Results 1 to 26 of 26

Thread: Help Building New PC

Hybrid View

Previous Post Previous Post   Next Post Next Post
  1. #1
    Swarthylicious Member Spino's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2002
    Location
    Brooklyn, New York
    Posts
    2,604

    Default Re: Help Building New PC

    Quote Originally Posted by Xiaohu
    I'm in a similar boat- building a new PC, (which I haven't done in awhile either) I'm trying to keep my budget much lower... around $800.

    Here's what I've come up with- I offer it as help to anyone who's similarly shopping and to put it out there for comment/advice.

    Case: Antec SonataII w/ 450W PSU
    Mobo: ASUS M2N-E
    CPU: AMD64 x2 4400+ EE (Brisbane)
    GPU: eVGA 7950GT KO Superclocked 512MB eVGA GeForce 8800GTS 320MB
    HD: WD 250GB 16MB, 7200RPM SATA
    RAM: 2x1GB

    That, plus a few cooling fans and shipping costs comes in almost exactly on my budget. From what I can tell, it should be able to run just about any current game with most or all options turned on and should leave some wiggle room for future upgrades if I want. I do most of my shopping on Mwave.com. Their prices are usually very competitive and I think their website is much easier to navigate than newegg- but maybe that's just my personal preference. I've done business with them many times over the years and never had any issues with returns or purchases. YMMV.

    Edit: I'm hoping to swap out the 7950 for a 8800. I see that they now have the 8800's with 320MB instead of the 640MB version for about $90 less. Add to that, a $20 rebate and the 8800 will only cost about $5 more than the 7950... Seems like a no-brainer to me.
    That 450W PSU doesn't make me feel very confident with a 7950GT or 8800GTS in the system. You should consider a PSU that is rated at 550-600W or higher and make absolutely sure it has a healthy amount of amperage on the 12V rails (combined the 12V rails shoud add up to 30-40A or better). Also try to get a PSU with a high efficiency rating (80%+) and Active PFC to minimize the damage to your electric bills. Seasonic makes extremely efficient PSUs as does Corsair (rebadged Seasonics rigged for quieter operation).

    Quote Originally Posted by sapi
    Yep - and amd/ati is simply outclassed in the graphics card department atm as well
    Now that's just not true. AMD/ATI has excellent offerings for the budget to mid ranged segment. The X1950 Pro is hand's down the best card you can buy in the $150-200 range and the X1950XT (256meg version) is the best card in the $200-250 range. However the high end and 'enthusiast' segments are dominated by Nvidia, nothing in AMD/ATI's arsenal comes close to the 8800 series.
    "Why spoil the beauty of the thing with legality?" - Theodore Roosevelt

    Idealism is masturbation, but unlike real masturbation idealism actually makes one blind. - Fragony

    Though Adrian did a brilliant job of defending the great man that is Hugo Chavez, I decided to post this anyway.. - JAG (who else?)

  2. #2
    Very Senior Member Gawain of Orkeny's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2003
    Location
    Centereach NY
    Posts
    13,763

    Default Re: Help Building New PC

    Originally Posted by sapi
    Yep - and amd/ati is simply outclassed in the graphics card department atm as well

    Now that's just not true. AMD/ATI has excellent offerings for the budget to mid ranged segment. The X1950 Pro is hand's down the best card you can buy in the $150-200 range and the X1950XT (256meg version) is the best card in the $200-250 range. However the high end and 'enthusiast' segments are dominated by Nvidia, nothing in AMD/ATI's arsenal comes close to the 8800 series.
    Its true if your going for their best. The Core 2 Duo beats anything AMD makes and the same can be said for the 8800 as it compares to ATI.

    Im now getting an E6600 with a P5WDH DELUXE/WIFI motherboard ,an 8800gts320 vid card , windows xp pro ,250g hard drive, 2k ram ,tower of my choice with 600w psu and dvd burner with lightscribe for 1285 dollars.

    Anyone know of a better deal for that price?

    If you have around a thousand dollars to spend I dont see how anyone can go with AMD or ATI.


    If you have less then the field is more even or even tilted in AMDs and ATIs favor.
    Last edited by Gawain of Orkeny; 03-13-2007 at 17:37.
    Fighting for Truth , Justice and the American way

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  
Single Sign On provided by vBSSO