New Build please offer opinion

[roush2fast]

Hello , I am currently looking to build a new rig. please see my current setup

AMD 3700 2.7
2G PC4200
6800GT OC

I am mainly a gamer with D3 and BF2142 occupying most of my time when I'm on the PC. The games play fine but I often find myself being bored with my out dated system. So , I have done a bit of research and it seems that the C2D Q6600 as we all know is pretty sweet. I am lookign at this to be the foundation of my new system,. Here is what I have selected.

MBM-680ILT-Q6600 :: XFX nForce 680i LT SLI Motherboard CPU Bundle - Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Processor 2.40GHz $349.99

OCZ SLI-Ready Dual Channel 4096MB PC6400 DDR2 800MHz Memory (2x2048MB $120.00

EVGA GeForce 8600 GTS Video Card - 512MB GDDR3, PCI Express, SLI Ready, Dual DVI, HDTV $160.00


Western Digital / Caviar SE 16 / 320GB / 7200 / 16MB / SATA-300 $95.00

I would be using my old case , cd/dvd drives and PSU 700W so that would save some money. So , altogether I would have a little over $700.00 into a new system. Not bad at all.

My questions are :

1) How much of an improvement will I see from this new system in terms of game play and overall speed in normal functions ?

2 ) Always been AMD fan boy , is a move to Intel a good idea ?

3 ) Should I wait for AMD to work out the bugs with the phenom or wait for intels 45nm York series ?

While this is not much $ vested I don't want an outdated system in a year.

Any input / recommendations would more than be appreciated.

Thanks to all

 

[akhilles]

1) Assuming the models in the chart are correct, you'll see nearly twice the speed of your old gpu:

http://www23.tomshardware.com/graphics_2007.html?modelx=33&model1=721&model2=854&chart=275

But I wouldn't touch 8600GTS. If you have a low budget, go with at least HD3850 for about the same price, or for $20 more HD3870, or even 9600GT.

2) Why not?

3) *sigh* Even AMD fans misunderstood the Phenom bug. It doesn't effect you one bit unless you run multiple OSes at the same time. Even if the bug is fixed (which is, by bios update or driver), there will be NO performance gain in overclocking. That's B3 revision.

The second you buy a computer part, it is outdated. If you don't want that, don't buy any more computer parts. Use a typewriter...

I'm looking at a tiger direct deal on the cpu/mobo combo. That's pretty good for the price. I seriously doubt Tiger would bundle that mobo & Yorkfield for the same price. Maybe a $100 more.

If the cpu is OEM, it will need a cpu fan. Pick up a $20 one if you don't overclock.

The rest looks good.

 

[roush2fast]

Awesome !!! I really appreciate your input as well as the informative chart.

Yeah , 8600gts is pretty weak. Think I am going to go with the 9600

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3637550&CatId=1826

I will post back in a few weeks after I build. Thanks again

 

[roush2fast]

Well now after reading a few posts I am unsure as to which cpu would better fit my application. E8400 or Q6600 ???

As I stated above I play lots of Doom 3 and Battlefield 2142. Of course there's the occasional music burn but I do not do much audio editing. With that said, which CPU is better for gaming? Yes, I plan on over clocking with sufficient cooler and PSU.I am either going to go with the HD3870 or 9600GT ? Any advice to the GPU would also be appreciated.

For sure I am using the below

XFX nForce 680i
OCZ SLI-Ready Dual Channel 4096MB PC6400 DDR2 800MHz Memory

Thanks again

 

[amd_fanboi]

if you are a gamer, then the E8400 will be better for you.

also, i suggest that you go with the 9600GT; you should be able to add another as the time goes by...

 

[jalpaugh1978]

I don't understand why everyone is suggesting the 9600GT over the 8800gt...The 8800gt is faster and you can find it for only $10-$20 more than the 9600gt. Granted that's after a MIR but I've neve had a problem getting my rebate back. And as far the "heat issues" of the of the 8800gt go, I have the standered clocked EVGA version and I have it O/C'ed past superclocked speeds and with bumping up the fan speed some I get temps of 47*C idle and around 67*c load. I mean getting an 8800gt for less than $200(after rebate) is the best bang-for-your-buck deal out now.

as for your choice of processor...for a game you really don't need a quad...E8400 would be more than fine

 

[akhilles]

It's quite simple to me really. If I'm looking for a car to drive offroad, I'm not getting a Ferrari. If I'm getting a gaming pc, I'll spend most of the money on the gpu. That's just me. A few members here did the opposite: spent most on a cpu & a little on a gpu. They said they would upgrade when they got more money. But they had it...

Well, it's your money. You decide how to spend it.

Find out how much time you spend on gaming vs. working. Then you can determine which dept you should spend more on.

 

[roush2fast]

Thanks for the feedback guys.
I think I am going to go with the Q6600 as it offers more longevity. What do you think about this combo ?

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3601833&Sku=MCM-680ILT-Q6600B

Also , is the memory with this bundle SLI ready ?

I absoloutly cannot make up my mind about a gpu. I have roughly $250.00 to spend on a card. Please tell me what will give me the most bang for the buck. If this was your build what would you go with ?

