New Gaming Rig

[gazillionaire91]

I am in Seoul, South Korea for a year and want something beter than my laptop (Acer Aspire 5920G). This is what i figured on, for around $1500. please give me any other ideas though. i am not interested in OC right now, just something that will do what i want it too.
E6850 or Q6600
P5k
Samsung PC-6400 4*1GB (almost impossible to find different ram!)
WD Raptor 74GB 10k/16MB
Seagate 500Gig 32MB
XFX 8800GTS Fatl1ty 320MB
LG DVD Multi 20X
Case 2*120mm & 240mm (generic) or something more fanny
Enermax 620/650w
Samsung 2232BW 22"

think thats it...
Games that i want it for:
Eve-Online
Battlefield 2142
Supreme Commander
are all for right now...

[NightshadowUK]

I'd go with the Q6600, it'll be fast as hell at stock but have headroom for a decent overclock if you ever get around it.

Motherboard wise I'd be looking at the Abit IP-35 series, a lot of people have had trouble with recent Asus boards.

You should be able to get hold of 2x2GB PC6400 RAM kits now so have a search around.

Raptor's are noisy and not much faster than new 500GB drives so I'd avoid them (yes I own one).

The 8800GT's better than the *current* 8800GTS but nVidia are releasing a re-vamped model which should (if the hype's to be believed) compete with the 8800GTX, so it may be worth waiting a few weeks.

Decent PSU choice there, anything around 500W that's made by a well known company and you'll be fine.

Hope that helps?

[masscrazy]

Q6600 is the processor to go for. Regardless of the extra 600Mhz you get from the E6850, the 2 extra cores are definitely an advantage for games, especially new ones. Playing Crysis, (crap frame rates on the 320 8800GTS on medium settings, about 20fps but plays quite smooth) all 4 cores are used at about 40-60% CPU usage. Same with UT3 40-60% CPU usage.

P5K is a pretty good motherboard, no RAID or Wifi. But if you dont need those and a few extra features then P5K is a the one.

PSU, i'd suggest Corsair MX620 or 520.

Raptor? Never used one, read its fast but noisy not to mention expensive.

You dont want the GTS the 8800GT is cheaper and better. For gaming on a 22" you'll need at least 512MB RAM GFX card.

[Pob255]

Well I take it you'll only have this pc for a year, then sell it?
There's still a question over what's going to come out that will make use of 4 cores, although mulitasking is one good example.
personally I'd go for an e6850 if you're not going to overclock although if you can afford the q6600 and are prepaired to do an overclock then that is probably the best bet.
Alternatively look at the slightly cheaper e6750 if money is an issue.

I'd advoid the 8800gts 320mb as it's the old type (the new ones are 640mb only, although don't get confused between the old 8800gts 640mb and new 8800gts 640mb)
The 8800GT 512mb is the best card for the money atm.

Memory shouldn't be a problem (remember you'll want vista 64bit to make use of the full 4gb, if you're only on 32bit then stick with 2gb) you can still get 400fsb at 1:1 cpu:memory ratio with out overclocking it
(also note that the pc6400 gives you a potentially higher oc with the q6600 than the e6850 without oc'ing the memory)

PSU you'll not need anything more than a decent 500ish watt PSU, if you where looking at SLi or a 8800Ultra then I'd consider the 600ish watts

[gazillionaire91]

For gaming on a 22" you'll need at least 512MB RAM GFX card.

WHY?
i have never heard that it needs more ram to run a larger than 20" monitor...

also should i go for an nvidea board? i have a p5k at home and liked it, but was running my ati cards in it... and not really thinking of SLI right now though it is an option. AND i would probably pack up most of the computer and send it home with me... so might get another card in the future.
-price... i may drop down to a E6750 vs the Q6600 or the E6850. The last 2 are about $8 different in price but the E6750 is $80+ cheaper.
anything else anyone has to add is always appreciated?

