Attention System Builders

[youngsatchmo]

This post needs to be updated now that the Corei7 is out. That should be the recommended CPU for high-end systems.

 

[sao123]

This post needs to be updated to now include the GTX 260 216 variant...
Which post 180 nvidia drivers, absolutely trounced a single 4870, since they are at the same <$300 price point.

B3D.com
HardwareSecrets.com

 

[crimson117]

Originally posted by: GhandiInstinct
Can someone please explain why SLI/Crossfire is recommended for LCD's 24" and up? I have a 46" HDTV that I game with, what's the reason I need two ATI cards rather than one? I'd like to game at 1080P settings btw.

Would a 4870x2 suffice better?

You don't necessarily need dual video cards. It's all about the resolution you game at, and the quality levels you set the game to, and how demanding the game is.

Most 24" LCD computer monitors are 1920 x 1200.
Most 30" LCD computer monitors are 2560 x 1600.
1080p televisions are, by definition, 1920 x 1080.

Personally, I game on a 24" monitor at 1920x1200 and I use a nVidia 8800GT 512MB (about $100 these days). I play midrange games, such as WoW and Team Fortress 2. I enjoy great performance and high framerates in these games.

If you play midrange games on a 24" LCD like I do, then SLI/Crossfire would be overkill. But if you wanted to play a demanding game like Crysis at a high resolution and high detail setting, your framerate will be rather low on a single 8800GT.

Check out this anandtech review of Far Cry 2 to learn how each card performed at various resolutions, quality levels, and anti-aliasing (edge smoothing) levels. At 1920x1200 with lower detail settings, even a Radeon HD 4850 can handle it (~$140). But at 1920x1200 with everything turned up, it takes a GeForce GTX 260 (~$210) just to get a just-playable 30fps. And if you want it to feel really fast and smooth, you'd need two of them paired in SLI (~$420 plus you need an expensive SLI motherboard and a strong power supply).

Hopefully based on your own gaming habits you can judge what's best for you. There's no hard and fast rule that 24"+ means a dual video card is needed.

 

[DoubleHelix747]

Absolutely awesome thread! Saved me tons of posting ;-)

For those wanting to (1) keep costs down (2) indulge only in moderate gaming and video editing, and (3) having home theater/HD multimedia focus, could you also please recommend a motherboard with on-board video? Or is this asking too much?

 

[crimson117]

Originally posted by: DoubleHelix747
Absolutely awesome thread! Saved me tons of posting ;-)

For those wanting to (1) keep costs down (2) indulge only in moderate gaming and video editing, and (3) having home theater/HD multimedia focus, could you also please recommend a motherboard with on-board video? Or is this asking too much?

By moderate gaming, what do you mean? For casual website games any integrated graphics motherboard will do.

But for anything 3D that you install to your computer, you're really better off just getting a $50 dedicated graphics card. None of the motherboard graphics can hold a candle to even a budget graphics card.

Anand wrote:

Despite both ATI and NVIDIA being much faster than Intel, the overall gameplay experience delivered by their integrated graphics solutions is still piss poor. Even on older games. Try running Oblivion, a 2.5-year old title, on even AMD's 780G and you'll find that you have to run it at the lowest visual quality settings, at the lowest resolutions (800 x 600, max) to get playable frame rates. At those settings, the game looks absolutely horrible.

If you still want integrated motherboard graphics for some reason, the nVidia 9400 intel motherboards or the AMD 790GX with sideport are the best performing for gaming and for HD playback.

 

[DoubleHelix747]

Thank you for quick reply. Decision made - would be going with a external video. Darn my budget is now like a loose elastic...

Originally posted by: crimson117

Originally posted by: DoubleHelix747
Absolutely awesome thread! Saved me tons of posting ;-)

For those wanting to (1) keep costs down (2) indulge only in moderate gaming and video editing, and (3) having home theater/HD multimedia focus, could you also please recommend a motherboard with on-board video? Or is this asking too much?

By moderate gaming, what do you mean? For casual website games any integrated graphics motherboard will do.

But for anything 3D that you install to your computer, you're really better off just getting a $50 dedicated graphics card. None of the motherboard graphics can hold a candle to even a budget graphics card.

Anand wrote:

Despite both ATI and NVIDIA being much faster than Intel, the overall gameplay experience delivered by their integrated graphics solutions is still piss poor. Even on older games. Try running Oblivion, a 2.5-year old title, on even AMD's 780G and you'll find that you have to run it at the lowest visual quality settings, at the lowest resolutions (800 x 600, max) to get playable frame rates. At those settings, the game looks absolutely horrible.

If you still want integrated motherboard graphics for some reason, the nVidia 9400 intel motherboards or the AMD 790GX with sideport are the best performing for gaming and for HD playback.

