Less then $1600 Gaming/College PC

[wisdomtooth]

Originally posted by: dcdude
everyone says laptops are convinent for college, but thats hardly the case

maybe 70-80 percent of the people with personal computers have Desktops, or if they have laptops it just sits in there room

people may say "oh there good for taking notes in class..." but i hardly ever see anyone taken notes with a laptop, youd be the odd man out - chances are if you had a laptop it would never leave your room, thats how it is with a lot of people here that have laptops

Not sure which university you attended or when, but the universities I attended all had WiFi hotspots in the libraries, in the cafeterias, and in the classrooms so you can get on-line from those locations. The instructors are finally wising up and putting their course materials on-line so the students can just pull it up on their laptops and listen while they lecture, and laptops are indispensible for doing library research. Some universities are also starting to experiment with electronic textbooks (I was unfortunate enough to be at just such a "guinea pig" school where they distributed the texts on a DVD).

Laptops are definitely becoming more and more essential for college, no question about it.

 

[Stokes]

I appreciate all the response on the laptop, but I already have one, so no real need to purchase a better one.

Looking for comments on the desktop

 

[imported_X]

You have a very good setup, given what is available today. Since you already have a laptop, can you afford to wait a few months before getting your desktop? ATI will be coming out with their AMR (dual video card) boards in a couple months, so you can upgrade to a second X800XL at some point if you get the AMR board. Also, the new R520 and G70 are going to double video card performance and should be available by the Fall. As usual, the longer you can wait, the better off you will be.

 

[Stokes]

X -

I thought about waitting for the dual card setup ATI will be introducing probably in the early fall. I even though about going Dual 6600 GT's or 6800s (not sure if you can do these since I never hear people say the normal version SLI). But I found the cost versus going 6600GT's was more then an X800XL and the 800xl out performed the 6600 GT's in every single game (there may be one where it beat it by 1 frame or something).

I'm unfamiliar though with R520 and G70, what are these?

The other reason I didn't think to go SLI from nvidia because although I am a gamer, I do not think I need to pay $100+ to get maybe 10 more fps in a game that already at 60+. All the benchmarks ran are at 1600 resolution and still getting 50 fps. Thats damn good. So I figure when i use my LCD's native resolution along with some minor overclocking on the video card I can get it past the 6800GT and get the most bang for my buck. I just don't know if spending that much on video will be worth it when one card will be more then enough performance.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: Stokes
X -

I thought about waitting for the dual card setup ATI will be introducing probably in the early fall. I even though about going Dual 6600 GT's or 6800s (not sure if you can do these since I never hear people say the normal version SLI). But I found the cost versus going 6600GT's was more then an X800XL and the 800xl out performed the 6600 GT's in every single game (there may be one where it beat it by 1 frame or something).

I'm unfamiliar though with R520 and G70, what are these?

The other reason I didn't think to go SLI from nvidia because although I am a gamer, I do not think I need to pay $100+ to get maybe 10 more fps in a game that already at 60+. All the benchmarks ran are at 1600 resolution and still getting 50 fps. Thats damn good. So I figure when i use my LCD's native resolution along with some minor overclocking on the video card I can get it past the 6800GT and get the most bang for my buck. I just don't know if spending that much on video will be worth it when one card will be more then enough performance.

They're not out yet. Next gen video cards.

 

[Stokes]

Are these new cards suppose to have something new that someone MUST have? And what is the expected price range for these new cards?

 

[imported_rod]

Originally posted by: wisdomtooth
Not sure which university you attended or when, but the universities I attended all had WiFi hotspots in the libraries, in the cafeterias, and in the classrooms so you can get on-line from those locations. The instructors are finally wising up and putting their course materials on-line so the students can just pull it up on their laptops and listen while they lecture, and laptops are indispensible for doing library research. Some universities are also starting to experiment with electronic textbooks (I was unfortunate enough to be at just such a "guinea pig" school where they distributed the texts on a DVD).

