Computer is showing its age...

Odale

Odale

Active Member
...so I plan to fix that!

Here is what I am looking at (with some help from AngusOg!):

Mobo and Processor packaged deal:

Video Card:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131324
Case and PSU Packaged deal:

Ram

  • Its cheap anyway, does not matter!
With these items listed the total is just over $505.

What do you guys think?

I have started to set money aside so that I can actually afford to buy this stuff... my comp needs replacing as it is OLD.

Also, I dont necessarily need a new case, but getting a nice case such as the three hundred and a 500W PSU (which is required by the card) is a steal, if I may say so myself...

Feedback is more than welcome.
 
Since I just replaced my motherboard/ram/cpu I will recommend this mobo. Mine came fine besides a little warping on the box and has worked like a champ for several weeks now.

Of course I don't like ASUS considering how much of their trash I have RMA'd for dying randomly (often under a week of use).
 
Trying to compare to others, I still don't understand why a better card than his choice is not a newer one. :confused:

1GB GDDR4 Memory 2250MHz

And why they still don't have true video cards?

Not one video card is 512MB, 512 bit... :(
 
3xxx series is one generation behind and dual gpu's are a gimmic. unlike multi cpu multi gpu is not cost efficient for the small amoun of perforance gained. One faster later generation single gpu card is often faster than the previous generation dual-gpu card. HIs choice of video cards is very sound.
 
Odale said:
...so I plan to fix that!

Here is what I am looking at (with some help from AngusOg!):

Mobo and Processor packaged deal:

Video Card:

Case and PSU Packaged deal:

Ram

  • Its cheap anyway, does not matter!
With these items listed the total is just over $505.

What do you guys think?

I have started to set money aside so that I can actually afford to buy this stuff... my comp needs replacing as it is OLD.

Also, I dont necessarily need a new case, but getting a nice case such as the three hundred and a 500W PSU (which is required by the card) is a steal, if I may say so myself...

Feedback is more than welcome.
Click to expand...
on the cpu. do you intend to overclock the cpu? If not then go with a regular 2.6 ghz phenom(if you want to go amd at all). right now amd has intel's p-4 problems with heat and efficientcy(morse the lack thereof). For the same money you can get a dual core intel that'll run cooler and perforam faster than this amd. quads aren't being exploited yet(unless youa re into grtaphics design..cad..etc etc..and intel is the best at those right now). Buying amd is purely a price decision..not performace or thermal power.

On the video card. How much ram is in the mahcine? Widnows will count the 1 gig towards your 4 gig limit in 32 bit windows..so if you run 4 gigs of ram and this card under 32 bit windows you may see as little as 2.5 gigs of ram or as much as 3.2 gigs of ram(depeinding on how your mobo handles things AND how windows interacts with things). do you intend to run resolutions higher than 1900 x 1200 with 16x aa and 16x af? If not.,.get a 512 meg card..if you keep this card..seriously consider x64 operating system.
 
My only change in what you have odale is the cpu, Intel outperforms as Hescominsoon said, anything over 512 mb on a video card is wasted right now, they do that as a sales gimmick and a Dual Gpu setup on 1 card is also a gimmick. but overall its a sound system and not overly expensive :)
 
Hescominsoon said:
quads aren't being exploited yet(unless youa re into grtaphics design..cad..etc etc..and intel is the best at those right now).
Click to expand...

It really depends on the stuff you are trying to run. I have a phenom 9600 and a lot of games coming out are multi threaded. Even if you don't "use" the cores, the other processes will not be hogging CPU time. Having a 50-60% utilization is being exploited, and while you are under that load you can do other things without penalty (like switching over and browsing for a bit).

Hescominsoon said:
seriously consider x64 operating system.
Click to expand...

I would not recommend windows x64 to anyone. While you can often get drivers, there are some programs you run into that just doesn't like it at all. Unless you absolutely need 4GB or 8GB of ram, there is no reason for it.

Blackbeard said:
anything over 512 mb on a video card is wasted right now, they do that as a sales gimmick and a Dual Gpu setup on 1 card is also a gimmick.
Click to expand...

