I prostrate myself before you, IT gurus

[Walsingham]

UPDATE:

 

In the end, having done my research and speaking with my bank manager I've decided on the preposterously named but rather powerful Chillblaster-Angry-Sounding-Macho-Rig-thingie:

 

SPECIFICATIONS:

2.66GHz Intel Core 2 Quad Q9450 overclocked to 3.4GHz, 4GB 800MHz DDR2 RAM, Asus Rampage Formula Republic of Gamers motherboard, 1GB Nvidia GeForce 9800 GX2 graphics, 750GB Samsung Spinpoint HD753LJ hard disk, Samsung DVD writer, 20in Samsung SyncMaster TFT, Saitek Eclipse II keyboard, Razer DiamondBack mouse, Creative T7900 7.1 speakers, 2 x PCI-E 16x, 2 x PCI-E 1x, 2 x PCI, 8 x USB, 2 x DVI-I, 1 x HDMI, 2 x FireWire, eSATA, Gigabit Ethernet, S/PDIF, PS/2, Windows Vista Home Premium 32-bit, 2yr RTB warranty.

 

^ I'm not sure what this means, but apparently it's very, very fast and I will be able to hack into the Death Star and the NSA and stuff on it.

 

I've made my order and customised it a bit - nothing drastic.

 

I have to say, the telephone support was very good, the guy was very patient with a novice such as myself and even helped me save some money on my order by guiding me through my customisation options.

 

I will be playing this Crysis game everybody is talking about, although Fallout 3 and the new Total War game are the ones that I'm really gearing up for. I will post a review, and my Dell (worth about UK

[Humodour]

Actually, barbequing a hard-drive is one of the best ways to erase the data. The old 'rub it with magnet tricks' is no substitute for scrambling the magnetic heads through heat.

 

Other than that, there are free, quick open source programs you can download that re-write sectors so many times that theoretical retrieval of any meaningful data becomes as statistical improbability.

[Spider]

I figured i could hijack this thread rather than start my own. So... My turn!

 

I'll be upgrading my computer this summer. It's been overdue for about a year or so now. So finally. I'll be keeping my box and my PSU, but the rest needs to go (well, I'll keep the harddrives as well I suppose).

 

I have somewhat of a budget, which would be roughly $1000. But given that the prices I'm comparing to are Swedish, that number is a bit unexact. Stuff is a bit more expensive here, although maybe not so much any more. The purchase will be made in a couple of months, so if anything significant is happening within that timespan, feel free to enlighten me. Anyway, here is where my head is currently at (all prices taken in Swedish from datorbutiken.com and converted to US$). The prices will be a bit lower than what I'm listing since the stuff will be bought in South Corea, but since my understanding of corean is fairly limited, I'll list the Swedish prices:

 

Motherboard: Asus P5N-T DELUXE (roughly $315)

I want the ability to go SLI. Not from the get go, but possibly before the end of the year. I also believe the motherboard should be as new as possible, since it'll stay with me the longest. So that really only leaves N-Force circuits. Since I don't see myself going three-way SLI, this board to me seems like the best buy at the moment. Of course, that can change in two months when more manufacturers start producing boards with these circuits. But I like Asus.

 

Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo E8200 (roughly $215)

Seems like the most priceworthy at the moment. I've gotten the impression that it's not worth it to go Quad at the moment. Or am I mistaken? Also, is it worth going up to the E8400? I do intend to OC a bit, if that matters.

 

GFX: MSI GeForce 8800GT 512MB GDDR3 Zilent (roughly $280, price from komplett.se not datorbutiken.com)

The idea of reducing noise really appeals to me. And this card has been getting good reviews (and isn't all too expensive, it will cost less where I'm getting it from than I list above, just used that price to give something to compare with). It comes OC:ed at 660, but that can be increased to about 700 apparently.

 

Memory: Corsair TWIN2X2048-8500C5D Dominator 2x1024MB (roughly $115)

Here is where I feel the most uncertain. For starters, will 2048MB be enough? Memory is cheap, but if I add another pair of these, I'll need to cut back on something else. Getting a cheaper graphics card comes to mind (since I can get the same performance but with another cooling system for something like $50 less), but I'm reluctant to do that. So the real question is, how much of a performance boost will I see going from 2048 to 4096? I currently only have XP 32-bit and I know about the hard cap that imposes (although I might be able to get my hands on 64-bit XP, the advantages of having a brother that works for MS. Vista is currently not an option).

Another question in regards to memory, does anyone have any experience of the G.skill brand? That one is currently much cheaper than the corsairs in Corea and the stats seems to be the same. So I kinda want to get those instead, but I don't want to buy crap memories.

 

Cooling: (total roughly $150, prices taken from Corean market)

I'm also going to be upgrading my cooling a bit. My current set-up is a bit too noisy for my taste (actually, quite a lot). I'm not bothered so much when playing games, since then the speakers typically beat out the computer anyway. But when I'm not gaming (or listening to music) it's too loud.

