New PC build

[panoramicendtime]

Hey Anandtech, so I asked your advice about 4.5 years ago, last time I built a computer, and I'm going to do it again. Thanks in advance!

1. What YOUR PC will be used for. That means what types of tasks you'll be performing.

Gaming and number crunching. I'm a CS grad student and it's painful how slow stuff is on my current PC (Athlon 64 3000+ Newcastle lol). I'm doing a lot of AI work, some of which can be pretty CPU-intensive.

2. What YOUR budget is. A price range is acceptable as long as it's not more than a 20% spread

$500 - $700

3. What country YOU will be buying YOUR parts from.

US. I'm in California, so I have to pay tax to Newegg, but shipping is super cheap.

4. IF YOU have a brand preference. That means, are you an Intel-Fanboy, AMD-Fanboy, ATI-Fanboy, nVidia-Fanboy, Seagate-Fanboy, WD-Fanboy, etc, etc, etc, you get the picture.

Not really, but my plan is to dual boot Win7 and Ubuntu, so if ATI's Linux drivers still suck then nVidia might make sense.

5. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts, and if so, what those parts are.

Sound card (X-Fi Xtrememusic)
External stuff (monitor/keyboard/mouse/speakers/etc)
So I need...CPU, mobo, RAM, PSU, case, hard drive(s), video card, optical drive (DVD is fine, I don't care about HD-DVD/Blu-ray).

6. IF YOU have searched and/or read similar threads.

Yep

7. IF YOU plan on overclocking or run the system at default speeds.

I guess I'll probably overclock a bit, but nothing that requires extra hardware (except a third party CPU cooler)

8. WHEN do you plan to build it?

That's the question. I can either build it now, or wait until the summer, or wait until I get back to school in the fall. If AM3 is going to land in a few months (or i5, if the cheap i7 is still going to put me over budget) I guess it's probably worth waiting, right?


So other than the timing question, I'm also wondering about running two ~$75 dollar video cards in SLI or Crossfire vs. a single $150 card. Is power consumption a factor here?


Thanks for the advice!

 

[panoramicendtime]

bump?

 

[Schmide]

Hitachi 1TB 7200rpm SATA 16MB Cache Hard Drive Free ship at NewEgg $69.99 after $10 MIR

BIOSTAR TForce TP45HP LGA 775 Intel P45 $109.99 - rebate $30.00 =$79.99

RAIDMAX SMILODON Extreme Black ATX-612WEBP 1.0mm SECC Steel ATX Mid Tower Foldout MB Computer Case With 500W Power Supply - Retail $89.99 - rebate $25 = $64.99

ASUS EAH4870 DK TOP/HTDI/512MD5 Radeon HD 4870 512MB $164.99 Rebate $30.00 = $134.99


Intel Core 2 Quad Q8200 2.33GHz LGA 775 95W Quad-Core Processor + CORSAIR 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 $228.99 - discount $10 - rebate $30 = $188.99

CORSAIR 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 $64.00 rebate $30.00 = $34.00

Sony Optiarc Black 22X DVD-RW $23

= $596 AR

If you want vista 64 ult oem bundle the video card

ASUS EAH4870 DK TOP/HTDI/512MD5 Radeon HD 4870 512MB +Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate SP1 64-bit for System Builders - OEM $290 - $30 = $265

= $726 AR

+ tax + better cooling for overclock etc.

Edit: Changed case and PSU for better 2 12v rail and applied vista 64 discount twice.

 

[fourdegrees11]

1. AMD Phenom II X4 920 2.8GHz
2. GIGABYTE GA-MA790X-UD4P AM3/AM2+/AM2 AMD 790X ATX AMD Motherboard

Combo for $254

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...?ItemList=Combo.182490

XFX GX260XADJF GeForce GTX 260 Core Edition Core 216 $170

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814150361

Kingston HyperX 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 $48

BFG Tech GS-550 550W $55

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16817702010

Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD6400AAKS 640GB $70

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16822136218

NZXT Alpha ATX Mid Tower $70

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16811146041

SAMSUNG Black 22X DVD+R $21

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16827151175

$687 before tax and shipping. If you really need to cut costs you can drop down to a 4830 type of GPU

 

[panoramicendtime]

Thanks for the advice! I have a few questions about it though.

@Schmide:
- Is the Raidmax bundled PSU good (enough)? The Smilodon does seem like a nice case; I'd already been leaning towards it, but then I started worrying about PSU quality.
- Is there something specific about that motherboard that you like? It doesn't have very good reviews (relative to other boards)...
- The price difference between the Q8200 and the Q8300 is $15...so why go for the 8200?

@fourdegrees11
- Would I regret going for the 920 rather than the 940? How different is the performance? The 940 is clocked 200 Mhz higher by default; is it also more OC-friendly due to being BE? That said, that combo deal does seem pretty good...I was looking at it earlier today.

@both
- So you guys think the single card is better than two cheap cards in SLI or Crossfire? It seems that way, but I just want to confirm, since I've heard interesting things about e.g. two 4830s in Crossfire beating out a 4870 that's more than twice the price.

Again, thanks! I haven't paid attention to this sort of thing for years and it's tough to get caught up.


