited and not spent $258 on a P3-450 and $200 on a 10GB, 5400rpm IBM HD?

 

[clickynext]

Originally posted by: Zap"XFX GeForce 8800GTS XXX"
Great choice if you're a gamer. If you are not going to be gaming, then a huge waste of money. In your first post you mentioned this was to be a "general purpose PC" and you have not mentioned gaming.

"Sound Blaster X-FI Xtremegamer FATAL1TY"
Unless you will be using 4.1 or better EAX surround sound, then IMO a waste of money. Your motherboard choice has High Definition audio, which should sound just fine for music and even gaming. Only with EAX would there be any big (few percent) CPU utilization difference, and if you hear any difference in music, it's from added equalization that is pre-set.

Those are interesting points. The PC is not built for gaming, but I do play games occasionally (ie. every few weeks when I've got a light school workload).

I'm interested in your saying that the motherboard sound is good enough. I don't think the impact on performance that sound brings matters to me, but sound quality does, as I spend almost all my computer time listening to music while doing other stuff.

Has onboard sound gotten much better in the last few years? In my current system, Asus P5P800SE, the onboard sound is significantly worse than my Sound Blaster Live, even though the card is an incredibly old cheap piece from 70 years ago. I think you're definitely right that it has preset equalizers, but even so, the onboard sound I had before didn't sound as clear, and had some crackling.

I remember using the excellent onboard sound from the nForce2, and being very satisfied with that. Do you think the audio from this board would be on part with it?

Thanks

 

[Zap]

Originally posted by: clickynext
The PC is not built for gaming, but I do play games occasionally (ie. every few weeks when I've got a light school workload).

What monitor are you going to be using and how demanding will you be for visual quality? Also, what games do you play and are there any future games you are looking forward to? For instance, if you have a 24" monitor and expect to play UT3 in full resolution, then 8800GTS or better. If you have a 19" LCD and are still playing WoW, Warcraft 3, C&C Generals, CS:S, then you can more than get by with a midrange card.

Think about it this way. The $400 for that video card ONLY benefits games, while the $250 saved by going with a midrange card can go towards more RAM, more HDD or a faster CPU which will benefit everything a little bit instead of only games.

Originally posted by: clickynext
I'm interested in your saying that the motherboard sound is good enough.
...
Has onboard sound gotten much better in the last few years?
...
the onboard sound I had before didn't sound as clear, and had some crackling.

Yes, IMO onboard sound is better now. The latest motherboard chipsets have "HD audio" which is the successor to "AC'97" that motherboards have had. This new specification calls for more channels, higher bitrates and even more shielding from motherboard noise so you don't get that crackling.

http://www.digit-life.com/arti...dio/intel-hdaudio.html

Integrated High Definition Audio sounds better than a modern integrated AC'97-audio and five year old sound cards, and by the quality it stands near the three year old Creative Audigy, but it still cannot compare with modern sound cards like Audigy2 and higher.

You should just go with onboard sound, and if you are unhappy with it, then upgrade to a PCI solution. You never know... may save a few bucks for ya!

 

[konakona]

Originally posted by: Blain

Originally posted by: konakona
think about what you could have done with that money...
instead of getting ahead by a minute difference you may or may not appreciate in rare instances, you could reward yourself with a huge monitor, some decent speakers and whatnot 🙂

Should I have waited and not spent $258 on a P3-450 and $200 on a 10GB, 5400rpm IBM HD?

Be realistic. I was referring to his CPU mainly, and just the bang for buck factor in general. That is not to say you should never upgrade. I doubt a computer for general use would benefit much from having a xeon.

 

[clickynext]

Originally posted by: konakona

Originally posted by: Blain

Originally posted by: konakona
think about what you could have done with that money...
instead of getting ahead by a minute difference you may or may not appreciate in rare instances, you could reward yourself with a huge monitor, some decent speakers and whatnot 🙂

Should I have waited and not spent $258 on a P3-450 and $200 on a 10GB, 5400rpm IBM HD?

Be realistic. I was referring to his CPU mainly, and just the bang for buck factor in general. That is not to say you should never upgrade. I doubt a computer for general use would benefit much from having a xeon.

Interestingly enough, the Xeon is cheaper than the C2Q equivalent. And you're right, most users don't even need a C2Q at all, but I think it'd be useful for me. I do all sorts of weird multitasking like video encode, download, and gaming all at the same time. And then I complain about how slow it's running, even though my video card and hard drive are probably to blame. But hey, more cores probably helps to a certain extent, right?

It's just that my upgrade cycle is longer than most peoples on this forum (my current PC was built 5 years ago, and slightly upgraded once, 1.5 years ago) and not having the latest stuff gives me the feeling that my stuff will be obsolete sooner. Of course this is probably just perception as you say, and it'll be outdated before I know it.

You should just go with onboard sound, and if you are unhappy with it, then upgrade to a PCI solution. You never know... may save a few bucks for ya!

Thanks, I read up on that article and it sounds like the HD Audio should be just fine for me, so you saved me some cash.

 

[Zap]

Originally posted by: clickynext
Interestingly enough, the Xeon is cheaper than the C2Q equivalent.

There is no equivalent. The nearest C2Q is the Q6600 at 2.4GHz with a 9x multiplier. That Xeon is 2.13GHz at 8x multiplier. The quadcore Xeon with a 9x multiplier costs more than the Q6600 by a few tens.

Originally posted by: clickynext
not having the latest stuff gives me the feeling that my stuff will be obsolete sooner.

Yeah, but not having the latest stuff saves a wad-load of cash, which can become an upgrade sooner. Six one, half dozen the other.

As for myself, I would hate to have even the highest end computer... of five years ago. I'd rather have last year's mid-range system.

 

[gorcorps]

I haven't read the whole thread, so I don't know what they said but here's what I think:

I say it's a pretty good time to get a new PC. As long as you get a mobo/cpu which is a current socket, as they recently came out with new sockets that should be around for a while. PCI-E is here for a while, so you'll be able to get the newest vid cards without worry for a number of years.

 

[bryanW1995]

check out 2900 pro for vid card. it should be a little bit cheaper than 8800 gts 320 but has similar performance.

the xeon is great imho at 2.13. you save the $$ vs the Q6600 and it should still easily oc to 3.0 +.