Will my PC bottleneck?

[Kursah]

I put more research into it dude, I'm gonna roll with the GTX 260 Core 216.

I did the same back in July and ended up getting a 260-192 core (only version available then..), drivers were more solid, fewer failures, lower temps w/stock cooling, things for me that were very important as this time I wanted a card that just worked. But the 4870's were cheaper, just as fast, and looked really promising. They still are kickass cards no doubt, and are also more popular, but the gtx's have gained greatly with price reductions and continuing solid performance results and very good oc-ability. Either route is great for gaming, but I tend to stay away from multi-card/gpu solutions for the fact that more issues do arise, and there will always be some issues, whether it be a new game that is unsupported or crap performance than needs yet another driver tweak...single cards/single gpu's are the way to go! At least for true reliability.

 

[ShadowFold]

I put more research into it dude, I'm gonna roll with the GTX 260 Core 216.

..At the cost of a weaker CPU, and two 4850's destroy a 260.

 

[Attix]

So your going to build your own?

Still deciding, just looking at some videos on building a rig on YouTube, buying individual parts can be a pain in the ass for a noob.

 

[Kursah]

Still deciding, just looking at some videos on building a rig on YouTube, buying individual parts can be a pain in the ass for a noob.

The pain in the ass part is also the part that pays off, finding the best bang for the buck for your wants/needs. That includes a lot of research, shopping, patience, but the payoff is generally well worth it. Since I started building PC's I can't go back. Trust me Attix it is worth it to start building your own rigs, you save money, learn a lot, and become better with each build.

 

[Assassin48]

Still deciding, just looking at some videos on building a rig on YouTube, buying individual parts can be a pain in the ass for a noob.

Just ask questions, when i built my current pc it ended up being easy because i asked alot of questions

i actually have some spare parts like

phenom 9950
zalman 9700
OCZ 8gb DDR2 800mhz

and some watercooling parts

 

[Attix]

Okay, can anyone get me a list of parts I can use in order to make a gaming rig for $900.00 or less? I want to game good, fast, and right. Once my birthday comes up I will get a 22" monitor, all I need is a rig, so what should I get?

Oh yeah, I plan on playing A LOT of FPS, Crysis, FEAR 1-2, CoD 5, and some more.

 

[DarkMatter]

And SLI/CF isn't really an upgrade path. When you want to add the 2nd card a year later, the money is always better spent on a new single card. SLI/CF is a now or never thing imo.

I agree with that. SLI/CF can only be an upgrade path if you are upgrading in the next 2-3 months. Otherwise a new card from the new generation is better. With the fast pace at which cards are being released and phased out, it doesn't make sense to think of SLI/CF in the long term.
Examples are various and simple: if I wanted to increase my performane right now. Would be better to take a 8800 GT for $100-120 or a GTX260/HD4870 for $140-170? Considering I could still sell the 8800GT, de latter is definately the better option. The same example with the HD3870 is even worse as those are around $100 mark too ATM and performance is much lower, a HD4850/GTS250 would be much much better than an aditional 3870 right now.

 

[Assassin48]

Okay, can anyone get me a list of parts I can use in order to make a gaming rig for $900.00 or less? I want to game good, fast, and right. Once my birthday comes up I will get a 22" monitor, all I need is a rig, so what should I get?

Oh yeah, I plan on playing A LOT of FPS, Crysis, FEAR 1-2, CoD 5, and some more.

ill make you a list what do you want amd or intel?
with amd you can always upgrade to the next one up like how i did with the 9950 and my new phenom 940

 

[Attix]

ill make you a list what do you want amd or intel?
with amd you can always upgrade to the next one up like how i did with the 9950 and my new phenom 940

AMD CPU
nVidia GPU preferably.

 

[angelkiller]

It's not as simple as pumping the graphics up. I used to have a 1024x768 screen too, CPU makes a HUGE difference.

Ok at that rez, I agree, the CPU is the deciding factor. I was talking about more in general. Lets say I had a 22in LCD. If my P1 was getting bottlenecked, I'd turn up the AA so the GTX 260 would have more work to do. But I still wouldn't pick the PII over the P1 just because it is faster at 1024x768, even though that's where the OP is gaming at. Don't you think that even though it's realatively slow, that the P1, a quad core chip, will destroy any game at 1024x768? Upping to PII isn't necessary, even though it will more than likely be faster.

@ Attix
I'm puttin a rig together right now. Just lettin you know, I'm givin you kickass performance and I'm not spending the whole 900. Why AMD + Nvidia? (I was thinkin just the opposite, Intel + AMD)

 

[Attix]

Ok at that rez, I agree, the CPU is the deciding factor. I was talking about more in general. Lets say I had a 22in LCD. If my P1 was getting bottlenecked, I'd turn up the AA so the GTX 260 would have more work to do. But I still wouldn't pick the PII over the P1 just because it is faster at 1024x768, even though that's where the OP is gaming at. Don't you think that even though it's realatively slow, that the P1, a quad core chip, will destroy any game at 1024x768? Upping to PII isn't necessary, even though it will more than likely be faster.

