| Pages: [1] :: one page |
|
|
| Author |
Thread Statistics | Show CCP posts - 0 post(s) |
Scoop de'Woop
Emino Concepts
   |
Posted - 2009.01.01 16:07:00 -
[1]
So after playing EVE for a year on a Dell Inspiron 6400 laptop I have finally managed to gather the cash to build a proper desktop.
Antec Three Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - $59.95
GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3R LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard - $119.99
XFX PVT98WYDFH GeForce 9800 GTX+ 512MB PCIe 2.0 x16 - $189.99
CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V - $119.99
Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz LGA 775 65W - $164.99
2x CORSAIR 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 - $109.98
Western Digital Caviar SE WD1600AAJS 160GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s - $41.99
LG 22X DVD¦R DVD Burner Black SATA Model GH22NS30 - $22.99
Microsoft Windows XP Professional SP2C 64-bit - $139.99
Subtotal: $969.86
With rebates I get another $80 off (damn, I really should have started it two days ago because I missed out on another $50 or so of December rebates) plus some Xmas cash subsidizes it down another $300 or so. 8 gigs of ram might be overkill but $60 total rebates I couldn't pass it up. Small hdd but I have a 1TB external with all of my media on it anyways. Would rather not use Vista.
This machine will be used mostly for EVE since I play all of my FPS style games on the not-so-trusty Xbox 360. However I will be looking forward to Starcarft 2 in 2009... or maybe 2010. Anyways, what do you think of the build? Would post links but all of that stuff can be found on Newegg.
|
Super Whopper
I can Has Cheeseburger
|
Posted - 2009.01.01 16:12:00 -
[2]
Nice PC, shame about the motherboard and video card though but they will do if you don't intend to play anything demanding. Otherwise a nicely overclocked 4830 would have put that 9800GTX+ to shame.
The biggest mistake you made was buying 64bit XP, it's simply dreadful.
|
Digital Solaris
|
Posted - 2009.01.01 16:14:00 -
[3]
IMO, I'd pick the Asus P5Q Premium over the Gigabyte board. But be a good chap and fetch me links for both. |
Super Whopper
I can Has Cheeseburger
|
Posted - 2009.01.01 16:19:00 -
[4]
 Originally by: Digital Solaris
IMO, I'd pick the Asus P5Q Premium over the Gigabyte board. But be a good chap and fetch me links for both.
I'd pick a DS4 or better, the UD3 is mediocre at best.
|
LaVista Vista
|
Posted - 2009.01.01 16:31:00 -
[5]
Why go with XP when you are getting a DX10 card? That's such a waste. Lots of games are DX10 now a days. Vista 64-bit drivers are generally also better than the XP-64 versions. No company today(Mostly) supports 64bit XP. If you have an issue, they will likely tell you off to get Vista.
Tl;dr: Don't buy an OS that nobody supports 
The harddrive is kinda... meh. Trust me, in this day and age you would want at least 500gb. My steam folder ALONE is 50gb. Mind you, I very rarely buy any games trough steam. Yet I fill out a 160gb inside a few days  .
Disk-space is so cheap now that it's not worth saving on it. Same goes for RAM.
|
Scoop de'Woop
Emino Concepts
|
Posted - 2009.01.01 16:37:00 -
[6]
Originally by: Super Whopper
Nice PC, shame about the motherboard and video card though but they will do if you don't intend to play anything demanding. Otherwise a nicely overclocked 4830 would have put that 9800GTX+ to shame.
The biggest mistake you made was buying 64bit XP, it's simply dreadful.
No parts have been purchased yet, was going to do that later today. :-D Anyways, I have always been a Nvidia guy (well just one card actually but was happy with it) which is why I went that route. Given the equality in price I could even go for a 4850 but wasn't planning on overclocking at the start. If I did go for a 4850 which board would you recommend? Is there anything specific about XP 64bit that isn't good? I've tried Vista at work (IT slave ftw) and haven't been all that impressed by it.
