Hey all,

I'm about to buy myself a new computer but not sure if the spec is reasonable as each component responds well to each other. The purpose of this computer is 80% playing games and the rest is watching movies with few day to day tasks. Games i'm planning to play are WoW, Crysis, and pretty all the new games coming out but i can't think of many names right now. I dont think i want a spec that can play Crysis at all highest setting since it will need a very expensive system and probably unnecessary. Plus, i dont plan to overclock. Enough with the intro, here are the specs:

Asus P5E or Maximus Formula
Core 2 Duo 8200
XFX or eVGA 8800 GT
G.Skill 2x1GB DDR2-800 CAS4 F2-6400
WD 250GB or 500 GB
Logitech Cordless Desktop MX3200 Laser mouse and keyboard set
Silverstone Zeus 750w
Soundblaster Audigy 2 ZS (from old system)
Lite-on optical drives that can write dvdr from my old system

I think i dont miss any part here and here are the questions:

1.) For mobo part, can i get cheaper ones without sacrificing the performance of the rest of the system? Are these two listed on par or better when compared to the rest of the system.

2.) In Thailand, there are only Inno, Asus, Gigabyte, Winfast, xfx, and maybe eVGA, out of these, which are the best in term of performance and durability? IF performances are the same, i will just pick one with the cheapest price and the best return policy

3.) Right now, i have 37 inch sharp lcd tv (true 16:9 aspect ratio, HDTV resolution of 1366 x 768, 6000:1 Dynamic Contrast Ratio, 6ms response time) which i am planning to play games on this. Is it recommended? or should i buy lcd monitor for computer purpose? There are not much space on my desk right now.

4.) Between Zalman, Thermaltake, and Thermalright, which are the best & most quiet CPU cooler right now? We only have 3 options in Thailand.

5.) Is my soundcard good enough for gaming and watching dvds? Between watching movie through computer with 5.1 speakers and through dvd player with 5.1 home theatre system at the comparable price, which would give off better sound?

6.) how long will this build last without updating it and able to play top of the line game at medium setting?

I know it's a lot of questions but dont know who to ask really.

Thanks.

Bob

1) Yes, since you don't plan to overclock, a x38 board is more expensive then you need. A cheaper p35 board, starting at under $100 US, will do just fine.

2) Generally, Asus is usually considered to perform better, while Gigabyte, with its sold capacitors, is more durable. Not sure about others. Those are just according to user reviews though. Chipset matter more than brand.

3) According to the specs, it should do fine, assuming it has the right ports to connect to your computer. You should really have a separate monitor though, but that's personal perference. Up to you.

4) It really depends on the specific model. Zalman is the most popular brand name.

5) It'll work fine, assuming Creative still have driver support for it. They are known to have bad driver support for old cards. If it doesn't work, just use the onboard. You won't hear a difference.

6) It should last a good 2 years or more.

You should get more than 2gb of ram. It's not enough for gaming, especially if you plan to use Vista.

thank you for the reply. For p35, from my research, P5KE and P5K seems to be the best medium range one (not the most expensive). I think i will go with what i can find here in Bangkok.

For the monitor, do you think the resolution is too small to play games optimally? I just realized that 1366_768 is not really large compared to normal 1298 * 1028 or even 1600*1200.

Couldn't resist. Thailand per se IS crysis. No games will look like that. Just step in the jungle.

1) X38 & X48 are premium boards. If you have the money, nothing is stopping you from buying them. If you're in a limited budget, consider the P35. Even some of the P965 supports 45-nm with bios updates. P35 is in between the old and the new. Good ones are P5K-E, GA-P35-DS3R, IP35-E.

2) Are you talking about gpus or mobos?

GPUs are the same across the board in terms of speed. The differences are features, bundled craps, warranty, customer (avoidance) service. There are factory-overclocked gpus that are faster & warmer than stock.

Mobos are the not same. Some manufacturers cheat by upping the FSB by a few mhz so their boards look good in benchmarks. I think you're talking about GPUs since you picked out 2 boards from ASUS.

3) You'll need a connection between the GPU & LCD. I'm guessing it's HDMI. You can pick up a DVI-to-HDMI adapter for $10 US & a HDMI cable.

4) Zalman is the quietest at stock. On oveclocked cpu, Zalman is loud. Is watercooling affordable in Thailand? If you overclock the cpu, you might want h2o. ASUS & Thermaltake are rolling out their new budget water cpu cooler for less than $100 US. $75-ish I think. The preview looks good.

5) Integrated audio is fine unless you're an audiophile. It has come a long way. The new one can do 7.1.

6) Depends on the user. If you max games out and expect smooth gameplay, the pc will last about a year. You can either upgrade or overclock the pc.

Yup, I concur. Get 4GB of ram at least.

Don't worry about the resolution. Just don't sit 12" from it. A few feet away is fine. Turn on ClearType in Windows.