New Computer

[Zot09]

So I plan on building a new desktop this summer, since i'm moving out of my dorm and into an apartment around school where I will have much more space in my room(thank goodness, i'm getting tired of my laptop haha). So anyways, my limit is around $2,500 and I want to use it for gaming/photography. So after going around newegg.com, i've decided on these parts:

-Aspire X-Plorer ATXB8KLW ATX Mid Tower Case
-ASUS A8N-SLI Motherboard
-AcBel API4PC23 ATX 12V 500W SLI Power Supply
-XFX PV-T73G-UDD3 GeForce 7600 GT XXX 256MB PCI Express x16 SLI Video Card(two of these)
-Samsung Black CD/DVD/CDRWCombo Drive
-Samsung Black CD/DVD/CDRW/DVD-R Drive w/ LightScribe
-AMD Athlon 54 x2 4200 Manchester 1GHz HT Dual Core 939 Processor
-Thermaltake Big Typhoon CL-P0114 120mm Fan
-Seagate Barracuda 7200.8 ST3250823AS 250GB 7200RPM Serial ATA150 Hard Drive(two of these)
-Saitek PZ30AU Black 104 Normal Keys Standard Eclipse Keyboard
-Logitech MX610 Laser Mouse
-Corsair XMS 2GB(2x1GB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM Unbuffered Ram
-Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound(two of these)
-Acer ET.L5209.005 Black 19" Widescreen Monitor
-Creative Sound Blaster ExtremeMusic 7.1 X-Fi Sound Card
-Logitech Z-5500 505 Watts 5.1 Speakers

I am wondering if any of you have had any experiences with any of these products, or if you have heard anything. Do you guys recommend I get a certain other product instead of one of the ones i've listed above(for example, a different Nvidia card than the 7600GT listed above)? Are there other things I can do to get more bang for my buck? Thanks ahead of time!

Oh yeah, and I can give you a link to any of the products listed above if you can't find it.

EDIT: Whoops, I forgot to ask another question. Have any of you had experience with SLI? How does it run? Did it meet your expectations?
EDIT2: Whoops again, will Windows Vista be out around fall 2006?

[Erez]

1st things first! stay away from Thermaltake!! :twisted:

[Zot09]

Thanks for your answers thamar. I agree that the computer case does look pretty ricey, but it was one of the least riciest ones I could find that had a clear side window on the computer. :? So when is Vista planned to be released?

[TNT]

get a mac for your photo work then get a work station for gaming, has limited programs etc. and you can mod it to your likings :mrgreen:

[DeMoN]

As for SLI, I have dual 6800 Ultra on my computer. Having two of them DOES make the difference. I disabled one and tried playing Call of Duty 2 at high details and it crapped out. A LOT. After I enabled SLI, I went back in, and it accepted 1680 wide resolution and run fine.

Only problem so far about SLI is that first of all, the game has to be supported, and second of all, being a fairly new technology, sometimes you need to wait for updates when things dont work togeter. Some games take advantage of SLI off the box, some you need patches.

The biggest problem I had so far was that I couldnt run Paint Shop Pro X (or version 9) because the drivers didnt allow me to. All is fixed now.

Just make sure you check for driver updates every month to take the most advantage from your SLI setup.

When the GeForce 8's come out, Ill be switching my 6800 ultras.

As for windows Vista, not sure when its coming out, but the Beta is suxing bad. WIndows install folder is over 3gb! wtf is that?

[crazidude]

1st things first! stay away from Thermaltake!!

There is nothing wrong with TT Big Typhoon. Everything else in their line is questionable though. Especially that big water thing :P.


Only problem so far about SLI is that first of all, the game has to be supported, and second of all, being a fairly new technology, sometimes you need to wait for updates when things dont work togeter. Some games take advantage of SLI off the box, some you need patches.


Actually SLI works on EVERY game, theoretically. You just have to do something... and I forgot what that something is.


But yeah like thamar said, 2 7600gt will probably net you a 7900gt which is better, I think.

There's also no point in planning on which processor, ram, mobo and cooling you want to get right now. AM2 is supposed to come out in the summer time and that requires ddr2, a different mobo and probably new cooling.

Is there a reason that you have a cdrw and a dvdrw?

[DeMoN]

SLI is working all the time (even during windows session) if you have it enabled, but you will see better results if the game supports it. Call of Duty 2 is a perfect example. That game has an SLI enhancer.

[Toronto]

just get a dell xps600

[TransAm]

- Hello, my PSU died, does my warranty cover this?
- Computer says...No.

sorry! :lol:

[Erez]

There is nothing wrong with TT Big Typhoon. Everything else in their line is questionable though. Especially that big water thing :P.


no i'm not just talking about that :P there support worldwide it seems and not just here is SHIT! i mailed them twice and got no answer! FUCK THEM! as soon as this holiday here is over my law suit is on the way! i'm gonna fuck them over so hard they wont fucking belive it! and i dont want my damn 130 bucks or what ever back i want my that plus the time and pain in the ass they gave me back! and that will cost them wayyy more! and my lawyer (uncle :roll: ) says thats perfectly acceptable, so FUCK THERMALTAKE AND THE ASSHOLE IMPORTER! damn mother fuckers! SOBs! god damn just thinking of over the DAMN stock AC of the PRESCOTT (!!) drives me mad!

and you can get a waay better air cool for the same price as the Big Typhoon, and NOT from those assholes!