Originally by: Digital Solaris
IMO, I'd pick the Asus P5Q Premium over the Gigabyte board. But be a good chap and fetch me links for both.
Gigabyte board
Couldn't find the board you mentioned but I narrowed it down to ASUS boards on Newegg.
|
Wired
Caldari Provisions
|
Posted - 2009.01.01 16:40:00 -
[7]
My recommended changes would be...
RAM - get faster stuff 1066Mhz stuff would give a bit more bandwidth
GFX - You can get the ATI 4850 for the same price as the 9800GTX
HDD - Get bigger (500Gb minimum)
OS - Vista 64
And i would push to get the Antec 900 as it has much more room inside and better cooling (which is a nice thing to have with the GFX cards of today.
But overall, it does seem a fairly solid build.
=============================================
My sig got edited, and all i got was a lousy e-mail |
Scoop de'Woop
Emino Concepts
|
Posted - 2009.01.01 16:42:00 -
[8]
Originally by: LaVista Vista
Why go with XP when you are getting a DX10 card? That's such a waste. Lots of games are DX10 now a days. Vista 64-bit drivers are generally also better than the XP-64 versions. No company today(Mostly) supports 64bit XP. If you have an issue, they will likely tell you off to get Vista.
Tl;dr: Don't buy an OS that nobody supports
This is something I absolutely didn't consider. Vista it is then. :-D
Originally by: LaVista Vista
The harddrive is kinda... meh. Trust me, in this day and age you would want at least 500gb.
I do have the 1TB external for "legally purchased" movie, music, and TV and another 500GB drive I plan on ripping out of an old Dell tower not really being used. I'm sure in a few months or so I will be looking for another drive but this way I can keep OS and apps on a smaller drive and files on a larger (1.5TB maybe? someday?) one.
|
Super Whopper
I can Has Cheeseburger
|
Posted - 2009.01.01 16:46:00 -
[9]
XP64 lacks drivers badly. It's not for home/game use and if it was it failed horribly. You're better off running Server 2008 than XP64. The funny thing is that Server 2008 is actually Vista without Aero and all the 'fancy' things a lot of people don't need/use. Vista is actually very nice but I am looking forward to Windows 7.
The 4850 is much better than the 9800GTX+ when it comes to gaming but if you run EVE in Windowed mode I recommend getting nVidia as ATI has problems supporting the same resolutions. For example 1650x1080 Windowed is different on nVidia and ATI cards. nVidia cards Window it between full screen and 1440x900 where as ATI don't, ATI Window it the same size as full screen just with a bar at the top that allows the window (the game) to be moved. If the 260's had been slightly cheaper I would have bought that, rather than my 4870. While the 4870 is more powerful the Window options frustrate me.
Motherboard I recommend you stick with Gigabyte. I dislike ASUS as the performance of their mid-range motherboards doesn't live up to the hype, this is why I replaced the ASUS boards I have in house with Gigabyte ones the moment I got the chance. Gigabyte are cheaper and 'better' (overclock higher).
|
Digital Solaris
|
Posted - 2009.01.01 16:47:00 -
[10]
The motherboard I think you should buy. |
|
|
ReaperOfSly
Gallente
Zetsubou Corp
|
Posted - 2009.01.01 16:49:00 -
[11]
I don't know about the UD3, but there's nothing wrong with Gigabyte boards as a rule. They are reputedly more reliable than Asus boards. The graphics card is okay, but you can get a ATI 4850 for about the same price which yields greater performance. The difference isn't huge though.
Finally, the OS. I know a lot of people ***** and moan about how awful Vista is, but most of that is because a few people found they couldn't run it on their 400MHz P2 with 64MB RAM and had a "Quick! To the Internet!" moment. Then lots of people who had never tried it followed suit because everyone loves to hate Microsoft.
TL;DR: Vista is fine. And given the relative prices, there's no real reason to go for XP over Vista unless you already own an XP disk and don't want to spend money on an OS.
