PC buying

[DimensionWarped]

So my parents (who have a steady grip over my funds) finally gave me the ok to spend a decent amount of money on getting a computer. I'm currently pressing two avenues, the first being the simple way out (ordering through cyberpowerpc) and the second being by component on Newegg.

I'm allowed 1200 dollars (plus some extra to edge out shipping and stuff)... so the first build I came up with was this:

Case:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119106

COOLER MASTER Centurion 534 RC-534-KKN2-GP Black Aluminum & Mesh bezel / SECC Chassis ATX Mid Tower

$50 (and a 10 dollar rebate makes it 40)

power supply:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817182044

Rosewill 500 Watt Power Supply

$44

mobo:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130082

nForce 650i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard

Socket Type - LGA 775

Expansion Slots - 2x PCI-e x16 1x PCI-e x1 3x PCI

Memory type - 4x 240 pin DDR2 800

$120

processor:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115002

Intel Core 2 Duo E6700 Conroe 2.66GHz 4M shared L2 Cache LGA 775 Processor

$320

graphics card:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814143101

BFG Tech Geforce 8600GTS 256 MB RAM

$220

ram:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231121

G.SKILL 2GB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Desktop Memory

$120

harddrive:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152052

SAMSUNG SpinPoint T Series HD501LJ 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s

Capacity - 500GB

$120

Optical Drive:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151133

$33

Operating System:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116204

Microsoft Windows Vista 64-Bit Home Premium for System Builders Single Pack DVD

$120

subtotal:

$1147 (not including that small rebate, any taxes that apply (I don't think there are), or shipping)

Anyway, I'm hoping some people who are more experienced with this sort of thing than I am can offer up some advice. I can't help but think I might be missing something for instance. I'm not thinking that I'd have to buy my own heat syncs and thermal paste since I think some of those parts come wit them and I'm not particularly interested in overclocking.

Also, please check me to make sure I didn't include any conflicting parts.

Any recommendations on other builds would be nice too.

[MaxSonic]

I really just skimmed it, but most of it sounds good. However, I'm still a bit iffy on Windows Vista, mostly because of the compatibility right now and the fact that it's just come out a few months ago. I've heard a lot of bad things about Vista. I stuck to XP myself, but if you want to go with Vista, it's your choice. You're gonna have 2 gigs of ram on yours, which is pretty damn good. My laptop only has 1 gig, and it runs most stuff fast as hell. In fact, this computer you're building will probably run almost any PC game fine.

[Pheonix Gamma]

Most people are waiting to buy Vista right now, since it doesn't seem to offer too much right now. I haven't heard anything bad yet from the couple of dudes I know who use it. I think you'll be fine, though.

As for the hardware, it seems a-ok. NewEgg is a good site, so you're not getting robbed or anything. You got a swell deal on that harddrive, because I've seen them sell for a lot more. Dunno if any of the parts conflict, though.

As for reccommendations, I'm sure people here will have boatloads of reccomendations for graphics cards, but that really comes down to how deep your pockets are ::shrug::

[ssbfalcon]

Vista may be a bit problematic, but since it's going to be the standard Windows OS shortly, I'll have to say go with it...

As far as everything else... seems good... Except you didn't link the MoBo correctly... It links to the GPU...

I can't say too much about the 8x00 series GPU since I was lazy in reading up on them, but it seems like a decent one, though the memory and memory interface are quite a bit lower than what I've been seeing... But I'm assuming it can run everything you'll need for the next few years. (by run, I mean exactly that...) If it's better than the 7900, then it should even run Crysis pretty well...

I personally would have gone for the Core 2 E6600 (at 2.4Ghz), and upped the RAM though, Especially since DDR2 is at it's optimum when there's 2 sticks rather than one...(for the dual channel optimization)

I'll assuming you have a monitor with DVI inputs...

Other than that, everything seems good...

[Smidge204]

Seems lke all the parts fit together.

I'd suggest saving $125 by not getting Vista. You can also save about $60 by going cheap with the case, and getting one with a PSU already in it (Case + 450W PSU can be had for as little as $30) but you get what you pay for. Personal preference is to get a cheap case, since all it needs to do is hold everything together anyway.

That video card only has DVI outputs, just be sure that's good for your needs.

=Smidge=

[DimensionWarped]

Yeah, I don't think that works as well as I'd like because I'm using a CRT monitor and I don't see any DVI inputs on it, so I guess I'm boned on that one. I don't see any 8x series Geforce cards that have the old kind of monitor plugins either.

Any way I could work around that without having to get a whole new monitor or should I just expect to have to choke that up?