Oh, also, don't worry about OS cost. I'll run Ubuntu and Windows 7 beta for the time being.

 

[fourdegrees11]

The Smilodon is a pretty nice case (i own it), but I cant comment on the PSU as I bought the one without.

As for the 920 vs 940, it really just comes down to is 200mhz and an easier OC worth the money. You can still OC the 920 to decent levels. Going with the 940 would put you over budget.

4830s in crossfire will outperform a 4870 IF the game scales well, if not then your stuck with a single 4830. It's a safer investment to buy a better single GPU.

 

[panoramicendtime]

Really? I didn't realize that Crossfire only worked with games that are written properly...I thought it was taken care of at a lower level. Is the same true of SLI?

 

[Schmide]

Originally posted by: panoramicendtime
Thanks for the advice! I have a few questions about it though.

@Schmide:
- Is the Raidmax bundled PSU good (enough)? The Smilodon does seem like a nice case; I'd already been leaning towards it, but then I started worrying about PSU quality.

I looked up a review of the case to find the specs and it said had 28a. However, after reading the reviews on newegg, they seem to have a cheaper PSU in there 22.5a 12v. Oops. It was late at night.

The power profile Load
q8200 = 65w
P45 = 20w
4870 = 130w
HD = 15w
DVD fans, bling etc = 25w

= 285w = 21.25a

So yes it would be a bit lacking and run on the edge.

Originally posted by: panoramicendtime
- Is there something specific about that motherboard that you like? It doesn't have very good reviews (relative to other boards)...

I have the motherboard and it works great. You can get 450-550 fsb overclocking with it. Depending on the processor and memory of course. Many of the reviews at newegg pointed out how this is a great MB for a good price, a few people had trouble with it. I take newegg reviews with a grain of salt. There is a free shipping code as well HARDOCP413MBFS

Originally posted by: panoramicendtime
- The price difference between the Q8200 and the Q8300 is $15...so why go for the 8200?

I just picked up a q8200 for $99 at Microcenter. I had a bundle that had $40 off the case and PSU. Which after switching some things around lost $30 of that. I was trying to squeeze the most into the budget, which now seems the AMD system would win out.

Originally posted by: panoramicendtime

@both
- So you guys think the single card is better than two cheap cards in SLI or Crossfire? It seems that way, but I just want to confirm, since I've heard interesting things about e.g. two 4830s in Crossfire beating out a 4870 that's more than twice the price.

I do think a single card is often better, especially against two cheep cards.

 

[supertle55]

I think if you build an I7 system like I just did, you can keep it under $700 or just a bit over. I came in at $869 After Rebates but I went for some higher end products instead of the "best bang for the buck" equipment. From my research, it seems like anyone building a PC today should try to aim for an I7 system unless you are really budget conscious. Just a little more will get you quite a modern system.

 

[panoramicendtime]

Okay, any thoughts on this build?

PSU & Video card combo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/...?ItemList=Combo.181881 $234 - $20 rebate = $214
CPU & mobo combo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/...?ItemList=Combo.182239 $275 (or $234 with the 920 http://www.newegg.com/Product/...ItemList=Combo.182490))
Memory: http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16820231122 $43
Hard drive: 2x http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16822136218 for RAID 1 = $140. Yes RAID 1, I know it's a bit of overkill for a PC but I don't like the thought of having to reinstall my OS if a drive dies.
Case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16811156063 $85 - $15 rebate = $70
Optical: http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16827129023 $25
Total: $802 pre-rebate, $767 post-rebate (with the 940; $41 less with the 920)

Anyone see any problems with this setup, other than it being a little over budget?

 

[Hacp]

Originally posted by: panoramicendtime
Okay, any thoughts on this build?

PSU & Video card combo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/...?ItemList=Combo.181881 $234 - $20 rebate = $214
CPU & mobo combo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/...?ItemList=Combo.182239 $275 (or $234 with the 920 http://www.newegg.com/Product/...ItemList=Combo.182490))
Memory: http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16820231122 $43
Hard drive: 2x http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16822136218 for RAID 1 = $140. Yes RAID 1, I know it's a bit of overkill for a PC but I don't like the thought of having to reinstall my OS if a drive dies.
Case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16811156063 $85 - $15 rebate = $70
Optical: http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16827129023 $25
Total: $802 pre-rebate, $767 post-rebate (with the 940; $41 less with the 920)

Anyone see any problems with this setup, other than it being a little over budget?

Its way overbudget I would suggest you go for a cheaper system.

 

[panoramicendtime]

Haha...well, I'm not sure where to shave off costs. My current PC has a moderately crappy motherboard, which was a big mistake, so I don't want to skimp there. I don't want anything below a second-tier CPU (i.e. Core 2 Quad or Phenom II X4). And the hard drives and case are kind of just a fixed cost. I might be able to get away with spending less on the PSU and video card, now that I look more closely at PSU prices. But I don't think I'd save more than ~$30, because I wouldn't have the benefit of a combo deal.

Edit: I guess this http://www.newegg.com/Product/...?ItemList=Combo.184062 saves me $50 but I lose PSU modularity and it seems like a significantly worse video card.