Computer Build for a grand, what ya think?

[Scoobydoo 5,000+ posts]

any preference on processor cause I know you know what your doing and local?

if you consider buying used lmk i can save you some money that way, otherwise when i buy new i use newegg 99% of the time as well

your layout is good and the components are good. just waiting the month since you last posted this question has probably saved you about $100

with the video card war going on prices are dropping fast, i would buy that last. a card that was $400+ 6 months ago is about $150-200 now. like i said earlier i can find a 8800gts for about $70 shipped used

i pretty much refuse to pay over $100 for any single component any more

 

[Jmac 10+ year member]

Quad core is better for day-to-day usage, multitasking, and multi-threaded applications (of which there are only a few).

A higher-clocked dual core is better for most applications, especially games.

 

[rtillaree 10+ year member]

not too shabby...

i'm getting ready to build another one myself, i want to do an 8gb setup, just not sure where to start yet...

 

[DejaWiz 5,000+ posts]

E8400 $175

Asus P5Q $130

OCZ DDR2-1066 4GB $95 after $15mir

Seagate 500GB SATA-II $85

Lite-On 20X DVD $21

MSI 8800GT $140 after $30mir

Antec 900 $120

Corsair 750W $100 after $20mir

Vista HP 64 $110

TOTAL SHIPPED: $1055

TOTAL AFTER MIR: $990

If you want to save even more coin, you can go with an AMD platform. Won't be as fast as the intel, but I'm running a 6400+ BE @ 3.2GHz and a single 8800GT 512MB and I've yet to find any application or game that will bog it down (excluding DX10 demo games.... and I don't own or play Crysis).

You could even trade off going with an AMD dual core for well under $100 and maybe get that dandy new GTX 260 or 280.

[edit]

Like this.....

5000+ $66

Biostar TA780G $70 after $10mir

OCZ DDR2-800 4GB $63 after $35mir

Seagate 500GB SATA-II $85

Lite-On 20X DVD $21

GTX 280 1GB $420 after $30mir

CM Centurion 541 $50

CM 80mm (x2) $12

Scythe 120mm SlipStream $9

Corsair 750W $100 after $20mir

Vista HP 64 $110

TOTAL SHIPPED: $1134

TOTAL AFTER MIR: $1039

 

[Jmac 10+ year member]

The GTX 260/280 have been having reliability issues and, given the HD 4870 outperforms the GTX 260 for less money, I'd have to give the nod to ATI. Plus, jesus tap-dancing christ the GTX 260 and GTX 280 are freaking massive. The HD 4870 is no larger than the G80 8800 GTS, which is relatively small by today's standards for high-end cards.

 

[DejaWiz 5,000+ posts]

The GTX 260/280 have been having reliability issues and, given the HD 4870 outperforms the GTX 260 for less money, I'd have to give the nod to ATI. Plus, jesus tap-dancing christ the GTX 260 and GTX 280 are freaking massive. The HD 4870 is no larger than the G80 8800 GTS, which is relatively small by today's standards for high-end cards.

Wasn't aware of the reliability issues with the new GTX series. Since that is the case, I'd also slip in a vote for the HD4870.

 

[Terranova 10+ year member]

lemme send you an e-mail of stuff id recomend. pm me your e-mail

 

[DejaWiz 5,000+ posts]

lemme send you an e-mail of stuff id recomend. pm me your e-mail

Just post it here.

 

[Jmac 10+ year member]

Wasn't aware of the reliability issues with the new GTX series. Since that is the case, I'd also slip in a vote for the HD4870.

Nvidia is having a tough time with overheating issues due to the massive power requirements 1.4 billion transistors on a 65 nm process requires, plus they're having to stretch themselves as well as their OEMs thin on profit margins due to the massive core size (they can only get 94 cores per wafer and not all of them pass), so I think QC is being cut to compensate.
But, if you look at say Newegg, most of the GTX 260s and GTX 280s are not getting stellar reviews, even if they're getting high marks.

For example:

Pros: Runs super fast. A great upgrade for almost anyone. Comes with a free copy of 3D Mark when you register with EVGA.Cons: At 100% fan speed, the noise is deafening. Mine runs at 105C+ when running fur tests / 3D Mark. I checked the EVGA forums and it seems a lot of people had it running this hot and it's not normal. I am going to RMA with NewEgg to see if i can get a good card.

Other Thoughts: I love EVGA and NewEgg but it really sucks to have to RMA which is why it's getting 4 stars.

