Possible PC build

[weemadando]

All of the prices are from a local OEM specialist PC DIY and are about the best I've been able to find. Can anyone see any glaring holes in this rig which would need correcting? I've got some additional HDDs which I'll be plugging in, as well as a soundcard.

Things that have been pointed out thus far which I'd like further advice on:

1) The case mightn't be big/run cool enough for the SLI solution.
2) The supplied PSU mightn't be able to hack it.
3) The 9600GTs @ 1g each might not be as good an option as 9800s @ 512mb each.

E8400 $265
GIGABYTE EP45‐DS4P $189
2GB KIT DDR3 1333 CORSAIR $139 x 2
1T SATA W.D. $175
9600GT 1G GIGABYTE $198 x 2
ANTEC SONATA3 $190
LOGITECH KEYBOARD G15 $89
LOGITECH G5 $67

= $1649

[JointStrikeFighter]

Wouldn't a 260 or 280 be better than SLi 9XXX? Especially when you weigh up power, cooling and space requirements.

[weemadando]

Yeah, that's the other thing. I was looking at the 280, but it's coming out at about $200 more than the SLI solution. I'll have to look at it all again when I come back from holidays (when I'm planning to decide if I want to buy). Hopefully prices will have dropped enough on the 280 to make that a more valid option (hell, if I was nutty and could afford to blow ALL my savings, I'd even got for the SLId 280s).

The other question of course, is if the 4870 setup is better than the comparable 280 setup? This is of course taking into account game preferences and the fact that ATI can handle AA and other complex effects.

[JointStrikeFighter]

Yeah, that's the other thing. I was looking at the 280, but it's coming out at about $200 more than the SLI solution. I'll have to look at it all again when I come back from holidays (when I'm planning to decide if I want to buy). Hopefully prices will have dropped enough on the 280 to make that a more valid option (hell, if I was nutty and could afford to blow ALL my savings, I'd even got for the SLId 280s).

The other question of course, is if the 4870 setup is better than the comparable 280 setup? This is of course taking into account game preferences and the fact that ATI can handle AA and other complex effects.

That stuff has been fixed on nvidia cards since the 8XXX series. Really you will probably have a better time support and bug wise with most games running a nvidia card, hardly anything is made for ati these days. The last game i can think of to carry that logo was half Life 2 lol.

[Stark]

SLI is never a 'solution'. It's always a moneysink. You can run pretty much anything on an 8800 for cheap as shit if you're cash-strapped, and if you want new chip features and more 'free' GPU stuff, you need a newer card not two of the same. Nobody who cares about money should ever buy SLI, especially not off the bat (it may become worth it later when the card is 30% cost). The 9600 is even an uninpressive mid-range card, a literal turkey piece of shit, and a 260 is like what, 370 bucks? Get one, SLI it in a year when you notice slowdown if you care and are too poor to just buy a new card.

Then again, you're buying a G15, so you're automatically a fucking moron. What kind of cretin buys that shit? I've never met anyone who reacts to even seeing retardo keyboards like that without saying LOL WHAT KIND OF FATTY NERD BUYS THIS. My lcd screen shows me stuff! lol!

I have no idea how ATi cards stack up these days, although Ace tells me that at various times and price-points they've been ahead recently. And lol, 260's have gone up since Flash bought his! No more cheapo Zotacs!

[weemadando]

SLI is never a 'solution'. It's always a moneysink. You can run pretty much anything on an 8800 for cheap as shit if you're cash-strapped, and if you want new chip features and more 'free' GPU stuff, you need a newer card not two of the same. Nobody who cares about money should ever buy SLI, especially not off the bat (it may become worth it later when the card is 30% cost). The 9600 is even an uninpressive mid-range card, a literal turkey piece of shit, and a 260 is like what, 370 bucks? Get one, SLI it in a year when you notice slowdown if you care and are too poor to just buy a new card.

