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Computer Advice (ALL HELP APPRECIATED)
For the last few weeks i have been searching around for a new computer and am planning on purchasing from www.ibuypower.com They have a 3 year warrenty their prices seemed cheaper than most of the other companies and their shipping to canada is fairly cheap. So I was hoping for any advice, opinions, or experiences that you may have before i go and spend money on a new Rig.
-Case- Eagletech sidewinder gaming tower (420 Watt)
-Power supply- 550 watt power supply
-processor- intel 2 quad processor Q6600 (4 x 2.4 Ghz 8 mb L2 cache / 1066 fsb)
- cooling system- Intel CPU fan system cooling kit
-mother board- Asus P5n-E SLI nForce 650i SLI
- memory - 2048 MB DDR 800 PC6400 (cosair)
- Video Card - Nvidia Geforce 8800 GT 512 MB
- HD - 320 GB (7200 RPM 16 mb cache)
- CD/DVD drive - 20x dual format
- sound card - 3D premium surround sound onboard
- speakers- 600 watt speakers
- windows XP -
I have had a few questions that i have not been able to find answered to so any help with these would be apreciated.
- Not exactly sure how much wattage my rig needs i went with the 550 would like to no if this is over kill or if i would be find with just the 420 watt that comes with my case?
- I have a extra copy of windows XP so i am planning on using that to save money just in till microsoft works out all of the kinks , but then i also feel i am wasting my money on getting a 800 series g- card and not getting DX10 just wondering if any one has any experience with vista or should i just use the free XP and wait till vista works better?
- judging with all the components how upgradable is my rig or will i not be able to upgrade in a few years and end up buying a whole new system again?
-my biggest concern is that is everything compatible and will work nicely with one another?
- I picked the cooling system because i heard it was quiet but just wondering if this is true?
- am i forgetting anything important i need to be considering when making a purchase?
I am very grateful for you reading my post and would apreciate any other advice, experiences or opinions you may have.
Thank you Very Much ~ Merry christmas ~
Comments
Power supply - 550 watt should be adequate. Do not go with the one inside the case because a rule of thumb is that power supplies that come inside cases are generally crappy (except for antec cases).Operating system - Its your choice. If it was me, since you already have a copy of XP, I would go with that. Just because you don't get directx10 benefits when using XP doesn't mean the 8800 series cards aren't worth it. The 8800GT will suit you very well.
Upgrading - Unfortunately the 6-series motherboards will not be compatible with the upcoming 45nm quad-cores that intel is coming out with this January (at least I think 650i won't be able to upgrade, I know the 680i is incompatible with the new processors).
Compatibility - Well I would hope the manufacturer makes sure everything is compatible when they make it. Just to warn you though, I haven't heard great things from ibuypower.
Cooling System - Haven't really heard of the intel cooling system, is it just the one that comes with the processor? If so, that should be fine since you are not overclocking.
Forgetting - You have the monitor, keyboard, mouse, and speakers right? Other than that everything looks to be there.
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Desktop - AMD 8450 Tri Core, 3 gigs of DDR2 800 RAM, ATI HD 3200 Graphics, Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit
Laptop (Dell Latitude E6400) - Intel P8400, 2 GIGs of RAM, Intel X4500, Windows XP Professional
I agree with the above poster.
Other things to consider...you bought an SLI board and only 1 vid card. Are you planning on running dual nvidia video cards in the future? If not I'd get a different motherboard, and definitely a newer model.
I'd probably go with vista for the dx10, but I'd also stick with xp if I had an extra copy laying around. :c) You can always buy vista later.
If you can afford the upgrade, and are not planning on running SLI I'd go for one of these that ibuypower offers:
Asus P5E Intel X38 CrossFire Chipset w/7.1 Sound, Gb LAN, S-ATA Raid, USB 2.0, IEEE-1394 Dual PCI-E MB
Asus Maximus Formula Intel X38 CrossFire Chipset w/7.1 Sound, Gb LAN, S-ATA Raid, USB 2.0, IEEE-1394 Dual PCI-E MB
YOu'll be able to take newer processors when they come out, and you could run ATI crossfire multiple video cards (or the single nvidia card you have selected.)
