New Computer

[Megalomaniac 5,000+ posts]

Cliff, I ordered a Hitachi 500gb Sata from New egg for $119. It was a good price if you are looking into a hard drive. Yes there are cheaper but its a Hitachi, which is usually a lil more expensive brand but my last Hitachi lasted a long time atleast 4 years of constant use. where as my Seagate didnt make it past a year and western digital lasted a few years but not as long...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822145215

i think the only downside is its a 16mb cache but my last one was the same I never saw any issues

 

[myvanpounds 10+ year member]

Ok so it looks like I am probably going the DIY route. Here is what I have n00bishly put together so far. processor might change to the 4400 if I can get the cash together.
NZXT Alpha Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3R LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard

SAPPHIRE 100216L Radeon HD 3850 256MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card

Rosewill Stallion Series RD500-2DB ATX V2.2 500W Power Supply

Intel Pentium E2180 Allendale 2.0GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor

G.SKILL 4GB(2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory

SAMSUNG SpinPoint T Series HD501LJ 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive

Sony NEC Optiarc Black IDE DVD-ROM Drive Model DDU1615/B2s

Sony NEC Optiarc 20X DVD±R DVD Burner Black IDE Model AD-7190A

HT OMEGA STRIKER 7.1 Channels PCI Interface Sound Card

let me know what yall think. processor and vid card are still up in the air

I recomend the e6750 or e6850, both provide the best bang for your buck

the 8800gt 512 is the best bang for your buck vid card wise..... if you can find one

 

[skmfkr 5,000+ posts]

yeah newegg and fry's are your best friends... i think i'm going to rebuild my pc... just watch out... once you build one i bet you can't stop... i'm always looking for the upgrade now... gaming/media center... build it yourself

yup i got a e6750 and 8800gt , im thinking about getting the 9800 and q9450 when they come out

 

[Chevyaudio 5,000+ posts]

I recomend the e6750 or e6850, both provide the best bang for your buck
the 8800gt 512 is the best bang for your buck vid card wise..... if you can find one

yeah way ahead of you on the 8800 every place I look they are back ordered. Im probably going to wait around to get that one. All in all I will probably end up spending more than 1k on this computer just because i feel the need to upgrade...great another hobby thats a money pit:crap:

 

[myvanpounds 10+ year member]

yeah way ahead of you on the 8800 every place I look they are back ordered. Im probably going to wait around to get that one. All in all I will probably end up spending more than 1k on this computer just because i feel the need to upgrade...great another hobby thats a money pit:crap:

check best buy, they MIGHT*** have some locally

I watched this forum:

http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview.aspx?catid=40&threadid=2112226&enterthread=y

it took me a while but when BB got a few in stock shit hit the fan and I got one 2 days after I ordered it

 

[nate2587 10+ year member]

im not to fond of that processor i would jump up a knotch

and if your gonna go with intel i would consider nVidia

 

[Jmac 10+ year member]

Ok so it looks like I am probably going the DIY route. Here is what I have n00bishly put together so far. processor might change to the 4400 if I can get the cash together.
NZXT Alpha Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3R LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard

SAPPHIRE 100216L Radeon HD 3850 256MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card

Rosewill Stallion Series RD500-2DB ATX V2.2 500W Power Supply

Intel Pentium E2180 Allendale 2.0GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor

G.SKILL 4GB(2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory

SAMSUNG SpinPoint T Series HD501LJ 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive

Sony NEC Optiarc Black IDE DVD-ROM Drive Model DDU1615/B2s

Sony NEC Optiarc 20X DVD±R DVD Burner Black IDE Model AD-7190A

HT OMEGA STRIKER 7.1 Channels PCI Interface Sound Card

let me know what yall think. processor and vid card are still up in the air

Looks fine to me although I'd probably change a few things depending on what you're doing with it.
1) Are you going to be using RAID ? If not, drop the GA-P35-DS3R and get the DS3L. Saves you a solid $30 last I checked and gives you equivalent performance.

2) Are you going to be overclocking ? If not, go AMD. They offer better performance for the dollar at stock speeds in that price range.

3) What resolution will you be playing at ? The HD 3850 performs basically equal to the G80 8800 GTS at 1280x1024/1440x900 (I own both, so if you start throwing benchmarks at me, go fvck yourself). IMO, there wouldn't be much point in tossing almost another $100 for an 8800 GT unless you play at 1600x1200/1680x1050 or higher. The HD 3870 is pretty close to the 8800 GT in performance, but costs less and is more readily available, so that's an option as well.

