Im getting a new computer..Need Help

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Ok, Ive decided instead of upgrading my crappy computer I have now, I should get a new computer. Im getting a job in January. By the time I get some cash from my job I should be close to $1500 to spend. What I need in the comp is a pure gaming computer. I already have a 8600GT and im not sure if I should put them in SLI in my new comp with another 8600GT, or just get a 8800GT. So please help me out.

If you have any questions just ask me. Thanks guys.
 

SFilip

Gone but not forgotten
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> or just get a 8800GT
8800GTX or 8800 Ultra if you can afford it. Otherwise you should probably keep 8600GT.
 

enouwee

Non ex transverso sed deorsum
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8800GTX or 8800 Ultra if you can afford it. Otherwise you should probably keep 8600GT.

It doesn't make any sense buying a GTX or Ultra. Depending on the model, you'll be paying double the price and get less than 25% extra performance, compared to an 8800GT. Right now, the 8800GT offers the best price/performance ratio for gamers (if you can afford a $250+ card).

You should have saved the money rather than spending it on a 8600GT (see previous threads you opened on the same subject). Don't buy a second one, as the 8800GT will have a much higher framerate than both 8600GT combined.
 
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alright i guess ill sell the 8600 and my old 7300 to get money towards my comp, and im gonna just sell my whole comp. Yeah the 8800GT is better in performance and less than the 8800GTX.

You guys have any idea in what comp has or can be upgraded maybe with dual 8800 or just a single 8800, and is for maybe just pure gaming. Also to make sure if Vista is a option of choice.
 

SFilip

Gone but not forgotten
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> dual 8800
What...why? You won't get better performance if you do that if this is what you were aiming for.

> or just a single 8800
I'm pretty sure 8800 will work on the same board 8600 works on (PCIE 16x slot). GTX requires two slots though.

> Also to make sure if Vista is a option of choice.
2GB of RAM at least, but more is recommended (I'd take 4GB if I was aiming for Vista gaming).
 
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Well I wanted to see what the dx10 is like on vista.

I thought 8800 in SLI will be like unbeatable in gaming.
 

enouwee

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> dual 8800
What...why? You won't get better performance if you do that if this is what you were aiming for.

Where did you get that from: any links that back up such a theory? If not, take a look at some SLI reviews you find around the net.


I'm pretty sure 8800 will work on the same board 8600 works on (PCIE 16x slot). GTX requires two slots though.

The board better have stable PCIe power and signal strength. For this reason, high-end boards provide additional molex connectors which feed the PCIe components ("boost" SLI). Mandatory requirement: lots of PCIe cables on your power supply.

Also to make sure if Vista is a option of choice.
2GB of RAM at least, but more is recommended (I'd take 4GB if I was aiming for Vista gaming).

Keep in mind that a 32bit OS won't be able to use all the 4GB, but it'll be limited to 3.2GB (unless you feel adventurous and try /PAE). 64bit isn't the best choice right now, especially for games. If you want to buy a Vista version, make sure that you get a retail version, which lets you switch (as in reinstall) both. OEM copies are either 32bit or 64bit: want to have the other? Well, you have to buy a new version.


Well I wanted to see what the dx10 is like on vista.

I thought 8800 in SLI will be like unbeatable in gaming.

It should be on most games. It's also a huge waste of money, whether you spend it immediately or because of its power consumption.

Keep in mind that DX10.1 is around the corner and that no Nvidia cards on sale now support it. Not that DX10 is (and DX10.1 going to be) a must-have feature, but nowadays cards won't run these games in the upcoming render path using hardware acceleration only.

The cards on sale in 6 months will be faster than your 2x8800GT combined and support DX10.1. Why waste your money: buy one 8800GT now and save your money for an upgrade.
 
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Alright cool. I will stick with XP and need only 2gigs of ram. 1 single 8800GT. Atleast 400+ of power. A fast running chip and motherboard. Things Is, What comp has all the goods?
 

enouwee

Non ex transverso sed deorsum
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Alright cool. I will stick with XP and need only 2gigs of ram. 1 single 8800GT. Atleast 400+ of power. A fast running chip and motherboard. Things Is, What comp has all the goods?

Get a Dell? :rolleyes:

Depending on the parts you need, the components can be more or less expensive. Given the $1500 budget, you could opt for more expensive parts. Note that important things are missing (case, Windows license, DVD, ...). If you need all of them, add up to $500 to the prices below.

Both mainboard are using Intel chipsets, so you can't use Nvidia SLI.

2x400GB HDD, X38 mainboard, 3GHz Core 2 Duo
Mainboard
GIGABYTE GA-X38T-DQ6 LGA 775 Intel X38 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
299.99

CPU
Intel Core 2 Duo E6850 Conroe 3.0GHz LGA 775 Processor Model BX80557E6850 - Retail
279.99

RAM
CORSAIR XMS2 4GB(2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TWIN2X4096-6400C5DHX - Retail
169.00

HDD
Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD4000KS 400GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
2x 94.99

PSU
ENERMAX Liberty ELT500AWT ATX12V 500W Power Supply - Retail
114.99

CPU
EVGA 512-P3-N802-A3 GeForce 8800GT Superclocked 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail (includes Crysis)
299.99

Total: ~$1350


Less expensive parts (1x400GB HDD, P35 mainboard, 2.66GHz Core 2 Duo):
Mainboard
GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS4 Rev. 2.0 LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
187.99

CPU
Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 Conroe 2.66GHz LGA 775 Processor Model BX80557E6750 - Retail
189.99

RAM
CORSAIR XMS2 4GB(2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TWIN2X4096-6400C5DHX - Retail
169.00

HDD
Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD4000KS 400GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
94.99

PSU
ENERMAX Liberty ELT500AWT ATX12V 500W Power Supply - Retail
114.99

GPU
EVGA 512-P3-N802-A3 GeForce 8800GT Superclocked 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail (includes Crysis)
299.99

Total: ~$1050
 
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Hmm... Knowing me, I will loose some parts or break some tiny pieces of the computer if I try to make my own computer. I just need a pre-built computer that has the goods in it already.
 

enouwee

Non ex transverso sed deorsum
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Hmm... Knowing me, I will loose some parts or break some tiny pieces of the computer if I try to make my own computer. I just need a pre-built computer that has the goods in it already.

