Considering buying this system...

UltimateCarl · 09-25-2007, 06:58 PM

So, I threw together my last system from various deals I found... That was about four years ago, though, and it wasn't even close to top of the line back then. It's a trooper, but it's also a bit old now, and I'm still a gamer. For reference, here's my old system (Courtesy of Xfire):

Manufacturer: EMACHINES
Processor: AMD Athlon(tm) 64 Processor 3400+, MMX, 3DNow, ~2.4GHz
Memory: 1022MB RAM
Hard Drive: 195 GB
Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce 6600 GT
Monitor: SyncMaster 931B/931BF/931BA/930BA(Analog)
Sound Card: Realtek AC97 Audio
Speakers/Headphones: Altec Lansing/Cyber Acoustic
Keyboard: USB Root Hub
Mouse: USB Root Hub
Mouse Surface: Desktop
Operating System: Windows XP Professional (5.1, Build 2600) Service Pack 2 (2600.xpsp_sp2_gdr.070227-2254)

Well, I decided I didn't want to build this time. I did some research around, and I heard good things about StealthMachines. So far, their customer support has been excellent, and I like it so far. However, I'm not really as much of a hardware guy as I'd like to me (software is more my thing). So, I emailed back and forth with them, told them my price limit was $1400, and they set up this for me. I did some research, and it seems like this is a good build for my price, but I wanted to confirm it with others who know more than I do. So, is this worth it?

Motherboard - Foxconn C51XEM2AA- 8EKRS2H Socket AM2 NVIDIA nForce 590 SLI MCP ATX AMD Motherboard
CPU - AMD Athlon 64 X2 4600+ Dual-Core
Memory - CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400)
Optical Drive - 20x Dual Layer DVD±R/W Drive w/ LightScribe Technology (Label your CD's)
Hard Drive - 250GB SATA 7,200RPM w/ 16MB Cache
Graphics Cards - XFX GEFORCE 8800 GTS XXX 320MB
Operating System - Windows XP Home w/ Service Pack 2
Sound Card - Internal Sound Card (Built Into Motherboard)
Power Supply - 500W Thermaltake Power Supply
Warranty - 1-Year Parts and Labor (click info for our return and warranty policy)
System Price: $1372

With shipping, that's just barely over $1400, which works for me. So, what do you guys think? Thanks in advance!

ThatGuy16 · 09-25-2007, 07:18 PM

Thats really not bad, but.. you should build your own. Thats overcharging to me, for $1400 you could probably get a intel Q6600, Gigabyte P-35 board, and a 640mb 8800GTS. What they got you there is a High dollar motherboard with a lowish end processor. I have the motherboard and Retail its $185, if your not doing SLI you can get a good board for around $99. And your not even going to be doing SLI.

What you could do is go to Newegg.com and add all those parts up and see what the difference in price is, then you will know how much he's wanting make off of it and decide if its too much. But its realy not hard, i would suggest building one yourself...

Edit: i added it up, before shipping with a $50 case that build thats he's wanting $1400 for come to $950

diduknowthat · 09-25-2007, 07:54 PM

That's a legit system, but is WAY overpriced. Like ThatGuy said, if you build it yourself, you can get the Q6600, 2gigs of ram, 8800GTS, much larger hard drive, much better cooling system and a better case that you actually like.

UltimateCarl · 09-25-2007, 09:09 PM

Well, I want a plain case. The plainer the better, because that means it's cheaper. I'm on a tight budget, and anyway I'm looking at my monitor, not my tower.

Other than that, I guess I COULD build my own system, but my biggest problem with that is that if you throw something together yourself and it doesn't work, then you're screwed. Also, when it comes to hardware, I barely know anything. I know it can't be that complicated and I'm not an idiot, but still.

Not to mention that I'm currently in college, not at home, so I don't really have the workspace to keep a bunch of parts around and wait for them all to ship in, then shove them together and make sure it works.