SLI is a gimmick certainly if you consider certain games don't even work with it (like TF2). However ATI's crossfire seems to split the calculations between the cards 1:1 and works with virtually any game. Cost/Performance wise it is not so great, as by the time getting the second card becomes a decent upgrade you are better off buying the next generation card.

As for ram, you need to realize that in a dual card setup each card needs ALL of the data in order to process. So if each card has 256MB of ram, even though it has 512MB overall (or 1GB), you wont be able to use but what each card can carry.
 
windows counts all memory on all cards as addressable memory and counts that as installed memory..so if you already have 3 gigs installed you are going to smack against the 4 gig limit and loose ram. As far as quad core..yes that's true..but MT isn't going that well on games yet..so i would go for a faster dual core mahcine with lower power usage than a slower QC(per core speed) with much higher power usage..but that's just me..<G>
 
I am running Vistax64 and loving it. I have yet to run into any issues and other then tripping out when I noticed I now have 2 program files folders it has been great. Having >4gig of ram is truly awesome. I can load up any desktop widgets or toolbar I want and not worry about resource usage.

Plus my video card can use shared ram as well as its dedicated so I can throw an extra 2gig its way with out a care.

64bit vista is now being loaded on all $399 computers at Frys so its basically mainstream after this holiday season. I would only recommend 64bit vista these days as Ram is so cheap and having tons of it gives great peace of mind.
 
I am not Knocking a Quad core Vibrokatana, I run one myself[Intel C2E q6850], my point was requardless of what you throw at it a C2D is the better performance and a Better value[With less energy/Heat as Hescominsoon stated], Read this:
http://www.techspot.com/review/84-amd-phenom-family-performance/page2.html

I agree much is what you are going to do with your pc, This should dictate what parts you buy, What I meant to be more specific, is a Dual Gpu setup on one card is not as efficient as a Actual SLI[2 card setup], while Crossfire has made progress there is only one card that stands out and thats in certain games/software Ati4870x2.
http://www.xtremesystems.org/FORUMS/showthread.php?t=195772

While Ati is the Better Bang for the Buck, really comes down to what you want in a pc and whats it is used for :p
 
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vibrokatana said:
I would not recommend windows x64 to anyone. While you can often get drivers, there are some programs you run into that just doesn't like it at all. Unless you absolutely need 4GB or 8GB of ram, there is no reason for it.
Click to expand...

I agree with that.

My unused PC has Windows XP Pro 64 bit and I though it would be great to have the 4GB of Ram.

Not realizing the OS gave me lots of problems and incompatible issues.

Like it cannot install SP2 since it would crash the PC and Hellgate London requires SP2! :(

It is so lame Win XP Pro 64 is not a middle OS between Windows XP 32 bit and Vista.

Left 4 Dead System Requirements

Minimum:

* Supported OS: Microsoft Windows XP / Vista / Vista64
Click to expand...

Demos will work 100% on the XP Pro 64 bit but previously, 0% of full versions will not work. :mad:

Once I am back to my unused PC, I will go back to Windows XP, even when it won't give me my 4GB of ram. (2.9GB previously)
 
AMD vs Intel: I am an AMD kinda guy, and AMD's chips are MUCH cheaper than the Intel equivalent.

512mb vs 1Gb Video cards: The 512 mb card costs the SAME as the 1Gb card... who wouldn't buy they 1Gb card?!

4Gb memory cap with non 64bit os: 3Gb of system ram is more than enough for me at the moment. Also I can get Vista fairly cheap (I am pretty sure all Vista's are 64bit).

Thanks for the opinions guys!
 
ewoksrule said:
I am running Vistax64 and loving it. I have yet to run into any issues and other then tripping out when I noticed I now have 2 program files folders it has been great. Having >4gig of ram is truly awesome. I can load up any desktop widgets or toolbar I want and not worry about resource usage.

Plus my video card can use shared ram as well as its dedicated so I can throw an extra 2gig its way with out a care.

