My new gaming computer

[dubnubb]

Hi.
I am very new with current computing hardware but am hoping to get educated.
My computer is outdated and i need to fill the box with some new gear for the game AoC.

Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Dual Core Processor LGA775 3.0GHZ Wolfdale 1333FSB 6MB Retail

ASUS P5K ATX LGA775 P35 DDR2 2PCI-E16 3PCI 1PCI-E1 SATA2 Sound GBLAN 1394 Motherboard

ASUS GeForce 9800GTX 675MHZ 512MB 2.2GHZ GDDR3 PCI-E Dual DVI-I HDCP HDTV Out Video Card

Corsair XMS2 TWIN2X4096-6400C5 4GB DDR2 2X2GB PC2-6400 DDR2-800 CL 5-5-5-18 240PIN Memory Kit

Antec Truepower Trio 650W Power Supply ATX12V V2.0 Active PFC SLI Certified 120MM Fan

Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 320GB SATA2 3GB/S 7200RPM 16MB Cache NCQ Hard Drive


The above are what i have chosen as general ideas and am hoping to get feedback from some intelligent minds...all info/flames are appreciated!!

(already gots a dvd drive and antec sonata case)

Maybe one day i can help out others with such info hehe

 

[CMH]

The P5K gonna be updated with the P5Q series.... shouldn't be much different tho.

Also, you don't need to stick with asus for the graphics card, but that isn't a problem. I just find Asus gfx cards are overpriced.

other than that, looks good.

 

[dubnubb]

thanks so much...
i just realized that the mobo i mentioned is not sli(so if i want to upgrade performance in future) ready...so i was thinking along the lines of this:

ASUS P5N-D 750I SLI LGA775 ATX DDR2 2PCI-E16 2PCI-E1 2PCI 1394A GBLAN Motherboard

 

[Rage_3K_Moiz]

Usually, the performance benefit from having a second card is not that great. You get 50% performance for paying the full price. I'd recommend a single powerful card compared to two less powerful cards delivering the same performance, especially considering other factors like heat output and power consumption. I'd recommend the P5K or the P5E instead of the SLI motherboard.

As for the video card, you'd be better off waiting for the latest video cards from NVIDIA and ATI, which are due for release in the coming days.

 

[dubnubb]

Usually, the performance benefit from having a second card is not that great. You get 50% performance for paying the full price. I'd recommend a single powerful card compared to two less powerful cards delivering the same performance, especially considering other factors like heat output and power consumption. I'd recommend the P5K or the P5E instead of the SLI motherboard.

As for the video card, you'd be better off waiting for the latest video cards from NVIDIA and ATI, which are due for release in the coming days.

perfect! thanks so much Rage!

 

[dubnubb]

pci express 2.0

pci express 2.0, is it good thing to aim for?

 

[Rage_3K_Moiz]

It's not such a big deal, especially since PCI-E 1.0 cards are compatible with 2.0 slots and vice versa. There will be no performance penalty either, since no card today can saturate the PCI-E 1.0 bus.

 

[dubnubb]

ah so the new gtx 280/260 cards are out...looks like i don t want to fund the 280...soooo

gtx260 or sli 8800gt?

i was thinking get the gtx260 and buy sli mobo and dual up on the 260 once it comes down in price at some later date....hmmm

but then the dual 8800gts look nice...

i ve seen some excellent benchmarks with dual 8800gt..but maybe rage is right with going one more powerful card than 2 lesser ones...

 

[Whiffen]

Yeah, stick with one card for now (NOT A GTX260, not worth the price at this point. Even a 9800GX2 would be better.) . I know we all want our computers to look like engines with multiple huge roaring cards inside but like engines its not very efficient.

 

[skarmory2002]

It has been my experience that seagate drives don't work as well as they should have. Warranty periods are not that great and they tend to die after a couple of months. Things may have changed since the last one i bought, cause i wont go back to them. Lately, I'e been picking up Western Digital drives, cause they have a 3 year warranty and advance replacement. Just a thought.

