New Game PC ---> Advise Needed

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n0valife
Posts: 6
Joined: Fri Jan 26, 2007 7:55 am

New Game PC ---> Advise Needed

Post by n0valife » Fri Jan 26, 2007 9:10 am

Hello dear SPCR users,

I'm new here, and I have read the rules but if I have broken a rule someway or another then please tell me and I will adjust it ASAP.

Now ontopic ;)

I'm currently using an HP Pavilion Slimline s7510 but i'm planning on buying a new Gameing system, and instead of another playstation (3) I wanted to try out a game PC. I'm new, and a nooby, when it comes to configuring a PC anyway I hav tried my best.

First I wanted to buy an AlienWare Desktop for gaming, but I found it was going to cost me less money when I would configure my own system, myself.



I'm not rudely asking all of you to configure a PC for me, but I have, as allready mentioned, allready configured a PC. My only problems and questions are:

- Is it a good, if not the best, gaming PC configuration?

- What could I do better, what shouldn't I do at all.

- What is better than...

- Is every item fully compatile with the other parts, because I'm going to put it together myself ;)


My configuartion so far...


- Memory
- Motherboard
- Processor
- Hard Disk
- Graphic Card
- Optical Drive
- Power Supply

- Buffalo 2 GB DDR2-800 Kit 2048 MB, 2, PC2-6400 / DDR2-800, CL5
- Socket 775 Asus P5B Deluxe/WIFI / Intel® P965, ATX, 1066 MHz
- CPUs Socket 775 Intel Core 2 Duo E6600
- Harddisks 3,5 inch SATA Maxtor DiamondMax 17 / 160 GB, 8,9 / 8 / 7200
- 768 MB GDDR3, GeForce 8800GTX, PCIe x16, 575 MHz / 1800 MHz
- AOpen DW1670 16/8x, 8/-x(DL), 16/6x, 4/-x(DL), 2048 KB, ATAPI
- Zalman ZM600-HP ATX2, EPS, 600 Watt

Prices:

- Memory : € 209,-
- Motherboard : € 189,-
- Processor : € 315,-
- Hard Disk : € 59,-
- Graphic Card : € 559,-
- Optical Drive : € 35,-
- Power Supply : € 109,-

Total: € 1.475,-


Questions about configuration:

- Is it wise to buy DDR2 memory at 800MHz, I aint going to overclock so would it be better for me to save 30 bucks and buy 2GB DDR2 memory at 667MHz?

- Is it a good Power Supply? I heard that it does not make much noise, but can it give enough power to my system? I gues so?...
n0va wrote: - Is it a good, if not the best, gaming PC configuration?

- What could I do better, what shouldn't I do at all.

- What is better than...

- Is every item fully compatile with the other parts, because I'm going to put it together myself ;)

I already want to thank everyone for reading my post and trying to help me ;)

floffe
Posts: 497
Joined: Mon May 08, 2006 4:36 am
Location: Linköping, Sweden

Post by floffe » Sat Jan 27, 2007 3:50 am

If you're not gonna overclock, go for DDR2-800 or possibly DDR2-533 if it's quite a bit cheaper. 800 gives best performance, followed by 533 and 667 finishes third, due to not running syncronous with the FSB (connection to the processor).

The power supply should be plenty, you could very well drop down to, say, a Seasonic S12-430, or the modular M12-500, which should be quieter. The Zalman isn't that great by spcr standards ;)

One missing thing is a case, or do you intend to hang the parts on the wall (I've actually seen pics of someone doing that with a server)? :P

Also, if you want it spcr quiet you'll probably want to swap the CPU cooler to something else.

The I
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Location: Denmark

Post by The I » Sat Jan 27, 2007 8:15 am

Unless you have a very big monitor I'd consider saving some on the GFX. A 8800 gtx is not the easiest card to cool (an aftermarked cooler like the zalman cf-900 is probably a must) and it pulls a lot of power from the power supply which makes that louder as well. You'd save quite a bit settling for a GTS (this still gives you directX 10 compatibility) and I doubt you'd see very much difference in lower resolutions (which means anything you'd use on a monitor smaller than 21 or so inches).

