Yet another thread asking for opinions on building a PC

[vietgurl]

Alright, I've decided that I can't live with on my laptop anymore. I'm thinking about rebuilding my PC. I'm looking at either of the following setups and am open for suggestions. Oh, and if you see a part that's been left out, it's not because I forgot about it but it's probably because I'm gonna reuse the part from my previous computer which had about half of the parts die on me. I'm going to be using it for gaming (I seriously can't live on this laptop anymore!!!) but I can't afford to make it really high end.

Possible Configuration 1:
ABIT KN9 Socket AM2 NVIDIA nForce4 Ultra ATX AMD Motherboard (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813127010)
AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+ Windsor 2.2GHz 2 x 512KB L2 Cache Socket AM2 Dual Core Processor (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103747)
OCZ Gold 1GB (2 x 512MB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820227126)
Antec SmartPower 2.0 SP-500 ATX12V 500W Power Supply (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817103937)
EVGA GeForce 7900 GTO / 512MB GDDR3 / SLI / PCI Express / Dual DVI / HDTV / RoHS / Video Card (http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/searchtools/item-Details.asp?EdpNo=2512219&AffiliateID=lw9MynSeamY-02zIX7dhP86xxBKpetrnPg)

Possible Configuration 2:
Intel Core 2 Duo E6300 Conroe 1.86GHz 2M sharing L2 Cache LGA 775 Processor (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819115005)
ASUS P5L-VM 1394 Socket T (LGA 775) Intel 945G Micro ATX Intel Motherboard (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131046)
Patriot Signature 1GB (2 x 512MB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820220070)
Antec SmartPower 2.0 SP-500 ATX12V 500W Power Supply (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817103937)
EVGA GeForce 7900 GTO / 512MB GDDR3 / SLI / PCI Express / Dual DVI / HDTV / RoHS / Video Card (http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/searchtools/item-Details.asp?EdpNo=2512219&AffiliateID=lw9MynSeamY-02zIX7dhP86xxBKpetrnPg)

Video card's kinda...ehh...I know Tiger's reputation with their rebates but I'm willing to take a chance. If anyone has another suggestion for a video card, I'd very much appreciate it...or if anyone can figure out how to trim the price of these systems down a little without sacrificing too much performance, I'd also appreciate that. Thanks!

[Vinny]

I'd definitely go with the C2D set-up. You should be able to OC the E6300 to E6400 speeds using stock volts and stock cooler (using a ratio lower than 1:1). The C2D setup also benefits from needing DDR2 667 memory which is cheaper than DDR2 800 memory.

I honestly don't see anything wrong with either set up except your choice on the GPU. It's definitely a fantastic card but do you really want something that expensive now? DX10 cards will be out this year which will mean that DX9 cards will drop in price big time. I say you get a potent GPU for now and save up a bit of money for something else. Honestly, unless you plan to game a ultra high resolutions then that's overkill for the moment. Even my GPU can fly through most any game maxed out if I play it at 1280 by 960 or 1280x1024. And it holds steady at 30fps on my monitor's native 1680x1050 on most games maxed out (besides FEAR and OBLIVION- those I have to play semi-maxed out).

I would say get a DX10 card but who knows how much power they suck up. But you'd probably benefit more from getting a low end card now and getting a mid-range DX10 card, assuming your PS holds up, later.

BTW, what rebate are you talking about? I don't see any rebates listed for the 7900 GTO at TD...:-?

[vietgurl]

haha thanks vinny. maybe i should just wait until early 2007 to build it? i'm in no hurry...

[espy605]

I would say get a DX10 card but who knows how much power they suck up. But you'd probably benefit more from getting a low end card now and getting a mid-range DX10 card, assuming your PS holds up, later.

I agree you should wait for the DX10 cards. Even if you don't get a DX10 card, he's right in that the DX9 set will drop in price. A lot of places might even do discounted promotions when Vista launches. Although, I doubt additional power consumption will be much of an issue.

[menikmati]

Definitely the Core 2 Duo is the way to go, and consider making those RAM modules 1GB each for a total of 2GB.

[trip1eX]

I think the vid card is a great one. I don't think waiting for a DX10 cards gains you alot. The first vid DX10 cards will be expensive and by then the DX9 cards will be dirt cheap so you'll just have another choice to make anyway. And as always with pcs waiting will always bring you cheaper prices and faster/newer tech.

[Oktoberfest]

A good 7600GT should probably last you for a while after DirectX10 cards first come out

Also, see if you can get 2 GB of RAM (2x1GB)

[erehwon]

If you're looking at hard drives, take a look at Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 320GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s (http://$$$$$$$$$$$$/ygk7um) for $95 and free shipping.

Are you reusing your case? When building my computer, one of the major concerns was what case to use. Small form factor, Home theater pc case, or tower? I ended up with this Antec (http://$$$$$$$$$$$$/avvdg)case. It is heavy as hell, but quite sturdy. I went with it since I wanted a roomy case. I also love the fact that it has an air filter on the front that you can pull down. It's a necessity in my dusty room.

I would also take a look into a third party cooler for the CPU. If you're gaming, you'll want some extra cooling.

[Vinny]

I second getting a 7600GT and spending the leftover money on two sticks of 1GB memory.

I wouldn't really look into after market coolers unless you plan to do some heavy OCing. It's very uncommon for a processor to overheat at all using the stock cooler if it's running at stock volts. If you need need an after market cooler, than you're either using a Pentium 4, you live somewhere really hot, or you screwed up.:-P

[vietgurl]

I already have a case, DVD burner, 2 250gb unused hard drives (let's not get into how many i actually use, haha), etc. I'm trying to get the "essentials" now...I figure that it won't be too hard to get a board with 4 slots for RAM and then add another 2 sticks in sometime in the future. On the other hand, I don't want to have to completely replace something in the near future (video card, cpu, etc.) which is why I'm kinda skimping out on the ram for now. So...maybe just wait on everything until January 2007?

[tomfoolery]

i dig the amd set up, that's the chip I have, I enjoy it very much. i'd check up on amd dual core chips on google because there are some things you should do that will make it so the system runs smoother and understands the dual cores.

eVga makes a great video card and i'd definitely go with the one you've chosen. I would have gotten that but it came out after I built my current system. I have the 256 meg version of it though and love it.

i'd go with 2 gigs of corsair xms ram, that stuff just rules.

Good luck man

T. Foolery

[Vinny]

I already have a case, DVD burner, 2 250gb unused hard drives (let's not get into how many i actually use, haha), etc. I'm trying to get the "essentials" now...I figure that it won't be too hard to get a board with 4 slots for RAM and then add another 2 sticks in sometime in the future. On the other hand, I don't want to have to completely replace something in the near future (video card, cpu, etc.) which is why I'm kinda skimping out on the ram for now. So...maybe just wait on everything until January 2007?

Waiting never hurts... but it can also cause some decision issues as you'll always want the newest technology.

BTW, if you don't wanna upgrade then you need to make a decision about the GPU. DX10 will only work with Vista but most any DX9 card will work the Vista too (but you'll miss out on some features). So don't plan to get a DX10 card if you have to use Win XP.