New Desktop PC

[Ryan]

I finally have some cash now to get myself a new PC. I'm in dire need of a new PC. As it stands now, I have about $1200'ish to spend on a new PC. I'm not quite sure what to do though. I kind of wanted to build my own PC, but I scoped that out and it was going to cost more then I expected. So I went and looked at pre-built ones. If I do get a pre-built one, I'm going to get this one. What do you guys think of it?

 

HP Elite Intel Core i7-920 2.66GHz Desktop Computer (E9180F)

 

Like I already said, I was looking at possible building my own PC, but I couldn't really get what I wanted within my price range. Is it even be possible to do an i7 build within my price range? If so, could somebody try and get something together for me? If so, it would be appricated.

[Haywood Giablomi]

You should be able to build cheaper than than that.

 

While an i7 is nice you would probably be better served with a Q9xxx quad core and a better graphics card like an HD 4870 or GTX 260.

 

I may have time to put together a list tomorrow.

 

I also assume you are from Canada so go here and configure a PC. I Put together a great sstem for around $1250.

 

http://pc.ncix.com/ncixpc/ncixpc.cfm?uuid=...032A102-2481551

Edited September 2, 2009 by Haywood Giablomi

[Pico]

You can most definitely build your own i7 computer with $1,200, even less than that. The HP has a GTS 250 which is a pretty decent card, but if I recall it's comparable to a 9800GT.

 

My guess is you could get:

A good mobo

an i7-920 (same as the HP)

6GB of DDR3 triple channel RAM (9GB like the HP has is overkill, 6GB is more than enough for pretty much anything)

1TB drive, at least

GTX285, if not better

 

I'm not about to go make a whole build myself because I know plenty of members in this section love to do that. Keep an eye out, I bet you'll have at least two builds made up by tomorrow

[anus]

Is that $1200 USD or CAD? Assuming it's CAD, you can get a great i7 build for that budget, and it's even better if it's USD . That HP is not really worth it at all.

 

Here's my build for $1,242.92 ($1212.92 after all rebates) from Newegg Canada:

 

Case: Coolermaster HAF-932 - pretty much the best damn case you can get for air flow. Looks really good too.

 

PSU: Corsair CMPSU-550VX 550W - 80 plus certified and has enough power to feed the entire system without any problems.

 

Motherboard: MSI X58 Pro-E - great motherboard for the price with two x16 PCI-E slots which support both Crossfire and SLI, so you have the option of adding another card later on.

 

CPU: i7 920 - great chip for the price with massive overclockability.

 

RAM: Corsair XMS3 6GB (3x2GB) DDR3 1333 (PC10666) Tri Channel - high performance RAM with a low latency of 7.

 

Video card: HIS HD4890 1GB - beastly video card. Will rip through games.

 

HDD: Samsung Spinpoint 500GB SATAII 7200RPM 16MB Cache - great HDD for the price. Samsung makes awesome HDDs.

 

ODD: Sony Optiarc 24X SATA DVD Burner - great specs for the price.

 

So there. One hell of a system, should serve you well .

[Ryan]

I appreciate the help you guys have been giving me with this. I'm actually really liking what you've put together there for me Warlord. It's within my price range and it's pretty decent. The only thing I've changed is the case. I don't really like that case there. I went with something a little more contemporary, CoolerMaster CM-690.

 

I'm now at the video card, and I'm stuck as to what to do. Personally, I'd like to get a GTX 285 but I don't think I can fit it within my price range. I don't do a lot of gaming but I do some. Probably 75% of my time on the PC is spent on the internet and the other 25% gaming. For someone like me who doesn't do a lot of gaming, would I even really need a GTX 285 or could I get away with a cheaper GTX 280, GTX 275, GTX 260? I'd like to have a card with 1GB VRAM. Would a HD 4890 be more then sufficient for me? Long story short is this, I want a card thats;

 

1.) A good video card

2.) Will run games no problem

3.) That I wont have to upgrade 6 months down the road to play games again

4.) Wont break my bank account

5.) Preferably with 1GB of VRAM.

