Shappo

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Sep 6, 2009
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APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: None.

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Surfing the net, burning DVD's, photoshop and some gaming.

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: Monitor, Keyboard, Mouse, Speakers, Operating System, Case.

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS:
For CPU & Motherboard: http://www.techbuy.com.au
http://www.pcmarket.com.au
http://www.megabuy.com.au

For Ram, HDD, Optical Drive, GPU, PSU: http://www.interwebcomputers.com.au

PARTS PREFERENCES: Mainly looking for an i5 or AM3 Build.

OVERCLOCKING: I would like my system to be able to overclock

SLI OR CROSSFIRE: Do I need it?

MONITOR RESOLUTION: Well, this is a little different.
The monitor I will be using for the system for a couple months will be a 17'
But in the future, (end of this year) i'll be using a 22'

Unsure on resolutions.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: I am going to purchasing the CPU and motherboard online because my local computer shop does not sell i5's according to it's website.
The operating system I will be using is Windows Xp Professional (Would it be good?)

Budget: $1000 AUD (Or over a litte bit, willing to pay a bit more for the i5)
 
Solution
I would suggest you this config -
Source - msy
http://www.msy.com.au/Parts/PARTS.pdf
i5 750 - AUD 269
Mobo - Gigabyte P55 UD3R - AUD 172
4GB DDR3 1600MHz(GSkillz or Patriot) - ~ AUD 100
CASE - Antec 300 - AUD 94
PSU - Antec EA 500 - AUD 101
Graphics card - For now spend very less on the graphics card and later on upgrade it with the monitor because newer cards will be available by then...
ATI HD 4670 ~ AUD 90

HDD - Seagate 7200.12 500GB - AUD 68
http://www.megabuy.com.au/seagate-cuda-720012-500gb-p95355.html

And as for OS, the Xp Pro is very good...But upgrade to WIN 7 later on...
I would suggest you this config -
Source - msy
http://www.msy.com.au/Parts/PARTS.pdf
i5 750 - AUD 269
Mobo - Gigabyte P55 UD3R - AUD 172
4GB DDR3 1600MHz(GSkillz or Patriot) - ~ AUD 100
CASE - Antec 300 - AUD 94
PSU - Antec EA 500 - AUD 101
Graphics card - For now spend very less on the graphics card and later on upgrade it with the monitor because newer cards will be available by then...
ATI HD 4670 ~ AUD 90

HDD - Seagate 7200.12 500GB - AUD 68
http://www.megabuy.com.au/seagate-cuda-720012-500gb-p95355.html

And as for OS, the Xp Pro is very good...But upgrade to WIN 7 later on...
 
Solution
^ Though you dont need a bigger HDD, it is better you get them because they will be faster than the smaller drives...
And as for graphic card, the GTX 260 is an overkill for your monitor...And like I said newer cards will be out by this month end from ATI...So I would suggest you buy that HD 4670 for now and later upgrade with your monitor...
 

ColMirage

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Apr 7, 2009
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It won't do any damage, what he means is that the card is too powerful for your monitor. That means it will runs most games maxed out on everything (AA&AF too possibly, although any AA beyond 4x is overkill, imo) and still provide a framerate way beyond 60 on average.

Basically, it's like going out and buying a Ferrari to race against mini vans when a lower end sports car would do just fine.
 
Overkill means that your monitor would not make full use of the graphics card power and most of the graphics power would go to waste...

And Yes we are suggesting that only...
Get the cheaper HD 4670 now as it can play almost all the games at Medium-high settings in that 17" monitor of yours, save money and when you change your monitor, then change your graphics card... :)
 

Shappo

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But the majority of computing will be on a 22' monitor.

But for the meantime, if I use the GTX 260 on the 17'

Will it work? Like does the overkill have any effects?

I'm only using the 17' because i'll be buying one later..

Also.. another question... putting the system through a plasma? ;o
 
What we are trying to explain about the graphics card is the new DX 11 cards are coming out in about a week. They will be twice as powerful as a GTX 260 at only 50% higher price, in addition to being dx11 compatible for the future. Buying a GTX 260 now is alot of money for a card you may end up replacing in 2 years with a DX11 card. Better to buy a cheap throwaway card to use for a while and save your money for a DX11 card when you are ready to go to 22inch.

That 4670 in your link is WAY overpriced. Its more expensive than the GTX 250!
Try looking for a GTS 9600. In the US that 4670 is less than half the price of a GTX 250.


The DX11 ATI 5850 should be out in a couple weeks and relative to those prices should be maybe $400 Aus and twice as fast as the 260. They should ship on Sept 22 in the US. No idea over there. If you can hold off your purchase for a couple weeks we should know everything about the new cards.
 
^ dnd has clearly explained why we had suggested a cheaper graphics card...

And ATI will not only launch the costly ones but also mainstream budget ones along with the high-end series. - HD 5770 and 5750...They should be less than AUD 300 and would offer better performance...
 

Shappo

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Sep 6, 2009
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Righteo. I'll wait till the DX 11 cards come out. (could be a while for aus :p)

If it isn't going to be that long, can I just use on board GPU instead of buying a new card for the time being?
 

I had only seen announcements of the 5870 and 5850 coming out at the end of this month with more models to be released later this year. Have you seen something else?