Building a computer? Need advice/suggestions? Come here!

This is a continuation of the original thread by legionaire45, but I don't think most of us really want to play H2V.

This thread is for anyone that needs help with purchasing or building a desktop computer, or if you need help upgrading your current computer. Below I have put a list of parts for computers that fit mostly any price range and suit almost anyone's needs.

If you are debating whether to buy a prebuilt or build one yourself, the answer is incredibly simple; build one yourself. Building your own computer can save you hundreds of dollars, for instance if you build the low end computer on the list below a prebuilt version of that would cost as much or more as the mid range version. Do not be scared off by the prospect of building your computer, it is very easy and if needed I or some other techie person on this forum (here's a few: legionaire45, innergoat, warsaw) should be able to assist you.

PC Barebones

~$250-$350 (with MiR) YOU DON'T HAVE MONEY BUT I STILL LOVE YOU (Updated as of 9/2/09)
$60.00 - CPU: AMD Athlon II X2 240 2.8GHz
$54.99 - Motherboard: ASRock GeForce 8100
$51.99 - Memory (RAM): OCZ 2x2GB DDR2 800
$49.99 - Graphics: Sapphire Radeon HD4650
$39.99() - Power Supply: Corsair CMPSU 400W
$39.49 - Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar Blue 160GB
$31.99 - DVD Burner: LITE-ON DVD Burner

~$450-$550 (with MiRs) Dirt poor (Updated as of 9/2/09)
$114.99 - CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E7400 2.8GHz
$79.99 - Motherboard: Asus Intel P43
$51.99 - Memory (RAM): OCZ 2x2GB DDR2 800
$129.99() - Graphics: EVGA GeForce GTS 250
$39.99() - Power Supply: Corsair CMPSU 450W
$49.99 - Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar Blue 320GB
$31.99 - DVD Burner: LITE-ON DVD Burner

~$650-$750 (with MiR) Low End (Updated as of 9/2/09)
$189.00 - CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 955 B.E. 3.2GHz
$124.99 - Motherboard: Foxconn AMD 790GX
$79.99 - Memory (RAM): G.Skill 2x2GB DDR3 1333
$144.99 - Graphics: XFX Radeon HD4870
$89.99() - Power Supply: Corsair CMPSU 650W
$69.99 - Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar Blue 640GB
$31.99 - DVD Burner: LITE-ON DVD Burner

~$950-$1050 (with MiRs) Mid Range (Updated as of 9/2/09)
$279.99 - CPU: Intel Core i7 920 2.66GHz
$173.99() - Motherboard: Gigabyte Intel X58
$140.99 - Memory (RAM): Crucial Ballistix Tracer 3x2GB DDR3 1333
$224.99() - Graphics: EVGA GeForce GTX 275
$89.99() - Power Supply: Corsair CMPSU 650W
$69.99 - Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar Blue 640GB
$31.99 - DVD Burner: LITE-ON DVD Burner

~$1450-$1550 (with MiRs) High End (Updated as of 9/2/09)
$279.99 - CPU: Intel Core i7 920 2.66GHz
$279.99() - Motherboard: EVGA Intel X58
$193.00 - Memory (RAM): Corsair Dominator 3x2GB DDR3 1600
$499.99 - Graphics: EVGA GeForce GTX 295
$119.99() - Power Supply: Corsair 850W
$94.99 - Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB
$31.99 - DVD Burner: LITE-ON DVD Burner

~$4500+ (with MiRs) Ultimate End? (Updated as of 9/2/09)
$999.99 - CPU: Intel Core i7 975 Extreme
$369.99() - Motherboard: EVGA E760 Intel X58
$264.99 - Memory (RAM): Corsair XMS3 6x2GB DDR3 1600
$999.98(NV) or $739.98(ATI) - Graphics:
2x EVGA GeForce GTX 295 or 2x XFX Radeon HD4870 X2
Speed or Image Quality
$349.99 - Power Supply: Silverstone ZM1200M 1200W
$485.00 - OS Solid State Disk: Intel X25-M 160GB SSD
$459.98 - Fast Hard Drives: 2x Western Digital VelociRaptor 300GB 10000RPM
$319.98 - Large Cap. Hard Drives: 2x Western Digital RE3 1TB
$359.98 - Blu-Ray/HD-DVD Burners: 2x LG Super Multi Blu-Ray/HD-DVD
$144.99() - Sound Card: AuzenTech X-Fi Prelude

Note with the computers up there: I am not good at naming. The low end computer will easily be able to run Crysis on very high at 1680x1050.