If you are dead set on the SLI, then you at least want the 680i chipset:
Asus P5N32-E SLI nForce® 680i SLI Chipset w/7.1 Sound, Gb LAN, S-ATA Raid, USB 2.0, IEEE-1394 Dual PCI-E MB
Nvidia NForce 680i SLI Chipset w/7.1 Sound, Gb LAN, S-ATA Raid, USB 2.0 Dual PCI-E MB
MSI P6N Diamond nForce 680i SLI Chipset w/7.1 Sound, Gb LAN, S-ATA, USB 2.0, IEEE 1394, PCI-E MB
With all the new stuff coming out though, I'd hold off on buying an SLI board for a few months, and see what the newer chipsets coming out do.
the intel X38 chipset seems ok, and is going to replace the p35 chipset eventually, but you can't run dual nvidia cards in it. Honestly though, most people won't ever need that capability, unless you are a real enthusiast and run your games with settings high at ultra ridiculous resolutions.
Those options cost a little more than the base motherboard, but are better all around.
If you aren't worried about the newer penryn processors for upgrading, then you could run a p35 board too. ( I think some of these will support penryn's also.)
MSI P35 Neo-F P35 Chipset w/7.1 Sound, Gb LAN, S-ATA, USB 2.0 PCI-E MB
Well, actually, that is the only single card board they offer..
Anyway, hope that helps. Looking back at it I see I've listed pretty much every motherboard they have other than the 650i sli boards.
Good luck and happy gaming!
D.
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I think the following were a good choice:
Case- Eagletech sidewinder gaming tower (420 Watt): This is more for aesthetics, as long as its ATX and not micro, I think you'll be happy with it.
Power supply- 550 watt power supply: Sounds like it has enough kick and room for upgrading parts. I don't know of a PC that needs more.
cooling system- Intel CPU fan system cooling kit : It's a good call to get whatever cooling system that comes with the processor.
memory - 2048 MB DDR 800 PC6400 (cosair): Should be more than enough. Corsair is a big name and there's good reason why.
Video Card - Nvidia Geforce 8800 GT 512 MB: Sounds good. I also look for things like brand name. For example, I've had success with Albatron, Chaintech, Shuttle and PNY. Not so much for XFX due to crappy drivers.
HD - 320 GB (7200 RPM 16 mb cache): More than enough room, good speed and cache. Again, brand name makes a different. I love Seagate. Maxtor treats me well. Western Digital and IBM are crap.
CD/DVD drive - 20x dual format - It's hard to mess up a CD/DVD drive, though I'd gotten a Plextor piece of junk. Biggest fan of Lite-On and Sony.
speakers- 600 watt speakers: More than enough to get your neighbors angry at you, even if you live in the middle of a Kentucky farm.
windows XP: This is the best operating system available to gamers.
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I've had issues with the following, though I haven't built a rig in about a year:
sound card - 3D premium surround sound onboard: Onboard soundcards seem quirky, It's worth the $20 to get an "off-board" Creative Soundblaster installed especially if you're going to be getting those really nice speakers. The difference is between record-player sound versus CD quality.
processor- intel 2 quad processor Q6600 (4 x 2.4 Ghz 8 mb L2 cache / 1066 fsb): Although I'm sure it's fine, I found AMD to be slightly better for gaming. Intel's strongpoint seems to be multi-tasking/business applications.
mother board- Asus P5n-E SLI nForce 650i SLI: Asus seems to me a "budget" motherboard. I've had issues with the bios and just plain dying. Similar problems with their video cards. My friends love Asus, but I don't know why.
These might be considered minor details or user preferences though.
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><
DON'T FORGET TO GET A GOOD MONITOR! I made the mistake of getting a kickin' video card without a decent monitor. The monitor's refresh rate is too low for the amount of video it can crank out, causing lag and jumpiness. Get a flat panel LCD monitor with 2ms response time made by Samsung ---> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824001096R
In summary, it's better to buy a kit or build your own. It makes upgrading a whole LOT easier and less expensive in the future. Having someone else build it would make me want some kind of insurance like a guarentee or warrantee for as long as you can get it.
Nice job, it looks like you really did your homework and I think you'll be happy with your choice.
http://www.allaboutgod.com/
Don't bother paying up for insurance from ibuypowerPC. ibuypowerpc and its other brands rarely honor insurance. However, make sure you get atleast a limited warranty for parts incase they made a faulty installation which happens frequently; and read the fine print to make sure they won't be able to cheat you out of replacing parts that are defective. With this company's reputation you should be extra cautious.
The system specs look good enough. Nothing blaringly ineffecient or a bad choice.
While AMD use to be on top, right now intel is currently in the lead. Whether that remains so after the phenoms are fixed remains to be seen.