4) Are you going to be lugging this around w/ you to LANs or is it going to be stationary ? The NZXT Alpha is a heavy-*** case, so if you plan on LANing, I would swap it out for an aluminum chassis instead. Lian Li makes some really nice aluminum chassis and I'm partial to the Gigabyte Poseidon.

5) Do you ever plan on going SLI/Crossfire ? If so, you might want to invest some more money into a higher-power PSU (~750-850W), like the PC Power & Cooling Silencer 750W or Antec Quattro 850W.

 

[Jmac 10+ year member]

http://www.tomshardware.com/2007/11/15/amd_radeon_hd_3800/
There it is.

Good site to get comparisons on computer components also.

For CPU's: http://www23.tomshardware.com/cpu_2007.html

I'd build the computer also. It's not hard at all and you get exactly what you want in it. No unnecessary or unwanted crap.

Based on beta drivers ... plus it's Tom's ...
Here's a grain of salt ... take it ...

 

[HitManSE 10+ year member]

Based on beta drivers ... plus it's Tom's ...
Here's a grain of salt ... take it ...

//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wow.gif.23d729408e9177caa2a0ed6a2ba6588e.gif

A little OT, but wth happened to all your posts //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/confused.gif.e820e0216602db4765798ac39d28caa9.gif

2) Are you going to be overclocking ? If not, go AMD. They offer better performance for the dollar at stock speeds in that price range.

Unless hes just wanting to stick with Intel? Either way id go for at least the 6750 (if OC'ing is planned anyway, otherwise AMD as suggested)

Intel Pentium E2180 Allendale 2.0GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor

See above //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

G.SKILL 4GB(2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel

Im hoping this is going on a 64bit OC, otherwise just stick to 2gigs for now. Unless you want 3.37 (ish) Gigs of ram, thats on you.

As for the vid card, IMO id wait and get what you want. Cheaper then buying something you didnt want and having to replace it.

 

[GoochJuice]

yeah way ahead of you on the 8800 every place I look they are back ordered. Im probably going to wait around to get that one. All in all I will probably end up spending more than 1k on this computer just because i feel the need to upgrade...great another hobby thats a money pit:crap:

computers are only a money pit if you're a gamer.

luckily im not, so i have no need to upgrade to the newest video card or 40ghz processor and 40gb of ram to run Word or Mozilla lol

 

[crunktimes.com 5,000+ posts]

Just purchased

GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3L LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard Item #: N82E16813128059

Limited 30-Day Return Policy $96.99

Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 Conroe 2.66GHz LGA 775 Dual-Core Processor Model X80557E6750

Item #: N82E16819115029 $189.99

G.SKILL 4GB(2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-6400CL5D-4GBPQ Item #: N82E16820231122 $104.99

Now I just need a PS and case and I am ready to rock //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

[Jmac 10+ year member]

//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wow.gif.23d729408e9177caa2a0ed6a2ba6588e.gif

http://www.tomshardware.com/2007/11/15/amd_radeon_hd_3800/page8.html

"System Software & Drivers

Operating System Windows XP Pro

NvidiaForceWare 169.04 ForceWare 169.05 (every GeForce under Crysis)

ATI Catalyst 8.43 (7.11 beta)"

Like I said, I have both the 8800 GTS and HD 3850, they perform pretty d*mn close until you ramp up the resolution and the HD 3850 starts to run out of memory.

A little OT, but wth happened to all your posts //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/confused.gif.e820e0216602db4765798ac39d28caa9.gif

Dispute w/ a certain administrator.

Unless hes just wanting to stick with Intel? Either way id go for at least the 6750 (if OC'ing is planned anyway, otherwise AMD as suggested)

Why would you want to go Intel if you're not overclocking ? AMD offers better stock performance for the dollar up to the 6000+ (The E6750 and Q6600 are better than their respective AMD counterparts and AMD doesn't have anything to compete w/ Intel's CPUs above that) and, performance aside, Intel is a bullshit company w/ sleezy business tactics. I'll still buy their CPUs if they're better for the applications and price, but if it's close or in favour of AMD, I'll choose AMD every time.

See above //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

The Pentium Dual Core E2180 overclocks like a mofo. Nothing wrong w/ it except AMD is faster at stock speeds and the limited cache makes it an inferior multitasker compared to similarly-clocked C2Ds.