~$650-$750 (with MiR) Poor man's Workstation (Updated as of 9/2/09)
$174.99 - CPU: Intel Xeon E3110 3.0GHz
$154.99 - Motherboard: Asus Intel 3200
$33.49 - Memory (RAM): Kingston 2x1GB DDR2 800
$184.99 - Graphics: PNY Quadro FX580
$89.99() - Power Supply: Corsair 650W
$69.99 - Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar Blue 640GB
$31.99 - DVD Burner: LITE-ON DVD Burner
$12.99 - Card Reader: Sabrent 68 in 1

~$1500 (with MiR) Workstation (Updated as of 9/2/09)
$205.99 - CPU: Intel Xeon X3220 2.4GHz
$154.99 - Motherboard: Asus Intel 3200
$63.49 - Memory (RAM): Kingston 2x2GB DDR2 800
$789.99 - Graphics: PNY Quadro FX3700
$109.99() - Power Supply: Corsair 750W
$94.99 - Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB
$31.99 - DVD Burner: LITE-ON DVD Burner
$12.99 - Card Reader: Sabrent 68 in 1

~$20000+ (with MiR) Workstation Ultimate LOL YOU CAN'T AFFORD THIS (Updated as of 9/2/09)
$3339.98 - CPU: 2x Intel Xeon W5590 3.33GHz
$529.99 - Motherboard: Asus Intel 5520
$9959.94 - Memory (RAM): 6x Super Talent 3x8GB DDR3 1333
$6299.98 - Graphics: 2x PNY Quadro FX5800 4GB
$349.99 - Power Supply: Silverstone ZM1200M 1200W
$379.96 - Hard Drives: 4x Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB
$359.98 - Blu-Ray/HD-DVD Burners: 2x LG Super Multi Blu-Ray/HD-DVD
$149.99() - Sound Card: Asus Xonar
$25.98 - Card Reader: 2x Sabrent 68 in 1

Note: To anyone that want's to buy a workstation know that they are not (mainly) for gaming purposes. They are for things like modeling,video/image editing/processing, batch processing, etc.

Peripherals/Cases

Dirt Poor (Updated as of 9/2/09)
$54.95 - Case: Antec Three Hundred Mid Tower
$9.99 - Mouse: Microsoft N71
$9.99 - Keyboard: KeyTronic KT400U2
$99.99 - Monitor: Hanns·G 17" 1440x900
$27.99 - Speakers: Logitech LS21 2.1 7W
$5.99 - Headset: Sonic HP-259 Circumaural

Low End (Updated as of 9/3/09)
$54.95 - Case: Antec Three Hundred Mid Tower
$24.99 - Mouse: Logitech MX310
$24.99 - Keyboard: Logitech Internet 350
$119.99 - Monitor: Acer 19" 1680x1050
$48.99 - Speakers: Logitech X240 2.1 25W
$17.99 - Headset: Labtec Elite 835B

Mid Range (Updated as of 9/2/09)
$104.99 - Case: Antec Nine Hundred Mid Tower
$39.99 - Mouse: Logitech MX518
$37.99 - Keyboard: Saitek PZ30AU
$169.99 - Monitor: Acer 21.5" 1920x1080
$78.99 - Speakers: Logitech X540 5.1 70W
$39.99 - Headset: ABS FX-7 Circumaural