Fixed the Motherboard link

Anyway, the reason for the 8x series graphics card and Vista is because I'm interested in seeing if DX10 is worth looking at. And yeah, I'm pretty sure it will run Crysis just fine. It is a good bit faster of a GPU than the 7900GT and I'm fairly confident it would be a good little card.

EDIT: I take what I'd be wanting then is one of these?:

http://www.nextag.com/dvi-to-vga-adapter/search-html

[Serephim]

Seems lke all the parts fit together.

I'd suggest saving $125 by not getting Vista. You can also save about $60 by going cheap with the case, and getting one with a PSU already in it (Case + 450W PSU can be had for as little as $30) but you get what you pay for. Personal preference is to get a cheap case, since all it needs to do is hold everything together anyway.

Thats exactly what i was going to suggest, actully.

I dont think Vista is as powerful as it should be to become a new STANDARD OS, and since its new, there isnt much outside support for it, so some programs dont even work under it. (or so ive heard.) The case also seems to be a hefty addition to the price tag as well.

I dont know too much about the tempature of the computer, but i remember while watching my uncle build computers he had a few problems with the tempature. If your putting this together yourself, you'll have to buy a seperate Cooling Fan i think. (im assuming your putting it together yourself because of the choice of the case.)

[DimensionWarped]

Well, it doesn't really matter to me if it doesn't become the new standard. If it doesn't, I can always warez the next Operating System they release (which I still think will be a way off).

Thanks for the heads up on the fan. I have a local supplier for that sort of thing if that does end up being necessary.

Id rather not have to get thermal paste though :/ I don't know much about how to apply that stuff or anything else really.

[Twimfy]

I have Vista 64-bit and I love it. It's an excellent way of getting the most from dual core too.

One word of advice, research your onboard LAN/wifi hardware intensely, despite having an Nforce 6 430 chipset my onboard LAN does not work and alot of Wifi cards are incompatible. Microsoft seem to have neglected even some of the most mainstream products.

Also, MMF and gamemaker dont always work quite so well in the Vista environment without some serious DLL importing.

EDIT: oh must mention, forget the 8600 range, move straight up to the 8800 or down to the 7900GT, I have an Inno3D 8600GTS and its performance is one quarter that of an 8800 and about 10% slower than the 7900 GT, although the direct X10 availability is nice.

As for the price of Vista....buy an OEM copy its exactly the same and costs half the price.

Two lots of DDR2 rather than one is again a sound piece of advice as the optimisation makes a big difference.

Yeah you will need a DVI-VGA adapter but all graphics cards come with them.

And won't you reconsider the intel?? AMD all the way, ive just built my system and im loving the X2 range.

The case will probably come with a cooling fan and the CPU fan which ships with the CPU has thermal paste pre-applied. Dual cores are pretty cool, with no extra fans they run around 36 degrees centigrade, plenty of room for overclocking although don't quote me because this is my experience with amd who have the cool 'n' quiet technology.

[Asuma]

Bad DW, No Vista=E

[DimensionWarped]

I have Vista 64-bit and I love it. It's an excellent way of getting the most from dual core too.

One word of advice, research your onboard LAN/wifi hardware intensely, despite having an Nforce 6 430 chipset my onboard LAN does not work and alot of Wifi cards are incompatible. Microsoft seem to have neglected even some of the most mainstream products.

Also, MMF and gamemaker dont always work quite so well in the Vista environment without some serious DLL importing.

EDIT: oh must mention, forget the 8600 range, move straight up to the 8800 or down to the 7900GT, I have an Inno3D 8600GTS and its performance is one quarter that of an 8800 and about 10% slower than the 7900 GT, although the direct X10 availability is nice.

As for the price of Vista....buy an OEM copy its exactly the same and costs half the price.

Two lots of DDR2 rather than one is again a sound piece of advice as the optimisation makes a big difference.

Yeah you will need a DVI-VGA adapter but all graphics cards come with them.

And won't you reconsider the intel?? AMD all the way, ive just built my system and im loving the X2 range.

The case will probably come with a cooling fan and the CPU fan which ships with the CPU has thermal paste pre-applied. Dual cores are pretty cool, with no extra fans they run around 36 degrees centigrade, plenty of room for overclocking although don't quote me because this is my experience with amd who have the cool 'n' quiet technology.

If you would, could you perhaps do the appropriate substitutions you would make for me (preferably keeping with a DX10 card) while still staying under the appropriate price limit?

