This PC good for current games? [Text View]

Stryker412

01-30-07, 12:41 PM

A co-worker is selling his machine for only $500. Is this machine worth it, and is it good for gaming? I was thinking of building a new machine but probably not until the summer, and it'll probably be at or over $1k. How does this machine stack up? I've never owned an AMD system so I don't really know what to expect.

AMD 3500+
MSI K8N Neo4 Platinum nForce4 Ultra Athlon 64 Skt939 DDR ATX Motherboard w/Audio, Gigabit LAN, RAID/Serial ATA
2gigs memory DDR400 PC3200
NVidia GeForce 7300 GS 128mb
NEC DVD-RW ND3520A
SONY DVD-ROM DDU1612

I will probably get a better video card but what about the rest? Here is my current PC:

Asus P4P800 Deluxe
Intel 2.6GHz C Processor
2GB 3200 RAM
BFG 6800GT OC AGP video card

Tinker

01-30-07, 12:46 PM

Need a better vid card and maybe an upgarde in CPU (if you can still find a 939 X2 or get an Opteron dual), rest looks fine.

But then after the upgrades, you might have been better off just building from scratch and if you want AMD go with the AM2 socket or what I rec is go with a Intel C2D system, but with both you will need DDR2 meme. More future proof then going with a socket 939 setup. IMHO.

HeadRusch

01-30-07, 12:58 PM

Thats a lateral move, not an upgrade. Good motherboard, good processor, nice that it has 2 gigs of ram, but that videocard stinks.

So you'd need a new video card......and you'll spend $300 more. So now you're into the system for $800+..

Then you'll be wishing for a Core-Duo system to really drive a high-end videocard you might upgrade to.

No, not a good deal.

Stryker412

01-30-07, 01:00 PM

Well I had a system in mind but it's too expensive for me to build right now, so that's why I was curious about that AMD system. The one I currently have planned is:

ASUS P5B-E LGA 775 Intel P965 Express ATX Intel Motherboard
Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 Conroe 2.4GHz LGA 775 Processor Model BX80557E6600

HeadRusch

01-30-07, 01:04 PM

What are you having trouble running on your rig that you need to upgrade?

Your system should play most games just fine at resolutions up to 1600x1200 with effects on, with only a few giving you fits......FEAR for example...so you turn off AA (dont really miss it in that game) and you're back in business...no?

(Note: I did just swap my 6800GT for a 1950 Pro AGP board.....but I have a 1080p LCD monitor now and needed the extra horsepower to drive it adequately for now. When more games come out that cripple my current setup then I know its time to move to a new format and buy a big-dollar PCIX card).

But those games still aren't here....

Joe_M

01-30-07, 01:06 PM

Which games do you play?
The 7300 isn't what I would call a gaming card. That machine with a good video card would be fine for most games. It really depends on the game, the resolution and what effects are enabled.

Stryker412

01-30-07, 01:07 PM

BF2 has never run correctly from the start. Battle for Middle Earth 2 hovers in the 30fps range. What's even worse is that I usually don't run games higher than 1152x864.

HeadRusch

01-30-07, 01:32 PM

If you are going to drop $500 bucks, you'd be better off going with a lower-end Core Duo chip and overclocking it (they all O/C really well, I read). Pair it with a budget motherboard that will let you O/C a little bit, and spring for a new Videocard....

The only pricy part of the equation is the ram.......2 gigs is 2 gigs and still a couple hundred bucks.

Stryker412

01-30-07, 01:53 PM

Stryker412

02-05-07, 10:42 AM

Rusch, what's a good Asus board that supports Dual core now but also supports the upcoming Quad core?

I was looking at these two:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131142

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131030

I can't find this board anywhere on newegg:

http://usa.asus.com/products4.aspx?l1=3&l2=11&l3=307&model=1520&modelmenu=1

HeadRusch

02-05-07, 11:28 AM

I am going to defer any motherboard advice to Tinker and the others here who are more up to speed. I tend to become very knowledgeable about MB's and stuff when I'm about to buy one, but then fall off the wagon once I own them.

