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Building a new computer; thoughts?
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The_Griffin
Nostalgia and Crossovers


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Old Jun 2, 2007, 04:18 PM Local time: Jun 2, 2007, 02:18 PM #1 of 19
Building a new computer; thoughts?

So I'm getting tired of my old-ass Athlon 64 2800+ with the AGP 7800GS causing me all kinds of grief in newer games. It works great for stuff like HL2, but even WoW lags like a bitch with this thing.

So, I'm building a new one. And I'm going to replace everything. The only thing I'm keeping from the old computer is the 120GB hard drive (unless ATA and SATA don't like each other), the mouse, and the keyboard (the monitor's starting to go; every time it turns on it shows lovely translucent red lines all over the screen for about 5-10 minutes).

I shopped around Newegg for a bit, and came up with this setup:

Monitor: Http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16824002280 (199.99)
Memory: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820145590 (117.00)
Hard Drive: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822148246 (94.00)
Motherboard: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128044 (134.99)
Sound Card: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16829102007 (65.99)
CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115003 (223.90)
Video Card: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814122022 (284.99) or http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814150189 (249.99)
Case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811156062 (84.99)

Total cost: 1277.45-1464.95.

Any changes I should make? Or should I start saving up because this is going to break my bank?

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Last edited by The_Griffin; Jun 4, 2007 at 12:08 PM.
Render
River Chocobo


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Old Jun 2, 2007, 04:39 PM Local time: Jun 2, 2007, 02:39 PM #2 of 19
I'm really curious why you chose a CRT. Although it is a 19", that measurement includes the bezel. It's really more like a 17.5 or 18". You'd be better off with a 17" LCD by Samsung or LG. Your eyes will thank you later. o_O

The CPU... it depends heavily on if you are going to overclock or not. The E6320 won't be as powerful as the E6700 unless you overclock it to around 3.0GHz. Even then, the E6700 can overclock to nearly 4.0GHz itself. Your choice entirely if you want to spend the bucks.

And purchase an after-market heatsink and fan. The ones that come with all new Intel chips are terrible and loud. The Arctic Cooler 7 is reasonably priced and much easier on your ears.

Go with the 8800. No contest.

The case? Everyone has a preference towards cases. I'm a little iffy on that power supply that's included. I'd choose a case that didn't have a power supply so I'd have the freedom to choose my own. Popular name brands are the way to go. Bigger doesn't mean better, and it's all about quality. It's a ~$100 item that regulates and provides your system's power. Don't wanna cheap out here. I'd recommend at least a 500W PSU by Antec, Enermax or Corsair. The Corsair 620W is a favorite around here.

There's nowhere I can't reach.
The_Griffin
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Old Jun 2, 2007, 05:03 PM Local time: Jun 2, 2007, 03:03 PM #3 of 19
The reason I chose a CRT is because of two reasons, mainly. The first is that desktop space isn't much of an issue, and the second is that this is for gaming, and I don't want to spend more for something that (generally) performs worse for games than with a CRT.

Second, I'm seriously reconsidering the E6700, because it may be that I just simply don't have enough money to buy it. I've got about 1K in paychecks and tips sitting around, but that's offset by the 1K check that I wrote my parents (they deposited the 1,000 into my account so that I could pay for school, and I didn't notice and paid for school using THEIR account). I may go for something more middle-of-the-road, like the http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115003.

Thanks for the tip on the aftermarket heatsink. The one you linked is VERY reasonably priced. I'll also pick up a new power supply along with the case (and keep the old one as a backup). I have an Antec SilentPurepower 480W power supply, so I think I'll go for something like that again. Thanks for the comments =D

EDIT: Yewgh.... I'm looking at Antec power supplies and it looks like not only is my beloved Silent Purepower series discontinued, but there are quite a few reports of failing after a few weeks/months. Any recommendations?

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Last edited by The_Griffin; Jun 2, 2007 at 05:08 PM.
Render
River Chocobo


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Old Jun 2, 2007, 07:13 PM Local time: Jun 2, 2007, 05:13 PM #4 of 19
I bought a 19" Viewsonic CRT with the same frame of mind. That was a mistake. I moved right into a 19" LCD the next year and quickly noticed the differences. I only noticed the "ghosting" when I was really looking for it. The clarity was amazing since CRTs are naturally more fuzzy. For the record, I'm a Counter-Strike fanatic, so my review of my LCD vs. CRT was quite harsh. Besides, a lot of games are including widescreen support; something you won't find in a CRT. (A bonus is that there is no refresh rate for an LCD, a common cause of headaches. )

I should have linked you the E6600 in the first place. My bad. It's what I'm running right now, and it's probably the best option whether you plan on overclocking or not.

