GPU, CPU, and MOBO Advice

[sgtnutts]

Hey guys whats up. After about 4+years of having my own homebuilt and slight upgrades here and there i'm looking for pretty much a new set up. I have most of the not so main supplies lying around, but im gonna need the three essentials, GPU, CPU, and ofcourse a mobo. I pretty much just game/use it for a media machine. What im lookin for is not outrageous priced equipment, but the tier 2 or 3 with there is that significant price drop, so i do sorta have a budget. Any suggestions for CPUs MOBOs and GPUs would be great, i've been out of the homebuilding scene for a while! thanks guys.

 

[Maziar]

Hello and welcome to the forums mate

CPU:Intel Core2Quad Q6600
GPU: ATI HD 4850 or NVIDIA 9800GTX(Both perform nearly the same,so go for the one which is cheaper)
Motherboard:Get either P35 (if u don't need CrossFire) and X38 or Nvidia 780i (if u need MultiGPU).
If u want to know more about MultiGPU check the FAQ:
http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/245454-15-crossfire-faqs

 

[groo]

what are you upgrading from?

whats your budget?

with nehlem coming out, higend 775 cpus might drop in price in about 6 months, so maybe go cheap on the CPU and plan to upgrade then.

I like the 4850 over the 9800gtx because its DX10.1, games will start using it more and more.

 

[sgtnutts]

I looked up the products that Mazier suggested on Newegg and those definitely sound and look like right up my alleyway in terms of price and what not.. I'm just not sure about Intel, like i said earlier i haven't been back in the homebuilding scene but about 3 or 4 years ago AMD was alot cheaper, and you could get pretty much the same bang for a lot lesser buck. But if Intel has stepped up lately i wouldn't mind gettin that either. I'm Upgrading from a AMD xp 3200, Asus A7N8x (i believe thats what the mobo is) 1gb ram, radeon x1600 512mb AGP (not AGPe ;'-( ), So honestly all my hardware is pretty much out of date, but it has served well with upgrades the past few years, and thats what im lookin for now, something that can hold out for about 3-5 years. I'm Tryin to keep my budget around 800 bucks. i already have a monitor i/o devices, and an External 250g HD, so i was thinking of getting a smaller, faster harddrive to run my programs / games and then just using my external for my music and what not. I appreciate all suggestions and templates guys, and forgive my typing / spelling errors. Thanks again!

 

[Wolfshadw]

Intel really did step it up since the last time you built. The intro of the Core2Duo processors placed Intel firmly back on top. You can still get an awesome AMD system for less, but so long as budget allows, there's no reason not to go Intel.

I'd agree with Maziar's suggestions sans the multi-gpu options (personal preference). I'm not a hard-core gamer and in my opinion, there is no justification behind spending that much money on a pair of graphic cards alone.

-Wolf sends

 

[groo]

If you get less than a Q6600, AMD might be the better choice, as you can get a MoBo that will accept the next couple of generation of CPUs. The Q6600 is priced less than comperable AMD, and AMD doesn't compare above the Q6600. you can get a 3.0 ghz dualcore AMD 5800+ for $100. thats probably the processor I'd buy if I were in the market for a dual core. make sure you get a mobo with HyperTransport3, to get the most out of future CPUs, such as 780g, 8200 of 7900fx

don't buy a DDR3 system, stick with DDR2. 4 gigs of DDR2 goes for less than $100

just pick up a good 500+ gig HDD, and use the external to backup your music files. anything with a 32mb cache should be pretty quick.

I got a 750 gig 7200.11 a few months back for $130. I assume they are still about the same price, maybe cheaper. its not that much more for big drives.

I'd get Vista64 home premium.

based on the age of our build, I assume you have a CRT. you realy should consider getting a 22" LCD. after getting a 17" LCD a few years back, I'd never consider a CRT again. the picture is better and more vibrant, and much less eyestrain.

figure $80-100 for each of these: CPU, MoBo, HDD, Memory, PSU, OS,
add in $180for a 4850.
youre looking at about $700