Pre-built is always a compromise between choice of components and price. HP or Dell offers can be customized up to a certain point and are quite cheap. Other, smaller vendors have a larger choice of components, but are more expensive.

Example (I found ibuypower.com) buy doing a quick search:
Case ( Eagletech Sidewinder Gaming Tower Case w/420W Power Supply Silver/Black 2-Tone )
Power Supply ( 500 Watt -- NZXT PF-500 Power Supply )
Processor ( Intel Core 2 Duo Processor E6750 (2x 2.66GHz/4MB L2 Cache/1333FSB) )
Accessories, Disks, Manuals ... etc. --- $19.99 value )
Processor Cooling ( [=== Silent ===] Extreme-Performance INTEL CPU Cooling Fan System Kit Silent & Overclocking Proof = Maximum cooling efficiency for quietness and performance )
Motherboard ( [===Support QX9650===] Asus P5K Premium/WiFi-AP Intel P35 CrossFire Chipset w/7.1 Sound, Gb LAN, S-ATA Raid, USB 2.0, IEEE-1394 Dual PCI-E MB )
Memory ( 4096MB [2048MB X2] DDR2-800 PC6400 Memory Module Corsair XMS2 Xtreme w/Heat Spreader )
Video Card ( NVIDIA GeForce 8800GT 512MB w/DVI + TV Out Video )
Video Card Brand ( Major Brand Powered by NVIDIA )
Hard Drive ( 400 GB HARD DRIVE [Serial-ATA-II, 3Gb, 7200 RPM, 16M Cache] )
CD-RW/DVD-RW Drive ( [** Special !!! ***] 20X Dual Format/Double Layer DVD±R/±RW + CD-R/RW Drive Beige )
Floppy Drive ( Mitsumi 1.44 MB Internal Floppy Drive Beige )

Total: $1,607.00

HP d4996t:
Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium (32-bit)
Intel(R) Core(TM) 2 Duo processor E6750 (2.66GHz)
4GB DDR2-800MHz dual channel SDRAM (4x1024)
FREE UPGRADE! 256MB NVIDIA GeForce 8400GS, DVI-I, TV-out, HDMI
400GB 7200 rpm SATA 3Gb/s hard drive
LightScribe 16X max. DVD+/-R/RW SuperMulti drive
15-in-1 memory card reader, 3 USB, 1394, audio
Integrated 7.1 channel sound w/front audio ports
Norton Internet Security(TM) 2007 - 15 Months
Microsoft(R) Works 8.0
HP keyboard and HP scroller mouse

Total: $1,169.99 (but you'll have to buy the 8800GT)
 

enouwee

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What about this one?

It only got 2GB of RAM and a 650i chipset thou, but off-the-shelf/retailer PCs are always a compromise.
 

enouwee

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Computer

Is that one any good?

It's got quad-core CPU (slower in both CPU clock and bus speeds than the E6750 dual-core). Are you sure you're going to need all these cores? See for yourself here:
Tom's Hardware CPU charts allows you to compare the E6750 to the Q6600 in various games or workloads.

Depending on the games / applications / whatever the one or the other will win: the Q6600 is slower on older (single-threaded) games, while only the most recent ones take advantage of more than 2 cores.
 
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Is it really a big difference between the both of them? They both have weak and strong points showing in the chart.
 

enouwee

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Is it really a big difference between the both of them? They both have weak and strong points showing in the chart.

The pure numbers should speak for themselves: a single core E6750 is roughly 10% faster than a Q6600 one.
  • Take the AVG, WinRAR, Photoshop or XVid graphs: the E6750 is faster, because the application only uses a single core
  • DivX, Cinema 4D: the Q6600 is almost twice as fast as the E6750, because the applications are able to use all four cores
  • Supreme Commander or UT3: the Q6600 is somewhat faster, because the games use more than one core (UT3: up to two for the game and every addition ones for phyiscs)
  • Prey, Quake, Serious Sam: single threaded. E6750 wins by its 10% clock advantage (although Q4 should be multi-CPU capable).
  • Price/Performance index indicates that you the additional $$$ you're paying for the Q6600 doesn't necessarily translate into faster applications or games

For a pure desktop use, getting a quad-core makes no sense at all. Some games are able to use its full potential, but most applications (anti-virus, browser, office) don't make use of the two additional cores.

Right now, it'd personally buy a faster dual-core CPU than a slower quad-core. I'm not going heavy-duty DivX transcoding (none at all), nor am I rendering 3D scenes all the day. In all other cases, two if not three of its cores sit idle and only increase your power bill. As for games, look around which ones are really using 4 cores at their full potential.

Things might change in a year or two.
 

enouwee

Non ex transverso sed deorsum
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Both have an 8800GT. 8600GT SLI is ... well ... ridiculous.

What's more: the 850i can't do SLI on PCIe x16. It's either 1xPCIe x16 or 2xPCIe x8.
 
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