Is now a good time to build a new gaming PC-PART 2

[karma4jake]

Ok the previous thread got sidetracked a bit so I"m gonna repost it.

I've had my 1.4 athlon PC for about 4.5 years and its about time to upgrade. I used to build PC's at computer shop but have been somewhat "out" of computers for the last 3 years so I'm not completely up to speed on all aspects of computer hardware. I have a basic idea of what I want to build. I also want to know if there's any reason to wait a few months to build such as a new technology that I gotta have. The PC will be for gaming and net use. I WILL NOT be overclocking this PC, reliablilty and stability are my #1 concerns. I want to know if a socket 939 will give some ok upgradability in the future. Is the winchester core much better than the newcastle because its quite a bit more expensive. All prices were from newegg but I probably won't purchase from there since they have sales tax to TN which adds 9%. I suppose the big things up for debate are the X800 pro VS 6800GT, also the CPU, memory and MB.

Here's what I'm thinking of so far:

MSI K8N Neo platinum Nforce 3 Ultra $148
Mushkin dual pack 1GB total 2.5-3-3 $136
Sapphire X800 Pro AGP $409
AMD athlon 64 3200+ winchester $235
Seagate 160GB 7200 SATA $110
NEC 16X dual layer burner $68
Lian Li black aluminum case $89
Antec 400w PS $65

Thanks for the help.

 

[ComatoseDelirium]

I like the mobo, and the ram, and the CPU, though the 6800GT beats the X800 in all the tests I've seen, but I don't know much about the X800 so up to you looks good so far!

 

[CheesePoofs]

Everything looks good, but i'd also switch the x800 pro out for a 6800gt.

 

[karma4jake]

How long does it take for ATI price drops and product releases to hit the market because in the X800 XL review done on December 15th they posted the following lowered prices but on newegg the prices are still much higher not to mention the fact they don't even have the X800XL yet.

Radeon X850 XT PE 540 1.18 16 yes 256 0.13 $549
Radeon X850 XT 520 1.08 16 yes 256 0.13 $499
Radeon X850 Pro 520 1.08 12 no 256 0.13 $399
Radeon X800 XL 400 1 16 no 256 0.11 $299
Radeon X800 400 0.700 12 no 128 0.11 $199


I may try to go with a X850 PRO if I can get one for $400 like it says above, newegg doesn't even have that either. Also currently I have a Radeon 9600 NP that could get me along a couple months till the prices lower or products get released.

 

[karma4jake]

Also is there anything big and bad that Nvidia is releasing in the next 3 months or so thats gonna be under $400.

 

[imported_X]

If you need something now, go with the 6800GT. If you can wait a few weeks, go with the 6800XL or (if you can afford it) the 6850XT.

If you have no plans to OC, I would go with Newcastle over Winchester. You do get a slightly cooler, faster chip with the Winchester but the price difference isn't justified unless you plan to OC.

Also, you may want to go with an Nforce 4 board and get PCI-Express.

 

[Ike0069]

I just built (yesterday) a system nearly identical to that. The main difference, I went with the 6800 GT. This is my first time to buy an NVidia card, but they simply are outperforming the ATI's right now.

Edit: Look at Monarchcomputer.com for their MB/CPU combos. They offer that board and CPU cheaper than Newegg right now, and they'll test if for free.

 

[CheesePoofs]

Originally posted by: X
If you need something now, go with the 6800GT. If you can wait a few weeks, go with the 6800XL or (if you can afford it) the 6850XT.

Also, you may want to go with an Nforce 4 board and get PCI-Express.

I have never heard of the 6800xl and the 6850xt. You are getting nvidia's chips confused with ATI's x800xl and x850xt. But, i do agree with you that the OP should get a 6800gt, they are the best card out there for the money.

I wouldn't really recomend going pci express unless you want to upgrade your graphics card to another high end one in a year or two. Right now, pcie gives you no performance boost over agp, and high end agp cards will continue to be produced until the end of this year.

 

[drpootums]

If your not overclocking then i'd go with a newcastle like X said...though i've never heard of the 6800XL and the 6850XT (i'm hoping it was a typo...)