At 8/10/09 05:05 PM, PolishMatt wrote:

At 8/10/09 03:18 PM, TacoFreak wrote: I can hit 4 GHz, too!

But your HT link is only at 2000MHz as oppose to my 3600MHz. and you wouldn't have HT as well, would you :) ?

Actually for AMD processors if your HT is higher than stock your performance decreases. Also I don't care about hyperthreading. Enjoy your shitty i7 temperatures.

At 8/10/09 03:02 PM, pYROkINDoFgUY wrote: Just wondering, but how the hell do you people get to 4ghz with just stock? Doesn't seem possible. Then again, I've always been a little afraid of OC'ing my 9850...

I don't think anyone is running stock. My fan and heatsink are very far off from being 'small'.

At 8/10/09 05:13 PM, PolishMatt wrote:

My fan and heatsink are very far off from being 'small'.

That's because Intel can't make stock heatsinks for shit

At 8/10/09 05:17 PM, TacoFreak wrote:

At 8/10/09 05:13 PM, PolishMatt wrote:

My fan and heatsink are very far off from being 'small'.

That's because Intel can't make stock heatsinks for shit

Still downloading the 3D Mark 06 and Vantage. Almost done,

Download 3dmark03 as well. It's a lot different from the newest ones.

Me and TSF came up with these parts

PSU + CASE [$40]: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as px?Item=N82E16811162044

RAM [$27]: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as px?Item=N82E16820220095

HDD [$40]: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as px?Item=N82E16822136075

MOBO [$43]: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as px?Item=N82E16813186167

CPU [$53] : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as px?Item=N82E16819116075

At 8/10/09 09:05 PM, Adio wrote: Here's the catch. He only has 200 dollars

It can't be done for 200, maybe 300 if you want trash parts. Tell him to save some more money and come back here when he has 400. Here's a great build for 395.93

109.99 - Intel Core 2 Duo E7400 2.8GHz
59.99 - ASRock VIA PT880 Pro/PT880 Ultra ATX
54.99 - OCZ Platinum 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2
69.99 - Western Digital Caviar Black 500GB
54.99 - Rosewill Stallion Series 600W
24.99 - Rosewill R226-P-BK Mid Tower
24.99 - LG 22X DVD±R DVD Burner Drive

At 8/10/09 10:14 PM, TacoFreak wrote: Me and TSF came up with these parts

Not bad, missing a few parts though. I went a bit future-proof lane.

At 8/10/09 10:37 PM, PolishMatt wrote:

At 8/10/09 10:14 PM, TacoFreak wrote: Me and TSF came up with these parts

Not bad, missing a few parts though. I went a bit future-proof lane.

No it's not.

also your build is twice as much as he wanted

At 8/10/09 11:02 PM, TacoFreak wrote: also your build is twice as much as he wanted

You get what you pay for. I always advice to go a bit further. For 10$ more, he could get 340GB more and he there is no ROM listed. He won't be able to install his games.

At 8/10/09 11:27 PM, PolishMatt wrote:

At 8/10/09 11:02 PM, TacoFreak wrote: also your build is twice as much as he wanted

You get what you pay for. I always advice to go a bit further. For 10$ more, he could get 340GB more and he there is no ROM listed. He won't be able to install his games.

He already has an optical drive.

matt is right, you need alteast $400 bucks for a good comp that'll last you long...

do you guys think this is a good buy... im going to order these parts when i get paid by sunday...

At 8/11/09 12:02 AM, Ecliptic wrote: matt is right, you need alteast $400 bucks for a good comp that'll last you long...

That wasn't the point of the computer, it was to get parts for under 200

Ok guys... I need a word with you knowledgeable folk about a few points that are bugging me.

I'm currently on a Pentium D 3.4, 8600GT 1BG GDDR2, 3GB rig... I guess it's O.K, runs your average game on medium settings, blazes through your average daily demands. I've noticed the aging of my CPU especially when it comes to Direct X10 games. Bottom line: I've gotten the itch to buy a new rig.
Now come the questions.

1- Is it preferable to wait until the fabled Windows 7 release? Is this new OS such a vast improvement over Vista?

2- Direct X 11 GPU's are right around the corner, is it really worth waiting? Is this another revolutionary advance? NVidia or ATI? Why?

