Advice on a new system...

ChAIn3D

ChAIn3D

ChAIn3D

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5 Jun 2005
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121
Hey guys,

I'm looking in upgrading in the next 2-3 weeks after months of saving. I'm looking at a new system for Gaming, money isn't a problem. Checked out the latest hardware and I've got a few ideas but not sure what parts would be best for what I want so looking for some advice for a new system.

CPU: - Normally got with AMD in the past, now considering Intel.

Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 LGA775 'Wolfdale' 3.16GHz (1333FSB) - Retail
Intel Core 2 Quad Pro Q6700 "LGA775 Kentsfield" 2.66GHz (1066FSB) - Retail
Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 LGA775 'Yorkfield' 2.83GHz 12MB-cache (1333FSB) Processor - Retail

Motherboard: - I've normally gone with Asus as I haven't had any problems and through experience found them the best. As I haven't upgraded in ages, not sure if their any good... any suggestions?

Ram: - I'm still not decided whether the DDR3 is worth getting, and their quite expensive, so had a look at the DDR2. Any of them decent or you suggest another brand or go with DDR3?

Corsair 4GB DDR2 XMS2 Dominator PC2-8500C5 TwinX (2x2GB) Supplied with Airflow Fan (TWIN2X4096-8500C5DF)
OCZ 4GB (2x2GB) PC2-8500C5 1066MHz Reaper HPC Edition Dual Channel DDR2 (OCZ2RPR10664GK)
G.Skill 4GB DDR2 PK PC2-8500C5 (2x2GB) CAS5 Dual Channel Kit (F2-8500CL5D-4GBPK)

or DDR3

Graphics Card: - No idea.

Asus GeForce 9800 GX2 1024MB GDDR3 TV-Out/Dual DVI/HDMI (PCI-Express) - Retail
BFG GeForce 9800 GX2 1024MB GDDR3 TV-Out/Dual DVI/HDMI (PCI-Express) - Retail
OcUK GeForce 9800 GX2 1024MB GDDR3 TV-Out/Dual DVI/HDMI (PCI-Express) - Retail

Hard Drive (SATA): - Need something reliable, and high storage, 750GB+.

Maxtor, Seagate or Western Digital - 2x SATA.

Optical Drive (DVDRW-SATA): - No idea?

Samsung SH-S203PBEBN 20x DVD±RW SATA Dual Layer Lightscribe ReWriter (Black) - OEM
Pioneer DVR-215DBK 20x DVD±RW SATA Dual Layer ReWriter (Black) - OEM

Sound Card:

Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer Fatal1ty Professional Series 7.1 Sound Card - Retail
Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer 7.1 Sound Card - Retail
Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeMusic 7.1 Sound Card - OEM (30SB046000000) Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeMusic 7.1 Sound Card - OEM (30SB046000000)

These are most of the parts, might need a power supply as my current one is around 550w, unless someone suggests that would be slightly too low to cope with the system I'm asking for.

Any advice would be appreicated... cheers.
 
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i say for a gaming rig
wolfdale core CPU E8x00 as a fast dual core is better for now than a slower quad since few games are capable of using more than 2 cores anyway.

ram pc2-8500 DDR2 stuff it will allow you to overclock you e8x00 to 3-4GHz depending on your cooling solution

for hdd, i prefer seagates

for optical drives i prefer pioneers

i recommend the asus maximus formula x38 chipset based mb for you.

i cant advise on the PSU especially if you get a 9800GX2, it will also be nice if you can post some specs on your psu up

include
brand, model, how many amps you have on the 12 volt rail and age if possible. this way we can ahve a better idea if you need a new psu or not
 
PSU that I have got; Enermax Liberty - ELT500AWT. I thought it was 550w, just checked its 500w. It's only 18 months old.

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-025-EN&groupid=701&catid=123&subcat=1086

I've heard Pioneer were good, I've had a bad time with Plextor drives... 2 broke within a year! Any Pioneer good, or the one I picked okay?

I'm not really into overclocking ram, just run the system as it is... would you still recommend those or another?

The HDD Sata drives, I'm currently using 2x200GB Maxtor. They seem reliable, no problems other than IDE and Sata unable to run together sometimes. I did find it was at times slow on occasioins, transfering etc. I did hear Western Digital were currently the best drives at the min, or they more than less the same?

I am looking for a system to run for a while, don't think I'll upgrade much after this system upgrade.
 
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This is a rough list for a new system. I think it looks good but not so sure on the CPU, Gfx and it doesn't include a PSU. So what you think? Any suggestions?

