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Tom's Hardware > Forum > Games General > PC Gaming > Need some advice on PC parts

Need some advice on PC parts

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First post, not really sure where to put this. I'm planning on upgrading my PC bigtime for Age of Conan, as it is very grahpic heavy.

I'm just wondering what you guys think of these select parts. I'm trying very hard to get the best bang for my buck. Any advice is very helpful. Again, sorry if this is in the wrong place.

Motherboard:
EVGA 123-YW-E175-A1 LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 750i FTW SLI ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/prod [...] 6813188026

Processor:
Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz 6MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/prod [...] 6819115037

Fan:
ZALMAN 9500A 92mm 2 Ball CPU Cooler - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/prod [...] 6835118223

Memory:
CORSAIR DOMINATOR 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/prod [...] 6820145197

Power Supply:
CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply 100 - 240 V UL, CE, CB, TUV, FCC, CCC - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/prod [...] 6817139006

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Looks good to me, though you might want to have a moderator move this post over to Homebuilt Systems > New System Build
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/forum-31-322.html

Actually though, what resolution do you intend to play at? Also, what's your current video card/rig? You might also want to consider just getting some 800 ram instead of the 1066. The price goes way up, and you won't see a huge boost in performance that would give you a "bang for your buck" so to speak as you'd be paying way more for what's essentially a factory overclocked version of 800 (that might just end up going back to 800 if you don't configure your system properly).

Message edited by Oh Snap on 05-14-2008 at 09:33:59 PM

------------------------------ Intel Core 2 Quad q6600 @ 3.0ghz // 8GB PC8500 RAM @ 1066
2x WD Velociraptors 10k rpm RAID 0
3x (Tri-SLI) BFG NVidia GeForce 8800 GTX OC 768MB
3x 30" Dell 3007WFP Monitors
Reply to Oh Snap

Thanks for the advice. And if a mod could please move this, that would be very nice.

I have no idea what resolution I want to play at. I just want incredible framerates with a great looking game.

I was considering getting this video card (but didn't post it because I'm pretty much dead set on getting it):
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 8800GTS+OC
MSI NX8800GTS 512M OC GeForce 8800GTS (G92) 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail

Also, I've heard that about RAM from more than one source now, so it does sound like the wise move. Thanks.

This would basically be my rig, just going to reuse my case and hdd, as they are not bad. I also use XP. Would it be that worth it to buy Vista?

Also, I would much rather spend half the price and buy the OEM verison, but I'm worried something will go wrong and I will be screwed. Is this the right line of thought?

Message edited by ojdp19 on 05-14-2008 at 10:46:51 PM

Reply to ojdp19

For the video card, that's a great card, but it is important to know what resolution you plan to play at. What size monitor do you currently have? Is it an LCD or a CRT? And do you plan on replacing your monitor any time in the next year or two? If you plan to play at lower resolutions (less than 1600x1200), I'd recommend the 8800GT instead since it's cheaper, and you're going to get amazing performance comparable to the 8800GTS and GTX at higher resolutions.

As for OEM, never had any problems myself.

My monitor:
http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Sync [...] B00026IN1U

LCD, 19", Samsung. Max resolution 1280x1024.

I do not plan to upgrade this monitor anytime soon, as it still is in very good shape and does everything I want.

Also, an 8800GT is about 180-200 on Newegg, while the 8800GTS is 195 after rebates, so I might as well go with the better card for practically the same price.

Thats good to hear about OEM. I've actually heard only good things about it.

Thanks for everything.

Reply to ojdp19

some nice things there. Wish i had the money to upgrade my system now lol.

I would agree with the RAM, i bought some second hand 8500 stuff which is great, but my processor is o/c to 3ghz (about 400mhz) and my motherboard wont push my ram to its full potential. This ram is only useful if your looking at going past the 400mhz fsb range or quad core (from what limited knowledge i can remember).

Reply to tomdrum

I've updated my setup. Any input?

Motherboard:
ASUS P5E LGA 775 Intel X38 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/prod [...] 6813131219

Processor:
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz 2 x 4MB L2 Cache LGA 775 Quad-Core
http://www.newegg.com/product/prod [...] 6819115017

Fan:
ZALMAN 9500A 92mm 2 Ball CPU Cooler - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/prod [...] 6835118223

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 - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/prod [...] 6814130339

Ram:
CORSAIR XMS2 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/prod [...] 6820145176

PSU:
CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply 100 - 240 V UL, CE, CB, TUV, FCC, CCC - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/prod [...] 6817139006

Case:
Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/prod [...] 6811129021

Price after rebates: 1156.00 (Damn tax...)

Reply to ojdp19

no no dude stik whith the e8400 for gaming and that CPU fan is not made for quads well thats wat it said on the
zalman site

Message quoted 1 times

Reply to topman

Definately go for the Asus board though.

Reply to mi1ez

topman wrote :

no no dude stik whith the e8400 for gaming and that CPU fan is not made for quads well thats wat it said on the
zalman site

This really comes down to what you want to do, but in all honesty since it's a new rig I'd say go for the quad. You might want to consider some decent cooling since you'll probably want to OC, and you could easily get the q6600 up to 3.2 with air np. Anyway, you're only going to see marginal benefits of using an E8400 right now for games, in the long term (next 1-2 years) you're going to see more of a benefit from having a quad core, especially one that's OC'ed.
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/ [...] s-included

Again, it really comes down to what you think you're going to use your computer for, but I'd imagine you'll want to be able to do more than just game. Plus, you might want to consider Vista 64, though that also comes down to what you plan on using the computer for.

Message edited by Oh Snap on 05-15-2008 at 11:47:33 AM

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