Looking to Build a PC - Details Inside!

[ShadowFold]

And you linked the only game in that review that shows no gains with different CPUs. A game with a 2004 engine. But what about Crysis, FarCry2, Fallout 3 and COD5, for example?? Yeah is not that high the difference, but it will just get bigger and bigger with newer releases. And price of Quad vs Dual isn't that high neither.

Look at the other games. Are you kidding me?

 

[A Cheese Danish]

No, the best way to future proof would be i7, followed by AM3.

Notice I said better, not best But yes, it would be i7, however i thought the majority was pointing towards AMD for this guy...?

 

[Wile E]

Look at the other games. Are you kidding me?

That doesn't matter. Games aren't the only thing a computer is used for. He himself admitted he's not the most avid gamer. It would be better for him to spend more on cpu right now, then worry more about gfx power when he does become more avid.

Notice I said better, not best But yes, it would be i7, however i thought the majority was pointing towards AMD for this guy...?

I'm trying to show him all of his possible options, and their possible pitfalls or advantages.

 

[DarkMatter]

Look at the other games. Are you kidding me?

I HAVE looked at them that's why I said.

EDIT: Huh it was Bioshock and not FC2 who benefited from 4 cores and specially Core i7, but still.

 

[RevengE]

i have done my research buddy

I don't think you have. Also gaming is not the only use for a computer as wile said. In the future he could get involved in more CPU intensive tasks. He might as well get one, no one knows what could happen in the future.

 

[Bokteelo]

Woah, 40 posts when I got home!

I'm going to start reading them all now, and could anyone tell me why I'm NOT going with an i7? They're about 300$ aren't they?

 

[Wile E]

Woah, 40 posts when I got home!

I'm going to start reading them all now, and could anyone tell me why I'm NOT going with an i7? They're about 300$ aren't they?

The board is about $300 as well. Up to you, depends on your budget. We can easily spec you out a nice i7 build, but it will cost a bit more for the additional parts to go with it.

 

[MKmods]

Woah, 40 posts when I got home!

I'm going to start reading them all now, and could anyone tell me why I'm NOT going with an i7? They're about 300$ aren't they?

they are a waste of money except for people that REALLY know how to push their comps...

Dont forget the $$$$ for the special i7 mobos...

Whats the point of a budget if you dont ever stick to it?

 

[RevengE]

Agreed..just get a Phenom II.

 

[Bokteelo]

they are a waste of money except for people that REALLY know how to push their comps...
Dont forget the $$$$ for the special i7 mobos...
Whats the point of a budget if you dont ever stick to it?

Oh, I get it now. I was wondering how expensive an i7 could've possibly been.

Agreed..just get a Phenom II.

If I run with an AM3, I'd need DDR3 memory right? And how much more would a 4870x2 cost me?

 

[Wile E]

If you want to stick strictly to your budget, AM3 isn't a bad choice. If you would like to stretch the budget, and maximize future upgrade paths, i7 is where it's at. And yes, you would need DDR3 for either platform.

And the 4870x2 would be a little over $200 more.

 

[MKmods]

Its all fine and dandy to yak about OCing this and that but dont forget you are new to this (really new)
In 5 years ALL of our comps will be junk (even the i7 based ones will be junk, less junk but junk none the less)

Focus on a simple build that wont cost too much but will let you experiment with settings. The one Shadow recommended is very good, just tweak it a bit (AM3 mobo and 2 gigs of AM3 memory) Get rid of the 4870 and pop in a 4830 (there is absolutely no need for a 4870 with a 19" lcd)
The AMD 720 is an AWESOME deal for what you get, I messed up buying the AM3 810 quad instead of the 720 dont make the same mistake.

Make sure you get a good PS so if/when you upgrade in the future you wont need to swap it out and be happy..

 

[Wile E]

Its all fine and dandy to yak about OCing this and that but dont forget you are new to this (really new)
In 5 years ALL of our comps will be junk (even the i7 based ones will be junk, less junk but junk none the less)

Focus on a simple build that wont cost too much but will let you experiment with settings. The one Shadow recommended is very good, just tweak it a bit (AM3 mobo and 2 gigs of AM3 memory) Get rid of the 4870 and pop in a 4830 (there is absolutely no need for a 4870 with a 19" lcd)
Make sure you get a good PS so if/when you upgrade in the future you wont need to swap it out and be happy..

I disagree. The 4870 would prevent him from having to upgrade for much longer.

 

[Bokteelo]

I'll probably keep the rig I put together in the next month or two (I tend to wait to see if anything unexpected happens) until after my last year of high school or after my freshman year in college. Then I'll switch to a new build, which would be in about 3-4 years.

This is what I currently have: (After taking in all of your advice I decided to take a little extra time to decide between the CPU + mobo.)
PSU - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139005
HD - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136319
Cooling - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233023&Tpk=Xigmatek HDT-S1284EE

If I get the 4830x2, I'll have an edge over the 4870 for now, but if I go with the 4870 and wait a year or so to add another 4870, wouldn't THAT be better? I'll slap in an extra 4870 if I ever feel the need for it.