3- AMD? Intel? Which would deliver more bang for my buck? Do I really need a quad core machine to be future safe for the next 2 years? Has the gaming market swiched to fully utilize multiple cores? The waiting game can be played indefinitely with PCs... I'm sorta getting impatient.

I'm not looking for a "hardcore" rig. No fancy pants cases, no SLI or crossfire... no need for a HD over 320 gigs. I'd like for it to fluidly run games such as Diablo 3, Battlefield: Bad Company, and whatever MMORPG that strikes my fancy. No absolute need for ultra high settings.

I've got a good buddy who's a pro at assembly, so that part's covered.
Can I get something decent out for 1000 CAN$ (before taxes)?

Thanks for all and any adice guys. It's really appreciated.

At 8/11/09 12:51 AM, Der-Ubermensch wrote: 1- Is it preferable to wait until the fabled Windows 7 release? Is this new OS such a vast improvement over Vista?

I have been downloading the bi-weekly new leaks of W7 BETA for the last seven months now. The final RTM version 7600.0 is now out and it's very stable, fast and better many other ways over Vista and XP.

2- Direct X 11 GPU's are right around the corner, is it really worth waiting? Is this another revolutionary advance? NVidia or ATI? Why?

Very few games even unitize DX10 let alone PsyX. There won't be any great DX11 games titles for a while after it gets released. And DX10 is ok, I don't find it so thrilling in real life mimicking game sceneries.

3- AMD? Intel? Which would deliver more bang for my buck?

AMD is more price competitive while Intel leans to the performance side. You get what you pay for. Intel is great but there are people who will still take a bullet for AMD. Flip a coin on this.

Do I really need a quad core machine to be future safe for the next 2 years?

I would suggest it. The next new line of processors for the new socket from Intel, are mainly going to be quad-cores so it wouldn't be so bad if you could just keep up with the core counts.

Has the gaming market swiched to fully utilize multiple cores?

Sort of. A lot of games will typically make good use of two cores but rarely quads. Duos are good for gaming builds.

I'm not looking for a "hardcore" rig. No fancy pants cases, no SLI or crossfire...

You can get a bit fancy with a 1000. : )

no need for a HD over 320 gigs.

Every HDD in the region of 160~500GB is priced at 40~50$. Just grab a 500GB.

Can I get something decent out for 1000 CAN$ (before taxes)?

Don't feel like doing it right now.

At 8/11/09 12:02 AM, Ecliptic wrote: matt is right, you need alteast $400 bucks for a good comp that'll last you long...

400 is definitely the sweet spot. Anything less and you have to start skimping everywhere, which is always a bad thing.

do you guys think this is a good buy... im going to order these parts when i get paid by sunday...

The only thing I can comment on is the motherboard and CPU. For the motherboard, spend some extra on a 785G chipset, which even supports core unlocking. As for your CPU, it's a well known fact that the phenom Is are the worst processors ever created. Do yourself a favor and get this instead. The success rate for unlocking these things to quads is around 70%.

At 8/11/09 12:51 AM, Der-Ubermensch wrote: 1- Is it preferable to wait until the fabled Windows 7 release? Is this new OS such a vast improvement over Vista?

Buying vista now gets you a free upgrade to 7 when it comes out. But why bother with that? Just snatch a beta version, and you don't even need to worry about it until it expires next June.

2- Direct X 11 GPU's are right around the corner, is it really worth waiting? Is this another revolutionary advance? NVidia or ATI? Why?

It's basically predicted to be similar to what happened from DX8 to DX9. The reason DX10 was a total flop was because it was a very tough API to code for. As a result many developers didn't feel the need to use it in their games. DX11 is going to see a huge difference for gamers and programmers and would get a ton of use if not for consoles. The xbox360 is a DX9 machine. That means even though DX11 could be the perfect graphics API, game developers interested more in consoles might not even bother. I think it will still be worth it though.

As for which brand to go with, it's obvious to say ATI. It's been predicted that Nvidia will have trouble getting cards out by Q1 2010. For them, the 300 series is a high risk part. It will be their first card to use GDDR5. It will be their first card to use 40nm. It will be their first DX11 part. Ati already has all of these features successfully implemented. In fact, ATI has DX10.1, which has a lot of the hardware features of DX11. Unless Nvidia reaches very far into their bag of tricks, they're about to get a huge kick to the groin by the underdog.