[Twimfy]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128321

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103773

I would recommend those too, which ultimately would save you money, I wouldn't let the price put you off their performance is still exceptional. As for your graphics card, I checked out the specs and despite the same name and numbers your choice seems far superior to mine, odd...:S

As for the RAM, im sure you know how to choose two sticks instead of one.

[Gamerdude]

The optical drive you picked no longer exists on Newegg =P. Everything looks pretty good, aside from what's been mentioned. I would split the memory into two 1GB sticks just as Twimfy suggested.

The only comment I'd make would be on the power supply. I've never been a fan of Rosewill products...they're well-priced, but I've had bad luck with their stuff before. If you can afford something nice, do yourself a favor and get a Seasonic power supply, they're top notch.

As for going Intel...I've always gone Intel and never regretted it. AMD has some nice prices now because of the current price war between them and Intel, so you may be able to get away with a slightly cheaper system, but I believe the Core 2 has the edge over just about any AMD product out right now.

[Koray]

Don't be on AMD's dick just because they are an underdog. The Core 2 Duo stomps the X2 and we all know it.

Anyways, it all looks straight. If you buy a generic case with a beefy PSU built in, and drop the graphics down to the 7900GT which I also recommend, you have enough bread to buy a nice 19" flat panel.

[Gamerdude]

Don't be on AMD's dick just because they are an underdog. The Core 2 Duo stomps the X2 and we all know it.

I wasn't beating them down or anything, just chill out. AMD performs well, I was just responding to Twimfy's comment about going AMD. DW was asking for an opinion so I gave mine in a non-threatening way. Chill.

[Smidge204]

I have Vista 64-bit and I love it. It's an excellent way of getting the most from dual core too.

*deap breath*

AAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Holy shit, that's funny. If you want to "get the most" out of your computer, pick an OS that doesn't suck up all the resources for itself.

=Smidge=

[Twimfy]

I wasn't beating them down or anything, just chill out. AMD performs well, I was just responding to Twimfy's comment about going AMD. DW was asking for an opinion so I gave mine in a non-threatening way. Chill.

Yeah i'm not suggesting Intel are poor I know they provide great performance but it comes at a price. I was just suggesting AMD for the sake of saving a few pounds. And when you get down to it, it makes little difference anyway to the average user, unless you start benchmarking like crazy then you'll never know what's really going on.

Anyway as a little guide this is my system, it plays STALKER at 40-60fps with everything on absolute maximum:

AMD X2 64-bit 5000

2GB of dual channel DDR2 533 ram.

250GB 7200RPM seagate sata harddrive

ASrock 610 DVI motherboard with Nforce 6 430 chipset.

Geforce 8600GTS 256MB

[Twimfy]

*deap breath*

AAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Holy shit, that's funny. If you want to "get the most" out of your computer, pick an OS that doesn't suck up all the resources for itself.

=Smidge=

Lol, whatever i'm not gonna get into an OS war because I really don't care that much to be honest but Vista does everything I could want out of a pc, decent gaming office applications and net use...

...I'm not trying to send my nasa rocket into space yet so that oh so precious 10% of processing power that i'm losing because of aero is not missed.

In fact after 15 years of OS experience i've never been so at ease with an environment. It's simple and to the point.

[Smidge204]

Lol, whatever i'm not gonna get into an OS war because I really don't care that much to be honest but Vista does everything I could want out of a pc, decent gaming office applications and net use...

I should hope so, but XP, 2K or lately even some breeds of Linux (gaming-wise anyway) will also do that.

...I'm not trying to send my nasa rocket into space yet so that oh so precious 10% of processing power that i'm losing because of aero is not missed.

Then I guess you don't really need the power. 10% is quite a bit of processing oomph on the latest gen of CPUs.

I like the fact that I can burn a DVD, encode DivX video at reasonable speeds (>20fps), RAR up the dailiy SFGHQ backup set and play "Frets On Fire" all at the same time with absolutely no hint of glitching or slowdown anywhere. Why would I want to sacrifice a healthy chunk of my computer to eye candy?

In fact after 15 years of OS experience i've never been so at ease with an environment. It's simple and to the point.

I'm baffled by this, because in both my professional and personal computer experiences, Vista takes to new lows what XP did to hide, change or otherwise obfuscate important system configuration and maintenance tools. I've only had the "pleasure" of setting up one Vista PC so far, though. I can get a naked box running Win2K (my fav OS) in under an hour with all but the most obscure hardware working fine, and not much longer for XP. It took me almost that long to get a Vista laptop working with our office wireless network because everythng was so automated that, if it didn't work the first time, it'll pretty much never work.