New System:
Pioneer DVR-215DBK 20x DVD±RW SATA Dual Layer ReWriter (Black) - OEM £16.99 (£19.96)
Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeMusic 7.1 Sound Card - OEM (30SB046000000) £45.99 (£54.04)
Asus Maximus Formula Intel X38 (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard £129.99 (£152.74)
Corsair 4GB DDR2 XMS2 Dominator PC2-8500C5 TwinX (2x2GB) Supplied with Airflow Fan (TWIN2X4096-8500C5DF) £99.99 (£117.49)
2x Western Digital Caviar SE16 750GB SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM (WD7500AAKS) 159.98 (£187.98)

Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 LGA775 'Wolfdale' 3.16GHz (1333FSB) - Retail £199.99 (£234.99) or another?
EVGA GeForce 9800 GX2 "SSC Edition" 1024MB GDDR3 TV-Out/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail (01G-P3-E897-AR) £374.99 (£440.61)
or
Asus GeForce 9800 GTX 512MB GDDR3 TV-Out/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail £194.99 (£229.11)

Total : £1,219.50
 
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What type of gfx card would suit me?

Looking at the details of both the GX2 and GTX, the GTX looks faster and the only thing that GX2 stands out is the 1024 memory.

Is it worth just getting the GTX for now or go for the GX2?

I've added a PSU to my list, looks like my current PSU will struggle. Any good?


New System:
Pioneer DVR-215DBK 20x DVD±RW SATA Dual Layer ReWriter (Black) - OEM £16.99 (£19.96)
Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeMusic 7.1 Sound Card - OEM (30SB046000000) £45.99 (£54.04)
Asus Maximus Formula Intel X38 (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard £129.99 (£152.74)
Corsair 4GB DDR2 XMS2 Dominator PC2-8500C5 TwinX (2x2GB) Supplied with Airflow Fan (TWIN2X4096-8500C5DF) £99.99 (£117.49)
2x Western Digital Caviar SE16 750GB SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM (WD7500AAKS) 159.98 (£187.98)
Enermax Infiniti 720W EIN720AWT ATX2.2 Modular SLI Compliant PSU £107.99 (£126.89)

Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 LGA775 'Wolfdale' 3.16GHz (1333FSB) - Retail £199.99 (£234.99) or another?
EVGA GeForce 9800 GX2 "SSC Edition" 1024MB GDDR3 TV-Out/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail (01G-P3-E897-AR) £374.99 (£440.61)
or
Asus GeForce 9800 GTX 512MB GDDR3 TV-Out/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail £194.99 (£229.11)

Total : £1,347.56
 
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ive been advising him to go with the 8800GTX on msn, because i hear bad things about the 9800GX2 and SLI in general.. am i right to do this or am i talking out of my **** :confused:

other than that the system looks sorted
 
I would have said 8800 gtx too but depends what res he will be gaming at, i'd say for higher res the 768 on the gtx should be fine, considering the gx2 doesnt actually have 1024 but 2 x 512 and is therefore limited by it. Besides why not just get two GTs or two GTSs even same/better than a GX2 without the price premium.
 
If you're gaming at 1680 x 1200 or lower I would suggest you plump for the
G92 based 8800 GTS. It spanks my GTX at these resolutions.

And for the record, the X38 Maximus (my board :)) is crossfire based not SLI, therefore 2 Nvidia cards is not an option ;)
 
yea based on a new board :P If he was looking at a GX2 I was stating that he could sli two GTs or GTSs (G92) and save a lot of money, obviously dependent upon getting an nvidia board though over the x38.
 
So instead of using the X38 Maximus cos its crossfire based, what would be the next best thing if I considered in the future to go SLI?

How about this: Asus Rampage Formula Intel X48 (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard? or something else?
 
if you want a sli based MB ,you want a nforce 7 series MB not a p31, p35, x38 or x48 based MB as those are crossfire
 
I was thinking of a few decent motherboards but not sure what I'm looking at,

Asus P5N-T Deluxe nForce 780i (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard
EVGA nForce 780i SLI nForce 780i (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard
XFX nForce 780i SLI (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard

Normally I would straight away go with the Asus, but after reading some reviews, they slate the software used. Out of the above, what would you recommend, unless you think something else would suit me... I would like the option of SLI!
 
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Right guys,

I was about to order my new system today and had a chat with my friend, and he completely made me feel I'm buying the wrong system.

New System:


BenQ FP241W 24" Widescreen HDMI/HDCP LCD HD Monitor - Silver/Black £339.99 (£399.49)
Pioneer DVR-215DBK 20x DVD±RW SATA Dual Layer ReWriter (Black) - OEM £16.99 (£19.96)
Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeMusic 7.1 Sound Card - OEM (30SB046000000) £45.99 (£54.04)
Corsair 4GB DDR2 XMS2 Dominator PC2-8500C5 TwinX (2x2GB) Supplied with Airflow Fan (TWIN2X4096-8500C5DF) £99.99 (£117.49)
Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 LGA775 'Wolfdale' 3.16GHz (1333FSB) - Retail £199.99 (£234.99)
Enermax Infiniti 720W EIN720AWT ATX2.2 Modular SLI Compliant PSU £107.99 (£126.89)
(2x) Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 750GB SATA-II 32MB Cache - OEM (ST3750330AS) £81.99 (£96.34)
BFG GeForce 8800 GTX OC2 768MB GDDR3 HDTV/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail £179.99 (£211.49)
EVGA nForce 780i SLI nForce 780i (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard £164.99 (£193.86)

Total : £1,533.20

Now, this was the system I was thinking of getting... I thought it looks good and with a little help from people, I came up with this type of system.

