New Computer Now or Wait?

[heavymetalsmith]

So I have found myself with an ancient PC that I have upgraded to it's maximum and well thats no longer cutting it. However, due to my rather frugal spending on new PC's I have found myself with around $3,000 for a new computer. The question comes down to this, should I go ahead and get a 790i motherboard so I can jump on the DDR3 bandwagon and upgrade down the line. Or should I get a nice 780i motherboard and just live with DDR2 but nicer graphics card, more memory, etc. Or third option is wait about 2 months before buying to see what the prices do (as I'm kind of busy for the next two months.) Any suggestions?

I am sort of leaning into the 780i motherboard with DDR2 because worst comes to worse I just need to replace the motherboard and memory while I can use the the rest of the components. So at worst I am out $600 bucks if I want to switch over to DDR3 in a year or so.

 

[zeuseason]

I think wait a few months or jump on the 780i and expect it to last for 2 or more years.

 

[cah027]

That is a tuff one! I am waiting but I am so used to having a slow pc I won't know what to do when I get a Nehalem!!!! Plus I don't have the money right now.. but you do.. So it would be hard to wait for the best of the best to come out..

I do see what you mean about the ddr3 board/mem. It hasn't taken a foothold yet but it will. Just like ddr2.

I say spend half now save the other half and use it for upgrades. You could sell the stuff you get now in a year and put it with the other half to build a booty kickin Nahelem PC !

 

[o1die]

You don't have to wait. The words "future proof" don't mean jack anymore. Go with Intel. The 8400 series is plenty fast, or you can go with the q6600. Ddr3 is already dropping in price, but you can still get 4 gigs of ddr2 for the price of 2 gigs ddr3. Fry's.com has 2 gigs of wintec ddr3 for $79.99 right now. Personally, I would rather upgrade every 3 years than dump 2k or more into a top of the line system. I can get by easily with $1200-1300, and I suggest you do the same. I hear more complaints from people that spent 2-3K on their old dinosaur systems years ago, when they see that you can get a complete dell system now for $400, some with monitor.

 

[heavymetalsmith]

Well I'm looking to buy a 850W power supply from cooler master, then two Geforce 8800GTX's depending on what I spend on cooling, case storage, etc. I'm still a little leaning to DDR2/780i motherboard just because I don't want to always be waiting for the new thing around the corner. Either way, do you folks feel that a 850W PS will be sufficient to later upgrade to a DDR3 motherboard and ram? Or should I opt for something a little higher, a.la a 1KW PS? Though I feel this might be overkill as all the newer technology seems to be more energy consumption aware.

 

[geofelt]

In round numbers, here is what it would cost you:
790i mobo $350 + 4gb ddr3 $275 = $625
780i mobo $250 + 4gb ddr2 $75 = $325
P35 mobo $80 + 4gb ddr2 $75 = $155

Assuming the same cpu, and no overclocking,
what is the difference in real application performance? About 1-4%.
If you are into overclocking, then it may be a bit higher. Read this: http://www.tomshardware.com/2008/04/09/toms_ultimate_ram_speed_tests/page15.html

If your usage is for gaming, use the extra $ to get a better vga card. If a single high end card like a 9800gx2 or 9000GTX is not good enough, only then look at the 780I sli mobos.

Take the rest of the cash and invest it. In a year or two, the situation will change.

 

[heavymetalsmith]

So what would you all think about this configuration?

CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad Q6700
780i Motherboard: Not sure which. I saw tom use ASUS Striker II in their high end machine build but I don't like the sound card riser. I would rather buy a Fatality sound card, so any recommendations?

PSU: Coolermaster 850W
MEM: Crucial Ballistix DDR2 800 4GB
VGA: Geforce 8800GTS x2 or Geforce 9800GX2? A little help on this choice please.
Sound: X-Fi Fatal1ty FPS

 

[San Pedro]

I'd wait for two months to see the new ATI and nvidia cards that are supposed to be released in late May or June. Who knows Nvidia might bring another 8800gtx type improvement to the table.

If you do do that build you have, I'd get a higher quality PSU than a coolermaster. Think Corsair, PC&P, OCZ, something at least in tier 2. I'd also go with a 45nm quad instead of the q6700, the q9450 would be ideal. I'm not much for $170 sound cards, I think that money is better spent on other things, like graphics, cpu, memory, mouse, monitor, or whatever.

 

[Kaldor]

Dont spend a bunch of money right now. New tech is really just right around the corner. Hold out for 2-3 months and I have a feeling youll be rewarded if you really want to spend $3000.

But if you must buy something new:
Buy a 6600. Cheaper and almost as fast. Or maybe just a cheap dual core.
Use a Intel chipset. I know, no SLI.
Buy a single 8800 Gt and save money for later unless your running a 24" or bigger monitor. Then a 8800 GTX or 9800 GTX or ATI 3870x2 may be the ticket.
Get an Asus or Auzentech sound card. Creative is a company going down. Average product and worse support. Onboard sound isnt that bad anyway. Far cry from what it was 2-3 years ago.

The short story here is, save your money. Put something together for $1000 for now if you must. You might just be surprised at how powerfull a system you can build on the cheap. Take the remainder and put it in the bank.

 

[heavymetalsmith]

I understand that old saying that new technology is right around the corner but I'm unsure that what those two to three months will bring. I have a strange feeling that the price and latency issues for DDR3 will not be alleviated by mid summer. In the same light I might be able to benefit from the new cards being released or at least save on price for the ones I want. So I guess since I am going to be somewhat busy for these two months and couldn't fully enjoy the system I will give a rest until June then I will start looking again. Thanks for your help folks.

On a side note why does tom use the Coolmaster PSU for their high end build if it's not very good?

 

[heavymetalsmith]

Actually one last question, without going to deeply into my current system configuration as it is embarrassing. Would you guys recommend replacing my old old old ATI Radeon 9700 pro with one of the new AGP cards out there? Like the Radeon HD 2600 PRO or Radeon HD 2600 XT to make my system a little more bearable? They are only a 100 bucks but will that even be worth it with my old P4 2.8GHz pile.

 

[San Pedro]

Don't know why tom's used the coolermater psu, but they caught a lot of flak over it from forum users.

I think if you got an 8x agp slot a new video card would help.

 

[Kaldor]

I think they used the Coolermaster because they needed a PS with a long enough cable to reach the power plugin IIRC.

Id bump that video card to a 2600. Should give you somewhat of a gain. A 3850 wont give anymore of a gain IMO. The processor wont be fast enough to push the video card. I still have a 9700 pro, but its used in a web browser machine. Great card back in the day though. This machine is ancient, Barton 2800 Xp Athlon, 2 gigs of ram and its still runs, day after day.