Future Gaming Rig

[mlee49]

Hey I will be compiling the list of parts for my next rig over the course of the nex year. I would love some feed back on the parts list. I'm trying to stay under 1500 for everything.

MoBo~ MSI 681 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130080)
CPU~ Q6600 QUAD CORE!! :rockout:
RAM~ 4x2Gig OCZ SLi (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227269) ram.
PSU~ PC Power&Cooling 860 watt (http://www.pcpower.com/power-supply/turbo-cool-860.html)
Software~ XP Pro 64 bit

GPU~ 9800 GX2 MSI (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127337)
Cooling~ Sycthe Ninja (http://www.scythe-usa.com/product/cpu/033/scnjcu1000_detail.html) or an Ultra Thermal Electric Cooler

HardDrive~ Samsung's Spinpoint F1 1TB (Could use some help here :o)
Monitor~ 24" Samsung

[choppy]

whats the point doing this over a year?! q6600 and 9800gx2 are gonna get (or getting) phased otu and being replaced by newer and better parts and we dont know what else will happen cos this industry moves very fast.
come back in ayear and we chat then.

[mlee49]

Yeah I understand it moves pretty fast over a year, but my wallet can't hang on that fast. Since I have to space purchases out over time, what purchases would you suggest making now and what would you suggest holding off till later?

[phanbuey]

get a $80 overclocker gigabyte mobo w/ p35 (p35-Ds3l), a $120 e4500, with some $50 ram... maybe splurge on an $190 gigabyte 8800GT with adjustable voltages(spftware up to 1.2vcore), and then save up some money...

you get E4500@ 3.3-3.5 GHz
8800GT # 770-800 core/ 1000 mem /1900-2000ish shaders
2 - 4 gigs of ram
p35 chipset ...
which on xp is about 13000 -14000 3dmark06... i had that same set-up, but with a lower clocked vcard and god 12250 on vista.
this is basically for about the price of ONE 9800GX2

there is no real performance difference in games between quads and duals... the 9800GX2 is gonna be replaced with a 9900 too soon, pics of nehalems floating around the web. Everything thats out right now is very liable to become old junk way too fast - its all based on really old tech from 1-2years ago thats about to be replaced by new generations...
I would wait for bit on everything, 9900 series is supposed to be 2X 9800GTX, and nehalem might be really bad A$$.


but if it was one thing to hold out on, it would be the gfx card. I would say to buy the monitor or the 1TB HDD first...

[choppy]

Yeah I understand it moves pretty fast over a year, but my wallet can't hang on that fast. Since I have to space purchases out over time, what purchases would you suggest making now and what would you suggest holding off till later?

I think the following components you can buy now cos over the years you will have your comp they will stay the same:

-Case
-PSU
-Mobo (Asus/MSI i believe support 1600FSB and 45nm, that would be the way to go to 'future proof')
-OS

hdd's are becoming bigger and cheaper over time,
so is ram (although pc2-6400 ram is dead cheap neways , maybe buy that)
q9300 is replacing q6600 (right?) just released will be much cheaper in a year
9800gx2 is gna get replaced in about 3 months by that gt200 or whatever
buy your cooler in winter cos thats when its cheapest (my freezer 7 pro cost £10 and its £15 in summer!)
monitors are just like any other electrical, cheaper all the time

[InnocentCriminal]

I agree with Choppy, but hold out on the motherboard. You might find yourself wasting money now if you can't get the CPU until later.

It's debatable about the Q9300 replacing the Q6600, but most reviewers state that the Q9450 is the better option if you plan as it offer twice the cache. However, by the time you come to buy, the Q6600 should have dropped in price significantly which would still offer a fantastic path to go down. Especially when motherboards would have matured to the point where you wouldn't be wasting money on them (both).

Monitor wise - I stand by Samsung at the moment. Nothing less than 20.1" - widescreen is the way forward, seriously!

[Morgoth]

i would say wait til next year and get your self a nice nehalem rig ;)

[InnocentCriminal]

They're going to be extremely expensive upon release dude. Hopefully not as expensive as we all hope.

[Silverel]

Vista 64-bit would utilize the 64-bit processing better overall. If you're sticking with XP, stick with the 32-bit version.

[Silverel]

Yeah I understand it moves pretty fast over a year, but my wallet can't hang on that fast. Since I have to space purchases out over time, what purchases would you suggest making now and what would you suggest holding off till later?

Get a case, optical drives, HD, OS, and PSU right now. Those prices and performance aren't going to change much.

Save up to get your CPU/GPU/Mobo/RAM all at the same time. Those prices are going to change a LOT over the next year. I've lost out 200$ from the time I bought my parts to the time I'll build so far. Kinda kicking myself over it. In a year, expect the price to drop 50%, and the money you spent on it all would get you 30% more performance. Don't buy these things until you're ready to build.

[choppy]

Those prices are going to change a LOT over the next year. I've lost out 200$ from the time I bought my parts to the time I'll build so far. Kinda kicking myself over it.

which is why i followed the markets for a year and made 'informed' purchases over time, in the end my rig cost me £350 which for the performance im gettin is very good indeed. all i want to buy now is a 9600gt which il buy after the next round of gfx cards cos then it will go sub-£100 :D

[phanbuey]

Get a case, optical drives, HD, OS, and PSU right now. Those prices and performance aren't going to change much.

Save up to get your CPU/GPU/Mobo/RAM all at the same time. Those prices are going to change a LOT over the next year. I've lost out 200$ from the time I bought my parts to the time I'll build so far. Kinda kicking myself over it. In a year, expect the price to drop 50%, and the money you spent on it all would get you 30% more performance. Don't buy these things until you're ready to build.

Good advice... also i would try to find the "best deal" on the OS... MS is not going to update xp 64 all that much (if at all)...

:toast:

[InnocentCriminal]

You can always download the free 30 day trials of certain MS OS'. That way you can see which one you like best. Not sure how many are out there tbh, but I have one for Server 2008 which is meant to be pretty good. Obviously I'll disable the server aspect of the OS. ;)

[VroomBang]

No poiint in chosing components now to use them next year. You've got to chose now to use now. These things get obsolete super fast and their prices tend to plumet after a few months, when new models are introduced. It can be fun and usefull to go window shopping to get a feel for things nevertheless! :D

[mlee49]

Get a case, optical drives, HD, OS, and PSU right now. Those prices and performance aren't going to change much.

Save up to get your CPU/GPU/Mobo/RAM all at the same time. Those prices are going to change a LOT over the next year. I've lost out 200$ from the time I bought my parts to the time I'll build so far. Kinda kicking myself over it. In a year, expect the price to drop 50%, and the money you spent on it all would get you 30% more performance. Don't buy these things until you're ready to build.

Thanks for the advice! I'll start with the PSU. 850 W @ 83% Efficiency. :)