Building a New Computer!

[chapster5]

Hey everyone, i am starting to build a new system for me to play with should last me for a good few years before i need upgrading (i hope) i have madw a start today, got the case that i ordered last friday and well, its bigger than i expected lol couldnt fit it in my dads Ford Focus, had to take the parcel shelf out and put a seat down ¬_¬ what a pain in the ass, but hey its home now and looks great! just waiting on my Quad Core and Motherboard to show up so i can really make a start.


Heres what i have so far:

(thats how big it is compared to my Xbox 360)
also i dont know what to have as my side panel i have a choice between mesh (on now) or plexiglass(in the box)
will post updates as i get parts and fit them

[Noisycow]

You are like me - you do your work in bed .... 'a few years' - - any PC now will be a doorstop in 2.

[serpent]

i do most of my work on bed too...i have my laptop on my recliner near my bed. So on my off days i only move from bed to recliner...lol

back on topic....what kinda specs are we talking for your computer? gfx card? and definately go with the mesh

[chapster5]

I'm trying to get a AMD Phenom Q9850+, 4GB RAM, 1TB HDD Space (SATA), 2x Nvidia GeForce 9800 (SLI Enabled), HD Screen ("19) Liquid Cooling, and what ever else springs to mind hmmm....

Gonna spend around £1500 on it (around $3,000)

[DarkLotus]

I have long been an AMD fanboy, but the performance just isn't there anymore. Intel has better bang for buck these days.

Better off with a Q6600 if you're liquid cooling, they can reach 4+GHz stably. What kind of ram? What CAS latency?

Newegg.com - Computer Parts, PC Components, Laptop Computers, Digital Cameras and more! is pretty much the #1 parts reseller on the interwebs, so i'd recommend them for pricing and purchasing.

AnandTech: your source for hardware analysis and news
and
Tom's Hardware: Hardware News, Tests and Reviews

have the latest and greatest reviews. For example, why not just get an ATI(amd) 4850 w/1gb memory instead of 2x 9800s? It will be cheaper and faster. And if you went with an SLI mbd you could add another 4850 later and reap the rewards therein.

[chapster5]

Im not too much of a fan on ATI ive had one before but never really saw anything good about (then again it was a 128mb) and its going to be DDR-2 RAM as far as i know depends what motherboard i am given because i have a local computer shop who i order parts from, i asked for a Quad Core processor and a mobo, he asks Intel? but i say AMD because they run at lower cycles so the can process alot more, and CAS latency? what lol

More Pics:
chapster5/Gigabyte Chassis - Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting

most are blurry cause im crap when it comes to holding a camera still in mid air

[charliex]

I'd go with the Quad core intel too, the Q6600 is what i run, its been perfect,temps are high with the stock intel fan but i have feeling the shop gave me a dual core instead of the quad core fan, i swapped it out for a thermaltake and its been fine since.

The AMD's have been running real hot.

NVIDIA have been odd recently, they used to be all out the best but i've had a lot of problems with their drivers and have gotten hit twice by that faulty batch of mobile GPU's. But i do still prefer the cards since i like the CUDA/GPU it has, ATI definitely has some advantages these days but with AMD's recent split and all the chatter, it'll be interesting to see how it goes.

I get a lot of crashes from the current drivers, lots of mouse trail and rendering issues in some apps, but they're fast so i can live with it, i find the nview stuff to be the most problematic.


I like corsair ram.

[Brennon]

Quad cores are really a waste of money right now unless you go very high end ($$$). The more affordable quad cores are more expensive and slower than the core 2 duos (E8400 and E8500 are great buys and just about as fast as the highest end quad core).

[charliex]

Depends what you're doing , if ther app isn't designed to run for a quad core, it won't be better, if it is, it will, heavy cpu graphics like photoshop, 3ds max, maya, or developer tools will definitely be faster on a quad.

most games are dual core, but thats changing, unreal 3 engine ( which is the one i develop for ) does fare better on quad core than the half life 2 engine.

[chapster5]

Im going to be doing:

Adobe Photoshop
3DS Max

Playing Crysis

and many other CPU cnsuming things

[DarkLotus]

The q6600 is $189. That is rock-bottom pricing, imo. I can't really come up with a good reason to get a dual core instead.

