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System Build Input - UPDATED

B

Bostonian

Junior Member
Hey all. My first post. I read on xoxideforums that his was a great place for some info on build a new PC. So here goes nothing.

1. What YOUR PC will be used for. That means what types of tasks you'll be performing.
95% gaming. 5% other stuff.

2. What YOUR budget is. A price range is acceptable as long as it's not more than a 20% spread
$1000 - 1200? Lower if possible.

3. What country YOU will be buying YOUR parts from.
American components! Russian components! ALL MADE IN TAIWAN! But yea, U.S.

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.
I've got ATI now. Want to make the switch to nVidia. Have Intel now. Looking into AMD. I like ASUS, Antec, CorsAir and Thermal Take. ATI and SeaGate I want to steer clear from.

5. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts, and if so, what those parts are.
PSU, maybe. Its a 550W I think. Works now but with what I want I may need to go bigger. I've got the case, speakers, mouse, keyboard, and monitor.

6. IF YOU have searched and/or read similar threads.
I've read that Air Striker Extreme is a great motherboard. The MoBo has been my main focus. And nVidia cards too.

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

8. WHEN do you plan to build it?
Next couple months or so. Maybe over the summer?




What I've seen so far: MoBo: AirStriker Extreme- http://www.newegg.com/Product/...?Item=N82E16813131074R

CPU: Is this one compatible? http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16819115027

RAM: Compatible with MoBo? http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16820227267

GFX Card:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814150232

HDD: Two of these http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16822136218

CD Burner:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16827129018

CD Drive:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16827101131

PSU: Will this be enough? http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16817341002

My main concerns are the MoBo, GFX Card, PSU, and RAM. Quad Core and SLI is something I would like to have. There a real difference between Dual and Quad? I can live with my current HDD and CD drives, but would really like to upgrade them. I only have 80gb of room on my drives and would like to see 500+.

This list going to be all compatible with each other? Anything you folks would suggest to change? This is for a gaming machine. No real particular game genre. Just get tired of seeing all the latest games out there that I can't play and if I can first thing I do is go to options and turn down the graphics to minimal. My calculations see about $1200. Think this system will last years to come? Thanks for reading. =]
 
My thoughts:
For 95% gaming, quad core is probably the wrong choice. Unless you want to have folding@home, archiving or something else running in the background, 2-3 cores are going to be sitting idle most of the time. Waste of money to pay for them, waste of energy to run them. I'd go with an E8400 instead. It will cost you less, generate less heat, and perform slightly better in games 9 times out of 10.

As far as SLI, how big is the monitor you're reusing? Unless you're pushing past 22", it's probably not necessary. You said you'd like the budget to move downward, not upward, and SLI is one place I'd look at cutting the fat. Also, the 8800GTX is a poor buy. The 8800GTS 512MB is just about as fast and can be had for $100-150 less.

Great choice on the hard drives, you'll be pleased with them. As far as the RAM, I wouldn't go with the OCZ if you're not overclocking. Newegg has a good 2x2GB DDR2-800 kit by G.Skill that's $84 without any rebates. There should be a couple other deals as well. If you don't want to be fiddling with RAM settings in the BIOS, buy RAM that's rated to run at 1.8V. (That OCZ requires 2.1V to achieve its advertised timings. Incidentally, timings make next to no difference in performance.)

As far as the motherboard, I don't know anything about that one in particular. I'd be wary of buying open-box. If you end up decideing against SLI, then I would change to a P35 chipset motherboard instead of the 680i. (Also, there are newer Nvidia chipsets available like the 750i.) As far as power concerns, your 550W should be plenty if you don't go SLI. If you do go SLI then 700W ought to be fine. How old is your PSU though, and how much current can it sustain on the +12V rail(s)?
 
Originally posted by: DSF
My thoughts:
For 95% gaming, quad core is probably the wrong choice. Unless you want to have folding@home, archiving or something else running in the background, 2-3 cores are going to be sitting idle most of the time. Waste of money to pay for them, waste of energy to run them. I'd go with an E8400 instead. It will cost you less, generate less heat, and perform slightly better in games 9 times out of 10.

As far as SLI, how big is the monitor you're reusing? Unless you're pushing past 22", it's probably not necessary. You said you'd like the budget to move downward, not upward, and SLI is one place I'd look at cutting the fat. Also, the 8800GTX is a poor buy. The 8800GTS 512MB is just about as fast and can be had for $100-150 less.

Great choice on the hard drives, you'll be pleased with them. As far as the RAM, I wouldn't go with the OCZ if you're not overclocking. Newegg has a good 2x2GB DDR2-800 kit by G.Skill that's $84 without any rebates. There should be a couple other deals as well. If you don't want to be fiddling with RAM settings in the BIOS, buy RAM that's rated to run at 1.8V. (That OCZ requires 2.1V to achieve its advertised timings. Incidentally, timings make next to no difference in performance.)

As far as the motherboard, I don't know anything about that one in particular. I'd be wary of buying open-box. If you end up decideing against SLI, then I would change to a P35 chipset motherboard instead of the 680i. (Also, there are newer Nvidia chipsets available like the 750i.) As far as power concerns, your 550W should be plenty if you don't go SLI. If you do go SLI then 700W ought to be fine. How old is your PSU though, and how much current can it sustain on the +12V rail(s)?
Click to expand...

Wow, you're the most helpful person I've come across today. Thanks! =D

Hm, I didn't realize that quad core was really that extravagant. Duo Core it is then. And thanks for the heads up on RAM. And I'll reconsider the MoBo for the SLI factor.

