62 replies to this topic

[Eltee]

So, I've been chatting it up with Twobeers for quite some time and I've been planning up a PC for when I get the money. TwoBeers helped me pick up some good, cheap parts and make it a good (not top of the line but still new-gen-ish) PC while not being very costy. I'm just asking for extra feedback on it, and tips if you have any.



Put together on MysteryByte, which is a shop in Halifax. The $694 is what it would cost me with shipping, btw.

So?

[Jeff]

Well for probably 20 more bucks you could get a Barracuda 250GB with 32MB buffer instead of 8. For 70 more bucks you could get a quad-core.

[goat]

Don't get the 8800 GS, get the faster GT for the same price or LESS. I also recommend a 550-650 watt PSU for future upgrades. Oh, and that's a lot of money for a pair of 1gb DDR2 800 sticks, look around online and you should see something similar for $50 or less.

[Eltee]

Faster GT? Do you mean like, 8600 GT? Also, I don't really want to look elsewhere, really. I can't really order from alot of places.

I guess I should've mentioned before but, try to stick to that website, if you want to suggest me some changes. It accurately represents what's available to me, really.

Also jeff, the 20$+ Barracuda 250mb is 16MB buffer, not 32. And 70$ extra is a tad more than I want to bring as a change to my setup. Also, could you tell me what the buffer does? I'd like to know the difference.

[Mama Luigi]

He was talking about the 8800 GT. Why are you trying to get these parts off of that website? That's a ridiculous amount to pay for an 8800 GS (seeing as you can get the 8800 GT (superior) for $90 after rebate on TigerDirect).

Also: I would suggest going for the E7200 as opposed to the E4600. The E7200 is the real bang for your buck processor ATM, especially when you overclock it (many people can get theirs to 4.0 ghz and beyond).

[Jeff]

Also, could you tell me what the buffer does? I'd like to know the difference.

http://en.wikipedia....iki/Disk_buffer

It essentially affects the performance of your harddrive. A larger buffer indicates the ability to track more commands and in some ways read data faster.

[Rowain]

Since no one seems to notice, Mr L is Canadian, and as it is says in the screenshot, those are in Canadian dollars at a website that deals within Canada. TigerDirect.com does not deal with Canada. TigerDirect.ca does, and also has a fairly good deal on the 8800 GT but not as low as tigerdirect.com.

http://www.tigerdire...3&Sku=P450-8842

[Eltee]

After giving it some thought in my sleep (lie), and through advice Cliff has given (which, in turn, is pretty much what you guys just said)

I decided I'll be ordering from tigerdirect.ca AND mysterybyte.com

I wasn't able to find some things for as cheap on tigerdirect, so for these I will I get from mysterybyte. I'll finish up the new setup, and post it again.

[Happy HELLoween]

dont get 8800GS it is a piece of sh*T. get a 9600GT. It is cheaper and faster (and has more ram).
Never buy previous generation graphics card.

[Eltee]

With this current setup I'm working on I got a 8800GT, which apparently is better than the 9xxx series, so.

Also, help me find a good motherboard on tigerdirect/mysterybyte that isn't too costy. I only find ones with shit reviews and whatnot. I first planned to get a GIGABYTE GA-P35-S3G, then a GIGABYTE GA-73PVM-S2H, but I'm not so sure anymore.


EDIT: I'm thinking maybe the Intel DG35EC would do, but I'm not so sure. The reviews on tigerdirect.ca are either good or very bad.


If you look here, http://www.tigerdire...56&body=REVIEWS , people are claiming to have CD/DVD driver issues and whatnot, being unable to install windows and shit. But, "he DG35EC with AA# E29266-202 and earlier have compatability problems with certain PATA (IDE) DVD-ROM drives." would that mean if I was to get one now, I wouldn't have a problem since it should technically be fixed? And would my Samsung SH-S182D - DVD±RW (±R DL) / DVD-RAM - 18x/18x/12x - IDE - internal work on it?

[Terin]

Not sure if they ship to Canada, but I'd definitely try out NewEgg.

http://www.newegg.co...N82E16820211188

4GB of DDR2-800 for 83 USD.  I don't know the price comparison/conversion for CD -> USD -- but that's twice the RAM you have there.  And as Jeff said, a Quad core would be better (IF it's optimized for gaming).

Though I seriously wonder -- how much better is a multi-core machine than a single-processor machine.  The only way for games to be DECENT is that they have to make use of the other core.  For instance, I have 2 cores and they're each at 2.4 gHz.  But when I write code, my 3.6 gHz laptop will SMOKE it because I only made use of one thread/process.  Do most modern games have multiple threads for rendering/physics/etc?  If not, then you may consider going for HIGHER core speed, and less cores.

i.e. a game only uses 2 processes -- 2 cores will be as effective as 4 cores (in my understanding).  So essentially, it boils down to the SPEED of both of the cores, vs. the 4 cores.  And from what I understand, you may pay $70 more for the extra cores, but isn't the processing speed usually less to compensate?  2 @ 2.2 gHz vs. 4 @ 1.8 gHz?

