New $1000ish PC for MMO's

[stevediaman]

Currently I only play MMORPG's and I only have plans of playing future MMO's w/ this computer (Age of Conan, Warhammer online, Stargate worlds, Champoins Online so on and so forth). I never go past 1680x1240, (if anything i play far below that) and I would like to play at high graphics for the next few years with most video games with minimum upgrades.

I am a 100% pvper so lag is a major issue for me. Especially in Age of Conan, lag = death so i need to build a machine which will keep me alive while making the game look great.

Basically im trying to get the most out of my $1000. If anyone reading sees any issues with my build, or knows a way for me to get more performance for my dollar, please let me know.

Processor: Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz 2 x 4MB L2 Cache LGA 775 Quad-Core Processor
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115017

- $215

Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3L LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX All Solid Capacitor Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128059

- $100

Video Card: EVGA 512-P3-N871-AR GeForce 9800 GTX(G92) 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130339

- $300

Memory: OCZ SLI-Ready Edition 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227269

- $65

Power Supply: CORSAIR CMPSU-550VX 550W ATX12V V2.2 Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139004

- $85

Hard-Drive: Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST3500320AS 500GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148288

- $100

DvD Burner: ASUS Black 20X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 20X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 14X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 20X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135156

- $35

Current total after MIR = $900

Still looking at computer cases, and ill probably need a few case fans.

I was thinking of a Antec three hundred.

 

[krj15489]

8800gts would be a better card to buy. the 9800gtx is just a slightly overclocked gts. you can save $60 going with the gts.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150261

i really like the antec p182. it is a great case. but the antec 300 would also be good.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129025

 

[jonyb222]

doN,t go with the 6600, it'll slow down your video card (not by much though) the 8400 is hands down the best for gaming for the next 2 years (which is when games will be 4 core optimized)

 

[krj15489]

the q6600 easily overclocks to 3ghz and above and will last longer than the 8400. also it is only $15 more so there is no reason not to get it.

 

[stevediaman]

the q6600 easily overclocks to 3ghz and above and will last longer than the 8400. also it is only $15 more so there is no reason not to get it.

thats what im thinkin

 

[jonyb222]

and the 8400 easily OC to 4.0 Ghz, it really all comes down to how long he'll keep the system for, heck you could always just put in a 9*** after 2 years.

 

[aevm]

It looks very good.
The 550VX is only $70 at www.buy.com.
Case: CM-690.

 

[stevediaman]

i have no intention of constantly throwing money into a system. (let alone $1000 just for a new mobo and processor that no game will support for years)

ill wait till i cant take the lag anymore, then build a whole new one like i am doing now.

the Q6600 will last me longer than a E8400, wont do as good as the new processors but in the end will do me better.

 

[kkm557]

I'd look into the G80 8800GTS. It's less than half the price. I do realize it's very old technology, but it's still a great video card. I'm able to run anything on the Unreal 3 engine (that I've played so far) at max settings. That's just my personal opinion though. Take it with a grain of salt since I haven't been keeping up too much with the G92s.

 

[nukemaster]

looks like a good system to me....

 

[bobloadmire]

computers are bad

 

[chechnyan]

if i where you i would wait 1 month for the Ati Radeon 4870
you may disappointed if you rush
every thing else is seems to be a good system

 

[Shadow703793]

The list looks good. The DS3L is a great OCing motherboard:

If interested in OCing checkout: GUIDE: Overclocking On P35-DS3L v1.1

Good choice on PSU, RAM and CPU. Consider getting the 4800 card when it comes out instead of the 9800GTX, which is overpriced for the performance gained compared to 8800GTX.

 

[elbert]

The Q6600 is the best choice as mmo's have many chars to keep track of in a given area. These MMO's are mostly CPU intensive so get a quad for sure. Games already show that quads are important at higher resolutions. If you only want to play at 800X600 then the dual core is the best choice but who would buy a new pc for low end graphics. Most phenoms can beat the fastest dual core in high end as the graphics drivers are quad compatible. Maybe the dual cores just cant take the newer games.
http://www.firingsquad.com/hardware/amd_phenom_9850_black_edition_review/page6.asp