____________________
|
Digital Solaris
|
Posted - 2009.01.01 17:12:00 -
[12]
Originally by: ReaperOfSly
I don't know about the UD3, but there's nothing wrong with Gigabyte boards as a rule. They are reputedly more reliable than Asus boards. The graphics card is okay, but you can get a ATI 4850 for about the same price which yields greater performance. The difference isn't huge though.
Finally, the OS. I know a lot of people ***** and moan about how awful Vista is, but most of that is because a few people found they couldn't run it on their 400MHz P2 with 64MB RAM and had a "Quick! To the Internet!" moment. Then lots of people who had never tried it followed suit because everyone loves to hate Microsoft.
TL;DR: Vista is fine. And given the relative prices, there's no real reason to go for XP over Vista unless you already own an XP disk and don't want to spend money on an OS.
Well, going to be nitpicky here, there isn't anything wrong with either Asus or Gigabyte whereas reliability is subjective so arguing that they are "reputedly more reliable" makes me wonder if you have ever had anything but Gigabyte. I am more biased toward Asus, because I find their motherboards to be the most "plug n' play" out of the bunch. |
Blane Xero
Amarr
The Firestorm Cartel
|
Posted - 2009.01.01 17:18:00 -
[13]
Originally by: ReaperOfSly
I don't know about the UD3, but there's nothing wrong with Gigabyte boards as a rule. They are reputedly more reliable than Asus boards. The graphics card is okay, but you can get a ATI 4850 for about the same price which yields greater performance. The difference isn't huge though.
Finally, the OS. I know a lot of people ***** and moan about how awful Vista is, but most of that is because a few people found they couldn't run it on their 400MHz P2 with 64MB RAM and had a "Quick! To the Internet!" moment. Then lots of people who had never tried it followed suit because everyone loves to hate Microsoft.
TL;DR: Vista is fine. And given the relative prices, there's no real reason to go for XP over Vista unless you already own an XP disk and don't want to spend money on an OS.
This, this and this.
______________________________________________
Haruhiist since December 2008
|
Scoop de'Woop
Emino Concepts
|
Posted - 2009.01.01 17:30:00 -
[14]
OK so updated a bit:
Gigabyte UD3R board - $120
Sapphire ATI Radeon 4850 (1GB) - $162
2x Corsair 4GB (2x2GB) DDR2 1066Mhz - $138 ($60 total rebates extra) = $78
Will be using Vista 64-bit but I'm not sure which variant would be adequate. I'm thinking Business will be good enough as I don't really need Media Center and that stuff but would like Remote Desktop. Any opinions?
|
Digital Solaris
|
Posted - 2009.01.01 17:33:00 -
[15]
Originally by: Scoop de'Woop
OK so updated a bit:
Will be using Vista 64-bit but I'm not sure which variant would be adequate. I'm thinking Business will be good enough as I don't really need Media Center and that stuff but would like Remote Desktop. Any opinions?
Business is one alternative, Home premium is another. :) |
Super Whopper
I can Has Cheeseburger
|
Posted - 2009.01.01 17:35:00 -
[16]
Originally by: Digital Solaris
most "plug n' play"
What on earth is most plug & play? Do we dub you clueless, fanboi or both?
I would like you to justify the mediocre quality of the P5B Deluxe motherboards which were touted by ASUS as 'overclockers' board but had a really big problem going over 450MHz with C2D's, while much cheaper Gigabyte and DFI boards could clock to near or above 500MHz. The hype (lies) created (told) by ASUS are well documented on forums and sites. Maybe they were just more 'plug & play' than others and we all missed that.
