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Researching a new rig [long]

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punKrawk

Junior Member
Hello,

Sorry to put yet another "help me build my computer" thread on everyone. My current computer is 4 and a half years old, so it's been a while since I've done this. Basically, I'm looking for a higher end gaming rig, but I want to spend my money smartly and reasonably. I'm looking for advice on how to do that, while building an upgradeable computer for the future. Please be gentle, though. 🙂

First, the processor and motherboard. I had been looking at the E6600. However, I know that the E6650 (E6750, E6800, and E6850) will be released soon (hopefully? when?). This would actually support 1333 FSB and have a 4MB cache. Would it be worth my while to wait for this release? Would I notice much of a difference between a motherboard/processor combination that maxes out at 1066MHz and one that supports up to 1333? I'm also currently looking at the 680i chipset for the motherboard with SLI capability. Is there something else I should be considering that I am not (and I'm sure there is)?

My initial idea was to get a 8800GTS 640MB video card. Then, at some future point, I would add a second video card when the prices were much lower. However, prices have been coming down substantially as of late. Do you think my initial idea is still alright, or would spending the money for a GTX now be worth it? I know that I would get a large boost of two GTXs over two GTSs in the future, but do you think it's absolutely necessary? I should note that while I'd like the games to be "pretty", running smoothly is more important. Playing Oblivion on my current computer was a chore (fps was terrible) rather than enjoyable. In 3 or 4 years, I still want to enjoy the new games.

I've researched the RAM issue, but it still confuses me. In what system setups should I go for DDR2-800 and when should I buy DDR2-667? Or is there something else I need to be looking at?

This is as far as I've gotten so far. Any advice would be very appreciated. Additionally, I know that new stuff is always around the corner and I'm willing to put off building for now. Bearlake will be released soon, as well as the R600 card. That said, new = more money. However, new products also means a drop in price of what's already on the market. Is there something new I should wait for that I shouldn't miss? On the same lines, is there a future price drop that I should wait for?

Thanks everyone.
 
Buying one good card and then replacing it in 1-2 years has worked better for me than SLI or Crossfire.

The motherboards and PSUs are cheaper, it's quieter, there are fewer driver issues, and performance of cards has been doubling at least every 18 months thanks to Moore's Law and competition between nvidia and ATI-AMD.

Look at the benchmarks for Oblivion and Rainbow 6 (Unreal 3) on the Video tab above to decide whether you'd rather have a GTS or GTX for the next year and a half.
 
So basically, it's a battle between going top of the line and middle of the road. My idea was to go for the best (or close to it) and spend more money now. I would then only have to add a few components over the next few years (video card, extra ram). You're idea is to buy less expensive, but still quality components to satisfy my needs now. In a couple years replace them with components that fit in that same price/quality range.

I suppose my biggest question is, then, which is less expensive? I guess it depends on what you get, but, on average does one pull away more money than the other?

Thanks
 
I'd agree with the advice above, get the 1 8800GTX. Then, you could get a nice high-end Intel P965 board which should be a bit cheaper than the 680i boards, unless you're set on SLI in the future.
 
I'm glad I made this thread. Going non-sli was just something I hadn't thought about (latest technology = best right? 🙂 ). Actually, to supplement your advice, I found this really great thread about it: http://episteme.arstechnica.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/24609792/m/275005323831
There's a couple posts that hammer it down pretty well.

Anyway, what about processor then? How far into the future will the E6600 take me? When I'm upgrading my video card, will it also be time to upgrade the processor? If so, then I'll probably want a new motherboard to take advantage of it....and down the slope I go. What do you think?

Also, memory. Obviously, DDR2-800 is above and beyond what I need now. Would buying this for the future be beneficial? I'm guessing by the time I'm ready to buy a new motherboard, ddr2-800 will be outdated anyway. DDR2-667 then?
 
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