Gamer system with a Long Life Span

[J2FcM]

Hello, I'll try to make this short and concise;

Mission:
build a gaming system that can last for 3-5 years with minimal upgrading OR a system that allows EASY upgrading every few years.

Currently, my system is 4 years old, and I built it hoping I could just pop in extra RAM and a better GPU later on... turns out, I needed to upgrade to handle a new GPU (agp)... and get a more powerful PSU... so... ugh.

Fortunately, my system toting a ATI 9600 pro has let me play Half Life 2 + episode 1+2 & play Stalker with some reduced settings... cool.

So here is where I start narrowing things;

Monitor\Case: Already have.

GPU:
Debating... get the 260+ (with Far Cry 2 @ Newegg?) or use a Crossfire setup for 2 4850s.
The 260+ seems to perform at the same level, but has the bonus game which saves me time getting it later... and ALSO, I would hope that a dual or triple SLI setup in about 2 years would be cheap and a decent upgrade. A LOT of my considering the 260+ is from reading the Q4 2008 graphics card price performance article here.

CPU:
Originally I chose the 8500 Dual Core 2, for price efficiency.
I have been recommended the i7 though, and after looking at some benchmarks it looks like improvements in apps and games varies from 10-30%... is it worth it(i7 920)? Or can the Dual Core 2 hook me up for years to come?

PSU:
I originally chose Antec 650W, but have since changed to something in the 750W (Corsair 750TX or PC Power & Cooling 750W) range due to advice that it will run more efficiently.


MOBO:
Here is what I've been recommended... I am most unsure about this area...
X58
Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3P
Asus P5Q Pro

RAM:
Can I get by with just 4 gigs DDR2?

Final Considerations:
I run a 22" flat screen monitor, and I was planning on using my old HD's in this system for storage and media... 300gig + 70gig. So maybe a "GAMING ONLY" HD of like 100-200 gigs might be worth it?



Honestly, if something is going to provide consistant 10-30% performance increases vs the next lowest product throughotu my computers life span I'd be more willing to invest...

Thanks for any help or advice in narrowing things down!

 

[Lurker87]

If you are looking for something that will stand up better in coming years, the i7 will allow for upgradability, whereas a duo core will give you some of the best performance possible for the price, at the moment, but it won't give you the best performance in about 2 or so years, when quad cores will be more efficiently utilized. At the moment, almost no games use quad core very well, so the e8500 will show amazing performance in current games. However, the i7 is going with the x58 mobo and ddr3 RAM, which isn't currently that great of a performance over DDR2, but it will be ready for when it starts making strides.

In answer to one of your questions, no you can't get DDR2 on an x58 mobo. You must get DDR3, and you should get a tri channel kit. Either of those 750W PSUs will do you well if you choose to SLI some 260+es at some point, or crossfire some 4850x2s. Also, if you do go with the e8500, then I'd recommend the P5Q Pro if you are just going one GPU... maybe something like a 4870x2. As long as we are on the subject, what type of monitor will you be running? Depending on the resolution, it will definitely determine what type of GPU you'll want.

I'd say more, but I am sure others will fill in some gaps. I have a test I need to take, so I'll be back on later if no one else chips in.

 

[J2FcM]

Thanks for your help and advice!

My monitor is a 22"in flatscreen from Viewsonic. Don't kow the exact model offhand, but I am fairly certain it plays 1900 x whatever.

So, with information you provided... it seems with my chioces above, I can either save a butt load of cash and still have mean performance if I go for the DDR2 RAM, Core 2 CPU, and a cheaper MOBO... but in the years to come other stuff will be more optimized....and upgrading is more a pain

OR...
I can spend big extra bucks on CPU, MOBO, and RAM... and have it be more utilized in the future... but also cheaper in the future...

kinda like a cross roads... I am tempted to go for the savings with the Core 2. Maybe have it setup for Crossfire or SLI in the future...

Just for background, I upgraded my last system so I could handle BF1942, and basically used it to play BF NAM, BF2, Half Life 2... all playing pretty well IMO... and finally when I got to playing Stalker, performance\graphics kinda suffered, but it was still playable and enjoyable to me. So, the whole i7 overkill..."you'll be ready for the future" might actually not be worth its while for me.

But again... just trying to get to grips and understand what I'll be looking at in the future.

Like I said, I'd like either really easy upgrade options that will provide real performance increases... or a long living system.

 

[Lurker87]

An important question I forgot to ask earlier. What's your budget? If it is above 1000 USD, then it'd probably be best to just go the i7 route.

Depending on how long you are willing to wait, you could wait to see how prices change once the Phenom II comes out, but prices probably won't go down for a while.

