Curse

I Dont Do Coke · Aug 24, 2008, 05:56 AM // 05:56

Hello, you don't need to know who I am or what I'm doing so straight to point(s)!

I will be buying my hardware from Fry's Electronics. Why, because my parents have relations with that place so I'll actually be getting this stuff for less than they appear.

Components
Ok, these are the parts that I'll be purchasing unless if somebody thinks that any of the brands are outright bullshit. Please also warn me of any compatibility problems there may be between any of these:

Case: Antec 900
HDD: Hitachi Deskstar P7K500 HDP725050GLA360
Memory: Crucial 4GB DDR2 PC6400 (2x 2GB)
Optical Disk Drive: Sony Dual Layer 20x DVD-/+RW
PSU: CoolerMaster eXtreme Power 600W ATX
Video Card: VisionTek ATI Radeon HD 4870 or Diamond ATI Radeon HD 4850

CPU and Motherboard
I'm clueless about the CPU or motherboard to buy for those parts though. How about these combinations:

AMD Athlon 64 X2 5600+ with Abit NF-M2PV
AMD Phenom X4 9850 Black Edition with MSI K9A2 CF-F
Intel Core 2 Duo E7200 with ASUS P5GC-MX
Intel Core 2 Duo E7200 with MSI P43 Neo3-F

I know that the AMD Phenom-MSI K9A2 CF-F combination is the best out of the ones listed, but I am incredibly cheap so I will purchase the least expensive, viable option. I want to know whether or not the other combinations will bottleneck an HD 4870? Or will they bottleneck an HD 4850?

Please don't recommend me an E8400, Q6600 or any other worthy CPU because those are all sold out at the store I'll be purchasing things from; advise me on what I listed, please.

Also, will I need to buy a cooler for any of the listed CPUs? They're all retail kits so I think they should come with one, unless if you know better than me.

Monitor
As for the monitor, I am planning on purchasing an AOC 2217 (22", 1680x1050, 5ms). Does that monitor look acceptable?

Thanks in advance!

EDIT: Oh shit... Sorry for the idiotic thread title, I don't think I was in the right mindset while typing that up...

Aera · Aug 24, 2008, 11:35 AM // 11:35

I am still going to recommend you an E8400, I'm sure you can order it and get it in later? Definitely worth the wait.

Oh and if you can't wait, you don't need to buy an extra cooler; they're boxed so a cooler is included.

Brianna · Aug 24, 2008, 12:38 PM // 12:38

For the case, the Antec 900 is probably one of the better options that you can get from Fry's, I don't really like that case much because it is sort of cheapy, but it has a lot of airflow and gets the job done. I do have a Fry's in my area so I've seen their selections.

The hard drive: Go for a Western Digital or Seagate if you can, they have the most reliable stuff and I don't think they are much more expensive at all than the other brands, should be about the same price actually. Just make sure it's a 7,200RPM SATA with at least a 16mb cache.

The RAM: Crucial is a good brand, but it is better to buy RAM with heat spreaders on them. Though, 4GBs with heat spreaders is going to run you a lot more so I won't recommend it to you since I know you don't want it, the high airflow in the Antec 900 should hopefully make up for the lack of heat spreaders, just don't overclock that RAM.

- - Ack, wait I just got an after thought, I think I saw Corsair 2X2 GBs going for something like 80$ and they had heat spreaders. It's this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820145184 If you see that on the shelves get it instead, I would rather have ram with heat spreaders personally, even though a lot of people are going to shun Corsair though but it's still good, that particular ram got good reviews.

PSU: Well.. I am willing to bet that power supply doesn't have 18 amps on each rail, I think it has like 15-16 or something like that. I saw it in the store and on a site before - if it's the same one then I am correct. Little bit weaker than your average 600 watt but it should get the job done for you. I got a shitty 500w Antec with 18 amps on it's two rails for the same price, but Antec makes shitty power supplies in my experience so you should probably stay away.

The Video Card: Get the Visiontek HD4870, that is an extremely good buy and you would be going in the right direction with buying that.

The CPU / Motherboard configuration: # Intel Core 2 Duo E7200 with MSI P43 Neo3-F IMO. The MSI has much more features and the E7200 can be overclocked to the 3.0ghz if you wanted to, then it would be as fast as an E8400, but not an E8400.