Edited September 2, 2009 by Unlimited

[anus]

If you can fit it into your budget, the GTX285 is your best bet, but if you can't the HD4890 is your next best option. Honestly the HD4890 is a monster of a card and will run anything without a hitch and satisfy all the requirements you posted.

 

I don't recommend skimping out on the video card if you can afford it, which in this case you can, get the best you can .

[Girish]

 

1.) A good video card

The 4890 is.

 

 

2.) Will run games no problem

It'll rape all games that you play, that too on high settings.

 

 

3.) That I wont have to upgrade 6 months down the road to play games again

You don't have to look into hardware for at least another year if you buy that system.

 

 

4.) Wont break my bank account

It won't.

 

 

5.) Preferably with 1GB of VRAM.

The 4890 has it.

 

[anus]

Oh and by the way, since you chose to go with the CM-690, try and fill up all the fan slots in the case if you can fit it in your budget (fans are extremely cheap). It can take up to seven 120MM fans, so if you fill up all the slots you should have some great airflow.

 

Since the case already comes with three 120MM fans fitted, four of these fans will do great at $4.49 each .

[Ryan]

Oh and by the way, since you chose to go with the CM-690, try and fill up all the fan slots in the case if you can fit it in your budget (fans are extremely cheap). It can take up to seven 120MM fans, so if you fill up all the slots you should have some great airflow.

 

Since the case already comes with three 120MM fans fitted, four of these fans will do great at $4.49 each .

All those fans just have 3-pin connectors, and 3-pins just connect to the motherboard don't they? There wouldn't be room to plug all of those in would there?

[anus]

Yep, my bad. Thought the fans would come with a 4 pin connector too.

 

Four of these fans would do great. They come with 3 and 4 pin connectors. So no worries .

[Ryan]

Nevermind

Edited September 2, 2009 by Unlimited

[dog_day_sunrise]

I'd personally go for a Gainward (or other overclocker) GTX275 over the 4890. 80% of the time the NVidia card is quicker, and the driver support for NVidia cards is far superior to that of ATI's. Sure, it's got less VRam (896MB versus 1GB) but it's the quicker card, and very few programs require a full gig of video RAM.

 

Plus, if it's not quick enough, you can always SLi it. Crossfire/Crossfire X is far less reliable and less widely supported in my experience.

[Girish]

the driver support for NVidia cards is far superior to that of ATI's.

I'm sorry but I have to disagree with this. AMD's driver support is as good as Nvidia's if not better. The recent most example I can give is that of GTA IV. Many (including me) have reported constant increase in performance with newer Catalyst drivers as opposed to the little to no increase with newer Nvidia drivers. Nvidia might trump in certain games but AMD is definitely not lagging behind.

 

There's not much too choose between the HD 4890 and the GTX 275. They're pretty much head to head and it all boils down to personal preference.

[Ryan]

I've changed it again, but it's for the better. For $75 more, I was able to get a wireless keyboard & mouse, get a 650W PSU (that for some reason was actually cheaper the previous 550W one), and fit the GTX 285 into the mix. I had to ditch the MSI X58 Platinum motherboard and go back to the MSI X58 Pro-E though. Thats no big deal to me though as the the only real difference was overclocking utilities. Here's how it stands now. Let me know what your thoughts are. If I should change anything, ect..

 

Case - CoolerMaster CM-690

 

PSU - Corsair CMPSU-650TX 650W

 

CPU - Intel Core i7 920

 

Motherboard - MSI X58 Pro-E

 

RAM - Corsair XMS3 6GB (3x2GB) DDR3 1333 (PC10666) Tri Channel

 

HDD - Dual Samsung Spinpoint 500GB SATAII 7200RPM 16MB Cache

 

Video Card - BFG Tech GeForce GTX 285 1GB 512-bit GDDR3

 

Disk Drive - Sony Optiarc 24X SATA DVD Burner

 

Keyboard & Mouse - Microsoft Black USB Wireless Optical Desktop

Grand Total = $1,452.40 CAD

Edited September 2, 2009 by Unlimited

[anus]

I got some changes man.

