buynew pc need the suggeestions

[darthvaderkenneth]

Can anyone give me any suggestions on this? i'm planning to spend $1000-2000(including mouse+keyboard+OS monitor etc)
Case
Antec 900
mobo
p35(need suggestions for which manufacturer)
cpu-e8400/e8500-$188/267(can't find wolfdales these are conroe equivalents)
ram-G-skill ddr2-1000 2gbx2-$135
video card-ATI radeon HD3870x2(I can't find the card so prices are with 2 HD3870s)Gigabyte-$432/HIS-$434
hard disk-WD5000AAKS-$96/WD3201ABYS-$79
dvd
dvd 20x
PSU-OCZ silence 750w quad crossfire-$173
monitor-Dell E248WFP 24" 1920x1200-$371

mouse and keyboard-ogitech cordless wave
OS windows vista premium.

 

[jerseygamer]

Not bad choises tbh. Great case. Great cpu. I would go with the Asus or Gigabyte MBs as I am very please with the quality and the OC above average OC ability unless you are an avid OCer then DFI but only if you are into the OC stuff heavy as they perform like pooo out of the box. For your gpu I would go for Asus. Just in the fan controls alone its worth it. You can set your fan to a % of speed based on 4 different temps. This allows your card to cool in steps rather then ramp up to 100% the second it gets hot. My 8800GT single slot for example stays under 44-45c at all times and never hits over 75% fan speed. The Asus cards come bone stock clocked. The utility is killer in that it allows you to monitor your card fully and keep stock clocks until your gpu needs more power then it will OC the card on the fly if you set it up that way or maintain the OC full time. I can not speak for Saphire as I have not installed one in a while but they are also very well known for high quality product. I can not testify as to the quality of there utilities though.

I can recomend against any EVGA or BFG product as they hardly test what they sell and are the industry leaders in RMAs and have the worst %%% of shipping OCed hardware with bad ram.

If you go vista go 64. Its worth it. You have the perfect ram# and you will reap all the benifits of a 64bit OS and future proof your system even more.

Have you given thought to a sound card? That system realy deserves a nice xfi to make it stellar.

 

[mtyermom]

Not bad choises tbh. Great case. Great cpu. I would go with the Asus or Gigabyte MBs as I am very please with the quality and the OC above average OC ability unless you are an avid OCer then DFI but only if you are into the OC stuff heavy as they perform like pooo out of the box. For your gpu I would go for Asus. Just in the fan controls alone its worth it. You can set your fan to a % of speed based on 4 different temps. This allows your card to cool in steps rather then ramp up to 100% the second it gets hot. My 8800GT single slot for example stays under 44-45c at all times and never hits over 75% fan speed. The Asus cards come bone stock clocked. The utility is killer in that it allows you to monitor your card fully and keep stock clocks until your gpu needs more power then it will OC the card on the fly if you set it up that way or maintain the OC full time. I can not speak for Saphire as I have not installed one in a while but they are also very well known for high quality product. I can not testify as to the quality of there utilities though.

I can recomend against any EVGA or BFG product as they hardly test what they sell and are the industry leaders in RMAs and have the worst %%% of shipping OCed hardware with bad ram.

If you go vista go 64. Its worth it. You have the perfect ram# and you will reap all the benifits of a 64bit OS and future proof your system even more.

Have you given thought to a sound card? That system realy deserves a nice xfi to make it stellar.

Where's your argument about dx10.1? Oh, I see, you're talking about your gf8800GT so that would make you a hypocrite. Now I get it.

Is that your personal experience with EVGA or BFG? Aren't they supposed to have the best warranties? A lot of people prefer EVGA for their step-up program.


@OP:

ASUS makes some good video cards, but in my experience (that means I have actually owned them) they usually come at a premium. That doesn't mean I'm recommending against them, as they are quality parts, just shop around and compare prices.

Motherboard: Like Jersygamer said, ASUS or Gigabyte make great P35 boards, stick with them and you should be fine.

CPU: e8400 will be fine

memory: if you are going to overclock, I'd recommend either Corsair or Crucial high performance models. (I happen to favor Crucial)

HDD: Western Digital AAKS models or Seagate 7200.11

Monitor: Samsung, Dell, and Viewsonic are good places to start looking at 24" monitors, but there are tons of vendors/models out there, just post here so people can give you feedback on what you're thinking of getting.

Regarding sound cards: As I've recommended many times, evaluate your onboard sound from the motherboard first, then if you are unhappy with it you can invest in a sound card.


Looks like you're on your way to a solid machine.