[Toronto]

just get a dell xps600

- Hello, my PSU died.
- Sorry warranty doesn't cover that
- What will it cost me?
- About €180 excl taxes.

For a 300w PSU.
They rape you if something brakes out of warranty. The guy came to our shop, but since those dells don't follow standards in connectors we resoldered the new psu. He was set for 75€...

you sure it isn't covered by dell. most hardware is if it come installed in the dell.
unless you miss quoted.

[DeanGTI]

Don't buy dell, they are bullying the market so smaller and often better companies cannot afford to keep running. I was recently made redundant because my company couldn't compete with dell. Don't feed the beast. Kill it instead. :lol:

[Toronto]

^^^ lol that is funny, you shouldn't tell him not to buy a computer for a lowerprice then most because of it is a Dell.

he is a consumer, he should buy what is best @ the lowest price for him.

[DeanGTI]

^^^ lol that is funny, you shouldn't tell him not to buy a computer for a lowerprice then most because of it is a Dell.

he is a consumer, he should buy what is best @ the lowest price for him.

I can tell him what I want to, if he chooses to listen is up to him :lol:

[exhausted mules]

i bought a dell... and i like it.

it was a "good" price for what i go it for.

i could have saved about 400 bucks building it myself but then,

i would have:

windows xp,
a fully built comp delivered to my door, that you could plug and play.
great customer service. (yes, i said it, they've been patient with me and my negligence in paying my bill in time)

on top of that. its a great design (BTX) with a solid case. if something did break "out of waranty" i dont care who you are.

your paying for it. doesn't matter.

if you think its too expensive to buy from dell. get an aftermarket part that will suit your needs.

when you deal with a big company as such, you deal with convenience, if you know what your doing. you dont buy from dell.



that's why ppl like you dean have problems. its because 90% of the population just wants a comp that's easy and fun to use. dell makes that happen. they know it and are exploiting it. so natually... any computer business going up against that is gonna have some troubles.

if your a gamer, a tweaker or an enthusiast. i wouldn't recomend a prefab. but if your just looking for something that's competitavily priced (its what they do and why they are good at it) then by all means.

get one.

[crazidude]

on top of that. its a great design (BTX) with a solid case. if something did break "out of waranty" i dont care who you are.


That's awesome. A BTX case. I never knew Dell sold those. I always thought they had their little ATX's.

The lower model Dells aren't too bad. They're relatively quiet and very cheap, when they're on sale. But the high end models look funny and they're unnecessarily loud and over priced.

[DeMoN]

Alienware cases IMO are the prettiest. I got alienware just cuz of the housing lol. Ist pretty, car glossy. But damn its fuxing heavy and its not aluminum so it doesnt keep heat off as good as other cases. Main complain is the weight. Not to brag, but I bench 295 pounds at the gym (I am 5"7 tall and weigh 170pounds), and I still have trouble handling this case.

[DeMoN]

No not rice, if you get it in civilized black lol.

Besides, it matches my black car perfectly. Black, silver, and Red lightning.

[Zot09]

Thanks for the help everyone, it is really appreciated.
I've decided that I will probably go with a LianLi case because they do look very clean, and the model I am looking at does have the side window that I want. I have also decided that I will get a single 7900GTX instead of two 7600's. Besides that, all the other stats are pretty much the same.

so, is this pc done yet or what??

I'm still deciding if I should wait another 10-ish months and build my computer when Vista comes out, or if I should just build it now and use a pirated version of XP(what's the point in spending money on an OS when I will just replace it again in a few months?). I'm not in much of a rush to get a new desktop, my laptop is fulfilling almost all of my requirements, but I am missing out on games such as BF2. But i'll be sure to keep you all updated on when I do build my desktop. On another note, would you still like me to send you Old Boy over AIM Ronin? I haven't been on much lately due to studying, but just PM me and we can work out a time where I will sign on and send it to you.

[DeMoN]

Just get it now. Till VIsta comes out and is affordable and is patched, and pro version is out, thats a long wait.

Id get it now since you already did all the research.

[crazidude]

I'm still deciding if I should wait another 10-ish months and build my computer when Vista comes out, or if I should just build it now and use a pirated version of XP

If your laptop is serving you well then I wouldn't bother getting a desktop yet. I don't think its worth it to drop so much money just so you can play games right now. You can do that later with a lot less money and it'll perform even better than what you have in mind right now.

I personally think BF2 is overrated and gets boring and repetitive with all the idiots that play. The only game that you're probably really missing now is Oblivion and that really depends on whether you like rpgs or not.

When fall comes along there should be a lot more games that would make your computer a better investment. Hopefully by then, dx10 cards will be out and you can take advantage of the new cryEngine 2. And not only that, but new intel chips that will shit kick the current A64s and AM2s will be more affordable.

Oyeah, get the Lian Li V1000 or 2000. Those cases are just awesome. And for the love of god, stay away from the one that looks like a 6. I forgot what its called, but that thing just looks hideous, a great case, but hideous.