Thanks again.

CPU combo $400.00
GPU $250.00
Information provided through TH....priceless.

Thanks

 

[0gab0ga]

go for an evga 8800 gts 512 mb g92
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130325
or a 8800 gt
also i have read alot about how the 680i does not go good with quad cores. but if that is wrong the combo deal you have looks good.
if not then a 750i mobo is 150 $ , q6600 260$ and 4 gb ram 90 $ so its a tad more unbundled. remember you have to buy a fan too so its only 50$ more unbundled.
i dont know a lot about the 750i, but if you re not going sli than have a look at p35 mobos aswell ( but i think 750i over p35 is the way to go. not completely sure )
for ram:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231122
and crucial also have some good deals

you will still have a good system in a years time, but there is a lot of new stuff coming out over the next year, as always. 9800 series, q9450 cpu at first, then nehalem which will change socket type so youll need a new motherboard too, maybe ddr3 ram. bottom line is in the time we live in now, a year is a long time. but look at it tihs way: if you dont want to spend thousands of dollars to keep up every year with the newest stuff(i know i dont) your computer will be outdated to some extent. however this just means you might not be able to run the new games that come out in a year at max settings, but you will still be able to play them at better settings than most pre-made computers sold in a years time. at least thats how it is today
by the way i am going to build a similar rig soon myself, its great bang for your buck as far as i am concerned.
are you using 64bit?

 

[akhilles]

The LT isn't as good as the vanilla. 3ghz should be doable. You do realize the cpu is oem (no fan). Pick up a good one. The OCZ & Geminii are the only good ones:

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/category/category_slc.asp?CatId=1588&Nav=|c:493|&Sort=4&Recs=30

TD does sell EVGA 780i + quad for a $100 more. 780i supports Yorkfields. The A1 is the best 680i overclocker:

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/category/category_slc.asp?MfrId=1281&Nav=|c:2406|&Sort=0&Recs=10

For $250, 8800GT hands down. Have you looked at the benchmarks?

http://www23.tomshardware.com/graphics.html

 

[jalpaugh1978]

It's quite simple to me really. If I'm looking for a car to drive offroad, I'm not getting a Ferrari. If I'm getting a gaming pc, I'll spend most of the money on the gpu. That's just me. A few members here did the opposite: spent most on a cpu & a little on a gpu. They said they would upgrade when they got more money. But they had it...

Well, it's your money. You decide how to spend it.

Find out how much time you spend on gaming vs. working. Then you can determine which dept you should spend more on.

If I'm taking this comment wrong then I apologize in advance but i don't think $10-$20 more for a better card is going to put anyone any closer to bankruptcy than they already were going to be after buying

 

[jalpaugh1978]

Thanks for the feedback guys.
I think I am going to go with the Q6600 as it offers more longevity. What do you think about this combo ?

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3601833&Sku=MCM-680ILT-Q6600B

Also , is the memory with this bundle SLI ready ?

I absoloutly cannot make up my mind about a gpu. I have roughly $250.00 to spend on a card. Please tell me what will give me the most bang for the buck. If this was your build what would you go with ?

Thanks again.

CPU combo $400.00
GPU $250.00
Information provided through TH....priceless.

Thanks

IMHO you can't do better than an 8800GT for that price and if you look you can find one for well under that price.
here's one @ Newegg: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130318

It doesn't really get much better then that IMHO. Evga 8800gt@ $200 after MIR(I've never had a problem getting myrebates back from them) and has a lifetime warranty

 

[roush2fast]

Thanks again for the input dudes. With the plethora of products out there it can very quickly become mind boggling. Well , I have determined my CPU ( Q6600 ) GPU ( 8800GT ) now I am in a conundrum over the MB. At first i was attracted to the Q6600 XFX680i combo. Now after doing some research I am now leaning towards the EVGA780i. Seems to be more receptive to over clocking and supports PCIE 2.0 ( which the 8800gt is ) This set up would place me a little over budget because it is not bundled with memory but is it worth it ? How much of a performance boost ( if any ) will I see from using this MB and it having PCIE 2.0 ? I keep reading how it doubles the bandwidth to 5GT/s . How does this translate to game play performance and is it worth the extra money ?

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3570025&sku=MBM-780I-Q6600A

or


http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3601833&CatId=1599

oh yeah , your right Natalie Gulbis is fricken hot...

 

[akhilles]

You can get the evga 780i + q6600 RETAIL for about the same price if you look around. The TD bundle has an OEM cpu which means 3-9 month warranty & no fan. Those along are worth more than $20 & the resale value is better.

IMO, if you're on a tight budget, you should forget about future-proofing. Just get the best deal & live with it. Until you have the money for upgrades. I'm saying 680i LT bundle.