3- AMD? Intel? Which would deliver more bang for my buck? Do I really need a quad core machine to be future safe for the next 2 years? Has the gaming market swiched to fully utilize multiple cores? The waiting game can be played indefinitely with PCs... I'm sorta getting impatient.

It depends what you're looking for. Intel recently dropped the prices of their quads, making them competitive with the phenom IIs. However, Intel still can't hold a finger to being able to buy a tri-core for $120, and then unlocking it to a quad.

Most games are at least dual threaded, but the adoption of using multiple cores has been very lazy. AMD recently demonstrated something called openCL, an API that can utilize any number of CPU cores. Things are looking up for people who bought those quads two years ago.

Can I get something decent out for 1000 CAN$ (before taxes)?

I see Crysis in your future.

A friend of mine agreeded to buy my computer in about a month so I need to start thinking about what parts to buy.

Case: Thinking about the same as I had, a CM690 with side window. It's cheap, it's sexy, it's good.

PSU: Thinking of getting a 750W Corsair - Modular PSU. linky

CPU: I'm not sure about this, but it's gonna be AMD.

I heard AMD is releasing some new tri cores in September but I don't know if I should just get something else. The 940's might get a price drop and I might get one of those, however...

Phenom II x2 = 2 cores, 4 GHz overclock guaranteed, cheap

Phenom II x3 = 3 cores, 3.8 GHz overclock guaranteed, slightly more expensive

Phenom II x4 = 4 cores, 3.6 GHz overclock guaranteed, expensive

Motherboard: I think I'm getting the same one,

GA-MA790X-UD4P. It's DDR2 and has crossfire support, although the crossfire is only x8 which might not be good enough for 5870 CF, but I doubt I will even CF such beasts. A 5870 should last me long.

I'm thinking of getting maybe a DDR3 motherboard, but DDR3 is still expensive.

Memory: I wanna get 4GB of something good that isn't too expensive.

GPU: I am pretty much decided on a PALIT GTS 250. This baby should last me a couple of months until the dx11 cards get a price cut. I am going to be buying a 24" @ around Christmas which will cost a lot.

HDD: Already have one.

Optical drive: ???

CPU cooler: Mugen 2

I'm open to suggestions and shit

I'm thinking of selling my Core i7 rig and my Sony Vaio FW laptop. The laptop is too powerful and eats battery life in 2 hours, I want to get a small Netbook from Asus or Samsung to replace it for $350. I probably could make $2500 off of the i7 + monitor and another $1100 on the laptop.

At 8/11/09 01:15 PM, PolishMatt wrote: I'm thinking of selling my Core i7 rig and my Sony Vaio FW laptop. The laptop is too powerful and eats battery life in 2 hours, I want to get a small Netbook from Asus or Samsung to replace it for $350. I probably could make $2500 off of the i7 + monitor and another $1100 on the laptop.

I would just keep it. I'm starting to get worried I won't be able to sell my 280 rig. The guy who was selling SLI 280 and a q9400 for less couldn't even sell his. I might try parting it out if it doesn't sell. If any of you guys want some of my parts ask.

A friend of mine agreeded to buy my computer in about a month so I need to start thinking about what parts to buy.

Case: Thinking about the same as I had, a CM690 with side window. It's cheap, it's sexy, it's good.

PSU: Thinking of getting a 750W Corsair - Modular PSU. linky

CPU: I'm not sure about this, but it's gonna be AMD.

I heard AMD is releasing some new tri cores in September but I don't know if I should just get something else. The 940's might get a price drop and I might get one of those, however...

Phenom II x2 = 2 cores, 4 GHz overclock guaranteed, cheap

Phenom II x3 = 3 cores, 3.8 GHz overclock guaranteed, slightly more expensive

Phenom II x4 = 4 cores, 3.6 GHz overclock guaranteed, expensive

Motherboard: I think I'm getting the same one,

GA-MA790X-UD4P. It's DDR2 and has crossfire support, although the crossfire is only x8 which might not be good enough for 5870 CF, but I doubt I will even CF such beasts. A 5870 should last me long.

I'm thinking of getting maybe a DDR3 motherboard, but DDR3 is still expensive.

Memory: I wanna get 4GB of something good that isn't too expensive.

