New system time!

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05-08-2008, 04:12 PM
LgFriess

New system time!

Well it's finally time for a new desktop. It'll be a 99% gaming machine. I like to play everything... WoW to Crysis and anything else that I can find the time to get into.

Trying to stick around $1500 (a few hundred either way wouldn't kill me). I tend to try to get about 3-4 years out of a system with a video card upgrade here and there.

I know the latest/greatest video cards (true successor to the 8800gtx) are right around the corner so I'm going to just go with a single 8800gt for now, with hopes of just popping it out and adding one or two of the g200 series when they hit in a few months.

A few questions too;
1. Quad 9300 or the E8400. Am I killing the "future proof" thing by going dual core? Will I want to kill myself in 2 months when a slew of games hit the market that support quad? I plan on overclocking but just a little.

2. 64 bit and 4mb RAM or 32 bit and 2mb? I'm leaning towards the 4mb, 64bit Vista again with an eye towards the future.

3. 780i motherboard... overkill? I don't want to go cheap on a MB but I don't want to just throw money away either.

4. I've configured this thing with a soundcard. Will this give me a gain in framerates and is the sound quality that much improved?

I configured this thing mainly off cyberpower's site and THINK it looks pretty good. Please let me know if I'm screwing up too badly OR just waisting money on anything. Would you add anything that would make a world of difference for not a lot more money?

-CoolerMaster Cosmos S Gaming Full Tower
-Intel Core 2 Quad Q9300
-EVGA nForce 780i SLI FSB 1333
-4GB PC6400 DDR2/800 (Corsair)
-GeForce 8800GT EVGA brand
-X-Fi XtremeGamer
-64bit Vista Home Premium
-Thermaltake DuOrb CPU Cooling Fan
-800 Watt PSU by Xion SuperNova

Thanks for your help!!

Update - ordered... changes were,
-E8400 (Plan on a very mild overclock, and will drop in a quad when games really use them)
-GeForce 9800GX2 (can sell it to a friend to make up a portion of the cost when the g200's hit... I admit there's nothing really smart about getting this card now, but what the heck. I game on a 24" and with a little overclocking it'll be fun to play with)
-ASUS 750i (780i seemed more then I would ever use... triple SLI? Not for me)
-Ultra X3 800watts PSU (better rep, gives me some wiggle room for future upgrades)
05-08-2008, 04:29 PM
stang10001

i'd say take out the sound card and get a Q9450 instead of a Q9300
05-08-2008, 05:48 PM
richardginn

You can go with the Quad core CPU, But not many games now will even support it.
05-09-2008, 08:59 AM
LgFriess

Well I went ahead and ordered the thing.

Went with a Asus 750i instead. 4gb RAM with vista64.

I also took a gamble and I know, I know, pretty much a dumb move but whatever... 9800GX2. My thoughts were that when the g200s hit, I can sell this to a friend for a few hundred bucks and he'll be thrilled. If I just went with a 8800gt, it would just sit there after I had an upgrade.

I'll post some pics when it gets here.
05-09-2008, 02:31 PM
xclite

Quote:

Originally Posted by LgFriess

Well I went ahead and ordered the thing.

Went with a Asus 750i instead. 4gb RAM with vista64.

I also took a gamble and I know, I know, pretty much a dumb move but whatever... 9800GX2. My thoughts were that when the g200s hit, I can sell this to a friend for a few hundred bucks and he'll be thrilled. If I just went with a 8800gt, it would just sit there after I had an upgrade.

I'll post some pics when it gets here.

I've heard good things about that video card. I'd probably have stuck with the 780i, though.
05-09-2008, 02:58 PM
stang10001

we can finally get the 750a and 780a for amd in the states
05-09-2008, 03:16 PM
LgFriess

Oh, also went with the E8400 instead of the quad. I figure when the games are out that I really need the quads, I'll just buy one and plug it in. Probably be a lot cheaper for a better processor by then anyway. Plus a little overclock with the cpu and gpu should take me a long way.
05-09-2008, 03:18 PM
mikeysg

Everything looks good, only exception's the PSU......dunno about others, but it ain't one of the known brands that I'm familiar with.
05-10-2008, 12:17 PM
LgFriess

Quote:

Originally Posted by mikeysg

Everything looks good, only exception's the PSU......dunno about others, but it ain't one of the known brands that I'm familiar with.

Ahh yes, after doing a little research, I actually went with an Ultra X3 800 watts.

Maybe a little overkill there but I'm thinking it'll give me a little wiggle room for future upgrades.
05-12-2008, 01:50 AM
mikeysg

Quote:

Originally Posted by LgFriess

Ahh yes, after doing a little research, I actually went with an Ultra X3 800 watts.

Maybe a little overkill there but I'm thinking it'll give me a little wiggle room for future upgrades.

An Ultra X? Why not go for Seasonic or the Corsair TX750 or HX620? Or a SilverStone OP/DA 650W?:confused:
05-12-2008, 08:01 AM
stang10001

i'm using an ultra x2 550 i think there pretty nice
05-12-2008, 10:31 AM
Un4given

Unless you were absolutely sure you were going to go SLI, I would have stayed away from the NV chipsets.
05-12-2008, 10:35 AM
xclite

Quote:

Originally Posted by Un4given

Unless you were absolutely sure you were going to go SLI, I would have stayed away from the NV chipsets.

I was reading that the 780/790 beat the x38/x48 in most benchmarks... unfortunately I have no linky to prove it :(
05-12-2008, 11:56 AM
stang10001

it does but i don't have no linky either lol
05-12-2008, 01:13 PM
LgFriess

Well I still have a bit of time to change my order... would Asus P5N-T Deluxe nForce 780i be a better choice? And why? At most, I'll go SLI somewhere down the line, and the 750i will let me do that.

Am I seriously gimping myself?
05-12-2008, 08:22 PM
dfed

Quote:

Originally Posted by Un4given

Unless you were absolutely sure you were going to go SLI, I would have stayed away from the NV chipsets.

Hi, i was thinking of using asus p5k with a single 8800gts.

are you saying i should consider something else?
05-13-2008, 04:12 PM
artemus

Quote:

Originally Posted by LgFriess

Well I still have a bit of time to change my order... would Asus P5N-T Deluxe nForce 780i be a better choice? And why? At most, I'll go SLI somewhere down the line, and the 750i will let me do that.

Am I seriously gimping myself?

Usually, once u make your order, you can't change it. What do you mean u have a bit of time to change your order?
05-13-2008, 06:00 PM
LgFriess

Quote:

Originally Posted by artemus

Usually, once u make your order, you can't change it. What do you mean u have a bit of time to change your order?

I'm buying it from cyberpowerpc. They won't start putting it all together for a few more days.