Just a thought...

--Terin

[Eltee]

Newegg doesn't ship to Canada. Also I have 2gb for about 60 CDN, and that 4gb of yours would ammount to about 95-100 CDN, and I don't really need 4gb. Also I'm getting a Core 2 Duo, not a Quadcore.

With the motherboard I'm not sure about choosing, the whole deal racks up to 758$. With taxes and shipping, that is. It is:

Intel DG35EC Motherboard - Intel G35 Express, Socket 775, MicroATX, Audio, Video, DVI, PCI Express, Gigabit LAN, USB 2.0, Firwire, Serial ATA

INTEL Core 2 Duo E7200 2.53GHz 1066MHz 3MB LGA775 CPU

Thermaltake (W0070) TR2 430W Dual Fan PCIe Ready

OCZ SLI-Ready Edition Dual Channel 2048MB PC6400 DDR2 800MHz Memory (2 x 1024MB)

EVGA GeForce 8800 GT Video Card - 512MB DDR3, PCI Express 2.0, SLI Ready, (Dual Link) Dual DVI, HDTV, Video Card

Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 250GB Hard Drive - 7200, 16MB, Serial ATA-300, OEM

Power Up ATX Mid-Tower Case - Black, Front USB

Airlink AWLH4130 / PCI / 108Mbps / 802.11g / Wireless Card

I upped the motherboard, cpu, ram(4-4-4 instead of the previous 4-4-8), videocard and hard drive for 64$. Doesn't sound too bad. Just gotta see when I get around to having that money..

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[Neophyte]

Wait, you're getting a 430W power supply? Are you positive that's going to be enough? My guess is you would need about 400W, but that's really pushing it.
That's the only thing I can see wrong with that build. Everything else looks pretty solid.

[Eltee]

I did see through TwoBeers, a site where they built mid/high-end PCs for as less as possible, and for something similiar, 380W or whatever was sufficient.

So I guess 430W will do me good. Unless I overclock, but I don't particularily intend to.

[hobo2]

If you're shipping to Canada, I would suggest www.directcanada.com
I bought my parts from them and everything was fine and dandy. Excellent prices. Though I do ask you take caution since I have heard some stories (mostly to do with shipping, stupid purolator). Nothing bad happened to my shipment but you never know.

[goat]

I'd still say get at least a 500w, PSUs are always rated higher than they operate. Just spend a few more dollars now and you won't have to get a new one if you were to upgrade. Just because it's rated higher won't mean that it will run that much higher, so you're not going to be using any more wattage if you have a higher rated PSU, it just means that you will have the potential to. A higher rated PSU is more likely to be better cooled and last longer at lower than rated wattages, and will usually have more amps per rail.

[Mama Luigi]

Yup, the 500w PSU would be the safe bet, but you might be able to squeeze by with the 430w. Like others here, I wouldn't recommend it, but if you're pinching pennies...

Otherwise, I think you've made some significant improvements to your original purchase and it doesn't look like it's going to cost you a whole lot more. That PC is going to smoke - it's a good mid-high gaming setup. Too bad it doesn't look like you get Call of Duty 4 for free with that video card - it'd show you what your PC is capable of.

[Eltee]

I might try squeezing a 500w PSU in there. I wonder how much it'd cost, but I'll check.

Also I'll give DirectCanada a go, but that means I'll be redoing the setup all over again.


Oh my god, Hobo2. Thanks. Thanks alot. On this site I was finally able to find a good mobo with good reviews. http://www.directcan...#specifications

(reviews are on newegg)

Hey, quick question: which is best? BFG 8800GT or EVGA 8800GT?

[Neophyte]

They're both really good cards. I have the BFG 8800GT and it works fine. I know tons of people who have the EVGA one, so I would probably go with that one. Both warranties are top notch, though.
By the way make sure it's stock clocked. You don't want to pay extra for an OC version when you can do it yourself.

[Eltee]

Hobo2 I love you.I found cheaper/better components for less on DirectCanada. Here is the third setup (which I may or may not change after seeing how much shipping and tax adds to the order so i can get me some goodies goodies goodies goodies)

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Though, along with more feedback, I need to ask: why do they offer free ground shipping? Is it some totally cheapass service and it's gonna come all fucked up? Because I can choose to get Canada Post shipping and Purolator(though I'd prefer Canada Post) shipping.

After further checking, it ends up at 729$ with taxes and shipping. Lower than 2nd setup, higher than 1st. But then again, everything would be higher than 1st setup since 1st setup was pretty low...