New Build / Timing Considerations

[KHarvey16]

Recently, the arrival of some new games has got me to thinking about an upgrade. My current system consists of this:

Athlon 64 3200+
DFI LANParty Mobo
1GB RAM
EVGA 6800GT
Windows XP
Misc. drives, keyboard, monitor...not looking to upgrade these currently

I've decided on an Intel platform, which wasn't difficult. So far this is what I've come up with:

C2D E6420
Gigabyte P35-DS3R
2GB(4GB?) of some Crucial Ballistix DDR2 800

And that's about as far as I can manage. My current system is not OC'd at the moment, although it was at one point and the new one will be as well. The main purpose will be gaming. To me, the video card situation seems pretty shaky. I can save money and get an 8600 of some type or I can spend entirely too much on an 8800 variant, all the while knowing some new stuff will be out eventually. To me, it seems the 8600 series is too neutered, while the 8800 series is too expensive for being as far along as it is. ATI scares me in general, but perhaps I'm missing something there.

Also I have a choice to make about an OS, although it's not really as important since it can be done at a later time.

Now on top of that stuff we have the X38 arriving on the scene shortly as well. So, is it better now to wait and see or would I be served best by upgrading sort of piece-meal, starting with a new mobo, RAM and processor and using my 6800 to hold me over until the GPU scene settles down a bit? Any advice would surely be appreciated .

 

[killb0x]

Before you even think about getting a 8600 look at:
8800GTS 320MB ~$250
X1950PRO 512MB ~$150

The 8800GTS is a great card even though it is the bottom of the 8800 pile.
Its price : performance is great. Obviously the higher end models will outperform a GTS others can run up to twice the price but not twice the performance.

The X1950Pro is an amazing bang for the buck card.
although this card doesnt have DX10 why would you pay 200 dollars for a DX10 card that is outperformed by a DX9 card?

as for memory. if you decided to stay with XP 4gb is a 'waste' as XP does not recognize fully 4gb of ram (somewhere btwn 3 and 3.5gb)
if you decide vista (i would suggest) 4 gb would surly improve performance but 2gb will do you just fine.

last.. as for processor I would suggest the E6550
the E6550 compared to the E6420 has a higher FSB (1333 vs 1066 ) and runs at a higher clock speed
P.S. why not Core2Quad? too expensive?

 

[KHarvey16]

Originally posted by: killb0x
Before you even think about getting a 8600 look at:
8800GTS 320MB ~$250
X1950PRO 512MB ~$150

The 8800GTS is a great card even though it is the bottom of the 8800 pile.
Its price : performance is great. Obviously the higher end models will outperform a GTS others can run up to twice the price but not twice the performance.

The X1950Pro is an amazing bang for the buck card.
although this card doesnt have DX10 why would you pay 200 dollars for a DX10 card that is outperformed by a DX9 card?

The 8800GTS is really the only one in the 8800 line I would consider, due strictly to pricing. I'm not on a tight budget exactly, but I like to get the best bang for the buck I possibly can. I'm hesitant to buy a DX9 card only because of concerns about future games. I'm willing to be convinced otherwise however, the savings are nice .

as for memory. if you decided to stay with XP 4gb is a 'waste' as XP does not recognize fully 4gb of ram (somewhere btwn 3 and 3.5gb)
if you decide vista (i would suggest) 4 gb would surly improve performance but 2gb will do you just fine.

Yup, the question mark for the 4GB was mainly due to the uncertainty of whether or not I'd be buying Vista. In the end, I can always add to the 2GB later.

last.. as for processor I would suggest the E6550
the E6550 compared to the E6420 has a higher FSB (1333 vs 1066 ) and runs at a higher clock speed

Doesn't sound like a bad idea at all, especially considering the price difference(in favor of the E6550 in cases!). Will the lower multiplier be an issue?

P.S. why not Core2Quad? too expensive?

For the difference I suspect it will make to my usage, yes. Unless I'm mistaken.

Thanks for the input!

 

[KHarvey16]

In accordance with a recently made post, I'll add a couple details

As stated, the purpose for this particular machine will be centered on gaming. Budget is somewhere around $600, but in all honesty it depends greatly on some of the decisions I mention in my posts. All parts will be bought in the US and brand loyalty isn't a concern.

 

[MarcVenice]

e6650 has a 7 multiplier, so with ddr2 800mhz you're not gonna get much further then 2.8-3ghz, depending on how far you can overclock the ram. Stock it's better then the e6420 though. If overclocking is a concern, I'd buy a e6750, with a mild overclock on the ram it will hit 3.4ghz no problem. Could buy a q6600 too though, with the 9 multiplier you can hit 3.6ghz with ddr2 800mhz.

