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New Computer for Me

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  • Ok, money down on how many weeks it takes for Scott's motherboard to fail. I say, £5 on six.
    Wow yeah, that would suck. If the motherboard died, and I had to RMA it, I would also have to buy another copy of Windows. If that happened, I would just give up on video.

    Also, I found out that the 380W PSU does indeed have 4 SATA connectors. It was a typo on Newegg. So I switched back to that one. It's so cheap anyway. I figure if it doesn't work, it's good to have another PSU around. If it does work, w00t!
  • You should ask before hand if, should the motherboard fail, you can RMA the copy of Vista too.
  • I've had that mobo for several weeks now and it's great.
  • edited April 2008
    I found an 8800 that is supposedly quiet and isn't fat, so I switched it up.
    Post edited by Apreche on
  • That's fine then. As long as I can reinstall on the same computer if it messes up, then it's cool. If I'm changing the motherboard then I've got bigger problems.
    That's OEM for ya. Though XP OEM CD's are crap. I just installed it on my 100% new computer, every component changed, called MS when it asked for the registration key, confirmed it was a legal version, got code, and done. When I later reinstalled Windows I just skipped that step and activated once XP booted. Worked fine.
  • Ok, I changed from the quad-core to a dual core, but Andrew pointed out the dual core is actually probably better. It uses 45nm instead of 65nm process, and it's cheaper. It's hard enough to take advantage of four cores, I think two faster cores is going to be a better choice. I doubt the video encoding programs are written to use more than one core anyway.
  • I found an 8800 that is supposedly quiet and isn't fat, so I switched it up.
    I looked this up on the evga website:
    Requirements
    Minimum of a 400 Watt power supply.
    (Minimum recommended power supply with +12 Volt current rating of 26 Amp Amps.)

    Minimum 450 Watt for SLI mode system.
    (Minimum recommended power supply with +12 Volt current rating of 28 Amp Amps.)

    An available 6 pin PCI-E power connector (hard drive power dongle to PCI-E 6 pin adapter included with card)
    http://www.evga.com/products/moreInfo.asp?pn=512-P3-N801-AR
  • I looked this up on the evga website:
    Hmm. I'm definitely more in love with the idea of the 380W PSU than I am in love with the very long video card. Are there any 8800s that are smaller and normal sized?
  • I found an 8800 that is supposedly quiet and isn't fat, so I switched it up.
    Good choice Scott.
    I think two faster cores is going to be a better choice.
    Agreed.
  • Yeah, I'll risk it. If those 20 watts really make the difference, I'll deal with it.
  • Even cheap Dells are now coming with Blue-ray drives. You might want to consider upgrading to one.
  • edited April 2008
    Or for $10 more?
    Even cheap Dells are now coming with Blue-ray drives. You might want to consider upgrading to one.
    The cheapest Bluray drive, right now, is $130!! Ten bucks a disc isn't exactly economical either.
    Post edited by Norvu on
  • edited April 2008
    If quietness is a priority, look at this site:
    http://www.silentpcreview.com/article699-page1.html

    That specific link is their recommended PSUs. The Earthwatts do pretty well there it seems, so that's good.

    EDIT:
    Based on that site, here is one I'd highly recommend:
    Corsair 450W
    Post edited by lackofcheese on
  • Or maybe not. Research has shown despite 8600 being a really close number to 8800, there really is a huge difference. I wish they would make it so higher numbers means faster, but it doesn't. Apparently lots of 7 series cards are way faster than an 8600. To play it safe, I'll also go for the 500W. Whatever. I give up, take my moneys.
  • I stuck with an 8600 because I didn't have the wattage for an 8800 and I didn't want to replace my power supply at the time. I plan on doing it some time down the road and getting an 8800, but I find my 8600 is just fine now. I'm more of a console player any way and only play the really big PC games or exclusives. But it is quite amazing to see the difference between a PC game running on high specs vs. a console port. FEAR (my fav FPS) for example running on my system makes the 360 version look like crap. I can't wait to get my hands on the PC version of Mass Effect.

    All in all your system looks awesome and I'd be totally excited to get it.
  • edited April 2008
    I wish they would make it so higher numbers means faster, but it doesn't..
    Everyone else too, but, you can go to Toms Hardware and check out benchmarks to choose the best graphics card for you.