Right now I only know that the Nforce boards (that support SLI with dual core chips) with the 650i chipset are the ones to get........tho I am not sure how they overclock, etc.

I get really annoyed when I have to drop more than $120 bucks or so on a mootherboard, so when I see these systems with $300+ motherboards I shake my head in disgust, considering your fast system will only be cutting edge for like 1/2 a year :P

Tinker

02-05-07, 12:25 PM

Mobo

Do you want SLI or Crossfire.

SLI the only game in town are the 590/650/680 Nvidia chipset.

Crossfire, most Intel 965/975 with dual slots (16 and 4 which looks like a 16 but isnt) will support ATI/AMD

975
Older Intel chipset with more features then the 965 but not as OC-able and more expensive in most cases.

965
965's will OC better then most. I use the ASUS P5B deluxe (E6400) with an 8800GTX in a HTPC and can over clock to about 30%

680
With the 680 there has been some major issues with RAID and SATA. Many BIOS updates. SLI 16x16

650
No issues with RAID or SATA as of now, but it has less features then the 680. Didnt test but reports are that its a decent OC mobo chipset. SLI 8x8

590
NF4 like (NB) , with a new name and a few extra features. Not sure about quad support. SLI 16x16

Nf4
Older chipset, not as OC-able as the 6xx series. I use the ASUS P5N32 SE SLI deluxe (E6600) and get 20%OC for my 8800GTS SLI gaming rig. Not sure about quad support. SLI 16x16

HeadRusch

02-05-07, 01:54 PM

Tinker, whats the best bang for the buck motherboard/CPU combination out right now.
I am not entirely sure I want to stick with my X1950 Pro AGP/3.4Ghz Northwood any more, and move up to an 8800GTX or even a SLI setup in the near future.

But I'm out of the loop on where the "bang for the buck" is at....I realize the 8800GTX isn't part of that equation, but I'm talking about Overclockable MB, DC Chip (prefer one that can accept quad core), and some decent but not uber-expensive ram that can handle a chip O/C.

I've posted over on Overclockers basically the same question.....

Tinker

02-05-07, 03:33 PM

Gigabyte makes some very OCable mobo in the 965. I dont use them since in th past I had some issues with their mobo's so I tend to stick with ASUS now. The P5B series from ASUS are good OC'ers but they dont support SLI. If you want SLI, then its the Nvidia chips. The ASUS P5N32 Prem looks intresting and the ULTRA $$$$$ Striker are the mobo of flave right now. If you are going with C2D then most DDR2 800 (PC6400) will do since the multipliers are from 6 and up. The E6600 has a 8 so in theory with DDR2 800 so you can get FSB to 400 which will yield 3.2 from stock 2.4 (in theory). If not SLI then I would rec any of the ASUS P5B series since they are stable and decent OCers. One 8800GTX will in most cases outperform 7900GTX SLI'd exception is for super hirez (2560x1600) where SLI has an advantage. Thats why I installed 8800GTS's SLI inplace of the single 8800GTX (which replaced the 7900GTX's) for my gaming rig.

Stryker412

02-05-07, 04:20 PM

I don't plan to OC and highly doubtful I'll do SLI. I'll probably just get an 8800GTX once this is all set and ready.

Tinker

02-05-07, 06:26 PM

I don't plan to OC and highly doubtful I'll do SLI. I'll probably just get an 8800GTX once this is all set and ready.
A single 8800GTX is more then enuf to play any present game and many future ones.

Just a note: Playing RB6 Vegas (Unreal engine) at 2560x1600 bogs down my 8800GTSs SLI with a C2D E6600@2.9, so the new Unreal engine when played at real hirez will bog down even a SLI system like my current set up.

HeadRusch

02-05-07, 06:36 PM

Wow....at that rez I hope you have AA turned off? Trying to supersample 2560x1600 must be crushing even that stupid-fast hardware....

