Guys I need impressions on this computer build (that I want to build)

[BloodTotal]

t's been a long time guys

Saved up enough money to but a new oomp, worked my ass off, and NOW is the time I'm so happy

right now I have:

Case: Antec 900
HDD: 500 GB Seagate Barracuda
DVD: LG DVD/CD burner/reader (burns everything (litescribe included) reads everything)
Monitor: Acer 26" monitor with VGA screen
Speaker System: Logitech Z5500
Soundcard: Auzentech X-Plosion with a Coax cable
Power Supply: OCZ StealthXStreme 500 W

I will use my computer primarily for gaming so I need some good hardware

Right now the other stuff I have is

CPU: Amd Athelon 64 3200+ (This CPU is like burned down or something becasue every time I turn it on it smells like crap, and so does my room, I am selling this if you want it though)
Memory: 1 GB (2 x 512 mb) Kingmax (I am also selling this)
Graphics Card: None
Motherboard: Asus A8N - VM CSM with onboard GeForce 6150 Chipset (I am also selling this)

As you can see it is very hard for me to play games. I didn't really need to because I was working my ass off so I can finally relax with a brand new comp during the holidays

So now the the main thread topic

*The most important thing about this computer is that I will be selling it at the end of June because I will be heading off to University, and will then buy the best laptop on the market, so I need to be able to sell this computer and get as much money off it as I can*

So this is what I am thinking of getting

Motherboard: have no idea what is good for this build
Graphics Card: Nvidia GeForce 260 GTX
CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad Q8200
Memory: OCZ (OCZ3SOE10664GK) DDR3 PC3-8500 1066MHz Special Ops Series Limited Edition 4GB(2x2048MB) D/C Kita

Why those choices

Motherboard: I am still reasearching what the best motherboard will be

Graphics Card: I had the 8800GT before, and I also have a 26" monitor with a resolution of 1920 x 1200. I played World In Conflict before, and it was lagging alot, now I want to play Crysis with very little lag on the highest settings that I can get (not very high, but at least close) I have done some benchmark searching and found out that this card fairs better in tests than the 8800 Ultra or any card exept for the 280 GTX and the 9800 GX 2. For the price tag of $219.99 and $19.99 for shipping off ebay, it looks to be the best deal for the money (btw I do not want to spend $350 - $400 on a graphics card

CPU: I chose this because I did alot of reasearch for CPUs a while ago, but didn't go through with the purchase of a new computer because I thought I would wait it out. I remember that the Q6600 was really good, but I was going to go for the xeon 3220 or something like that. Anyways I don't want to spend $400 on a CPU so I thought that this would be the best pic since it is a quad. *Another bonus is that since I am going to sell this pc in june, it will be a good advertisment (buy a quad core computer!)* Since the next best CPU is like around $350 and the next best one after that is $400, if you're going to pay $350 for a CPU, you might as well just get the better one for $50 more. So I think that is why this one is the best choice

Memory: First of all I would like to have 4 GB of memory, because I will be running Vista and playing Crysis, the second reason is *It will be a good advertisement (Get a computer with 4 GB of memory!)*. I also want to get DDR 3 memory because it is slightly faster, and it is future generation hardware, and also *It will help with the advertising of selling my computer in june (because people like bigger numbers on their hardware). For the $130 price tag, it doesn't seem like a bad deal

Some questions for my motherboard

- Should it be SLI? does SLI sell better? Should it be 3 - Way SLI?
- Should it have Pci - Express x 16 2.0?

Generally I would prefer an Asus motherboard just because its a reputable company and all the products I bought from it have worked very well, but if you say Gigabyte is better, than I will get Gigabyte

[phanbuey]

mobo: recert 750i SLi is a good one if you go gtx 260 route... it can be found for $99 on the egg last time i checked.

[DrPepper]

The q8200 isn't that good of a quad, Low clock speed and multiplyer. I'd say a 9450 would have be better for a cpu. Can't argue with the 260 though.

[JrRacinFan]

I can tell you this right now. It's going to be tough to resell this PC without losing much $$. I would re-evaluate and base it off ddr2 instead so you won't lost as much funds.

I say instead of going all out with this build, go midrange graphics with higher end cpu. Q6600 + P45 or 750i + Single 8800GT or above + a nice 2x2GB ddr2 kit.

[kysg]

yea true depends on the budget.
DDR3 is gonna cost you some cash.

hmm well he can either go midrange or just skim the base of mid high so he can get a solid upgrade path later on.

proc: If intel get q6600 before those things become RIP, if AMD wait just wait it out.

