Deciding on what computer to get for my birthday :)

Metallica17

Metallica17

New Member
Drenlin said:
No, you don't get more for less.

1- That monitor has great resolution and picture quality, and a 2ms response time. Size isn't everything.

2- The hard drive is a reliable model, not the crap you'd get in an OEM machine, and is one of the fastest standard drives available. Hard drive speed is the main factor that limits how fast the computer "feels"...like when you're opening programs or loading a level on a game.

3- 8GB of RAM is more-or-less useless right now, and the RAM I picked is much better quality. Also, like most non-OEM memory, has a lifetime warranty. The only reason the Asus has that much is because the numbers look impressive. It's a marketing technique.

4- In a gaming machine, having a better processor and video card is far, far better than having more hard drive and RAM space. Same for having a physically large screen vs having good resolution and low response time.

Needing an OS is a problem, but I think you could still do it. I'll modify that build and edit it into this post.

edit:
Monitor- Asus VW224U- $179 shipped ($20 rebate) (this is a great monitor)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236050

CPU- AMD Phenom II x4 945- $140
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103808

Mobo- Gigabyte GA-890GPA-UD3H- $125
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128435

RAM- G-skill Ripjaws 2x2GB- $110
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231277

GPU- Asus Radeon 5770- $160 ($20 rebate)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121363

PSU- Antec BP550- $70
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341017

HDD- Samsung Spinpoint F3 500GB- $55
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152181&Tpk=hd502hj

DVD/RW- Lite-On iHAS224-06- $21
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106333

Case- Thermaltake V3- $45
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811133094

OS- Win7 64-bit OEM- $100
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116754

Total cost- $1005, $965 after rebates.

You could get it a bit lower, about $25, but that motherboard has a better chipset that allows you to crossfire another 5770 later on. It also has the fastest onboard GPU currently available on any motherboard.
Click to expand...

Okay so you just changed the video card, processor, and power supply? Plus you added the OS? If you did that and kept it close to a thousand, I will really try and get my parents to buy it off newegg. And what did you mean when you said crossfire later on? I have no idea what crossfire is.
 
Drenlin

Drenlin

Active Member
Pretty much. The big thing was the GPU...

Crossfire (for ATI) and SLI (for Nvidia) are a way of running two graphics cards together as one. Basically adding their power together. The idea is to get a second 5770, later on when they're cheaper, and put it in the other PCI-e slot on the motherboard. You'd get about the same upgrade in power as buying a newer card, for a much lower price. When I put this together I had the future in mind. :good:
 
Metallica17

Metallica17

New Member
Yeah nice thinking. Well do you think the prices will change off of newegg within two weeks? I really hope not and I could try and get them to buy it now so it would ship by my birthday....
 
Drenlin

Drenlin

Active Member
Newegg's standard shipping is 3 days...they ship very fast. If you order in the morning, it'll probably be on its way to you by the evening.

Some of it will probably change, but it's no big deal. Just check back here when you're ready to order and we'll make sure you've got a properly price-optimized setup. You'll probably even be able to make use of some combos that way. (Combos, on Newegg, are where they give you a discount for buying two specific items together. They're usually not available for very long, though.)
 
Metallica17

Metallica17

New Member
Okay thanks man. I added all those items you had to my cart for a total of $1,023.90. Thats basically because of shipping which costs about sixteen dollars. That's not too bad but is that with rebates already? And I'm gona check the combos out now and see if they have something good.
 
Metallica17

Metallica17

New Member
So I just found this.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboBundleDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.391749

I will use the OS you gave me from before and also the same monitor you gave me. The price comes to $884.97. So I still have a hundred to play around with a video card. Which I just found this.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150482

It then comes to $989.96. Just under a thousand. Yayyyy lol. Im pretty excited. I just hope the combo lasts and my parents will let me get it. Let me know if you think that video card is good Drenlin. You've been helping me so much lol. Thanks man.
 
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Aastii

Aastii

VIP Member
What you have to remember with prices is that any prebuilt computer, and any from a local store, unless you see the components yourself and can decide, are going to be off-brand/low quality. The reason the stuff from newegg seems more expensive for less is that you are getting higher quality parts, so in reality no, it isn't less at all.

As to if 4GB of memory is enough, I have 4GB and play any game you can think of just fine, and run any program just fine. Unless you are compiling programs, more than 4 is near useless. You will see a performance gain with more memory, but it isn't necessary, it is like saying you will see a performance gain with a Intel 980x over a 930. Ofcourse you will, but it is a useless performance gain because it won't help you do anything better than you could before.

For your video card, if you can find an extra $40 over your $1000 budget, I would get

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102858

instead. It is much more powerful than the 4850, it has DX11, which the 4850 does not, it has a better cooling sollution as it pushes all of the hot air out of the back, rather than circulating it around the case and the 5770 cards are at the moment the best value for money you can get, because the performance for what you pay is excellent. It will play any game currently out on highest settings (with a couple of odd exceptions where companies have gone, let's show off what we can do, but only let the people with more money than sense be able to see it).

If you plan on overclocking, I wouldn't go with the bundle because the CPU is not black edition, so has a locked multiplyer. However, if you aren't ever going to overclock, it is perfect for what you want
 
C

cmschlatt

New Member
Metallica17 said:
So I just found this.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboBundleDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.391749

I will use the OS you gave me from before and also the same monitor you gave me. The price comes to $884.97. So I still have a hundred to play around with a video card. Which I just found this.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150482

It then comes to $989.96. Just under a thousand. Yayyyy lol. Im pretty excited. I just hope the combo lasts and my parents will let me get it. Let me know if you think that video card is good Drenlin. You've been helping me so much lol. Thanks man.
Click to expand...