Oh, and I agree with rage, go with a single better card, suggest the 9800gtx or gx2, gx2 being a dual core video card with 1gb vram, and gtx being single core card with 512mb vram. It will save you some money in the end and give you way better performance.

 

[Rage_3K_Moiz]

Seagate offers a 5-year warranty on their OEM drives, which I don't see as bad in any way. Also, the ES.2 range has better reliability and stability in the long term compared to the ordinary drives, according to what I've seen. Western Digital drives are quieter though, but the 7200.11 is the fastest 7200RPM drive I've seen until now.

 

[skarmory2002]

Seagate offers a 5-year warranty on their OEM drives, which I don't see as bad in any way. Also, the ES.2 range has better reliability and stability in the long term compared to the ordinary drives, according to what I've seen. Western Digital drives are quieter though, but the 7200.11 is the fastest 7200RPM drive I've seen until now.

So obviously Seagate has gotten much better, when i bought the drive it was only a 1 year warranty, and the partitions kept dying on me. I had to reload every couple of months on that drive till I decided to finally do away with it. 5 years is a great warranty

 

[dubnubb]

i had seagate as previous drive and it seem to be doing fine then...though i mentioned i was going for the 7200.10 320gb...i am now looking at the 7200.11 500gb

and a gtx 280 as well...the reports i ve read on them are fabulous...and i got $ to waste

and for the hell of it i am also looking at a bfg 800w psu and the 750i type mobo...though i am still weighing in on sli technology for future needs..

 

[Rage_3K_Moiz]

The GTX 280 has a horrible price to performance ratio. A 9800GX2 is faster in the majority of cases. Also, ATI's upcoming R770 is supposed to be far faster than the GTX 280 for a lower price, so you might want to wait for that.
As for the PSU, a Corsair 550VX is plenty for a single card. Again, consider SLI only if you have a monitor capable of resolutions upto and beyond 1600x1200, since SLI's maximum performance benefits show up at high resolutions. For SLI, consider the Corsair 750TX and the PC Power & Cooling Silencer 750.

 

[dubnubb]

The GTX 280 has a horrible price to performance ratio. A 9800GX2 is faster in the majority of cases. Also, ATI's upcoming R770 is supposed to be far faster than the GTX 280 for a lower price, so you might want to wait for that.
As for the PSU, a Corsair 550VX is plenty fo.ons upto and beyond 1600x1200, since SLI's maximum performance benefits show up at high resolutions. For SLI, consider the Corsair 750TX and the PC Power & Cooling Silencer 750.

Oh the wealth of information/advice you have for me is brilliant..

i have a beef with ati from my last video card ..lol...i may wait, but we ll see.
i read a few reviews saying that the gtx280 outperformed the 9800gx2 in the ways that i wanted..but anyhow..we ll see...i don t make hasty decisions these days

price to performance....bah...not for me...though that is good info for others!!

 

[Obi-Wan Jerkobi]

Oh the wealth of information/advice you have for me is brilliant..
i read a few reviews saying that the gtx280 outperformed the 9800gx2 in the ways that i wanted..but anyhow..we ll see...i don t make hasty decisions these days

price to performance....bah...not for me...though that is good info for others!!

Yeah, but the GTX 280 uses an unfathomable amount of electricity during peak times, even more than the 9800GX2. I would get the GX2 so that you could use the extra $200 to get even better stuff.(Like better RAM and CPU Cooler)

Better RAM: You probably should reach for DDR2-1066. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227298

PSU: For a giant @** graphics card like that one, you need like 60A, especially if you consider SLI. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139006

 

[Rage_3K_Moiz]

I disagree on the RAM part with Obi. Since money doesn't seem to be a problem, get the Gigabyte X48T-DQ6 or the ASUS P5E3 Deluxe, along with this RAM kit for maximum performance.