Hey, I need some help building a PC. This is not a strict gaming computer. In fact, all I really want to do is be able to play CoD world at war, some splinter cell/rainbow six vegas and other random FPS games with decent settings. 70% of the time I will be surfing the web, youtube, message boards, music(listening) and that is it. I really don't need a new pc besides mine just being outdated and not able to play new games. I do not really need a top of the line but for 675-750 I know I can get a real great pc and overclock it and have it run Crysis almost full(not exactly, but you get my point). Anyways, How about you guys give me your opinion? I wanted to order it this week, but then AMD came out with that new CPU and I read that prices will drop this weekend. I figure I will order the first week of Feb. If you build me a PC on newegg, then show me what you think. The MOST I can spend is 750 SHIPPED AND TAXED to NJ. I don't care if it is AMD, Intel, Ati or Nvidia. I would honestly prefer the AMD and ATI though, since I am a free market guy and like supporting the underdog. There will not be much difference to me in preformance and price from intel to amd so, tell me your poison. Otherwise, all I need is: Motherboard CPU Graphics Card Power Supply RAM Heatsink for CPU All help is appreciated. Thanks!
I'll take a whack at this, like it, dislike it, I don't care . As I reside in Canada I will be using the Zip Code 90210, hopefully this provides a close estimate for shipping prices. DHH Build 1: Intel Motherboard: EVGA 750i SLI (2 x PCI-E 2.0 [x16], LGA 775) Price: $169.99 CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 (6MB L2 Cache, 1333MHz FSB, 3.0GHz) Price: $164.99 Heatsink: ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 (92mm Fan) Price: $36.99 Thermal Compound: Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound Price: $5.99 Graphics Card: EVGA GeForce 9800 GTX+ (Superclocked Edition, GDDR3, Step-Up Program) Price: $164.99 Power Supply: OCZ GameXStream 700W (2 x 6pin, 4 x 12v Rails, 72 Amps On +12v) Price: $89.99 Memory: G.SKILL 4GB (DDR2 1066, 6-6-6-18, 2.0v, Heat Spreader) Price: $44.99 Total Price $746.66 Wishlist URL: https://secure.newegg.com/WishList/MySavedWishDetail.aspx?ID=8658865 Note: This price is after shipping and taxes, if you saved more you could get a GTX 260 / 280 / 285. To add the items to your cart use the wishlist ID I gave you above, now onto the ATI/AMD build. DHH Build 2: AMD Motherboard: ASRock A780GXE (2 x PCIe 2.0 Slots) Price: $79.99 CPU: AMD Phenom 9950 BLACK EDITION (2.6GHz, 65nm, AM2+, 4 cores) Price: $154.99 Heatsink: Vigor Monsoon III LT (2 x 120mm Fans, Blue LED) Price: 59.99 Thermal Compound: Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound Price: $5.99 Graphics Card: HIS Hightech Radeon HD 4870 (800 Stream Processors, GDDR5) Price: $189.99 Power Supply: CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX (4 x 6+2 Pin Connectors, 750w, 60A on +12v, Single +12 rail) Price: $124.99 Memory: G.SKILL 4GB (DDR2 1066, 6-6-6-18, 2.0v, Heat Spreader) Price: $44.99 Total Price $731.33 Wishlist URL: https://secure.newegg.com/WishList/MySavedWishDetail.aspx?ID=8659225 Note: Again after taxes and shipping, save some more money for SLI'd 4870's or a 4870 X2, heck save about 40 more bucks and get 2 x 4850s. Or if you wanted, Final Thoughts: Overall, I imagine the AMD build will perform better if you overclock the CPU, if you saved more money to move into the next pricing bracket ($1000 - $1250) you would end up seeing SLI and different Motherboard / Memory Choices, as well as GTX 260 / 280 / 285 / 295s. I had fun doing this, I hope this helped you
Welcome! I don't know how much this would cost, but: Asus P5Q Pro E8400 or Q6600 Radeon 4830 (you could go with 4850 if it fits your budget) Corsair HX520 Some 2x2GB kit of DDR2 Thermalright Ultra 120 eXtreme (if it fits your budget)
I'm assuming you're from the US? I'd go: HD4850 (Powercolor PCS+ if you can afford it) E8400/8500 (E5200 otherwise) Gigabyte P45 board 4Gb DDR2 800 (or 1066 if affordable) Freezer 7 pro Any Hiper, Coolermaster, or Corsair HX series PSU will do you (preferably the latter)
