New Rig, 2nd Build

You are right, that is a lot of cash. I suppose what I'm thinking is that with the i7, I'll be able to upgrade bits and pieces of it down the road because it is buily on the modern socket and with the newer RAM. Whereas the C2 is at the end of its life. Certainly, the performance difference for my purposes is limited, it is more a concern for options in the future (I know your thoughts on future proofing). I plan to drop $100 or so on a set of cans, maybe. I have some now, but they are by no means good.
 
puphus said:
You are right, that is a lot of cash. I suppose what I'm thinking is that with the i7, I'll be able to upgrade bits and pieces of it down the road because it is buily on the modern socket and with the newer RAM. Whereas the C2 is at the end of its life. Certainly, the performance difference for my purposes is limited, it is more a concern for options in the future (I know your thoughts on future proofing). I plan to drop $100 or so on a set of cans, maybe. I have some now, but they are by no means good.
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I see your concerns. I was in your shoes too, and ended up going with a cheap core2Duo system with a 4870 and 22 inch monitor with the idea that I will upgrade in 2-3 years and not have to wait so long to upgrade like I did this time (it's been 5 years).

The thing about the i7, and even all of the quad cores, (and i think someone mentioned this) is that so little of the software is optimized for them at this point. And especially for games, almost everyone recommends the core2Duos.

I would say that if you decide on the i7 build, don't do it because you want future compatibility. Do it because you want it now.

What games are you going to play anyways? An e8400+p5q and 4870X2 with an easy OC on the e8400 to 3.6ghz (that isn't even really pushing it) and invest in that 24'' Benq and a nice set of cans and you have a hell of a system for under $1500. And a nice case and PSU that you can probably reuse too. If you want to make 'investments' for the future, the processor is the last place for it. Invest in a case you like, monitor you like, and even a PSU and you can reuse those when you upgrade in the future, and then you'll have that much more cash to get whatever you want then.
 
Yeah, something along the lines of this:

CPU: E8400 @ $165
MOBO: Asus P5Q Pro @ $115 w/o $15 MIR
RAM: G. Skill (2x2GB) DDR2 800 @ $45
VIDEO: Visiontek 4879x2 @ $530
PSU: SeaSonic S12 650W @ @120
CASE: Lian Li PC-A16B @ $170
CANS: Sennheiser HD555 @ $99 OK, I suppose.


Plus the Benq monitor for $450 and comes to about $1700. But that does include a decent set of headphones and a better enclosure, at least in my opinion.

I'm always looking at the latest coming out, but here is what I posted earlier:
I play Fallout 3, Left 4 Dead, Oblivion, Team Fortress 2, Medieval 2 Total War, Rome Total War. In the future I plan to play StarCraft 2 & Diablo III and might get into a MMO like AoC, WAR, LOTHRO, maybe not.
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Actually, since the LGA 775 will be obsolete, that's a good idea to go cheap on the build. The main thing is an improvement over your existing build at a very good budget. I think a 4870X2 is too much money for just a measely video card. $530 goodness, even people who make good money who can easily buy this think that's alot for just a video card. That thing cost more than the 24" BenQ 24" display. I would be happy with just the XFX Geforce GTX 260(216) Black Edition video card for $300 w/free shipping and Far Cry 2 game included. I feel this is better price/performance than that 4870X2 for $530. $230 cheaper but, it's not like it's 77% slower. The HD 4870x2 however, is 77% more expensive.
 
Good point. Shave $230 off and still receive quality performance at $1470.
 
Indeed. Would you change anything else considering the theme that I'd be putting my money into components I'd keep in a later upgrade, i.e., monitor, case, PSU, headphones?
 
HardwareGuru said:
Actually, since the LGA 775 will be obsolete, that's a good idea to go cheap on the build. The main thing is an improvement over your existing build at a very good budget. I think a 4870X2 is too much money for just a measely video card. $530 goodness, even people who make good money who can easily buy this think that's alot for just a video card. That thing cost more than the 24" BenQ 24" display. I would be happy with just the XFX Geforce GTX 260(216) Black Edition video card for $300 w/free shipping and Far Cry 2 game included. I feel this is better price/performance than that 4870X2 for $530. $230 cheaper but, it's not like it's 77% slower. The HD 4870x2 however, is 77% more expensive.
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Name one person who gets a top of the line graphics card for price per performance benefit. I will smack them silly.
 