Newegg.com - Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz 2 x 4MB L2 Cache LGA 775 Quad-Core Processor - Processors - Desktops

the 9850 by AMD is $209, has a smaller L2 Cache, and is at 2.5Ghz stock vs the Q6600 2.4 Stock (which can be improved with a decent fan and simple overclocking).

The 4850 w/1gb memory is ~$230 , but lots of them have rebates. the 9800's are around $130 a piece.

Here is a tom's article for Oct 2008, on best cards for the money:
Best Video Cards For The Money: Oct '08 : The Best Graphics Cards for the Money: October 2008 - Tom's Hardware

and here is the page between $160-$300 which is your apparently range:
PCI Express Interface: $160 to $300 - Tom's Hardware : Best Video Cards For The Money: Oct '08

There are 2 flavors of the 4850, 512mb and 1gb.

[chapster5]

I can get a Quad core and the motherboard for £165 ($330) and thats cheap to me, anyway im not sure what AMD processor im getting i didnt specifically say get me a Phenom, i just said i want an AMD Quad Core, so ill see what the guy come sup with

[ChrisB]

An Intel DX48BT2 motherboard will take a variety of socket LGA775 processors, supports FSB speeds from 800 to 1600, and uses DDR3 memory. It will run around $250. It has a ton of USB 2.0 ports, 6 SATA RAID ports, two external eSATA RAID ports and two FireWire ports.

If you want speed at all costs, go for the Intel QX9770 processor. It is a 3.2 GHz Quad core processor with a FSB running at 1600 MHz. There are a variety of slower, cheaper processors that are compatible with the DX48BT2 motherboard, as well.

[dma550]

I have had great luck with EVGA parts. They have a nice tradeup program and have lifetime warranties. My present "fun" machine is a Q6600 Quad to 3.4GHz on air (massive heat sink) an Evga 680i nforce board, and two evga 8800GTXKO editions in SLI, which is good for about 17K 3dmarks.

[CrusaderTBC]

I understand that usually waiting for the next tech release is futile, but Nehalem is due out really soon now. That's what I'm waiting to upgrade to.

I'd go with a Nehalem and X58 chipset motherboard and 4Gb of DDR3 memory. Throw in an AMD 4870X2 graphics card and maybe a 128Gb intel SSD drive to really be a monster.

I have 5 rigs sitting at my desk at home, all home-built.

My current gaming box is:

Asus P5W-DH deluxe (2407 bios) - Q6600 oc 3.6
Thermalright Ultra-120 cpu heatsink w/S-Flex F 120x25 fans
4x1Gb Ballistix DDR2 6400
2x VisionTek 4870 (Cat8.9) in crossfire
Dell 2407WFP-HC
74Gb WD Raptor
2x 500Gb WD SE16
CoolerMaster Stacker 830 case
Asus PhysX card
PC Power & Cooling Silencer 750
Creative X-Fi Platinum
BenQ W1655 DVDRW
Vista Business 64bit w/SP1

[Cegan09]

I have the intel q6600 in the machine i built over the summer. 4 gigs ram (damn 32 bit vista only sees 2.75),EVGA 780i MB, EVGA 9800GTX KO, everything stock. I've run at 3.2ghz on air, but leave it at stock 2.4 for most things. its been a great setup, reliable, fast, great multi-tasker. I plan on getting a 9800GTX+ soon to run SLI as well as grab some more hard drive space.

Good luck with whatever chip you end up with, sounds like it will suit your needs.

[chapster5]

Well, ill report back when my proccessor and mobo come in, ill let you know what it is, in the mean time im going to be looking round for other parts to stick in

[chapster5]

Right, Motherboard and Proccy finally came today !!! bout time anyway the proccy is a

AMD Phenom 9950 x64

Mobo:

Biostar MCP6P M2+

thinking of changing the mobo though, not eenough PCI and PCI-E x16 ports for me, need 3x PCI and 2x PCI-E but the motherboard only has 2x PCI and 1x PCI-E

so im not sure im looking at getting a XFX nForce 750a Mobo instead looks better and has more ports for me to play with

Proccy:

http://s121.photobucket.com/albums/o...Phenom%209950/

[Moto44]

Did you pick up a COLOR monitor this time?

Just kidding.

[chapster5]

Anyone know any good liquid cooling kits you can buy? the one i wanted has run out of stock

cheers for any help