Time for a new PC

[linkgoron]

Well, after 3 years with my PC, I believe it's time for a new PC.
(6600GT, P4 3.2Ghz, 1Gig Ram)

I game at 12*10, but I don't really like to upgrade, so I don't mind buying something that today is overkill for 12*10 but tommorow isn't.

This is what I'm planning on:
Q9450
Abit IP35-E
WD3200AAKS
4Gigs of whatever DDR2-800 RAM
Pioneer DVR-212 (I don't realy mind buying something else, this is just the first thing I saw)

Now Basically what I'm not sure of:
Case
PSU
OS
GPU

For the PSU, I remember reading good things about Corsair PSUs, so I think I'll go for the 520HX or the 620HX.

Case - I don't know anything about them.

OS- I believe that having 4 Gigs of RAM will force me to buy Vista 64 (probably Ultimate), and I see no way around it. I love XP though.

GPU- the new 9800 GPUs are just around the corner (or so I've heard?) and the R700 as well. I'm not sure if I should wait or just buy a 8800GT... This is my main concern. Remember that I probably won't upgrade anything for at least 2 years.

That's about it, thanks for your help (If you think that I need to change the MB, or the amount of RAM, or anything at all, I'll welcome any help I can get)

 

[imported_wired247]

You will love vista too with any mid-high end new computer build, unless you have one random piece of hardware that magically doesn't work which is highly unlikely with a new build.

Case -- my criteria are: Get something that looks decent in the home, nothing flashy or trashy. Get something that has good airflow. Get something that is easy to work with, and finally, something that has good I/O ports. For me I found the best combination of all of these criteria in this Lian Li case:
http://www.lancoolpc.com/k7/html/k10.html

which is available on newegg (search for lancool)


GPU: if you can spend the money, go for something a little higher end than 8800GT, especially if you think you won't be upgrading for a while. 9800GT would probably be fine, the 3870x2 would be good, or even an 8800GTS 512mb which are rapidly coming down in price.

your PSU choices sound fine. You could wait for the 9450, but for just about every game the e8400 will be totally fine. most games are not using all 4 cores, plus the e8400 may be better due to being easier to overclock and higher stock clock speed

 

[George Powell]

I would wait on the graphics card until the G9x series hits retail. This is have the effect of depressing the G8x cards a bit, but also as it is so close to launch you'd be mad not to wait.

 

[linkgoron]

Originally posted by: wired247
You will love vista too with any mid-high end new computer build, unless you have one random piece of hardware that magically doesn't work which is highly unlikely with a new build.

Sadly, I love playing older games (old adventure games mostly), and from what I've seen Vista will stop me from enjoying any game that doesn't run on SCUMMVM.

Sadly, I can't find a store that sells that specific case in my country.


George Powell, when are the 9800 coming? mid-march?
and r700? april-may?

 

[frankbo]

I've been looking into PSUs closely over the weekend here at the Power Supplies forum and also at Johnny Guru. Here's his tier-based recommendations for high end stuff:
http://www.jonnyguru.com/forums/showthread.php?t=103
I considered the Corsair HX520 also but wound up (tentatively) going for the Seasonic S12II 500W at Newegg, which is currently $95 (shipping incl.).

 

[imported_wired247]

Originally posted by: linkgoron

Originally posted by: wired247
You will love vista too with any mid-high end new computer build, unless you have one random piece of hardware that magically doesn't work which is highly unlikely with a new build.

Sadly, I love playing older games (old adventure games mostly), and from what I've seen Vista will stop me from enjoying any game that doesn't run on SCUMMVM.

Sadly, I can't find a store that sells that specific case in my country.


George Powell, when are the 9800 coming? mid-march?
and r700? april-may?

Dual boot or virtual machine XP for compatibility...

don't gimp your whole computer just because you play some older titles (IMHO)

 

[MarcVenice]

When it comes to cases, you have to think in terms of quietness/cooling, size, mid/fulltower, price, and ofcourse looks. So if you tell us how much you'd be willing to spend on a case, and if you want it to be very quiet, or very good in cooling, then we can suggest some cases. Just to throw something out there, there is the antec p182, looks sleek, is very quiet, and cools pretty decent. http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16811129154 That one is white though, but the black one seems to cost 140$. Can always shop around for better prices ofcourse.

As for the PSU, it depends. All you really need is a decent 450-500w PSU. That being said, do you want it to be modular or not ? You pay extra for that. Theres the antec earthwatts 500w, the corsair 450/550vx which are qaulity, but affordable units. Then there's the 520hx, modular, and a little more expensive.

Last but not least, I don't think it's wise to wait for new videocards. You could keep waiting forever, and right now, you'd be seeing a HUGE jump buying a 9600gt, HD3870 or 8800GT for 180-200$. And no matter what the 'new' 9800 series bring, you will have a really nice videocard, for a very good price.

 

[linkgoron]

Originally posted by: MarcVenice
When it comes to cases, you have to think in terms of quietness/cooling, size, mid/fulltower, price, and ofcourse looks. So if you tell us how much you'd be willing to spend on a case, and if you want it to be very quiet, or very good in cooling, then we can suggest some cases. Just to throw something out there, there is the antec p182, looks sleek, is very quiet, and cools pretty decent. http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16811129154 That one is white though, but the black one seems to cost 140$. Can always shop around for better prices ofcourse.

As for the PSU, it depends. All you really need is a decent 450-500w PSU. That being said, do you want it to be modular or not ? You pay extra for that. Theres the antec earthwatts 500w, the corsair 450/550vx which are qaulity, but affordable units. Then there's the 520hx, modular, and a little more expensive.

Last but not least, I don't think it's wise to wait for new videocards. You could keep waiting forever, and right now, you'd be seeing a HUGE jump buying a 9600gt, HD3870 or 8800GT for 180-200$. And no matter what the 'new' 9800 series bring, you will have a really nice videocard, for a very good price.

Well, I'm already pretty much decided on the Corsair 520hx.

Cases, I don't really care how they look, as long as they do their job. the p182 looks like a nice case.

About graphics cards, I agree about not waiting, but when I buy a PC once in 3 years, I think it's ok to wait if it's only 2 or three weeks away. It may always seems as if another graphics card is around the corner, but I'm willing to wait another month. I'm waiting for my CPU anyway.