Current machine:
3.0Ghz P4
1.5GB PC3200
X800GT 256MB
X-fi Platinum

I was wondering if you guys could help me build a respectable, not top of the line, new machine. Tired of it sounding like a jet engine and since the board is proprietary (dell) and everything is old fashioned (pci, agp) i figured it's as good a time as any. I want something comparable to what I have now just updated using what's recent. Never even had pci-e or dual cores before and frankly, i'd be ok without them but it seems to be the standard now.

They have DDR3 and DX10 and PCI-e 2.0 now so if there's any way that i can be on the low end and still be able to upgrade for the future it would be nice. Like to update the video cards every 2-3 years just about too.

I'm in no rush so feel free to school me on what's out there if you want. Thanks!

2/21/2008 5:56:58 PM

Antec Sonata + AcoustiPack

2/21/2008 6:03:16 PM

Quote :

"since the board is proprietary (dell)"

Dell Mobo only fits in one type of dell case if you were trying to insist i just upgrade to ^

2/21/2008 6:10:18 PM

i don't know how much good DDR3 is going to do you...for less than DDR3 would cost, you could run 4gb of DDR2 800 and be happy (or so i would assume, but i guess it depends on your demands)

2/21/2008 6:39:17 PM

ok point taken

so i guess the E8400 is the dual core equivalent of what i've got now so i just need to know what my motherboard choices are

i googled x38 just because thats what Tom's uses for reference but i'm not up to snuff enough to know the difference between the 178 results i got

2/21/2008 7:54:33 PM

newegg searching will give you better results than google on this stuff.

2/21/2008 7:57:14 PM

any problems with buying an open box item?

2/21/2008 8:02:22 PM

GET A FUCKING Q6700 or Q6600

You will thank me...I swear...my machine flies...I even like vista on it.

2/21/2008 9:32:22 PM

Am I wrong in saying a dual core is faster than a quad in day to day programs if they have the same clock speed?

2/21/2008 10:01:08 PM

i'm a bit out of my element, as i've fallen behind in the technology times, but i don't see why it would be...the computer should be smart enough to use the cores only when necessary, and the ability to run 4 separate threads seems like an advantage with no disadvantages, technically speaking

that said, i don't quite understand the desire for quad-core processors YET...what little advantage they have (aside from folding ) doesn't seem worth the price hike in the vast majority of situations

oh, and might i suggest a board (whichever you go with) that has at least 4 SATA ports and uses the nForce 630i (or better) and GeForce 7100/7150 (or better)...perhaps it's not necessary (since you're getting an add-in card, but they're really nice for the price IMO

[Edited on February 21, 2008 at 10:09 PM. Reason : .]

2/21/2008 10:07:28 PM

also, can i not hold off on the dual core and upgrade the mobo and keep my p4 in there...i didnt think it was even an option but the one im looking at says it supports P4 through Quad

here's what i got so far:

-Antec Sonata III 500 Black 0.8mm cold rolled steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 500W Power Supply
-ASUS MAXIMUS FORMULA LGA 775 Intel X38 ATX Intel Motherboard
-GeIL Esoteria 4GB(2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model GX24GB8500ESPDC

up to $550 so far

assuming im salvaging my old proc, my sound card, and my network card (for now) - i still need a pci-e graphics card, another 120mm fan, and a dvd-dl burner...anything else? (still not sure if i need another HD, i have 3 already all 150gb that i could consolidate???)

[Edited on February 21, 2008 at 10:15 PM. Reason : f]

2/21/2008 10:11:05 PM

ok so it looks like my final build will look something similar to:

case
Antec Sonata III 500 Black 0.8mm cold rolled steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 500W Power Supply + another 120mm fan

mobo
ASUS MAXIMUS FORMULA LGA 775 Intel X38 ATX Intel Motherboard

proc
Prescott P4 3.0ghz (salvaged)

RAM
GeIL Esoteria 4GB(2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model GX24GB8500ESPDC

GPU
MSI NX8800GT 512M OC GeForce 8800GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card

sound
X-Fi Platinum (salvaged)

network
Linksys WMP54GX Wireless-G (salvaged)

CD/DVD
SAMSUNG 20X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe Black SATA Model SH-S203N

for $815

does anyone see any immediate problems? will i run into any problems with vista ultimate/xp pro setup? from the reviews i can already tell that the RAM is wider than normal but that ASUS boards usually can cover it and that the 8800GT card is large as well but are probably not a problem in the mobo/case i have chosen

2/21/2008 11:07:15 PM

ok, n/m apparantely there are socket 775 p4's left

but seriously why not update the CPU, it will make much bigger impact

to be quite frank, i think your 8800gt will go to waste if you run a P4 in it

[Edited on February 21, 2008 at 11:13 PM. Reason : .]

2/21/2008 11:10:45 PM

yeah it seems like a waste to get a new case, mobo, 8800GT and 4 gigs of ram to then run a P4 in it... i understand wanting to save the $200+ though. If you dont upgrade it immediately I would make it the next thing you do b/c that will be your biggest difference of all. Then again you are spending over $800, so whats another $200 at that point?

2/22/2008 6:30:26 AM

from newegg it sounded like the e8400 is hard to find. should i just google it and get it from anyone?

2/22/2008 8:08:47 AM