^ thats somewhat what i was thinking

i know my system isn't in need of urgent upgrading. I do, however, want to provide a good base to upgrade progressively. My 7600gs was a steal when i got it, and that's the only reason for that card. I'd love to upgrade to an 8800gtx in ~6 months. I just want to spend the money now to provide a solid base for the future, so that potentially i have a system that will get me by for a few years.

like i said im not a big gamer, largely due to the shitty internet at my apartment. next semester i'll likely be on campus and do more gaming.

i figure the best things to upgrade now would be the PSU b/c it is an ultra (hence FAR) and i want something that i know wont fry my system or randomly die on me. That's another reason I was thinking a CPU fan, to make it less noisy and provide more durability for my PC, and give it a longer lifespan.

So possibly for now a PSU similar to ^, a good cpu fan, probably zalman, and potentially some more RAM. would more ram even do me any good? (my computer is sluggish when i'm recording a tv show, listening to music, photoshopping some pics, checking email, on tww, etc all simultaneously, but it's not too bad)


are the abs power supplies worth anything more than just their looks with the LEDs?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817814015
(it is a pretty cool looking psu)

[Edited on January 10, 2008 at 12:47 PM. Reason : psu]

1/10/2008 12:43:06 PM

^8800gtx will be outdated in 6 months. Not completely, but the new 9xxx series will be out.

1/10/2008 12:46:46 PM

yeah but would the performance increase that much spending >$600 on a video card?

1/10/2008 12:48:59 PM

Well i wouldn't recommend a 8800gtx or ultra. I'd go with a 8800GT or the new 9800gt. GTXs right now are overpriced for the little performance they offer over a GT.

1/10/2008 1:30:24 PM

When your multitasking open the task manager and see if your cpu or your ram is the limiting factor. From the description I think you need more cpu because if you were using all the ram it would be glitchy trying to cashe data to and from the HDD.

Assuming you game at 1024x768.....a 8800gt is the only way to go.

1/10/2008 2:03:30 PM

forgot, also upgrade to 8800GT

and if you want to use a cooler perpendicular to the CPU, you may look at the Zalman 7700 it uses a 120mm fan and is extremely quiet, but make sure you have enough room on your motherboard for it

for filtering look at something like this:
http://www.svc.com/12filguar.html

1/10/2008 2:03:53 PM

PTS has a bigger selection of fan grills and is a nice guy. If you order from them you will get a hand written note in your order. Now thats customer service.

http://www.petrastechshop.com/fanfilters.html

1/10/2008 2:10:31 PM

yeah, i forgot about petra, good store.

1/10/2008 2:39:14 PM

Quote :

"Assuming you game at 1024x768.....a 8800gt is the only way to go."

I don't really know anyone who games at 1024x768 anymore, or 4:3 at all. Most people have moved to 16:10 and higher resolutions. The 8800gt will handle higher resolutions fine.

1/10/2008 3:47:54 PM

Thinking about upgrading to a Quad Core system...trying to decide between the Phenom 9500 and the Q6600

I can get the Phenom 9500 + Biostar TA770 mobo for ~$260
Or the Q6600 + mobo is around $400

Thats a pretty large price difference, and the Phenom looks pretty decent performance wise against the Q6600. I just worry about that issue with the Phenom that they released some patch for...

1/10/2008 4:01:11 PM

Don't get either. Get one of these when they come out:

http://enthusiast.hardocp.com/image.html?image=MTE5OTU5Mzc0MXJrZ2duMTlEUllfMV84X2wuanBn

The Q9450 is what i'm going to get when it comes out. 12 megs of cache!!!

1/10/2008 4:06:14 PM

when are those coming out tho? i bet that 12mb of cache will help out with folding@home


ps: note to all readers:

plz join our folding@home team: message_topic.aspx?topic=118820

1/10/2008 4:19:24 PM

^It says 1st quarter of 2008. So hopefully in the next few months. Yeah i don't recommend spending money on any CPU until these come out. Be a waste of money.

1/10/2008 4:22:21 PM

neodata, i know PLENTY of people with 4:3 displays that game, though you are right about the 1024 res, i don't know anyone that games that low

1/10/2008 5:48:41 PM

^Yeah i guess. I can only think of one person i know that has a 4:3 display. Everyone else has 16:10. They've just gotten so cheap lately.

