Need advice on a new rig

[Mbwilliams12]

Need advice on building a new rig

Hey guys, I’m looking for some advice with a new computer build, full overhaul. I haven’t built a rig in quite some time and I’m a little out of touch with the new technology out there. I’m leaning toward the Intel direction this time (my old rig is a single core AMD). Any help or build specs or wisdom that you guys can offer would be very much appreciated.

Factors for Consideration:

• Rig will be used mostly for everyday tasks, gaming, and some development (both database and web).
• Gaming is limited to strategy and MMORPG mostly (Total War, Gal Civ, WoW, etc… no FPS in the foreseeable future).
• I do some heavy Excel and DB crunching so a Dual Core is highly valued (maybe a quad but not sure if it’s worth the money).
• I dabble in 3D graphics and video editing (poser, film magic, etc…).
• I would like a recommendation on an OS as well. I love XP, but find the memory cap issue annoying. How stable are the latest Vista releases? Should I wait for Windows 7?
• I need a new case. I’m fond of this guy (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119068) but am open to other suggestions.
• I already own a fairly good monitor: Hanns•G 22" (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824254035).
• I also have the following components already on hand that I would like to use if at all possible:
  • Memory (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145184).
  • Sound Card (No specs on hand at the moment - PCI).
  • Hard Drive (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136284).
• Looking at a remaining budget of around $600 to $800 for the Case, CPU, MB, PSU, Video Card, and Fans/Cooling. I can spend a little more if the components really suggest it and the buy is worth it but I’d prefer a lower cost solution if it matches my needs.
• Outside of the budget above I’ll take any advice on DVD Burners, OS, Speakers, and Keyboard/Mice combos.

Thanks in advance for any help or advice!

 

[Mbwilliams12]

Wow, no responses... I browsed some of the other build threads (though a lot of deals seem to be different now). This is what I'm looking at so far. Any suggestions? Thanks!

Case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119068 (54.99)
MB: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131299 (129.99)
CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115037 (164.99)
Memory: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145184 (already own)
PSU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341002 (109.99)
HD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136284 (already own)
Graphics: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130380 (129.99)

Any thoughts on additional fans or a good DVD Burner? Not sure if much of this is dated or not. Thanks again for any help!

 

[hellokitty[hk]]

GJ looking on other posts, if everyone did that we would end up not repeating half the things we say.

Ok, well the case kinda depends on your personal preference, though i can tell you that case wont give you as superior cooling as many others, though it won't be bad.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139004
Much better power supply, especially for a single 8800gt. You can even go down to the corsiar 450w or 400w even.

Are you going to end up SLing?

Should I wait for Windows 7?

As far as i can tell, yeah totally worth it. I even get better performance than on XP on build 6801, were did i get it? found it on an old DVD .
With memory so cheep, you could just have xp 32 and suffer a loss of about 1/2 a gig.

I dabble in 3D graphics and video editing (poser, film magic, etc…).

Depending on what exactly you do, you will have to decide on a quad or not, a quad would roughly half the processing
time.

Wow, no responses...

ehh...sorry, thanks for being patient and polite. I would tell you to note the "edit" button, but it seems your thread went unnoticed and your double post caught my attention.

 

[Mbwilliams12]

Thanks for the reply!

I was not planning on SLIing (single card only). I may add another 1TB HD though. I'll definitely look at getting the new PSU.

For right now, I'm going to stick with a dual core (I can always go quad later).

Thank you for the advice on the OS. I think I'll stick with an XP 32 for a while.

Do you have any inputs on a different case? I know they are more toward personal style (mine is not flashy) but any thoughts on a simple better cooling option, or fans?

Thanks again for all the help.

 

[hellokitty[hk]]

Well to be honest, for a simpler build like yours, cooling won't be too much of a problem considering you will only have a single graphics card a dual core.

I recommend an antec 900, lots of fans, and they all glow which may be slightly anoying and loud:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129021&Tpk=antec 900