Building a new computer...need some vetting. (2 Viewers)

[Excalibur_]

I'm planning to build up a new box in the next couple of weeks. My budget is around $3,000...and I've decided to invest into monitors and perhiperals (seeing as I'm going to be touching the keyboard and mouse most of the time...and I like screen real estate). Anyway, the specs list (prices are MSY prices) :

- Intel Core 2 E6600 $305
- 2G Kit OCZ 800MHz $155 [i can't believe it's THAT cheap]
- Gigabyte M59SLI-S5 $235
- Seagate 500G x 2 $390
- Asus 640MB 8800GTS $595
- 2 x 22" WS Viewsonic $800
- Logitech G15 / G5 $99 / $78
- Coolermaster Ammo $89
- other bits and pieces $100ish

 

[Excalibur_]

Well, I'm a Vic...so that's a little out of reach for me.

I am into gaming ... which explains the hotted up graphics ...

 

[Collin]

2x 22".. why?

WSXGA+ is not an ideal resolution for gamers. 16*12 is nice, and so is 19*12, but I'd stay away from 1680x1050 if gaming is a high priority.

Are you planning on OCing?

You didn't include a PSU.

Intel also just released their well-reviewed X38/P35 chipsets, which should interest gamers.

If you're not in a hurry, Conroes are scheduled for another price slash next month.

Finally, 4GB over 2 for gamers.

 

[Excalibur_]

On your first point: I had also considered a 19" 4:3 with a 22" w/s (they're the same height, apparently?).

I don't plan on OCing straight out of the box, but I'd like to have that capability (and the Conroe is darn good for it, I hear).

'other bits and pieces...though I might spend around $200 on case/psu...thinking of a Raidmax case (instead) and a TT psu.

I did hear about those chipsets...do you know of any mobos that are coming out after July 22nd (the price cuts )?

Good point on the 4GB...seeing as its so cheap these days. Do you think OCZ is a good brand (over Corsair?). I've heard good things about both... I also saw another brand named 'A-DATA' who seemed to be selling memory at a premium - any jusification for that?

 

[goony]

http://www.hkepc.com/bbs/itnews.php?tid=789466

July 22nd looks like the day to wait for. 6600 quad being reduced to $266(US i presume, so about $315-$320AU?), which is pretty sweet . I'm also looking at getting a new comp (pretty similar specs to yours but i've already got a monitor and i'm not getting as much HD space)

On another note, is it the 320 or 640mb version of the 8800GTS? If you're planning to run really high resolutions, i heard the 640 version starts to show it's worth at those levels.

And for the PSU, for the geforce 8 series, you'd want at least a 500w supply in there.

 

[Excalibur_]

640mb

 

[Collin]

On your first point: I had also considered a 19" 4:3 with a 22" w/s (they're the same height, apparently?).

I don't plan on OCing straight out of the box, but I'd like to have that capability (and the Conroe is darn good for it, I hear).

'other bits and pieces...though I might spend around $200 on case/psu...thinking of a Raidmax case (instead) and a TT psu.

I did hear about those chipsets...do you know of any mobos that are coming out after July 22nd (the price cuts )?

Good point on the 4GB...seeing as its so cheap these days. Do you think OCZ is a good brand (over Corsair?). I've heard good things about both... I also saw another brand named 'A-DATA' who seemed to be selling memory at a premium - any jusification for that?

In my opinion, I'd go 20" 4:3 or 24" widescreen. 1600x1200 and 1920x1200 are currently some of the most popular (and more importantly, gaming-compatible) high-end resolutions out there.

I wouldn't go under 20" for 4:3, as 19" and 17" 4:3s both have native resolutions of 1280x1024.. which is a little low for an enthusiast gamer nowadays.

Just a disclaimer, I have nothing against WSXGA+ (1680x1050.. 22" native yada yada), just that I don't fancy them as gaming LCDs. One of my laptops right now has WSXGA+ and it's brilliant for all my productivity needs.

My point about OCing is if you intend on doing it, make sure the motherboard becomes a consideration you take very seriously. Yes, Conroes OC well indeed, so you want to make sure all the components you get will be facilitators for bumping up that speed. That includes the motherboard, the RAM and often neglected - a QUALITY PSU. Generally speaking, I'd be spending ATLEAST $200 on a quality PSU. IF you intend on SLi-ing in the future, you'll probably want atleast a 750W PSU. Some gamers go for 1000W if they intend on OCing everything (CPU, RAM, both video cards).

X38 and P35 mobos should become commonly available towards the end of July. I know I'd be on the lookout for a nice P35 mobo!

I think OCZ and Corsair are both good brands. They also both offer lifetime warranties. In general, OCZ, Corsair, Geil and Mushkin are very good brands for performance RAM.

If a company is selling a RAM for premium, check to see if the timings are better or if it's faster. For example, 4-4-4-12 @ 800MHz will be more expensive than 5-5-5-15 @ 667MHz (other things being the same) etc.

 

[Excalibur_]

Would going dual head with one 20" 4:3 and the other x" w/s (same heights if possible? Just an aethestic thing) work 'well'?

Would you know what that x" is?

 

[Collin]

Why do you insist on two monitors?

