Help me build a computer...(Tis another one)

[jonros24]

Yes, this is another one of those "Build me a computer threads." To be honest, I'm just looking to build something that will run AION at very high settings, and at a widescreen resolution. Haven't really decided on a monitor, probably a 19 incher, nothing too expensive. Is it possible to build something that fits my needs for say.... a thousand dollars(not set in stone)? Any help would be appreciated, I've seen a bunch of these threads, but the couple i've found that say "build me teh AION comp lols" have broken newegg wishlist links .

EDIT: Sorry for the wall of text, i made a newegg wishlist with the componets i was pondering here.https://secure.newegg.com/WishList/M...spx?ID=6455234

Below are my (noobish) thoughts. :P

I would prefer Intel over AMD, the vague reasearch i've tried to do myself has been something akin to Intel benchmarks raping AMD's on the CPU.

Thanks for all your help guys. And Mark, if you read this, I might be sending the parts out to ya since I live down here i South Florida the shipping would be el cheapo.

Ooh, this was useful. Planning new computer for the Aion? Read here!
Yet I still need a bit of help with part compatibility and so on.

NEW ~500$ - sweet high-end performance for affordable price
Intel E8400 3.0GHz, 4GB DDR2, Geforce 8800GTS 512MB
For resolutions 1680x1050 and higher, perfect for 22-24" LCD.
Perfectly playable:
At 1920x1200 with AA 4x/ AF x16, ~100 fps

Can anyone verify this info? That's pretty much maxed settings .
Also not really sure abut power supply and cooling stuff... :/

My part list so far:
CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz 6MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor (189.99)

MOBO: (No idea... any suggestions) - maybe GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3L LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX All Solid Capacitor Intel Motherboard (109.99)

GFX Card: EVGA 512-P3-N841-AR GeForce 8800GTS (G92) 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card (224.99 - 30 mail rebate)

CASE: (No idea... any suggestions) Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case? (119.99)

PS: Not sure about the wattage i need and good brands - maybe a OCZ GameXStream OCZ700GXSSLI 700W ATX12V Power Supply 100 - 240 V (124.99-35 mail rebate)

OPTICAL DRIVE: IDE - LITE-ON 20X DVD±R DVD Burner Black IDE Model DH-20A4P-04 (22.99)
-OR-
OPTICAL DRIVE: SATA - Pioneer 20X DVD±R DVD Burner Black SATA Model DVR-215DBK (30.99)

COOLING: Um...HELP PLOX (is case cooling good enough? or do i want separate fans for other stuff? i'm a newb :P) I've heard good things about this one, i'm not sure if i would need it... been reading up on how to o/c and might try it ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro 92mm CPU Cooler (31.99)

HD: Seagate Barracuda ES.2 ST3250310NS 250GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive (79.99)

SOUND: Any thoughts as to sound cards (if any) and speakers? I could figure it out if need be.

RAM: Ummm maybe this not sure - G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory (89.99)

MONITOR: Maybe - Acer AL1916WAbd Black 19" 5ms Widescreen LCD Monitor 300 cd/m2 700:1 (179.99)

Probably forgetting something XD, let me know your thoughts please, and thanks guys.

[Draca]

8800GTS for a ATI 4850 series (faster+cheaper then 9800GTX), other then that it seems fine all of the other parts if the current best buy imo.

Also samsung makes the best flatpannels now days.

*note* any memory over 800Mhz(PC6400) has to be overclocked to be faster then 800Mhz.

[GrimFox]

I wouldn't get a 8800 anything anymore. the 9800's are so cheap now. the 4800 series is considerably more powerful and provides a lot more bang for the buck. 2 weeks ago i was still looking at the 88GTS but since the 4800's have come out all the prices have gone down. If you can afford to wait till the end of the summer to buy a new GPU there's still more cards that are going to come out and push prices even lower. At the moment though look at getting a good deal on a 4850 or 4870 GPU those are the best imo atm.

[JacobZ]

Don't go for core2duo, you can get a q6600( quad core, 2.4ghz 8mb cache) for like $199 now since intel is pushing new 45nm processors and i think 6-core processors soon . And also, don't go for 8800 series cards anymore, go for a 9800 gtx, or gt depending on your budget. But... if you really were looking to spring for a nice card, i'd go with one of those new gtx 260 cards.

Ok, here's what i think you should do,
CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz 2 x 4MB L2 Cache LGA 775 199$
Motherboard: ASUS P5N-D LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 750i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard 149$
Memory:2x CORSAIR 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory 2x 87$ (67 after rebate)
Graphics Card: EVGA 512-P3-N875-AR GeForce 9800 GTX KO 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card 205$
Hard Drive: Western Digital Raptor WD1500ADFD 150GB 10000 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 1.5Gb/s Hard Drive 170$
(If need be, you can buy a bigger hard drive later for media storage)
Case: NZXT TEMPEST Crafted Series CS-NT-TEM-B Black Steel / Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 110$
PS: Antec EA650 650W ATX12V Ver.2.2 / EPS12V version 2.91 Power Supply 100 100$
Optical Drives: just throw in a combo drive
Speakers and Sound card: not a big deal, you can figure those out for yourself. Creative Sound Blaster Audigy SE SB0570LPVP 5.1 Channels 24-bit 96KHz PCI Interface Low-Profile Sound Card 26$, pretty easy...
This brings the total of just the tower to about 898$ before rebates, but you'd still have to buy the OS and the monitor and as for cooling the case cooling on that nzxt should be sufficient for a single video card desktop.

