Building new computer - Page 2
Blogs > TheosEx |
fight_or_flight
United States3988 Posts
| ||
IzzyCraft
United States4487 Posts
| ||
haduken
Australia8267 Posts
phenom 2 is definately not a bad choice given their price but again not proved to be a worthy investment otherthan the price issue. dual cores are not obsolete but quad core price is reasonable enough to justify an upgrade imo. | ||
mahnini
United States6862 Posts
considering how far ahead the i7 core is it definitely presents a unique situation. BUT remember this, 32nm 8 core processors are pretty close to coming to market (sometime by the end of this year i think) and before you say "who needs 8 cores blah blah blah" consider the irony of your situation. perhaps filling your computer gap for 1 year with a phenom ii saving 150 with the mobo, 150 with the processor itself, 20-30 for ram. then if you fee like it transitioning to newer / cheaper i7 boards and processors. or you could go for the intel mobo and processor now and just the processor later. looking at it this way the i7 now seems like a good choice, but that's assuming that you need such processing power. it's never bad to have more power than necessary but one has to consider the cost. going with a phenom ii saves you much more in the short-medium term which makes it the more economical choice for frequent upgraders, while the i7 core would probably work better for medium - long term upgraders. the phenom ii is not a bad processor by any means, saying so would mean disregarding intels entire mid range quad core lineup. there's no denying that intel is the better processor manufacturer but looking at this from a cost / benefit perspective i think AMD currently has the upper hand. intel had a strangle hold on the dual cores and up until recently quads but now i think AMDs aggressive pricing is making it a seriously good choice. | ||
IzzyCraft
United States4487 Posts
| ||
haduken
Australia8267 Posts
Gaming honestly is not the reason you should upgrade. | ||
floor exercise
Canada5847 Posts
| ||
fearus
China2164 Posts
On March 16 2009 01:44 decafchicken wrote: Yea, saving money while getting better performance and possibly enjoying it in the process is a terrible idea! 1. His not going to enjoy the process 2. His not saving money 3. Better performance? Because some computer parts are sooo top secret and exclusive that the only way to obtain it is to order the part indvidually.. god forbid some computer shop decides to use it in they own package deals... If its not too late.. don't build your own system = best advice in thread | ||
PH
United States6173 Posts
When I first found that out, I was like, "WTF??" I still can't pronounce it correctly... | ||
TheosEx
United States894 Posts
On March 16 2009 10:48 fearus wrote: 1. His not going to enjoy the process 2. His not saving money 3. Better performance? Because some computer parts are sooo top secret and exclusive that the only way to obtain it is to order the part indvidually.. god forbid some computer shop decides to use it in they own package deals... If its not too late.. don't build your own system = best advice in thread 1. I've built computers before and I actually found it quite enjoyable and rewarding. 2. I definitely am. Anywhere else, this computer would be in the $3000++ range, plus it would be mostly generic name brands. 3. There is no such thing as a well priced, half-decent computer that can be bought at any retail store such as Best Buy or CCity. You're always giving up something. I know; I used to work at one. And all the computer speciality shops always charge an arm and a leg for anything custom you want. Thanks for the advice, but I honestly don't think there is any reason NOT to build your own computer unless you are satisfied with getting shafted in the name of convenience. To all the other advice out there, I really appreciate it. I have a lot to consider, but for right now, I am thinking with: 1. Sticking with the i7 and DDR3; it's not so expensive that it would deter me from getting it. 2. Looking at another PSU, preferably a modular one as haduken suggested. 3. Getting an aftermarket heatsink; any recommendations? 4. Checking out other cases at the moment; there are so many, this task seems pretty daunting 5. Debating whether to get a 4870 or 2x 4850 (thanks floor exercise). Is there any other card that would be even better than the 4870? Note: I do have a 64-bit Vista Premium, so the 6GB RAM isn't a problem. Thanks for asking. Lots to think about and consider... | ||
fearus
China2164 Posts
On March 16 2009 11:19 TheosEx wrote: 1. I've built computers before and I actually found it quite enjoyable and rewarding. Fair enough, best of luck then! | ||
mahnini
United States6862 Posts
On March 16 2009 11:19 TheosEx wrote: 1. I've built computers before and I actually found it quite enjoyable and rewarding. 2. I definitely am. Anywhere else, this computer would be in the $3000++ range, plus it would be mostly generic name brands. 3. There is no such thing as a well priced, half-decent computer that can be bought at any retail store such as Best Buy or CCity. You're always giving up something. I know; I used to work at one. And all the computer speciality shops always charge an arm and a leg for anything custom you want. Thanks for the advice, but I honestly don't think there is any reason NOT to build your own computer unless you are satisfied with getting shafted in the name of convenience. To all the other advice out there, I really appreciate it. I have a lot to consider, but for right now, I am thinking with: 1. Sticking with the i7 and DDR3; it's not so expensive that it would deter me from getting it. 2. Looking at another PSU, preferably a modular one as haduken suggested. 3. Getting an aftermarket heatsink; any recommendations? 4. Checking out other cases at the moment; there are so many, this task seems pretty daunting 5. Debating whether to get a 4870 or 2x 4850 (thanks floor exercise). Is there any other card that would be even better than the 4870? Note: I do have a 64-bit Vista Premium, so the 6GB RAM isn't a problem. Thanks for asking. Lots to think about and consider... 3. zalman, arctic freezer 7, xigmatek and a few others 4. antec 300 is very similar to the antec 900 except half the price and pretty much the same. there's also the cooler master 690 which is pretty nice as well as cheap 5. there's always 4870x2, it's a single card not 4870 crossfired but i think anything over the 4870 is kind've going overboard but if you want there's the gtx 295 gtx285 and such | ||