My friend firstly pointed out, why I'm going with Dual core while I could get Quad, he was really baffled why I didn't choose Quad, even tho loads of people recommended me going for Dual core.

Secondly, the main subject was the 24" monitor and gfx card. He said that using 24" monitor and having it at low res (Not 1920x1200) would make it look so fussy, it would drive me mad and with the 88000GTX, you would get a better performance from 98000GTX at high res and on the 24" than you would if I choose the 88000GTX.

He felt if I got the 8800GTX, he thought 22" monitor would suit me than the 24", even though I stated I want to be able to use my xbox on the monitor.

After the debate, I'm back to square one... do I go with the 24" with 8800GTX or 9800GTX, or do I decide to go with the 22" with the 8800GTX?

What do you reckon guys?

This is the review he showed me of the 9800GX2 - http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/nvidia-geforce-9800-gx2,review-30511.html
 
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ChAIn3D said:
Right guys,

I was about to order my new system today and had a chat with my friend, and he completely made me feel I'm buying the wrong system.

New System:


BenQ FP241W 24" Widescreen HDMI/HDCP LCD HD Monitor - Silver/Black £339.99 (£399.49)
Pioneer DVR-215DBK 20x DVD±RW SATA Dual Layer ReWriter (Black) - OEM £16.99 (£19.96)
Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeMusic 7.1 Sound Card - OEM (30SB046000000) £45.99 (£54.04)
Corsair 4GB DDR2 XMS2 Dominator PC2-8500C5 TwinX (2x2GB) Supplied with Airflow Fan (TWIN2X4096-8500C5DF) £99.99 (£117.49)
Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 LGA775 'Wolfdale' 3.16GHz (1333FSB) - Retail £199.99 (£234.99)
Enermax Infiniti 720W EIN720AWT ATX2.2 Modular SLI Compliant PSU £107.99 (£126.89)
(2x) Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 750GB SATA-II 32MB Cache - OEM (ST3750330AS) £81.99 (£96.34)
BFG GeForce 8800 GTX OC2 768MB GDDR3 HDTV/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail £179.99 (£211.49)
EVGA nForce 780i SLI nForce 780i (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard £164.99 (£193.86)

Total : £1,533.20

Now, this was the system I was thinking of getting... I thought it looks good and with a little help from people, I came up with this type of system.

My friend firstly pointed out, why I'm going with Dual core while I could get Quad, he was really baffled why I didn't choose Quad, even tho loads of people recommended me going for Dual core.

Secondly, the main subject was the 24" monitor and gfx card. He said that using 24" monitor and having it at low res (Not 1920x1200) would make it look so fussy, it would drive me mad and with the 88000GTX, you would get a better performance from 98000GTX at high res and on the 24" than you would if I choose the 88000GTX.

He felt if I got the 8800GTX, he thought 22" monitor would suit me than the 24", even though I stated I want to be able to use my xbox on the monitor.

After the debate, I'm back to square one... do I go with the 24" with 8800GTX or 9800GTX, or do I decide to go with the 22" with the 8800GTX?

What do you reckon guys?

This is the review he showed me of the 9800GX2 - http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/nvidia-geforce-9800-gx2,review-30511.html
Click to expand...
Regarding the graphics card, no offense but your friend hasn't got a clue. At 1920x1200 the 8800GTX outperforms the 9800GTX. Anything below that and a 9800GTX pulls ahead, but on that monitor the 8800GTX is definitely the better buy.

Quads vs duals is a pretty long argument. Duals are cheaper than quads and pretty much no games use all 4 cores in a quad yet. If you want pure gaming performance get a wolfdale, if video encoding is your thing as well then consider a quad. On the other hand a quad is going to be more future proof as more software becomes written to use them. It's a toss up at the moment, I'd personally go with a dual core right now, more specifically a wolfdale like you've already chosen.
 
ChAIn3D said:
Cheers.

I'm actually thinking about changing my original plan or getting a 24" monitor and get a Samsung SM-226CW 22" Widescreen LCD Monitor - Glossy Black (Link below) with 2x 8800GTX... what you think? Worth dropping down to 22" and get 2x gfx cards?

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MO-057-SA&groupid=703&catid=17&subcat=949
Click to expand...
I'd personally just stick with that 24" and a single 8800GTX. A single GTX is plenty fast enough for anything at the moment.
 
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