We dont know what kind of hit DX10 is going to make on these first-gen cards. While I agree that an 8800gtx will buy you years of 60fps, the real question is at what cost. Thats kind of what my AGP 1950 buys me now....60fps on every game (except FEAR) that I play, some with AA turned off however (like PREY or Doom III....). The advantage is that at that rez even 2xaa does a perfectly good job (tho 4x still looks better, and anything about that I think is silly).

These reviewers running at 2560 and turning on 16xAF and 8Xaa or more are just kinda high, trying to destroy the performance of the cards....whats the point in crushing that much AA for no visible benefit...? <shrug>

Not to keep stealing your thread Stryker, since we're both in the same boat kinda, In doing the math, it seems I can't get into a system for less than $1500...which I haven't dropped on a pc since 1994's Pentium Pro 200 :)

It sucks because its a complete overhaul..can't reuse ram, can't reuse videocard.....

Stryker412

02-05-07, 07:08 PM

Yeah it is expensive. I'm just going to do a piece at a time for now.

I rarely run games at a resolution higher than my desktop which is currently at 1440x900, so I think I'll be ok. Of those three boards which do you think is best bang for the buck right now?

Tinker

02-05-07, 07:37 PM

(Me or Head?) Well the 3 mobo u listed.

1) The 650 one, reviews claims the NB HS gets real hot. I havent tried it since its not my kind of mobo. Its just not me.

2) The P5B has been around for a while and its a very good OCer. Stable mobo. Its the budget ASUS beige/brown mobo look.

3) The P5B Plus is a new mobo so dont know about $$$. It looks more like the higher end ASUS mobo with its black color board.

Best bang for the buck would be the ASUS P5B (#2 plain jane) mobo if you are not intrested in SLI or even crossfire.

HeadRusch

02-05-07, 08:15 PM

And if you wanted to go SLI?

Tinker

02-05-07, 09:09 PM

And if you wanted to go SLI?
Well if $$$ is not the issue, I would get the ASUS Striker Extreme 680 mobo. But more $$$ wise I would get the P5N32-E SLI.

http://ca.asus.com/products3.aspx?l1=3&l2=11&l3=397&slname=NVIDIA%20nForce®%20680i%20SLI™

I currently have the P5N32-SLI SE Deluxe (NF4) mobo.

kenny_dope

02-05-07, 09:10 PM

Just my 2c here:

Best single PCIe budget 965 board - Biostar TForce 965PT ~ $100
Best 965 board - Asus P5B Deluxe w/ Wifi ~ $180
Best SLI board - eVGA 680i ~ $220 (almost exactly the same as the more expensive Asus version -the P5N32-E SLI looks really good though)

I would think the Gigabyte DS3 (particularly with the new revision) gets an honorable mention as being a damned good overclocker as well. Not too sure about exact prices but you can find them out pretty easily.

If it were me, I'd wait a bit for the 680i boards to come down in price -I can't imagine being able to play Crysis at 1920x1080+ on a single GTS or GTX in all its glory.

HeadRusch

02-05-07, 09:28 PM

Ok, well I did some more soul searching tonight....and I just can't bring myself to drop the mad coin on a system that I dont have any immediate need for right now....just can't do it.
(I went through this same thing in December!)...its been 3 yeras now since my last system upgrade....yikes.

I'm lucky in that the money isn't the issue, its more my penchant for spending money wisely that would bite me in the ass. I thought about it like this. I buy all this stuff...I buy a single 8800GTX for right now....SLI MB or not. Get my chip, get my aftermarket fan, probably buy a new case to go along with it so I didn't have to shuffle the innards of a whole bunch of machines around, etc, etc, etc.

Then.....I'd be able to play all the games I already own at 60fps....including Fear...most of the time, since FEAR bogs down even high end cards in a few key places. But everything else was already running at 60fps...mostly. Maybe not Half Life Lost Coast right at the beginning..