    I'm a sucker for graphics cards though, I oogle at them and their specs knowing I can't afford them. My girlfriend calls benchmarks and graphics cards: "Fred Pr0n". I plan on buying a graphics card powerful beyond all financial reason, just so I can beat Crysis. It's not even that great a game, but, I refuse to lose... I'm like one of those poorly created shonen characters (Naruto).
    Post edited by Norvu on
  • Or maybe not. Research has shown despite 8600 being a really close number to 8800, there really is a huge difference. I wish they would make it so higher numbers means faster, but it doesn't. Apparently lots of 7 series cards are way faster than an 8600. To play it safe, I'll also go for the 500W. Whatever. I give up, take my moneys.
    Heh.
    Yeah, that's basically what I was saying.
    Still, there is a "rule of thumb" for graphics cards:-

    1) First digit -> generation
    2) Use the second digit to determine whether the card is low-end, midrange, or high-end
    ->Low end is approx 0-4
    ->Midrange is approx 5-7
    ->High-end is approx 8-9

    Generally speaking, the midrange of a following generation is relatively close to the high-end of the previous generation, etc.


    In any case, it's far better just to look at the benchmarks. As you have seen, the 8800GT is a significantly better card. As for the PSU, have a look at my previous link to silentpcreview if quietness is important. They rate your Earthwatts pretty well, which is good.
  • I wish they would make it so higher numbers means faster, but it doesn't..
    Everyone else too, but, you can go toToms Hardwareand check out benchmarks to choose the best graphics card for you.

    I'm a sucker for graphics cards though, I oogle at them and their specs knowing I can't afford them. My girlfriend calls benchmarks and graphics cards: "Fred Pr0n". I plan on buying a graphics card powerful beyond all financial reason, just so I can beat Crysis. It's not even that great a game, but, I refuse to lose... I'm like one of those poorly created shonen characters (Naruto).
    Agreed, Crysis looks pretty but it isn't that great.
  • 8800GS will run most steam games and CoD4 on a 380W PSU.
  • Hmmm, four options I see before me
    Stick with 380W PSU and go for 8600 for cheapness
    Stick with 380W PSU and go for 8800GS
    Go for a bigger PSU and get 8800GT

    I'm leaning towards the smaller. Saving electricity and having quiet are more important to me now than the gaming. In the future I'm sure I will be able to upgrade to the 9600 or 10600 if need be. Also, since I really only need the horsepower for the video editing, that's mostly a CPU operation, so no worries there.
  • 8800GS is a really nice mid-range card, can't really go wrong if you're only looking to play CoD4, CS:S, TF2 etc.
  • Your processor is out of stock. I think you should get a Penryn Quad Core.
  • Your processor is out of stock. I think you should get a Penryn Quad Core.
    Or wait.
  • Why does the power supply have the hard drive power on it? Is this to save energy on the motherboard? Also, how many hard drives does each power cable power?
  • I was going to recommend the Antec case I got for my new rig, but it seems they only have it with a mirror finish. Which is a weird finish for a PC case.
  • I was going to recommend the Antec case I got for my new rig, but it seems they only have it with a mirror finish. Which is a weird finish for a PC case.
    Yeah, Rym has that one without the mirror finish. It was a very popular case, but Newegg seems to have removed it for some reason.
    Why does the power supply have the hard drive power on it? Is this to save energy on the motherboard? Also, how many hard drives does each power cable power?
    Ok, think about this for a minute. If you don't get the electricity directly from the power supply to the hard drive, you have to take that electricity, put it into the motherboard, then put it into the hard drive. Hard drives need a lot of power, as they have powerful motors. That's a lot of power they need. Putting that much electricity through the motherboard is just silly. It needlessly complicates things, and all that electricity is bound to interfere with other things already going on the already crowded motherboard.

    Think about it some more. Let's say someone wants to put a RAID card into their PC. If you were going to have the power for the hard drive be on the data cable, that means the RAID card need to provide power to all the drives. That means that the motherboard has to provide enough power to each PCI slot to power 4+ hard drives!

    Each hard drive gets one power connector from the power supply. It's the only way that makes sense.
  • Alright, as soon as the CPU is back in stock I'm going to buy.
  • Alright, as soon as the CPU is back in stock I'm going to buy.
    Is it sad to feel excited that someone else is buying a new computer with tons of shinies? >.>
  • It's frigtening to realize that without a copy of Windows, this monstrous computer comes in under $1000.
  • It's frigtening to realize that without a copy of Windows, this monstrous computer comes in under $1000.
    I got windows for free and my equivalent rig cost less than $900. ^_^
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