"Need help with that new CPU"... ^^

[Lawliet]

Hey guys !

I've done some research and found that this forum is the most knowledgable on hardware around, so i came here for help.

right now my pc is(you can laugh if you want >.> ) :
Pentium 4 CPU 1.80 ghz
1.79 GHz, 1 gb RAM
Radeon x700 series graphic card (agp)

I have a 1.2k budget to make a new pc. I have a monitor, mouse keyboard etc, just need the actual computer now.

main criteria is for it to be able to:
run x264, 1080p encoded files without any lagg. (for this i understand you need strong processor and ram, at least wayy stronger then what i currently have)
have a good dvd burner (maybe a reader and burner for easier rips?)
big hard drive (maybe two)
pci 2 graphic card.

i leave this in your care,
really appreciate,

CURRENT BLUEPRINT:

Hard Drive (will config it to Raid 0):
2 X Caviar SE16

Ram: Just read bunch of horrid reviws. looking for new ram. probably 2X2GB now.
2 X 2X1 GB g.Skill DDR2-800

Processor (will buy from mwave)
q6600

DVD Burner:
Samsung SATA DVD Burner

Case:
Lian Li PC-A05

Coolerbuy from svc.com)
Thermalright Ultra-120 Extreme

Fan for Cooler:
SILVERSTONE FM121 120mm

Graphics Card:
EVGA 8600 GTS

Power:
corsair hx520

Motherboard: i like this board... but if you have any suggestions of any better ones within same price range (less than 200) then please voice them
Abit IP35 Pro

-Lawliet

 

[nyker96]

for H264 encoded file you need a decent CPU but mostly you need a brand new pci-e card that supports hardware accelration for decoding. Example: Nvidia 8600GT/GTS series, ATI 2600XT series. As for CPU for the money you paying, get a decent dual core and 2GB DDR2 RAM will do just fine. With this setup, it's going to be much faster than your old rig in H264 decoding performance.

 

[PCTC2]

Gigabyte P35-DS3R or Asus P5K P35 $120-130
Intel Q6600 $300
4x1GB G.Skill DDR2-800 $200
eVGA 8800GTS 320MB $280
Lite-on SATA 20X DVD-RW DL $35
Asus SATA DVD-ROM $20
Seagate 500GB SATA II HD $150
Vista Home Premium 64-bit OEM $115

TOTAL: $1230 +S&H

If you need a case and a PSU, then a cheap case would be a CoolerMaster Centurion 5 ($50)
And a good PSU is a Corsair 520HX for $120

That's about $1400... it's a little more than your budget, but it can be tweaked to be cheaper.

The Q6600 is if you want to encode as well. If you're just decoding, you can get a E6550 for $200 and save yourself $100.

EDIT:: POST 512!!! (I'm a binary fanatic) + Forgot Case/PSU

 

[Lawliet]

these items i am certain on
hard drive -

Caviar SE16

ram -

2X 2X1 GB g.Skill DDR2-800

4x1GB g.Skill DDR2-800
processor -

q6600

dvd burner - Samsung Sata DVD Burner

Samsung SATA DVD Burner

the case... i like the case, Antec P180, but it doesnt seem like it's cooling is as good as Antec 900 so i dont know which one of these 2...

between motherboards,

Abit IP35 Pro

ASUS P5K-V


power -
corsair hx520

and graphics card i am not sure yet. i need something that will definately last for a while with the x264 and 1080p format. gaming? dunno if i will be into it, but it cant hurt can it? then that depends on the price too.

well i would very like to hear your feedback on the items above.

thanks again,

Lawliet

bloody hell ~~ so used to the tag heh

 

[swtethan]

8600GTS should be the video card you buy, it has video acceleration that 8800 series doesnt.

 

[swtethan]

DONT buy a Q6600 from newegg, they will gouge you on $$$

mwave has good prices on Q6600 cpu's

 

[Lawliet]

8600 GTS as video card. gotcha, and thnx for mwave advice.

any tweaks you can throw into my view of this pc? i really have no experience in it.

-Lawliet

 

[swtethan]

You will get more value out of your system if you overclock, even a huge noob can overclock a Core 2 to 3.0ghz

 

[swtethan]

I dont do video encoding, but if it helps, you might want to do Raid 0 on a pair of harddrives to get rid of the bottleneck. its fairly easy to do

 

[Lawliet]

between the motherboards, which should i take?

and i have no experience with overclocking. i am all for it though, any links /tips are welcome

 

[swtethan]

well it depends

if you need specific things like firewire and such..... choose a motherboard of your liking/needs, many of the members here will suggest a good board. I would say theyre pretty close in comparison.

I have always like Asus (ive had 3 boards of them) but this time I moved to a Gigabyte P35-DS3P.

Get an aftermarket cooler like Tuniq Tower 120, theyre quiet and they cool quads resonably well. I personally Have a Thermalright Ultra 120 eXtreme which is more expensive but cools better (also you need to buy your own fans). You will need a good cooler for a 3.0ghz+ Q6600.

If you wait til they have Q6600 G0 steppings out (couple of weeks) theyre better than current Q6600's, they run cooler and overclock higher on air (so far)


dont forget the Raid 0 idea!

