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OffTopic > Please look at the new PC I'm about to buy/build...

#104808 - TheChuckster - Mon Oct 02, 2006 9:18 pm

Here's my tentative parts list:

$99.99 LIAN LI PC-61 USB Black Aluminum ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
$259.99 Intel BOXD975XBXLKR Socket T (LGA 775) Intel 975X ATX Intel Motherboard
$297.99 eVGA Geforce 7950GT 512MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card
$39.99 Thermaltake TR2 W0070 ATX 430W Power Supply
$317.99 Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 Conroe 2.4GHz LGA 775 Processor
$296.00 CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TWIN2X2048-6400
$199.99 HITACHI Deskstar 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
$29.99 NEC 16X DVD?R DVD Burner Black IDE/ATAPI
$121.99 Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeMusic 7.1

First of all, I'd like to mention that my old Dell PC's motherboard died due to overheating. I want stability of all -- no overclocking, and as much air flow as possible. Should I be buying any additional fans? Would water cooling be necessary? Are the case, GPU cooler, PSU, and stock CPU cooler going to be reliable, and not overheat? Is my power supply sufficient to reliably power up the parts?

Next thing I'd like to mention is warranties. How am I insured, if at all, by buying this on New Egg? What if one part fries and blows up the whole thing? Will that happen? I am also worried about not assembling it properly.

Price wise, the total is $1,663.92, which is a little high (I'd like to be around $1,500). How can I make little sacrifices without putting a big dent in performance or reliability? Do I really need $300 RAM or should I look elsewhere (overclocking doesn't matter -- I just want 2 GB)? Is 500 GB too much hard drive space? Is my Intel motherboard too expensive or excessive ($260) for what I'm trying to do? Should it have N-Force chipset instead of Intel? Will it be reliable? Should I go with Asus or Abit? I don't want a bad motherboard to ruin the entire rig.

My priorities are high graphics power, 2 GB RAM, dual core, and SATA in that order as far as sacrificing stuff for price goes.

Do I really need that $100 Lian Li case (without a PSU, mind you)? Could you suggest one with better airflow or lower price? As far as looks go, I don't mind if it's gamer or professional style.

Another thing I'd like is future proofing. I've been out of the hardware scene for a while, so I don't know what the latest trends are. Ideally, I want Vista to run really well, and I want to not miss out on any upcoming technologies further down the road. I hear quad core and DirectX 10 cards are coming soon.

I'd like to have my computer support these with just a drop-in upgrade. (Is my motherboard/CPU socket good for that?) The RAM capacity seems to be bumping up. Is DDR2 here to stay or is it going to get eclipsed by DDR3? My DELL has 256 MB RDRAM which is very expensive to upgrade -- part of the reason why I am buying a new PC altogether. Should I be getting SLI just in case? Am I missing out on anything else up and coming (new standards, technologies, etc.)?

Finally, this is my first build. Am I missing any parts/tools? Do I need odds and ends like extra fans or thermal paste?

Overall, it looks like a great computer, which I wouldn't mind buying after a little tweaking so that I know I'm making smart purchasing choices. Sorry if I wrote a book, but I want to know I have it right if I'm going to drop 1.5 grand on something... I appreciate your responses.

#104812 - keldon - Mon Oct 02, 2006 9:59 pm

I did not notice a CPU fan. And you should be able to lower the price by buying two smaller drives. 500GB drives are not popular, and are therefore much less cost effective for the space.

I am guessing that this is for gaming. Check the latest 3d marks along with the prices to see which card is giving you the most power for the given price out of ATI and GeForce. I believe that at the moment the ATI's are ahead, but check benchmarks first.

Also the latest ATI graphics card can work in a dual card mode so that you can have two of them working together, that will keep you ahead for a while.

Go onto pages like abit, etc. and find their suppliers, the larger stockists are going to have lower prices than when you buy them at a retail outlet; and most of the larger stockist will be listed as suppliers for abit, etc.

#104819 - kusma - Mon Oct 02, 2006 10:29 pm

keldon wrote:

I am guessing that this is for gaming. Check the latest 3d marks along with the prices to see which card is giving you the most power for the given price out of ATI and GeForce. I believe that at the moment the ATI's are ahead, but check benchmarks first.


ATI is currently a tad behind both in performance and features. gf7950 is clearly one of the best gpus money can buy you right now.

keldon wrote:

Also the latest ATI graphics card can work in a dual card mode so that you can have two of them working together, that will keep you ahead for a while.

So can you with a gefoce, so no need to change gpu for that feature

#104843 - sgeos - Tue Oct 03, 2006 4:09 am

Disclaimer: I'm a member of two camps- "few people need to spend tons of money on computers" and "you can always get by for less".

TheChuckster wrote:
First of all, I'd like to mention that my old Dell PC's motherboard died due to overheating. I want stability of all -- no overclocking, and as much air flow as possible.

I don't understand overclocking. =)

TheChuckster wrote:
Should I be buying any additional fans? Would water cooling be necessary? Are the case, GPU cooler, PSU, and stock CPU cooler going to be reliable, and not overheat? Is my power supply sufficient to reliably power up the parts?

These are questions you might want to ask the company you are buying from. If want a lot of stuff in your PC, you need a nice power supply. If you are running a no frills box, you can get away with a cheap power supply. Generally speaking, the stock fans are good enough unless you do silly things like overclock. Is your PC going to be located in an especially hot or humid room?

TheChuckster wrote:
Next thing I'd like to mention is warranties. How am I insured, if at all, by buying this on New Egg?