As new games came out....say in six months.....I'd be ready to go. But...all the crap I paid top dollar for today would now be 33% cheaper, and a game like Crysis..as stated above...would probably get me like 40fps...who knows. I remember how FarCry destroyed so many high-end system in its day.

So....in hindsight....the AGP Radeon is going to do the duty for the time being....and screw Fear.....really, I loved the game the first time through...but now....eh...it seems to have run its course with me for the time being (though that may be due to performance issues).

I did a little experimenting tonight:
In my rig, running FRAPS, FEAR: Extraction Point demo runs at its worst at about 35fps.

Thats standing in a room full of lights after a shootout with lots of objects casting shadowns (the first firefight room in the beginning of the demo). That lays around 35fps at 1920x1080.

If I drop the resolution down a bit to, say, 1400x960 (an odd res that FEARS menu says is availble), that jumps up to 45fps at its slowest point. Mind you, all settings are at "maximum"....but no AA.

I think if I want to actually go and play FEAR again (I dont own the expansion pack) I have two choices....run at 1920x1080 at 4xAF and no AA and deal. Or I run at 1400x960 and deal with better framerates, a slight rez hit...and some maybe more pronounced jaggies.

Or I try slapping some AA on there and see what happens.

Another thing I thought about...and this is kinda "dark thinking" but its still kinda valid...right now....there aren't many FPS's due out that I'd absolutely have to have. Crysis is one....but others...? The next Half Life or SIN episodes? This card should handle those ok, even if I have to turn off HDR in some instances (depends, we'll see how demanding they make em). And that was the sobering part.

Thank you for all your info fellas, and Stryker thanks for letting me hijack your thread for a bit.

kenny_dope

02-05-07, 09:58 PM

Its good to wait until DX10 games are actually out before making an upgrade -I know I'm a noob on this site but if you head over Firing Squad you'll see I've been a regular there for years. I don't understand why people were rushing to buy the latest hardware when none of that hardware was being used -even with Vista & DX10 out -there are no games that take advantage of that. COH and FSX are supposedly coming out with DX10 patches soon but I have yet to see them.

My advice -and this is what I'm determined to do, even though its killing me inside, is to wait until games like Crysis come out before seeing whats on the market then and at what price. I particularly like the sound of AMD's R600 and the DFI 680i boards -along with either AMD's K8L or getting one of the C2Qs when they're a bit cheaper.

I think its good to wait -but don't forget Crysis isn't the only DX10 FPS thats gonna kick ass -UT2007, Alan Wake, Bioshock, Quake Wars, Interstellar Marines, Halo 3, Hellgate etc...

Tinker

02-05-07, 10:45 PM

Stryker412

02-06-07, 09:21 AM

DX10 was not an issue for me. I really wanted faster cards to support my Dell 30 monitor, thats why I switched from a 7900GTX SLI setup to the single 8800GTX, then the 8800GTS's SLI so I can run games at 2560x1600 with decent frame rates.

Sorry Styker OT... :o

No it's all good info. I just don't push my system as much as you guys do I guess. I don't OC or plan on doing SLI. Nor do I plan on playing at very high resolutions since my monitor doesn't go above 1440x900. Maybe this weekend I'll do a fresh install of XP and do some fraps testing on my current games.

My other main reason for an upgrade is to seperate my machine. Right now it's being used for gaming and as a HTPC. So I think the two at times conflict.

HeadRusch

02-06-07, 09:34 AM

Yeah, I desperately want to upgrade...I just can't justify it. I mean, I get 2 games I can't run acceptably and I really want to play, boom....out comes the credit card and hello upgrade. But right now.....I hate to say it, but the $240 1950Pro bought me enough performance to enjoy all my games (cept Fear pushes it a bit) at 60fps, which is all I need.
Normally I like to go big when I upgrade....but....until some of those other games come out, I'm going to have to force myself to sit on the sidelines.