[BloodTotal]

mobo: recert 750i SLi is a good one if you go gtx 260 route... it can be found for $99 on the egg last time i checked.

Thanks will check it out

The q8200 isn't that good of a quad, Low clock speed and multiplyer. I'd say a 9450 would have be better for a cpu. Can't argue with the 260 though.

The problem is - that CPU is like $400 with taxes, much more than the $250 I would pay for the Q8200, is it that much of an improvement? Will I be able to sell it for a decent price 6 months down the road? or would it be better to sell the Q8200 6 months down the road?

[BloodTotal]

I can tell you this right now. It's going to be tough to resell this PC without losing much $$. I would re-evaluate and base it off ddr2 instead so you won't lost as much funds.

I say instead of going all out with this build, go midrange graphics with higher end cpu. Q6600 + P45 or 750i + Single 8800GT or above + a nice 2x2GB ddr2 kit.

The reasearch I have done so far is this:

I can either get the OCZ DDR3 1066 MHz for $130 or some random DDR2 memory for about $110 - $130, $20 is not that much for me. The one issue I am concerned about is that, when I reasearched this about 7-8 months ago, I remember finding out that DDR3 had only a %5 increase, and in some cases it was slower than the DDR2 price equivalent.

I am thinking that this will be very common in 6 months (like lets say if you go to futureshop, the top computers will be DDR3) and I will also be selling my computer, so the DDR3 memory will look good on it *advertising*

or maybe I will be selling my computer in parts - whichever gets me more cash

What should I really know about memory?

say instead of going all out with this build, go midrange graphics with higher end cpu. Q6600 + P45 or 750i + Single 8800GT or above + a nice 2x2GB ddr2 kit.[/

I already had a 8800GT and I could not play games like I wanted to play them (since I play on 1920 x 1200). That is why I wanted a huge upgrade, so I can play the best games possible before I head off to University (I'll have to quit games to study). I would not mind spending the small $20 to upgrade from a Q6600 to a Q8200

am I right?

btw guys, don't rely on me saying the right stuff, as I have not been into the computer stuff for a while.

[JrRacinFan]

Well, you do have quite a few awesome points given in your edit. Next best thing I can think of is to go Core I7, in which case, the board is compatible to go SLI or Crossfire. I mean if you look at the cost of the 790i or the X38/X48 you will see where I'm going with this post.

Now you may be able to find these at cheaper prices on other sites, be it TigerDirect or NCIX. I am using NewEgg CA for example

Least expensive X58 board:
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16813130216

Least expensive 790i board:
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16813188028

Least expensive X48 w/DDR3 board:
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16813130140

And here's the Core i7 920 processor:
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16819115202

Regarding your 8800GT, what cpu mobo ram and power supply was paired with that card?

[BloodTotal]

yea true depends on the budget.
DDR3 is gonna cost you some cash.

hmm well he can either go midrange or just skim the base of mid high so he can get a solid upgrade path later on.

proc: If intel get q6600 before those things become RIP, if AMD wait just wait it out.

I can't wait it out, I have to buy on boxing day, because that is when my holidays are, and this is my last year, I also don't want to buy my new computer when I have midterms in March (when the new stuff comes out, and the old stuff gets price droop) because I will have only like 3 months to play, and I will screw my midterms up.

Is the Q6600 better than the Q8200? would the Q6600 sell better than the Q8200?

What is the real difference with memory, is it even worth it to buy the 1066 DDR3, or to really get the good stuff I need to go into the 1600?

[JrRacinFan]

Originally Posted by BloodTotal

Is the Q6600 better than the Q8200? would the Q6600 sell better than the Q8200?

If overclocking yes.

Originally Posted by BloodTotal

What is the real difference with memory, is it even worth it to buy the 1066 DDR3, or to really get the good stuff I need to go into the 1600?

Same can be said, If overclocking yes. BUT! Alot of DDR2 1066 sticks are just plain out better regarding timings and latency over DDR3 1066.

[Jakl]

Originally Posted by BloodTotal

I would not mind spending the small $20 to upgrade from a Q6600 to a Q8200

Indead, aswell instead of going the 65 to 45nm cpu, which means less power and less heat, so Q8200 .

