Advice for a power user?

[xoail]

Hi All,

I've been on my laptop for few years now and I really see a need to get on to a desktop to run some new applications I work with. I work on Visual Studio 2008, Photoshop, IIS, Apache, MS SQL 2008 and all that heavy hitters... I am also into games like cysis, hl2 and l4d. I really consider myself as a power user with an average 12 hrs/day I spend on my computer. I am looking for a desktop with monitor and os that will help me do all that under a budget of $800 or may be little higher if I could get a better deal. I have never done over clocking but interested to try this time...

I spent quite a lot of time on anandtech and newegg to come up with a configuration that will suite my budget... and now I need some expert advice on finalizing it.

Heres my config as of now: -

Intel Core 2 Quad Q8300 2.5GHz LGA 775 95W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80580Q8300 - Retail $189

GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3L LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail $98

OCZ 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop OCZ2G10664GK - Retail $48

Sony Optiarc 24X DVD/CD Rewritable Drive Black SATA Model AD-7240S-0B - OEM $24

RAIDMAX SMILODON ATX-612WBP Black 1.0mm SECC Steel ATX Mid Tower Foldout MB Computer Case With 500W Power Supply - Retail $90

Western Digital Caviar Black WD5001AALS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" $70

Acer H233Hbmid Black 23" 5ms HDMI Full HD 1080P Widescreen LCD Monitor - Retail $199

SAPPHIRE 100255HDMI Radeon HD 4670 512MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card - Retail $70

Logitech EX 110 Black USB + PS/2 Standard Cordless Desktop Keyboard & Mouse Kit $30

Thank you for going through my post and looking forward to a good advice from you!

 

[Tarrant64]

Going to use anything for backup hard drive?

Looks good to me. What OS?

If you game though you may get some other recommendations for the vid card for crysis, etc. Think you could scale back on the processor and go up on the video card.

 

[alyarb]

yeah, forget about gaming with that video selection. see if an AM2+/AM3 system will free up enough money for a 4870.

 

[krnmastersgt]

Get 800mhz ram sticks, 1066 will not help you, even with an overclock.

The Asus P5Q SE is about $10 cheaper than the GB board (I think same before rebate).

Might want to spend $5 more on the hard drive and get the 640GB model instead.

Missing the OS, unless you're using a previously attained copy of Windows or Linux. Otherwise it's a pretty decent set-up.

 

[krnmastersgt]

Originally posted by: alyarb
yeah, forget about gaming with that video selection. see if an AM2+/AM3 system will free up enough money for a 4870.

The 4670 aint bad for gaming, just going to have to turn down the settings a bit and such.

 

[xoail]

I backup online so I guess I may not need a HDD for it... I have an extra copy of xp professional that I've like to use for this coz I am not sure of shifting to vista yet with win7 around the corner... and I hate vista altogether. I wanted to go with quad coz I could have lot of heavy application open at the same time (not sure if quad will help here... but I thought so)... what are your suggestions on the video card? well I trying to come up with a high performance + gaming + budget pc (which is really tough).

Thank you!

 

[Marty502]

You certainly don't need to forget about gaming with a 4670. But there are much faster options for gaming for just a bit more cash.

 

[xoail]

What should I look for in a video card then? any specif thing I should look into...

 

[fffblackmage]

4830/4770 are probably good options for gaming on a budget.
and for OCing, a good cooler for the cpu would be a wise investment.

 

[alyarb]

it's incredibly masochistic to play crysis with shaders on medium. get a real GPU if you like that game. otherwise it'll be one of those things that sticks with you for the lifetime of the build.

 

[xoail]

Ok so I bumped up the GPU to SAPPHIRE 100265HDMI Radeon HD 4830 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail $89... but I see that people are having difficulty in setting it up for windows xp... any thoughts on that?

 

[xoail]

@alyarb.. real GPU examples?

 

[alyarb]

it depends on how important crysis is to you. the 4670 will run pretty much anything, but crysis is statistically an outlier because it just kills your video card, dramatically more than any other game. A 4850 would go a lot farther for you, I think, but you could definitely get by in Crysis with a 4830, especially with a spot of overclocking.

Of course, 8800 GTX are going for $90-100 on craigslist. not exactly power efficient, but still faster than a 4830.

there's no reason why any 4830 should have problems with XP. make sure you download a driver from AMD's website. don't bother with some outdated driver on the CD.