High End (Updated as of 9/2/09)
$169.99 - Case: Antec Twelve Hundred Full Tower
$72.99 - Mouse: Logitech G7
$58.99 - Keyboard: Logitech G11
$299.99 - Monitor: Samsung 24" 1920x1200
$124.99 - Speakers: Logitech G-51 5.1 155W
$63.99 - Headset: steelseries Siberia Circumaural

Ultimate (Updated as of 9/3/09)
$219.99 or $599.99 - Case:
Cooler Master Stacker 830 nVidia Edition or Lian Li PC-P80R
nVidia or ATI
$89.99 - Mouse: Logitech G9
$89.99 - Keyboard: Logitech G15
$1159.99 - Monitor: LG 30" 2560x1600
$349.99 - Speakers: Logitech Z5500 5.1 505W
$179.95 - Headset: Sennheiser PC350 Circumaural

Legend:
MiR = Mail in Rebate
MiRs = Mail in Rebates
() = Price with Mail in Rebate

Notice: Some of these products become cheaper when you add them to your cart, and some prices may not be up to date all of the time because Newegg likes to change prices ever hour.

I'll update these if something new comes out. I will also completely redo everything every month, and update prices every week. If needed I can add more prices (~$300, ~$600, ~1200, etc). I am open to any suggestions/corrections.

how i build sweet pc that will run cryiss in 9205x3052 resolution with 1000 fps


Also, looking at these set ups, I've been out of the game for far too long, I don't recognize half the product families. ;_;

The Ultimate should do...

This is actually VURY helpful.

I'm sticking this.

Hopefully this can be a one stop thread for all PC building questions and what-not.

Except all the GPUs are Nvidia.

If you can find a better one for a better price then I'll replace it.

This is a very useful thread but I think the names of the categories are one step lower than they actually are. A Q6600 with 2GB of RAM and a 900GTX would be more of a mid-range set-up. It's only my opinion though. And a 2.1Ghz Phenom with 2GB of half-decent RAM and an 8800GTS isn't too bad either, that'd be low end.

Wow, nice effort. I assume your going to update when new things come out in the market?

E: lol saw the end bit :)

I like how your low end pc is enough to play Crysis on Highest, or really close to it.

Interesting to see that Xet's comp specs are those in the ultimate rig, ha. Done any experimenting with that audio console yet? /cough

Also, if anyone intends to buy 5.1 speakers, I'll make the decision easy for you: Logitech Z-5500.

Just added section for peripherals/cases.

Speakers!
Dirt Poor: Logitech LS21 2.1 System $29.99
Low End: Logitech X-240 2.1 System $49.99
Mid Range: Logitech X-540 5.1 System $99.99
High End: Logitech G-51 5.1 System $199.99
Ultimate: Logitech Z-5500 5.1 System $399.95

I have worked with all 5 of these systems, and I can say that even low end sounds really good. Dirt poor is, well, a bit fuzzy, bit they're not bad for the price. I would suggest saving the extra $20.

Edit- The S-220 is one system I've always had trouble with. After very little use, the woofer hums. And it gets louder.... and louder... and louder. Save an extra $7 for the LS21.
Edit2- I probably should have looked at NewEgg, huh? XD Thanks for the catch, Xet.

The LS21 doesn't cost an extra $7, but I did switch them. Thanks for the input.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Xetsuei

The Ultimate should do...

---

How would that work :confused2:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by InnerGoat

How would that work :confused2:

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What do you mean?

Peripherals/case section is done.

you have to be fucking rich to make anything above low-to-mid range ;_;

Quote:

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Originally Posted by huerosam

you have to be fucking rich to make anything above dirt poor-to-mid range ;_;

---

:eng101:

What happened with the sound card switch? The Auzuntech X-Fi? Who here has that card?

It's better than the Creative one, not to mention cheaper.

Oh, it's an X-Fi card more geared toward gaming? Okay, that makes more sense. I suppose the audio console isn't all that necessary to play L4D, eh?

Which would be better, the refurbished 8800 GTS 320MB or a 9600 GT?

The recertified 8800 GTS.

But recertified is not the same as refurbished. Recertified is pre-owned but back up to the spec of a new card.

Shit Xet, how much did your computer cost?

