Needs to make some cuts on a new system...

[Djinni]

To make a long story short, I am getting a new computer for graduation and quite frankly I went a bit overboard on the equipment I need to make some cuts to some of the hardware to make the price more realistic. Only problem is that I have no idea what to cut... For most of my research I used this web site to find the biggest and best. I have been looking around newegg for a couple days now and I have a couple cuts that might be possible, but I do not want to get some garbage if it only saves $50, know what I mean? Anyway, here is the system as it stands now:

http://secure.newegg.com/NewVersion/Wis...5961&WishListTitle=Super%20Sweet%202.3

I have a few items that I have been meditating on that I would enjoy a more profession opinion.

First, definitely PSU alternative $160 for a 600w is way to much, do I even need a 600w? And if so, how would this one compare?
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16817153015

I am a bit uncertain of this one because although I have read the excelant guide on new PSUs by flexy I do notice that this one is only 20pin and I would like to get a good 24 pin if at all possible.


Second, the video card, this one is more complicated because there is really not a lot of difference between the two I have in mind.

Currently in:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16814121532

1st replacement:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814161126

2nd replacement:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814102473

The second one looks cooler i must say Especially with my blue case, but I have never heard of HIS and the cooling looks less then efficient.. The real reasons I wonder about these two is first the lower cost, and the fact that both this HIS card and the SAPPHIRE below it have OpenGL 2.0 whereas ASUS only has OpenGL 1.5.

Third possible replacement is the ram. I have heard from my very 'ill-informed' friends that there is no difference between the XMS corsair and the value-ram. I find this hard to believe, but if it is true then it is another possible quick cash point I can exploit.

I will thoroughly enjoy any feedback I want to get the best computer I can get. My budget is around 2,500. Anything more then that and I become a little less confident on my buying decisions. Please try and get as technical as possible because being a electrical engineer major I am going to be doing this myself in 4-5 years

Thank you for your time
-Djinni

 

[Bushman5]

1 YOU can save 100 USD on the Power Supply
http://www2.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817189003

2 Buy a X800Xl you wont see the difference

The difference between the Xms and the value is Overclocking if you intend to Oc your system alot then Buy some Patriot Ram
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a...=Memory+System+Memory&CMP=OTC-d3alt1me


If not the cheapest Xmx series ram will do

Id say go with the 3000+ Venice core they will OC great to 2.8 Ghz on stock cooling

If you wanna spend alittle more the 3700+ Is really good Big L2cache

Dont skimp on the Mother Board Get either the Dfi or the Msi Neo 4 Ultra not the SLI

For Hard Drives all the money you just saved buy 2 Raptor 74 Gb and 1 300 Gb

 

[t3h l337 n3wb]

There isn't much difference in real world performance btween the XMS and the Value Select. The lower timings only make like a 2% difference, and the only reason to buy more expensive RAM is to overclock it higher. However, if your main goal is just go overclock your CPU (which it should be), then you can always just run a divider, so Value RAM will work just fine. Don't buy an X850XT PE. That is the biggest waste of money I've ever seen. It'll get blown away by the next-gen graphics cards that will be out in like a couple of weeks. You don't always have to get top of the line, especially if you need to make new cuts. The X800XL is a great buy right now, since it's pretty cheap (around ~$275), and can still play all current games at great resolutions. $100 for a PSU is still a lot, and if you have $100 to blow, don't get a Thermaltake. They're alright, but there are much better things for that price. The Antec Truepower, OCZ Powerstream, and many other PSU's from Enermax, XClio, Sparkle, etc. are great. You're probably only going to need like 500W MAX. Most current systems can probably even get by with like 350W, although that's pushing it.

 

[Muscles]

Why waste your money on a X850XT when the nextgen G70 is coming out in just a few weeks for about the same price and quite a bit more performance.

 

[Djinni]

Wow great suggestions

I did change my PSU to
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16817103512
This one is cheaper and still has the power I want because I do over clock my system after it begins to get a bit rusty.

I really liked the look of that patriot ram so I changed by 2gb of xms to 1gb of that. I can always get more later

The video card is a bit touchier subject, I really want the x850 Its more of an attachment to ATI to always get the newest and best they offer when I get new stuff.

Almost the same logic went into my choice of CPU's. The FX55 is always at the head of the charts whenever I look at benchmarks. And I would love to hang it over the roommates head (a friend of mine)

For the hard drive I did get the raptor 74gb 10000rpm etc. And for the downloads folder I am taking my old 40gb hard drive


And, I have no clue about this G70.. To google!

 

[Venomous]

Originally posted by: Djinni
Wow great suggestions

I did change my PSU to
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16817103512
This one is cheaper and still has the power I want because I do over clock my system after it begins to get a bit rusty.

I really liked the look of that patriot ram so I changed by 2gb of xms to 1gb of that. I can always get more later

The video card is a bit touchier subject, I really want the x850 Its more of an attachment to ATI to always get the newest and best they offer when I get new stuff.

Almost the same logic went into my choice of CPU's. The FX55 is always at the head of the charts whenever I look at benchmarks. And I would love to hang it over the roommates head (a friend of mine)

For the hard drive I did get the raptor 74gb 10000rpm etc. And for the downloads folder I am taking my old 40gb hard drive


And, I have no clue about this G70.. To google!

If youre so inclined to get the best of ATI, you best wait a month when the X900 arrives or else, youre going to kick yourself in the ass...

As far as ram goes, just get 4 X 512 meg UTT sticks. Sure, you will be forced into 2T timings but in all reality, the performance hit wont even be noticeable unless youre a bencher and thats all you do and care about.

I would of shined off the raptor. I would of got 3 200-300 meggers and ran them in a RAID 5.

