would $900 make a good system that won't age that much?

[vgta88]

hmm this is just gonna be for advice on potential new system since i found a shop that might do price matching. they had some crazy **** like crossfire 3870s and just sold systems one for 2000 one for 1600. I was gonna write this down but what better than to leave it on a forum for criticism + i haven't done the math. I find it absolutely necessary to see what's out there now so that i don't get out of the loop to be able to distinguish deals from rips. I probably am only 20% familiar with everything that I'm listing.

I'm thinking maybe it was possible to build something close to what they did with 1300- 900 ish. Also this is an idea, retailers are suppose to sell a certain quota right so wouldn't that mean the shop would try to price match so i'd be getting everything from them?

looking at system specs like this (don't know too much about the new boards or other stuff yet) (download pdf manual ftw) (with some more research on oc potential and looking at what people have done with ram and cpu (either intel/amd) i'm thinking of putting a system together before things get expensive.

Q6600 (atm newegg 255)
Asus P5 variants one guy walked off with P5KC (atm newegg 134.99)
(this is where i think the guy is overpricing) for the processor and motherboard i asked for a quick quote he said 550-500 but isn't the board suppose to be cheap?
ddr2 seems cheap maybe add 2-4 gbs of g.skill or mushkin (of 800 before they get expensive) (atm 2gb newegg 47)
how about a zalman hsf (atm newegg 49)
DVD writer maybe something LG Pata ( i'll try to get something cheap like $40)
Harddrive 500gb WD (atm newegg 105)
1 Sapphire 3870(atm 245) or Nvida 8800 gt(atm 270) I don't care but prefer ati
Power supply and case i'm probably not the most knowledgeable about. maybe set a budget for 230.
antec 900 atx mid tower (atm 120 rebate of 40 so 80 after) well since thats a cheap enough case i'd probably spend more on a new power supply.
OCZ 700 watt (atm 135)
(time to do the math and get disappointed by the price)
(added up is 1090 with rebates deducted)
hmm the guy quoted 1300 for a non crossfire. I'm sure this is where Ocforums could provide help. I expect games to get much worse in requirements so maybe 1 card until other crazy games come out and see what they need.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115018 Q6600
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131188 ASUS P5KC
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231098 G.SKILL 2GB DDR2 800
F2-6400CL5D-2GBNQ CL 5-5-5-15|1.8-2.0v
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835118223 ZALMAN CNPS9500
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136117 LG GSA-H55NK 20X Super Multi drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136073 WD Caviar SE16 WD5000AAKS 500GB 16MB cache
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102713 SAPPHIRE 100215L Radeon HD 3870
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130318 EVGA 512-P3-N801-AR GeForce 8800GT 512MB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129021 Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341002 OCZ GameXStream OCZ700GXSSLI ATX12V 700W

this is something close to the specs the guy quoted for the $2000/1600 system:

Q6600
Asus P5KC (said he only used asus so any of the P5 variants)
either 4 or 8 gb ddr2 800
300 GB sata drive (i;m sure you can find much better)
2 DVD writers
600watt Cooler master (quoted $75 might not be a good idea)
i think i remember the ampere ratings something like 25a for 5 volt 18a for 12v
(not sure if thats enough power for 2 3870s)
Crossfire 2 3870s Sapphire maybe.
thermaltake V1? (they had one that was nearly silent so i might as well put a budget for one)

Now i'm pretty sure thats overpriced and if I drop the crossfire and find better deals on everything else it would be closer to 1300-900. but ocforum criticism please. Is this the best section for responses? dam should have posted in intel.

editing

 

[Dawgdoc]

My 2 cents worth FWIW.....

CPU - Love the Q6600. From a price/performance perspective you cant get better than this, which is why is one of (if not THE) most popular CPUs out there.
EDIT: If you build your own, go for a Q6600 with G0 stepping. Purchase at www.clubit.com or www.tankguys.com to get a guaranteed G0. Newegg wont guarantee the steppipng.