Laptops are definitely becoming more and more essential for college, no question about it.

Well I do engineering at the state best University of Technology, and virtually EVERYTHING is available online. There are WiFi hotspots all over campus, for anyone who wants them. A laptop would be useful (Im only in first year so I haven't got one yet), but if you already have one, then a desktop would also be good.

Oh, WisdomTooth, I know what your saying about being a guines pig. At my Uni, we no longer have text books for chemistry. We pay $40 to use a third-party website for 6 months, and it's servers are on the other side of the planet and often overloaded. It might be alright for people with broardband, but many of us are still stuck on dial-up.

RoD

 

[Chosonman]

I just built this one.

AMD 63 3000+ (754) + Chaintech MOBO + 1Gig Corsair DDR400 PC3200 RAM = $238
Total: $238 Shipped

ADD:
6800GT AGP for $300
Antec Case + 300W PSU $56
NEC 3520A DVD-RW $50
160 Seagate HDD $81

Prices courtesy of Pricewatch.com

Grand Total: $725.00 shipped

Compared to the system you listed this one is about 98% the performance for half the price.

 

[wisdomtooth]

Originally posted by: Chosonman
I just built this one.

AMD 63 3000+ (754) + Chaintech MOBO + 1Gig Corsair DDR400 PC3200 RAM = $238
Total: $238 Shipped

ADD:
6800GT AGP for $300
Antec Case + 300W PSU $56
NEC 3520A DVD-RW $50
160 Seagate HDD $81

Prices courtesy of Pricewatch.com

Grand Total: $725.00 shipped

Compared to the system you listed this one is about 98% the performance for half the price.

The OP's price list also includes a 19" LCD monitor for $1500 total. You need to add that to your list to make a fair comparison, and it jacks your price up to almost $1100. Definitely NOT half the price.

Also, picking the lowest prices on Pricewatch almost certainly mean you have to buy from a dozen different vendors, many of whom have questionable reputation and policies.

Plus the OP is buying implements for quiet computing (XP90 heatsink, NV Silencer, quiet fans, quiet PSU). Your price list does not include those either.

If one is building a new system now, might as well go S939/PCIe, which offers options not available to S754, like the new Venice-core CPUs.

 

[imported_X]

The R520 is ATI's new generation video card architecture, which was originally targeted for Computex but now looks like it won't come out until the Fall. I think it will depend on when Nvidia cranks out their new card, based on the G70. Supposedly ATI's card is ready, so it is just a marketing decision on when to release it. Both represent the next generation, which will double the performance of what is available today, and I'm sure they will come at a premium. Of course, the existing high end will likely drop in price as a result, so you win either way.

Whether or not you need a dual graphics solution depends on your current gaming needs, and your upgrade path. For other than extreme gamers, you will be perfectly fine with a single card. But some like the idea of being able to upgrade their systems by buying a second card when the price falls. ATI is expected to be coming out with their dual card technology very shortly, within the next month or so.

 

[Stokes]

Although his price is probably still $400 cheaper, I'm aiming my computer at silence as well. How does the Seagate compare to the Samsung Spinpoint as far as noise?

I'm paying for a fan controller and fans which you didn't list in yours and I'm not familar with the DVD-RW drive you listed. The one I found seems to known as a very quiet one compared to others. The monitor obviously also ups the price and shipping.

I'm also paying a decent amount on my case, but I like how that case looks, and unless someone finds a similar looking case for cheaper. I think I will go with it (please link if you know of any similar). The P180 case that will be coming out is way to expensive and I don't fancy it too much.

On the video cards, I'm still in the deciding period. Obviously, by waitting I will have to pick up a new motherboard for ATI's new technology which probably will be on the expensive side as well. But in the long run it might work out cause then I could just buy another x800xl card and have fantastic performance. But the computer I have now (I have had for 2-3 years), which has a ATI 9700 Pro, and it's been handling most of the new games without most hassle. It's my CPU that is slowing me down right now.