My brother has the 5600+, just skip it.

I know that using an AMD Processor along with an AMD Video card would probably be good, because AMD Mobos are usually platformed more towards ATI cards (Optimized better for ATI cards). But the E7200 has the same clock speeds as the quad core, and you don't really need quad cores these days.

The AMD Phenom has 65nm (nanometer) technology which is getting pretty old and the E7200 has 45nm, which is very soon about to be outdated as well. The 45nm is also going to make the E7200 way more over-clockable because it uses less watts, makes less heat, and runs more efficiently (E7200 = 65 watts, AMD Phenom = 125 watts, ouch), therefore I believe you are getting a better experience in games by buying the E7200. I just personally think Dual Core > Quad Core for gaming, Quad for everything else.

The monitor: Looks good for it's price, my Grandpa owns a 19 inch full screen AOC monitor and it seems reliable, he's had it for some years now. (I'm sure he got that from Fry's too).

Just my two cents, it should all be compatible from what I read on the parts, and the HD4870 shouldn't bottle neck. I also changed your thread title, so if you want it to be something else instead then just PM me.

Cyb3r · Aug 24, 2008, 12:44 PM // 12:44

Yep i agree with brianna

and about psu's i had bad experiences with both antec and Aerocool) Atm i got an OCZ gamexstream 800watts sitting in mine and it does the job more than enough (and to top it off it's silent

)

Quaker · Aug 24, 2008, 02:59 PM // 14:59

My 2 cents:

The first group of components all look good enough. If the case has good cooling I wouldn't worry about heat spreaders on the RAM - unless you intend to overclock it. Otherwise, the heat spreaders are just window dressing. (After all, the RAM manufacturers don't want their RAM being returned because it overheated, so you can be sure that they would all have them if they were really needed.)

For the cpu/mobo I would go for the Phenom. Second choice would be the E7200/ASUS. I don't think either of those would bottleneck the video card, except in very demanding applications.
Again, unless you intend to seriously overclock, the stock coolers would do just fine.

If you want to run GW with all the graphic goodies at 1680x1050, you may be better off going for the HD4870 rather than the 4850, but the 4850 would be very close. Cost wise, I'd go for E7200/HD4870 rather than Phenom/HD4850

P.s. Did you mean the idiotic thread title - New PC - which doesn't seem so idiotic, or the idiotic username - I Do Pepsi? , er, I Don't Do Coke?

Brianna · Aug 24, 2008, 03:03 PM // 15:03

Ahh to save confusion for new comers to the thread: the old thread title was like ''Nuuuu Peee Ceeeee !!1one'', so I just changed it since it sounded like he/she wanted it changed.

I also think that the 4850 would easily get 60 FPS at 1680x1050 with all things cranked, but that is just Guild Wars. The 4870 is a much better choice as it has more power for newer games coming out (GTA IV in november anyone)?

moriz · Aug 24, 2008, 03:39 PM // 15:39

HD4850 can easily handle GW. with everything turned up at that resolution, i've never seen it maintain lower than 80fps. it's typically in the 200fps range.

NinjaKai · Aug 24, 2008, 03:56 PM // 15:56

I just made a PC myself. I have the Antec 900 case aswell and I can say it's not a buy you'll regret. The HD 4850 is a brilliant graphics card I think. Good value for money. Happily lets me play Guild Wars along with more graphics hungry games. As for power supply a 400W one should be more than enough power for your system.

Elder III · Aug 25, 2008, 08:56 PM // 20:56

I have the AMD PHENOM 9850 Quad CPU with an ATI 4850 GPU and it is an awesome rig. It rapes GW up the nether regions to the tune of 220 or more FPS at all MAX settings (1680x1050) and it maintains OBLIVION, which is a MUCH more graphics hungry game, at 60 FPS (with v-sync on) with ALL Eye Candy ON at the same resolution. If you can afford the 4870 go for it, but don't feel that you need it.

Also, on Quad Core vs Dual Core - Dual Core will run faster in most games, but not enough to make much difference (ok none really), and the Quad Core is very nice if you run lots of different applications at once. I have noticed a fair increase in system responsiveness with teh 4 cores when I am doing multiple programs and all 4 cores are kicking in. It's the future, so I suggest buying for it.

Looks like a nice unit, have fun with it and good luck.