[masscrazy]

WHY?
i have never heard that it needs more ram to run a larger than 20" monitor...

also should i go for an nvidea board? i have a p5k at home and liked it, but was running my ati cards in it... and not really thinking of SLI right now though it is an option. AND i would probably pack up most of the computer and send it home with me... so might get another card in the future.
-price... i may drop down to a E6750 vs the Q6600 or the E6850. The last 2 are about $8 different in price but the E6750 is $80+ cheaper.
anything else anyone has to add is always appreciated?

A 320MB 8800GTS doesnt give good fps on a resolution 1680X1050 and over, a 640MB 8800gts does.

What i've heard about SLI, not worth it, but sticking in two 8800GT cards in year should be a good setup.

[gazillionaire91]

-YAY, i found the only 2 OCZ dealers in Korea, so i can get some ocz ram... no luck on patriot or corsair ATM.
-any recommendations for ocz memmory if i will not be overclocking, and want the best bang for my buck. saw some reaper there... (my korean is terrible tho...
ststore.co.kr/product/list.php?prod1_class=OCZ&prod2_class=DDR2%20OCZ%20MEMORY
)
-how is the 64bit os support? i know when it first came out it sucked. was gonna go for 4gb of ram but if its not worth it then stick with 2gb.
k, so i am clear:
p5k
E6750 or Q6600 (if i got the cash)
XFX 8800GT 512mb
WD Raptor 74GB 10k/16MB buffer
Seagate 500Gig 32MB buffer
LG DVD Multi 20X
Case 2*120mm & 240mm (plain jane)
Enermax 620/650w
Samsung 2232BW 22"

if anyone has a problem with something here, let me know

[Ciber]

WHY?
i have never heard that it needs more ram to run a larger than 20" monitor...

Well, read this article then: YouGamers - Articles - Video RAM - how much do you really need?



So, using that graph from the article as illustration, it looks like if you want to run oblivion (an old-ish game now) at anything over 1024x768 with 4xAA you need more than 320mb video ram. Other games the change is maybe not so dramtic with resolution, but COD4 and Crysis seem to need >320mb vram to run good graphcs setting on any resolution and a 22" screen at 1680x1050 would need >512mb if you want to use some AA. Who knows how much vram next years games might want.

[master811]

If you are intending on playing Supreme Commander, the Quad core might be a better option, from what I have heard it is one of the few games that is more CPU than GPU limited, and there are apparently noticable benefits of using quad on it, check out a few benchies on it.

[gazillionaire91]

Two last questions, if i get the P5K and want to SLI in the future (next year or something), can I? or is it not possible cause the P5K is crossfire...
Should i go for the OCZ PS or is the enermax just as good? would be around the same wattage, not sure on the price of that though. Found the supplier but they dont speak english...
This should be the final post about my comp, my final thoughts unless someone changes my mind is:
Asus P5K
E6750 or Q6600 (still not sure if i got the extra $80 for the quad core)
OCZ DDR2 2GB PC2-6400 Reaper(1G x 2) (OCZ2RPR8002GK {2.1V [2.4V EVP]} 4-4-4-15)
XFX 8800GT 512mb
WD Raptor 74GB 10k/16MB buffer
Seagate 500Gig 32MB buffer
LG DVD Multi 20X
Enermax 620/650w
Samsung 2232BW 22"

yep, thats about it... oh and depending on the price then i can get a better case... my comp will sit right by the ONLY window which currently is getting a nice cool draft from outdoors... very cool, and if i get my comp i will sit it there to further help the performace of my system... except it will only be for a few months. it gets damn hot in the summer.
so ya, once again thoughts are helpful! thanks

[Blitzen]

Q6600 is the processor to go for. Regardless of the extra 600Mhz you get from the E6850, the 2 extra cores are definitely an advantage for games, especially new ones. Playing Crysis, (crap frame rates on the 320 8800GTS on medium settings, about 20fps but plays quite smooth) all 4 cores are used at about 40-60% CPU usage. Same with UT3 40-60% CPU usage.

P5K is a pretty good motherboard, no RAID or Wifi. But if you dont need those and a few extra features then P5K is a the one.

PSU, i'd suggest Corsair MX620 or 520.