But, just for the hell of it, if my price limit was still $1400, what would you all suggest I do if I'm going to build my own? I don't want to overclock, I prefer performance over quality but don't feel you have to sacrifice one for the other, and I don't want any extra frills. I want something really stable, but powerful. If possible, something that can run Team Fortress 2, Bioshock, and Tabula Rasa on max settings, or at least close.

Thanks again, guys.

**oscaryu1** · 09-25-2007, 10:52 PM

UltimateCarl · 09-26-2007, 01:07 AM

Don't think I should make a new thread, so I'll put this in here...

So I got this from a friend:
Case - Cooler Master 690 $70
Moobo - Abit IP35 Pro $184
CPU - Q6600 $280
RAM - 2GB Patriot Extreme Performance $102
GFX - EVGA 8800GTS 320MB $290
PSU - PC Power & Cooling Silencer 610w $130
HDD - Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 320GB $80
Optical - Sony NEC Optiarc SATA DVD Burner $32
OS - Windows XP Pro $140
Total Price - $1308

Is this a really good build? Also, would anyone mind editing it a bit based on a few points of mine? Particularly that I can get by just fine with a 200 or 250GB HD. 200GB is fine, but if the change in cost between 200 and 250 is negligible, I can be persuaded. Also, I don't plan on overclocking or doing any more than the most basic of multitasking. I also still prefer performance over quality but of course want both, and I'm a no-extra-frills kind of guy. Finally, if the cost is just slightly over $1400, that's fine. Can anyone do anything with this? Thanks in advance again, fellows!

ThatGuy16 · 09-26-2007, 01:23 AM

Thats better, but the build oscaryu1 put together is the best. It has about the best video card out. But for the price and your budget i wouldn't get none less that a 640mb GTS.

paratwa · 09-26-2007, 01:42 AM

That looks like a great system. I might up the ram on the 8800 to 640 megs, for an extra $60. Like the following one

GA 640-P2-N821-AR GeForce 8800GTS 640MB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130071

Otherwise, it's a killer system. Go for it!

**oscaryu1** · 09-26-2007, 01:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by UltimateCarl

Don't think I should make a new thread, so I'll put this in here...

So I got this from a friend:
Case - Cooler Master 690 $70
Moobo - Abit IP35 Pro $184
CPU - Q6600 $280
RAM - 2GB Patriot Extreme Performance $102
GFX - EVGA 8800GTS 320MB $290
PSU - PC Power & Cooling Silencer 610w $130
HDD - Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 320GB $80
Optical - Sony NEC Optiarc SATA DVD Burner $32
OS - Windows XP Pro $140
Total Price - $1308

Is this a really good build? Also, would anyone mind editing it a bit based on a few points of mine? Particularly that I can get by just fine with a 200 or 250GB HD. 200GB is fine, but if the change in cost between 200 and 250 is negligible, I can be persuaded. Also, I don't plan on overclocking or doing any more than the most basic of multitasking. I also still prefer performance over quality but of course want both, and I'm a no-extra-frills kind of guy. Finally, if the cost is just slightly over $1400, that's fine. Can anyone do anything with this? Thanks in advance again, fellows!

Centurion 5 is my idea...

680i would be worth that cash too... but such an expensive mobo? An P31 could power it! And its $80!

Good CPU

PSU is crap. Never heard of that brand. Get an 520HX 620HX or GameXStream or so.

diduknowthat · 09-26-2007, 02:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by oscaryu1

Centurion 5 is my idea...

680i would be worth that cash too... but such an expensive mobo? An P31 could power it! And its $80!

Good CPU

PSU is crap. Never heard of that brand. Get an 520HX 620HX or GameXStream or so.

woah woah woah. Did you just call PC Power and Cooling crap

!!!

They're the ones who made the beast of a 1kw super long PSU!!