Ask.

TheChuckster wrote:
What if one part fries and blows up the whole thing? Will that happen?

Generally no. If that happens you probably messed up and it may not be covered by warranty. =) They may be nice people and let you return, or more like exchange so long as you didn't do something really silly.

TheChuckster wrote:
I am also worried about not assembling it properly.
...
Price wise, the total is $1,663.92, which is a little high (I'd like to be around $1,500). How can I make little sacrifices without putting a big dent in performance or reliability?
...
Finally, this is my first build. Am I missing any parts/tools? Do I need odds and ends like extra fans or thermal paste?


All of these are related. If this is your first build, I do not recommend putting together your dream box. I've been there, done that and I know it's a lot of fun to look at all the parts, but I recommend you build a cheap box. Only throw in what you know you'll need. If something is really needed, upgrade. If you don't really need it, leave it for next. Build your dream box next time.

TheChuckster wrote:
Do I really need $300 RAM or should I look elsewhere (overclocking doesn't matter -- I just want 2 GB)?

If you need to ask, you probably don't need it. What do you need 2GB for?

TheChuckster wrote:
Is 500 GB too much hard drive space?

You can answer these questions yourself. What do you need a 500 GB hard drive for? If the answer is "I don't know" or "I just want it" then you can definitely do without. The price of computer equipment is always dropping. You'll generally always pay the same amount for parts, but you'll get more for your money if you wait. A hard drive can always be upgraded later.

Quote:
Is my Intel motherboard too expensive or excessive ($260) for what I'm trying to do?

If you intend to replace later, your motherboard doesn't really matter. If you intend to upgrade, this is the one part you need to invest in now. When you have to replace your motherboard because it is maxed, you are basically looking at replacing your computer. (Although many of people pull parts. Does anything from your fried PC still work?)

Quote:
My priorities are high graphics power, 2 GB RAM, dual core, and SATA in that order as far as sacrificing stuff for price goes.

Why do you need each item? What will you use if for? Can you do without for now and add it later? Can you do without this round and wait until you build your next computer?

Quote:
Do I really need that $100 Lian Li case (without a PSU, mind you)? Could you suggest one with better airflow or lower price? As far as looks go, I don't mind if it's gamer or professional style.

You could build a wooden frame and attach screens to it for maximum airflow. =) (I've seen someone do something like this, although airflow was not to goal.) Why do you need extreme airflow? Are you just taking extreme caution because you last PC got fried. (If a case with good airflow will really make you feel better, I actually recommend that you go for it.)

Quote:
Another thing I'd like is future proofing. I've been out of the hardware scene for a while, so I don't know what the latest trends are. Ideally, I want Vista to run really well, and I want to not miss out on any upcoming technologies further down the road. I hear quad core and DirectX 10 cards are coming soon.

You have two options. Research before you buy, or don't worry about it and plan to replace later. If this is your first build, I recommend that you don't worry about it, go cheap and replace later.

Quote:
I'd like to have my computer support these with just a drop-in upgrade. (Is my motherboard/CPU socket good for that?)

SNIP
See motherboard above.

Quote:
Overall, it looks like a great computer, which I wouldn't mind buying after a little tweaking so that I know I'm making smart purchasing choices. Sorry if I wrote a book, but I want to know I have it right if I'm going to drop 1.5 grand on something... I appreciate your responses.

Have you researched the componets? If so, it looks fine to me. It looks to me like there are a lot of un-needed things you are tacking on because you want them though. I'm assuming that you are a stand user or standard software developer. Then again, you might really need them. Only you know that. If you need it, you'll have to pay for it and your price will go up. If you don't really need it, you can do without and pay less. Either way, the wise monkey spends a little time researching purchases before they fork over hundreds of dollars. It's probably fine.

Quote:
Finally, this is my first build. Am I missing any parts/tools? Do I need odds and ends like extra fans or thermal paste?

Thermal paste? What are you building?! I've never needed anything other than a screwdriver and my hands. I'm wary of static electricity. Other than that make sure that sweat doesn't drip into the box or anything like that and you should be fine.

-Brendan

#104873 - TheChuckster - Tue Oct 03, 2006 6:58 pm

I noticed something that nobody else did. My motherboard does not support the 800 mhz DDR2 RAM. Should I settle for less or go with an Asus board with some IDE and Core 2 issues (i.e. the BIOS chip it comes with isn't flashed to support Core 2 Duo)?

I am an amature game developer. Performance is necessary. I guess I can dock down the HD size a bit, though, and get a retail HD. I'm not much of a media enthusiast, but I'm going to need some graphics processing muscle, along with support for the latest standards (OpenGL 2, DirectX 9). I'll need the 2 GB because that's low-end Vista right there. In a few years, 2 GB will look as bad as my Dell's 256 MB.

As far as salvagable parts go, I only have an 80 GB IDE HD and a possibly working sound card (sound goes away when it fries) to salvage. The RAM is RDRAM, the CPU doesn't use the same socket, and my Geforce 4 got totalled.

#104922 - keldon - Wed Oct 04, 2006 8:30 am

Check everything, power supply compatibility, graphics card compatibility. See if your motherboard is PCI-E or AGP, 20+4 pin or 24+4 for the power, SATA via RAID or IDE controller.

http://reviews.cnet.com/4520-8902_7-6213103-1.html

And how in date are you on the ATI/Geforce front? I could have sworn that ATI just got it back. Maybe you are looking at mid-range possibly, or ATI's top spot was short lived.