Mobo - Good basic mobo. Limited BIOS features though, so if you are planning on aggressively overclocking this mobo is a bit more challanging. If you can swing a few more $$$ might want to look into the Abit IP35 Pro, or perhaps a P5K deluxe or premium. All of those are excellent mobos that have more feature rich BIOS.

RAM - All looks good. Pick whatever D9s are cheapest at the moment. Stick with DDR2 PC6400 or PC8500.

PSU - I LOVE the modular Corsair series. For this system a HX520W would be fine, or if you plan on upgrading in the near future on other components or running SLI or other stuff you can go with the more powerful HX620W.

Case - Antec 900 is an ok case. I have one. Nothing bad to say about it other than wire management is a lil bit difficult. Good airflow keeps things cool. A little bit loud if you use all of the fans though. Case really doesnt matter much pick something that you like the look of and fits into your budget.

HD - Looks fine. If you want to get a little bit fancier you can go with 2 smaller HDs in RAID, which will very minimally add to your costs but significantly increase your HD performance.

HS/Fan - Ditch that Zalman thing. Its ok sure, but for $20 more you can get a Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme (TRUE 120). BEST dang air cooling out there. Almost rivals water cooling IMHO.

Good luck on the new build! Im sure you will get other opinions.

 

[sHape oF gReY]

+1 for Corsair HX520. Powerful PSU, great stable coils, and the cable system is excellent. I have one in my system and it runs like a champ, till my CPU went for a swim.

 

[vgta88]

can these processors be run on 1333 fsb? in some way

this is a newegg review i guess these are a good choice for processors now

Intel Clocker wrote

Pros: This is the Second Q6600 I purchased, It was for a friend this time. First time I didnt purchase from Newegg because I wanted to make sure I was getting the G0 stepping. If you look at the Picture, it is a SLACR, which is the newest stepping from intel. The G0 is better thermally and overclocks better. I have watercooling, but for my friend using the Arctic cooler pro 7, I had to be gentle. Set the CPU volts to 1.44 and the speed to 3.6ghz, and works great. Core temp reads its always under 50c under full load. I have my chip running at 4.2ghz with the IP35 Pro

Cons: The wrapping was kinda horrible. The OEM package was only in the little CPU holder, which fell off and was floating in the case. UPS isnt nice at all, they threw it over my gate into the sprinklers and left it for my dog to tell me its outside.

Other Thoughts: To run at 3ghz, keep the volts at stock, to run at 3.6ghz, up the Vcore to atleast 1.45, NB and SB up an Increment, same with CPU VTT. Runs cool. Super Pi @ 12.089s when at 4.2ghz

 

[sHape oF gReY]

Q6600 will run on 1333 and then some more. They're little monsters. But like it has already been mentioned you're better off ordering from someone like ClubIT.com because unlike newegg, they guarantee G0 stepping. If you decide to go with newegg, there is a possibility that you will get a B3 and not a G0, B3 is no pushover either though.

 

[Dawgdoc]

I just got my Q6600 to 2100+ FSB this weekend on DICE

They sure can do 1333 and then some!!!!

As far as Newegg reviews go, I would ignore them 100%. Most of those people have no clue what they are talking about even if they rate they tech level as high hehe

I forgot to mention the GPU....Id go with the new 8800GT in my personal opinion.

 

[dkizzy]

Yeah I'd say it depends on the parts you choose.

 

[vgta88]

i'm looking at this page atm for what asus boards do now.
http://usa.asus.com/products.aspx?l1=3

 

[sHape oF gReY]

Not sure about current asus boards, but I had P5B deluxe and it was a hell of an overclocker.

Just stay the hell away from 680i boards unless you're set on SLi...which it doesn't look like the route you're taking so I suppose we're clear hehe.

 

[vgta88]

whats the problem with 680i? i think the motherboard is gonna be the hardest thing to choose. I want something that won't age as much and good overclocker. and compatible with whatever gpu i pick.

 

[sHape oF gReY]

680i is having major issues with q6600 stability and overclocking. They've been trying to remedy it with BIOS updates, but it only fixes a few things for a few people, and mostly adds new issues for everyone else. Plus little to no support for the 45nm CPU which will be coming out in the coming months.