09-25-2007, 06:58 PM	#1 (permalink)
UltimateCarl New Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Posts: 9	Considering buying this system... So, I threw together my last system from various deals I found... That was about four years ago, though, and it wasn't even close to top of the line back then. It's a trooper, but it's also a bit old now, and I'm still a gamer. For reference, here's my old system (Courtesy of Xfire): Manufacturer: EMACHINES Processor: AMD Athlon(tm) 64 Processor 3400+, MMX, 3DNow, ~2.4GHz Memory: 1022MB RAM Hard Drive: 195 GB Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce 6600 GT Monitor: SyncMaster 931B/931BF/931BA/930BA(Analog) Sound Card: Realtek AC97 Audio Speakers/Headphones: Altec Lansing/Cyber Acoustic Keyboard: USB Root Hub Mouse: USB Root Hub Mouse Surface: Desktop Operating System: Windows XP Professional (5.1, Build 2600) Service Pack 2 (2600.xpsp_sp2_gdr.070227-2254) Well, I decided I didn't want to build this time. I did some research around, and I heard good things about StealthMachines. So far, their customer support has been excellent, and I like it so far. However, I'm not really as much of a hardware guy as I'd like to me (software is more my thing). So, I emailed back and forth with them, told them my price limit was $1400, and they set up this for me. I did some research, and it seems like this is a good build for my price, but I wanted to confirm it with others who know more than I do. So, is this worth it? Motherboard - Foxconn C51XEM2AA- 8EKRS2H Socket AM2 NVIDIA nForce 590 SLI MCP ATX AMD Motherboard CPU - AMD Athlon 64 X2 4600+ Dual-Core Memory - CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Optical Drive - 20x Dual Layer DVD±R/W Drive w/ LightScribe Technology (Label your CD's) Hard Drive - 250GB SATA 7,200RPM w/ 16MB Cache Graphics Cards - XFX GEFORCE 8800 GTS XXX 320MB Operating System - Windows XP Home w/ Service Pack 2 Sound Card - Internal Sound Card (Built Into Motherboard) Power Supply - 500W Thermaltake Power Supply Warranty - 1-Year Parts and Labor (click info for our return and warranty policy) System Price: $1372 With shipping, that's just barely over $1400, which works for me. So, what do you guys think? Thanks in advance!

09-25-2007, 07:18 PM	#2 (permalink)
ThatGuy16 Diamond Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: USA Posts: 5,282	Thats really not bad, but.. you should build your own. Thats overcharging to me, for $1400 you could probably get a intel Q6600, Gigabyte P-35 board, and a 640mb 8800GTS. What they got you there is a High dollar motherboard with a lowish end processor. I have the motherboard and Retail its $185, if your not doing SLI you can get a good board for around $99. And your not even going to be doing SLI. What you could do is go to Newegg.com and add all those parts up and see what the difference in price is, then you will know how much he's wanting make off of it and decide if its too much. But its realy not hard, i would suggest building one yourself... Edit: i added it up, before shipping with a $50 case that build thats he's wanting $1400 for come to $950 __________________ CPU: C2D E8400 @ 4Ghz 1.24v HSF: Apogee GTX MB: Gigabyte X38-DS4 Ram: 2x2GB G. Skill DDR2-1068 HDD: 320GB Seagate PSU: OCZ GameXStream 700w OS: Vista Home Premium 64bit GFX: 2x HD4850 Crossfire LCD: LG 22" L226WTQ 3DMark06: 20826 Last edited by ThatGuy16; 09-25-2007 at 07:24 PM.

09-25-2007, 07:54 PM	#3 (permalink)
diduknowthat formerly liuliuboy Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Massachusetts Age: 17 Posts: 6,460	That's a legit system, but is WAY overpriced. Like ThatGuy said, if you build it yourself, you can get the Q6600, 2gigs of ram, 8800GTS, much larger hard drive, much better cooling system and a better case that you actually like. __________________ Dell Latitude XT Convertible Tablet Intel Core 2 Duo U7600 1.2ghz CPU 3GB DDR2 677 Memory 120GB 1.8" PATA Hard Drive ATI Radeon Xpress 1250 Graphics 12.1" WXGA LED Touch Screen N-Trig Capacitive Touch/Active Digitizer

