New PC. What do you think?

[Red]

I'd say upgrade the CPU to the Quad 6600 or the Vid card to the 8800GT

[Zero001]

If i dont have to buy the HD and Rom I can get this for $569 after shipping:)

 

Since i am coming in a bit cheaper do you think i should upgrade any one of those items Zero?

 

It depends how much more you want to spend. I wouldn't really say it's worth upgrading from a 9600GT to an 8800GT unless there was a good sale on it, which there currently isn't. If you feel like waiting on a rebate the 8800GTS (G92) for under $200 is a great deal. Only other thing I can think of investing in is the CPU . $200 for a quad core or a 45nm Wolfdale.

 

The Wolfdale will run cooler, uses less energy, and if you don't overclock will be faster in about 95% of normal operations. If you use rendering programs then go for the quad. The majority of programs and games still don't take advantage of multi-threading so dual is still the standard. A year from now things could change, so the quad can be looked as an investment especially if you overclock down the road.

[suricruise]

So my Total will go from $569 to $664 with the Quad up grade. Hmmmmm Man so many options. And I still like this price. Thank you zero and Red for helping me out on this.

[Zero001]

The only other option I see, is to having everything pre-built. For $500 this is a good deal Link. Just drop in your own video card.

 

Con: Motherboard sucks ass and you'll never be able to overclock the Dell

Pro: In a year you can replace the motherboard, which the next gen of cpu's will probably require anyway

 

Con: I have no idea what kind of power supply they stick in there

Pro: It can probably handle a 9600GT since it doesn't use up as much power as the 8800's

 

Con: RAM = DDR2 667

Pro: A year from now DDR3 might be the standard and you might replace it anyway

 

Pro: Comes with an Operating System and HDD

Con: Might be the Dell bloatware CD and you won't be able to use it on another PC

 

Pro: Your wife gets to keep her PC

 

 

EDIT: Even comes with mouse and keyboard, so it is very complete. First builds are always the most expensive because you have to invest in all the extra parts. This is kind of a way around it.

[suricruise]

The only other option I see, is to having everything pre-built. For $500 this is a good deal Link. Just drop in your own video card.

 

Con: Motherboard sucks ass and you'll never be able to overclock the Dell

Pro: In a year you can replace the motherboard, which the next gen of cpu's will probably require anyway

 

Con: I have no idea what kind of power supply they stick in there

Pro: It can probably handle a 9600GT since it doesn't use up as much power as the 8800's

 

Con: RAM = DDR2 667

Pro: A year from now DDR3 might be the standard and you might replace it anyway

 

Pro: Comes with an Operating System and HDD

Con: Might be the Dell bloatware CD and you won't be able to use it on another PC

 

Pro: Your wife gets to keep her PC

 

I think i may still build one. I am about to get a Mac Book Pro from church, and she can always use that too. So i am just going to take hers (mine before we got married) and Scrap it for parts.

[Z3r0 M4ni4c]

Man if i buy in the USA im cheaper there then here in the netherlands.

 

But what almost the same configuration i have for my pc only the cpu and vidcard are better.

 

I have 4 gb of memory ;).

 

But definitly buy the Quadcore its way better then dual core. :thumbup:

[Captain Colon]

A Q6600 quad-core is definitely worth the extra money. I'd stick with eVGA...like someone else said, the XFX stuff tends to come from the factory OC'd. As much as this sounds like a good more-bang-fo'-yo-buck thing, it really isn't because it shortens the chip's useful life and also increases the power demands of the card. OCing should be left up to the end user that knows what they're doing or has the money to buy new cards after they fry their old ones.

 

Looks like you've already got this covered, but NEVER skimp on your power supply. Always buy from reputable manufacturers and check the current capacity of each rail if it has multiple 12V rails. A power supply with a single 12V rail is best (with multiple rails you may run into the issue of having enough total power to run everything, but your super-mega-awesome video card takes more power than any of the single rails can provide) but those tend to be expensive. Cheap power supplies = inconsistent power delivery = fried components.

[suricruise]

Thanks for the input Colon. I hope to place a order on Friday for some of these things.

[535cheetah]

see you may have to pay for having the kid right now but ... in the years to come its a nice tax return for having a kid my son bought most of my computer i just built a few months ago. * ( as seen in forums ... post your system pics, page 15)

 

i would go for the wolfdale 45nm thats what i got and love it !!

 

as far as a case goes, TRY and get something with a fan on the side... nuthin worse then all new stuff runnin slow cuz its to hot or worse.. wrecking it. a fan on the side of the case will blow nice kool air directly on your hard working buddies.

 

 

my final opinion .. WAIT... save up the money lil by lil and get something that will last a while, i know you dont wanna but it would benefit you in the long run.

[Captain Colon]

If you're gonna use a side fan then make sure your rear fan is set up as an exhaust fan, this'll give you a nice set up of air coming in the side (and front if you want to get a front fan too) then rising as it heats up and going out the back, instead of coming in the back and warming up and then getting pushed into the 5-1/4" bays until it cools enough to sink.

 

But really, it doesn't matter that much as long as all the components that need fans have fans and the hot air has a way out. Don't skimp on your thermal paste, go for arctic silver! I've never seen the temp on my quad core go past 50C with it and this cooler.