Then again, you're buying a G15, so you're automatically a fucking moron. What kind of cretin buys that shit? I've never met anyone who reacts to even seeing retardo keyboards like that without saying LOL WHAT KIND OF FATTY NERD BUYS THIS. My lcd screen shows me stuff! lol!

I have no idea how ATi cards stack up these days, although Ace tells me that at various times and price-points they've been ahead recently. And lol, 260's have gone up since Flash bought his! No more cheapo Zotacs!

Yeah, the G15 is pure wankage, but it's in there mainly for playing flight sims, where having a bunch of extra keys and an LCD screen to show additional info is never a bad thing. Plus, I figure if I can pick it up for that much, I might as well.

I think the 280 is probably what I'll go with given all the feedback. More money, but a better long term investment.

[Stark]

Nobody really suggested a 280; JSF was just talking about the 2x0 range in general (ie not the horrible abortion of a 9xxx series so bad they stopped making the 8xxx series to force you to buy them lol). A 260 is sitting at ~400 atm (they've gone up in the last few weeks, sadly) and Flash is constantly pissing me off by playing everything with absolutely everything set to max. That's WAY better - and better in the future - than a pair of crappy mid-range cards like a 9600. The 280 is significantly more expensive.

And if you play any games that talk to the G15 LCD you scare me and you stay out of Brisbane y'hear?

[Flash]

Holy shit, they have gone up. Mine only cost $360!

And I will throw my support behind the 260 or 280. I now automatically turn every video setting to max, haven't had a game give me grief about it yet.

[atg]

Yeah, that's the other thing. I was looking at the 280, but it's coming out at about $200 more than the SLI solution. I'll have to look at it all again when I come back from holidays (when I'm planning to decide if I want to buy). Hopefully prices will have dropped enough on the 280 to make that a more valid option (hell, if I was nutty and could afford to blow ALL my savings, I'd even got for the SLId 280s).

The other question of course, is if the 4870 setup is better than the comparable 280 setup? This is of course taking into account game preferences and the fact that ATI can handle AA and other complex effects.

I think the 280 is probably what I'll go with given all the feedback. More money, but a better long term investment.

I have a 4870 in my current rig and I can very highly recommend it, they can be purchased for somewhere around $350-400AUD, will handedly beat the GTX260 and will near the performance (equal or 5% behind in most tests I've seen) of the GTX280 (which is about double the price IIRC).

Really you will probably have a better time support and bug wise with most games running a nvidia card, hardly anything is made for ati these days. The last game i can think of to carry that logo was half Life 2 lol.

Yeah I get real crappy performance and bad game support with my 4870 'cause games don't have the ATi logo on them... Oh wait, no I don't.

[Stark]

Aha, I knew there was some ATi quality somewhere. Ever since everyone's 9700's melted I've had no experience with them at all.

[charlemagne]

Like Stark said, there's no games out right now that a 8800 can't handle. To save a lot of money, get a 8800 GT, they're cheap as fuck considered they're almost on the same level as a 8800 GTS. Or at least, don't buy a 9600, you will regret going midrange on the gfx a lot. I was being cheap on my gfx last year, getting only a 8600, and I've been unhappy with the card most of the time. Just get the cheapest clearly high-end card you can lay your hands on.

[Stark]

In AU 8800GTs are really hard to find, and 9800GTs aren't nearly the same bang:buck. About a week after I got my 8800, most retailed went out of stock and replaced with the more expensive 9800.

[Fingolfin_Noldor]

ATI has done a fair bit to make sure their cards work on games. If you want to do SLI or what, you could also do a dual HD4850.

[weemadando]

I'm wanting to future-proof this PC as much as possible, my current PC (which is dead due to what I think is a fucked mobo dates from about 2003 and the most recent upgrade was earlier this year with a new GPU (AGP 7600).

