Mid/some high Crysis, AA build + apps

[nevinl]

Just looking for some feedback on a re-build.

I plan on moving some of my existing hardware to a slighly improved 2nd PC that could be upgraded to a better proc/mem/gpu in the future.

I intend to do mostly mid to high settings in Crysis (just enough to make it prettier than just all Medium @ 35-50fps on my existing 2.6 Dual core + 2gig ddr2 800), AArmy on full (easy) and the usual: 7 browsers + antivirus + dvd/avi + 3 word or excel on dual monitor + lots of music in the 'ol library + acrobat, torrents, perl app programming, etc.

Crysis looks great now on all med in MP, but I like the pretty graphics and fps =) I also hope that this system to be able to take any other new games that may come out =)

Existing components:
GIGABYTE GA-G33M-DS2R LGA 775 Intel G33 Micro ATX
Intel Core 2 Duo E4500 Allendale 2.2GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core @ ~2.6
corsair 2gig ddr2 800 (intend not to move, but works in both pc's) 5-5-5-12
Seagate SATAII 3.0 G/s 750G 7200rpm 32mb 4.16ms
EVGA 8800 GTS 320MB gddr3
Small and flexible, but not powerful enough Shuttle 400w case

Considering:
$207 GIGABYTE GA-EX38-DS4 LGA 775 Intel X38 ATX
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128089
$100? 480-550W PSU and case (less than $120 _max_, but with accessible top-loading USB and audio; LCD temp would be nice)
blah - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129024
blah - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811144135


$64 CORSAIR Dominator 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) 5-5-5-15 (so-so)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145043
--> move of 8800gts and Seagate drive

proc:
$219 Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz LGA 775 (with mild OC)

OR

$199 Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core (stable OC)

XP 64bit if running quad, 32bit otherwise

Stock air cooling (or Zalman as needed)

your thoughts?

The quad looks attractive considering the reviews with 64bit os...considering med school might be on the horizon, gaming will probably be get in and out asap with a decent amount of multitasking.

I should have sprung for > 8800 gts, considering minor improvement with SLI if price drops < $80. I expect to oc the gpu ~15% with a new PSU

Tia!

 

[dagger]

The most important thing is upgrading from that old g80 8800gts. It's holding your Crysis performance back.

Also, get more than 2gb of ram, especially if you're going to use Vista. Crysis is a ram hog.

64bit is for ram limitations. 32bit os can only address 4gb of ram, minus video card ram and component addressing, it's around 3.3gb. Quad cpu will work fine on both 32bit and 64bit, you do not need 64bit for it. But if you are going to buy Windows, get the 64bit version for futureproofing.

Since you're buying x38 board, I'm assuming you want high overclocking. Get aftermarket cooler. The stock cooler is horrible, and runs hot even at stock.

 

[nevinl]

damn ... I thought that was an issue. The 8800 gts is nice, but thought it would be slightly better from some of the reviews of OC'ing =\

Thanks again!

 

[dagger]

damn ... I thought that was an issue ... considering its about 2 weeks old, is sli with a duplicate worth it? it seems as if a decent gpu alone is ~ $300 =\

Thanks again!

Is it too late to get a refund for that g80 8800gts? You can't add a second one, as x38 supports crossfire, not sli. Even in sli, the performance of 2 g80 8800gts isn't that impressive. If you can't return it, might as well try to scrap by with it a while longer. If early benchmarks are real, the 4870, to be released at end of may, should be a monster. You can crossfire them too.
http://forums.legitreviews.com/about15370.html

 

[nevinl]

Doing a refund was almost the first thing I tried...it should work for now tho...

...how are the two builds by themself?

 

[dagger]

Doing a refund was almost the first thing I tried...it should work for now tho...

...how are the two builds by themself?

You should get 4gb instead of 2gb of ram for gaming in Vista. And keep in mind most 1066 ddr2 are just factory overclocked 800 sticks, and may default back to 800. If that happens, just manually set it up to 1066.

Everything else other than graphics card is good as is. Get quad for 2+ years, get dual for less than 2 years.

 

[nevinl]

hey man - thanks alot!