Enermax or Corsair. I own an Enermax 520W, and love it for two reasons: it's heavy and it's silent. Generally speaking, a quality PSU is quite heavy. Enermax is also a little more pricey, but they're rock-solid and the modular cabling is heaven. You may want the Corsair 620W because I'm sure future video cards will hog up for more power.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?
RacinReaver
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Old Jun 2, 2007, 11:18 PM Local time: Jun 2, 2007, 09:18 PM #5 of 19
Any reason you can't recycle things from your old computer? Like former hard drives, CD/DVD drives, sound cards, or any of those sorts of things (aren't most onboard audio things nowadays pretty much just as good as a sound card?). Or if you want to stick with CRT, why can't you use the monitor you have right now? Are you planning on keeping both computers running all the time?

I was speaking idiomatically.
The_Griffin
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Old Jun 3, 2007, 02:31 PM Local time: Jun 3, 2007, 12:31 PM #6 of 19
The monitor I'm using right now is more or less dead. A few months ago, it started showing translucent red lines in various parts of the screen, and it's gotten worse and worse to the point where for a good five to ten minutes afterwards, the entire screen is covered by the lines. Besides, it's a little crappy. Can't display anything above 60Hz at a 4:3 ratio past 1152x864.

Reading your response, Render, I think I might actually look into an LCD. Any recommendations on a good monitor? What response time should I look for?

EDIT: Taking a quick look around Newegg, I think that this seems pretty good. It's a little less expensive than the CRT was, too. =o

I did forget though that I have a DVD burner in the current computer. I also plan to get a new hard drive and possibly keep my current 120GB one (although it is starting to get filled up, sadly), but I'm not too sure it'll work since the old drive is IDE and the new one is SATA.

I didn't realize though how good onboard audio has gotten lately. I'll strike that from the list and save 65 bucks. =D

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Last edited by The_Griffin; Jun 3, 2007 at 02:37 PM.
speculative
Hard to believe it was just 5 seasons...


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Old Jun 3, 2007, 02:39 PM Local time: Jun 3, 2007, 01:39 PM #7 of 19
I didn't realize though how good onboard audio has gotten lately. I'll strike that from the list and save 65 bucks. =D
Not all on-board audio is equal, but generally it's pretty good nowadays.

How ya doing, buddy?
RacinReaver
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Old Jun 3, 2007, 04:09 PM Local time: Jun 3, 2007, 02:09 PM #8 of 19
I did forget though that I have a DVD burner in the current computer. I also plan to get a new hard drive and possibly keep my current 120GB one (although it is starting to get filled up, sadly), but I'm not too sure it'll work since the old drive is IDE and the new one is SATA.
I think most boards out there still have at least one IDE spot for CD devices, so I imagine if you want you could hook your current one up as a slave drive and at least keep a buttload of storage room. Or, if not that, buy an external enclosure for $30 and have yourself a nice huge external USB drive.

Edit: Also, be careful with widescreen monitors. I think you generally have to keep fairly up to date with graphics cards and whatnot in order to play games at nonstandard resolutions at good settings. I dunno, maybe things have changed since a few years ago when my old roommate got his widescreen (and I suppose more and more games have support for widescreen nowadays).

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Last edited by RacinReaver; Jun 3, 2007 at 04:14 PM.
Render
River Chocobo


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Old Jun 4, 2007, 12:53 AM Local time: Jun 3, 2007, 10:53 PM #9 of 19
There are some newer boards not equipped with IDE connectors, but the board he chose has two of them in addition to the SATA ports.

Also, newer onboard isn't always a good thing. Some of the latest chipsets are downright awful. The onboard sound device on my Intel BadAxe (D975XBX) doesn't even support EAX at all, and the actual sound quality is grating. Just be sure to find a good review for whatever device you build your computer with.

Considering he's buying a brand new video card, widescreen won't be a problem.

Jam it back in, in the dark.
BlueMikey
TREAT?!?