I bought Quake 4 on the cheap for the 360, but now I should be able to play it at 1920 with the eyecandy turned on with this card......still, its more of a console shooter to me....so we'll have to see which way to go :)

Tinker had no choice in the matter...it was upgrade or game at chug-a-lug framerates.....

Battlefield 2 at 1920 with 4xaa looks awesome and runs very playable....but 2xaa feels faster, and looks almost as good. I need to fraps it tonight.

Tinker

02-06-07, 12:23 PM

My other main reason for an upgrade is to seperate my machine. Right now it's being used for gaming and as a HTPC. So I think the two at times conflict.
I thats why I never try to use one box for both. They may share some functions but they can not be dedicated for use in either well. Most of my HTPC's can play games. esp the one with the 8800GTX but their main purpose is to play back movies (Hidef and SD) and be relatively silent when doing it. My gaming rigs use to be loud since I didnt care about noise and was only caring how much OCing I can get with the older CPUs then. They were running Tornado fans (4) in a cases and on CPU coolers. But with the newer cases and coolers taking quiet 120mm fans and with the newer gen of CPUs my gaming rigs are now a lot quieter.

Stryker412

02-06-07, 01:05 PM

squidboy

02-06-07, 05:57 PM

Yeah I use my PC and stream everything to the 360. It works great but with all the other conversion programs and codecs things tend to bog down a little. It'll still probably be a few months before I upgrade, this isn't an immediate thing.

I have a separate installation of XP on my machine just for gaming. I disable everything (services, etc.) that isn't necessary to run the game. I don't know how much it helps, but then I don't have to worry when I want to try out some new program on my "Normal" XP installation.

I use the same license key on both installations. I don't know if it is technically against the licensing rules or not, but the Microsoft activation servers never complain, since it is the same hardware.

ChrisFB

02-06-07, 07:37 PM

I have a separate installation of XP on my machine just for gaming. I disable everything (services, etc.) that isn't necessary to run the game. I don't know how much it helps, but then I don't have to worry when I want to try out some new program on my "Normal" XP installation.

I use the same license key on both installations. I don't know if it is technically against the licensing rules or not, but the Microsoft activation servers never complain, since it is the same hardware.

You know. I've never really thought of that or heard anyone do it with the same machine and same OS. A totally stripped OS to boot into just for gaming is a handy way of doing things.

Stryker412

02-07-07, 10:57 AM

What cases do you guys recommend for good airflow and cooling?

Tinker

02-07-07, 01:00 PM

What cases do you guys recommend for good airflow and cooling?
For gaming cases I would rec any Lian Li case. Some of the best cases made. Not a HTPC type, but their mid towers are some of the best money can buy. Thats what I use for all my builds. They have various $$$ price cases so just pick the one that suits you.

Mobius_570

02-07-07, 01:23 PM

I just built a machine for my cousin last night. He wanted to go above budget but yet affordable, so here is what we came up with.

Ultra - Wizard Blue Mid Case
MSI - Turbostream 460W Power Supply
Seagate - 200 GB SATA II HDD
OCZ - 2GB DDR2 533MHZ RAM
MSI - K9N SLI Platinum AM2 Mobo
AMD - Athlon64 3800+ X2 Dual Core AM2 Socket
XFX - GeForce 7950GT 512MB XTREME Video Card (SLI Ready)
Samsung - 18X Dual Layer DVD Burner
ABIT - Wireless PCI-e Wi-Fi Card 54G
Microsoft - Windows Vista Home Premium

Not a bad system $1094

HeadRusch

02-07-07, 01:58 PM

RE: Cases, I'm not a huge fan of Lian Li, their cases seem to offer too many "extranious features" that jack up the price. Good if you dont mind paying the $$$, but I like to find a better budget alternative.

Since you aren't worried about overclocking and major heat buildup, I wouldn't invest too heavily in a case for that purpose. (My neighbor had a "friend" build him a pc, I went over to check it out and it was a Lian Li full tower case with like 8 fans going! It was running an AMD SEMPRON stock speeds....talk about padding the bill).