 

[vgta88]

hmm i think i'm gonna read reviews that overclock the q6600 and see what boards they use

 

[Dawgdoc]

I would stay completely away from any of the Nvidia northbridge chipsets (680i, 780i, 570i, 590i).

My reason for saying this is multifactorial.

1. There is absolutely no reason to use these chipsets unless you are planning on running SLI.

2. They minimize your CPU overclock. P35 or X38 boards always OC better.

3. I was not aware of it, but as others have pointed out there appears to be some issues with the 680i. I dont use Nvidia chipsets except on the rare occasion I run SLI, so I am just parroting the other poster who mentioned it.

As far as being futureproof, there is NO such thing in computers. I dont care what you purchase or how much you research it, 3 months from now new stuff will be out that blows your board away, 6-8 months from now your mobo will be considered "old news", and 12-18 months from now it will be considered obsolete and necessary to upgrade unless you are only word processing

Of course, necessary is a very subjective term. To be honest I still run an older 478 mobo computer, but its mostly for the kids to screw around on Just trying to illustrate a point here is all.

Good luck!

 

[p e r p l e x]

I made my quadcore rig for under $900 and it overclocks very well,

Mobo: Abit IP35 Pro
Processor: Q6600 SLACR (G0)
RAM: OCZ 800
Case: Antec 900
OS: Windows Vista 64 Bit (builders edition cost $129)
Heatsink: Thermaltake v1
HDD: Westinghouse 500 gig

 

[vgta88]

well your missing a video card... thats what made the system so expensive as for future proof, what i meant by that is it can handle what you throw at it for around 5 years, with minor changes like more ram and sell old video card and get a new one thats basically all i really want to change after things are set. or if a new board is needed fore different ram and gpu technology then thats fine i guess. but the processor and everything else like power should be sufficient to some extent over time. but hmm your both your systems look good and you probably built it long time ago so it was more expensive then.

 

[Dawgdoc]

well your missing a video card... thats what made the system so expensive as for future proof, what i meant by that is it can handle what you throw at it for around 5 years, with minor changes like more ram and sell old video card and get a new one thats basically all i really want to change after things are set. or if a new board is needed fore different ram and gpu technology then thats fine i guess. but the processor and everything else like power should be sufficient to some extent over time. but hmm your both your systems look good and you probably built it long time ago so it was more expensive then.

5 years? There aint NO such beast as to allow you do to ANYTHING for 5 years......

Especially not video cards or processors.

 

[sHape oF gReY]

Lol 5 years


Well, my AMD 1700+ 2.3 GHz, ATI 9800Pro and 1GB of mushkin actually can play COD 4.....just not very well

 

[maxio098ui]

5 years? There aint NO such beast as to allow you do to ANYTHING for 5 years......

Especially not video cards or processors.

this is true the most i got out of a pc was 3 years with a 3000+ dfi ultra-d and a 6600gt. and in the end i was pushing it.

 

[vgta88]

well it does actually, i was thinking when the time comes get a second core 2 quad for a dual socket system the prices would be down(they dont make em scatch that). and the processor life extended... but this is top of the line for mainstream things, my 3 ghz pentium 4 equilvilants are still amazingly good for what i use them for( and those are like talking 2 generations ago top of the lines), I might have to dumb down gaming a little but thats about it. probably a bad estimate but, it seems the cheapest top end is the best way to go at the moment.

I predict maybe the next 1 or 2 generations will use some crazy native 8 core and ddr3 and something that beats pci express and sata/ look at the difference between wireless G and N

but as to date i don't really see the huge need for these technologies except for the need to advance and make mainstream cheaper and faster. Software never really uses much power except when it comes to some games and editing video, unziping rars, multitasking more. half those things would just take a bit more time.

I always have confidence in a $1000 self built system's life to be fairly good (upgrades are not disregarded. especially since hard drives grow faster than anything else)

anyways any other post i make won't be for arguing life expectancy, it doesn't seem very productive since i'm looking for quality parts not predicting the future. I'm not very extreme which is why something like this might last me a while. and usually I find a favorite game that is quite old. but I can't find a better deal for computers and wouldn't settle for less.