Does This Work Out?

[wasdjason]

Hey I'm making a new build over the summer and I'm wondering what to get.
I game and I need some suggestions
It would be nice to have some answers with reason, not just your opinion.
Relatively cheap budget- Best card for the money
Stuff better than my current system

Sorry if im a noob

Thanks in advance.
Jason

ps.
I was thinking about some of these components:

Intel Core i7 920 2.66 GHz 8MB 45nm Quad Core Desktop Processor - BX80601920
2x8800gtx

 

[xthekidx]

:/ you say "relatively cheap budget" and then post an i7...you got some conflict there. i7 is by far the most expensive platform, and you get similar gaming experience from Core 2 or PII for much less, or much better for the same price.

So what is your budget? "Relatively cheap" has a wide range of meaning depending on who you ask.

Read this, and use it so that we can help you out better:
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/261222-31-build-advice

 

[Transmaniacon]

CASE: COOLER MASTER RC-690-KKN1-GP Black SECC/ ABS ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - 79.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119137

PSU: PC Power & Cooling S75CF 750W EPS12V SLI NVIDIA SLI Certified (Dual 8800 GTX and below) CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply - 109.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341011

MOBO: ASUS P6T LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard - 249.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131359

CPU: Intel Core i7 920 Nehalem 2.66GHz 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor - 288.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115202

CPU COOLER: COOLER MASTER V8 RR-UV8-XBU1-GP 120mm Rifle CPU Cooler - 69.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103055

RAM: OCZ Platinum 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory - 139.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227381

HDD: Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - 79.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136319

GPU: SAPPHIRE 100243-1GTXSR Radeon HD 4870 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - 229.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102815

OPTICAL: LG Black 22X (CAV) DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 16X DVD+R DL 22X (CAV) DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 22X DVD±R DVD Burner - 24.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136152

OS: Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 64-bit for System Builders - 99.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116488

Total = $US1373.90 (Before MIR/Shipping)

This is a very solid i7 build, you have great overclocking ability, room to add a second HD4870 for even better gaming performance. The i7 is very overclockable and will let you keep it competitive for quite some time. All of these parts are the best value/money, if the budget is too high, you could consider a Core 2 Duo build for < $US1000.

 

[wasdjason]

:/ you say "relatively cheap budget" and then post an i7...you got some conflict there. i7 is by far the most expensive platform, and you get similar gaming experience from Core 2 or PII for much less, or much better for the same price.

So what is your budget? "Relatively cheap" has a wide range of meaning depending on who you ask.

Read this, and use it so that we can help you out better:
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/261222-31-build-advice

True true, sorry bout that. I am thinking about the i7 cause, from at least looking at benchmarks and such it appears that it will last for a very long time until it becomes out dated. I mean like best for the money i guess, im looking at about a 900 dollar system. Im also guessing that prices are going to drop significantly cause the economy so thats kind of what I mean. Does that make sense?

 

[wasdjason]

Also Ive heard bad things about ddr3 ram, i heard it doesnt give that much of a performance boost. True?

 

[Transmaniacon]

You must have DDR3 memory in an i7 system, but yes your right, there currently is not a significant performance increase from DDR2.

With a budget, I would suggest a Core 2 Duo System:

https://secure.newegg.com/WishList/MySavedWishDetail.aspx?ID=11168306 (note ignore wish-list title)

This is about as close to 900 as I can get without sacrificing something important. You could drop down to an HD4850, but you will lose some gaming performance. If I were you I would stick with the HD4870 in the wish list. If you already have an operating system, you could drop the one in the build and be at 877, bringing you to 900 with shipping. Also there are a few rebates in there that will help make your budget. Additionally, look for combo items, you can not add combo items to wish lists, but I am sure those components, being as popular as they are, are part of combos.

 

[aford10]

For a $900 budget, you are looking at a c2duo system. The i7 systems are running ~ $1,500

 

[aford10]

+1 to transmaniacon, he beat me to it

His build is a pretty good one for your budget

Maybe the more important questions is, what do you want this system to do? That can be the difference b/t a c2d and a c2q system

 

[xthekidx]

If you can't fit that build in your price range, take advantage of this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.160549

That will cut about $50 off the price, and with those other MIR, you should be in budget. The E8400 and E8500 are very similar in performance, and both can overclock very well to about the same level.

