Am I Spending Too Much? 3 Quick Questions

[TechPriestAcolyte]

Ok, ready to order, but just wanted a final opinion on prices here. I'm at $1020 plus shipping, and had a few questions.

1 - I've got the Sapphire Radeon HD 4870 1gb card. It's $225. Is that too much, considering I can get a 4850 for a hundred bucks less? I do have a 1920x1200 monitor though. I think I already know the answer, but just wanted to check.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102801

2 - I've got the Coolermaster HAF, is it really worth the extra bucks over the more basic Antec 300? Am I going to get that much more out of it?

3 - I thought Newegg had free shipping of some sort, or did I misread something? They're wanting like $37 for shipping...


For reference:

CPU - Q6600
-Dark Knight Cooler
MOBO - Gigabyte P45
GPU - Radeon HD 4870 1gb
RAM - G. Skill 4gb RAM
PSU - Corsair 750tx

 

[hopkiller]

First off get the HD 4870 or wait for the HD 5870. $1000 dollars is not that much when you putting good equipment into a PC. Don't go with a budget case spend money there bc you can always reuse them, go with the Antec 900. Newegg only has free shipping on certain items, really only $37 for shipping that's cheap.

 

[TechPriestAcolyte]

DAMNIT! lol, a newer card

How much is the 5870 going to improve over the 4870? The maximizer in me would assume if I get the 5870 then I'd probably want to go ahead and go i7 and whatnot. But I don't really wanna spend that much.

Should I assume the 4870 is going to drop significantly in price when the 5870 releases?

What makes you suggest the 900 over the HAF?

And thanks for clarifying shipping, I'm a board game geek and I'm used to "Spend X amount and get free shipping" hehehe

 

[aevm]

Since you're playing at 1920x1200 you should get the HD 4870 1GB, IMO.

You could wait for the HD 5870, sure. When it is released, don't buy anything yet, start waiting for the HD 6870. When that is released, start waiting for the HD 7870. Etc. etc. At this rate you will never get to play games, but that's OK. Just read some good books, they're good for you. You will also save a lot of money on graphics cards, since you'll never buy one.

Now seriously, buy that HD 4870 1GB and be happy. There will always be better stuff available if you're willing to wait 6 months or a year. The 5870 is nowhere near close. Maybe in June, but it will be expensive at first. There's no reliable info yet on how good it will be either. That sort of thing usually becomes known a few weeks before release, not 5 months ahead.

You could get a CoolerMaster RC-690. It's larger than the Antec 300 and cheaper than the Antec 900 or the CoolerMaster Haf.

 

[TechPriestAcolyte]

hehe, sounds advice, thanks My worry wasn't having the best of the best, but the best changing, and then my card dropping a hundred bucks in price, haha

Wow, that's the most obviously "going to happen" thing I think I've said all day. hahahahahaha

Cool deal then, I'll stick with the 4870gig. I still have nVidia leanings though, I keep reading things about the Radeon performing strangely, etc, but I would assume everything does that.

And mainly I'm asking in regards to the case, is it a good deal, is it worth the extra cash? Money isn't really an issue, I just don't want to be a spendthrift

 

[aevm]

You really want that CoolerMaster Haf case, don't you? Well, at $150 it's kind of expensive, no doubt. It is definitely worth the money, IMO. I just don't know if it's the best way for you in particular to spend your money.

I think it's worth the money because it's huge, well cooled, quiet. It even has wheels, which can save you tens of thousands of dollars in hernia or back surgery. Disadvantages: no air filters, it takes a lot of room, expensive.

I don't think it's the best way for you to spend the money because you could spend $70 on an RC-690 instead of $150 on the Haf and then use the savings to upgrade from Q6600 ($195) to Q9550 ($280). Or you can get a WD6401AALS hard drive (640GB, lightning fast) for $70.

 

[vsdagama]

Follow aevm's advice

Really he knows what he's talking about, you won't have any regret when listening to him

 

[aevm]

LOL, thanks for the vote of confidence. The problem is, I have no idea if he should get that Haf or not. If he really likes it he should get it. Whatever case he gets, he will see it daily after all.

 

[vsdagama]

That's something you can't help him with, it's a bit of personal preference
But you gave him enough info to make the descision

 

[TechPriestAcolyte]

Well I think you've sold me, after looking at the differences, both cases look great

The 690 will be roomy enough for my noobliness to work in anyways I think...

And why not use the extra dough to upgrade to the Q9559!

Thanks!

 

[TechPriestAcolyte]

That's something you can't help him with, it's a bit of personal preference
But you gave him enough info to make the descision

I just want a nice big case that I can build my comp in easily and that will keep everything cold

 

[aevm]

No worries then, that RC-690 is very big. It comes with 3 fans. You can add up to 4 more, but I don't think your setup needs it. Maybe if you overclock the CPU and add a second video card, but otherwise 3 fans should do all right.

If Newegg charges more than $10 for shipping, then you can get it from here for $80 including shipping:
http://www.buy.com/prod/cooler-master-690-without-power-supply/q/loc/101/206177908.html

 

[TechPriestAcolyte]

Cool deal, how does the adding of more fans work? Do I need to drill and figure out where to put them, or are they just empty slots? I've never had to deal with cooling issues...

This is gonna be an adventure though. I gots to play me some Left4Dead fully maxed (among other things )

 

[Onus]

The RC-690 has mounting spaces all ready for more fans. I added one of two possible top fans to mine. I really like it.

 

[Onus]

Oh, and yeah, listen to aevm...