So yeah, it's all about keeping this PC up and running for years to come. I'm guessing that the socket 775 mobo standard isn't going to die anytime soon and having PCI-E 2.0 onboard the mobo is a good move as well.

Are there any future proofing tips that people want to toss in?

[Fingolfin_Noldor]

I'm wanting to future-proof this PC as much as possible, my current PC (which is dead due to what I think is a fucked mobo dates from about 2003 and the most recent upgrade was earlier this year with a new GPU (AGP 7600).

So yeah, it's all about keeping this PC up and running for years to come. I'm guessing that the socket 775 mobo standard isn't going to die anytime soon and having PCI-E 2.0 onboard the mobo is a good move as well.

Are there any future proofing tips that people want to toss in?

Intel is said to be going to replace the socket with a new one when Nehalem arrives for the desktop, so they say.

[Stark]

Future-proofing is about luck and research, not buying SLI crap cards.

[Dominus Atheos]

I'm wanting to future-proof this PC as much as possible, my current PC (which is dead due to what I think is a fucked mobo dates from about 2003 and the most recent upgrade was earlier this year with a new GPU (AGP 7600).

So yeah, it's all about keeping this PC up and running for years to come. I'm guessing that the socket 775 mobo standard isn't going to die anytime soon and having PCI-E 2.0 onboard the mobo is a good move as well.

Are there any future proofing tips that people want to toss in?

The scheduled execution date for Socket 775 is November 16, when Intel is supposed to release Socket 1366, which is what the new Nehalem/Core i7 processors will use. Obviously you'll still be able to buy socket 775 mobos for a while after that, but if you're that concerned about future-proofing, it's something to think about.

[Napoleon the Clown]

Eh, the case looks like it'll have rather poor ventilation. I've got an Antec 900 and am very very pleased with it. Impressive airflow, and it supports a water cooling system if you care to install one, though you won't need to unless you plan on overclocking every bit of hardware in the thing on a regular basis for extended periods of time. Seriously, kick ass case. It doesn't include a power supply, but that just means you'll buy a good one instead of the potentially shitty one that comes with the other case. Though a word of warning: it attracts dust like nobody's business. Part of the airflow thing. In fact, I think it may draw more air through it per minute than a econo-car does...

[weemadando]

Well, considering I'm not buying until December, hopefully I'll have some more information by then on what is exactly going down.

[The Big I]

I need to upgrade my PC is there a site that compares comp parts???

[phongn]

The scheduled execution date for Socket 775 is November 16, when Intel is supposed to release Socket 1366, which is what the new Nehalem/Core i7 processors will use. Obviously you'll still be able to buy socket 775 mobos for a while after that, but if you're that concerned about future-proofing, it's something to think about.

Nehalem will have two sockets for the desktop: LGA1366 (high-end) and LGA1156 (mainstream).

I need to upgrade my PC is there a site that compares comp parts???

Lots. Tech Report is a good one to start at. Also, you only need one question mark.

So yeah, it's all about keeping this PC up and running for years to come. I'm guessing that the socket 775 mobo standard isn't going to die anytime soon and having PCI-E 2.0 onboard the mobo is a good move as well.

While Intel has used LGA775 for quite a few different chips, it doesn't mean you can throw a Core 2 in an early motherboard. In particular, the specifications for newer implementations is much more demanding than before.

Are there any future proofing tips that people want to toss in?

Don't bother.

[Dominus Atheos]

The scheduled execution date for Socket 775 is November 16, when Intel is supposed to release Socket 1366, which is what the new Nehalem/Core i7 processors will use. Obviously you'll still be able to buy socket 775 mobos for a while after that, but if you're that concerned about future-proofing, it's something to think about.

Nehalem will have two sockets for the desktop: LGA1366 (high-end) and LGA1156 (mainstream).

Right, but the 1156 (which will have the integrated GPU) isn't launching until Q3 2009, while the 1366 launches in a little over 2 weeks.

Source 1, Source 2, and Source 3.