Raptor? Never used one, read its fast but noisy not to mention expensive.

You dont want the GTS the 8800GT is cheaper and better. For gaming on a 22" you'll need at least 512MB RAM GFX card.

I think you may have gotten confused as you are wrong about UT3.
I play UT3 with a dual core and a 320mb 8800GTS and on full settings my FPS hasnt dropped below 33fps. Its usually around the 50-60 mark.
Nothing utilises Quad yet gamewise so it will make no difference. The only time the Quad will help at the moment is if you are doing multiple tasks on your PC.
The 320mb GTS is going down now though so its tobe avoided at the cost.
The 8800GT is:
a). Hard to get
b). Being moved down the pecking order by a far superior (15-20% is looking likely) by the new 8800GTS 512mb. Hold out for that.

[masscrazy]

I think you may have gotten confused as you are wrong about UT3.
I play UT3 with a dual core and a 320mb 8800GTS and on full settings my FPS hasnt dropped below 33fps. Its usually around the 50-60 mark.
Nothing utilises Quad yet gamewise so it will make no difference. The only time the Quad will help at the moment is if you are doing multiple tasks on your PC.
The 320mb GTS is going down now though so its tobe avoided at the cost.
The 8800GT is:
a). Hard to get
b). Being moved down the pecking order by a far superior (15-20% is looking likely) by the new 8800GTS 512mb. Hold out for that.

What i said was that all those new games dont use all of the cores at 100%! Each and EVERY core is being used at around 40-60%.

What are you on about, nothing utilises quad's? No, they're arent many apps that utilise quads, but some do like Adobe after effects, Premier and other video encoding/editing software. As for games, all new games utilise quads, World in Conflict, UT3, Crysis all do! I could run them all show you a nice screenshot of them but heres one of UT.



Frame rates, when everything is on the highest settings the frame rates drop to around 40fps and thats not good since the game becomes almost like there lag. I have world details and textures as 4/5.

[Buzzsaw]

I have several friends who work in the Games industry.
One went to an (industry only) expo recently, and came back frothing about how he'd seen the next gen games.
Several companies had demo's of games running.... on multiple cores (ie 2 or more).
These are not likely to be released until 2008.
Yes there are 1 or 2 games out there that use multiple cores, but not efficiently. You will not see true multi-core games for months. A lot of companies are only just starting to develop the code to handle multiple cores. Thats not my opinion, thats what I hear from my friends.

[ackrite26]

I would go for a Enermax PSU over an OCZ PSU (enermax make thier own as OCZ just put thier badges on another manufacturers PSU)

How to Discover Your Power Supply Real Manufacturer | Hardware Secrets

Also I would change the Seagate Hard Drive to a Sumsung Spinpoint (best on the market)

[Blitzen]

What i said was that all those new games dont use all of the cores at 100%! Each and EVERY core is being used at around 40-60%.

What are you on about, nothing utilises quad's? No, they're arent many apps that utilise quads, but some do like Adobe after effects, Premier and other video encoding/editing software. As for games, all new games utilise quads, World in Conflict, UT3, Crysis all do! I could run them all show you a nice screenshot of them but heres one of UT.



Frame rates, when everything is on the highest settings the frame rates drop to around 40fps and thats not good since the game becomes almost like there lag. I have world details and textures as 4/5.

Excuse me?
No game at the moment is written specifically for Quad cores. OF COURSE the cores will be used but to a low percentage, making it pointless at the moment.

UT3 for example will run no better using a Quad than it will using a C2D (if all other parts were the same).

All your little screenie shows is that its using a fraction of each core. Thats hardly 'utilising' them is it?

I will also think you will find that Video Encoding Software doesnt use the cores as such. The actually encoding does...not the program and only then if its required whilst playing a game, watching a DVD and surfing the net all at the same time.
I dont actually need another screenshot of a game thankyou as i am running them all fine on my system (cept Crysis becasue the demo was rubbish).

[adam1701]

that spec will defo run bf2142 like a treat, i have a e6600 2gb ddr2 dell running it.