But seriously, Are you planning to to heavy multi application use? Video Rendering for movies you record on your comp for games? if not I would recommend the E8500 , and you can OC that thing to 4ghz if you really want, and besides in a couple of months or in a year of purchase, your computer will be out of date and their will be new stuff, especially Windows (and the new Windows 7 coming out) and applications will take more advantage of all 4 cores in the Quad...

[BloodTotal]

Well, you do have quite a few awesome points given in your edit. Next best thing I can think of is to go Core I7, in which case, the board is compatible to go SLI or Crossfire. I mean if you look at the cost of the 790i or the X38/X48 you will see where I'm going with this post.

Now you may be able to find these at cheaper prices on other sites, be it TigerDirect or NCIX. I am using NewEgg CA for example

Least expensive X58 board:
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16813130216

Least expensive 790i board:
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16813188028

Least expensive X48 w/DDR3 board:
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16813130140

And here's the Core i7 920 processor:
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16819115202

Regarding your 8800GT, what cpu mobo ram and power supply was paired with that card?

Man, you are really helping me out thanks!

im scared of spending $800 on CPU and memory, I don't know how fast prices will go down, on the motherboard, not so much, but on the i7, it might go down like $100 or more.

I am going to do some more reasearch on the i7 because I know nothing about it right now exept that it is nehalem

[BloodTotal]

Indead, aswell instead of going the 65 to 45nm cpu, which means less power and less heat, so Q8200 .

But seriously, Are you planning to to heavy multi application use? Video Rendering for movies you record on your comp for games? if not I would recommend the E8500 , and you can OC that thing to 4ghz if you really want, and besides in a couple of months or in a year of purchase, your computer will be out of date and their will be new stuff, especially Windows (and the new Windows 7 coming out) and applications will take more advantage of all 4 cores in the Quad...

Yeah, I like the 4 cores idea for the future, since I will be selling it

And, no I will not be using it for video rendering, maybe fraps, but I can turn down the graphics for that, or not use it at all. I will only be gaming on this machine

[kysg]

heck then q8200 might actually make sense. unless the i7 goes down in price, q6600 is only slightly cheaper in canada. and I mean slightly,

790i alone runs you 280-300bucks

do you need to run tri-SLI???
if not then you may need to go for an x38 or x48 board.

[Jakl]

Originally Posted by kysg

do you need to run tri-SLI???
if not then you may need to go for an x38 or x48 board.

Agreed, you probably wont be doing Tri-SLI, so slap in there a ATI 48xx and your good to go

All depends when you are wanting to buy it aswell. If you dont end up buying it until January, would recommend you looking into the new Phenom's II X4 (Dragon) , those are amazing and they are going to be dirt cheap too , thats what I am waiting for to buy my next comp.

aswell, I just found this readin on Toms Hardware, its interesting (kinda off topic but something new for the upcoming Windows 7)
http://www.tomshardware.com/news/win...-gpu,6645.html

[BloodTotal]

heck then q8200 might actually make sense. unless the i7 goes down in price, q6600 is only slightly cheaper in canada. and I mean slightly,

790i alone runs you 280-300bucks

do you need to run tri-SLI???
if not then you may need to go for an x38 or x48 board.

With the Q6600 and the Q8200 I found this

http://www.pcgameshardware.com/aid,6...nom_X4/?page=1

Basically the Q8200 has 45nm architecture, and SSE4. And the Q6600 has a better multiplier and voltage

So if im overclocking the Q6600 is much better, but the thing that is turning me off for that purchase is that it is an old CPU, good but old. I don't know if I will be able to sell it in 6 months when the new stuff comes out, it will be 3rd gen (i7 being best gen, the 8200 and 9650 ones 2nd gen, and the Q6600 being 3rd). If I will be selling my comp whole, then people would rather want the 8200 or not? should I sell in parts? 6 months later

[BloodTotal]

Agreed, you probably wont be doing Tri-SLI, so slap in there a ATI 48xx and your good to go

All depends when you are wanting to buy it aswell. If you dont end up buying it until January, would recommend you looking into the new Phenom's II X4 (Dragon) , those are amazing and they are going to be dirt cheap too , thats what I am waiting for to buy my next comp.

aswell, I just found this readin on Toms Hardware, its interesting (kinda off topic but something new for the upcoming Windows 7)
http://www.tomshardware.com/news/win...-gpu,6645.html

If I get the Phenom 2's then I will have to pay alot for the motherboard

So basically either spend $700 on mobo and CPU or spend $450 on mobo and CPU

Are the i7s and the Phenom 2s that much better than the 8200?