 

[RevengE]

Oh, I get it now. I was wondering how expensive an i7 could've possibly been.




If I run with an AM3, I'd need DDR3 memory right? And how much more would a 4870x2 cost me?

my 4870x2 was on sale when I got it for $430.00, it's now back up to $450.00. You could use either DDR2/3 with an m4a79 motherboard by asus if you were wanting to get a m4a79-t deluxe that's only DDR3.

 

[MKmods]

I disagree. The 4870 would prevent him from having to upgrade for much longer.

He has a 19" lcd... if he had a 24 or bigger than fine. But with 1 of the 4830s he will be fine, and later on he has the option of another 4830 in Crossfire.

He can easily sell the 4830 he has for about the same $ he paid (lol, try that with a 4870 in 6 mos) and pick up a newer card if he only wants a 1 card solution.

In 3 or 4 years you will think the 4870 is junk too...Anyone remember the 7900GTX? (cost over $500 and now a $60 card beats the crap out of it)
http://enthusiast.hardocp.com/article.html?art=MTAwMSwxLCxoZW50aHVzaWFzdA
from 3 years ago...

 

[ShadowFold]

I'm having a hard enough time trying to sell mine.. I just ended up getting refunds on them. No one wants 4830's it seems.

 

[Wile E]

He has a 19" lcd... if he had a 24 or bigger than fine. But with 1 of the 4830s he will be fine, and later on he has the option of another 4830 in Crossfire.

He can easily sell the 4830 he has for about the same $ he paid (lol, try that with a 4870 in 6 mos) and pick up a newer card if he only wants a 1 card solution.

Or, he could just not have to worry about upgrading the 4870 for quite a few extra months over the 4830.

 

[MKmods]

I'm having a hard enough time trying to sell mine.. I just ended up getting refunds on them. No one wants 4830's it seems.

You are selling yours (mis matched pair) for almost the same as new at the egg.

Thats another reason to be careful with $$ right now.. Just wait to see what happens in a year or 2.

 

[Bokteelo]

This was a post given to me on a game forum:

Hey, the PC is looking good. I would do couple changes though.

* WD 640 AALS (black) is only few bucks more expensive than 500gb. Those 320gb(320x2=640) platters perform a little better than 250gb platters. Newegg.com - Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - Internal Hard Drives

* You can get 1066mhz RAM cheaper: Newegg.com - WINTEC 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Desktop Memory

* VX550 isnt on pair quality-wise with another Corsair PSU's, because it's made by Channel Well Tech, instead of Seasonic. If by any chance, you can afford Enermax Pro82+ 525w, Newegg.com - ENERMAX PRO82+ EPR525AWT 525W ATX12V Ver.2.3 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply - Power Supplies ,i would recommend it. On top of excellent quality, it's also the most quiet active psu on market; Modu82+ 625 Power Supply: Enermax to the Forefront | silentpcreview.com

* Also the S1283-EE edition you chose, it's a great cooler. BUT Xigmatek HDT-1283V has the same price.. Even though -EE has fourth heatpipes design , whereas -V(dark knight) has three heatpipes, the performance is the same according to all reviews/tests.
Why should you pick up the Dark knight edition then? The reason is simple, S1283V comes with optional LGA775 mounting bracket, it improves the contact between cpu and the cooler. Newegg.com - XIGMATEK Dark Knight-S1283V 120mm Long Life Bearing CPU Cooler - CPU Fans & Heatsinks .I wouldnt trust pushpins.

* HD4870 and GTX260 performs almost the same. But the newer Core 216 version of the GTX260 is slightly better than HD4870. Even though your motherboard has crossfire support, i would still pick this: Newegg.com - SPARKLE SXX260896D3S-HP GeForce GTX 260 896MB 448-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards -sp216 edition, same price as your current hd4870.

* The UD3P mobo you chose has crossfire, do you really need it? Also if you go with the gtx260sp216 gfx, it would be kinda pointless.. You could pick up UD3R, which is the exact same mobo, but only has one PCIE X16 slot. Newegg.com - GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3R LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard - Intel Motherboards




recommendation------------->

what about optical drive and case?

 

[MKmods]

lol, i give up

 

[ShadowFold]

That guy doesn't know what he's talking about. And buying a Q9550 is silly. The 940 is cheaper and performs the same.
And on the power supply, the Corsair 550w is Seasonic. Not channelwell. Which is why I recommended the 550w over the 650w but it doesn't really matter.

 

[Bokteelo]

Good, I trust you guys more! Anyway! I can't decide between these:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233023&Tpk=Xigmatek HDT-S1284EE
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233029

 

[Wile E]

The VX550's quality is exactly on par with Corsair's other PSUs. Channelwell has proven their reliability of their newer lines in spades. They OEM many of the top of the line PSUs out there now. They aren't as low a quality of OEM as they used to be.

And there's no sence in getting an nVidia card on a Crossfire board if you want to keep upgrade ability as an option.

 

[ShadowFold]

1284EE if you go AMD for sure. The pipes make full contact with the IHS which keeps it really cool. I have one myself