MMO's are not so GPU limited so the new 8800GTS would be a good ideal. The best ideal tho is the wait for the 4850/4870 from ATI as DX10.1 will kill the nvidia's do to dx10 needs higher rez sampling to match quality. The new 4000's from ATI are to release soon. Even if you stick with nvidia the 4000's should drive down the price as they surly beat their old 3000's. Tom's has them to on a May 2008 launch so I suggest give your build time to see this pass.
http://www.tomshardware.com/news/ati-radeon-4800,5223.html

I see no after market H&F so your OC is going to be low end at best. I suggest an after market H&F. One big advantage the Q6600 has over the E8400/E8500 is its higher average OC gains. Q6600 has 1.4GHz max OC gain where the E8500 has about 1.1GHz and the E8400 1.2GHz on air. For good heat trasfer I suggest AS Ceramique or AS5.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835118019
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835100009
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835100007

 

[mcbuns]

hey elbert the q6600 only shows an improvement of 1 fps .... is this just me or does that seem very insignificant i dont think that 1 fps constitutes the dua cores not being able to play newer games ... common

Also i dont think that the new system builder is gonna be "max overclocking" his cpu ... especially with the money being burned on WC

As well i have the e8400 with 8800gt and it works very well! Gaming is fluid anything other than crysis at max works great (nothing new with that) i do wish i had a litle more horse power so i would wait for 4870

 

[stevediaman]

you guys say to wait for the new ATI card simply so the 9 series can drop in price? or to buy the new ATI card?

i was told by a friend that the 9 series will get directx10.1 support, will this help alot in the future?

 

[elbert]

hey elbert the q6600 only shows an improvement of 1 fps .... is this just me or does that seem very insignificant i dont think that 1 fps constitutes the dua cores not being able to play newer games ... common

Also i dont think that the new system builder is gonna be "max overclocking" his cpu ... especially with the money being burned on WC

As well i have the e8400 with 8800gt and it works very well! Gaming is fluid anything other than crysis at max works great (nothing new with that) i do wish i had a litle more horse power so i would wait for 4870

1FPS against the best most costly duel core is very significant. The E8500 is clocked .7GHz higher and has less overclocking head room left than the Q6600. Max overclock of his system doesn't matter just the point that at 3GHz the Q6600 would be hard to beat against an E8500 with the same +600MHz OC. Now that will place the E8500 at a +3.7GHz and the dual core may need higher as the clock per clock the quad is clearly doing better. Burning money in this case would be buying the costly E8500 as the Q6600 is the cheaper and only slightly higher cost than the E8400. The parts I suggested could easily get him to 3.4GHz and make any dual a loser.

On those benchmarks the E8400 would be beat by even the slowest quad. The slowest Phenom beating the E8400 is pretty depressing. That being said both at their max the Q6600 will win as clearly it has more to gain from OCing than either the E8400 or E8500.

The real significants here is at what resolution would this game be played? At 1280X1024 the Q6600 is the highest and cheaper than the E8500.

The Q6600 is currently $219.99 at newegg, the E8400 is $199.99, and the E8500 is $279.99. About $20 for 2 extra cores is a good deal as the future will move to quads.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115017
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115037
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115036

Steve the drop in price for the 9 series or get an ATI 4870 is up to you. I would have to see performance compared to pic quality before I would make the final decision for myself. Either way its a win win as you should surly save money, get higher FPS, or better picture.

 

[stevediaman]

i appreciate the info, im probably just going to wait a little bit to build this one, because im building a second PC for myself. (this one is for my brother)

the one im building for my self and will probably order sooner is:

Q6600 - $225
XFX 780i Motherboard - $230
MSI 8800GTS 512 MB x2 - $420
SB 7200.11 500gig HD - $100
COOLER MASTER RC-690 Case - $85
ASUS 20x DvD Burner - $35
PC P&C Silencer 750w - $120
OCZ 4gig (2x 2 gig) SLI ram - $70
Xigmatek Rifle CPU Cooler - $37
3x Case Fans - $36
Arctic Silver 5 - $6
Vista 64-bit - $90


Total after rebates and shipping = $1475

the only other options i have for mine is if i should wait for the 8 series prices to drop w/ the release of the new ATI card. I kinda should wait cause i got alota finals comin up, and lookin at a bunch of stacked boxes begging to be put together is gonna be a bit of a distraction.

 

[stevediaman]

oh i had another question. Any idea if newegg is still bein cheap on the go stepping q6600's? last time i looked into buyin a q6600, they were random when u ordered. Should i call em and make sure i get on and all that?