Please post your opinions for my config. Thanks!

A

Adam Murray

New Member
Hey,

I have come up with the following configuration over the past week or two and I would like to know what all the advanced pc gamers think of it and what they would swap in or out to make it better while keeping the price about the same.


The pricing is set up like this (Price of Part) (Shipping)

Case COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 CAC-T05-UW Black Computer Case - Retail $49.99 $15.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811119068

Vid/MOBO eVGA GeForce 7800 GT 256MB PCIe Video Card w/ Free eVGA 133-K8-NF41 Motherboard $359.99 $38.43
(Shipping is so high because I would be charged tax for this purchase)
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?sku=E145-7810

PSU Superflower 550W TT-550SS (+3.3V@35A, +5V@50A, +12V@30A) $54.99 $10.00
http://www.directron.com/tt550ss1.html

RAM Crucial Ballistix 1GB (2 x 512MB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM System Memory - Retail $109.99 $4.81
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820148007

CPU AMD Athlon 64 3500+ Venice 1GHz FSB 512KB L2 Cache Socket 939 Processor - Retail $201.00 $0.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103603

HD Seagate Barracuda 7200.8 250GB 3.5" Serial ATA150 Hard Drive - OEM $108.00 $4.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822148065

DRIVES SONY Black IDE DVD-ROM Drive Model DDU1615/B2s - OEM
(I already have an external burner) $22.00 $4.00
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16827101131

Total $985.17

And I also have a few specific questions...

1) What would you swap out to make the overall cost a little lower? I was shooting for the $700-$800 range, but I went over by about $200...

2) What do you think about the parts and brands selected and what would you do instead for about the same price range?

3) Should I be concered about buying additional fans for cooling?

4) What do you think overall?

Thanks so much guys!

-Adam
 
In response to point #1, it depends on what you really plan to do with this system... The easiest way to do it would be to knock the graphics card down to a 6600 GT from the 7800. I was able to find one for $150 from newegg.com about 4 or 5 months ago, so you should be able to find one for a similar price somewhere, hopefully. Then I'd see if I could find a CPU/Motherboard combo, not sure if that MOBO is a good one that comes with that card...

Overall, I'm jealous :), I want to get a new compy 'cause my 1.5 GHz P4 prevents me from playing FEAR. Oh well, that's what I get for working in retail and still paying back college debts...
 
Thanks.. Do you guys think I will really see a big difference between the 7800 and the 6600? Also, does anyone know of a good CPU/Motherboard Combo... and what do you guys think of the video card/mobo combo I'm thinking about getting? Thanks again!

-Adam
 
Syphr said:
the difference in video cards should not be that noticable.
Click to expand...
There is a huge difference between the 7800GT and the 6600GT! Especially at higher resolutions with AA and AF
 
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Agreed.

all I'm saying is they are both good cards, and they should be able to handle any games right now. The 7800GT just isnt necessary, may as well save the money.
 
The 6600 series are showing age. They only play at around med or low settings for the newest games right now. Have you tried playing FEAR or Quake 4 with the 6600? (Not SLI)
It would depend on what you mean by "handle any game", if you mean handle as in it can run it, sure it can.

@Adam
If you only have $700-$800 at the moment, then you should just get the 6600GT, but I suggest you save a little more and get the 7800GT which will be a which improvement.

That 7800GT is a bit expensive. What about this one?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814130247
Same company so it comes with the same lifetime warranty.

EDIT: Didn't see the free motherboard.
 
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I'm thinking best all-around-choice for a budget gamer, sure the 7800GT is nice but we cant all have the Ferrari. And the 6600GT can play games on very high graphic levels, saying that the 6600 series is showing ages is an exageration.

All im saying is, he's clearly got a price-tag in mind, and I'm trying to more adequately accomodate it.
 
Syphr said:
I'm thinking best all-around-choice for a budget gamer, sure the 7800GT is nice but we cant all have the Ferrari. And the 6600GT can play games on very high graphic levels, saying that the 6600 series is showing ages is an exageration.

All im saying is, he's clearly got a price-tag in mind, and I'm trying to more adequately accomodate it.
Click to expand...
That's what i said, i said if his budget won't allow it, then don't go for the 7800GT. The 6600GT can't play on very high graphic levels if you're not counting SLI. Try playing Doom3 on high quality with a single 6600 with even a little AA and AF, it'll lag like crazy.
 