The FX57 is now the new kit on the block. If you want a FX, get a San diego core 939 socketed chip. 3700 or 4000+ would be your option or, just get a Venice core and not look back. The idea is to save money and have a kickass system, no? Take some of the advice your asking for an apply it.

 

[ericlala]

could consider 6600gt and 6800gt as well, if you want the cool looking cooler, just get a silencer after

 

[SrGuapo]

That x850 is ridiculously expensive. The new ATI and nVidia lines are coming out soon, and all current gen cards wil be destroyed. If all you want is a good gaming machine, the x80xl is a great card. A raptor and that expensive RAM is not necessary. Get a DFI Ultr-D nforce4 and a gig of value VX. That RAM will run 2-2-2 at 240 MHZ for only $110! The FX-55 is WAY overkill. Get a 3000+ venice and OC it to 2.6 GHZ. It will be faster than the FX because of the higher HTT.

I assume you parents are buying this? What kind of budget do they have? I can recommend a sub $1500 system that will be 99% as good as yours... '

Here:

CPU: A64 3000+ venice ($150) and xp-90 ($30)
Mobo: DFI Ultra-D nForce4 Ultra ($130)
RAM: OCZ value VX ($110)
GPU: ATI Radoen x800xl ($300)
HDD: Depends on how much room you need - 160 GB seagate
SATA ($100) should be plenty for your pr0n collection.
PSU: Any quality brand over 450W - make sure it has 24 pin connextor ($80)

Total: $900

Add in a case, DVD writer, decent monitor, and a keyboard/mouse and you have an excellent gaming rig. That CPU should do 2.6 easy (maybe even 2.8). That RAM will do 2-2-2 at 240 MHZ. That video card will run any current games maxed (except maybe doom 3). Look, yousaved so much money, ask your parents to put it towards books...

 

[l Xes l]

Originally posted by: Djinni
Wow great suggestions

I did change my PSU to
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16817103512
This one is cheaper and still has the power I want because I do over clock my system after it begins to get a bit rusty.

computer never gets rusty... proper maintenance and dusting of fans and system will keep it as good as new... just make sure you dont have bunch of crap running in background and eatin' up ram... and fresh install xp once a year or something..

Originally posted by: SrGuapo
That x850 is ridiculously expensive. The new ATI and nVidia lines are coming out soon, and all current gen cards wil be destroyed. If all you want is a good gaming machine, the x80xl is a great card. A raptor and that expensive RAM is not necessary. Get a DFI Ultr-D nforce4 and a gig of value VX. That RAM will run 2-2-2 at 240 MHZ for only $110! The FX-55 is WAY overkill. Get a 3000+ venice and OC it to 2.6 GHZ. It will be faster than the FX because of the higher HTT.

I assume you parents are buying this? What kind of budget do they have? I can recommend a sub $1500 system that will be 99% as good as yours... '

Here:

CPU: A64 3000+ venice ($150) and xp-90 ($30)
Mobo: DFI Ultra-D nForce4 Ultra ($130)
RAM: OCZ value VX ($110)
GPU: ATI Radoen x800xl ($300)
HDD: Depends on how much room you need - 160 GB seagate
SATA ($100) should be plenty for your pr0n collection.
PSU: Any quality brand over 450W - make sure it has 24 pin connextor ($80)

Total: $900

i second everything that srguapo has stated....
i think u r going overboard w/ most of the components... after making these cuts, will you be able to feel the real-life difference in speed?.. probabaly not...
and after u r used to ur system u can easily OC it.. and run it as fast as 3500 easily..
x800xl is fast enough for anything at any resolution... you should ONLY upgrade it only if u see the need for it whether it's games or apps... not because ur mind craves for it... it's just total waste of money...
but as far as CPU goes i'd get 3200 venice.. if you have the spare room..

 

[Rami7007]

Yes, even though it might be a tradition to get the newest ATI, listen to everyone...

at christmas time i built a new computer because my old system was, in a nutshell, Geforce 2 MX 400, 1.7 Ghz P4, you get it... well so i built my system (in sig) with an X800XT PCI-E

Ok, so this was latest and newest... but now, with the X850, i still can run all games at highest everything and 4xAA and 8xAF at very high frame rates... Those settings in CS: source with 90 - 140 FPS... HL2 90 - 100 fps... you get the point... So now with X850 being the TOP, X800 is still a F***ing beast

Really, even the X800xl would do fine (great price)

For me, i bought the X800XT and the X850 came out so soon after, and i dont even care... because X800 is still amazing...

 

[t3h l337 n3wb]

The Raptor and X850XT PE are the biggest wastes of money in that setup. If you ditch them, you'll be able to save aboue $450, and you won't notice any real world performance decrease. Those $450 can be spent on upgrade later on.

 

[KoolDrew]

Get this PSU. It is a incredible deal.
http://www.costcentral.com/proddetail/Antec_SmartPower_20_SP_500/SP500/F09966/

For video card just get a X800XL.

Also your "ill-informed" friernds are correct. There will be very little real world performance gain from using wexpensive low latency RAM. Just get Corsair Value Select.

 

[Djinni]

Ok Ok, Ill ditch the video card and consider other options for the cpu and hard drive $800 was a bit much for me to handle anyway. I am interested in these two next gen card you speak of, I am going to do a little research on those and other hard drives. I will also look up the 3000+ line and the FX53. Thanks a lot for the help, I was hoping to order it sometime soon but I guess I still have some major research to do

 

[KoolDrew]

If you don't need much space the Raptor is fine and fast. I wouldn't exactly call it a waste of money because there is a difference from current 7200 RPM drives.