 

[Kelemvor]

WOuld be great if you could include a sample complete system in each (low, mid, high) using the items you specified with an actual price as to what each would cost at the time of posting.

 

[Stugotz]

Absolutely GREAT thread and discussion guys! (Didn't see any gals haha)

Built my first system years ago and been out of the loop of progress for a few years. This thread and the links to other information was incredibly helpful!

To all of those that respond, even if disagreeing, you make nice points and contrast recommendations in creative ways.

Makes it a nice place to visit in regard to learning about the current and latest performance parts info.

Thank you!

ps. ASUS EAH4850/HTDI/512M Radeon HD 4850 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail is deactivated on the egg!

 

[ubercaffeinated]

Hey guys, thank you so much for this post. I haven't built a system in years. However, thanks to this post I just ordered a whole set of parts to build a new rig.

Here's the run down:
Core 2 Duo E8400
GIGABYTE GA-EP45-DS3L LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard
G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800
EVGA 512-P3-N975-AR GeForce 9800 GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16
Antec Sonata III
Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD6400AAKS 640GB

 

[Smartazz]

Thanks for the thread, I bought:
GA-EP45-UD3R, 2x2GB Gskill PC6400 RAM, Q6600.
I had the rest of the parts.

 

[McRhea]

Awesome, this post helped a ton. I had a basic idea of what I wanted, and the original post helped solidify my choices.

I'm only upgrading my CPU/Mobo/Ram, and this is what I just picked up from Newegg.com

DFI LANPARTY DK X38-T2RB LGA 775 Intel X38 ATX Intel Motherboard

Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor

G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500)

XIGMATEK HDT-S1283 120mm Rifle CPU Cooler (also picked up the Retention Bracket)

Cheers guys.

 

[Horsepower]

Great thread to help my decisions, but, of course it's now January 2009.

 

[Special K]

Any particular recommendations for sound cards?

 

[zerocool84]

Originally posted by: Special K
Any particular recommendations for sound cards?

Yea onboard

 

[NiKeFiDO]

Originally posted by: Horsepower
Great thread to help my decisions, but, of course it's now January 2009.

this

Although it's still probably topical enough

I don't have time to "troll" the boards anymore to get all the info myself

 

[Special K]

Originally posted by: zerocool84

Originally posted by: Special K
Any particular recommendations for sound cards?

Yea onboard

Really? Are the onboard sound cards as good as the standalone ones nowdays?

 

[zerocool84]

Originally posted by: Special K

Originally posted by: zerocool84

Originally posted by: Special K
Any particular recommendations for sound cards?

Yea onboard

Really? Are the onboard sound cards as good as the standalone ones nowdays?

No but they are still really good. I don't think it's worth spending $80 to pair it up to $100 speakers. Onboard still sounds great. Only reason to buy a soundcard today is if you need those extra connections or if you really do have great quality speakers to notice the difference. This is all assuming you have a fairly recent motherboard.

 

[MarcVenice]

Hmm, this really needs updating ...

 

[IHateMyJob2004]

Originally posted by: zerocool84

Originally posted by: Special K

Originally posted by: zerocool84

Originally posted by: Special K
Any particular recommendations for sound cards?

Yea onboard

Really? Are the onboard sound cards as good as the standalone ones nowdays?

No but they are still really good. I don't think it's worth spending $80 to pair it up to $100 speakers. Onboard still sounds great. Only reason to buy a soundcard today is if you need those extra connections or if you really do have great quality speakers to notice the difference. This is all assuming you have a fairly recent motherboard.

I haven't used a dedicated sound card in 5+ years. unless you need surround sound or you are an audiophile, there is no point to anything beyond an integrated solution. The thing is, I am a bit of an audiophile and if you are an audiophile, your money is best spent on $80 headphones.

 

[tjames214]

Regarding sound cards versus onboard sound... does installing an old sound card save CPU resources versus using onboard sound?

 

[spinn]

Just saw this. I guess I'm on the right track. I haven't built an Intel system in a while. How important is the graphic card if I'm planning to do video encoding mainly?

 

[heyheybooboo]

Is it time to let this thread go ?

 

[krnmastersgt]

I wouldn't say so, just revise the top tier for some i7 systems maybe? Most of these recommendations still stand strong today due to lack of new hardware.

 

[donfm]

The suggestions in the original post could use some updating. That particular Radeon 4850 card is no longer available at newegg...and I noticed a few others that were deactivated....

This is a great thread and saved me a ton of grief in looking for parts for my new computer....Thanks everyone....

 

[JackMDS]

Yeah it is time to do House keeping.

I would see what I can do about it.