Are you planning to OC? You can OC an e8500 very nicely, with decently priced, nice performance RAM, such as 4gig Mushkin DDR2 800

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820146731

or

4gig G.Skill Black DDR2 800 http://www.newegg.com/Product /Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231209

and a CPU cooler like the 120mm Xigmatek http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233003

as well as its retention bracket

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233019


Personally, I'd go with a mobo that can crossfire/sli for a resolution that high. Preferably something like the P5N 750i http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131232

If you think you'll be staying around the Half-Life 2/Stalker spectrum for a long time, then a P5Q Pro or even the Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3P would both be good choices, since you could just go a 4850x2 or 4870x2 and be done with it. That'd serve you well at that resolution, and definitely give you a playable FPS. Otherwise, I'd recommend getting a SLI capable mobo and get a single GTX 260 core 216, and SLI a second later.

As far as the hard drive goes, if you want a nice speedier hard drive, try the 300gb velociraptor http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136260&Tpk=300gb%20velociraptor

Before I go into an i7 setup, what is your budget? 2

 

[J2FcM]

I was expecting to pay in the 800-1500$ range... pretty wide range, but it all depends on the total life of the comp. I would like to ideally stay under 1000$... and get something that lasts as long as my current build did.

Anyways, gaming wise, I would probably go the route of Stalker, Far Cry, Crysis, and Fallout 3 for now... maybe Left 4 Dead too, and Dawn of War 2.

I had no plans to overclock, as I've never done it before, and still need to learn how, or find a friend who I trust. But after building the system I may be inclined. ( I assume I'll feel more connected to this comp. since I'll actually be putting it together)

but yeah, that line up of games listed above, is something I'd like to be able to play nicely at 1600 x 1200.

I don't really have weeks, or even months to wait either... I'm hoping to finalize this and order it this weekend, unless there is some sort of magical sale I'm unaware of coming up.

 

[Lurker87]

Well, at the moment, you could run all those games on a decent duo core for under 1000 bucks, but it wouldn't have as good a range of upgradability. Staying below 1000 or even 1500 would be slightly harder for an i7 setup. Unless, of course, you went something like...

i7 920 - $300
G.Skill 3 gb - $95
P6T Deluxe - $300
GPU - 4870 1gig - $240
Corsair 750TX - $120
WD 640gig - $75
Cooler - Noctua 1366 CPU Cooler - $70
Vista Home Premium - $100

Total - $1300

That'd work quite well on a 1680 x 1050 monitor. Later on, you can crossfire a 2nd 4870 if you feel the need. All those items I mentioned were on newegg, except the Noctua, which I found on amazon for $70.

OCing isn't THAT hard, as you can just read some of the stickies on the overclocking forums on this site: http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/240001-29-howto-overclock-quads-duals-guide
Just barely increase your fsb a little at a time, and use prime 95 to find if you are stable. When you feel you have OCed enough, just stop. You shouldn't really need to change voltage if you do just slight overclocking on the i7.

If you decided to go with the e8500, you can pretty much just mess a little with the fsb and get it up to the upper 3GHz range. However, the i7 OCs very well. You shouldn't really worry about OCing your GPU.

Also, you could up the total another $120 or so, and make it 3x2 gigs of RAM instead of just 3 total. Some of corsair's reported findings of 3gb vs 6gb in games
http://www.tomshardware.com/news/corsair-triple-channel-ddr3,6614.html

That'd be your call if you would prefer 6gb or just 3gb really. I was just trying to keep the cost as low as I could.

 

[J2FcM]

HMMMMMMMM... so, it looks like I'd be able to defiitly upgrade the above system with 3gigs RAM, and a cross fired 4870 later on when they're hopefully half price or whatever... in the mean time, have enough performance to make the wait worth while (the wait for the upgrades to drop in price).

How essential is the cooler? The stuff that comes stock isn't enough anymore?

 

[Lurker87]

Well, if you aren't planning to OC it, then the stock cooler will do just fine. From other OCers' accounts, you can apparently hit 2.9-3ghz on the stock cooler just fine, but going above it will need a better cooler. That noctua is one of the best 1366-socket coolers, which is necessary for the i7. No matter what you do with the i7, it'll be blazing fast. I am currently building myself one and am planning to OC it to ~3.4ghz. The setup I just offered is close to what I'll be going with, except with 6gb of a different RAM, and a different PSU.

You could always add the cooler when you are ready to OC it, but if you just want to leave it alone, then the stock cooler will do just nicely for very slight OCing.

 

[J2FcM]

ok, well thanks so much for all the advice! I may do something like you mention then... OC later on... depending on what type of performance increase I should see. Then nab the extra 4870 and RAM later on down the road. Seems like that might be a very good combo of gaming for the now, and saving for efficency, while leaving room to get faster later.... hmmmmmmmm!