 

[swtethan]

Also there are many guides to overclocking Intel Core processors on here, even on the first page!

 

[swtethan]

That power supply is loud, read the reviews.

a lot of people love this power supply

corsair hx520

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16817139001

a little bit more, but its much better

 

[Lawliet]

Thanks.

Raid 0 idea i love, but i dont understand anything about it haha.
i'll read some overclocking guides later then.

wait two weeks huh.. i've been waiting for the longest time to finally get a new pc. two weeks you say.. maybe ^^. ill catch up on overclock guides then lol

my total so far without graphics card is $987. wow lol i just realized.

anyways, this leaves some room for a graphics card.

-Lawliet

 

[swtethan]

you can save a LOT of money by checking the Hot Deals section of the forums. Last I saw... 4GB of HP DDR2 ram cost under $100. save some $$$$$

well you dont have to exactly wait two weeks, I put my preorder in for a G0 Q6600 from Clubit.com (call them)... or you can preorder from tankguys.com last I heard tankguys had a long waiting list.

 

[swtethan]

http://forums.anandtech.com/me...AR_FORUMVIEWTMP=Linear


theres the deal for 4GB of ram for $100


cpu Q6600: 300
ram 4GB: 100
Harddrives: about 160 for TWO (for raid), buy another 500GB+ for storage
Power suppply: 120 (there are many choices even under $100)
burner: $40ish
Video card: you can get a 8500GT and still get the video acceleration like the 8600GTS but gaming will be lacking a lot, at least it will cost a lot less.

It will be within budget

 

[Lawliet]

which case is better for me?


Antec P180

or

Antec 900

 

[swtethan]

P180 is big and heavy, has good sound dampening, but not the most portable if you want to work on it.

900 is gamer boy blinged out with lots of airflow fan options

Lian Li is a company that I like a lot now, I have the A05, and its 10x better than the P180 I had before even though it will only hold 3 hard drives and two cd drives. It suits me better since I like to move my case around and work on it a lot. It also has better quality materials and is built better (like mercedes vs chevrolet better)

A big problem on the P180 is that the front door would warp really bad, I had to take it off and bend it back to get it semi flush. Also the plastic clips on the side panel broke off cause... theyre plastic!

 

[Lawliet]

everyone on this thread, and you especially have been a tremendous help.

thanks alot !

the Lian Lin's design is really great, but it does seem a bit smaller then the p180, will it fit everything i picked above ?

ahh, and i scraped up some extra money, what is a very good video card you would recommend that would maximize the efficiency of this system?
my friend wants me to play oblivion with him, ive never been a gamer, nonetheless i'd like to give it a go.

usually i buy pc's once every 4-5 years, so something that will last and be up to date with the newer stuff that comes out would be great. maybe the 8800gts? or 8600gts?

ahh and ati vs geforce? which should i go for?

 

[swtethan]

The top of the line Geforce is the 8800GTX, then comes ATI's HD2900XT, very close behind is the 8800GTS 640MB (ties in some games also). These cards are very well suited for video games @ maximum settings (oblivion is very demanding) but for video playback, the mid range 8600 or even 2600 cards are best because of their decoder chip. Its just what you want to do with the system. I would say go for the 8800GTS 640 or the HD2900xt 512MB.

Lian Li has much bigger cases like the V1000 series, check them out.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16811112068

this one is a big case

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16811112058

 

[Lawliet]

i really like both the 8600 and 8800.
which runs movies better however? the weaker 8600 but with decoder chip, or the 8800 without?

i very much like the Lian Li A05,
how do i find out if it will fit what i need ?

also, ya know any usefull links for the Raid 0? ^^
and overclocking link would be fantastic.

thanks again,
-Lawliet

 

[swtethan]

A05 fits

2 cd drives
3 hard drives



Raid 0 instructions are in most motherboard manuals.

Overclock instructions can be found int he first few pages of this cpu/overclocking section (how to overclock core duo/quad etc.....)

 

[swtethan]

8500GT, 8600GT and 8600GTS beat the 8800GTS and 8800GTX in playing movies

The 8800 series slaughters all the 8500 and 8600 series in gaming


Video watching, cheap: 8500GT

Video watching, little bit of games: 8600GTS

Hardcore gaming: 8800GTS

Hardcore gaming/money to burn: 8800GTX or Ultra


Best choice for you would be the 8600GTS

 

[bryanW1995]

Originally posted by: swtethan
That power supply is loud, read the reviews.

a lot of people love this power supply

corsair hx520

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16817139001

a little bit more, but its much better

My hx520 came highly recommended, but the recommendations did not do it justice. It is unbelieveably quiet, and I run seti@home 24/7. It is guaranteed to produce 520w at 50c, too, so you will have no psu issues. I read that some others are just as quiet at high loads, but this one is quiet at ANY load when compared to other psu's. Besides, at higher loads you will usually have gpu fans/case fans etc start to crank up a little bit to hide any potential murmur from the psu.

 

[bryanW1995]

The video card issue is going to be a real problem, especially if you're considering playing oblivion and you want the system for 4-5 years. Ati supposedly has some true mid-range cards coming in the next few months, and g92 for nvidia is supposed to be out in november. You might be best served with a cheapie stop gap card to tide you over, but the gpu market is fuzzy right now.