The (new) Official PC building thread!

abuzar1,

yes CM makes some as you put it.....drab cases but so do other top end manufactures. the mystique and stacker lines are anything but drab. just depends on personal preferrance and how much you want to spend. CM happens to be one of the choice cases for pc enthusiests due to their sturdy aluminum construction, good ventilation, and features on their mid and top end models.

these are anything but drab:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119139

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119135

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119125

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119127

I couldn't afford the artwork so I had to settle for this one still has all the functionality, features, and excellent construction as their top end models. and is still a looker as far as I'm concerned. newegg has the same case as mine (only it's in black) on sale for $60 after MIR and free shipping.

 

Hmm, I actually prefer the 'drab' Stackers to the new ones, they look more 'Server admin' style if you know what I mean. The 830s just look like a tacky knockoff of the old ones. The custom decals really don't suit my taste, but hey, each to their own.
I think the lexa is down to which looks you prefer. The reflective front panel isn't to everyone's taste but I think it looks superb, and the rest of the case is good. If you've had a steel case in the past, you won't believe how light it is. With the carry handle setup I can carry it (with components in) with two fingers!

 

Holy crap 700+ for a case! Are they fu**ing outta their minds!

 

The paint job's probably hand-done. If it is, that's about the right sort of price. Crazy huh?

 

you're paying for the artwork. I think I read that each one is hand painted but I can't remember where I read that at. kinda like a painting you hang on the wall, their expensive too. like I said I couldn't afford the artwork but basically got the same case as the space age and falcon.

 

Each one is hand painted...with over 100hrs in some of the paint jobs...most are limited to a run of 100...

When you factor in the price of the case...then the labor...they are Cheap...

They actually lose money on each case...

 

That doesn't surprise me...

 

Cool cases there boys!! Pun intended...hehehe

OK I've got a question..

What GPU do I need to play M$ FlightSimulatorX?? I want to make sure that I get enough GPU to play this game smoothly on a 22" monitor. It's for a friend of mine and since I don't play such complicated games I need some advice. TIA....

Take into consideration this guy is in college and doesn't really wanna spend $300 plus if he can help it.

...gm

edit: grammar......arrrgghh!!

 

okay, so intel then...
what about the Q6600?

so I Put together something... I think
http://secure.newegg.com/NewVersion/WishList/MySavedWishDetail.asp?ID=5988551
lemme know what and where I can shave off some cash, like with the PSU or something because I still have to either buy a monitor (probably looking at the samsung 22" widescreen http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824001096 ) now or use an old one...
so yeah, anything that can help would be awesome.

 

The problem you've got with Flight Sim X is that it can be incredibly demanding. All I can suggest is find the cheapest 'high end' card and see how you go. How about an X1950 Pro?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102061

Poorlad: you can't share newegg wishlists with people who don't have accounts, so I can't see that. Place the links here individually.

 

Thanks sam.

This graphics card is what I was looking at but wasn't sure about the abilities to play the game with any smoothness and effectiveness.

....gm

 

Is Flight Sim X Directx10? that card's alright but I suspect the X1950 Pro may be a bit faster. If the 8600GTS turns out cheaper though, go for that, it'll certainly suffice.

 

Which card is better?? I'm looking at the specs and it shows the MSI 8600GTS with core clock 700 and memory clock 2100 while the Sapphire X1950PRO has core clock 580 and memory clock 1400. NOT knowing a WHOLE lot about what is going on here the MSI seems like the better card for the money and the better card overall. There may be more economic deals out there and better companies but I'm just trying to figure out this whole GPU thing for simplicities sake.

....gm

 

The clock speed doesn't determine performance. A prime example would be the Core 2 CPUs. They are clocked MUCH lower yet outperform higher clocked P4s like crazy. It depends on the architecture, but check out tomshardware and theri VGA charts for comparing GPU performance.

 

the X1950 Pro is without question faster, but obviously doesn't have directx10 capability, so it depends whether Flight Sim X will use it or not, I couldn't say myself.

 

greensman,

find cards as close as possible to the ones you want to compare and plug them in here then you can select different games. not sure if flight sim is there though.

 

As luck would have it, it is. Unfortunately it looks like the trend is that the CPU limits performance more than the GPU. It also seems like nvidia cards are better programmed for the game than ATi. Anything as powerful as a 7900GT can handle the game at any resolution it seems, albeit only attaining 19fps. Things don't improve much when you down the detail!

 

http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16811119111
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16813127030
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16814130038
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16817153052
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16819115017
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16820231122
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16822144701 x2
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16827101131
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16835118019

1,297.90 is the total of those so far…

 

@all,
If I did this right then this is what Tom's has to compare and say.

link to comparison

Any help in the "reading" of this would completely clarify any questions I'm sure. As it looks the 8600 GTS is better than the X1950PRO. :S Any insight on that??

....gm

 

poorlad,

looks pretty good to me. I would probably go with this memory x2 and this p/s or this p/s instead.

I'm not sold on the quad cores and know they don't OC nearly as well as the dual cores so I would opt for this cpu