It seems like a moderator never approved the post I made in this topic, I'll take a whack at this, like it, dislike it, I don't care . As I reside in Canada I will be using the Zip Code 90210, hopefully this provides a close estimate for shipping prices. DHH Build 1: Intel Motherboard: EVGA 750i SLI (2 x PCI-E 2.0 [x16], LGA 775) Price: $169.99 CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 (6MB L2 Cache, 1333MHz FSB, 3.0GHz) Price: $164.99 Heatsink: ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 (92mm Fan) Price: $36.99 Thermal Compound: Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound Price: $5.99 Graphics Card: EVGA GeForce 9800 GTX+ (Superclocked Edition, GDDR3, Step-Up Program) Price: $164.99 Power Supply: OCZ GameXStream 700W (2 x 6pin, 4 x 12v Rails, 72 Amps On +12v) Price: $89.99 Memory: G.SKILL 4GB (DDR2 1066, 6-6-6-18, 2.0v, Heat Spreader) Price: $44.99 Total Price $746.66 Wishlist URL: https://secure.newegg.com/WishList/MySavedWishDetail.aspx?ID=8658865 Note: This price is after shipping and taxes, if you saved more you could get a GTX 260 / 280 / 285. To add the items to your cart use the wishlist ID I gave you above, now onto the ATI/AMD build. DHH Build 2: AMD Motherboard: ASRock A780GXE (2 x PCIe 2.0 Slots) Price: $79.99 CPU: AMD Phenom 9950 BLACK EDITION (2.6GHz, 65nm, AM2+, 4 cores) Price: $154.99 Heatsink: Vigor Monsoon III LT (2 x 120mm Fans, Blue LED) Price: 59.99 Thermal Compound: Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound Price: $5.99 Graphics Card: HIS Hightech Radeon HD 4870 (800 Stream Processors, GDDR5) Price: $189.99 Power Supply: CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX (4 x 6+2 Pin Connectors, 750w, 60A on +12v, Single +12 rail) Price: $124.99 Memory: G.SKILL 4GB (DDR2 1066, 6-6-6-18, 2.0v, Heat Spreader) Price: $44.99 Total Price $731.33 Wishlist URL: https://secure.newegg.com/WishList/MySavedWishDetail.aspx?ID=8659225 Note: Again after taxes and shipping, save some more money for SLI'd 4870's or a 4870 X2, heck save about 40 more bucks and get 2 x 4850s. Final Thoughts: Overall, I imagine the AMD build will perform better if you overclock the CPU, if you saved more money to move into the next pricing bracket ($1000 - $1250) you would end up seeing SLI and different Motherboard / Memory Choices, as well as GTX 260 / 280 / 285 / 295s. I had fun doing this, I hope this helped you. I was surprised how much $750.00 could buy on the American Newegg, on the Canadian site with shipping and handling each of these totals around $900 bucks.
CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz $229.99 GPU: EVGA 512-P3-N860-TR GeForce 9600 GT 512MB $124.99 PSU: SILVERSTONE ST50F 500W $83.29 RAM: G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800MHz $47.09 MoBo: ASUS P5Q Pro LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard $162.59
CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 920 - $235 MOBO: Biostar TFORCE TA790GX - $99.99, and a $10 rebate. GPU: Sapphire Radeon HD 4870 512MB - $199.99 and a $15 rebate. PSU: PC Power and Cooling Silencer PPCS500 500W - $69.99 and a $20 rebate. RAM: Crucial Ballistix 4GB (2x2gb) DDR2 800 - $56.99 Subtotal: $661.96 Tax: $54.61 Shipping: $8.97 Grand Total: $725.54 shipped to 90210 This is probably the fastest setup so far. I don't know much about CPU cooling and such, but you probably can't do much with $25. I would say send in the rebates, and with your $60 left over, get something else recommended in this topic.
Just so the OP isn't confused the fan / heatsink included in most Retail Processor Boxes is sufficient enough for a decent overclock but not amazing . The builds I mentioned have expansion in mind, while docodines does seem to be faster you may need to upgrade Power Supplies in order to use Crossfire with the motherboard he selected . I wonder if the OP has checked any of this since he posted it.
Yes I have checked up. Thanks! But, I am not looking to do any SLI/Crossfire double video card stuff. Also, AMD or Intel? Nvidia or ATI? Why do you pick sides? Give me an opinion. Thanks!
price or performance is about it really. Intel have the best overclockability at the moment ATi have the best prices at the moment
Any new parts coming out that will drop current prices? I don't want to buy if some new CPU/GPU chip is coming out and then get caught with a "old" piece that was 100 dollars cheaper 1 day later.
