Cheerful Computer Investment (PC Build)

[BioSpark]

It's that time once again to dish out some money for a good computer. The last one I built back in 2004 has surely made it through a lot and I think it's about time to upgrade. The computer I have now only supports agp video cards, and since I do a lot of gaming/graphic design theres only so many video cards out for agp.

Anyways, here are the specs, feel free to comment. I'm trying to stay under 800 dollars (prolly not), with the exception of some items. If any of you can recommend anything cheaper, I'd surely appreciate it.

CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz LGA 775 Quad-Core Processor Model BX80562Q6600 - Retail
Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3P LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
RAM: G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-6400CL5D-2GBNQ - Retail x 2 (4gigs)
Video Card: EVGA 896-P3-1260-AR GeForce GTX 260 896MB 448-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail
Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3250410AS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
PSU: Antec EA650 650W ATX12V Ver.2.2 / EPS12V version 2.91 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply - Retail
OS: Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 32-bit English 1pk for System Builders DSP OEI DVD - OEM

The only thing I havent really decided on is a case. I'm not sure to go with full tower or mid tower. If anyone has any idea on this as well, I'd appreciate it.

This PC will be used for work, web design, graphic design and of course gaming. Hopefully it'll last the next 4 years like my old one did (with the exception of switching out ram/video cards).

 

[14049752]

This PC will be used for work, web design, graphic design and of course gaming.

Same thing I said to someone else, earlier:
Don't waste your money getting 4 1GB sticks. Get 2 2GB sticks if you want 4GB of ram, so if you want to upgrade to 8gb later on you're not wasting any ram.

Along those same lines, get the 64-bit version of Vista. Unless you plan to upgrade to Windows 7 when it comes out, I see no point in buying hardware that supports 16gb of ram, and an OS that only supports under 4gb.

Also, get faster ram than 800MHz ram. Go with the 1066 or 1333, since your processor is 1066 and your motherboard supports up to 1333.

I know all of that might add a little to the cost, but if you want it to last, thinking ahead will save money in the long run.

 

[BioSpark]

Cool, thanks for the advice, I'll look in to it.

 

[Simmy]

I agree with getting 2 x 2Gb sticks and vista 64-bit

Upping the speed of the RAM won't make a difference unless you plan to overclock the machine though. The default FSB of a Q6600 is 266mhz x 4 (Quad data rate) = 1066Mhz. DDR2 PC 6400 800mhz RAM will run at an FSB of 400mhz by default. Therefore, DDR2 800 is already faster than required for the processor. If you plan to upgrade to a 1333mhz processor in the future though, then buying faster RAM now will make sense like 14049752 says.

Overclocking the machine is a good idea though as it's freeeeee speed! Up the CPU FSB to 400mhz and set the ram to run 1:1 so it also runs at 400mhz. Set the multiplier to 8 and you've got a Q6600 running at 3.2Ghz compared to the stock 2.4Ghz

I haven't priced it all up, but do you have any extra for a 2nd hard drive? RAID will make the machine even snappier.

 

[gunslinger]

I would also say go with 2GB sticks if you want 4GB of ram.

I would also get a faster more stable OS like XP Pro SP3 or Ubuntu. Better still if it were not for gaming I'd just get an iMac. It would be better for work, web design, graphic design.

 

[Blues]

Antec Three Hundred is good cheap case also the P180 line or thier similar model numbers like P190 and P182. I also suggest a 500GB drive it is the best cost preformance and everything for minimal extra charge considering your total bill there.

 

[ithinkyou5.0]

looks pretty good although i would recomend more ram. 2 gig will not be enough to see you threw 4 years especialy when vista is such a ram hog alone you'll find half of it already gone from cache and sexy effects before you even start. 4 gig of ram or more would be ideal however it does add to cost. i do agree with simmy's logic though about the ram fsb speed but dont try any overclocking unless you have done it before on test machines etc. its really somthing i tend to tell people to avoid but since this is a site for technitions im assuming you know your way around. as for the tower if your planning to water cool or run somthing with a higher heat signature that what you have currently listed then a full tower is the way to go, the water cooling fits perfectly into a full tower and if your say planning to run gfx cards in sli or say a lot of harddrives you will need more breathing space. otherwise go with a mid tower. they are bigger than you think and are more than enough to accomidate your needs also there smaller and more transportable as abosed to the collosus towers that you need a 4 man team and a pick up truck to transport from room to room.

 

[ithinkyou5.0]

sorry for the spelling im on meds

 

[BioSpark]

Wow. thanks for the advice guys. I was considering going with windows xp, mainly because I HATE Vista. Then I considered Vista has DirectX 10 support so thats why I was leaning towards vista. On newegg, Vista is only like 10-15 dollars more expensive, so that was another thing.

As far as switching out for more RAM, I'll also do that. Like I said, I haven't built a machine in a long while, and because I've been in the military the last five years I havent been to up on the tech spec of things (Navy was known for sticking with one design, and making 100 of em, or using the same product over and over again). I'm slowly regaining the knowledge though thanks to podcasts (thank you forcefield, podnutz and mike tech show).

Anyways, appreciate the help. The tower input was well received.

 

[BioSpark]

Ok, updated a few things, so I'll just put the changes:

OS: Microsoft Windows XP Professional SP3 English for System Builders 1 Pack CD - OEM
RAM: A-DATA 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model ADQVE1B16K - Retail
CASE: Antec Three Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail

I have two other hard drives that I'm going to port over too. Each are 250gb.

Grand Total: $938.00 Ouch.. Someone tell me this is a good investment.. Someone? :-D

 

[gunslinger]

Looks like a very solid setup to me BioSpark. I like the Gskill brand RAM a little better.

 

[BioSpark]

Oh really? Why's that?

 

[l337]

love the case but im a lil confused how the psu goes in lol do u put it like upside down so the fan faces up? apart from that i love the setup

 

[Fred_G]

Yes, the PSU mounts upside down.

That Antec 300 case is a very nice case for the price! You can add 2 slim 120mm fans in the front as intake fans. The filter works pretty good also.

You could save some $$ on the video card. If you are upgrading from a really old computer, you might consider a 8800GT for video. Lately video cards are droping in price a lot. You can always upgrade it later.

Overall a pretty nice looking rig there! Keep in mind those stupid plastic push pin mounts for the stock CPU heatsink are tools of the devil! Look into aftermarket cooling for the CPU, those quads pump out some heat. Especially if you overclock. I like the ThermalRight True 120. I highly advise a bolt on heatsink.

 

[ithinkyou5.0]

i use an 8800GT its a very nice card as fare as bang for buck goes. i get about 20 - 30 FPS on crysis (overclocked of course) and the game plays smoothly with my rig plus there rather cheap in the grand sceme of things and you can run them in sli later if you feel that its not powerfull enough to suit your needs

 

[Simmy]

Unfortunately the board he's getting only supports Crossfire, so perhaps get an ATi card if you plan to get a 2nd card in the future.

 

[Graystar]

Antec Three Hundred case

I built my Quad system about two months ago using this case and I must say I am very pleased with it. The power supply is in the bottom of the case and mounts "upside down" so to speak, the only issue I had was the ATX power lead was a bit tough to stretch to the plug at the top of the mother board which does not mount upside down. I bought a BFG 800 power supply and it has fans front and rear so that worked out great in this particular case.
The case comes with two fans and has fan speed controller switches.
Two Thumbs up in my opinion.

Graystar

 

[bagellad]

You can write it off as a business expense if you use the computer for business!