And for a low end, that rig that you have there isn't all that bad, same goes with the "dirt poor" machine.

Haven't bought it, but once I make my mind up about everything it should be around $7000.

Damn...and I thought that my cousin's 4000$ computer was expensive...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Xetsuei

Haven't bought it, but once I make my mind up about everything it should be around $7000.

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d-damn...

Hope that thing's got three 30" or else it's not extreme!

30 inch's are too big tbh.

you have to look around the screen to see everything :/
http://www.modacity.net/forums/style...n/eyesroll.gif

what you do want though is the Curved alien ware peripheral screen.
oh baby.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by InnerGoat

d-damn...

Hope that thing's got three 30" or else it's not extreme!

---

Too big, look in computer specs for size and other stuff I'm going to get. I might even go down to the 19" 1680x1050.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ßðÐŻÍ££å

30 inch's are too big tbh.

you have to look around the screen to see everything :/
:eyesroll:

what you do want though is the Curved alien ware peripheral screen.
oh baby.

---

I really would like that, but the resolution is much too low.

Are you planning on running games over the 3 screens?

Hell yes.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Xetsuei

Too big, look in computer specs for size and other stuff I'm going to get. I might even go down to the 19" 1680x1050.



I really would like that, but the resolution is much too low.

---

really?

what is it rear projection or some shit?
i havnt seen anytihng on it for along time i forgot the specs.

also whats quad X-Fire like for the ATI cards these days? is it still shit?
what about tri-SLI?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ßðÐŻÍ££å

really?

what is it rear projection or some shit?
i havnt seen anytihng on it for along time i forgot the specs.

also whats quad X-Fire like for the ATI cards these days? is it still shit?
what about tri-SLI?

---

The resolution is 1440x900x2 (2880x900).

I'm not sure on Crossfire or SLI, you should ask Innergoat for that.

but isn't a 19" native rez 1440x900? seeing as 21" is 1600x1200

which you said you wouldnt mind having :S? just checked it back out, and the response rate for the screen is insane.... to say the least.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Xetsuei

Hell yes.

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You're in for a shitload of fail as SLI doesn't work right with SoftTH :fail:, but it will for triplehead2go. It's max is 3x 1680x1050 @ 57hz I believe.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ßðÐŻÍ££å

really?

what is it rear projection or some shit?
i havnt seen anytihng on it for along time i forgot the specs.

also whats quad X-Fire like for the ATI cards these days? is it still shit?
what about tri-SLI?

---

Yeah it was rear projection iirc. Also, I'd stay away from anything over 2 cards just because the 3rd and 4th cards don't scale as well.

Tri-SLI, with good drivers, does some pretty awesome stuff. Quad-SLI has only been on 2 cards so far (excluding GTX295), so it never got too much attention and thus didn't work out too well. No idea about crossfire though.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ßðÐŻÍ££å

but isn't a 19" native rez 1440x900? seeing as 22" is 1680x1050

which you said you wouldnt mind having :S? just checked it back out, and the response rate for the screen is insane.... to say the least.

---

17" and 19" can be 1440x900, and 19" and 22" can be 1680x1050. I prefer the smaller of the two.

Goat, could I use SoftTH if I didn't have the GTX 295's in SLI? Or because of the fact that is a double card mean it's always in SLI?

You can disable SLI on each card. It would probably work if you did so, but i'm not positive you won't run into problems with 4 GPUs.

i was thinking about non widescreens... seeing as i thought the alienware screen wasnt 2 wide screens

my mistake.
:/

Does the 8800 GTS 320mb consume more power than a 9600 GT? I don't know if my PC's crappy PSU can handle the card.

Minimum of a 400 Watt power supply.
(Minimum recommended power supply with +12 Volt current rating of 26 Amps.)

When I build my next computer, I wanna make something that's optimized for graphics processing, not gaming. I can't decide whether or not to go SLI or get a Quadro card. Or is a decent Quadro card still more expensive than SLI cards?

E: It seems so.