I want one of these:

http://www.hothardware.com/Articles/Dell_UltraSharp_3008WFP_30inch_LCD_With_DisplayPort/

[Edited on January 10, 2008 at 6:11 PM. Reason : .]

1/10/2008 6:10:34 PM

don't we all... don't we all...

i have a Dell 1907FP Ultrasharp, and it's hard to justify a new screen, though I'm looking at the Samsung 226BW, since the next affordable step is 22"

i have (2) Dell 2407WFP's at work, they're nice

1/10/2008 7:21:27 PM

^^ a 30" screen for $2000

and i thought the apple 30" cinema display for $1800 was bad enough

1/10/2008 8:02:01 PM

Sorry for the delayed post but I assumed he was gaming at 1024x768 because he said he was using a 7600gs. I didnt think he would have a nice monitor that supported 1600x1200 and was using that card.

I also dont know anyone that has a nice system that games lower than the standard 1280x1024 LCD monitors put out.

1/11/2008 10:42:30 AM

I've always been an ATI guy, but I'm thinking of going to dual 8800 GT's for a new computer

is there a particular brand I should use/trust? I've always used Sapphire ATI cards, but they don't seem to make nvidia chipset cards

also any north/south bridge chips considered best?

[Edited on January 12, 2008 at 5:49 PM. Reason : .]

1/12/2008 5:37:11 PM

evga / xfx / bfg for nvidia based cards

northbridge - nforce 650/680 or nforce 750/780 or intel X38 or X48

1/12/2008 7:48:12 PM

i kind of outgrew building systems. my current setup is 4 years old and does everything well in my realm of use...

Pentium 2.4C @3.2GHz (all 4 years)
2x256MB Geil ultra platinum PC4000 DDR500
74gb WD 10k main drive
2x150GB WD 7200rpm
ATI All-in-wonder x800xt
sound blaster live 24 bit (i think...been a long time)
zalman all copper heat sink

1/12/2008 9:02:44 PM

If you want SLI, you'll have to stick with nvidia's chipsets. The 6x0i series will work if you don't plan on using the newer 45um cpu's coming out. The 7x0i series would be best, but they are expensive currently. Intel chipsets don't support SLI but they do support crossfire. AMD's latestly gpu looks to run on par with the 8800gt's and priced about the same, AMD/ATI 3800 series.

The last two cards I've had were Evga and my current 8800 gts is. Good company. XFX and BFG are also great. Can't go wrong with any of them.

1/13/2008 12:26:44 AM

I've been thinking about selling my computer that I built a few years ago, but I have no idea how much I should sell it for.

Intel Pentium 4 3.4GHz
200GB HD
20GB HD
Intel D865PERLK i865PE Chipset Motherboard
1GB(512MBx2) DDR PC3200 x2
nVIDIA GeForce FX5700LE
Rosewill 19" LCD Monitor
Sony Internal 16X DVD+/-RW / Double Layer Drive
Sony Black IDE CD-ROM Drive
500W Power Supply

1/14/2008 1:59:33 AM

150$?

1/14/2008 2:09:18 AM

if you're dumping it all, 200-300 depending

if only the computer... 150ish

1/14/2008 10:33:18 AM

^assuming no OS

1/14/2008 10:34:35 AM

agreed, a legit copy + key bumps value by 50 at least

1/14/2008 10:38:36 AM

1) is there any performance difference between 4 X 1GB sticks of DDR2, or 2 X 2GB sticks?


also how much is this pc worth?

Pentium D 2.8GHz (Dual Core)
2GB DDR2 RAM
250GB SATA HDD
Integrated Sound
Some inexpensive graphics card
Antec Case, PS etc
With legit XP key and freshly installed OS

In addition whats are 2 X 19" Dell LCD monitors worth? (E197FP)

1/17/2008 9:13:26 AM

both aren't worth it, xp 32-bit doesn't use more than 3 on a good day, 4 max address space.... i could be wrong but i think 3gb is the most you can really "use" but 4gb does look better if you're trying to sell it.

performance difference would be in the timings, 2x2gb is more valuable though as not every machine will have 4 ram slots.