[jonros24]

That build looks perfect, JacobZ. I think i'll take that route with the 9800 instead of the 8800 (and the quad core, wewt). And that case is hot (not temp, looks ). Quick question (or two), is 64 bit OS a viable option nowadays for general computer use as well as gaming? Or should I dual boot a 32 bit OS for compatibility reasons? And do you think this rig would run AION top notch (or close enough) @ 1680 x 1050 res on a 22 inch LCD? Or would I be better off with a 19 incher @ 1440 x 900? (or i could just lower my resolution while playing... *sniffle )


Thanks for all your input guys, not just JacobZ.

[Draca]

a duo is still so supperior to a quad since no games use more then one core some might use two.

So i have no idea why you would want to use a dual dual core(Q6600) cpu for a budget pc.
Also P35 mobo is better then 750i mobo and if you go with ATIs new card the CF on the P35 is alot better.

64bit os still has alot of problems with programs that don't work if you go with it, dual bot with a 32bit OS is prefered.

and on the pannel get a 1680x1000 pannel your computer will handle crysis with no AA in that res on very high.

[Howling]

As it's been stated a bunch of times, the 4850 is more powerful and cheaper than the 9800GTX+, anyone who buys a GTX or GTX+ is officially a retard.

Also quad cores are only superior to dual cores when the software supports multithreading, which 99.99% of games do not. Thus the E8400 is still the best choice for gamers on a budget, sure you might get a quad for the same price - but you WILL be slower for it.

Don't even get me started on the 750i.. Just... Don't.

Lol at suggesting a $20 soundcard too, unless you're willing to spend over $100 for a soundcard - just stick with the onboard sound. Seriously you won't notice any difference what so ever on a 20 bucks card, onboard sound is plenty for 90% of people.. The other 10% are audiophiles and demand the best quality sound.

The case, why stray from the known quality ones? Antec 900 will serve anyone well, if you don't like that - how about the Coolermaster Cosmos 1100 S? (The one I actually use myself, and yes I have a Q6600 processor but I chose that because I do alot of modelling and rendering is a hefty task on the CPU)

As for the OS, I've been running Vista x64 for months now and not a single problem with supported software. x64 OS and vista in particular have very bad reputations through no fault of their own. Most of the problems stem from retarded drivers and/or retarded people using them.

All I can say about Jacobz recommendation is, at least he picked a half decent PSU and HDD.. But even then, the Velociraptor is faster and has twice as much storage (that's gonna be my next purchase).

(Sorry if the post sounds harsh, I dislike bad (mostly out of date) information giving)

[JacobZ]

After reading up, it seems that the 4850 is a better card, so just go with that. Also i still stand by my recommendation for the quad core. There is nothing at all wrong with the case i recommended. It is a quality brand, i owned another nzxt case and it was a great build, great customer support, etc. The antec 900 is a quality case too, but everyone in the entire world buys in that case, so i thought i'd recommend something different. Agreed w/howling on sticking with onboard sound, unless you want to splurge on an expensive one, i've never personally boughten one, but since you put it in your description i thought i'd recommend something...
"But even then, the Velociraptor is faster and has twice as much storage (that's gonna be my next purchase)."
No, his budget is 1000$, the velociraptor is 300...
And about 64-bit Operating systems, they're stable and trusted so just go with vista ultimate 64-bit or whatever flavor you want.
Lastly, about the ati card.
Newegg.com - SAPPHIRE 100242L Radeon HD 4850 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards
That will outperform the 9800.

[jonros24]

Originally Posted by Howling

As it's been stated a bunch of times, the 4850 is more powerful and cheaper than the 9800GTX+, anyone who buys a GTX or GTX+ is officially a retard.

Strong words. Can you explain how the 4850 is more powerful? Cheaper, yes, but from the one benchmarking review I've seen, which seemed pretty credible, they were usually about even or the 9800GTX came out on top.

Originally Posted by Howling

Also quad cores are only superior to dual cores when the software supports multithreading, which 99.99% of games do not. Thus the E8400 is still the best choice for gamers on a budget, sure you might get a quad for the same price - but you WILL be slower for it.

Thanks for explaining this. I was thinking something along the same lines when I was first doing my research on processors.

Originally Posted by Howling

Don't even get me started on the 750i.. Just... Don't.

Care to explain? I'd like to know what's wrong with this mobo. And what's the deal with the P35 Draca mentioned? Something like this? Newegg.com - DFI LP LT P35 T2R LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard - Intel Motherboards

Sorry, I really know nothing about motherboards and what I should be looking for, all I know is DDR2 800 ram fits in teh same slot .