I would instead try to find a case that was made out of aluminum (for lightness) and had 120mm intake and exhaust fans. This will keep the case quiet while providing more than adequate airflow.

I myself currently use a KingWin or WinMax or..something...all aluminum mid-tower, which cost me about $75 bucks I think.....it uses dual 80mm intakes exhaust fans, so its not the best, but I replaced the stock ones with Panasonic Panaflows and its perfectly quiet and keeps my system cool....but if I had to do it again, I'd go 120mm.

Tinker

02-07-07, 02:21 PM

RE: Cases, I'm not a huge fan of Lian Li, their cases seem to offer too many "extranious features" that jack up the price. Good if you dont mind paying the $$$, but I like to find a better budget alternative.

Since you aren't worried about overclocking and major heat buildup, I wouldn't invest too heavily in a case for that purpose. (My neighbor had a "friend" build him a pc, I went over to check it out and it was a Lian Li full tower case with like 8 fans going! It was running an AMD SEMPRON stock speeds....talk about padding the bill).
.

You build according to the needs. In your friend's case ( ;) ) it's over built. Regardless what pple say about the cost of Lian Li cases, over all they been the best cases I have used for many builds for gaming rigs. You get a Lian Li case and it will prob last thru many upgrades (life time????). Simple and well built, once you have own one you will find most others lacking. Its like a Ferrari...just pure class.

kenny_dope

02-07-07, 11:26 PM

Lian-Li are by far the best case manufacturer I have ever come across in terms of build quality. Sometimes their initial offerings of a case can be a bit suspect in terms of useability and design but their build quality is second to none. My PC-V1000 is noisy but it keeps everything cool and is great for a gaming rig -the amount of care and detail in LL cases is unbelievable -and expensive too

uzziah

02-08-07, 02:16 AM

what a load of crap; i'm trying to sell mine for $400

athlon64 3200
x800gto gpu
1gb ram
500w psu

etc. etc.

Stryker412

02-20-07, 10:38 AM

The Asus P5B Vista edition board is finally ready for purchase:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131164

$260 seems a bit pricey but this board is damn nice.

HeadRusch

02-20-07, 10:50 AM

Two hundred and sixty bucks.....*for what*...??

Dual Lan connectors...WTF who uses this??
300 drive connectors....raid with a seperate raid controller..??!? Are people building terabyte servers in their home now!?

I dunno, seems like a ton of cash for questionable "features".....although this does appear to be the trend with MB makers now: Load up the board with as much junk as they can so they can charge hundreds...

Stryker412

02-20-07, 11:03 AM

Valid points Rusch. The main reason I was looking at that board was it's Vista capabilities.

The other board I was looking at was it's counterpart.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131030

The main thing I want is Quad core support for the future. I will be putting a 6600 in it now.

Tinker

02-20-07, 01:35 PM

Heres a look see at some "VISTA" mobo features

http://techreport.com/reviews/2007q1/asus-vistaedition/index.x?pg=1

Stryker412

02-20-07, 02:24 PM

Heres a look see at some "VISTA" mobo features

http://techreport.com/reviews/2007q1/asus-vistaedition/index.x?pg=1

Well after reading that article, I've scratched that mobo off the list. Like Rusch said I won't use any of that.

Here's how my build is looking so far:

ASUS P5B LGA 775 Intel P965 Express ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
Thermaltake W0106RU Complies with ATX 12V 2.2 & EPS 12V version 700W Power Supply - Retail
Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 Conroe 2.4GHz LGA 775 Processor Model BX80557E6600 - Retail
CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TWIN2X2048-6400C4 - Retail
Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD2500KS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
Microsoft Windows Vista 32-Bit Home Premium for System Builders Single Pack DVD - OEM

I still have to find a case. Looks like I'll have to stretch this build out over a few months. It's going to be too expensive all at once. I was going to put in an 8800GTX but that's just too much money.