If your only criteria for choosing an OS is pretty colors, maybe you shouldn't be offering recommendations.

=Smidge=

[Pheonix Gamma]

Uh...XP has had decent gaming, office applications, and net use...since 2001...

Honestly, the only difference I see in Vista is that it looks nice and supposedly uses more processing power. I haven't looked into it, but I'm scrolling through google right now and got lots of results for "windows xp vs. vista".

[Twimfy]

I should hope so, but XP, 2K or lately even some breeds of Linux (gaming-wise anyway) will also do that.

Then I guess you don't really need the power. 10% is quite a bit of processing oomph on the latest gen of CPUs.

I like the fact that I can burn a DVD, encode DivX video at reasonable speeds (>20fps), RAR up the dailiy SFGHQ backup set and play "Frets On Fire" all at the same time with absolutely no hint of glitching or slowdown anywhere. Why would I want to sacrifice a healthy chunk of my computer to eye candy?

I'm baffled by this, because in both my professional and personal computer experiences, Vista takes to new lows what XP did to hide, change or otherwise obfuscate important system configuration and maintenance tools. I've only had the "pleasure" of setting up one Vista PC so far, though. I can get a naked box running Win2K (my fav OS) in under an hour with all but the most obscure hardware working fine, and not much longer for XP. It took me almost that long to get a Vista laptop working with our office wireless network because everythng was so automated that, if it didn't work the first time, it'll pretty much never work.

If your only criteria for choosing an OS is pretty colors, maybe you shouldn't be offering recommendations.

=Smidge=

I am very close to feeling insulted. Although I'm going to put it down entirely to different expriences. As for the 10% statement, I have no idea how much performance I'm losing, it was a figure for the purpose of making a point but to be honest I think I could quite happily match your processes with no slowdown and to be honest I don't think Vista is hindering my performance at all.

HOWEVER, I never said that it wouldn't do it to anybody else, I never recommended it either I simply described MY experience so DW can then go and make his own mind up, it's certainly better than other opinions you occasionally see on forums (e.g OMG VISTA SUXOR...XP till I die etc etc.) you know what I mean anyway.

And as for the automated compatibility problems, you're spot on right, it really is a case of luck right now when it comes to Vista supporting your hardware and an absolute nightmare on notebooks.

The innaccessibility of the more in depth customisation options is an initial issue and unless you choose business or ultimate (i'm on home premium). It can take a bit of digging to find what you want, the shell certainly doesn't help I won't deny that.

My support for vista lies in the fact that i've been lucky and my hardware compliments it, I like the 64-bit and dual core compatibility (something of a driver battle in XP SP2 x64 when you use AMD processors) and yes, the pretty colours are appealing lol. Also as much as I hate to admit it, it will become the norm soon enough.

Ultimately if you would like to know the real reason why I chose Vista??

It was soooooo much cheaper than OEM XP when I bought my system and I was on a very tight budget. lol. If I could afford to go back to XP then I would, but until I get word back from Google NY i'm unemployed and broke.

[DimensionWarped]

Yo uh... The only reason I even bothered to mention I was getting Vista was because I wanted to make sure that the effect it had on the price range was understood and to check that my hardware wouldn't conflict with it. Really, its not an issue. I know already that the game that Microsoft is playing with this is to eventually try to force people to adapt to Vista regardless of how good it actually is and we'll only start to see more Vista exclusive games and applications as time moves on.

Seriously. They've forced new standards on the worlds like 4 or 5 times now. They won't have any trouble doing it again. And like I said, I'm only interested in it for DirectX 10... hence the need for a DX10 graphics card, Vista, and pretty much everything else. If Vista ends up sucking resources too much, I can switch to Linux for my main operating system and run Vista on the side, but generally speaking, I'm not dumping it.

Now, with that aside, questions...

Is the advantage of splitting the ram so great that I should actually consider sacrificing one of my four slots? I mean, I do intend to upgrade this thing over time. I'm sure I'm going to be stuck with this computer for a while and I want to ensure that I can upgrade it in as many ways as possible.

Also, would I be able to use a 400 watt power supply and still be able to slot a second 8600GTS later down the line? I chose that power supply based on rather high customer ratings rather than purely on its price, so I might just have to take the risk if I can't manage without that kind of extra power.

I think I'll stick with the Core2 duo because its performance is pretty much applauded across the board.

[Koray]

The AMD comment was for twimfy

[Gamerdude]

The AMD comment was for twimfy

Sorry, didn't realize it. My apologies, it was late and I was jumping to conclusions.

[Koray]

As far as PSU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817104034