Anyway, it seems most of the hardware you recommended is more directed at gamers - any suggestions for what I do (batch processing, photography etc)? I plan to go 64-bit as I regularly get out of memory errors with my 2 gigs of RAM - I want at least 4 gigs. I guess my single core processor doesn't help with that much either. I don't think that I can afford anything above the high-end rig you posted, we'll just have to see..

What price are you going for? Oh, so lower than high end. Ok, I'll give it a shot.

To be honest, I'm not entirely sure.

Well, from our conversation on MSN I guess the High End one without the DVD drive is perfect.

Just added three workstation PCs, but the two expensive one's I'm still working with. Beware anyone that want's to buy a workstation that they are not (mainly) for gaming purposes. They are for things like modeling, video/image editing/processing, batch processing, etc.

E: Ultimate workstation is lulz.

The workstations are not for graphical purposes either. Xeon processor missing Nvidia's multimedia instruction set.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by RickYng

The workstations are not for graphical purposes either. Xeon processor missing Nvidia's multimedia instruction set.

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That's exactly why those graphics cards are called workstation graphics cards.

:raise:

E: I don't see what multimedia instructions they're missing.

Compare to Opteron. If I'm not missing something (except maybe the larger cache) they should be better suited.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by RickYng

Compare to Opteron. If I'm not missing something (except maybe the larger cache) they should be better suited.

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What does that have to do with the multimedia instructions?

Also, no.

E: And no again.

Yay, workstations. Thanks Xet.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Xetsuei

~$650 (with MiRs) Poor man's Workstation
$174.99 - CPU: Intel Xeon E3110 3.0GHz
$144.99 - Motherboard: Asus Intel 3200
$24.99() - Memory (RAM): Corsair 2x2GB DDR2 800
$119.99 - Graphics: PNY Quadro FX370
$79.99() - Power Supply: Corsair 650W
$69.99 - Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar 640GB
$22.99 - DVD Burner: LG DVD Burner
$13.99 - Card Reader: Sabrent 68 in 1

---

The 'dirt poor' one is about 3 times nice than this $1000 one I got at dell, to bad my dad is to much of a fucking hard head to let me or even my mom buy the parts to build it.


There's no need to quote the entire post to comment on one part of it ~Timo
Timo, I meant to quote the "dirt poor' PC setup, but not the workstation.

Ignore.

Not really. The CPU will bottleneck the fuck out of that GPU. You shouldn't of gotten such a high end GPU and such a low end CPU. Not to mention the power supply is underpowered especially for the GPU "450 Watt or greater power supply with 75 Watt 6-pin PCI Express power connector recommended". One last thing, you're picked out the wrong RAM. It needs to be DDR2 1066, not DDR2 800.

In short: There are many problems with it, you should just go with my dirt poor rig even though it costs a little more.

E: madkiller92 please do not quote the whole post, just quote the dirt poor rig. Thanks

Oh, I didn't know that thing about the Ram. Thanks for telling me. I don't really know much about computers, but I tried to give it a shot.

So if I use a Radeon 4830 card with a Pentium D, it will severely bottlenecked? Cause I've seen people who have a Pentium 4 and a 8800 GTX.

Yeah. You can run whatever you want with your Pentium D, it'll just have a lot more slowdowns in games when a bunch of stuff is on screen (as an example, 32 man TF2 servers will play like shit for you).

Quote:

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Originally Posted by 343guiltymc

Cause I've seen people who have a Pentium 4 and a 8800 GTX.

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Are you serious? Fucking retards.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Xetsuei

Are you serious? Fucking retards.

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Since I read that I have a question. I have a AMD Athlon X2 64 4450 CPU. What is the best video card I can support? I have a 160 Watt power supply(Don't make fun of me. I know it sucks.)

What are you aiming for? Direct X9/10? Manufacturer? Also, I barely believe that you have a 160W PSU, and I REALLY hope that 9800GTX in your specs was a joke, because I don't think the PSU would even run it. The best GPU your CPU could support would need MUCH more power then that thing can put out.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Xetsuei

What are you aiming for? Direct X9/10? Manufacturer? Also, I barely believe that you have a 160W PSU, and I REALLY hope that 9800GTX in your specs was a joke, because I don't think the PSU would even run it. The best GPU your CPU could support would need MUCH more power then that thing can put out.