My PSU is...3? 4? years old? Maybe 5? I believe its ThermalTake. Which ever one has the butterfly as its logo. Not exactly sure what you mean by "how much current can it sustain on the +12V rail(s)?", but heres the Everest info on it if it helps:

Voltage Values
CPU Core 1.60 V
+3.3 V 3.46 V
+5 V 5.16 V
+12 V 12.22 V
+5 V Standby 5.22 V
Debug Info F FF E0 70
Debug Info T 30 31 208
Debug Info V 66 C9 D8 C0 FF 20 10 (03)

That help at all?

Anywho, thanks so much. Great help. =]
 
So this is what I got now:


MoBo (gigabyte):
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16813128059

CPU:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...tem=N82E16819115037

RAM:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16820231122

GFX Card:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814150261

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

CD/DVD Burner:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16827129018

CD Drive:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16827101131

PSU:
The one I have now.


Total Cost:
$800 bucks. Give or take 10.

Thats a step in the right direction. Just one thing, will all these items be compatible with each other? Or do you see any conflicts? Thanks again. I owe you a beer.

 
Get rid of the IDE CD Drive you picked out. No need to get 2 drives is there? If so, just two of the DVD burners. Not much of a price difference.
Get the regular, non-overclocked version of the video card. Take a day or two to read up on how to overclock it yourself.
 
I see chinaman's mentioned the IDE drive issue I was going to, so you're covered there. If overall cost is a major concern for you, this card from ECS is the cheapest 8800GTS around right now for $170 AR. Your choice of an EVGA card is still a good one if you're looking to the new cards "coming soon" for a potential step-up option from them.

EVGA's Knock-Out edition card is actually clocked ever so slightly higher than the Overclocked edition card for the exact same price if you can believe it.
 
Well I looked for an unclocked version of the card and all there was was

Overclocked version at 670MHz

EVGA "Knock Out" Edition, overclocked at 678MHz

but you're right, they're the same exact price. Now, just curious but what about the 9 series? Big difference or not enough to spend the extra money?
 
The difference between the 8-series and 9-series is not a true generation. It's a little bit confusing that Nvidia decided to go with that naming scheme for them.

As far as current on the +12V rails, you won't see the information in Everest. You'll either need to look up the information online, or check the label on the side of your PSU. It should break down how much current it can supply on each line. Honestly though, if your PSU is getting near 5 years old, I'd strongly consider replacing it. It might be fine or it might not, and when a PSU goes it can take everything else with it.
 
Originally posted by: DSF
The difference between the 8-series and 9-series is not a true generation. It's a little bit confusing that Nvidia decided to go with that naming scheme for them.

As far as current on the +12V rails, you won't see the information in Everest. You'll either need to look up the information online, or check the label on the side of your PSU. It should break down how much current it can supply on each line. Honestly though, if your PSU is getting near 5 years old, I'd strongly consider replacing it. It might be fine or it might not, and when a PSU goes it can take everything else with it.
Click to expand...

Aye. We don't want that. It is slightly noisy too. I ordered it from xoxide and I cannot find anywhere to to check order history. I bought the MoBo I have now in 06 and I got my PSU years before that. Heh, any suggestions on what wattage?

I'm serious though, I owe you a beer. You've been a great help.
 
Just get a 400W+ power supply from one of the good makers (Seasonic, Corsair, OCZ, Antec Earthwatts line) and you'll be fine.

Looks like a nice build shaping up there for you. Enjoy the build.

:beer:
 
For a similar set up to yours I went with the Corsair 520HX. It's got plenty of power, it's certified 80% efficient, it's very quiet (inaudible) and has modular cables. It also has a 5-year warranty. If you don't want to spring for the modular cables, the Corsair 450VX is another good buy. Buy.com usually has better prices on them than Newegg. (In fact, buy.com has a killer deal going on the 520HX right now, but it's currently out of stock.)

About that beer. 😉 I'm guessing you're in Boston. If I'm ever up that way, I'll let you know.
 
Just want to get a final check before I go through this. Tell me what you think:

MOBO

GA-P35-DS3L

http://www.pricegrabber.com/us...3499497&lot_id=8732501

90$

------------

CPU

BX80570E8400

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16819115037

200$

------------

RAM

F2-6400CL5D-4GBPQ

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16820231122

G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual

Channel Kit Desktop Memory


85$
------------

GFX Card

512-P3-N845-AR

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814130337

EVGA 512-P3-N845-AR GeForce 8800GTS (G92) KO 512MB 256-bit GDDR3

PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card

225$; mail in rebate

-------------

HDD

WD6400AAKS

http://www.egoodz.com/product.asp?pf_id=WD6400AAKS

Western Digital 3.5" 640GB 7200RPM (16MB) SATA Serial ATA Hard

Drive, OEM Drive only

100$

-------------
PSU

Corsair 520HX

http://www.buy.com/retail/prod...egory=Comp&dcaid=15890

Corsair 520W SLI Certified Modular ATX Power Supply - CMPSU-520HX

80$; mail in rebate

------------------------------------------------

Total with shipping:

780$


Ditched drives. Don't really need em'. This look like a go? Thanks mates. =D
 
Technically you'll get better performance in games if you decrease the CPU even further and spent the difference towards a 9800.
 
Originally posted by: Ichigo
Technically you'll get better performance in games if you decrease the CPU even further and spent the difference towards a 9800.
Click to expand...

From what I understand, the 9800 boils down to an overclocked 8800, and the difference isn't huge.
 
True enough. But 8800 -> 9800 will net more performance than say a 7200 -> 8400. GPU trumps CPU for game performance every time unless he's playing 1024x768 or something.
 
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