haduken
Australia8267 Posts
arctic freezer 7 is a well recommended cooler, i can't get it in australia tho, maybe discontinued? but you yanks have your ways. i dunno what to say about building computers. if you've done it before and know the basics then definately do it. buying from shop is for tards and mom and dads. | ||
TheosEx
United States894 Posts
I'm still looking at PSUs and Cases. So freakin' many. And I probably go with this screen | ||
IzzyCraft
United States4487 Posts
Best single GPU on market GTX 285 > GTX 280 > GTX260(216core)=4870 (1 gig) i don't count dual cards too driver dependent i7 Do not use Zalman cooler it's not worth the price of those things. Zalman makes great coolers but right now only for dual core system the cooling is best. Else i recommend a XIGMATEK HDT-S1283 with some OCZ Technology Freeze no cure time makes it easy and reliable if not Arctic Silver 5 is fine As for psu i suggest a Corsair one with HX at the end quality psu modular it's all good. CORSAIR CMPSU-520HX would be great if you stay single gpu But things like Antec Seasonic silver stone PC Power and Cooling OCZ are all good quality psu makers For dual GPU you can do it on high quality 600's with newer gpu's at ffmm but 750w is for recommended. nicely left you with more questions then anwers lol | ||
maleorderbride
United States2916 Posts
i7 920 (it kills me when people don't overclock, but meh) ASUS P6T (every other motherboard cheaper than that has gimped max DDR3 speeds, or not enough channels) 6GB-1600MHz 7-7-7-24 timings are nothing to sniff at. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227381 700W Power Supply (after rebate its cheap enough) http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=10009502 Heatsink: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233029 (dont be fooled by its price, this thing is the best) Video Card - Just get an HD4870. HDD: 2x 160/250GB HDDs in RAID 0 2nd HDD: Any 1TB HDD Case: CM 690 http://cmstore.coolermaster-usa.com/product_info.php?products_id=109 (its refurbished, but its flawless, trust me on this. I buy their refurbished cases constantly) | ||
TheosEx
United States894 Posts
This may seem like a stupid question, but why do you suggest the 160/250GB HDDs in RAID 0, and a 2nd 1TB HDD, and not just 2x 1TB HDD? | ||
haduken
Australia8267 Posts
the 2 x 1TB are for media and file storage. You don't need a super fast drive for this because majority of times you would only be doing transferring / streaming stuff off it. You don't want to put the larger drives in raid 0 because if one drive fails, you are fucked. It also make sense when your windows fail for whatever reason (like we haven't seen that before). It's just so much easier this way. I suppose you can also get the 1TB and partition it but that's just noobish, 160GB is what like 40 bucks? So you can get some of the cheaper WD green drives which have slower spinning speed + lower power consumption. 5400rpm is what i'm thinking of. it won't really matter to the user if all you are doing is storing stuff. if you really want to go nuts. SSD or the WD Velociraptor are awesome. I have a velociraptor in my box now and the boot time is just insanely fast. | ||
IzzyCraft
United States4487 Posts
On March 16 2009 15:53 maleorderbride wrote: Taking what you definitely want to use: i7 920 (it kills me when people don't overclock, but meh) ASUS P6T (every other motherboard cheaper than that has gimped max DDR3 speeds, or not enough channels) 6GB-1600MHz 7-7-7-24 timings are nothing to sniff at. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227381 700W Power Supply (after rebate its cheap enough) http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=10009502 Heatsink: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233029 (dont be fooled by its price, this thing is the best) Video Card - Just get an HD4870. HDD: 2x 160/250GB HDDs in RAID 0 2nd HDD: Any 1TB HDD Case: CM 690 http://cmstore.coolermaster-usa.com/product_info.php?products_id=109 (its refurbished, but its flawless, trust me on this. I buy their refurbished cases constantly) Refurbished cases are fine as long as they aren't like 99% plastic cases ones form CM are what i buy to resell my computers i keep the nice new great cases for my self. I love my CM cosmos 1000 Anyways this is my take on a 30 inch monitor build ASUS P6T LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard Intel Core i7 920 Nehalem 2.66GHz LGA 1366 XIGMATEK HDT-S1283 OCZ OCZTFRZTC Freeze OCZ 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 Modle:OCZ3X1333LV6GK Nvidia GTX 285 probably from evga or pny a non oc model cheaper then the rest. 2 x Western Digital Caviar Green WD10EADS 1TB SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST3500418AS 500GB Drive As far as i remember the .12 is a rebranded .11 to fit the smaller 16mb catche and has different firmware frankly i would risk it it has better sustained read times. Else i would just go with Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB CORSAIR CMPSU-620HX 620W PSU COOLER MASTER COSMOS 1000 Case Which all together would probably cost around 1600-1700 after tax shipping and some creative shopping on several sites. | ||
| ||