Hi guys,
I've got the summer off and that means I need a new computer. Right now I'm upgrading from a 5 year old thinkpad, so i think it's time. Anyways, I'll probably do a mix of things on it.. moderate gaming, encoding, software development, tv streaming (/w a cable card). I don't need to overclock. While I understand that the core 2 duo is slightly better for gaming, I think the quad core will be of benefit if I want to encode/record something while doing other tasks. I know computers, but probably not to the specifics that you guys do, so any recommendations would be greatly appreciated. I'd really don't want to pay more than I am, but if a small amount of money here and there will go a long way then I'm a little flexible. If there are cheaper alternatives that offer the same performance I'm open as well, though.
On a side note, I'm really thinking about about getting an SSD to boot off of, although I hear the OCZ Vertex is the only way to go, and it's a little out of my price point.. any thoughts on SSD's?
Anyways thanks for the help, and here's my build.
Case
Antec P182 Gun Metal Black 0.8mm cold rolled steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129025
$179.99
Motherboard
ASUS P5Q Pro ATX LGA775 P45 DDR2 2PCI-E16 CrossFire 3PCI-E1 2PCI SATA2 Sound GBLAN eSATA
http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=30418&vpn=P5Q%20Pro&manufacture=ASUS
$148.59
CPU
Intel Core 2 Quad Q8200 Quad Core Processor LGA775 2.33GHZ Yorkfield 1333FSB 4MB Retail Box
$209.98
http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=31415&vpn=BX80580Q8200&manufacture=Intel&promoid=1060
Video Card
EVGA E-GEFORCE GTS 250 756MHZ 512MB 2.2GHZ DDR3 PCI-E Dual DVI-I HDTV Out Video Card
$189.99
http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=36772&vpn=512-P3-1150-TR&manufacture=eVGA
Hard Drive
Western Digital WD1001FALS Caviar Black 1TB SATA2 7200RPM 4.2MS 32MB 3.5IN Dual Proc Hard Drive OEM
http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=31000&vpn=WD1001FALS&manufacture=Western%20Digital%20WD&promoid=1060
$133.99
RAM
OCZ Reaper Hpc Edition PC2-8500 DDR2 4GB 2X2GB DDR2-1066 CL5-5-5-15 Dual Channel EPP Memory Kit
http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=28786&vpn=OCZ2RPR10664GK&manufacture=OCZ%20Technology&promoid=1060
$63.99
PSU
Cooler Master eXtreme Power Plus 500W Power Supply (RS500-PCARA3-US)
http://www.canadacomputers.com/index.php?do=ShowProduct&cmd=pd&pid=021875&cid=PS.731
$45.99
Total
$972.52
I've got the summer off and that means I need a new computer. Right now I'm upgrading from a 5 year old thinkpad, so i think it's time. Anyways, I'll probably do a mix of things on it.. moderate gaming, encoding, software development, tv streaming (/w a cable card). I don't need to overclock. While I understand that the core 2 duo is slightly better for gaming, I think the quad core will be of benefit if I want to encode/record something while doing other tasks. I know computers, but probably not to the specifics that you guys do, so any recommendations would be greatly appreciated. I'd really don't want to pay more than I am, but if a small amount of money here and there will go a long way then I'm a little flexible. If there are cheaper alternatives that offer the same performance I'm open as well, though.
On a side note, I'm really thinking about about getting an SSD to boot off of, although I hear the OCZ Vertex is the only way to go, and it's a little out of my price point.. any thoughts on SSD's?
Anyways thanks for the help, and here's my build.
Case
Antec P182 Gun Metal Black 0.8mm cold rolled steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129025
$179.99
Motherboard
ASUS P5Q Pro ATX LGA775 P45 DDR2 2PCI-E16 CrossFire 3PCI-E1 2PCI SATA2 Sound GBLAN eSATA
http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=30418&vpn=P5Q%20Pro&manufacture=ASUS
$148.59
CPU
Intel Core 2 Quad Q8200 Quad Core Processor LGA775 2.33GHZ Yorkfield 1333FSB 4MB Retail Box
$209.98
http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=31415&vpn=BX80580Q8200&manufacture=Intel&promoid=1060
Video Card
EVGA E-GEFORCE GTS 250 756MHZ 512MB 2.2GHZ DDR3 PCI-E Dual DVI-I HDTV Out Video Card
$189.99
http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=36772&vpn=512-P3-1150-TR&manufacture=eVGA
Hard Drive
Western Digital WD1001FALS Caviar Black 1TB SATA2 7200RPM 4.2MS 32MB 3.5IN Dual Proc Hard Drive OEM
http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=31000&vpn=WD1001FALS&manufacture=Western%20Digital%20WD&promoid=1060
$133.99
RAM
OCZ Reaper Hpc Edition PC2-8500 DDR2 4GB 2X2GB DDR2-1066 CL5-5-5-15 Dual Channel EPP Memory Kit
http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=28786&vpn=OCZ2RPR10664GK&manufacture=OCZ%20Technology&promoid=1060
$63.99
PSU
Cooler Master eXtreme Power Plus 500W Power Supply (RS500-PCARA3-US)
http://www.canadacomputers.com/index.php?do=ShowProduct&cmd=pd&pid=021875&cid=PS.731
$45.99
Total
$972.52