For $10 more you can get
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127494
 
Metallica17

Metallica17

New Member
Thanks for the help Aastii and cmschlatt. Do you think that graphics card I originally had will be enough for a game like call of duty modern warfare 2? That's what I will mainly be playing and the new call of duty when it comes out. Also other games like left 4 dead and halo 2.
 
C

cmschlatt

New Member
Probably not on max settings. The one I posted is $10 more and is much better. Why not just get that? Or even the one Aastii posted?
 
Metallica17

Metallica17

New Member
I can't go over a thousand dollars. The one you gave cmschlatt I can go for but the one Aastii gave me is too much. I'm on a tight budget lol.

And the one you gave me is twenty dollars more. Not ten.
 
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Metallica17

Metallica17

New Member
Okay so I get $114 back from all that? Cause they will do it if that is the case. And thanks I want this computer so freaking bad.
 
Drenlin

Drenlin

Active Member
That's actually a very good combo.

Usually, in the combos, there's at least one lesser-quality or older item...I'm assuming this is to help them clear old stock. This one, however, appears to have been put together by EggXPert, which is newegg's online community. That rig will last you a long time.

The only thing I don't like about it is that although the optical drive can read Blu-Ray discs, it can't write to anything...meaning you can't burn anything to CD's/DVD's. You can always get another drive for that later on, though...they're usually available for under $25.
 
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Aastii

Aastii

VIP Member
Metallica17 said:
Thanks for the help Aastii and cmschlatt. Do you think that graphics card I originally had will be enough for a game like call of duty modern warfare 2? That's what I will mainly be playing and the new call of duty when it comes out. Also other games like left 4 dead and halo 2.
Click to expand...

cmschlatt said:
Probably not on max settings. The one I posted is $10 more and is much better. Why not just get that? Or even the one Aastii posted?
Click to expand...

the 4850 will play all of those on max settings, however, any future games, no, it will be mdium-high. You are better off getting the 5770 or better to better futureproof your system

Drenlin said:
That's actually a very good combo.

Usually, in the combos, there's at least one lesser-quality or older item...I'm assuming this is to help them clear old stock. This one, however, appears to have been put together by EggXPert, which is newegg's online community. That rig will last you a long time.

The only thing I don't like about it is that although the optical drive can read Blu-Ray discs, it can't write to anything...meaning you can't burn anything to CD's/DVD's. You can always get another drive for that later on, though...they're usually available for under $25.
Click to expand...

I don't like the memory, the Balistix still have many more issues than the majority of it's competitors.

I agree with the bluray drive, however, with that said if there is another computer in your house with a dvd-r, it isn't a problem at all, just back up whatever you want to burn to a pen drive and burn it with that computer.

I don't like the video card because of the cooling sollution which is keeping all of the hot air inside of the case

And for gaming I don't really like the CPU, a tri core Phenom II would perform better in games. Also, as I mentioned before if you ever want to overclock, you are better off getting a black edition CPU so you have an unlocked multiplyer

It is alright and will do what you need, however there are many improvements that could be had.

Can I draw your attention to:

http://www.computerforum.com/177243-deciding-what-computer-get-my-birthday-3.html#post1484449

which is a full build well under budget, just put an OS in with that
 
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bomberboysk

bomberboysk

Active Member
Aastii said:
the 4850 will play all of those on max settings, however, any future games, no, it will be mdium-high. You are better off getting the 5770 or better to better futureproof your system



I don't like the memory, the Balistix still have many more issues than the majority of it's competitors.

I agree with the bluray drive, however, with that said if there is another computer in your house with a dvd-r, it isn't a problem at all, just back up whatever you want to burn to a pen drive and burn it with that computer.

I don't like the video card because of the cooling sollution which is keeping all of the hot air inside of the case

And for gaming I don't really like the CPU, a tri core Phenom II would perform better in games. Also, as I mentioned before if you ever want to overclock, you are better off getting a black edition CPU so you have an unlocked multiplyer

It is alright and will do what you need, however there are many improvements that could be had.

Can I draw your attention to:

http://www.computerforum.com/177243-deciding-what-computer-get-my-birthday-3.html#post1484449

which is a full build well under budget, just put an OS in with that
Click to expand...
I'd have to disagree on a few fronts.

First, there have not been any major issues with Ballistix in quite awhile, last time i heard of any issues was when they were selling the single sided ddr2.

The Antec two hundred case has decent enough cooling to deal with the heatsink on that video card...the 5xxx series run relatively cool anyhow.

The CPU is fine for gaming, many games really shine with a quad over a tri core. As far as unlocked multiplier...when overclocking on air with a decent motherboard such as that MSI board, you're not gonna get any different clocks with an unlocked multi over a locked multi i wouldn't think.

For the price...that combo is not a bad deal, there is one thing i don't like, and that is the power supply since it is one of the cheaper antec Basiq units...but even then its still a decent power supply.

Personally, i would go with the following over that combo though, as it nets you a 5830 and a Phenom II X4:

ODD+PSU:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.418942

Case:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119203

HDD:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185

Display:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236053

Mobo+Memory:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.424686

GPU:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161327

CPU:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103656

OS:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116754

It comes out under a grand including shipping.
 
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Metallica17

Metallica17

New Member
Thanks bomberboysk, that is a pretty good combo. I set it all up and it comes out to about $985. And it even comes with Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 haha. Thanks for the help again bomberboysk, and I'm going to talk with my parents tomorrow about this and see if they will get it now because it is cheaper, and I don't want the combos to end or the prices to go up.

But if I do get what you set me up with, that'll all work together right? I just want to make sure because that would suck if I got all this stuff and it didn't work together. Pretty much I just want to make sure that the power supply is enough wattage for everything.

And I just checked to see if that ram works in that mobo, and it says PC3 12800 doesn't work so can someone double check that?
 
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Metallica17

Metallica17

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