New PC build (Sub 800 USD) Discussion

Zachstar · 10-25-08, 05:31 PM

Hello everyone!

I had decided to get my first build idea refined on some of the more dedicated PC forums but before I went and got another forum account I have to keep track of. I would rather just try my luck here first.

I have a 22 inch Widescreen LCD that works well so I do not want to replace it.

My current PC specs

Base model: Gateway 500GR
CPU: Intel 3.2GHz with HT enabled
Ram: 1.5GB up from .5 base (huge improvement)
Video: Nvidia 7300Gt up from Ati X300 (HUGE improvement)

This PC was built I hear in 2004 I got it in 2006 and it has worked well till about this summer when I knew it just was not going to be able to keep up without hundreds of dollars of upgrades and even then it would need more next year.

For my next PC I am investing alot of money for several reasons.

#1 Quad core is here to stay. Games are only just starting to take advantage of it now and it is the ONLY way I have a snowballs chance in hell at making it "Future resistant" for about 2 years.

#2 It is going to do a number of things. Starting with games then moving to Games/DVR then Games/DVR/College work at the same time.

So my budget is 800USD with options for up to 400 USD worth of parts afterward starting about next year. Mid life upgrade at late 2009 is planned for 400USD worth of replacements.

I will divide this into 3 parts (Must Have, Want, Thinking about)

Must Have

This one is simple. I want an AMD quad core. So I picked a combo deal that saves me ALOT of money on a PSU http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103249

The main reason I want AMD is overclocking. I hear this CPU can go upwards of 3.2 on air! Tho I will not try that until I do LOTS of research into air cooling (Water cooling looks to be an expensive task that does not always guarntee sucess)

I am hearing lots of wonderful things about the Core i7 yet I hear that a 1000 dollar PC will be about minimum it can effectively use on just 2 cores. So I think I will wait 2 years and let it mature.

Also Must have is Windows Vista Premium http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16832116485 Yes I Frakking HATE vista. Yet getting XP back will be expensive and I need the Media Center. Also I have to have DX10 if I plan to play the next 2 years of games effectively. I am considering a dualboot with Mythbuntu http://www.mythbuntu.org/ but the recent virtual demise of OpenGL means I will be badly limited in what I can do with it. As I will NOT be installing Wine.

The PC after that will use Windows 7 or Ubuntu if M$ decides to port DX10 to Linux.

--------------

Wants

The big one here is the Mobo. As I WANT effective onboard graphics and I want energy efficiency.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128352

The main reason is the Hybrid platform. Which will easily make up for the 125W CPU by shutting down the core of the Card when you are on the net or doing small amounts of work.

For memory I am looking at this EDIT: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231166 with 2GB per stick it leaves me room to add in more later (I will likely go to 8-16 during the MLU) Tho I am quite open to your thoughts on this.

--------

Thinking about

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811147096 ok this case is just that, a case. I am not looking for anything crazy and I dont want 50 USD going into a case unless there is a DAMN good reason. Because the extra room in budget can be spent on a cooler.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827151173 It reads and writes DVD-Rs and has not had its DL writing ability trashed by Starforce yet in my view. What more can you ask for at 30 bucks?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827136133 This is leaning towards the MLU catagory mainly because from what I can tell... Getting 7.1 audio out of a PC is a HUGE problem because of copy protection. Also I am afraid of what kind of processes it will add. I am likely much better off getting a PS3 or a dedicated Blu-ray player. Yet please discuss this!

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822136151 Ok obviously I will need a hard drive. And I really want 1tb but I really need some words on this one.

For video card. Well it will be AMD ATI obviously and in the 150 dollar range. So ideas? With the chipset on that mobo I get 180 percent performance.

Thanks for discussion and ideas!

10-25-08, 05:31 PM	#1
Zachstar Sea Lord Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Shreveport, Louisiana Posts: 1,956 Downloads: 13 Uploads: 0	New PC build (Sub 800 USD) Discussion Hello everyone! I had decided to get my first build idea refined on some of the more dedicated PC forums but before I went and got another forum account I have to keep track of. I would rather just try my luck here first. I have a 22 inch Widescreen LCD that works well so I do not want to replace it. My current PC specs Base model: Gateway 500GR CPU: Intel 3.2GHz with HT enabled Ram: 1.5GB up from .5 base (huge improvement) Video: Nvidia 7300Gt up from Ati X300 (HUGE improvement) This PC was built I hear in 2004 I got it in 2006 and it has worked well till about this summer when I knew it just was not going to be able to keep up without hundreds of dollars of upgrades and even then it would need more next year. For my next PC I am investing alot of money for several reasons. #1 Quad core is here to stay. Games are only just starting to take advantage of it now and it is the ONLY way I have a snowballs chance in hell at making it "Future resistant" for about 2 years. #2 It is going to do a number of things. Starting with games then moving to Games/DVR then Games/DVR/College work at the same time. So my budget is 800USD with options for up to 400 USD worth of parts afterward starting about next year. Mid life upgrade at late 2009 is planned for 400USD worth of replacements. I will divide this into 3 parts (Must Have, Want, Thinking about) Must Have This one is simple. I want an AMD quad core. So I picked a combo deal that saves me ALOT of money on a PSU http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103249 The main reason I want AMD is overclocking. I hear this CPU can go upwards of 3.2 on air! Tho I will not try that until I do LOTS of research into air cooling (Water cooling looks to be an expensive task that does not always guarntee sucess) I am hearing lots of wonderful things about the Core i7 yet I hear that a 1000 dollar PC will be about minimum it can effectively use on just 2 cores. So I think I will wait 2 years and let it mature. Also Must have is Windows Vista Premium http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16832116485 Yes I Frakking HATE vista. Yet getting XP back will be expensive and I need the Media Center. Also I have to have DX10 if I plan to play the next 2 years of games effectively. I am considering a dualboot with Mythbuntu http://www.mythbuntu.org/ but the recent virtual demise of OpenGL means I will be badly limited in what I can do with it. As I will NOT be installing Wine. The PC after that will use Windows 7 or Ubuntu if M$ decides to port DX10 to Linux. -------------- Wants The big one here is the Mobo. As I WANT effective onboard graphics and I want energy efficiency. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128352 The main reason is the Hybrid platform. Which will easily make up for the 125W CPU by shutting down the core of the Card when you are on the net or doing small amounts of work. For memory I am looking at this EDIT: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231166 with 2GB per stick it leaves me room to add in more later (I will likely go to 8-16 during the MLU) Tho I am quite open to your thoughts on this. -------- Thinking about http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811147096 ok this case is just that, a case. I am not looking for anything crazy and I dont want 50 USD going into a case unless there is a DAMN good reason. Because the extra room in budget can be spent on a cooler. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827151173 It reads and writes DVD-Rs and has not had its DL writing ability trashed by Starforce yet in my view. What more can you ask for at 30 bucks? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827136133 This is leaning towards the MLU catagory mainly because from what I can tell... Getting 7.1 audio out of a PC is a HUGE problem because of copy protection. Also I am afraid of what kind of processes it will add. I am likely much better off getting a PS3 or a dedicated Blu-ray player. Yet please discuss this! http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822136151 Ok obviously I will need a hard drive. And I really want 1tb but I really need some words on this one. For video card. Well it will be AMD ATI obviously and in the 150 dollar range. So ideas? With the chipset on that mobo I get 180 percent performance. Thanks for discussion and ideas! __________________ Last edited by Zachstar; 10-26-08 at 03:22 AM.