Been researching new tech & prices the last few days after coming into some money following completion of undergrad studies--not that my biography is important here . . .
Anyways, my price-range is between $1-1.5k and I'm aiming to build a system that'll last at least as long as my previous machine (an ancient AMD Athlon 2800+ w/ a Radeon 9800 Pro, only upgrade I managed was moving from 512mb ram to 2gb a year and a half ago).
I'm looking to game, although keeping my machine at the bleeding edge of graphics is less a priority than keeping it maintainable for the next few years. Believe it or not I was happy with my old machine up until the UT3 demo came out and I couldn't manage more than 15FPS. I managed HL2:Ep2 between 30-45FPS on low/medium settings, which was good enough; this is to say three-four years from now I'd probably be happy so long as I can run things at a tolerable level without upgrades.
I've never been much for overclocking, though perusing some of the guides here the last few days make me think things have gotten easier since the last time I caught up on hardware. Also, I probably won't upgrade much (if at all) for at least two or three years.
All that said, I've been thinking hard about the Dec. & Nov. $1250 SBM articles, wondering whether to splurge for the i7 or stick with a dual core.
My current NewEgg cart takes a little from both articles, as I'm currently tempted towards going for the i7 with the safer + beefier 4870 x2 and a little extra storage:
Intel Core i7 920 Nehalem 2.66GHz LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80601920 - Retail $295
GIGABYTE GA-EX58-DS4 LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail $245
SAPPHIRE 100251SR Radeon HD 4870 X2 2GB 512-bit (256-bit x 2) GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail $490
Crucial 3GB (3 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1066 (PC3 8500) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model CT3KIT12864BA1067 - Retail $74
PC Power & Cooling S75CF 750W EPS12V SLI NVIDIA SLI Certified (Dual 8800 GTX and below) CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply - Retail $120 before $40 mail-in
COOLER MASTER Centurion 534 RC-534-KKN2-GP Black Aluminum & Mesh bezel / SECC Chassis ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail Item #: N82E16811119106 $50
Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST31000333AS 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM $110
LG 22X DVD±R DVD Burner Black SATA Model GH22NS30 - OEM $23
total ~$1425 after shipping & mail-in rebates
I have a mid-range 20" LCD monitor & plan on sticking with WinXP Pro until I can qualify for a student discount on a new retail OS box once I start grad school, so I think this should cover everything parts-wise. Another 3x1gb memory kit is tempting, but I can wait until I upgrade my OS in a few months--and it wouldn't change anything before then.
I'm getting a bit anxious to upgrade after returning to my PC from a lengthy Holiday and having to fiddle with the power supply to get my machine to turn on, in addition to looking at a calendar year of PC titles I've been waiting for that are probably hitting shelves (mainly Starcraft 2 and/or Diablo 3 . . . well, I'm hopeful at least one will be out before Fall). But I wonder if it might be a better idea to try waiting a month or two, if i7 / x58 mobo prices might drop significantly before late March or so. The computer I'm running is singing its swan-song, but could probably keep me contented until Spring if it might mean saving over $150 or so. I've been out of the loop on computer hardware for too long to be aware of pricing trends, especially after the roller-coaster ride the economy's been on recently.
What say the forum populace? Tweak my parts list? Buy immediately? or maybe wait out falling prices?
Anyways, my price-range is between $1-1.5k and I'm aiming to build a system that'll last at least as long as my previous machine (an ancient AMD Athlon 2800+ w/ a Radeon 9800 Pro, only upgrade I managed was moving from 512mb ram to 2gb a year and a half ago).
I'm looking to game, although keeping my machine at the bleeding edge of graphics is less a priority than keeping it maintainable for the next few years. Believe it or not I was happy with my old machine up until the UT3 demo came out and I couldn't manage more than 15FPS. I managed HL2:Ep2 between 30-45FPS on low/medium settings, which was good enough; this is to say three-four years from now I'd probably be happy so long as I can run things at a tolerable level without upgrades.
I've never been much for overclocking, though perusing some of the guides here the last few days make me think things have gotten easier since the last time I caught up on hardware. Also, I probably won't upgrade much (if at all) for at least two or three years.
All that said, I've been thinking hard about the Dec. & Nov. $1250 SBM articles, wondering whether to splurge for the i7 or stick with a dual core.
My current NewEgg cart takes a little from both articles, as I'm currently tempted towards going for the i7 with the safer + beefier 4870 x2 and a little extra storage:
Intel Core i7 920 Nehalem 2.66GHz LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80601920 - Retail $295
GIGABYTE GA-EX58-DS4 LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail $245
SAPPHIRE 100251SR Radeon HD 4870 X2 2GB 512-bit (256-bit x 2) GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail $490
Crucial 3GB (3 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1066 (PC3 8500) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model CT3KIT12864BA1067 - Retail $74
PC Power & Cooling S75CF 750W EPS12V SLI NVIDIA SLI Certified (Dual 8800 GTX and below) CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply - Retail $120 before $40 mail-in
COOLER MASTER Centurion 534 RC-534-KKN2-GP Black Aluminum & Mesh bezel / SECC Chassis ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail Item #: N82E16811119106 $50
Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST31000333AS 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM $110
LG 22X DVD±R DVD Burner Black SATA Model GH22NS30 - OEM $23
total ~$1425 after shipping & mail-in rebates
I have a mid-range 20" LCD monitor & plan on sticking with WinXP Pro until I can qualify for a student discount on a new retail OS box once I start grad school, so I think this should cover everything parts-wise. Another 3x1gb memory kit is tempting, but I can wait until I upgrade my OS in a few months--and it wouldn't change anything before then.
I'm getting a bit anxious to upgrade after returning to my PC from a lengthy Holiday and having to fiddle with the power supply to get my machine to turn on, in addition to looking at a calendar year of PC titles I've been waiting for that are probably hitting shelves (mainly Starcraft 2 and/or Diablo 3 . . . well, I'm hopeful at least one will be out before Fall). But I wonder if it might be a better idea to try waiting a month or two, if i7 / x58 mobo prices might drop significantly before late March or so. The computer I'm running is singing its swan-song, but could probably keep me contented until Spring if it might mean saving over $150 or so. I've been out of the loop on computer hardware for too long to be aware of pricing trends, especially after the roller-coaster ride the economy's been on recently.
What say the forum populace? Tweak my parts list? Buy immediately? or maybe wait out falling prices?
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram