New system.

Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
A

asmodian

Distinguished
Aug 1, 2007
7
0
18,510
I am looking to upgrade my old system for a new gaming rig.

I generally play World of Warcraft, and will be playing Warhammer online.

I am not sure if I should use an SLI computer or a more expensive single Video card? What exactaly are the pro/con's of each?

I am not sure anymore about the diffrence of AMD/Intel processors. I read the article and it sounds like a Conroe Pentium dual/quad core is the correct choice.

I currently have a 21 widescreen Viewsonic monitor. I heard in another thread somebody mention a 24" Samsung, or a 30" Apple Cinematic screen. (wow 1,999$) I think maybe I could get the 24" samsung, and when the price on 30" drops to a resonable level upgrade then. A 550$ purchase would not be out of line if you suggest that upgrade.

I am looking to spend about 2-3k$ Including an OS (Windows XP, World of Warcraft does not work very well on Vista)

I would like to have this computer be top of the line for gaming, is this feasable?

What reccomendaitons for Case, Mobo, Proc, Memory, Video do you have?


Thanks a ton

Fred
 
Onus

Onus

Titan
Jan 27, 2006
37,037
12
89,965
WOW is not the most demanding game out there by far, so SLI would be a real waste. New graphics cards will be out soon too. If you buy a card from EVGA, you would be eligible for their one-time step-up program.
On your relatively lofty budget, if you want to buy a video card that will do well and have done with it, get a 8800GTX. Otherwise, spend less than $150 on a x1950Pro or 7900GS now, and upgrade later if you need to.
Get a P35 mobo. I like Gigabyte; others prefer Asus. It will support the newest Intel processors, and ones coming out in the next year or so.
The case is a really personal choice. I think the Antec 900 looks great, but the CoolerMaster Centurion and Elite models are straightforward and clean, and cost a lot less.
Don't buy a cheap PSU, or use anything that comes with a case. This link will suggest the brands to consider:
http://www.tomswiki.com/page/Tiered+PSU+Listings?t=anon
You could get by with 500W, but consider 600W or a little more if you plan on high overclocking and/or SLI.
Some will argue with cause that a quad core CPU is more future-resistant. I suggest a dual core, like the e6750. In six months or a year, new processors will be out, and you can reconsider. The P35 mobo will support them, and in the meantime you will have used a CPU that uses a lot less juice, runs cooler, and performs as well as a quad (or a little better) in recent and current games.
If you are not going to overclock, or not much, the stock cooler is enough. The heatsink of my stock e6750 only hits around 34C after hours of Guild Wars (which I believe is more demanding than WoW; not certain), with the stock fan running quietly around 900rpm.
If you don't already have a keyboard and mouse you like, I really like my Logitech G11 kb and G5 mouse. Others will suggest Saitek keyboards or Razer mice; you'll need to look at them and/or touch them to decide which you prefer.
Hope this general stuff helps.
 
A

asmodian

Distinguished
Aug 1, 2007
7
0
18,510
Great thanks a lot. I am an Asus fan. my current pc used a Gigabyte mobo and I had a hard time setting it up. nothing but problems it was the first AMD proc I had done and I could not figure out what was wrong. I have never had an issue with an Asus mother board.

An 8800GTX sounds good, that will work when Warhammer comes out as well? Should I get an SLI motherboard and just not buy 2 cards, and possible get a 2nd 8800GTX later?

Yeah I am a huge Antec case fan. I have a lanboy currently and love it. so sounds good.

I used Neo power 450 in my current 2 year old rig. so thanks I will look at a 600W now.

I do not plan on Overclocking my CPU I dont think I am hitting a CPU bottleneck so why confuse the situation! a 36750 sounds like a good choice.

And yeah I have a G11 logitech keyboard, and a G7 mouse and LOVE them.

Thanks for your help jtt283
 
Onus

Onus

Titan
Jan 27, 2006
37,037
12
89,965
I'm using a Gigabyte -DS2R now, and it was quick and easy to set up, although I may need an upgrade to their eztune utility due to an occasional "MarkFun_NT_Driver" error I'm getting.
I'm too lazy atm (end of a long day!) to check the specifics, but the X38 mobos due out soon will be good for SLI. Current offerings often limit the second PCIE slot to only 4/16 lanes. If you get a 8800GTX now, by the time you might think of adding a second, the 9xxx cards should be out, one of which may well outperform two 8800GTX in SLI (and probable use less power/make less heat doing it).
 
Onus

Onus

Titan
Jan 27, 2006
37,037
12
89,965
Looks very nice. I don't think you'll need SLI, particularly for the games you mentioned.
I didn't see the OS on your list. With 4GB of RAM, you want XP64 unless you don't mind seeing only 3.2GB of your RAM (which may be ok).
 
Daredevil_8

Daredevil_8

Distinguished
Dec 4, 2006
150
0
18,680
I wouldn't really worry about SLI too much, that card can handle quite a bit (and in MMO's, you shouldn't have to worry about graphics power too much, other than very heavily crowded areas, but with a q6600 you should be perfectly fine @ max settings).

The rest of the system looks nice. I really like the Corsair PSU's, glad you chose one too. Personally, Id get two 500gb HDD's and raid them for the price that you're paying for the one Raptor.
 
aevm

aevm

Illustrious
May 18, 2007
11,974
0
41,960
I would normally agree, but here we have an Asus fan talking about SLI and huge monitors and with plenty of cash. Nope, the P35 won't do, no SLI. He needs Asus P5N32-E SLI Plus (650i), or Asus P5N32-E SLI (680i). That will keep his SLI option open.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts

Moderators online

Share this page

COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
Top Bottom