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Direct x10. I have a 160W PSU because I bought a HP Slimline(My mom picked it). Also the 9800 GTX is for my future comp.I understand that much about computers that it wouldn't work with my current PSU. My current video card is a 9500 GS. I'm planning on building a computer slowly starting with the parts I have now.

I'm planning on buying the case that was in my other post and put in the the parts from my Slimline so I can have a bigger PSU.

Edit: Hows my future specs looking now?

You might be able to get away with putting a Galaxy GeForce 9600GT in your current HP. It's low profile, works with low wattage PSUs, and is respectably powerful.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814162016

There are also mATX PSUs that could fit your Slimline should you desire. This is probably the cheapest way to upgrade performance if you want a stopgap until you build a new PC.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Warsaw

You might be able to get away with putting a Galaxy GeForce 9600GT in your current HP. It's low profile, works with low wattage PSUs, and is respectably powerful.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814162016

There are also mATX PSUs that could fit your Slimline should you desire. This is probably the cheapest way to upgrade performance if you want a stopgap until you build a new PC.

---

Would any 9600 GT work with a low PSU? I don't use a slimline case so I don't think need to worry about size as much.

msi motherboard am2+ 90
AMD 9950 quadcore 2.6 ghz 138
2 times ati graphics cards (crossfire) 2*71= 142
850 watt psu 60 or 30
4 times ddr2 800 mhz 2 gb 4*18=72
samsung spinpoint sata 2 300gb 40

hows that? pc im gonna build under 500 pounds which is about under 800$

8gigs ram
2.6 ghz
850 watt psu
reasonable 300 gb hard drive
i think its pretty awesome :) tell me what u guys think
ty :)

Quote:

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2 times ati graphics cards (crossfire) 2*71= 142

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Get a single fast video card, not two cheap ones.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by spikes15

msi motherboard am2+ 90
AMD 9950 quadcore 2.6 ghz 138
2 times ati graphics cards (crossfire) 2*71= 142
850 watt psu 60 or 30
4 times ddr2 800 mhz 2 gb 4*18=72
samsung spinpoint sata 2 300gb 40

hows that? pc im gonna build under 500 pounds which is about under 800$

8gigs ram
2.6 ghz
850 watt psu
reasonable 300 gb hard drive
i think its pretty awesome :) tell me what u guys think
ty :)

---

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Xetsuei

~$700 (with MiRs) Low End
$189.99 - CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 2.4GHz
$134.99 - Motherboard: ASUS P5N-5 nForce 750i SLI
$36.99() - Memory (RAM): OCZ Reaper HPC 2x2GB DDR2 1066
$149.99() - Graphics: EVGA GeForce 9800GTX
$64.99() - Power Supply: OCZ ModXStream 600W
$49.99 - Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 250GB
$22.99 - DVD Burner: LG DVD Burner

---

That ^ would be MUCH better. Better processor, CPU, and GPU. Let me tell you right now, you wont need near 8GB of RAM. 4GB is more than perfect, and unless you're doing some serious shit, future proofing, or just want to show off you won't need that much. 850W is also pretty overboard. I'd say 550W-600W is just fine. If you would like me to add some better parts and subtract the DVD burner to bring the price up to $800, I can do it. But for now that Low End rig is much better than the one you currently have configured.

My Future poor dirt Rig. A little under 600$

Chassis w/ Power Supply(430 Watts): http://www.thermaltakeusa.com/Produc...C=1122&ID=1456

MoBo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813186141

CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103244

Video Card: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814127333

Ram: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820104062

HDD:http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822135106

CD/DVD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136152

OS: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16832116488

Without the OS and Chassis this will be a little under 400$.

Is this good?

What if I just got this computer? Would I be able to play Crysis on Medium-High?