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Desktop - AMD 8450 Tri Core, 3 gigs of DDR2 800 RAM, ATI HD 3200 Graphics, Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit
Laptop (Dell Latitude E6400) - Intel P8400, 2 GIGs of RAM, Intel X4500, Windows XP Professional
I could be out of date in the AMD versus Intel race. I don't own a quad-core, but am anxiously awaiting the price drops. Regarding ibuy's reputation, I don't know anything about it because after discovering www.newegg.com , I haven't needed to shop anywhere else...store or online. Before newegg I did TigerDirect, which seemed pretty good to start but customer service seemed to decline.
http://www.allaboutgod.com/
Thanks for all your posts, i think i will no longer get the SLI compatible mother board since i have no intrest in getting 2 vid cards. I went to newegg but they don't build the computer for you so I was wondering if it is worth it money wise to build your own computer and if a complete moron like my self can successfully build a computer from scratch?
Just wondering how bad exactly ibuypower is and if there are some other companies with good reputation (buyxg does not ship to canada) and does the same thing as ibuypower where they build your pc for you
They are not a bad company per say, just don't expect the tech support you would get from Dell or something.
Only the huge big dog companies can give you 24hr support and on site techs etc.
You don't need all that as long as you can rustle up a friend who is semi computer literate.
Make sure you get the warranties for the parts, (and don't lose the documentation.)
The extended warranties and stuff usually aren't worth it anyway. Dell charges you up front in the price of the computer for it, and then charges you more to buy an "extended waranty plan." It's rarely worth the money spent.
If you're going single vid card make sure you get either a motherboard with the p35 chipset or x38 chipset.
Otherwise you're buying outdated stuff.
D.
OK well I am changing the motherboard to the MSI P35 Neo F. I plan on buying the monitor in a local store so i save on shipping. But it looks like they only offer one warrenty(standard 3 year limited warrenty and lifetime tech serivice)
I am also wondering if it is worth it to get all the exra freebies they give you or is there hidden fee's and extra shipping. I could not find anything and when i clicked them my end total stays the same for my shipping so if anyone has any idea that would help
-Ibuypower aegis case
- scions of fate
- anarchy online
- 3D mark 06 edition
Take the freebies.
Some of that stuff you could just download from the internet. When they offer games and things like that, it probably came as part of an oem bundle for one of your parts.
Shouldn't be any extra charges, they would have to show it in the checkout.
D.
Ok I tried tigerdirect.com and i found a computer that is fairly decent except it has instead of a quad core it it has an AMD 6000 + processor and has a dual 8500 GT instead of one 8800GT. Which has better graphics 2 8500 GT or 1 8800GT?
The only reason i am still looking for a new PC is many of my friends think if i ship from the states ecspecially with ibuypower which is a smaller company they think they're going to rip me off by sending me the wrong computer and i would be stuck with having to ship it back.
Any one think this could happen or is it just that my friends are morons?
get the one 8800gt. or get ati 3870.
I wouldn't bother running dual cards on anything lower than an ATI 3850, but that's just me. I wouldn't even run dual 8600gts. 8800 series is all I'd run from nvidia on a new rig.
D.
This isn't life in the fast lane, it's life in the oncoming traffic.
--Terry Pratchett
A good peice of advice there though the GeForce 7950 may not be DX10 it will out perform the 8600GT so the mid range cards from the curret Gen of grapics cards a bit of a let down.
This isn't life in the fast lane, it's life in the oncoming traffic.
--Terry Pratchett
Thanks for all of your help so far with your advice it seems that www.dell.ca is almost cheapest (after taxes and shipping) since it is only around 50 dollars more and it having a stronger warrenty i will probally choose Dell for now.
I am going to put down a few computers and i would like to know what you think the best price/performance is on them.
*price is 1639
* price is 1239
*price is 1109$
Now i have went with the core 2 duo in all three of my options and i just want to see if everyone thinks it is a good idea or go with the quad which dell has listed for 100$ cheaper.
I understand that i have not listed the motherboard but dell does not have it shown so i have no idea what it is i plan to find this out but i will post it once i know.
will all these options be able to play lotro, vanguard, War, on higher end settings?
Thank you everyone for all of your advice and opinions you are making this a lot more easier on me and i thank you for that
Real quick like:
If you want to crank out some high end graphics in MMORPGs, go for a newer video card with 512+ MB of RAM.
Agent_X7 AKA J Star
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Notice: The views expressed in this post are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of MMORPG.com or its management.
For gaming, go with the first one. Primarily because of the 8800gt.
What resolution is your monitor going to be running? If you have an lcd monitor and cannot go over say, 1280 x 1024, super high end graphics cards won't really matter anyway.