09-25-2007, 10:52 PM	#5 (permalink)
oscaryu1 Moderator Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Houston, Texas Age: 13 Posts: 10,142	$1400 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115017 Q6600 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128059 P35-DS3L http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130072 EVGA 8800GTX http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822136062 WDC 160GB 7200RPMS SATAII 16MB http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817341002 OCZ GameXstream 700W 4x 18A http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811119115 Cooler Master Centurion 5 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827136119 LG DVD-RW http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820145590 Corsair XMS2 DDR-800 (x2) Should bring around quite an bit of performace for gaming. Using your origional OS and putting Linux on it... Remember that I mean 4x XMS2 Total after rebates and including shipping : $1250.23 __________________ Core 2 Duo E2140 1.6GHz @ 3.04GHz GA-P31-DS3L pqi Turbo CL4 DDR2-800 2GB Sapphire HD3850 256MB Sony Writemaster DVD Burner EIDE Seagate Barracuda 80GB 7200.9 8MB SATII Last edited by oscaryu1; 09-26-2007 at 01:50 AM.

09-26-2007, 01:23 AM	#7 (permalink)
ThatGuy16 Diamond Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: USA Posts: 5,282	Thats better, but the build oscaryu1 put together is the best. It has about the best video card out. But for the price and your budget i wouldn't get none less that a 640mb GTS. __________________ CPU: C2D E8400 @ 4Ghz 1.24v HSF: Apogee GTX MB: Gigabyte X38-DS4 Ram: 2x2GB G. Skill DDR2-1068 HDD: 320GB Seagate PSU: OCZ GameXStream 700w OS: Vista Home Premium 64bit GFX: 2x HD4850 Crossfire LCD: LG 22" L226WTQ 3DMark06: 20826

09-25-2007, 09:09 PM	#4 (permalink)
UltimateCarl New Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Posts: 9	Well, I want a plain case. The plainer the better, because that means it's cheaper. I'm on a tight budget, and anyway I'm looking at my monitor, not my tower. Other than that, I guess I COULD build my own system, but my biggest problem with that is that if you throw something together yourself and it doesn't work, then you're screwed. Also, when it comes to hardware, I barely know anything. I know it can't be that complicated and I'm not an idiot, but still. Not to mention that I'm currently in college, not at home, so I don't really have the workspace to keep a bunch of parts around and wait for them all to ship in, then shove them together and make sure it works. But, just for the hell of it, if my price limit was still $1400, what would you all suggest I do if I'm going to build my own? I don't want to overclock, I prefer performance over quality but don't feel you have to sacrifice one for the other, and I don't want any extra frills. I want something really stable, but powerful. If possible, something that can run Team Fortress 2, Bioshock, and Tabula Rasa on max settings, or at least close. Thanks again, guys.

09-26-2007, 01:07 AM	#6 (permalink)
UltimateCarl New Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Posts: 9	Don't think I should make a new thread, so I'll put this in here... So I got this from a friend: Case - Cooler Master 690 $70 Moobo - Abit IP35 Pro $184 CPU - Q6600 $280 RAM - 2GB Patriot Extreme Performance $102 GFX - EVGA 8800GTS 320MB $290 PSU - PC Power & Cooling Silencer 610w $130 HDD - Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 320GB $80 Optical - Sony NEC Optiarc SATA DVD Burner $32 OS - Windows XP Pro $140 Total Price - $1308 Is this a really good build? Also, would anyone mind editing it a bit based on a few points of mine? Particularly that I can get by just fine with a 200 or 250GB HD. 200GB is fine, but if the change in cost between 200 and 250 is negligible, I can be persuaded. Also, I don't plan on overclocking or doing any more than the most basic of multitasking. I also still prefer performance over quality but of course want both, and I'm a no-extra-frills kind of guy. Finally, if the cost is just slightly over $1400, that's fine. Can anyone do anything with this? Thanks in advance again, fellows!

09-26-2007, 01:42 AM	#8 (permalink)
paratwa Diamond Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Arizona Posts: 1,969	That looks like a great system. I might up the ram on the 8800 to 640 megs, for an extra $60. Like the following one GA 640-P2-N821-AR GeForce 8800GTS 640MB http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130071 Otherwise, it's a killer system. Go for it!

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