Other than that I agree to the former: Go for a seasonic power supply, get a good case (for example: antec NSK 4400, P150, Solo or P180) and a good cooler as well (for example a Scythe Ninja, you could do with something less though if you don't overclock much and don't need complete silence, I like my Mine for instance).

Good luck!

EDIT: Oh, and I'd recommend one of the Western Digital Caviar SE16-series hard-drives instead of the maxtor as they're more silent

kater
Posts: 891
Joined: Thu Sep 07, 2006 11:20 pm
Location: Poland

Post by kater » Sat Jan 27, 2007 9:36 am

The I wrote: A 8800 gtx is not the easiest card to cool (an aftermarked cooler like the zalman cf-900 is probably a must) and it pulls a lot of power from the power supply which makes that louder as well. You'd save quite a bit settling for a GTS (this still gives you directX 10 compatibility) and I doubt you'd see very much difference in lower resolutions (which means anything you'd use on a monitor smaller than 21 or so inches).
in terms of power consupmtion gts needs only 10w less in idle, and 25w less or so under load, so theoretically there shouldn't be noticeable difference in terms of heat & noise, given they use the same heatsink. i don't think zalman vf900 will be quieter (no such thing as cf-900 afaik). also, no there are yet no aftermarket coolers fo 8800xxx cards as they have mounting holes located differently than other cards

go check a thread somewhere around here called "8800gtx not loud at all" - i remember ppl spoke v favorably about the cooler - the fan is large, moves slowly, the heatsink uses heatpies, so again, theoretically speaking, this should be one quiet cooler.

i agree tho that gts might be a smarter choice if you don't have a super large cosmic plasma screen with black hole generator. another thing to cnosider is to maybe wait for the new gts that is supposed to be realized soon - it'll have less ram (320 "only") and will be under 300$. it'll be here in february. see link

http://www.vr-zone.com/?i=4472

psiu
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Location: SE MI

Post by psiu » Sat Jan 27, 2007 9:52 am

Might want to consider the C2D 4400. Anandtech has a nice writeup on it here: http://anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/showdo ... i=2903&p=1

It's a new part, only compromise is lack of Virtualization support and less cache, however much cheaper and a fantastic overclocker. Save some bucks right there--though I don't know about availability yet.

n0valife
Posts: 6
Joined: Fri Jan 26, 2007 7:55 am

Post by n0valife » Sat Jan 27, 2007 12:16 pm

Hmmm...Ok, thanks for the reply's but I think I'm going for the GTX8800 already, after all.

As it is the most powerfull and fastest Video Card on the market for the moment, I believe that it will do what I want it to do, work fast, quietly and good.

I think that's wrth the extra 100 bucks, the only I thing I am not sure about is wether to take the

ASUS P5B Deluxe/WIFI / Intel® P965, ATX, 1066 MHz

Or the

Gigabyte 965P DS3 or 4

the DS3 is the cheapest one and my first choice would go to the DS4, but which one is the best? ASUS or the DS4, I haven't found any reviews about this which is rather anoying ;)

Anyway, thanks for all the reply's and if you have any other comments, feel free to tell them. :D

peterj
Posts: 12
Joined: Wed Jan 10, 2007 6:34 pm

Post by peterj » Sat Jan 27, 2007 2:13 pm

Corsair HX 520/620 W is a nice option, silent by SPCR standards and plenty of power.

merlyn
*Lifetime Patron*
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Location: Jersey, UK

Post by merlyn » Tue Jan 30, 2007 8:43 am

I've got the Gigabyte DS4 and you're right, there's not much in the way of reviews although I believe the DS6 is very similar.

I went with the DS4 because I needed the SATA ports and didn't need all the bells and whistles of the DS6. I'm fairly happy with it except I can't underclock/undervolt, a common limitation of gigabyte boards.

At your level of expertise you merely need to decide which functions you need or might need. These boards should perform similarly all other things being equal.

I agree with Corsair HX series PSU and either WD or Samsung HD instead of Maxtor.

