Another new build, can't decide on parts :(

[white comet]

Hello all,

I've completed a build like a week ago and the advice here were really helpful

Now, I'd like to do another build, this time its for myself and its geared towards gaming, photo shopping, movies, etc...I'm hoping that its something that will last me awhile.

I do not have an exact budget amount, but it'd be approximately $1000 cdn.

So far, I have problems deciding on the video cards, CPU and mobo.

Video Card:

I'm having difficulty choosing between 3 cards.

[strike]-2x 3850 crossfire setup. (~350?)
Read the AnandTech review and tests indicate that the performance is relatively close to the 8800GTX [/strike]
Scraped after the opinions...so now it leaves me w/ 2 choices.

-1x 8800GT

-1x 8800GTS (G92) the one coming out in 2 weeks, heard many great stuff on it and might be faster than 8800 GTX and possibly the 8800 Ultra. I'm hearing price range of about <350? from xtreme systems forum.

so now the 2 cards, if there is only a $50 difference, i'm going to go w/ the 8800GTS G92

CPU:

I'm mainly looking for something that can last for a while. With the new tech coming out like every so often, it's impossible for me to keep up and I'm undecided between Duo and Quad cores T_T. So I've come up with a few processors:

1. C2D X6800.
Are C2D X6800 worth anything now with the E6800 in the market? Retails like 1000 in shops but IF the price was ~300, would you guys prefer the X6800?

2. Xeon X3230 G0 Engineering Sample
I just came across this for sale. Dunno the price as I need to find out from the seller. Heard that its comparable to the Q6600+

3. C2Q 6xxx series?

4. Wait for E8400 or Q9450?

Mobo:

[strike]Crossfire Ready Mobo[/strike]

Makes things easier. Now, I believe that there is no need for a X38 chipset mobo...aside from the PCI-E 2.0. Better value getting the P35 chipset mobo?

Debating whether to get Asus mobo or Gigabyte...cuz lots of people are recommending Gigabyte for some reason

Thanks for the help

 

[akhilles]

New 512mb 8800gts will be $300-350 & 2nd to only Ultra. So that's a killer price.

Depending on what other things you do on the pc, Q6600 might be a better choice.

Of course, CF only runs on CF board. Even if Ati & nVidia are in bed together, don't expect cross-platform compatiblity (worst case is someone gets the boot).

If my 1st paragraph didn't answer your question, there's nothing else I can say.

 

[timaahhh]

I would stay away from Crossfire with two lower end cards. You spend a lot more for often worse performance. I suggest buying the best single card setup you can and unless you are looking at SLI 8800 GTX dont consider SLI or crossfire. I made that mistake with the 7600 GT. I have SLI 7600 GT and they run last gen games with a less the steller framerates... Even after I upgraded to a Core 2 Duo. On paper it looked better then a 7900 GTX but in reality since many last gen games are not optimized for SLI it ran like a single 7600 GT... Which at resolutions above 1024x768 you have to give up image quality for decent framerates.

 

[aevm]

Considering your $1000 budget, I'd say forget SLI and Crossfire. You can't get two good cards on that budget, and two weak cards are usually worse than one good card.

Can you afford this?
8800GT, Q6600, GA-P35-DS3L, OCZ Vista Upgrade 4 GB DDR2-800

At my favourite local shop (www.shoprbc.com) that's about 300+300+100+140, plus tax

Add case/PSU/HDD/DVD and it blows your budget, but not by that much.

 

[white comet]

thanks for the replies. Scraped off some of the original items, and it looks better now.

Now I'm thinking, is there any difference between the PCI-E 1.1 and 2.0? Because the new X38 mobos uses PCI-E 2.0 and I'm wondering what effect it has on video cards. It also costs so much more T_T

I'll be continuing to run Windows XP, if that makes any difference because Vista just pisses me off....very badly

Thanks

 

[ethel]

I wouldn't bother with PCI-E 2.0 unless it is competitive price-wise.

 

[aevm]

PCI-E 1.1 has enough bandwidth for any video card that exists today. That is, you will get the same speed from the 8800GT or 8800GTX whether it's in a P35 (PCI-E 1.1) or an X38 (PCI-E 2.0) motherboard.

If you've already got XP keep using it. Vista makes some games (e.g. Crysis) look better but many games still look the same on Vista as on XP (e.g BioShock). Upgrade to Vista later, when it has the service pack and more games use DirectX 10.

 

[nhobo]

Wait until January to take advantage of new hardware releases, post holiday sales and price reductions.

 

[aevm]

Plus, in Canada, the GST will drop to 5% on Jan 1st, you save $10 right there

 

[white comet]

oh yea, w00t. great news.

Guess I'll start making a list of what I need and price and hopefully it'll be cheaper in Jan w/ the new stuff coming out.

 

[howard849]

did you consider the new GPU from ATI, the hd 3870 is now hard to get but I bought one last week for $219 and am waiting for delivery. Seems to be reviewed well. Bought a second one days later for $290. I should not have waited to decide on 1 or 2.

 

[white comet]

Yes, I did consider the new GPU from ATi. But after reading the reviews, I'm still leaning towards the GeForce series. I guess I'll decide when the 8800 GTS comes out.

Anyway, here's the prototype XDDDDD

CPU: Intel C2Q6600
PSU: Corsair HX 520/620
Video Card: 8800GT, 8800GTS G92 Core
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L or DS3R
Memory: G.Skill-6400CL4D-4GBPK
Case: Antec P182
HD: WD Raptor 150GB/160GB + WD 320GB/500GB
DVD-Rom: Pleaxtor PX-810SA
Input Devices: Logitech G15 Keyboard + Logitech G9 Mouse
Sound Card: Creative X-FI (Maybe for later)

Probably breaks the $1000 mark...rofl. But hopefully it'll be <$1000 by Jan '08

EDIT: Added PSU

 

[aevm]

You also need a PSU.

You can save some money without losing much speed if you drop the hard disks and get a Western Digital 750 GB instead. It's VERY fast.

Here's a quote from www.shoprbc.com. It's not exactly your config but close.

[fixed]
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 2.4GHz 8MB/1066FSB S775 CPU, Retail $285.00 1 $285.00
Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L S775 P35 ATX (Audio/GbE,Optical Out $99.00 1 $99.00
OCZ Vista-Upgrade 4GB DC PC2-6400 DDR2 Memory Kit $141.00 1 $141.00
WD SATAII 750Gb 7200RPM 16Mb Hard Drive, 3Yr $175.00 1 $175.00
Plextor PX-810SA 18x DVD±RW Drive $80.00 1 $80.00
BFG Geforce 8800GT OC 512Mb PCI-E Video Card $267.00 1 $267.00
Creative Labs Sound Blaster X-FI Xtreme Gamer, Retail $90.00 1 $90.00
Antec Performance One P182 Midtower ATX Case - No PSU $131.00 1 $131.00
PC Power & Cooling S61EPS 610W Silencer Series, Black $126.00 1 $126.00
Logitech G9 Gaming Laser Mouse $82.00 1 $82.00
Logitech G15 Gaming Keyboard $74.00 1 $74.00
Total: $1550.00
[/fixed]

With a cheap mouse/keyboard combo and no X-Fi and a $30 Samsung burner instead of the Plextor, this can be around $1300+tax today. You can always add a Plextor burner later (the DS3L accepts 4 SATA devices).

 

[akhilles]

8800GTS G92 is gonna be out next week.

 

[white comet]

Yup. Can't wait to see the pricing for that.

Added PSU. I'll keep make changes until I buy this setup in Jan