 

[vj8usa]

Originally posted by: xoail
Ok so I bumped up the GPU to SAPPHIRE 100265HDMI Radeon HD 4830 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail $89... but I see that people are having difficulty in setting it up for windows xp... any thoughts on that?

The 4770's also $90 after rebate. I'd go with one of those over a 4830.

 

[xoail]

thanks for the tip vj8usa... so, im bumping it up to POWERCOLOR AX4770 512MD5-M Radeon HD 4770 512MB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail $90

on the other hand.. I know I mentioned crysis ... but I am still comfortable playing it on a little slim down graphic settings.

 

[xoail]

btw, is the mobo going to have an inbuilt wifi card or do I have to get that separately?

 

[xoail]

Thank you all for the input... I all ready to hit buy on these components but thought I run through you guys for the final time... Its costing me $800 after MIR so I feel pretty good about it.

Intel Core 2 Quad Q8300 2.5GHz LGA 775 95W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80580Q8300 - Retail $189

ASUS P5Q SE PLUS LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail $87

Crucial Ballistix 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model BL2KIT25664AA80A - Retail $42

POWERCOLOR AX4770 512MD5-M Radeon HD 4770 512MB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail $90

Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Hard Drive - OEM $75

Acer X233Hbid Black 23" 5ms HDMI Full 1080P Widescreen LCD Monitor 300 cd/m2 40000:1 (ACM) - Retail $190

RAIDMAX SMILODON ATX-612WBP Black 1.0mm SECC Steel ATX Mid Tower Foldout MB Computer Case With 500W Power Supply - Retail $90

Sony Optiarc 24X DVD/CD Rewritable Drive Black SATA Model AD-7240S-0B - OEM $24

Logitech EX 110 Black USB + PS/2 Standard Cordless Desktop Keyboard & Mouse Kit $30

Thank you!

 

[alyarb]

you don't really want to use wifi, you should try and figure out a way to plug yourself into a router or switch.

 

[xoail]

But if I want to wifi... do I have to purchase anything extra? like a wifi card or something? Sorry for asking such lame questions.. its been ages that i've build a pc... and things have changed a lot since then..

 

[fffblackmage]

If you want wifi, you'll need a wifi card.

 

[theAnimal]

Originally posted by: xoail
RAIDMAX SMILODON ATX-612WBP Black 1.0mm SECC Steel ATX Mid Tower Foldout MB Computer Case With 500W Power Supply - Retail $90

Get a good quality PSU instead. Corsair or Seasonic are good choices.

 

[xoail]

Thanks theanimal for the tip...
Heres the final version of the config ... jus to check with you guys if i missed or messed anything...

Sony Optiarc 24X DVD/CD Rewritable Drive Black SATA Model AD-7240S-0B - OEM $23.99

Sunbeam Silent Storm IC-SS-SVBK Black/Silver Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail $49.99

Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Hard Drive - OEM $74.99

Acer X233Hbid Black 23" 5ms HDMI Full 1080P Widescreen LCD Monitor - Retail $189.99 $19.99

CORSAIR CMPSU-450VX 450W ATX12V V2.2 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply $74.99

Microsoft Comfort Curve 2000 B2L-00047 Black USB Ergonomics Keyboard and Mouse - OEM $21.99

Crucial Ballistix 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model $41.99

ASUS P5Q SE PLUS LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail $96.99

Intel Core 2 Quad Q8400 Yorkfield 2.66GHz LGA 775 95W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80580Q8400 - Retail $185.99

XFX HD-477A-YDLC Radeon HD 4770 512MB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail $109.99

Thanks guys let me know if I can hit BUY on this one..

 

[Blain]

I would stay away from the Crucial Ballistix line of memory.
A better option would be Corsair, G.Skill or Mushkin PC2-6400 rated to run at the JEDEC DDR2 voltage standard of 1.8-1.9v

 

[xoail]

Ok then.. changing the memory to G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-6400CL5D-4GBPI - Retail $50

 

[alyarb]

I agree with blain on the memory and I will say that the 4770 is a nice card only for $90-99. For $110, the 4850 is a touch faster, and that is the card to get at that price. There's an MSI card available on newegg with a $20 rebate. http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814127414

If you want to overclock, that is a different story, but I'd rather put my money on shaders versus frequency.