A good monitor, PSU and Case and even headphones, I can understand you spend a little extra money on them as you can reuse them in your future upgrade. Me, I like spending money on a nice monitor and speakers. That's where I feel I really enjoy my PC better is having a display that's nice and image quality is good and the audio sound is good. The computer...meh, I will upgrade that eventually when my games don't run smooth or encoding HD video is taking too long. That Seasonic PSU is a good PS but, at $120, you might as well get the Corsair TX750 PSU for $120 ($20 MIR) w/free shipping. Now this is more than enough power for your build but, it fricken kick ass this PSU. This PSU is soo.. solid, it is certified by AMD/ATI to run 2 x 4870X2 in Crossfire. Case i personal preference soo...it
s up to you to decide which case you wanna get. But, I wouldnt spend too much on a case especially if its well over $100+ and no psu? But, that's just me.
 
^^^ That Seasonic psu is -$30 off with the Combo on that Lian Li case :D

And yah, I agree that the 4870 X2 is a lot for a video card. But you could get a GTX 280 for $400 - MIR and a free copy of Farcry2: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814143141

That is honestly, probably your best bet, puphus. I think the 24'' display is a bit much for a GTX 260 (I would opt for the 4870 1gb personally), and at $375 after rebate and a free game it's not a bad deal. It's not too far behind the 4870 either. Throw that card in your build and it shaves off $150 after MIR, and you are having a lot of fun with that set up :D

I ordered the Senn HD555s... They are hit or miss with the audiophiles. But I personally think they are good entry level hi-fi cans--especially for gaming
 
Not a standard GTX 260(192) or even a GTX(216). The XFX Black Edition GTX 260(216) with its very high O/C core clock and memory clock speeds can match the performance of a $400 GTX 280. Even though it is factory O/C, you still can push this even further for more performance. In some cases, it can even beat a GTX 280. Definitely will smoke a Radeon HD 4870 1 gig in most games. Plus, it comes with Far Cry 2 game also.
 
HardwareGuru said:
Not a standard GTX 260(192) or even a GTX(216). The XFX Black Edition GTX 260(216) with its very high O/C core clock and memory clock speeds can match the performance of a $400 GTX 280. Even though it is factory O/C, you still can push this even further for more performance. In some cases, it can even beat a GTX 280. Definitely will smoke a Radeon HD 4870 1 gig in most games. Plus, it comes with Far Cry 2 game also.
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Good call on that. I didn't see how well that OC'd 260 performs. But I would still say get the 280 :D

I consider you to know more though
 
InnocentNoobie said:
That is honestly, probably your best bet, puphus. I think the 24'' display is a bit much for a GTX 260 (I would opt for the 4870 1gb personally),

I ordered the Senn HD555s... They are hit or miss with the audiophiles. But I personally think they are good entry level hi-fi cans--especially for gaming
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Precisely why I plan to go with a 22" instead of 24", less demanding on the GPU, especially for people who don't upgrade as often.

About the cans - I've had the Audio Technica ATH-A700's for a while, and I love em.

HardwareGuru said:
A good monitor, PSU and Case and even headphones, I can understand you spend a little extra money on them as you can reuse them in your future upgrade. Me, I like spending money on a nice monitor and speakers. That's where I feel I really enjoy my PC better is having a display that's nice and image quality is good and the audio sound is good. The computer...meh, I will upgrade that eventually when my games don't run smooth or encoding HD video is taking too long. That Seasonic PSU is a good PS but, at $120, you might as well get the Corsair TX750 PSU for $120 ($20 MIR) w/free shipping. Now this is more than enough power for your build but, it fricken kick ass this PSU. This PSU is soo.. solid, it is certified by AMD/ATI to run 2 x 4870X2 in Crossfire.
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QFT. I just did a small upgrade to a GTX 260 and a Corsair 650TX (will be getting a nice 22" LG monitor shortly) and I wish I had gotten the 750TX instead. I tried to cancel my order, but it was too late. Now, when I upgrade again, I may be forced to upgrade the PSU, when with proper planning I wouldn't have had to. With the small price difference, it's definitely worth it to pay a tiny bit more for the 750, especially if you may not upgrade again for a while.
 
For a 22" monitor, I doubt you'll ever need a 750W PSU for a gaming system. Simply sell the old vidcard and upgrade to a new one.
 
Yup, the Corsair TX650 with 52A on the +12V is plenty power. I wouldn't worry too much as I feel you wouldn't bother with SLI or Xfire anyways.


enginurd said:
For a 22" monitor, I doubt you'll ever need a 750W PSU for a gaming system. Simply sell the old vidcard and upgrade to a new one.
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