As fir the videocard, it's rough. IF you spend 150$ now on a 1950pro/xt you're going to want to hang on to it for another 12 months at least. By then there will be a new generation nvidia cards, putting you into the same dilemma. So personaly I would hold of buying a new videocard for 2 months when the new nvidia cards hit the market. By then you can either buy a cheaper 8800gts or perhaps even a gtx, or go with the newest generation. That will probably only be the 9800gtx and cost buttloads though.

 

[Abu Som3a]

Is the 1GB RAM you currently have a single stick or 2x512?

 

[KHarvey16]

Originally posted by: MarcVenice
e6650 has a 7 multiplier, so with ddr2 800mhz you're not gonna get much further then 2.8-3ghz, depending on how far you can overclock the ram. Stock it's better then the e6420 though. If overclocking is a concern, I'd buy a e6750, with a mild overclock on the ram it will hit 3.4ghz no problem. Could buy a q6600 too though, with the 9 multiplier you can hit 3.6ghz with ddr2 800mhz.

As fir the videocard, it's rough. IF you spend 150$ now on a 1950pro/xt you're going to want to hang on to it for another 12 months at least. By then there will be a new generation nvidia cards, putting you into the same dilemma. So personaly I would hold of buying a new videocard for 2 months when the new nvidia cards hit the market. By then you can either buy a cheaper 8800gts or perhaps even a gtx, or go with the newest generation. That will probably only be the 9800gtx and cost buttloads though.

The idea of holding off on a video card is becoming more appealing by the minute. That works nicely to open up some funds that can be put toward a better processor, so perhaps the q6600 becomes an option. Will two additional cores offer me a noticeable performance gain(over a dual core) now or is it something I'd invest in for the future? Is it worth the ~$80 premium over the E6750?

 

[KHarvey16]

Originally posted by: Abu Som3a
Is the 1GB RAM you currently have a single stick or 2x512?

Currently I have 2x512MB sticks.

 

[MarcVenice]

Right now I'd say the 4 cores aren't to usefull, unless you decode/encode and run apps designed to take advantage of 4 cores. If you don't know any on the top of your head that you have, you won't need a qaudcore. But when oc-ed to 3.2ghz or so it's very fast, and when more and more apps and games come out that use 4 cores you will have 4 cores ready to be used. Where as with a dualcore there's no way to add 2 cores

E6750 is plenty fast though, and could save the 80$ to upgrade to penryn in a year or so. Both are good purchases, depends on how much money you have and want to spend I guess.

 

[LightningRider]

Here's my thoughts, but most people already covered it.

-I would get at least the E6750, or the Q6600 if you can afford it.
-I would make at LEAST the 8800GTS 320MB a priority if you can afford it. 8600GT just won't cut it too well on higher settings in newer games. OR save your money and get something cheap for the time being (like the X1950XT or Pro) and then get the 9800GTS or GTX when they arrive.
-If you plan on DirectX10 you need to have Vista, preferably the 64 edition if you plan to use 4GB of RAM, and at least Home Premium.
-Get the cheaper options and upgrade in a year and a half's time or so when Nehalem comes out. (8 cores, on die memory controller etc) I don't think it's really worth waiting for Penryn though, unless you're concerned about power savings, heat etc.

Just some thoughts.

 

[KHarvey16]

Alright guys, I think now I'm really leaning toward the E6750 with the Gigabyte MB and 2 gigs of Crucial memory. I see Newegg has Vista 64 home premium OEM for $115 and will probably go with that as well.

However, am I being a little over anxious if I go ahead on this stuff but wait on my video card? I mean, do I gain or lose anything by waiting on all of it until I can resolve the GPU dilemma?

Thanks a lot for your help so far guys, I appreciate it.

 

[yuppiejr]

Well, the longer you wait the more features you'll get for less or the same money... But, if you are not good with saving your money until you get something you can afford I'd go ahead and get the mobo/CPU/RAM and Vista now - then sell your old parts for GPU funds and save some cash until you can afford at least an 8800GTS/640 meg card.

What monitor are you going to be running with this new video card?

 

[KHarvey16]

Originally posted by: yuppiejr
Well, the longer you wait the more features you'll get for less or the same money... But, if you are not good with saving your money until you get something you can afford I'd go ahead and get the mobo/CPU/RAM and Vista now - then sell your old parts for GPU funds and save some cash until you can afford at least an 8800GTS/640 meg card.

What monitor are you going to be running with this new video card?

The plan is to keep the 19" LCD(1280x1024) I'm using now.

 

[KHarvey16]

Went ahead and placed an order -

Intel E6750
Gigabyte P35-DS3R
Crucial Ballistix 2GB
eVGA 8800GTS 320MB

eVGA's step up program(which I had forgotten about, somehow) really helped me decide on spending some money now on a video card. If in 90 days nothing new comes out so be it, I feel comfortable using this card for a couple years regardless and in the end I paid less for this 8800GTS than I did for my 6800GT when it was new.

Now the worst part of building a new system...waiting for deliveries!