Thanks for all of the tips guys... Yes.. this is a somewhat budget pc, but I am willing to pay the little extra for the better graphics card because I plan on playing the most intense games like Quake 4 and FEAR...

Liquidshadow, thanks for finding the better harddrive with 16mb and the better PSU.

What do you guys think about the RAM??

Thanks again.
 
liquidshadow said:
That's what i said, i said if his budget won't allow it, then don't go for the 7800GT.
Click to expand...
Sorry, I missed the second half of that post.

liquidshadow said:
The 6600GT can't play on very high graphic levels if you're not counting SLI. Try playing Doom3 on high quality with a single 6600 with even a little AA and AF, it'll lag like crazy.
Click to expand...
Right, not SLI. Sorry I sometimes forget, that my setup is different even though I have the same card. Doom 3 still looks great on medium quality, but yes, I conceed it would lag on high, although I'm not sure to what degree.

Adam Murray said:
What do you guys think about the RAM??
Click to expand...
The RAM is good, I see no reason to change it.
 
Syphr said:
Agreed.

all I'm saying is they are both good cards, and they should be able to handle any games right now. The 7800GT just isnt necessary, may as well save the money.
Click to expand...

get the 7800 if you can...
 
I've been using 6600 for the past 3 months...

and it works good on games like the one i finished, quake 4

eventhough the setting is on mid... the graphics still look great..
 
- Maxtor DiamondMax10 250GB 16MB($98)
- NEC 3550A($39.75)
- Buffalo Major 2x512MB [CL2.5]($74.33)
- AMD Athlon64 X2 3800 [S939, Manchester, ADA3800DAA5BV]($322)
- eVGA 7800GT 256MB($275 after $20MIR)
- Sunbeam NUUO 550W [12V@38A]($85.5)
- DFI nForce4Ultra Infinity($95.99)
SUBTOTAL = $990.57

No case, $5 over, but i jammed a dualcore into it :) If you take the free motherboard route, the money there can go towards a case :)

all I'm saying is they are both good cards, and they should be able to handle any games right now. The 7800GT just isnt necessary, may as well save the money.
Click to expand...
Depends on how we define "handle" ... i can assure you, NFS-MW or FEAR wil quickly reveal the limitations of 66GT quit handedly

I'm thinking best all-around-choice for a budget gamer, sure the 7800GT is nice but we cant all have the Ferrari. And the 6600GT can play games on very high graphic levels, saying that the 6600 series is showing ages is an exageration.

All im saying is, he's clearly got a price-tag in mind, and I'm trying to more adequately accomodate it.
Click to expand...
Agreed and I respect that (in fact, many people often get lost in uber-money specs) however to say that 6600GT can handle games, while may be technically correct and all (although i think you and i will agree that for current games and future games, thats not the case at anything above and possibly including 10x7), to put a 66GT into that box would unbalance it, whilst a 78GT will more than handedly balance it out (much more so for the box I specd). With the lower end G7x coming out, the 66GT will be, for all intents and purposes, axed.
 
Is it really worth it to get the dual core processor instead of the 3500? Also I noticed you upgraded the PSU... is there a big jump in performance levels for getting this one? thanks.
 
Well, dual core would be a good choice but also expensive. However, as Praetor pointed out, you can just get the free motherboard with the graphics card, you could get a case with that money. Obviously, the single core would be cheaper. However, the dual core would make you more "future-proof" and it would be a big bonus when the dual-core OPTIMIZED games come out. You can just go with the PSU that I previously mentioned. The one that Praetor suggested is better but also $30 more expensive. It has 6 more amps on the 12v rail though. Go with what you think you need.

EDIT: And yes, the RAM is fine. Take a look at Praetor's setup, it is good as well, although your RAM is much better than the one he chose.
 
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Thats the main thing though, I am not very knowledgable about whether parts are really worth the extra $$.. Like the more expensive PSU, I am willing to pay the $30 more if it is really that much better than the one I have. What does having more amps on the 12v rail really do for the pc? I read the guide on PSU's, and I learned that having at least 30 is good, but I am still lost on how it really effects performance, etc...

Also, I think I may go with the Dual Core processor.. I will just have to wait a little while longer to get some more money saved up..
 
The one that Praetor chose is a modular one; I am using it currently. It is very stable. As for the worth in the $30 difference, I'm not sure. I think you'll be fine with the one I recommended earlier. It has 32A@12v so that's enough even to run SLI 7800GT/GTX. My friend is running a SLI 7800GTX with a PSU with 29A on the 12v rail.
 
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