 

Case: Coolermaster CM-690

 

Case fans: 4x Dynatron 120MM - was able to include the fans in the budget

 

PSU: Antec EA650 650W - cheaper than the Corsair and has more than one 12V rail which is good for splitting the load

 

Motherboard: Foxconn Renaissance - these boards by Foxconn are insane overclockers. Has the option of SLI or Crossfire with two x16 PCI-E slots as well. Well worth it. Overall performance is extremely good too

 

CPU: i7 920

 

RAM: Corsair XMS3 6GB (3x2GB) DDR3 1333 PC10666 Tri Channel

 

Video card: Gigabyte GTX285 1GB - cheaper than the BFG

 

HDD: Seagate 1TB SATAII 32MB Cache 7200RPM - unless you're planning on running RAID, get this drive, it's cheaper than two 500GB drives

 

ODD: Sony Optiarc 24x DVD Burner

 

Keyboard: Microsoft Ergonomics USB - highly recommend you don't go with a wireless keyboard or mouse. For the price, you can get better performing wired options than wireless options, especially mice

 

Mouse: OCZ Behemoth 3200DPI Laser - 3200DPI, wired and laser. Better than most if not all the wireless mice on Newegg

 

Total: $1,435.86.

 

There ya go.

 

Btw, you're going to have one hell of a system mate .

[Ryan]

Having the dual 12V rails is better then the one, and it's cheaper so I'm deffinetly going with that one.

 

I was looking at the Foxconn motherboards earlier today and I was little skeptical on them. I hadn't really heard anything about Foxconn boards. I'll do some reading on them and see what I come up with. Whats your thoughts on them?

 

As for the video card, I was looking at that one earlier but to be honest, I hate the design on it. On second thought though, it's going to be shoved inside a case so what does it matter? If it was in any other color I'd get it, but I just hate that color blue.

 

I know going with just a 1TB drive is cheaper then having the dual 500GB ones but I have a reason for it. My plan was the keep all my games on the one HDD, and keep all my documents, system stuff, and the OS partition on the other drive. I think I'm going to stick with that plan.

 

I know it's going to be a hell of a system. Part of the reason for it is, well, I have the cash at the moment to do it, and I want a good PC thats going to last me for a few years. So, now is as good a time as any.

[anus]

The board I linked to is in Foxconn's Quantum Force line of motherboards which are their best motherboards. Basically their flagship models. They have LOADS of features in the BIOS and are rock solid.

 

Foxconn has been in the business for quite a long time by the way. It used to make the boards for Asus, Gigabyte and the like before they started selling their own boards.

 

The video card is quite a lot cheaper though, and since your case doesn't have a side window, you won't be seeing it after you install it .

 

That HDD idea is pretty good .

 

And the PC will serve you well for a long time to come .

[Ryan]

I decided to spend a little more cash and go with the Asus P6T. I'm more comfortable with this board then the others.

 

I have another question. The i7's come with a CPU cooler (heatsink and fan). If I was to use that heatsink for now, and put a better one on later, that wouldn't cause me any problems would it? The only thing that I can think might be an issue would be the thermal jel. Would just putting some more of it on with the new heatsink solve that problem, or is it best to put the heatsink you want on when you originally put the thermal jel on? Do I have to buy thermal jel separate or does some come with the CPU?

 

[anus]

The i7 cooler comes with some thermal paste so no worries.

 

And you won't have any problems if you get a better cooler later. Just remember to clean out the old thermal paste off the CPU well before you install the new cooler.

[dog_day_sunrise]

Having the dual 12V rails is better then the one, and it's cheaper so I'm deffinetly going with that one.

That's pap. There are very few true "multiple" 12v rail PSU's on the market, as in, PSU's with multiple 12v transformers.

 

Each has their advantages. Whilst dual rails offer more protection from overloading, they also limit the amount of power per device on the rail, and for the most part aren't as regular in their power generation as large single rail setups.

 

One question though, if dual rails are better than one, why do most of the high-end PSU's use a single rail? PC Power & Cooling, for example, only ever use single rail PSU's and they've probably got the best reputation on the high-end power supply market.