MC FLMJIG
Posts: 332
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Contact:

Post by MC FLMJIG » Tue Jan 30, 2007 9:46 am

Seems like $ may not be an issue.

HD's I would get 2 minimum.
74GB 16MB Cache RAPTOR - to game you NEED.
I think Westerns are a tad loud in idle. My raptor is more silent in idle than the 250GB WD.

I would buy Micron based memory. You never know when you may want to OC in the future.

4400 is in a different league than the 6600. Can't compare them. If he doesn't want to OC than the 4400 is nowhere near the performance of the 6600.

Corsair PSU is a good reco. 520 should be fine. 620 safer.

Personally I don't like Junkabyte. To each their own. If you can wait there are some new boards coming out by ABIT. The Asus Deluxe is pretty good.

If you can wait prices on chips shall come down nicely soon.

n0valife
Posts: 6
Joined: Fri Jan 26, 2007 7:55 am

Post by n0valife » Tue Jan 30, 2007 10:45 am

I'm going for the

ASUS P5W DH Deluxe Motherboard I think.

It's a very nice motherboard...Good reviews and plenty of good compliments.

it's around 200 euro (230 dollar or so)

But as I just read that prices of processors will ''plumet'' or go down a little ;) in march I might either:

Buy a core 2 duo E6700 for the price of an E6600 now. OR just buy an E6600 at 215 instead of 315 euro and spend 100 euro more on:

The raptor hard drive and on the motherboard.

But what I would like the most is:

Push up my budget for a PC to € 1700, gotta ask my mom first though ;)

And then I would be able to take:

The Quad core QX6800 I think it is.

The ASUS motherboard, the raptor harddrive and all the rest.

I'm also going for 2X1GB Kingston HyperX at 800MHz for 240 dollar or 219 euro's.


But I don't know yet, is it worth to pay more for the Quad core?

The 6700 runs at 2.66GHz and the quad core at 2.4 GHz (only?)

MC FLMJIG
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Post by MC FLMJIG » Tue Jan 30, 2007 10:54 am

quad is such a waste for games. they don't even use let alone 4 cores. maybe in 2 years minimum. It's a big upgrade. Worth waiting 3 months or so. new mobos will be out by then too.

autoboy
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Location: San Jose, California

Post by autoboy » Tue Jan 30, 2007 2:00 pm

If you are going with the 8800GTX, you will need a case that can handle that beast. It is a very long card. I don't know what works but I just wanted to remind everyone reading this thread that he is looking for a case for a 8800GTX. I think the P180 will handle it with the upper drive cage removed. The p150/Solo will not take the 8800GTX.

I have 4 raptors. They are nice, quiet, fast drives but I feel like the new drives are catching up enough that they are not really required. Pick up a WD 300GB drive. That is the sweet spot for storage/price IMO.

Wait on the quad core. This sounds like a gaming machine only and right now games can't even use two cores let alone 4. The 6600 is a great chip and is the right choice here. Save some $ now and upgrade to quad in 2 years.

Don't overspend on gaming RAM. A decent quality DDR2 will be good for your set up. DDR2 533 geared more for budget systems. If you ever wanted to overclock as you get more familiar with building PCs it would be nice to be able to simply lower the clock of your RAM to 533 and by the time you reached your processor limit the RAM would be back to around 800 mhz again. This is a great way to overclock and does not require any fancy RAM.

When you are building the PC have someone help you with setting up the bios properly. A few improper settings can slow your PC down or affect stability. if you have never fooled around in a bios it is a good idea to get some help. if you can't get help from a friend just ask here and people can point you in the right direction. Also, make sure you enable the fan control in the bios. It will keep the processor nice and cool and quiet.

Some people have kept the stock heatsink and fan and are pretty happy with the noise level. You might try it out first with the fan control on and then try to upgrade later. The new CPU fan controllers on Intel chips use 4 pin fans and if you attach a 3 pin fan it will not be controlled. It will just run at 12V all the time and will be loud. Some boards have both connectors that are controlled by the motherboard. You should check to make sure you have cpu fan control on a 3 pin header before you buy a new heatsink. Most new heatsinks are 3 pin.

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