New comp ideas.

torzak

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Jul 1, 2009
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Hey everyone,
I am wanting to buy a new computer soon and I want your help. These are the parts i have looked at so far:
Case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811156223
Motherboard: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130228
Processor: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103650
RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227346
GPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150323
Hard Drive: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136098
Power Supply: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817709012
Monitor: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236058
All together the price is $630 (if I added right:P) I want to know what else i could upgrade, my budget is $700. I already have mice, keyboard, speakers and CD dive.
Thanks for the help.
 
I'd put more money into the PSU and graphics card.

The graphics card that you have picked out should be fine enough for the games around here (TF2/CS:S/etc.) but for a bit more you could pick up a much more powerful card. I don't know if you have any brand biasisms (i.e. Nvidia > ATI) but that's something to look into. I might be speaking too soon as I looked at the prices and I thought the 4870s were down a bit more than they are. However, the 4850 is about the same price ($10 more for the XFX version) and provides better performance from what I remember (it's on the GTX260s level?).

For the PSU, the mobo comes with an OCZ PSU combo. Yes, it's less wattage (500 vs 580) but I would imagine that it's better simply because it's OCZ. I have no idea who Sunbeam is or how their PSUs are. This suggestion is more because I know that OCZ is reputable and I have no idea about Sunbeam's PSU reputation. Switching it won't make too big a difference on price and the price is probably comparable after the combo/instant/mail in rebates (30/10/20 so $60 total which is the price of the OCZ PSU).

Past that, all other ideas are purely personal preference. I will say that I enjoy my Asus 19" Monitors very very much.

(edit)
With those 2 changes, the price comes out to $700.70 (with shipping to my zip code). I hope you don't live in CA(lifornia)/TN/NJ.
 
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I agree with the PD187. The PSU is something you don't want to cheap out on .
 
New GPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130339
More Power for just a little bit more money...tho there could be better options than even this however this is better than the 4850
New CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103680
Faster by stock, huge capability for OC, save yourself 40 bucks by not having an unnecessary quad core
New PSU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341002
More Power, just a little more money after mail in rebate
New RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227370
This ram is the same ram you have listed, but 3x1 gb, faster, same price with free shipping. so its just 1 GB less (which you won't use unless you have a 64 bit OS) but much faster and will be cheaper

all together with these options without tax and after all of the mail in rebates is 640.93, before MIR, 690.93 and lots of the parts have free shipping so that should be cheap too.
 
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You don't want to buy 3x1GB for an AMD build. It is not faster because AMD uses dual-channel, not triple-channel technology. Get a 2x2GB RAM kit. The timings are way less important utilizing the dual channel architecture.
 
Hard Drive
Get the 500GB Seagate Drive for $10 more. 2x the Cache, 180GB more and incredibly quiet. I think this is a great deal.


Power Supply
Since you are paying $60 dollars AR, I strongly suggest you go with an Antec. Antec`s are a relatively new addition to the PSU world but they have created incredibly stable and high quality PSUs. I would recommend the 550 Watt VX Model it may not be modular but it has everything you need (sleeved cables, brand name capacitors, 80+ Efficiency Cert)

You can get the modular version for $10 more. You lose 30 Watts (negligble difference since their 450watt model can power your card).


Edit* I personally am not a big fan of OCZ Power Supplies. I have heard many good and bad things depending on the model, date of manufacturing, etc. Why take a chance?

Edit Edit* You do not need 750+ watts to power ANY single card system. Even if you overclock a nice 550 watt system will take care of the majority of the systems out there.

Motherboard
The features look a bit skimpy. Since I haven`t done any AMD research I won`t give recommendations for models. You should look definitely look for solid capacitors and covered ferrite chokes. These show quality and reliability essential features if you are trying to overclock.
 
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Thanks for the help. I would like a quad core processor because of the gaming capabilities compared to dual are a lot better, and I want 4GB or ram minimum.
 
stick with the quad and the 4gb memory kit, make sure you use a 64 bit OS though because it will be faster even though it eats up more memory, but not much.

Get the OCZ PSU recommended, it is cheaper yet more reliable and better than the one you have. I would also upgrade your graphics card to either a 4850 if your on a budget or maybe a 4890 if your not. There is a 4850 for $95 and the cheapest 4890 is around $185 but no free shipping. If you want you could even just crossfire the 4850 for the same price as a 4890 almost. If you want something right in the middle a 4870 is around $125 for the cheapest one and a GTX 260 is around $160-165 for a very fast one, $150 for the cheapest Core 216.
 
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PSU= DO NOT WANT!!!!!!
that is probably one weak PSU you are much better off buying a PSU from the likes of Antec, OCZ, Corsair, PC power and cooling, Cooler Master, BFG or other reputable brand

cheap PSU's are known to die and take other components with them thus costing you more in the long run
 
Thanks for the help. I would like a quad core processor because of the gaming capabilities compared to dual are a lot better, and I want 4GB or ram minimum.

on the contrary my friend, dual cores rank higher than quads for gaming

http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/archives/000942.html

theres one link saying it, however there are a bunch more, i just don't have a lot of time to look over google regarding it

You don't want to buy 3x1GB for an AMD build. It is not faster because AMD uses dual-channel, not triple-channel technology.

forgot bout that, but either way theres better/faster/cheaper ram than what was originally posted
 
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I also do a lot of 3D modeling and rendering which is another reason i want a quad core.
 