64bit vista is now being loaded on all $399 computers at Frys so its basically mainstream after this holiday season. I would only recommend 64bit vista these days as Ram is so cheap and having tons of it gives great peace of mind.
Click to expand...
x64 in vista also has some excellent security built into it..it's more akin to a unix multi user than 32 bit is. 32 bit maintains backwards compatibility while 64 bit favors security over backwards compatibility.

Odale said:
AMD vs Intel: I am an AMD kinda guy, and AMD's chips are MUCH cheaper than the Intel equivalent.

512mb vs 1Gb Video cards: The 512 mb card costs the SAME as the 1Gb card... who wouldn't buy they 1Gb card?!

4Gb memory cap with non 64bit os: 3Gb of system ram is more than enough for me at the moment. Also I can get Vista fairly cheap (I am pretty sure all Vista's are 64bit).

Thanks for the opinions guys!
Click to expand...

cheaprer in price but their excessive power usage over time negates their financial savings. I wouldn't unless i am running 64 bit..more powr usage..and if you are runnning 32 bit that counts towards your 4 gig cap. It's simply a waste and going to cause issues later down the road in a 32 bit enviroment.

Corpfox said:
I agree with that.

My unused PC has Windows XP Pro 64 bit and I though it would be great to have the 4GB of Ram.

Not realizing the OS gave me lots of problems and incompatible issues.

Like it cannot install SP2 since it would crash the PC and Hellgate London requires SP2! :(

It is so lame Win XP Pro 64 is not a middle OS between Windows XP 32 bit and Vista.



Demos will work 100% on the XP Pro 64 bit but previously, 0% of full versions will not work. :mad:

Once I am back to my unused PC, I will go back to Windows XP, even when it won't give me my 4GB of ram. (2.9GB previously)
Click to expand...

xp64 bit isn't as wlel tuned as vista 64 bit..however i would stick with xp 64 bit and install sp3. That should clear some things up..:)
 
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Odale, everyones opinions will vary about what is Best, thats why I said it really depends on what you want, one prefers this but another that, I know many are loyal to AMD and I respect that, at this point with Windows 7 coming around the corner, I would not invest in another OS, stick with what you have. Have fun building your new Toy :)
 
Blackbeard said:
Odale, everyones opinions will vary about what is Best, thats why I said it really depends on what you want, one prefers this but another that, I know many are loyal to AMD and I respect that, at this point with Windows 7 coming around the corner, I would not invest in another OS, stick with what you have. Have fun building your new Toy :)
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...and the DirecTV tuner with it!

/drool
 
Alrighty... so I ordered my motherboard, PSU and RAM yesterday.

BUT I accidentally ordered 2 4gig packs of ram... I only wanted one... Newegg's policy on memory is non-refundable, 30 day return. So I cannot use all 8 gigs of ram due to the fact I will run XP 32-bit.

I can still install all 8 gigs, but the OS will not recognize (or use?) all 8 gigs, correct?

Where or how can I get a cheap version of vista so I can use all 8 gigs? I looked around on newegg and got really confused by the OEM suites and the "real" vista DVDs which cost tons of money...
 
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if you're building your own pc you can generally purchase an OEM copy...I'd call newegg and add it to the order since there's usually a requirement that it be ordered with a part indicating that a pc is being constructed...some places require a motherboard...others may let you slip by with a DVD drive
 
Odale said:
BUT I accidentally ordered 2 4gig packs of ram... I only wanted one... Newegg's policy on memory is non-refundable, 30 day return.
Click to expand...
Is it too late to call Newegg customer service and cancel that item on the order?

Newegg has a reputation for great customer service, so it's worth a try.
 
I decided I would just keep the extra ram and send in the mail in rebates for them.

$35 DDR-1066 ram is a steal. - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227298

I will slap them in there and just wait until I can get a 64-bit OS.

I seriously doubt I will use up all of 4 gigs, lol, and it is weird to think I will have 8 gigs of ram...

How they got me is I went and put the ram in my cart, then I went back to look at their packaged deals and added a deal with the ram and a 600W PSU.

Viola, 2 sets of ram. Was too excited/tired/relieved to think to check the amounts of each, and despite ordering too much ram, the total price was still acceptable to me.
 
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