The (new) Official PC building thread!

True if i was older and had a full time job i wouldn't hessitate chosing the 2900HD XTX.
I guess you might be right it wouldnt hurt ot wait until February and get a proper powerfull GPU.
Would a 320mb 8800GTS 320bit do well?
but i want an answer on my previous question so i see all my options.

 

I think i might just go for a 8600GTS
can someone help me choose one out of this site http://www.altech.com.au
just type in 8600GTS in the search box and brings them up i only want a 512mb version which one is the best any of the 512mb's on that list which one would be the best?

 

Part number E-8600GTS-E3-OC
The X1950 pro would still be better though, just so you know.

 

Is the difference that big because really i dont see adding 120au on a X1950XTX 512mb because in this store there are no 512mb PCI-E versions.
I will ask about a few games if they will run on this 8600GTS all at 1024x768 on max graphics
*Toca Race Driver 3
*Colin Mc Rae DIRT
*Oblivion (WOuldnt play it but an esitmate on what other these style games would work)
*Doom 3
*Flight Simulator X
*GTR 2
*Need For Speed Pro Street (from what we know).

 

Well, I have an X1900XT, it's maybe 20% slower than an X1950XT-X but perhaps 60% faster than an 8600GTS.
It can run Doom 3 at 2560x1600 Max settings flawlessly.
Toca Race Driver 3 will run flawlessly on any recent card (I don't own it, but I've seen the benchmarks, an x850xt (half the speed of my card) can run it at 2048x1536 all max detail and get 45fps, and that's with an old single core CPU.
Oblivion my card can handle at 2048x1536 just about, but in the most detailed scenes, it'd have issues. Set the resolution to 1280x1024 though and it runs perfectly.
GTR2 runs fine at max detail on most cards (A pair of X1600 Pros, a mere 30% of the speed of my card can get 55fps at 1600x1200 Max)

Flight simulator X is the only grey area, that can be an incredibly demanding game, so we'll have to see...

 

I guess this kinda went by lol. BUt I'm building a computer for someone I know, and his budget is 500. Should I go with an AMD build or tell him to suck it up and pay a bit more and go with C2D?

 

Why compromise?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115013 - E4300 $122
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128042 - GA965P-DS3 $90
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145034 - 2GB Corsair $102 ($40 rebate)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822144701 - 250GB WD SE16 $70
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130062 - 7600GT $90 ($15 rebate)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817153028 - Thermaltake 500W PSU $80 ($30 rebate)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827131047 - NEC 18x Burner $33
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119068 - Coolermaster centurion 5 $50 ($20 rebate)
Total cost $637 plus delivery, but with $105 rebates, that's not far off $500.

 

Well here's my attempt at a $500.00 C2D system:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813188017 EVGA 122-CK-NF66-T1 LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 650i Ultra $100.00 ($20.00 rebate)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822145132 HITACHI Deskstar T7K500 $60.00

http://www.mwave.com/mwave/viewproduct.asp?PID=CPU-CORE2DUO&updepts=CPU&DNAME=Processors+-+CPU INTEL CORE 2 DUO E4400 123.00

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820220144 Patriot Extreme Performance 2GB $94.99 - ($40.00 rebate)= $54.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130062 - 7600GT $90 ($15 rebate)

http://www.mwave.com/mwave/skusearch.hmx?SCriteria=BA23892&CartID=done&nextloc= ANTEC SONATA III 500 (BLACK) ATX SUPER MINI TOWER CASE W/500W POWER SUPPLY $113.85

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151153 SAMSUNG Black 20X DVD+/-R 32.00

This didn't include a floppy drive or operating system.

614.00 - 75.00 rebates = $539.00 + Shipping

A bit more than Sam's excellent choices but adds a E4400 and a different mobo, also with the 1333 FSB and a rebate. I also used another retailer besides Newegg, mwave.com.

(I just finished a similar system today, (Its burning in as I write this). In addition to what was listed, it has an C2D E6750, A DVD ROM, Hitachi 320 Gb HDD, a Creative Audigy SE sound card, an X1950 video card, a floppy and XP Pro. Cost with shipping was $960.00 and I'll get back about $60.00 in rebates.)

 

An excellent value build there frank, I think the cost saving comes from the power supply coming with the case. Is the one that comes with the NSK any good? I know some Antec PSUs are good but not all.

 

Cool I think I will go with the DS3 since it's a tried and tested thing for me. Thanks for all the help, I'll show him this and see what he says.

 

I personally think the 965P chipset is better than the 650i anyway, I know it's older, but the 650s just seemed to have had a few little snags, my board's a good example of that.

 

fasfrank..Here save yourself 6.00bucks on that DVD Burner

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151151

 

I thought Samsung DVD burners were supposed to be rubbish?
Or have I been fed false info. Afterdawn's the haven for burning discs, so I should know by now!

 

Just wondering... I'm not extremely tech savvy although I have built my own computer before. My roommate and I both need new computers. I was looking at a quad core system for myself and then it hit me... Is it possible to build one system (one tower), dual monitors, operating off of a single OS?? Both users would be completely independent of one another. I know this is possible in the big corporate world running on an IBM OS, but even there I usually see everyone having their own individual tower.

 

sammorris,
I think that Samsung has "stepped up" a bit from a few years ago. I have an older Samsung and it burns pretty good. The NEW Samsung SH-S203B does a fairly good job at burning and ripping but I think that a LiteOn is still one of the best scanners. NEC/Optiarc/Sony drives do a good job at TRT scans cause they're so "sensitive". lol. Anyway Samsung's reputation has improved in the burning arena.

...gm

 

Fair enough. I forget who it was who told me that. Good to know.

 

the slimline samsung dvdrw in my laptop is pure junk. although it's suppossedly a 8x drive it will only read and write at 4x. also the dvd's (verbatim dvd+r's) I have burned with it will not play in my set top dvd players without skipping and pausing. they play perfect when burned with my litey or benq.

I don't have any experience with their half height drives but I don't believe they are capable of bitsetting which is a must for me. correct me if I'm wrong but I know their older drives could not bitset.

I would probably have to go with a tried and proven litey, try a new sony/nec or a plextor.

 

Hi Rick,
That's a bit cheaper but also it's a PATA (IDE) interface which I'm phasing out of my builds.

The Samsung SH203B was used in Maximum PC magazine's 2007 Dream Machine build and listed as the "best of the best".
It bested the Plextor PX-810SA in write tests to 16X media as well as having the fastest access times and DVD+DL write speed. I've been using a bunch of SATA Lite-on and Asus DVD burners and ROMs with no issues. My old IDE JLMS 166 is still the fastest DVD ROM I've ever used though.

I went ahead and bought the Samsung last week for my current build. I can't really comment on the write speeds as I'm burning 8X T-Ys at 6X. I do notice that it is a quiet burner with smooth tray operation. It's as nice as any burner I've owned and I have owned and still own quite a few. It's a SATA burner for $31.00 and burns DVDs quietly. That's all I want. I don't use burners to read with so that's not an issue.

Sam,
Those Antec Sonata III cases I've been using come with 500 Watt Earthwatts PSUs. They seem to work OK. They are the quietest PSU I've owned and with the Sonata case I can rarely hear the PC. I read a few ratings I found with Google and they were not bad.

As far as the EVGA 650i board goes, I've done two builds in the past month using these so I'm hoping they work out. I haven't had any problems.

 

Hmm, I may very well start recommending them then...

 

You know that ULTRA case with the power supply I have? It only costs 99 USD so I might go for that. I asked him today and he is like well I was actually more interested in a laptop. WTF, did he think I can build him a laptop? lol