Good link btw - very important for me to know thanks alot (also when 7 comes out bye bye windows xp gamers, and bye bye intergrated graphics (motherboards will be alot cheaper!))

[Jakl]

Q6600 - Best OC CPU , got mine to 4.2 on Air no problem. Being out of date? All CPU's will be, but Intel is going to stop producing them in June (Last shipment) , that will be the last time we will see them making them...

I think it would not matter if you sell it that you have out of date products, the Q6600 is one of the best to OC, best multiplier and voltage aswell, but I think going for the Q8200 will be the best choice, I dont think you are planning to be a heavy OC trying to push that CPU over 4ghz , 3.6 - 3.8 on the 8200 will be the best , and you can do that on air cooling.

[kysg]

i7 I believe is better than the 8200
phenom II at least top end deneb, and heka x3 should be above it.

now not sure about propus.
anyways a 790GX board from the AMD camp will cost ya about 110-200 depends you get plenty of options, plus bios update to support 45nm procs.

if going intel probably best to stay with x48 or x58 boards.

also I feel some skeptism on WARP we have no idea what settings MS ran those things at...integrated graphics might die I guess, be kinda sad but mobos would get a lot cheaper. Still it seems this thing is sloppy, int graphics will still go on for at least another year before biting the dust

[Asylum]

You say you are going to sell this system and buy a laptop in 6 months...Why dont you just buy a good gaming laptop now and save yourself $500 later!! Heres a good place to look at
http://www.widowpc.com/store/gaming-...&ccc_pics=true
or here http://www.ibuypower.com/mall/notebook.asp

[Jakl]

Originally Posted by BloodTotal

If I get the Phenom 2's then I will have to pay alot for the motherboard

So basically either spend $700 on mobo and CPU or spend $450 on mobo and CPU

Are the i7s and the Phenom 2s that much better than the 8200?

Good link btw - very important for me to know thanks alot (also when 7 comes out bye bye windows xp gamers, and bye bye intergrated graphics (motherboards will be alot cheaper!))

Not the First Phemon coming out in January, they are only releasing 1 , and it will be on a DDR2 Mobo , and in Febuary - May it will be on DDR3 mobo's . AThe CPU aswell will cost roughly around ~$270 , they are planning to make those CPU's cheap.

Here is the Road map of the upcoming AMD CPU's
http://publish.it168.com/2008/1114/20081114006901.shtml

Not trying to Migrate you to AMD lol, but its your personal preference on what you want to go with, but if you going to Intel, go for the Q8200

AMD has recently changed its CPU numbering scheme plans from five digits number to only three digits, similar to that of Intel's Core i7 CPUs, according to sources at motherboard makers.

AMD's upcoming Phenom X4 20350 and 20550 CPUs will be renamed to Phenom II X4 920 and Phenom II X4 940 Black Edition, respectively. The launch date of the products will also be delayed from November this year to during CES 2009 in January next year.

The company's 45nm AM3-based CPUs will also be renamed to the Phenom II X4 900, X4 800 and X3 700 series, and will launch in the second quarter of next year. AMD is also planning to launch a quad-core high-end CPU, Phenom II X4 945 Black Edition, in the second quarter next year along with the Phenom II X3 600 and Phenom II X2 200 series.

[Jakl]

Originally Posted by kysg

i7 I believe is better than the 8200
phenom II at least top end deneb, and heka x3 should be above it.

now not sure about propus.
anyways a 790GX board from the AMD camp will cost ya about 110-200 depends you get plenty of options, plus bios update to support 45nm procs.

if going intel probably best to stay with x48 or x58 boards.

Yea the i7 is better, but in what area? benchmarking? Not a huge increase in Gaming , the GPU does most of the work, but of course there is little better performance on the i7 but is it worth the money yet, and a huge increase in our everyday usage of the computers?

[Kenshai]

Originally Posted by Asylum

You say you are going to sell this system and buy a laptop in 6 months...Why dont you just buy a good gaming laptop now and save yourself $500 later!! Heres a good place to look at
http://www.widowpc.com/store/gaming-...&ccc_pics=true
or here http://www.ibuypower.com/mall/notebook.asp

If you're building a gaming laptop, there is no better place I've found in the US other than Sager same computer on that widowpc.com place with 4 gigs of ram instead of 2...$300 cheaper.

[BloodTotal]

Thanks alot for your help guys, I will now make threads in the other forums to get in depth expert opinions.

You guys did convince me to get a q6600 or pretty close to that - plus I found one for %12 off

I might also go with the i7