So it runs in excess of 105*C at 100% fan speed and has to be RMAed ... but it still gets 4 stars.
You wouldn't believe how many 3-4 star ratings you find on Newegg w/ these ones despite being faulty.

The HD 4870 is having a few issues w/ QC on the cheaper models (i.e. Sapphire Lite), but not quite as high of a defect rate as the GTX 260/280. The Visiontek models are getting extremely high ratings while offering a lifetime warranty for not a whole lot more; looks like they're investing a lot more into QC.

 

[DejaWiz 5,000+ posts]

Nvidia is having a tough time with overheating issues due to the massive power requirements 1.4 billion transistors on a 65 nm process requires, plus they're having to stretch themselves as well as their OEMs thin on profit margins due to the massive core size (they can only get 94 cores per wafer and not all of them pass), so I think QC is being cut to compensate.
But, if you look at say Newegg, most of the GTX 260s and GTX 280s are not getting stellar reviews, even if they're getting high marks.

For example:

So it runs in excess of 105*C at 100% fan speed and has to be RMAed ... but it still gets 4 stars.

Heat and fan noise seems to have been issues for quite a long time since the GeForce FX days. I snagged an eVGA 8800GT (non oc'd) when they were down to $170ish and found it's temps to be 64/88C idle/load. I promptly slapped an Arctic Cooling Accelero S1 Rev2 on it. Running passively (no fans on the GPU cooler at all), it now only runs at 42/53C. Load temps were measured after an 8min artifact scan with ATITool.

 

[bumpin buick 5,000+ posts]

Here is what I have put together and will start ordering the parts this weekend.

1 XCLIO Windtunnel Fully Black Finish 1.0 mm SECC Chassis ATX Full Tower

$139.99 -$20.00 Instant $119.99

1 Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz LGA 775 Quad-Core Processor Model BX80562Q6600

$199.99 $199.99

1 EVGA 640-P2-N829-AR GeForce 8800GTS SSC 640MB 320-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card

$179.99 $179.99

1 GIGABYTE GA-EP35C-DS3R LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Dynamic Energy Saver Ultra Durable II Intel Motherboard

$139.99 $139.99

2 Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD6400AAKS 640GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive

$89.99 $179.98

2 OCZ Reaper HPC Edition 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model OCZ2RPR800C44GK

$105.99 -$8.00 Instant $195.98

1 ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro 92mm CPU Cooler

$36.99 -$10.00 Instant $26.99

1 CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply

$159.99 -$50.00 Instant $109.99

Subtotal: $1,152.90

After Mail in rebates the computer comes out to $1000

and I have some DVD burners from my current computer, I plan to put a bluray in there also in the future. SO what do you guys think of the final setup?

 

[DejaWiz 5,000+ posts]

It's probably already been stated, but what are your primary uses for this system going to be?

 

[bumpin buick 5,000+ posts]

photoshop, dreamweaver, video editing, college papers, and internet surfing

 

[Jmac 10+ year member]

Heat and fan noise seems to have been issues for quite a long time since the GeForce FX days. I snagged an eVGA 8800GT (non oc'd) when they were down to $170ish and found it's temps to be 64/88C idle/load. I promptly slapped an Arctic Cooling Accelero S1 Rev2 on it. Running passively (no fans on the GPU cooler at all), it now only runs at 42/53C. Load temps were measured after an 8min artifact scan with ATITool.

I run a G80 8800 GTS 640 MB on stock cooling and it stays very silent. Fan speed at idle is less than 1000 RPM. You can definitely hear it when it gets going, but it's still not loud by any means.
My old 6600 GT and 7600 GT were both dead silent, but both of those had passive cooling //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/tongue.gif.6130eb82179565f6db8d26d6001dcd24.gif

 

[Terranova 10+ year member]

the G92 8800GTS leaps and bounds better than the older G80 GTS with 640mb. Hell even the cheap 8800GT is better. With my set up i can play Crysis at 1440x900 Very High and get avg 20-30 fps. But with the new benchmark tool (cant remember the name of it) you can set it to adjust the settings and it still looks like its DX10 VERY high quality but i avg. 45-55 fps now. I'll post some screenies later tonight. My system E6600 @ 3.4ghz, Gskill 2x1 @ DDR2 950, 8800GT (G92) volt modded @ 700/1800/950, Abit IP35-Pro (beast of a board) Old OCZ Powerstream 420, and a shit load of HD's 2 teras FTW