Another new computer thread... ;-)

[kuguar_19]

Hello... first time poster here... been lurking for a while though...
Well to start the old set up recently up and died on me (MSI KT3 Ultra 2, AMD Athlon XP2800, XFX 6600GT(AGP), 1.5Gig PC2700 RAM, SB Audigy 2 Value, 1 Maxtor and 1 Segate 120GB HDDs(non SATA))
And now I'm going through gamers withdrawls... it's taking forever to type I'm shaking so much! :roll:
Anyways I'm really excited about the AMD price cuts, and while I could wait for the Intel to drop out of the sky... I'd rather have it now!
So the primary purpose is to game (various from SpellForce 2, Far Cry, Act of War, Civ 4, NWN, etc.) and it's secondary purpose will be an attempt to do the graduate course load that is going to be heaped upon me soon!
That being said here is what I have already:
Case: Thermaltake Armour VA8000BWS
PSU: Antec TruePower 2.0 TP2-550 EPS12V
DVD: TDK DVDRW & LiteOn DVDR

What I don't have but think I want are as follows:
MOBO: GIGABYTE GA-M59SLI-S5(it seems to be cheaper than the other 590 boards, but is feature rich) - not married to this but it appears to be future proof for at least 2 years or so...

CPU: Here where it gets good... and difficult... I want dual core for VISTA and other apps down the line, so I'm thinking AMD X2 3800 AM2 or X2 4600 AM2... better would be X2 5000 AM2, but finding them is next to impossible.

RAM: Corsair XMS2 2Gig DDR2 1066 PC2 8500

GPU: 7900GT or X1900XT(name the best brand/price$$)

HDD: 1 Seagate ST3320620AS (320Gig, 7200RPM, SATA 3.0GB), with possibly future upgrade to WD Raptor ST3320620AS (74Gig, 10K RPM)

Open to other ideas with the exception of intel as time is short here... as usual! :lol:

 

[sirheck]

good choices, what ever you decide should work great
for gaming, and for your school work, the same.

 

[chewbenator]

AMD:

I would get the Foxconn:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813186098

Heard good things about them and its $2 cheaper!

I would go with the X2 4600 AM2, good price/performance ratio:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103751

GPU, new 7900GT reload from eVGA. Solves old voltage problems:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814130032


Now for Intel suggestion:

Looks like you are going for a pretty enthusiast board without going into EE/FXs and SLI. So I would suggest:

MOBO, a little pricey but seems to be the best overclocker out right now, so if you are looking to futureproof, then you will probably futureOC:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131028

CPU, e6600, best price/performance out there for the new Core 2 Duos

No link (since sticking with newegg), est. $350

Ram, you will be able to get away with lower timings and speed since the AM2s are what require that so:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820227030

GPU, same as above, unless going with ATI, which BTW right now I would go with the card below. Huge discount, its OEM but again, HUGE discount:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814142063

Giving you 2 builds of similar performance from both ATI/Nvidia and AMD/Intel.

 

[The_Prophecy]

If gaming is your thing... here are my suggestions:

CPU: AMD Athlon X2 4600+

RAM: Corsair XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) DDR2-800

Mobo: Asus M2N-E

Video: eVGA Geforce 7900GT KO Superclocked

If for whatever reason you are able to wait for Conroe..... DO IT! If waiting is simply not an option (I want this system NOW, isn't a very good reason. If you rush your decision and don't evaluate your options properly, you waste money.), then go for an AMD build.

 

[kuguar_19]

Chewb,

Thanks for the suggestions... that link for the FOXCONN is to an intel GIGABYTE mobo... otherwise very informative alternatives!
Also is EGG the only place allowed to be linked on here?? Just curious as I've found more often than not better deals are to be had elsewhere most of the time.... just curious about that

Prophesy,

Actually, I do want it now for more than the ulterior motive of gaming now, though that does help. I've got school starting within three weeks, so I need my desktop back to be able to do my papers and such!
Thanks for the suggestions... I noticed you suggest the 570 board and ddr2 800 RAM, what am I saving besides money/less features going this route? Was the RAM just I put out there overkill? Will it still SLi?
Thanks for the suggestions as well!

I guess I forgot to add the monitor situation as well, since this may or may not affect the GPU... I'm running a CRT/LCD dual monitor set up... CRT is Compaq P110 20" and LCD widescreen Dell 2005FPW 20"... Looks like the 7900GT works best but with these but please correct me if wrong!

 

[chewbenator]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813186098

Fixed the link.

No, the egg isn't the only place to link here, its just the only link that I use. I don't know much about monitors so I can't help you much there. It's one of the only parts that I am taking from my old computer for my conroe build so I haven't been researching them. I've got all my components picked out, so I'm just waiting for the egg to get conroe in.

 

[Doughbuy]

You might also want to try www.Directron.com

I used to work there, so it might seem a bit biased, but they're a decently large computer parts store down in Houston, and I know they have a good reputation. And because since everyone seems to be buying a Conroe from NewEgg, you might have a better chance getting it from them.

I would also go with an Intel set-up for multiple reasons, the main one being future-proofing. I would venture to say you could go much further with a Conroe than an AMD X2, especially if you do anything else besides gaming i.e. encoding, photoshop, whatnot. Also, this could be my personal preference, but I would just forget about a 10k drive and rather raid 2 SATA's, or just go for storage. There is some performance gain, but your giving up a lot for that extra speed.

If you go with Intel, there is only one board right now that supports SLI, so either get that one, or hold off (The board is the ASUS P5N32-SLI I think) But it uses an older NForce4 chipset instead of the new 590, so I would wait if you really want Conroe with SLI. Also, I hear ASUS and OCZ memory has issues, so if you decide to go with that, go for Corsair XMS memory, same price, same timing, same speed.

 

[The_Prophecy]

Actually, I do want it now for more than the ulterior motive of gaming now, though that does help. I've got school starting within three weeks, so I need my desktop back to be able to do my papers and such!Thanks for the suggestions... I noticed you suggest the 570 board and ddr2 800 RAM, what am I saving besides money/less features going this route? Was the RAM just I put out there overkill? Will it still SLi?
Thanks for the suggestions as well!

If you need the system within 3 weeks, then getting an AMD would probably be a better bet. Intel has said there will be a plentiful supply of Conroe's available at launch, but I still don't think they will be able to meet the demand. Yes, the Ram you picked out was overkill, unless you were planning on doing a lot of overclocking. By a lot, I mean by over 1 Ghz. If you aren't planning that much (or any) overclocking, DDR2-800 will be fine. The board I suggested does not support SLI. If you answer no to either (or both) of these questions, do NOT get an SLI board.

1. Are you going to be gaming at screen resolutions over 1600 x 1200?
2. Are you going to be getting a second 7900GT within the next 2 months?

If you did answer no to either of these, SLI will be a waste of money for you.

 

[kuguar_19]

Chew: Never heard of Foxconn... besides being better price A/R, are they any good?!? Thanks for the clear up on the EGG...

Dough: Thanks for the link! Unfortunately, I can't wait for the Intel... can't make up assignments at the graduate level... Thanks for the tip on the HDD, I'll keep it in mind!

Prophecy: Sorry about the mis-spell earlier... I'm looking at this build as a stop gap until my time and money become more free, grad school permitting... Thanks for the info on the RAM, yeah, I'm not going to OC THAT much... I'd probably be melting things before I got close!
Well with the wide screen LCD and dual screen setup I already have, I will be doing that resolution or higher. Besides cost of dual cards, what are your CONS against SLi?