Well, the Phenom IIs were just released, so probably nothing new there, and intel just released the i7s not too long ago, dunno if they'll update the q6600 anytime. Graphics wise, updates happen too often to really wait, just go for what's a good value now. Also, I recommend my recommendation.
Q6600 / E8400 & E8500 are great choices for Intel right now GTX 260 / GTX 280 / GTX 285 / GTX 295 are all good choices for nvidia (may be out of your price range) 4850 / 4870 / 4850 X2 / 4870 X2 are all good choices for ATI (slightly cheaper) Phenom II's just came out but from what I've heard still need to be clocked higher to equal an equal GHz processor from intel, in other words 2.4 GHz intel Quad Core = 2.5 / 2.6 AMD Quad-Core (May be lower now). I'll work on a Double Video Card "Setup" and post it in this topic, at your price point there aren't that many options for double video card setups without sacrificing quality, etc.
SLI and CrossfireX performance isn't worth it at that price point. A single, fast card will always outperform a budget duo...
Basically, this is what I have come up with for a Dual-GPU solution, you may not like it but like I said lower quality in order to achieve a dual-GPU solution (which is going to be bottlenecked if you don't overclock this processor) DHH AMD Build Dual-4870s Motherboard: ASRock A780GXE/128M AM2+/AM2 AMD 780G ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail CPU: AMD Athlon 64 X2 7750 black edition Video Card(s): HIS Hightech Radeon HD 4870 (Two in Crossfire) Power Supply: PC Power & Cooling 750W Memory: G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) (DDR2 1066) Total Price (Tax / Shipping Included): $769.16 (19 dollars and 16 cents over budget) Total amount after rebates: $719.16 DHH AMD Build 4850 x2 Motherboard: ASRock A780GXE/128M AM2+/AM2 AMD 780G ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail CPU: AMD Phenom 9850 BLACK EDITION 2.5GHz (Quad-Core) Video Card(s): SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 4850 X2 (2GB total) Power Supply: PC Power & Cooling 750W Memory: G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) (DDR2 1066) Total Price (Tax / Shipping Included): $733.50 Total amount after rebates: $683.50 4870 Wish List URL 4850 x2 Wish List URL All in all your going to need to save more money if you don't want to be bottlenecked without overclocking, basically these two builds "Will" work but buying a single card and good processor now allows you time to upgrade to a second GPU, also based at this price point SLI'ing is out of the question. Crossfire seems a bit more reasonable but still lacking in the processor / motherboard field. Hell for the price of two 4870's you could save an extra $30.00 and get a 4870 X2. A little note a single 4870 may perform better then dual 4850's or even a 4850 X2 when overclocked.
Ohh, I read that wrong, I thought you said you "Wanted" to do SLI/Crossfire, regardless the single 4850 build I mentioned above could be tweeked to your liking the build docodine is also great. Theres not many more options at this price point, besides going with an E8400 / E8500 and a 750i Mobo with a 9800 GTX+. On my builds I always like to get at least a minimum of 3.0 GHz on a Dual-Core processor or a 2.4GHz+ Quad-Core (Overclocking it of course, Q6600 ) to reduce bottlenecks. Right now what you should think about doing is saving more money, theres always going to be that feeling of "What if I had just 100 bucks more, etc". I'm out of ideas really but I'd imagine you've made up your mind somewhat. I can't offer you any other builds but I can give you a link to a CoD4 Performance (In FPS) chart, this should be close to what CoD5 will run at (being on the same engine and everything, minus about 10FPS), hopefully you can make a better choice by viewing the chart. http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/gaming-graphics-charts-q3-2008/Call-of-Duty-4-v1-6,746.html Note: this benchmark chart is at 1920x1200, 4xAA, 8xAF, max. Quality which is the best possible graphical settings for CoD4, if you look at most of the cards here (4850, 4870, 4850 X2, 4870 X2, 9800 GTX+) they'll all max the game at more then playable frame rates.
I dunno if I can believe that... A single 8800GT gets LESS THAN half the framerate of the 8800GT in SLI? How can you possibly have over 100% gain when adding a second card? Most of the time the gain is close to 50%.
Not my charts, there tomshardware's charts. Keep in mind Call of Duty 4 has had some problems with SLI since it was released, this may be the reason for the less then good performance from SLI Combos . The other benchmarks aren't working for me right now, if they where I'd post up the Crysis Benchmarks, some interesting results there.