 

[ryanthesav]

I have free time, let me make you a great/cheap computer for about 1000$:


AMD X2 5000+ $99.99:


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6819103194


ASUS M2N-SLI Deluxe $134.99:


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813131013


CORSAIR XMS2 (2 x 1GB) DDR2 800 $102.00:


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820145034


Antec TPQ-850 850W $150.00:


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817371011


Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower $119.99


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] ntec%2b900


PNY 8800GT in SLI 2X($213.00) = $426.00:


http://www.techonweb.com/products/ [...] 3KR&src=FG


ViewSonic VG2230wm 22" $206.25:


http://www.superdigitalmedia.com/p [...] ts_id=2360


Logitech G51 155 watts RMS 5.1 Surround Sound $129.99:


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6836121012


Microsoft Comfort Curve Keyboard Mouse Included $21.99:


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6823109156


Well I added this all up and this computer costs about 1400$ which is 400$ over what I estimated. This is just about the best/cheapest gaming computer that you can buy currently. I know this is way over ur price ceiling...i just wanted to let you in on what the best/cheapest gaming computer would look like and how much it would cost. By the way...my computer was worth about 2000$, in its day...and this computer would kick my computer's ass. Have fun .

 

[roush2fast]

Akhilles , thanks for posting again. The 8800GT supports PCIE 2.0 as does the 780i. Does this make the 680i inferior ? Is there a noticeable difference with today's games ?


Ryan , I appreciate the time you took to post that bro. Nice System !! I always sway towards AMD but I am looking at the short term benefits of going with that is the best bang for the buck right now. Q6600 seems to be it.

Check this out. using your post if I use the CPU $100.00 , MB $135.00 , Memory $100.00 , PSU $150.00 and one 8800GT $213.00 that puts me at roughly $900.00. I would use my old case , I just bought a G5 and I already have a 22" LCD.

If I go Intel

CPU + MB + 4g 800 = $399 + 8800gt 200 after rebate = 599.00. case if I wanted ( give / take ) $150.00 and PSU $150.00. It pretty much breaks out to be the same. If I use my old case I actually save $75-$150 Put the two side by side and as much as it hurts me to say , the Intel will outperform the AMD. Oh yeah , CPU cooler.

Decisions......... decisions..............GAH !!!!!!!!!! Maybe I'll stick with my socket 939 rig : /

 

[ryanthesav]

I'm glad someone appreciates my posts. Ive been getting static all week about that build; everyone hates how expensive it is. The q6600 is an awesome processor and it blows the 5000+ out of the water as far as performance. It just seems that right now not many games use quad core; excluding games such as Crysis and FSX. This is why I didn't incorporate it into my build. If you are planning on doing video editing and or photo processing the quad is a must and I can respect that the q6600 is a better processor for future games. Technology seems to move so fast though. There always seems to be a game that needs a specific processor or video card that hasn't even been created yet. With this comes new form fittings and socket sizes. In the end there are trade-offs for both...the 5000+ is cheap and will currently not be bottlenecked by any game. When new technology comes out u don't mind trading up because you didn't invest that much. On the other hand you may not have to trade up as soon with the q6600 and it will do video editing well now. I guess it just depends on what you want and how much you are willing to spend for it.

 

[akhilles]

Unfortunately, nobody seems to care about real world. They talk about pci-e 2.0 can carry blah blah blah 500 MB/s. We know that. We want to know if the same pci-e 2.0 gpu will increase in performance in pci-e 2.0.

 

[ryanthesav]

I guess people are funny that way. hehe

 

[mihirkula]

best bang for the buck right now

Best bang for buck CPU right now is the E6750. And as i mention it in every single post of mine, its a better deal than the Q6600 cos its faster in MOST of the apps and almost ALL games...and its cheaper than the quad by a whooping $100. Heres the chart.

http://www23.tomshardware.com/cpu_2007.html?modelx=33&model1=873&model2=877&chart=444

Or if you can wait for a month or so run and get the E8400.

Regarding your GPU i see no reason as to why you shouldn't get an 8800GT instead of the 9600.. especially since you mentioned you're a gamer....... you get the 8800GT for $220 on newegg.

 

[roush2fast]

: / ... Here I sit about to order my Q6600 680I 8800gt rig and I am still unsure. I juts do not feel 100 % sure going either route explained below. I am facing the common debate E8400 vs Q6600. Short term advantage of high clock with E8400 vs multitask ( rarely will I need ) Q6600. I know the Q6600 offeres more longevity as games transition to multi-thread but for now is it overkill ? I play doom and battlefield mostly and soon will move to Crysis. Without starting a flame war can a few ppl just post what they would choose ? Overall objective is maximum FPS possible.


Something else , should I just shut the hell up and order this Q6600 since I am sitting on an old 3700 6800gt rig right now ? Either way I see it I would notice a substantial increase in performance.


Thanks again , this forum rocks !!!!

 

[akhilles]

Overall objective is maximum FPS possible

Discussion closed. Dismissed.

Get E8400/E3110 (same thing).

Yup, you'll drop your jaw.

 

[hutt]

I agree get the 8400 but its up to you if you can wait and find a decent price with everyone jacking em up if not just grab the q6600 and be done with it cause both will rock.

 

[roush2fast]

awesoem dudes..thanks for the feedback. E8400 it is. Now does anyone know where I can get one ?

 

[chuckm]

The closest you can get at the moment;
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115038