 

For the CPU it'll likely be a Silverstone NT06. The case I have is a Silverstone TJ06, a bit old but I like it. There is an older heatsink designed specifically for this case and it's wind tunnel, the NT01 v2.0, but what I've seen it doesn't work all that well with Socket775 motherboards. My original plan was to get that one and just replace the case fans to see how that worked. But after reading up on it, I'm getting more and more hesitant. Hence I'm thinking of the NT06. That one can be fitted fanless, but also comes with an external fan controller. And since it's also based on a very efficient heat sink, it's possible it can be used with the fan at fairly low speeds.

 

But I could definitely use advice on this. I want CPU-cooling that is as quiet as possible. If it helps me OC the CPU, that's a bonus, but I'd rather see quiet if I have to chose.

 

I'll likely still replace the fans on the case though. There are simply better fans available now. So I'm probably getting a pair of Noctua fans. Either NF-S12-1200 or NF-P12. Haven't quite decided yet. The P12 pushes more air, but at higher noise levels. The S12, on the other hand, can go down to very low RPM where it is extremely quiet, under 6dB(A). If I decide to try with just a heatsink for the CPU, it'll likely be the P12, otherwise the S12.

 

I'll also get a NF-R8 I think (the case has two 120mm fans and one 80mm, and I'm looking to replace all three).

 

So the total cost of this would be something like $1075. Except it'll be a bit lower, considering where I'm getting it all. So it'll land somewhere around $1000 I think. The numbers are just there to give a reference point anyway.

 

So any comments from those who have been paying more attention to the market than me? Or anyone else for that matter.

Edited May 13, 2008 by Spider

[mkreku]

Good motherboard, CPU is the same as the 8400, just clocked lower (which is not a problem since you seem interested in overclocking it yourself), the memory.. Hmm. I'd personally go for 4 GB (more future proof), slower transfer speed (6400) and faster latency (4 instead of 5). Perhaps the Corsair TWIN2X 6400C4DHX DDR2, 4096MB Kit w/two CL4 2GB Dimm's. They should cost about the same as the ones you chose. Corsair's memory modules are usually pretty good for overclocking too, if you want to go higher than 800 MHz.

[Pidesco]

I'd just like to say that those prices seem a bit high compared to what is available here in Portugal.

 

 

Also, if you want a slightly worse graphics card, go with a 9600GT. However, if you're going to use this rig for gaming, I suggest you skimp out on the processor instead of the graphics card. With most games, the graphics card is the bottleneck, not the processor.

[Spider]

They probably are a bit high. We have a 25% VAT in Sweden, which makes everything more expensive. Also, I'm not sure how the Euro vs Dollar vs SEK fight is currently.

 

Prices in

[WITHTEETH]

I'd just like to say that those prices seem a bit high compared to what is available here in Portugal.

 

 

Also, if you want a slightly worse graphics card, go with a 9600GT. However, if you're going to use this rig for gaming, I suggest you skimp out on the processor instead of the graphics card. With most games, the graphics card is the bottleneck, not the processor.

I usually only upgrade the CPU once each motherboard because I hate the whole process of changing CPUs. Removing Gigantic fan, thermal paste whatever else might come along with the territory.

 

I would personally get the 9600GT or the 8800GT. Pretty cheap with good performance. The next nvidia graphic cards might be more with the wait then the current beasts. Id wait for the new architecture, current has been around for too long if you ask me.

[flem]

SPECIFICATIONS:

2.66GHz Intel Core 2 Quad Q9450 overclocked to 3.4GHz, 4GB 800MHz DDR2 RAM, Asus Rampage Formula Republic of Gamers motherboard, 1GB Nvidia GeForce 9800 GX2 graphics, 750GB Samsung Spinpoint HD753LJ hard disk, Samsung DVD writer, 20in Samsung SyncMaster TFT, Saitek Eclipse II keyboard, Razer DiamondBack mouse, Creative T7900 7.1 speakers, 2 x PCI-E 16x, 2 x PCI-E 1x, 2 x PCI, 8 x USB, 2 x DVI-I, 1 x HDMI, 2 x FireWire, eSATA, Gigabit Ethernet, S/PDIF, PS/2, Windows Vista Home Premium 32-bit, 2yr RTB warranty.

They sold you 4GB of RAM and an operating system that can only see ~3GB of it?

 

Very bad form. Demand an upgrade to the 64 bit version.

[samm]

They sold you 4GB of RAM and an operating system that can only see ~3GB of it?

Not true. Some part of the 4GB is used for system ressources and probably isn't shown to other applications, but you can address 4gb with 32bit.

[flem]

They sold you 4GB of RAM and an operating system that can only see ~3GB of it?

Not true. Some part of the 4GB is used for system ressources and probably isn't shown to other applications, but you can address 4gb with 32bit.

Yes, but a good chunk of that (1 whole gb, in the OP's case!) goes to video card RAM, not the system RAM he paid for.

 

Unless you need specific (16-bit era) legacy application compatibility, going with Vista 32 and not 64 for a new build today is crazy.