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Old Jun 4, 2007, 01:25 AM Local time: Jun 3, 2007, 11:25 PM #10 of 19
I just build a new comp with the E6600, you shouldn't even consider anything else if you are looking for a great proc with good value. (The E6700 is too much of a price jump to be much worthwhile.)

I just bought this monitor a couple of months ago: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16824009102

I absolutely love it. It's an Acer like the one you picked, the ratings are extremely high (read: not many people ever get a dead pixel), and it's bigger for a minimal price increase over what you chose. I made a side-by-side comparison of 20.1" and 22" widescreens before I bought it and I'm extremely happy I went with the larger size. I've just played through DOOM 3 on it and didn't have any issues.

If you don't plan on reusing your mobo, you may want to look for one that doesn't support Quad Core. You could probably save yourself $30-40 if you aren't planning on upgrading in the future.

There's nowhere I can't reach.
The_Griffin
Nostalgia and Crossovers


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Mar 2006


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Old Jun 4, 2007, 12:08 PM Local time: Jun 4, 2007, 10:08 AM #11 of 19
I actually didn't notice it was a quad-core, but thinking back on it, I actually think that it would be better if I kept the quad-core motherboard. One of the reasons that I'm replacing virtually everything on my current computer is that I didn't build it with ANY upgrade room. It was an old Socket 754 motherboard, AGP slot (when the PCI-E cards were already out), etc., etc., etc. So, the way I figure, I might as well spend a little more now and maintain excellent upgradability, rather than pay a bunch more later (like I'm doing now).

It also didn't help that I cavemanned a stick of RAM into a memory slot backwards and then turned on the computer when I first built it, wrecking the slot and causing a nice spurt of smoke to rise from the thing.

The monitor you linked looks good, Mikey, but I'm a little bit wary of spending too much. One of the main reasons I liked the monitor I picked out is because among other things, it's less expensive than the CRT I picked.

And I agree definitely, now. Looking at the prices and the specs, the E6600 is what I'm looking for. I'll edit the original post.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Last edited by The_Griffin; Jun 4, 2007 at 12:10 PM.
The_Griffin
Nostalgia and Crossovers


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Old Jun 10, 2007, 03:40 PM Local time: Jun 10, 2007, 01:40 PM #12 of 19
Alrighty. I've saved up enough. One last question: Does standard Windows XP Pro support dual-core functions, or should I pirate legally purchase a newer copy of Windows?

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?
Render
River Chocobo


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Old Jun 10, 2007, 03:59 PM Local time: Jun 10, 2007, 01:59 PM #13 of 19
Get XP Pro. If you were thinking of Vista, smack yourself.

I was speaking idiomatically.
The_Griffin
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Old Jun 10, 2007, 06:14 PM Local time: Jun 10, 2007, 04:14 PM #14 of 19
Oh, I have XP Pro. I'm just wondering if I should get a different version of XP if Pro doesn't support dual-core systems.

How ya doing, buddy?
Render
River Chocobo


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Old Jun 10, 2007, 08:28 PM Local time: Jun 10, 2007, 06:28 PM #15 of 19
Even Windows Home supports quad core CPUs.

FELIPE NO
The_Griffin
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Old Jun 10, 2007, 10:48 PM Local time: Jun 10, 2007, 08:48 PM #16 of 19
Cheers, then. Saves me the trouble of pirating expense of buying a new copy.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?
Lukage
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Old Jun 11, 2007, 01:25 PM Local time: Jun 11, 2007, 01:25 PM #17 of 19
The E6600 is the only one to get.

As far as 64-bit, dual/quad core stuff.... XP will support the dual-core processor just fine, but don't worry about getting a 64-bit OS. There's little software offered on it and the difference ATM is next to none.

Jam it back in, in the dark.
The_Griffin
Nostalgia and Crossovers


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Old Jun 15, 2007, 06:27 PM Local time: Jun 15, 2007, 04:27 PM #18 of 19
Whooooo, I got my computer built. =D

One question though. Right now, my computer (which is running XP, no service packs) only recognizes about 130 GB of my 400 GB hard drive. Installing SP2 fixes that, right? ;_;

How ya doing, buddy?
BlueMikey
TREAT?!?


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Old Jun 15, 2007, 07:28 PM Local time: Jun 15, 2007, 05:28 PM #19 of 19
Yes. I had that exact same problem too and completely panicked.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.
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