Specs:
CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad Processor Q6700
RAM: 6144MB PC2-6400 DDR2 SDRAM
Hard Drive: 750GB 7200RPM SATA
GPU: NVIDIA GeForce 9500GS (I have an 8800 GT in my PC atm, which one is better?)
Price: $749.99 (Canadian)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Lex1337

My Future poor dirt Rig. A little under 600$

Chassis w/ Power Supply(430 Watts): http://www.thermaltakeusa.com/Produc...C=1122&ID=1456

MoBo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813186141

CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103244

Video Card: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814127333

Ram: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820104062

HDD:http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822135106

CD/DVD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136152

OS: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16832116488

Without the OS and Chassis this will be a little under 400$.

Is this good?

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The GPU, GPU, and HDD are still better in my dirt poor rig. Go with the dirt poor rig dude, seriously.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Saggy

What if I just got this computer? Would I be able to play Crysis on Medium-High?

Specs:
CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad Processor Q6700
RAM: 6144MB PC2-6400 DDR2 SDRAM
Hard Drive: 750GB 7200RPM SATA
GPU: NVIDIA GeForce 9500GS (I have an 8800 GT in my PC atm, which one is better?)
Price: $749.99 (Canadian)

---

You know newegg now has a Canadian site?

http://www.newegg.ca/

I'm pretty sure the prices should be the same or a little higher. The 8800GT is MUCH better than the 9500GS. Go with my Low End rig. If you don't know how to assemble a computer you can find tons of guides on Google.

Ok, I found all the parts from your Low End rig on the Canadian Newegg and it came out to around $800, and that's without shipping. The computer I posted has more RAM, a 64-bit OS, more hard drive space, and a slightly better processor. I can also replace that 9500GS with my 8800GT. Should I save some money and buy the one from Futureshop, or should I spend the extra money and order off of Newegg?

Once again, I guarantee you won't need more than 4GB. Plus the RAM on the Low End is faster. The Mobo is better, and the GFX is also better. You also have to remember that a 64bit OS is not always better. If you wanted you could just go for the Low End rig without the GPU (and DVD burner of course) and save a lot. If you really want the HP rig though go for it.

If I really wanted to save money, could I just buy the mobo and the processor of Newegg and put it in the case I have now? Then could I just use the RAM, Hard Drives, GPU etc. I already have or will there be compatibility issues? I know pretty much nothing when it comes to computer parts, so sorry for all the questions.

Yeah, but I need to know what RAM you have (Speed, DDR2/3, how many Pins). Everything else should be fine.

according to his specs his mobo is a Asus P5LP-LE

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/d...46&lc=en&cc=us

• Four 240-pin DDR2 DIMM sockets
• Supports PC2 3200 (400 MHz), PC 4200 (533 MHz) and PC2 5300 (667 MHz) DDR2 DIMMs

Finished upgrades for now

Intell Q6600 @2.6
ASUS Maximus II mb
8gb Corsair XMS2
2x Radeon HD 4870x2
Bluray/HDDVD disc
2x raptors 320gb each
Cool master HAF case
26" Viewsonic full HD

ive spent ~$2000 in two years. pretty much 2 computers worth of parts.

Yeah Saggy you're also going to need to buy some DDR2 1066 RAM.

Why does he need ddr2 1066

Quote:

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Originally Posted by InnerGoat

Why does he need ddr2 1066

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Eh, imo Ram is dirt cheap enough right now that it makes sense to go from 800 to 1066.

Lol, I think one of these days imma splurge and get 8 gigs of DDR2. I'm hardly using 4, but why the fuck not.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Xetsuei

Yeah Saggy you're also going to need to buy some DDR2 1066 RAM.

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All right, thanks for the help!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by legionaire45

Eh, imo Ram is dirt cheap enough right now that it makes sense to go from 800 to 1066.

Lol, I think one of these days imma splurge and get 8 gigs of DDR2. I'm hardly using 4, but why the fuck not.