HeadRusch

02-21-07, 08:56 PM

Yeah, that is a ton of useless garbage on there...thats for the guys who want their PC's to light up like disco balls when they turn it on. That was never me.....I dont subscribe to the Pimp My Processor mentality.

The funny thing is, I'm almost leaning back towards the "build a new PC" mentality again...having just played through half life 2: Episode 1 on my new 1950Pro AGP board, the framerates sucked. Or rather, they were fine until lots of cool stuff started happening.
The game demands some AA since I'm so close to the monitor.....even playing with HDR turned off, reflections to WORLD, 2xAA most of the time and 4xAF, sometimes the framerate would dip into the 40's...which is just wicked annoying when you're in the middle of a firefight and realize your frames are tanking.

I tried scaling to 1440x768 but the results were...less than pleasing :P Its like I was now playing the same game through vaseline-smeared glasses :)

Unreal...I move to a 1080p display thinking most games now wont NEED AA turned on...and then am confronted with the reality that most modern games *WILL* due to their reliance on lots of thin models and such.

PS: at 1080p, HL2's textures look like absolute ass.....wasn't that one thing that Lost Coast and Episode 1 were supposed to have, better textures? The standard Episode 1 textures look absolutely terrible...like Quake 2 terrible, when viewed up close :p

(Sorry for the slight thread hijacking).

Personally, I would have to go SLI...if only to buy myself some growing room for 1080p with the new boards coming out.

Tinker

02-21-07, 10:39 PM

Personally, I would have to go SLI...if only to buy myself some growing room for 1080p with the new boards coming out.

My god....the world must be coming to an end...... :D :D :D :D :D

uzziah

02-22-07, 04:52 AM

For gaming cases I would rec any Lian Li case. Some of the best cases made. Not a HTPC type, but their mid towers are some of the best money can buy. Thats what I use for all my builds. They have various $$$ price cases so just pick the one that suits you.

or just get something cheap with halfway decent reviews and it will probably work :) i know much pc gamers are obsessed with their cases, power supplies, heat sinks and whatnot, but if we're talking budget here than you don't really need to spend a lot

uzziah

02-22-07, 04:55 AM

anyway, don't get bogged down; you can build a fine system off that buy; don't listen to all the "BUY THIS $200 MOBO OR NOTHING" crowd, it's really very silly and juvenille; there's plenty of good pc stuff for low prices if you know what to look for (for instance try fatwallet once in awhile); and don't spend much, you'll want to upgrade soon enough (ok, you'll want to upgrade immediately as everyone always does), so don't spend too much at once, save it

Sevker

02-22-07, 10:29 AM

Just built two of these monsters, hands down the best rig I've had the pleasure of building or gaming with. I built one for myself, and one for a buddy.

EVGA 122-CK-NF68-TR LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 680i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard

Intel Core 2 Duo E6400 Conroe 2.13GHz 2M shared L2 Cache LGA 775 Processor

CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800

320gig Barracuda

8800GTS 320mb PCI-E XFX

LIAN LI PC-7B Computer Case

500 Watt P.S.

Plextor Slot load DVD/RW

There are some niche type features to it(slot load DVD drive ect), but this can be had for around $1,120

taz291819

02-23-07, 09:16 PM

I didn't really go the cheap route, because I wanted to be able to upgrade over the next few years. But here is what I just built two weeks ago:

Antec P180 (rev. 2)
Asus P5B Deluxe
E6600 (OC'ed to 3Ghz)
Zalman 9700LED CPU Cooler
1GBx2 Buffalo Firestix PC6400
2x Lite-On SATA DVD Burner
250GB SATA 3.0 HDD (System drive)
500GB SATA 3.0 HDD
Corsair CMPSU-620HX (620W modular PSU)
Floppy Drive/Memory Card Reader Combo
Sapphire X1950Pro w/HDCP

System is very fast, running Vista Ultimate, connected to a 22" Acer wide-screen LCD w/HDCP. I only bought the X1950Pro as a stop-gap, until the X2900 is released in a few months.