Go with the quads, there really almost no reason to go dual core anymore considering Quads aren't terribly expensive anymore. Quads will help in the games that support it also and you can pretty much overclock a quad as much as you can overclock a duo core. I have my Q6600 which is one of the first quads running at 3.65 ghz 24/7 i can get it much higher though, like 3.8 but its not worth it and is only good for benchmarking.

Most of the games coming out now support quad core anyway.
 
Go with the quads, there really almost no reason to go dual core anymore considering Quads aren't terribly expensive anymore. Quads will help in the games that support it also and you can pretty much overclock a quad as much as you can overclock a duo core. I have my Q6600 which is one of the first quads running at 3.65 ghz 24/7 i can get it much higher though, like 3.8 but its not worth it and is only good for benchmarking.

Most of the games coming out now support quad core anyway.

well then i will have to buy one of those once i get a job. but a new motherboard and ram too. :/. looks like things just got expensive.
also, how well does 8 GB ram work with Phenom II's?
 
Ok thanks for all the help, I have revised my comp list a little this is what i have found, also my budget has lowered a little to $600 so i can get the comp sooner.
Motherboard: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138141
Processor: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103650
RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820178238
PSU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817193063
GPU:http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130339
Case: I am going to use my current case to save money
Hard drive: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152181
I already have mice, keyboard, and speakers, and I am going to wait to get a new monitor.
Please leave comments or concerns especially if something doesn't look right.
 
I would strongly caution against buying such a cheap PSU. I would definitely go with a better known PSU manufacter. I have seen nothing but bad reviews for these high wattage, low priced PSUs. They do not cleanly nor reliably deliver the electricity you need to keep your parts running 100%

You buy cheap you buy twice. The main cause of a non-bootable computer is from a PSU that died.

You could probably also get a cheaper motherboard. I'm guessing running crossfired video cards aren't in your plans. You could probably take off 15-20 dollars there and put that toward your PSU
 
well then i will have to buy one of those once i get a job. but a new motherboard and ram too. :/. looks like things just got expensive.
also, how well does 8 GB ram work with Phenom II's?

What my processor?? dont get it, its old and its still expensive. Its still fast but it still doesnt keep up to the newer Quad 9 series or the new i7

My Q6600 is $200 :closedeyes: and it still is lmao atleast i think. Newegg used to sell it till like a couple of weeks ago. I can't find it on their website anymore.

8gb of ram helps in some stuff. Its not all used though but the more ram the merrier. You will rarely see a performance drop using 8gb of ram but there are some moments where the 8gb of ram will decrease your performance a little bit but not much. IMO the pros of having 8gb of ram outweigh the cons
4gb should be enough though and its cheaper. Since most of the Mobos except hte i7 mobos are dual channel, only get like 4gb or 8gb, dont go with 6gb or something though i dont think it would affect anything.
 
What my processor?? dont get it, its old and its still expensive. Its still fast but it still doesnt keep up to the newer Quad 9 series or the new i7

My Q6600 is $200 :closedeyes: and it still is lmao atleast i think. Newegg used to sell it till like a couple of weeks ago. I can't find it on their website anymore.

8gb of ram helps in some stuff. Its not all used though but the more ram the merrier. You will rarely see a performance drop using 8gb of ram but there are some moments where the 8gb of ram will decrease your performance a little bit but not much. IMO the pros of having 8gb of ram outweigh the cons
4gb should be enough though and its cheaper. Since most of the Mobos except hte i7 mobos are dual channel, only get like 4gb or 8gb, dont go with 6gb or something though i dont think it would affect anything.

no i meant a phenom II quad. so having 8GB of DDR3 is good, yea? and it will all work with the P II? because i heard that tri channel memory isnt supported with them.
 
Ok thanks for all the help, I have revised my comp list a little this is what i have found, also my budget has lowered a little to $600 so i can get the comp sooner.
Motherboard: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138141
Processor: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103650
RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820178238
PSU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817193063
GPU:http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130339
Case: I am going to use my current case to save money
Hard drive: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152181
I already have mice, keyboard, and speakers, and I am going to wait to get a new monitor.
Please leave comments or concerns especially if something doesn't look right.

your very cheap PSU. like everyone else is saying, dont go super cheap on your psu, and i have never heard of that brand either.
RaidMax has nice powersupplies. Modular, nice wattage, voltage, reliable, and plus they look cool.
 
you basically have 2 things you need to think of regarding your PSU....wattage and amperage on the 12V rail. these are the big requirements and you can get the cheapest PSU you want as long as you meet the wattage requirements for your computer, and the amps on the 12V rail for your video card.
for instance that 9800 GTX+ needs 24+ amps on the 12V rail and a minimum of 450W power supply, that PSU is only 500W and only has 26 amps on the 12V rail...so you're cutting it too close in my opinion
 
you basically have 2 things you need to think of regarding your PSU....wattage and amperage on the 12V rail. these are the big requirements and you can get the cheapest PSU you want as long as you meet the wattage requirements for your computer, and the amps on the 12V rail for your video card.
for instance that 9800 GTX+ needs 24+ amps on the 12V rail and a minimum of 450W power supply, that PSU is only 500W and only has 26 amps on the 12V rail...so you're cutting it too close in my opinion

well whats the point in having a massive PSU if you aren't going to use all of it? besides being ready for future upgrades
 

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