Originally Posted by Howling

Lol at suggesting a $20 soundcard too, unless you're willing to spend over $100 for a soundcard - just stick with the onboard sound. Seriously you won't notice any difference what so ever on a 20 bucks card, onboard sound is plenty for 90% of people.. The other 10% are audiophiles and demand the best quality sound.

Meh, I wasn't sure if I would really need it. If there's no difference, then it's w/e. Waste of 20 bucks.

Originally Posted by Howling

The case, why stray from the known quality ones? Antec 900 will serve anyone well, if you don't like that - how about the Coolermaster Cosmos 1100 S? (The one I actually use myself, and yes I have a Q6600 processor but I chose that because I do alot of modelling and rendering is a hefty task on the CPU)

I prefer the Tempest over the Antec 900, looks a little better and costs a little less, and the reviews are good enough that I don't hve anything to be worried about. And that Coolermaster case is effing expensive..

Originally Posted by Howling

As for the OS, I've been running Vista x64 for months now and not a single problem with supported software. x64 OS and vista in particular have very bad reputations through no fault of their own. Most of the problems stem from retarded drivers and/or retarded people using them.

I've had no problems with Vista so far. We shall see how it goes with the 64 bit .

Originally Posted by Howling

All I can say about Jacobz recommendation is, at least he picked a half decent PSU and HDD.. But even then, the Velociraptor is faster and has twice as much storage (that's gonna be my next purchase).

If I had the cash, then yeah. But..... Hopefully by the time AION is closer to lauch, SSD prices will fall, in turn lowering magnetic HD prices.

Originally Posted by Howling

(Sorry if the post sounds harsh, I dislike bad (mostly out of date) information giving)

Np, dude. Just looking for everyone's opinions and thoughts, everyone has their own.

Oh and JacobZ? Where did you read up on the stuff for the 4850 card? I'd like to give it a read as well.

Thanks for all your help guys. I really appreciate it.

[Howling]

Tom's Hardware: Hardware News, Tests and Reviews
HotHardware.com - Technology Tested and Burned In

A couple of reliable sites for you to gather information from.

On the nVidia boards bit - it's well known that they have a multitude of problems (obviously none of which I can remember now, but if I didn't need to write it down I know I'd remember.. damnit), the 750i is a repackaged 650i - which includes all the exact same problems customers have been complaining about, just with updated support for something or other that isn't necessary anyway. ie Waste-Of-Bloody-Money.. Especially if you do buy an ATi card, there's no need for an SLi board.
As Draca said, the P35 boards are better.. The board you initially picked, Gigabyte P35-DS3L is a quality board, I have the DS3R myself. It'll do you much better than the nVidia boards, and cost you alot less.

I don't know anything about NZXT cases myself, never even heard of them - which is why I suggested a known performer. You can't really go wrong with Antec, ThermalTake and Coolermaster - but if that nzxt one is decent then go for it.

A side note; Everyone and their dog has been waiting for SSD prices to fall - they just aren't falling to a reasonable amount :/ So for a year or 2, Velociraptor will have my recommendation.

[jonros24]

This is the board you were referring to right? Newegg.com - GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3L LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX All Solid Capacitor Intel Motherboard - Intel Motherboards

That price is smexy .

Under the specs it says the memory standard DDR2 1066, so I'm assuming I would have to go with 2 of these Newegg.com - CORSAIR Dominator 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Desktop Memory

Or would I be all right hitting up 4 of these? Newegg.com - G.SKILL 1GB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Desktop Memory - Desktop Memory

Oh, and this was an interesting read on that site as well. More RAM - Additional Memory Used By Windows - Tom's Hardware : Vista Workshop: More RAM, More Speed

Starting to wonder if the 64 bit would be worth it with just 4gb ram.

And yeah, after looking at some charts and reading the review on the velociraptor, I think i'm gonna go ahead and grab it for the extra 130 bucks. As for my dog, he's gonna have to get his lazy *** a job .

Will I be all right with the 700 PSU and the Velociraptor?

EDIT: My build so far. https://secure.newegg.com/WishList/M...spx?ID=7919291

[GrimFox]

I wouldn't get an audigy sound card anymore. They will not work with vista. not even a little bit. Speaking of OS's you should get a 64bit OS. with more than 2gigs of ram and a gig on your GPU you'll be pushing the limit of a 32bit OS. As for the hard drive. a Higher RPM drive does have it's uses but generally i find it hard to justify the cost. In an MMO it will only help you load maps when you zone, It wont give you a higher FPS or anything like that. Now if you find that AION's maps take a long time to load you should get teh 150G raptor as it only costs a little more and you get double the space. The computer geeks will flame me for that but it is my opinion. If you are planning to keep the computer for a little while then you should go with the quadcore. the dual cores will over clock better but if you don't plan on doing any over clocking then you should go with something that will last longer in this case the quad. frankly duals are old tech, which is odd cause they were all the rage not even two years ago.

As a side note, the nahalem processors which are the next in the series have 4 cores and each core is capable of running 2 threads so 8 virtual cores. none of this 6 core nonsense. that's something AMD would do.

[Cyroth]

hexacores are being released/developed by intel

[Draca]