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Hooray for splurging! o/

@Dr, the motherboard for the Low End rig uses DDR2 1066, which he is going to get.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by 343guiltymc

Would any 9600 GT work with a low PSU? I don't use a slimline case so I don't think need to worry about size as much.

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I'm not sure. I should think so, since they are all based on the same chip. The only things I can think of that might guzzle watts are fans and overclocking. Buy a reference-clocked card with passive cooling, and you can eliminate that problem.

QUESTION
Radeon 3840
what settings on average can it run Left4Dead

Not familiar with Left4Dead. Since it runs on source and that graphics card is fairly good, I'd imagine you'd be able to run it on high pretty smoothly.

E: Wait, what? Do you mean the 3850? In that case yes I'm 99% sure you'd be able to run it on high smoothly.

fuck i meant 4830
apologies, i'm an idiot

Quote:

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Originally Posted by huerosam

fuck i meant 4830
apologies, i'm an idiot

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4830 is a 4850 with a few bits removed, it should run fine on max settings, looking at your processor.

Actually I'm building an entirely new computer :B
Case: Centurion 5 Cooler Master
HDD: Seagate 320 GB
Motherboard: MSI K9A2 Platinum
CPU: AMD Phenom X4 9850 Black Edition
RAM: 4 Gigs DDR2
Power Supply: OCZ Stealth X Stream 600w
Graphics Card: Asus EAH4830 512MB DDR3

also got vista 64bit and NOD32 antivirus :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Warsaw

I'm not sure. I should think so, since they are all based on the same chip. The only things I can think of that might guzzle watts are fans and overclocking. Buy a reference-clocked card with passive cooling, and you can eliminate that problem.

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By fans do you mean those cards with huge assed fans that take up two slots? :confused2:

Ok, so we started building the computer, have some issues with the screws and eventually get the mboard in. We put in the CPU, everything's going relatively smooth so far (though all I've done so far is hold cables). Dad starts applying the thermal paste to the CPU, and here's the problem. He didn't apply a BB-sized amount of paste on, he applied like 8 BBs. I've looked at quite a few many guides, and they really aren't clear. I come to you with this question: What do we use to remove the paste off of the CPU? (and yes, its Arctic Silver)

Oh also the grey square on the bottom of the heatsink is the thermal pad right :E

Not to be an ass but

http://letmegooglethatforyou.com/?q=...+paste+removal

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Xetsuei

Not to be an ass but

http://letmegooglethatforyou.com/?q=...+paste+removal

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That's awesome.

what kind of processor should i buy for my new compy. budget = 250 dollars.

LOL.

I'm just going to upgrade what I'm running right now (see PC specs). I've already upgraded my RAM (I only get 5.7 WEI score with that RAM on Windows Vista 32-bit, is it because of the memory limitations?) and I'm going to be getting a GeForce GTX 295 once they hit their first price drop.

Thanks for sharing?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Cojafoji

what kind of processor should i buy for my new compy. budget = 250 dollars.

LOL.

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For what GPU?

Any Phenom would be good for AMD/ATi configs. If you go with intel, the Q9400 for quad, or the E8600 for dual. IF you want to spend some money on other parts like motherbord, ect... the i920 is a little more than $250 but is fucking sweet.

edit, wait... 250 for CPU or WHOLE computer?

Need much more info Coja.

I don't know if this has been pointed out yet or not but if you're building a new system and don't want to buy an OS... The windows 7 beta lasts until Aug and is stable.

Vista is 25$ Id pick up a copy

Quote:

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Originally Posted by paladin

Vista is 25$ Id pick up a copy

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What? I want to see this $25 Vista, and only if it's Ultimate because OS restrictions are ubergay.

E: I'm looking to buy a modular PSU to power what I've got now but have the ability to add up to two GTX 295 graphics cards in the future... I've looked at the ABS Tagan BZ series PSU's and really like what they have to offer... I'm just wondering it the 900 Watt version would be suffiecent, or would I need to grab the 1100 Watt one?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817256038

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Xetsuei

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817256038

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Why not the ABS Tagan? All of it's reviews seem to be good. Except for the odd lemon unit.