 

[g-paw]

The ASUS P5K E is a nice richly featured mobo for the money.

 

[darthvaderkenneth]

thx for the suggestions
If i buy the e8400 what can i spend the money saved by not buying the e8500? a overclocked video card, faster ram etc?
As for the sound card i'm fine with an integrated one.
I',m getting this pc sometime in march so the hd3870x2 gddr4 might be out.

 

[g-paw]

You really can't go wrong with the Crucial Ballistix RAM. As for money left over, I'd put it into the monitor. Pick the best parts to meet your needs at the best price. If you don't spend you're entire budget and have nothing else to do the the money left over, you can always donate to the g-paw relief fund Keep in mind a budget is the money you have to work with, there is nothing wrong with not spending the whole thing

 

[amd_fanboi]

good build, tbh... looks like you did your research...

 

[darthvaderkenneth]

ok thx, is the asus blitz the only p35 mobos that support crossfire and wat is the difference in performance between ddr2 800mhz and 1066?
Also will this mobo be good for upgrading in the future like with the fastest yorkfield quad core, ddr3 ram, ati radeon r700 video cards, blu-ray disc etc?

 

[amd_fanboi]

no. i think all P35 boards do support crossfire, albeit with a slowed port at the bottom... My MSI Neo2-Fr can Xfire ^^

and any recent P35 board ought to be good for an upgrade to 45nm Wolfdale/Yorkfield, whether out of the box or with a BIOS flash

 

[chuckm]

The Blitz does Crossfire 8X8, the MSI is 16X4. If you want true 16X16, I believe you have to look at the X38 boards.

 

[darthvaderkenneth]

I made up some new specs that use the geforce 9800gtx instead of 3870x2, comments on which one is better?
Build 1-
Case- Antec 900/ Thermaltake Armour VA8003BWS
CPU- Intel Core 2 Duo E8400
Motherboard-ASUS Maximus Formula/ Asus P5E
RAM- G-Skill 2gbx2 DDR2-1000
Video Card- ASUS HD3870x2 TOP factory overclocked/ HIS HD3870x2 GDDR4
HDD-WD500AAKS 500gb
PSU-OCZ silencer 750w quad crossfire
Optical Drive-???
Monitor- Dell or BenQ 24" 1920x1200
Mouse+Keyboard- Logitech Cordless Wave
I want this to be upgradable to DDR3 Ram, Blu Ray disc, second video card and fastest yorkfield quad core when prices go down in 2years time.

Build 2
Case- Antec 900/ Thermaltake Armour VA8003BWS
CPU- Intel Core 2 Duo E8400
Motherboard-ASUS Striker II formula
RAM- G-Skill 2gbx2 DDR2-1000
Video Card- Geforce 9800gtx
b]HDD[/b]-WD500AAKS 500gb
PSU-OCZ silencer 750w quad crossfire
Optical Drive-???
Monitor- Dell or BenQ 24" 1920x1200
Mouse+Keyboard- Logitech Cordless Wave
Upgradble to blu-ray disc, ddr3 ram, 1 or 2 more geforce 9800gtx and yorkfield quad core in the future.

 

[darthvaderkenneth]

I made up some new specs that use the geforce 9800gtx instead of 3870x2, comments on which one is better?
Build 1-
Case- Antec 900/ Thermaltake Armour VA8003BWS
CPU- Intel Core 2 Duo E8400
Motherboard-ASUS Maximus Formula/ Asus P5E
RAM- G-Skill 2gbx2 DDR2-1000
Video Card- ASUS HD3870x2 TOP factory overclocked/ HIS HD3870x2 GDDR4
HDD-WD500AAKS 500gb
PSU-OCZ silencer 750w quad crossfire
Optical Drive-???
Monitor- Dell or BenQ 24" 1920x1200
Mouse+Keyboard- Logitech Cordless Wave
I want this to be upgradable to DDR3 Ram, Blu Ray disc, second video card and fastest yorkfield quad core when prices go down in 2years time.

Build 2
Case- Antec 900/ Thermaltake Armour VA8003BWS
CPU- Intel Core 2 Duo E8400
Motherboard-ASUS Striker II formula
RAM- G-Skill 2gbx2 DDR2-1000
Video Card- Geforce 9800gtx
b]HDD[/b]-WD500AAKS 500gb
PSU-OCZ silencer 750w quad crossfire
Optical Drive-???
Monitor- Dell or BenQ 24" 1920x1200
Mouse+Keyboard- Logitech Cordless Wave
Upgradble to blu-ray disc, ddr3 ram, 1 or 2 more geforce 9800gtx and yorkfield quad core in the future.