400 about. maybe 500

check ebay for the prices on the moniters

[Edited on January 17, 2008 at 1:24 PM. Reason : s]

1/17/2008 1:23:35 PM

Quote :

"both aren't worth it, xp 32-bit doesn't use more than 3 on a good day, 4 max address space.... i could be wrong but i think 3gb is the most you can really "use" but 4gb does look better if you're trying to sell it."

i'm getting the 4gb for vista, not xp. and yeah xp-32 can only see around ~3.5gb

1/17/2008 1:31:55 PM

vista 64?

1/17/2008 2:17:23 PM

so i just got a new Q6600 based system, running vista home premium, currently using onboard video, and i'm curious about video cards:

i have an ati x800gto video in my old pc i could move to the new system...and under xp it worked well enough for the games i rarely play (starcraft, warcraft 3, quake 3-4, COD2, BF2 etc). i want to sell the old pc, so if i moved the x800gto over i'd have to buy some cheap ass PCI x16 video card to replace it since the intel mobo doesn't have onboard video. i'm assuming i could find one for $20-$30? is that realistic?

if i were to put that $20-$30 towards a new video card, and add some more cash which one should i get? i would want to keep it under $100 since i don't do THAT much gaming. any ideas?

does the DX9 vs DX10 make much of a difference, and will it? the old card is DX9 and the new one would hopefully run DX10...

^ no 32bit, so the same limitations apply

1/23/2008 1:40:54 AM

Quote :

"running vista home premium"

ewwwwww

Quote :

"does the DX9 vs DX10 make much of a difference,"

if you don't hardcore game on a 24" + monitor you will be better off without a dx10 card, save some money and get a half way decent dx9 card. a 7000 series gForce card should fit you nicely, dunno about ati offerings

1/23/2008 9:23:45 AM

[Edited on January 24, 2008 at 10:03 PM. Reason : nm]

1/24/2008 10:00:04 PM

anyone know of any good video card roundups with the huge charts etc? i poked around toms but couldn't find anything

1/25/2008 9:08:52 AM

?




[Edited on January 25, 2008 at 11:43 AM. Reason : ?]

1/25/2008 11:35:25 AM

^^
http://www23.tomshardware.com/graphics_2007.html

[Edited on January 25, 2008 at 1:04 PM. Reason : .]

1/25/2008 1:04:14 PM

thx

1/25/2008 1:12:35 PM

1/25/2008 1:24:06 PM

the dx10 cards have outstanding dx9 performance still

1/25/2008 3:20:06 PM

^^ go Data, it's your birthday...

1/25/2008 4:15:49 PM

what new chipset is supposed to support DDR3?

1/25/2008 5:19:50 PM

Intel (P35/X38/X48/G33/G35) & nforce (750/780)

[Edited on January 25, 2008 at 7:40 PM. Reason : .]

1/25/2008 7:37:30 PM

looking at buying a dual-core processor now, upgrading from an AMD64 something.

My options are down to an Opteron 180 and a 64X2 4800+

Which one should I go with? Is the Opteron gonna do me anything different than the regular Athlon64X2?

BTW, this is for a gaming rig. If you really care, my mobo is an MSI K8N Neo4 Platinum, PCB3.0. Obviously I didn't just buy this mobo, so don't tell my to buy a different mobo, k? FWIW, it's a socket939. and yes, I know that is obsolete.

1/25/2008 7:41:08 PM

x2 is meant for desktop gaming and you'll get a better frequency at a better price point, opteron is only used for servers and for enthusiasts who want to overclock (as some of the optys OC very well)

1/25/2008 7:44:36 PM

well, I don't really care to OC. Would the opteron work good for gaming as well, or should I stick with the more expensive (and unavailable) X2?

1/25/2008 7:46:46 PM

well you can get a 4200+ for $66-$76, the opteron 180 i see is $170

this is a no-brainer

and no, the 4800 is not much faster than the 4200.

1/25/2008 7:50:07 PM

where you seeing this 4200? Is it the Toledo core, or is it Manchester?

[Edited on January 25, 2008 at 7:51 PM. Reason : ]

1/25/2008 7:51:17 PM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103543

it says OOS, but the reviews are owners from 1week - 1month purchased from newegg

1/25/2008 7:53:09 PM

yeah, I saw that one too. the 180 has 1MB L2 cache, as do the Toledo-cored X2's. Is it worth the extra money for twice the L2?

1/25/2008 7:56:55 PM