Two New Rigs: Coming back after years away

Finalheaven · 06-26-2009, 05:18 PM

So, my friend needs two new builds. I still build systems for myself and my friends, but he's in the market for the newest and best computing solutions available.

That being said, there's a budget of course. I've got to build two machines for 3,000. Around there. Less would be better, hopefully not more. Probably 3,000 at most; which means 1,500 per machine.

I realize this is *NOT* the price point for the best machine you can build, but I guess what I mean is what's the best machine I can build for that kind of money?

We both would like to stay away from Vista, and he's contemplating using Windows 7 when it comes out (but I told him in my opinion, I'd stay away from any new Microsoft OSes for at least a year). Which leaves XP Pro (32bit or 64bit).

The focus of the machines will be heavy 3D gaming and general office work. Form factor is not an issue, IE it can be big.

What suggestions would you guys have for latest CPU/MB combo's? RAM (DDR3 necessary)? And video card (we're looking at nVidia)?

I've used SATA RAID arrays in the past, but it looks like now that SATA has become the norm, and HDD's are faster than ever, one solid HDD will be fast enough while keeping costs nominal.

All thoughts, suggestions and criticisms will be much appreciated.

Some relevant issues:
CPU: So, I should go for a Quad core I'm guessing, but 9550? 6600? i7 920? I have no clue.

Thanks a bunch ABXers.

PeterT · 06-26-2009, 07:36 PM

Welcome back!
This is what I would go for; however please note, it's not the latest & greatest, but the bang-for-the buck ratio is phenomenal:
Case: Personal preference, just make sure it's big enough to fit today's long vid cards.
Newegg.com - CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply - Power Supplies
Newegg.com - GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3P LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard - Intel Motherboards
Newegg.com - Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 Yorkfield 2.83GHz 12MB L2 Cache LGA 775 95W Quad-Core Processor - Processors - Desktops
Newegg.com - CORSAIR 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TWIN2X4096-6400C5 - Desktop Memory
Newegg.com - EVGA 896-P3-1257-AR GeForce GTX 260 Core 216 Superclocked Edition 896MB 448-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards
Newegg.com - Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - Internal Hard Drives
Assuming the case costs ~$100, you could build this system for <$850 and it would handle just about anything you throw at it.

Finalheaven · 06-26-2009, 07:53 PM

Thanks a lot for the post PeterT.

Yeah, I realized that about the case and vidcard when building myself new budget system recently. Thanks for the reminder.

Personally, I would build myself a cheaper system. Since him and his girl are looking for something more expensive, what kind of ups would you make? (it's their money lol, if you got it, use it)

Sir Skully · 06-26-2009, 08:24 PM

Case...Antec Three Hundred Black Steel $59.
Mobo...GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3P LGA 775 Intel P45 $134.99
CPU...Quad Q9550 Yorkfield 2.83GHz 12MB L2 Cache LGA 775 $219.99
Memory...2x sets total 8gig of memory, CORSAIR 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) $44.99. $44.99, total $89.98
PSU..,CORSAIR CMPSU-850TX 850W ATX12V 2.2 / EPS12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready $139.99
Video card...EVGA 896-P3-1170-AR GeForce GTX 275 896MB 448-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI $229.
Solid state disk...OCZ Summit OCZSSD2-1SUM60G 2.5" 60GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid state disk (SSD) $239.
HD...Western Digital Caviar Black WD1001FALS 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drives - OEM $99.99
If I added right total $1271.94 at Newegg.
Looks like PeterT was thinking the same thing with some differances.
I recommend SSD to load the OS on, as its faster then standard HD, even in
RAID-0. You may want to upgrade the SSD to 120gig, to store a few games on. Then use the Caviar Black WD1001FALS 1TB to store other data.

Hey Finalheaven, welcome back, and hope to see more of ya....

Sir Skully · 06-26-2009, 10:23 PM

I forgot the cpu cooler, ZALMAN 9500A 92mm 2 Ball CPU Cooler $40.98 @ Newegg.
Here some pic's of the Antec Three Hundred. Its the best deal on a good case bar none. Bottom PSU, great air circulation, and a hidden area for out of sight cable stuffing. Here is some pic's of one I built, and sold.

Finalheaven · 06-26-2009, 10:31 PM

If I use 8 gigs of ram, I'm gonna have to go Vista, right? Or at least a 64bit OS?

Oooooh, I haven't even looked into SSD's. Yeah, I have a lot to catch up on.

And thanks for the welcome skully. I see you have changed your avatar.

Finalheaven · 06-26-2009, 10:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sir Skully

I forgot the cpu cooler, ZALMAN 9500A 92mm 2 Ball CPU Cooler $40.98 @ Newegg.
Here some pic's of the Antec Three Hundred. Its the best deal on a good case bar none. Bottom PSU, great air circulation, and a hidden area for out of sight cable stuffing. Here is some pic's of one I built, and sold.

Are the specs on the system you gave me the same specs of the system in the pictures?