@ Attix
I'm puttin a rig together right now. Just lettin you know, I'm givin you kickass performance and I'm not spending the whole 900. Why AMD + Nvidia? (I was thinkin just the opposite, Intel + AMD)

Whatever gives me the best performance, man. You probably have more knowledge on this than I do.

 

[Ketxxx]

I'm willing to bet that RAM is pretty crap and the mainboard is a pile of junk.

 

[Attix]

So how's that list going guys?

 

[ShadowFold]

Oops lol sub total is 788$ before shipping

Get which ever CPU cooler you find necessary, I like the Xigmatek S1284EE the most. It's seriously the best cooler on the market for AMD systems.

 

[Assassin48]

So how's that list going guys?

i didnt put in the zip
and how can i post a link for the newegg cart?

heres a pic


$831

 

[angelkiller]

I'm willing to bet that RAM is pretty crap and the mainboard is a pile of junk.

Agreed. That's how they save money, nobody ever asks 'well, who makes the RAM or Mobo?' The 560 SLI chipset is like 3 years old. How does it support Phenom...?

• Antec 300
• Corsair TX-650
• Asus P5Q Pro
• Intel E8400
• Xigmatek HDT-S1283
• 4GB (2x2GB) or Corsair DDR2-1066
• 2x Sapphire 4830
• WD6400AAKS
• LG DVD Burner
• Vista Home Premium

Ok all this was $915 - $80 (rebates) = $835!

Hopefully the links work and I didn't forget something important. A few notes.

• There are lots of changes that can be made to increase performance or cut costs.
• E8400 overclocks to 4GHz easy.
• If you want a cheap E8400, there are a couple in TPU's Buy/Sell/Trade forum
• 2 4830s in crossfire are faster than a single GTX 280.
• If you want, you can get 2 4850s for $200 in the B/S/T forum. I forget who's welling them
• I'd recommend a 1920x1200 LCD. You can get one for well under $300
• If the monitor is too expensive, I'd prolly drop the 4830 CF to a single 4870, and get a PII 720 and a 790FX+SB750 mobo

Haha me and Assassin and Shadow all finished at the same time.

 

[Assassin48]

we all have atleast 1 thing in comon
lol

 

[ShadowFold]

Why would you buy a E8400 when you can get the PII 720 for cheaper? It OC's about the same and performs worse.

we all have atleast 1 thing in comon
lol

I was first

 

[Assassin48]

Why would you buy a E8400 when you can get the PII 720 for cheaper? It OC's about the same and performs worse.


I was first

by a few sec
i was trying to put the link but couldnt lol

but mine is a complete system
it even comes with a free GAME!!

 

[angelkiller]

To post a link, I think you have to log in, and make a saved wish list.

@ Shadow, I picked E8400 because clock for clock C2D has it. Even in games. E8400 can hit 4GHz easy, and possibly more. PII 720 only hits 3.8GHz MAX. The third core is only useful in sutations where software uses more than 2 cores, most notably in video encoding. However, primary usage is gaming, where E8400 is king.

 

[Error 404]

To post a link, I think you have to log in, and make a saved wish list.

@ Shadow, I picked E8400 because clock for clock C2D has it. Even in games. E8400 can hit 4GHz easy, and possibly more. PII 720 only hits 3.8GHz MAX. The third core is only useful in sutations where software uses more than 2 cores, most notably in video encoding. However, primary usage is gaming, where E8400 is king.

That may be the case now, but in the near future we should see games that utilise more than two cores. A Tri-core would make this rig more future-proof, IMO.

GTX 260-216 is a great graphics card, go with that or a 4870. Also look for a hard drive with plenty of cache and good performance levels so that you can load stuff quicker.

 

[a_ump]

my build

Case-----$79.99
Corsair 750w----$109.99
Phenom II 940+MSI 780GX-$297.99
XIG Dark Knight CPU cooler---$39.99
AC MX-2 Thermal compound---$6.99
G.SKILL 4GB DDR2 1066---$49.99
ASUS Hd 4870 TOP---$164.99
WD 500GB---$69.99
Pioneer CD/DVD burner---$24.99

TOTAL: $844.91
W/ship: $889.71

If u do rail-in rebates: $819.71
Wishlist, though remember to get the mobo and cpu in a combo, not separately it saves $45

 

[Assassin48]

my build

Case-----$79.99
Corsair 750w----$109.99
Phenom II 940+MSI 780GX-$297.99
XIG Dark Knight CPU cooler---$39.99
AC MX-2 Thermal compound---$6.99
G.SKILL 4GB DDR2 1066---$49.99
ASUS Hd 4870 TOP---$164.99
WD 500GB---$69.99
Pioneer CD/DVD burner---$24.99

TOTAL: $844.91
W/ship: $889.71

If u do rail-in rebates: $819.71
Wishlist, though remember to get the mobo and cpu in a combo, not separately it saves $45

Missing OS $100

 

[a_ump]

i'll burn mine and send it to him dam the OS disc, i've always had one from a friend or previous build so i never include it

 

[Assassin48]

i'll burn mine and send it to him dam the OS disc, i've always had one from a friend or previous build so i never include it

nice

send me windows 7 i started dl but never actually finished it and now i cant dl agian