GPU: I am pretty much decided on a PALIT GTS 250. This baby should last me a couple of months until the dx11 cards get a price cut. I am going to be buying a 24" @ around Christmas which will cost a lot.

HDD: Already have one.

Optical drive: ???

CPU cooler: Mugen 2

I'm open to suggestions and shit

At 8/11/09 03:07 PM, ThoseSneakyFrench wrote: I would just keep it. I'm starting to get worried I won't be able to sell my 280 rig. The guy who was selling SLI 280 and a q9400 for less couldn't even sell his. I might try parting it out if it doesn't sell. If any of you guys want some of my parts ask.

Matt, why would you sell the rig you just completed and have been yaking on about how amazing it is? Just build something you need and keep it! =D

And TSF, what parts do you have?

At 8/12/09 12:53 AM, TheWolfe wrote: Matt,

Because that's what I'm aiming for, I think I might of over aimed with the i7 =/ on the other hand I don't want to let go of it. The money in tempting and the world continues to spin.

At 8/12/09 01:13 AM, PolishMatt wrote:

At 8/12/09 12:53 AM, TheWolfe wrote: Matt,

Because that's what I'm aiming for, I think I might of over aimed with the i7 =/ on the other hand I don't want to let go of it. The money in tempting and the world continues to spin.

Lol isn't that what everyone else has been saying? That it's overkill? I'd sell it and just start over, but make one I know I'll be satisfied with =D

At 8/12/09 02:10 AM, TheWolfe wrote: Lol isn't that what everyone else has been saying? That it's overkill?

How dare you. This thing gives me an amazing breeze on my legs. That's well worth 2000$.

Hey guys I think I'll get some DDR3 1600 7-7-7-18 RAM

opinions?

At 8/12/09 10:04 AM, Sk8erGirI14 wrote: opinions?

Make sure your motherboard supports it in the first place.

Hey guys,

I'm looking to get a new computer, and I'd rather not buy. I saw ThoseSneakyFrench's thread about buying vs. building, and let's say I was convinced. However, I have no idea where to start. Basically, I was hoping you guys could help me out a little.

As for things that I do on the computer, just to give you an idea what I need:

1)I do basic gaming, mostly Flash, but I'd like to get in too more gaming.
2)It would need to be able to dual boot Windows/Linux.
3) It would have to run Flash, etc. fairly well.
4) It would have to run Dragon. Link for people who don't know what it is. It would have to be able to run this nearly perfectly, do to the nature of the program and what I'd be using it for.

Also, I have a Windows OS, so I don't need that included in the price. If you guys need any other info, just let me know.

Thanks in advance.

At 8/12/09 01:54 PM, XIII13 wrote: Hey guys,

I'm looking to get a new computer, and I'd rather not buy. I saw ThoseSneakyFrench's thread about buying vs. building, and let's say I was convinced. However, I have no idea where to start. Basically, I was hoping you guys could help me out a little.

As for things that I do on the computer, just to give you an idea what I need:

1)I do basic gaming, mostly Flash, but I'd like to get in too more gaming.
2)It would need to be able to dual boot Windows/Linux.
3) It would have to run Flash, etc. fairly well.
4) It would have to run Dragon. Link for people who don't know what it is. It would have to be able to run this nearly perfectly, do to the nature of the program and what I'd be using it for.

Also, I have a Windows OS, so I don't need that included in the price. If you guys need any other info, just let me know.

Thanks in advance.

This was a parts list I came up with. Now, let me know if I'm WAY off track with any of my parts, or if there is going to be any issues with compatibility, etc.

At 8/13/09 11:43 AM, XIII13 wrote:

Your wishlist isn't valid, lol. If you want to get into 3D gaming, but nothing too extreme, a 9600gt or a 4670 would be a perfect match. Dual booting is no big deal as long as you have enough space to be comfortable in both OSes. Flash would run perfectly under 4 gigs of ram, and Dragon would have no compatibility issues under XP, Vista, or 7. Take a screenshot of your shopping cart, that's the easiest way to see what parts you have in mind.

At 8/13/09 03:11 PM, ThoseSneakyFrench wrote:

At 8/13/09 11:43 AM, XIII13 wrote:

I'm going to warn you, I pretty much just picked parts on how they sounded, the reviews and the price, so I might have stuff that is way off the mark. That's why I'm asking you guys, lol.