 

[darthvaderkenneth]

Which build would be more upgradable? I am planning to upgrade in 2years and use this for 4 years. How long will this be able to play games on high with native resolution 1920x1200 apart from Crysis?

 

[medjohnson77]

Thats kinda funny about the bad mouthing of BFG. I have a BFG 8800GTS 512Mb (G92) gave $270 for it after rebate and I couldn't be happier with it. I has been a very bada$$ card and has a life time warranty. This is the one that beats the GTX in many bench marks and is $100 cheaper then the GTX.

 

[mtyermom]

Which build would be more upgradable? I am planning to upgrade in 2years and use this for 4 years. How long will this be able to play games on high with native resolution 1920x1200 apart from Crysis?

Ken, don't worry about upgrading to DDR3, you're not going to see any benefit from it. Regarding the 9800GTX, it is still a bit early to be committed to that card. Only make that decision once it has been released and benchmarked. Only then will we know whether it is worth it. If you were purchasing today then IMO you should be considering an 8800GT(S) single card setup. If the 9800GTX is the beat all/end all video card when it is released (and if it is, it will have a HUGE price tag), then consider upgrading to it at that point.

 

[geofelt]

The cpu, mobo, and ram will not be worth upgrading in a year or so when nehalem launches. Enjoy them now, because they are the best for now. The psu, case, and monitor you can expect to carry forward. If, in the future, you want a better vga solution, any of the parts you are looking at will have a fair resale value.

For gaming, I don't think I would go wireless keyboard or mouse. Those with experience on this, chime in.

Only advice on the monitor; get the best now. Look for one with a 178 degree viewing angle. Look at the Samsung T models(245T,275T,305T) for good quality units. They supply panels for many other vendors, but I suspect that they keep the best for themselves.

 

[croc]

Can anyone give me any suggestions on this? i'm planning to spend $1000-2000(including mouse+keyboard+OS monitor etc)
Case
Antec 900
mobo
p35(need suggestions for which manufacturer)
cpu-e8400/e8500-$188/267(can't find wolfdales these are conroe equivalents)
ram-G-skill ddr2-1000 2gbx2-$135
video card-ATI radeon HD3870x2(I can't find the card so prices are with 2 HD3870s)Gigabyte-$432/HIS-$434
hard disk-WD5000AAKS-$96/WD3201ABYS-$79
dvd
dvd 20x
PSU-OCZ silence 750w quad crossfire-$173
monitor-Dell E248WFP 24" 1920x1200-$371

mouse and keyboard-ogitech cordless wave
OS windows vista premium.

For MB, personally I like DFI (fried 3 asus, the DFI is a rock)
RAM, ddr2 1000 is overkill unless you are seriously OC'ing whatever CPU you end up with.
Monitor, no experience with that one but I use daily the dell 2405, no complaints. Not the best, but good enough for me.
I really don't like cordless mice or keyboards. In fact, I prefer a keyboard with a PS2 connector, but I've used USB keyboards and found them acceptable.

 

[darthvaderkenneth]

Well the g-skill ram is quite cheap only a bit more than some other ddr2-800 4gb kits only $5 more than Corsair DDR2-800. I think i'll go with the HD3870x2 since for me the HIS HD3870x2 only costs $446 comapred to $500 for the cheapest 8800gtx i can find. Why does the 9800gtx only hav 512mb memory since thats wat made the 8800gts weaker than the 8800gtx?

 

[medjohnson77]

The 8800GTS 512MB (G92) is not a weaker card, for price vs. performance ratio. It beats the GTX's in many bench marks so imho the GTS is a way better card!

 

[amd_fanboi]

not to mention the GTX is now a hulking giant and way too expensive for it's performance

 

[darthvaderkenneth]

Yeah but the gts is weaker at high resolutions and i;m getting a 24" monitor.

 

[amd_fanboi]

if you're in that situation, get the 9800GX2 (?) and a tri-SLI capable mobo or something...

 

[medjohnson77]

I run my custom rig with the 8800 GTS 512MB (G92) on my 37" LCD tv and I max my setting out to the highest and have no problems at all. my resolutions is set at its highest 1280x1024.

 

[darthvaderkenneth]

yeah resolution 1280x1024 on a TV i;m taking about 24" 1920x1200 resolution monitors.

 

[medjohnson77]

my bad its 1920x1080 on my tv. That is the highest it will let me set my resolution to on my computer settings. Thats not on games but on the windows menu