The motherboard overclocks easily. This rig is quite a step up from my old one, a Dell Dimension 4500 (P4 2.8Ghz, 1GB PC2100).

HeadRusch

02-23-07, 09:20 PM

taz291819

02-26-07, 03:25 PM

Taz, did you find you needed the Zalman to achieve 3Ghz or was that just an auto-buy for you.........

(but why the dual SATA burners, don't ya like ripping to the HD first!?!?!) :D

I was almost going to comment on your X1950Pro choice, but I can see you're already looking ahead. Tho...I've read that the x2900 now isn't due for "Some time"....Q3 of 2007 perhaps.

The Zalman was really just an auto-buy, and the fact that it can get kind of warm in my home theater.

I didn't mean to buy two SATA burners, the one I bought from newegg was orginally on backorder, so I bought one from zipzoomfly to install Vista. A few days later, the one from newegg came in. (Oh well, always good to have a back-up!)

And yes, I've read about the delay. I'm betting (err, hoping) it'll come out in April or May, since it was supposed to come out end of March.

The X1950Pro is holding it's own right now, I can play FEAR with everything on High (except soft-shadows), 2AA 4AF at 1680x1050, no slow downs at all.

squidboy

02-27-07, 11:44 AM

Here's what I'm thinking for my next system when my tax returns come in next week. Comments?

Gigabyte GA-965P-DS3 ($120)
E6400 ($220)
OCZ GameXStream 600W ($130)
Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 320GB SATA ($90)
Samsung SATA DVD Burner ($40)
X1950 Pro ($150)
2x1GB Buffalo Firestix ($170) - Already ordered, was on sale
CPU Cooler ($70) - Undecided which - may not get depending on temps
Antec 900 case ($60) - Ordered, but backordered so may switch

Total: $1050

I'm going a different route with video cards this time. With my last machine, I bought almost top of the line (6800GT - $450). This time I'm going to try to buy mid range and upgrade to the current $150 card every 6-9 months or so.

Any gaping holes or room for improvement? I'm trying to keep the price around $1000 so I have some cash for a new monitor and a nice office chair or two.

HeadRusch

02-27-07, 12:41 PM

What resolution are you trying to drive (re: the 1950 pro)?

squidboy

02-27-07, 03:05 PM

What resolution are you trying to drive (re: the 1950 pro)?

1680x1050

Stryker412

03-01-07, 11:43 AM

What's a good gaming case that will be cool enough for a Dual Core 2 Duo and probably an 8800GTS or 7950? Also, what's an adequate power supply for those components?

Tinker

03-01-07, 01:37 PM

Case, Lian Li V1000 series or more traditional their 60's series. For one vid card Corsair modular 620w (OEM by Seasonic), Corsair 620w or OCZ 700w (OEM Fortron) for SLI'd GTS and OCZ 1000w (same ATX size as norm PSU so it will fit in all cases) for SLI'd GTX. The Corsair 620w PSU is one of the most rock steady PSU's I have used, and with various rebates, its very affordable compared to others in its class. These are premium products. Actually in one tech show Corsair had the 620w running SLI 8800GTXs, but that was at a tech show and who knows what else was running or not running with the syetem. You can go cheaper on the case but I would rec a very stable PSU regardless of what you end up with. 8800GTS's are no where as demanding as 8800GTX when run in SLI. When I tried to run 8800GTX SLI, the OCZ 700w didnt work. But I can run my 8800GTS's with the same OCZ 700w. In the past the OCZ 700w wasnt enuf to run the 7900GTXs SLI and I had to use a booster addon 300w PSU just to run the vid cards but it handles the 8800GTS's fine. For single vid card...any ~400w-550w PSU from Enermax, OCZ, Seasonic and maybe Antec would be fine, just use the link below to get an idea of PSU requirements (always add additional 10% more for those unexpected gotcha's...rule of thumb, each additional HDD is about 10w's)

http://www.extreme.outervision.com/psucalculator.jsp