Try to squeeze these into that build:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233003
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233019
That cooler with that bracket will allow you to overclock and get some good performance out of your CPU. I highly recommend you overclock to get the most for your money.

 

[theAnimal]

Hey I'm making a new build over the summer and I'm wondering what to get.

Ask again in the summer. Things may change a lot by then.

 

[xthekidx]

lol I totally missed that part of the OP. Yes since you will be building this during the summer, this is totally pointless because prices will change a lot and new items will be on the market. New processors will be out, both ATI and Nvidia will release their next round of GPU's, and DDR3 will get cheaper. There is no point in trying to configure something now that you won't build until this summer.

 

[Guest]

Ask again in the summer. Things may change a lot by then.

haha, i agree. prices will probably change a lot between now and then.

 

[wasdjason]

Haha, thanks Kid. Yeah I know it sounds dumb but the stuff that is out right now seems really good. Thats why I'm configuring now. I think this will be my last Pc for a while now so I'm just try to get whats good.
So I think Ive decided on 9800gtx+ SLI. I saw some good performance boosts in the review I read. Good Card?

 

[xthekidx]

Its a decent card, but the 4850 is better in more games.

You can't SLI on a P45 mobo, you would need an SLI chipset, which are unstable and I would recommend you steer clear of them. The only SLI chipset that is stable is the i7, which is out of your range. That is why we have recommended the P45 chipset and an ATI card which you can xfire on the P45 boards.

And yes the parts you are looking at are older. But they will still go down in price as newer stuff comes out, these parts get even older and cheaper and stuff that is new right now will be affordable for you. Wait til summer before you chose parts for your new rig.

 

[wasdjason]

Its a decent card, but the 4850 is better in more games.

You can't SLI on a P45 mobo, you would need an SLI chipset, which are unstable and I would recommend you steer clear of them. The only SLI chipset that is stable is the i7, which is out of your range. That is why we have recommended the P45 chipset and an ATI card which you can xfire on the P45 boards.

And yes the parts you are looking at are older. But they will still go down in price as newer stuff comes out, these parts get even older and cheaper and stuff that is new right now will be affordable for you. Wait til summer before you chose parts for your new rig.

Yeah but ive heard that nvidia chipsets are better on most fps games. Like WaW and Crysis. True or no?

 

[xthekidx]

It depends on what engine they use and if it uses Physix (nvidia) or Havok (ati) better. Most FPS currently like nvidia a little more, but some like Doom 3 likes Havok more. You should look at benchmarks for the games you want to play to determine this. Crysis does like nvidia better, but the 9800 GTX usually doesn't give playable framerates in crysis if you turn up the settings, you would need a GTX 260 or better, depending on the size of your monitor.

 

[wasdjason]

+1 to transmaniacon, he beat me to it

His build is a pretty good one for your budget

Maybe the more important questions is, what do you want this system to do? That can be the difference b/t a c2d and a c2q system

I just want smooth fps gameplay for games like Crysis, Cod5, and Fallout 3. Playing on high or maximum settings. Some music production, movie editing. I want it to be really concrete and last me a long time.

 

[Shadow703793]

Ask again in the summer. Things may change a lot by then.

True that. esp, since i5 should be out.

 

[aford10]

The gtx295 was recently released and should soon bring a price drop on the other gtx cards. Keep your eyes on the gtx280, which is almost equal to the 4870x2.

 

[xthekidx]

The gtx295 was recently released and should soon bring a price drop on the other gtx cards. Keep your eyes on the gtx280, which is almost equal to the 4870x2.

dude this happened a month ago where were you?

 

[aford10]

That's pretty recent....most places still dont even have them.

 

[xthekidx]

But the prices have already dropped a month ago...they won't drop again due to the GTX 295/285...maybe in April when ATI releases the 4890 *crossing fingers and praying so I can get another 260*

 

[aford10]

guess I missed that price drop. Shows how much I pay attention to NVidia prices

 

[xthekidx]

The GTX 260 216 can be had for $200 after rebates on newegg now, about 2 months ago it was around $300
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130434