Im hoping this is going on a 64bit OC, otherwise just stick to 2gigs for now. Unless you want 3.37 (ish) Gigs of ram, thats on you.
As for the vid card, IMO id wait and get what you want. Cheaper then buying something you didnt want and having to replace it.

Umm ... There's a huge difference in performance between 2 GB and 3.xx GB in Vista 32-bit (not much in XP 32-bit, though). Also, considering there's more memory overhead for programs and services in a 64-bit OS, 3.xx GB in 32-bit Vista is generally going to perform relatively equal to 4 GB in 64-bit Vista.

 

[HitManSE 10+ year member]

Dispute w/ a certain administrator.

I see. I think we've all come to the conclusion that Goob is a ***. Pretty much an understatement.

Why would you want to go Intel if you're not overclocking? AMD offers better stock performance for the dollar up to the 6000+ (The E6750 and Q6600 are better than their respective AMD counterparts and AMD doesn't have anything to compete w/ Intel's CPUs above that) and, performance aside, Intel is a bullshit company w/ sleezy business tactics. I'll still buy their CPUs if they're better for the applications and price, but if it's close or in favour of AMD, I'll choose AMD every time.

Couldnt tell you, thats why im currently running an AMD 5600+. Its more then enough performance to meet any of my needs and I dont plan on overclocking this PC. So far its fast, reliable, runs very cool (high 20's to low 30 and never seen a temp above 41) and quiet. There are however diehard Intel fans, just as much as there are those that prefer AMD.

No argument about Intel as a company, 100% agreed.

The Pentium Dual Core E2180 overclocks like a mofo. Nothing wrong w/ it except AMD is faster at stock speeds and the limited cache makes it an inferior multitasker compared to similarly-clocked C2Ds.

True. Personally I wouldnt bother buying anything under the 6750 and thats IF I was planning to OC.

Umm ... There's a huge difference in performance between 2 GB and 3.xx GB in Vista 32-bit (not much in XP 32-bit, though). Also, considering there's more memory overhead for programs and services in a 64-bit OS, 3.xx GB in 32-bit Vista is generally going to perform relatively equal to 4 GB in 64-bit Vista.

True again. I found that out the hard way //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/laugh.gif.48439b2acf2cfca21620f01e7f77d1e4.gif 3.37-3.48 GB is what my system reads, stuck on a 32-bit Vista though. I guess with Ram being as cheap as is it, might as well get 4 GB, be it a 64-bit OS or not.

 

[Scoobydoo 5,000+ posts]

having to change a letter from C to D EVERY time you want to install something is a waste of precious time on this earth..... much like having to type up this post

change the drive letter every time? on a 36gb raptor you would have about 25gb left after OS install so you could still install all programs using c: drive unless you have some crazy amount of random crap to install

install game in a "games" folder on the storage D: drive. unless you install 10 new games a day i dont see how changing from drive c: to d: is that much of an issue. yes you will lose a few seconds of load times, but it wont affect game performance

the hard fact is you can only get faster than my setup if you used 2 raptors in raid 0

not true, ever heard of SSD? SCSI?

I personally really dont give a crap about data security

YOU dont care about data security, that doesnt mean the OP or most computer user dont. Why recommend something that a person could lose hundreds of gb's of data if it fails? at least recommend backing up the data on an external drive

having a 10k OS drive and a 7200rpm storage drive is pointless performance wise since the os would still load slower than 2 7200's or 10k's in raid 0, and the files on the storage drive would take a long time to access since they are on a 7200 drive, only benifit from that setup is data security.... but you have to give up performance for it

anyway you look at it 2x500GB 7200's in raid 0 is the best comprimise between speed, cost and storage right now at around 20cents per GB, you can get faster with 2x160Gb raptors but you lose storage space and it is less cost efficient at 1.45 per Gb ... this is of course assuming one does not care about data security

so your gonna give up data security to save 5 seconds on loading a 5gb file?

you do realize your on a car audio site correct? not everyone here pretends to be a computer genius like you and backing up data is the first step in preventing losing it!

easiest way to do this is to keep the OS drive and the storage drive seperate which may mean losing a few seconds a day loading things, but it may save him/them hours in the long run

whatever you do backup your shit either by seperating the OS from the storage drive/partition or use an external backup drive

 

[myvanpounds 10+ year member]

the only thing have to lose on my HD is **** pics.