If it's for productivity and that's the main thing, 2x 22" ain't so bad (only from a pricing point of view).

20" 4:3 and 24" work well too, because height-wise they're both 1200 pixels. Problem is, 20" 4:3s aren't that far off 24" in terms of price, so if you were gonna go that route, you might aswell go 2x 24".

 

[chucknthem]

That's gonna be a pretty power hungry system there, have you considered what power suply you're gonna get? and that case is a bit...low quality for a computer of that calibur why not get the antec 900 or something with nice big fans for cooling?

 

[Excalibur_]

I'm probably going to get something in the range of 550W.

The reason I'm so adamant about two monitors is:

1. We use it at work. I feel it's like broadband - once you use it, you can't go back to dial-up.

2. I spend a lot of time doing non-gaming things which will benefit from having the extra monitor (like programming assignments and my music arrangement stuff)

3. Extra real estate is good.

I'd budgeted for 22", but I just got the impression that W/S was crap for gaming (which I do, a bit). I currently own a 17" WS Toshiba and I play games on it...are they the same 'ratios' as the desktop W/S?

 

[Collin]

Widescreen isn't crap for gaming, just that some resolutions are better supported than others. 1920 x 1200 is a very nice high-end gaming resolution.

Generalising 'ratios' for desktop LCDs and notebooks isn't a good idea. For example, 1920 x 1200 and 1680 x 1050 are commonly available for both laptops and desktop screens. Both are also 16:10.

I would advise something higher than 550W.

 

[chucknthem]

550W is fine as long as you get a nice quality one with 3 +12v rails with at least 40 amps total on them.

 

[Excalibur_]

Well, I'm in 1440 x 900...which sounds close to right...

How much would you suggest for it?

 

[Collin]

550W is fine as long as you get a nice quality one with 3 +12v rails with at least 40 amps total on them.

Not with the prospect of potentially OCing the processor and adding a second GTS (a fair inference since he chose an SLi mobo).

It's all about long-term planning, which applies for many things regarding system building. For example, the RAM decisions I originally made for my X800XT-PE build incurred me unnecessary costs later on. I chose 2x 512MB at the time rather than a single 1GB due to cost. Later, I decided I did indeed want to upgrade to 2GB, which effectively forced me to discard my existing RAM due to the fact that the utilisation of all 3 slots on my K8v would force the RAM down to DDR-333.

Same deal here, he should take longevity as a factor into his purchasing considerations. If he wants to OC and SLi in the future, 550W will not be fine.

 

[Excalibur_]

Yeah, I've decided upon the SilverStone ST60F 600w Modular PSU because it gives me less cable clutter and it should be some room for expansion later...

 

[BIGTYMA]

MB:Asus P5N32-ESLI
GPU: Asus 640MB 8800GTS $595
Hdd: segate barracuda 7200.10 750GB

i rekon these 3 are a must have.

 

[Drunkass86]

I very recently built my own computer. I work in the computer industry too so i've seen my fair share of do's and do-nots. One point i have to make is the 640 Mb 8800GTS is becoming harder to find...I personally would spend my money on 2 X 320 MB 8800 GTS cards that were pre-overclocked.

Another thing is something that many people overlook. The case. My case is a sirius case by raidmax. I won the best looking PC in my LAN tournament a few weeks ago with it.

One thing you have to be aware of is if you want the case to look really good, try having the front face plates of your cd/dvd rw drive the same colour as the front bezel... http://www.ocia.net/reviews/ammobox/page4.shtml ..this is a example of what not to do.

Overall, its a pretty good system...If you plan to run both screens on a system with one card, spending the extra dough on an 8800 GTX will be well worth it

 

[Excalibur_]

Does restrict me in choices of case...I'd been looking at the CoolerMaster Mystique (which is a very small and light case...it 'fits' with the rest of my setup in looks). This case won't fit a 8800GTX.

I'm going to fetch one of those P35 mobos - G/B already have a few out!

How well would 2x 320MB GTS (or 640MB) stack up against a single stock 8800GTX?

 

[Collin]

The thing with cases is I feel you should go for functionality and performance, rather than looks. I do agree with Drunkass86 that cases are often overlooked, but it seems that's where our agreement appears to end. A case which looks a million bucks that has the potential to win 'best looking PC' competitions doesn't personally tickle my fancy. An eye-dropping case will not make my games run faster or make me a better gamer.

In the end, I also advocate a good look at cases, but in contrast to some other opinions expressed, I'd put the emphasis more on functionality and performance, rather than looks. If a crap looking case caught my eye, I'd buy it if it was functional to build with and that it's cooling performance was better than the rest.

320MB SLi has more shader grunt, but remember memory allocation is an issue. The notion that SLi 'adds' up the memory is a half-truth, as performance would not be the same as a single card with 640MB. Data which is fed to v-RAM consists alot of geometry and textures, to which the nature of these inputs makes the concept of sharing video memory between two cards somewhat inefficient.

If you're going to get a screen with a high resolution.. anything over 16*12, I'd go single GTX. That way, you also have better upgrade options and lower power consumption.

Current benchmarks has the GTX and 320MB SLi pretty similar in performances for many titles, although I would expect the GTX to be better in the long-term.