The iSmug is strong with you and we're not even talking about Apple.
|
Super Whopper
I can Has Cheeseburger
|
Posted - 2009.01.01 17:38:00 -
[17]
Originally by: Scoop de'Woop
OK so updated a bit:
Gigabyte UD3R board - $120
Sapphire ATI Radeon 4850 (1GB) - $162
2x Corsair 4GB (2x2GB) DDR2 1066Mhz - $138 ($60 total rebates extra) = $78
Will be using Vista 64-bit but I'm not sure which variant would be adequate. I'm thinking Business will be good enough as I don't really need Media Center and that stuff but would like Remote Desktop. Any opinions?
Excellent, choice. Either choose Home Premium or Ultimate. I have Ultimate and don't even use half of the options as I simply don't care and have even configured Aero for optimal performance, sliding windows make me want to kill myself. But I didn't have to pay the full price so went with the most comprehensive one available (I love it when software can be obtained from employers for cheap).
|
Elliot Reid
Digital Fury Corporation
Digital Renegades
|
Posted - 2009.01.01 17:39:00 -
[18]
My recent build centered on the Asus P5QL-E mobo and the E8400 CPU and I'm very happy with it. I can overclock the CPU to 3.6ghz easily but I've never been that fussed about OCing and runs fast enough for me as is.
Yes go for the 4850 GFX as I have to say that for the cost it's the best card available atm.
_______________________________________
Atheism, a non-prophet organisation |
LaVista Vista
|
Posted - 2009.01.01 17:40:00 -
[19]
Originally by: Digital Solaris
Originally by: Scoop de'Woop
OK so updated a bit:
Will be using Vista 64-bit but I'm not sure which variant would be adequate. I'm thinking Business will be good enough as I don't really need Media Center and that stuff but would like Remote Desktop. Any opinions?
Business is one alternative, Home premium is another. :)
Don't need Business nor Ultimate for Remote Desktop.
|
LaVista Vista
|
Posted - 2009.01.01 17:42:00 -
[20]
In my house I have a P5B and P5Q(Both the vanilla version, no deluxe jazz). To be fairly honest, I haven't had "too" many problems with them. Nothing that would make me want to kick ASUS in the balls.
It's hard to get anything but ASUS in Denmark though if you go to a shop. At least nowhere in my city(Odense), they sell Gigabyte.
|
|
|
Digital Solaris
|
Posted - 2009.01.01 17:57:00 -
[21]
Originally by: Super Whopper
Originally by: Digital Solaris
most "plug n' play"
What on earth is most plug & play? Do we dub you clueless, fanboi or both?
I would like you to justify the mediocre quality of the P5B Deluxe motherboards which were touted by ASUS as 'overclockers' board but had a really big problem going over 450MHz with C2D's, while much cheaper Gigabyte and DFI boards could clock to near or above 500MHz. The hype (lies) created (told) by ASUS are well documented on forums and sites. Maybe they were just more 'plug & play' than others and we all missed that.
The iSmug is strong with you and we're not even talking about Apple.
Wear that tin-foil hat much or do you take it off to wash your hair now and then, if by chance, you have any left?
I would like you to provide with a credible, independent, professional source, that Asus is the only company that is lying through their teeth in their marketing. |
Lost Troll
LUBE INC.
|
Posted - 2009.01.01 19:21:00 -
[22]
Nice build up Scoop! 
The only other thing I would change is the case. Save your self 10$ and go with this one COOLER MASTER Centurion 534
It has a fire wire port on the front, as well as 2 usb's and audio. I used it in my last build and I am pretty happy with it.
As for OS, I am using Vista Small business x64 and I am pretty happy with that as well. I wanted the additional networking and backup features that Home dose not have, and could not justify the additional cost of Ultimate, since I would never use most of the additional features in it.
Now on to the grate motherboard debate.....
I have always liked Gigabyte and Asus for there MB, both are reliable and work well. You can not go wrong with either one. Though the last 3 builds I have done, I wound up using Intel's boards over them. I like Intel's new IDT audio over Realtek's. Its like getting a Audigy sound card built in with out the driver bloat ware that sound blaster has come to embrace any more.
|
|
|
| |
|
| Pages: [1] :: one page |
| First page | Previous page | Next page | Last page |