Building new system, need advice...

[Xerphon]

My old rig is on it's last legs as far as keeping up with current games and I'm looking to build a new system from the ground up. I'm currently running a Gateway GT5032 model, specs are:
AMD Athlon X2 4200+ Dual Core CPU
2GB PNY Optima Ram DDR PC-3200
500W XCLIO PSU
Gateway Motherboard (Very Restrictive) - (Foxconn variation)
250GB Western Digital HDD 7200 RPM
Sapphire X1950 Pro 512MB Video Card PCIE

I'm looking to upgrade to either a Core 2 Duo or if it's really worth it a Intel Quad Core CPU. Also, the video card I have in mind is a Radeon HD4870.

So I guess, If you were building a system what would be some of the components that you would go with to get the most bang for your buck. Money is of course a factor, but by no means will I be going 'cheap' this time like I did last time by buying a prebuilt system. TIA, any questions feel free to ask and I'll be sure to answer as quickly as possible.

 

[calvary1980]

how much are you willing to spend, exact figure is important.

- Christine

 

[BarbaricSoul]

well not knowing a maximum price tag. I put together a build I wouldn't mind doing myself. Kinda pricey, but it could be worse.

http://img385.imageshack.us/img385/5823/sasak4.jpg

I would also get a 2nd 4870 to crossfire in the near future.

 

[kyle2020]

that all looks spot on mate, besides the PSU. Go with a more well - known brand. Also, have you considered quad core? namely the Q6600, it cant be that much more than the E8400?

 

[BarbaricSoul]

that all looks spot on mate, besides the PSU. Go with a more well - known brand.

Your kidding right? PC power and cooling are some of THE best PSUs available and are about the most recommended PSU on TPU.

Also, have you considered quad core? namely the Q6600, it cant be that much more than the E8400?

The q6600, while still a good cpu, is old. If I was to suggest a quad, it'd be the q9450. Most games(99%) don't support quads, so considering the $150 price difference, the performance gain with the q9450 really wouldn't be used. Maybe in the future, after Nahalem is released and current quad prices drop to current q6600 price levels, upgrade to the q9450 or better CPU, when games will actually use the quads power.

 

[farlex85]

well not knowing a maximum price tag. I put together a build I wouldn't mind doing myself. Kinda pricey, but it could be worse.

http://img385.imageshack.us/img385/5823/sasak4.jpg

I would also get a 2nd 4870 to crossfire in the near future.

Throw in a SE16 640gb and a cd-drive and that looks ok, expensive, but depends on the op. That ram was just $89 last week, and as such I would have a hard time spending that much for it. They're power-chips, solid, but that's a little too high.

 

[BarbaricSoul]

Damn, I did forget the HD Add that HD that Farlex suggested.

I was figuring on him re-using his CD drives from his current rig.

Yeah, I know it's expensive, but he didn't state a max price, so I wasn't looking at prices. I put together what I would build today if I had the money.

 

[Xerphon]

Thanks for all of the replies. As far as pricing goes, I'm looking to put together a complete system for around $1,250... of course the lower the better, but at the same time I won't sacrifice performance for price. I'm going to review the suggestions now, thanks again!

 

[farlex85]

Thanks for all of the replies. As far as pricing goes, I'm looking to put together a complete system for around $1,250... of course the lower the better, but at the same time I won't sacrifice performance for price. I'm going to review the suggestions now, thanks again!

Monitor included? Any parts carrying over from the last machine?

Here's another build, similar to barbaric's but a little cheaper. No monitor on here though if you need that too this will have to change a bit. Also I would have put vista premium on there, which is about $75 cheaper, but I can't find it on the egg now. You can get it from somewhere else for $100 though, and that will knock of some of the price right there. This also gives you the option of crossfire in the future. Total is $1155.96 after shipping.

 

[BarbaricSoul]

Thanks for all of the replies. As far as pricing goes, I'm looking to put together a complete system for around $1,250... of course the lower the better, but at the same time I won't sacrifice performance for price. I'm going to review the suggestions now, thanks again!

$1250 price tag here


http://img353.imageshack.us/my.php?image=bjibe2.jpg

psssst, you forgot the case Farlex

 

[BarbaricSoul]

hell, I put the wrong vid card in that list, switch that card with this one- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814500037

 

[farlex85]

$1250 price tag here


http://img353.imageshack.us/my.php?image=bjibe2.jpg

psssst, you forgot the case Farlex

Yeah I generally don't include cases w/ these b/c everyone's tastes on them is different. Plus I prefer to buy those from a local electronics store if they have the ones you want b/c shipping costs for them are so high. He'll probably want to go down on that lani li, too expensive, he'll have to sacrafice too much performance for a $200 case imo. Also the g.skills I linked are essientially the same chips as the 1066 version and $35 cheaper, they have a 6-layer pcb as opposed to 8-layer on the other, but I don't think it's worth it.

 

[Xerphon]

The monitor won't be included, I have a new Samsung 22" Widescreen LCD that'll I'll be using for the foreseeable future. Thanks so much for the info you guys have provided, it's helping tremendously!

 

[farlex85]

The monitor won't be included, I have a new Samsung 22" Widescreen LCD that'll I'll be using for the foreseeable future. Thanks so much for the info you guys have provided, it's helping tremendously!

Ok, so if you need to get your budget lower to afford the monitor, pick up this cpu instead. Has fantastic oc capabilities and for all intents and purposes will perform the same as 8400. So that's $60, another $75 for home premium instead of ultimate, and now that build I had for you costs a shade over $1000, leaving room for monitor, case, speakers, and peripherials. If you need to knock off more you can abandon cf in favor of a cheap p35, or go down to a 4850 and plan for a 4870 w/ cfX in the future. Just some more ideas.

 

[BarbaricSoul]

Ok, so if you need to get your budget lower to afford the monitor, pick up this cpu instead. Has fantastic oc capabilities and for all intents and purposes will perform the same as 8400. So that's $60, another $75 for home premium instead of ultimate, and now that build I had for you costs a shade over $1000, leaving room for monitor, case, speakers, and peripherials. If you need to knock off more you can abandon cf in favor of a cheap p35, or go down to a 4850 and plan for a 4870 w/ cfX in the future. Just some more ideas.

agreed with Farlex's suggestions for saving money if needed

Minus the $200 for the lian li case, both systems we build for you are about equal in price and gaming power(the 4850 is alittle stronger than the 9800gtx, but the GTX is like $25 cheaper). You can use the RAM he listed in my build also to save money there. Pretty much comes down to whether you prefer ATI or Nvidia now.

 

[BarbaricSoul]

here's another suggestion, plenty on mey left over for a 2nd 4850 card, case and any periferals you may want.

http://img104.imageshack.us/my.php?image=vbvwy0.jpg