Get a ATI3850, ATI3870 or 8800gt card. That way you have good graphics at your max resolution and dx10 capabilities.
No real reason to run 3gb of RAM unless you are going to run vista x64.
Everything else looks ok I guess. Honestly, if the quad is $100 cheaper, I'd get the quad.
You could easily OC the quad up to 3.0 ghz if you wanted to, possibly with a stock cooler. (though I'd advise switching it out with a better one.)
D.
I have not thought much about the monitor yet so if someone could tell me what specs it should have (best at under 220$) but i will be buying it from my town ( probally staples) so i save money shipping.
I googled all three graphics cards and it says they are all DX10 compatible so i thought they ( the middle one ecspecially) would be fine for a while since i was planning on getting that instead of spending an extra 280$ upgrading through dell and wait a few months and buy the DX10 for a cheaper price on my own and have the extra graphics card for my other computer.
-Just wondering how big a deal is the speed of the memory and would it be stupid not to spend the extra 100 upgrading the new memory to -800 Mhz from the 667 mhz?
As far as the monitors go, there are probably others more well versed than I am, but you are looking at a few things. Refresh rate, max resolution and whether you want wide screen or normal.
Most lcd's right now are typically set to max 1280x1024. (I think)
That is not a super high resolution, but it is decent. Some wide screens have a bit higher. If you want higher resolution on a flat panel, you're looking at spending over $300 easily. With that being said, if your highest resolution is going to be 1280x1024, you won't need to be able to have 60 fps at some ungodly high resolution. You will be looking at good frame rates for the highest resolution you can run.
With that being said, the ATI 3850 isn't bad, but it is hampered by only 256k ram on board, but it outperforms the nvidia 8600gs/gt. The next step up is the ATI 3870, then the 8800gt.
Those are your real options. If you pick any lower than the 8000 series nvidia's you won't have dx10 capability.
As far as refresh rates go..the higher the number the better. Hopefully someone else can provide more info than I, but that should get you started in your search.
D.
I found out about what type of motherboards they use the XPS 420 which is 150 $ cheaper then the 720 uses intels - x38 express chipset while the more expensive modle the 720 uses nvidia's nforce 680 SLI motherboard just wondering is if both are good quality and if the first one is upgradable i googled it and it said that the x38 was ready for the upcoming DDR3 memory but could not find out any more than that.
All help would be apreciated since dell is changing their system line up today at 11 59 so i was planning on ordering tonight.
X38 chipset was designed to take the 45nm penryn processors, ddr3 and pcie 2.0. 680i is set up for current processors and SLI nvidia cards. The 780i chipset is coming out to replace the 680i chipset, but there will be another chipset following in a few months to do a better job of it.
In short, I'd buy the x38 chipset mobo.
D.
I purchased a computer from dell whitch costed 1800$ Canadian.
Processor-intel 6850 core 2 3ghz
power- 375 watt standard power supply
cooling- standard fax cooling
motherboard - intel x38
operating system- vista home premium 64bit edition
memory- 3gigs DDR2 800mghz
hard drive - 320 GB 7200 RPM
sound card - intergrated 7.1
video card - 512MB 8800 GT
monitor - 20 inch E207WFP widescreen
speakers - 2.1 A525 30 watt
wondering if this will play fine and just wondering if anyone thinks the power supply will be enough i thought it should since dell only offers the one for the whole build.
It's not a bad system man, pricey for the hardware but you pay a bit more for pre-built.
Only thing is someone should inform dell the minimum requirements for a 8800GT are a 400W powersupply pushing out 26 amps. Guess just have em ship it with that thing and give it away to some starving children or something. Get yourself at least a 700W/4 Rail. These days we run dedicated rails to our chips/bridge/video etc...a 375W PSU sounds more like a typo, Dell really sells them with that?
You've got the 64bit OS I don't see the point in not going with a full 4 gigs. Cost me around 100 American these days for 4, I just don't see any reason to go with 3 if you have the OS for it.
Too bad you're in Canada man, Microsoft now gives Vista Ultimate away for free to US residents : / Nice money to save when building new.
Edit: Welp scratch that actually, looks like Microsoft gave away all the copies they wanted to. Deals gone.
Dell is horrible about that. The powersupply will work, or they wouldn't be able to ship PC's with it. It will barely work though. If you upgrade anything in the future you will need a better power supply.
That should run games just fine. It's a solid rig with the exception of the power supply, but even that should do good enough for you.
D.