Great job btw. Looks like a real clean build.

Sir Skully · 06-26-2009, 11:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Finalheaven

Are the specs on the system you gave me the same specs of the system in the pictures?

Great job btw. Looks like a real clean build.

Thanks, cpu cooler, cpu, motherboard, memory, case, DVD burner.
The other parts a little different, and I also forgot the DVD burner.
SAMSUNG Black 22X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 16X DVD+R DL 22X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 22X DVD Burner - OEM $25.99 at Newegg

Sir Skully · 06-26-2009, 11:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Finalheaven

If I use 8 gigs of ram, I'm gonna have to go Vista, right? Or at least a 64bit OS?

Oooooh, I haven't even looked into SSD's. Yeah, I have a lot to catch up on.

And thanks for the welcome skully. I see you have changed your avatar.

You're welcome, Yeah 64-bit for 8gig, XP, Vista, or windows 7.
Yeah some the members got together and made me into ABX KNIGHT EXEMPLAR.....Mostly Ozzie fault.....

and so the new avatar.

Here's a thread on solid state drives. I now run 3x120gig, OCZ SSD's in RAID-0. http://www.abxzone.com/forums/f24/3x...-a-115019.html

Finalheaven · 07-02-2009, 06:57 PM

This is what I would like to do. I want to get that system you specced out for me skully, but I'd like to install XP Pro 32-bit. I know I'll be capped out for RAM usage. When Windows 7 comes out, and it seems to be running smoothly (patched, etc.) I'll do a fresh install with Windows 7.

How does that sound?

And this machine will be intended for heavy gaming usage (wow, FPSes, Starcraft2 when it comes out), would they be better off with a better vid card? I think no as I can tell that the technology curve has far surpassed the usage curve.

Thanks again.

Sir Skully · 07-02-2009, 10:48 PM

You'll do ok. Why not the W-7 home premium upgrade. You can get it now for $50. preorder.

Maico Shark · 07-03-2009, 12:08 AM

Why avoid Vista? I've heard it's being phased out...is that true?

*zapionics<alt>* · 07-03-2009, 07:37 AM

Vista used up more system resources than XP, especially memory, which can impact gaming performance.

Also, some issues around compatibility with some games remain.

Sir Skully · 07-03-2009, 12:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Maico Shark

Why avoid Vista? I've heard it's being phased out...is that true?

Rick, I really haven't heard anything on Vista. The reason I recommend Finalheaven go with W-7, is its enhanced for SSD's.

06-26-2009, 05:18 PM	#1
Finalheaven Donnie Darko lives Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Boston, MA Posts: 1,890	Two New Rigs: Coming back after years away So, my friend needs two new builds. I still build systems for myself and my friends, but he's in the market for the newest and best computing solutions available. That being said, there's a budget of course. I've got to build two machines for 3,000. Around there. Less would be better, hopefully not more. Probably 3,000 at most; which means 1,500 per machine. I realize this is NOT the price point for the best machine you can build, but I guess what I mean is what's the best machine I can build for that kind of money? We both would like to stay away from Vista, and he's contemplating using Windows 7 when it comes out (but I told him in my opinion, I'd stay away from any new Microsoft OSes for at least a year). Which leaves XP Pro (32bit or 64bit). The focus of the machines will be heavy 3D gaming and general office work. Form factor is not an issue, IE it can be big. What suggestions would you guys have for latest CPU/MB combo's? RAM (DDR3 necessary)? And video card (we're looking at nVidia)? I've used SATA RAID arrays in the past, but it looks like now that SATA has become the norm, and HDD's are faster than ever, one solid HDD will be fast enough while keeping costs nominal. All thoughts, suggestions and criticisms will be much appreciated. Some relevant issues: CPU: So, I should go for a Quad core I'm guessing, but 9550? 6600? i7 920? I have no clue. Thanks a bunch ABXers.
(Offline)

06-26-2009, 07:36 PM	#2
PeterT CUSL2...GA-EP45-UD3P...? Join Date: Apr 2001 Location: Sunny Florida, USA Posts: 2,688	Re: Two New Rigs: Coming back after years away Welcome back! This is what I would go for; however please note, it's not the latest & greatest, but the bang-for-the buck ratio is phenomenal: Case: Personal preference, just make sure it's big enough to fit today's long vid cards. Newegg.com - CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply - Power Supplies Newegg.com - GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3P LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard - Intel Motherboards Newegg.com - Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 Yorkfield 2.83GHz 12MB L2 Cache LGA 775 95W Quad-Core Processor - Processors - Desktops Newegg.com - CORSAIR 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TWIN2X4096-6400C5 - Desktop Memory Newegg.com - EVGA 896-P3-1257-AR GeForce GTX 260 Core 216 Superclocked Edition 896MB 448-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards Newegg.com - Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - Internal Hard Drives Assuming the case costs ~$100, you could build this system for <$850 and it would handle just about anything you throw at it. __________________ Proud Member: Team-CUSL2 - 'The Old School Crew' Asus Eee PC 1000HE, 1x2GB Corsair DDR2 667 GA-EP45-UD3P, Q9550, 4x2GB Corsair XMS2 DDR2 800, EVGA 9800GTX+ 512MB GA-EP45-DS3L, E7200, 4x2GB Corsair XMS2 DDR2 800, Asus EAH4850 TOP 512MB GA-EP45-UD3P, E6600, 4x1GB Crucial Ballistix DDR2 1066, EVGA 8800GTS 512MB P5B-D in a box at the moment P4P800-D, P4 2.4C, 4x512MB Mushkin DDR 400, ATI AIW X800XT 256MB TUSL2C, P3-S 1.4, 2x256MB Corsair XMS150, ATI 9800PRO 128MB, TB Santa Cruz CUSL2, P3 1.0, 1x256MB & 2x128MB Corsair PC133, Asus V7700D 32MB, SB Live! * Please join ABXZone and participate *
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06-26-2009, 07:53 PM	#3
Finalheaven Donnie Darko lives Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Boston, MA Posts: 1,890	Re: Two New Rigs: Coming back after years away Thanks a lot for the post PeterT. Yeah, I realized that about the case and vidcard when building myself new budget system recently. Thanks for the reminder. Personally, I would build myself a cheaper system. Since him and his girl are looking for something more expensive, what kind of ups would you make? (it's their money lol, if you got it, use it)
(Offline)

06-26-2009, 08:24 PM	#4
Sir Skully ABX KNIGHT EXEMPLAR Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: USA-GA Posts: 28,333	Re: Two New Rigs: Coming back after years away Case...Antec Three Hundred Black Steel $59. Mobo...GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3P LGA 775 Intel P45 $134.99 CPU...Quad Q9550 Yorkfield 2.83GHz 12MB L2 Cache LGA 775 $219.99 Memory...2x sets total 8gig of memory, CORSAIR 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) $44.99. $44.99, total $89.98 PSU..,CORSAIR CMPSU-850TX 850W ATX12V 2.2 / EPS12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready $139.99 Video card...EVGA 896-P3-1170-AR GeForce GTX 275 896MB 448-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI $229. Solid state disk...OCZ Summit OCZSSD2-1SUM60G 2.5" 60GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid state disk (SSD) $239. HD...Western Digital Caviar Black WD1001FALS 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drives - OEM $99.99 If I added right total $1271.94 at Newegg. Looks like PeterT was thinking the same thing with some differances. I recommend SSD to load the OS on, as its faster then standard HD, even in RAID-0. You may want to upgrade the SSD to 120gig, to store a few games on. Then use the Caviar Black WD1001FALS 1TB to store other data. Hey Finalheaven, welcome back, and hope to see more of ya.... __________________ ..................................................................................................................... Last edited by Sir Skully; 06-26-2009 at 10:00 PM..
(Offline)

06-26-2009, 10:31 PM	#6
Finalheaven Donnie Darko lives Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Boston, MA Posts: 1,890	Re: Two New Rigs: Coming back after years away If I use 8 gigs of ram, I'm gonna have to go Vista, right? Or at least a 64bit OS? Oooooh, I haven't even looked into SSD's. Yeah, I have a lot to catch up on. And thanks for the welcome skully. I see you have changed your avatar.
(Offline)

07-02-2009, 06:57 PM	#10
Finalheaven Donnie Darko lives Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Boston, MA Posts: 1,890	Re: Two New Rigs: Coming back after years away This is what I would like to do. I want to get that system you specced out for me skully, but I'd like to install XP Pro 32-bit. I know I'll be capped out for RAM usage. When Windows 7 comes out, and it seems to be running smoothly (patched, etc.) I'll do a fresh install with Windows 7. How does that sound? And this machine will be intended for heavy gaming usage (wow, FPSes, Starcraft2 when it comes out), would they be better off with a better vid card? I think no as I can tell that the technology curve has far surpassed the usage curve. Thanks again.
(Offline)

07-02-2009, 10:48 PM	#11
Sir Skully ABX KNIGHT EXEMPLAR Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: USA-GA Posts: 28,333	Re: Two New Rigs: Coming back after years away You'll do ok. Why not the W-7 home premium upgrade. You can get it now for $50. preorder. __________________ .....................................................................................................................
(Offline)

07-03-2009, 12:08 AM	#12
Maico Shark Registered User Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 140	Re: Two New Rigs: Coming back after years away Why avoid Vista? I've heard it's being phased out...is that true?
(Offline)

07-03-2009, 07:37 AM	#13
zapionics<alt> <unknown level> Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: AUSTRALIA Posts: 3,647	Re: Two New Rigs: Coming back after years away Vista used up more system resources than XP, especially memory, which can impact gaming performance. Also, some issues around compatibility with some games remain. __________________ * Please note: any advertising within this post has been placed there by the site owner and NOT by me! * "To Boldly Go..."
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