New Computer Advice!

[TheStrategist]

Alright, so I'm looking at a new computer with the sole purpose of playing EQ. I want something that will last a few years and won't need upgrading for a long time. I've heard that with this computer building site you need to know what you are buying or else some components won't work together or fit, so I've come to ask the experts if everything I've got on the list is compatible.

Let me know if this is a good set-up or if I can change some stuff to lower the cost. And this is from CyberpowerPC.

# CASE: Sigma Gaming Unicorn Mid-Tower 420W Case w/ Side-panel Window
# Extra Case Fan Upgrade: Extra Case Cooling Fan (2 x Fans)
# POWER SUPPLY Upgrade: 680 Watts Power Supplies (Hush Power Supply SLI/CrossFire Ready)
# CPU: Intel® Core™ i7-920 2.66 GHz 8M L3 Cache LGA1366
# COOLING FAN : Intel LGA1366 Certified CPU Fan & Heatsink
# MOTHERBOARD: (3-Way SLI Support) Asus P6T Intel X58 Chipset SLI/CrossFireX Mainboard Triple-Channel DDR3/1600 SATA RAID w/ eSATA, GbLAN, USB2.0, IEEE1394a, & 7.1Audio
# MEMORY: 6GB (2GBx3) PC1333 DDR3 PC3 10666 Triple Channel Memory (Corsair or Major Brand)
# VIDEO CARD: NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GT 1GB 16X PCI Express (EVGA Powered by NVIDIA)
# VIDEO CARD 2: NONE
# VIDEO CARD 3: NONE
# MULTIPLE VIDEO CARD SETTINGS: Xtreme Performance in SLI/CrossFireX Gaming Mode Supports Single Monitor
# HARD DRIVE: Single Hard Drive (500GB SATA-II 3.0Gb/s 16MB Cache 7200RPM HDD)
# Optical Drive: (Special Price) LG 20X DVD±R/±RW + CD-R/RW DRIVE DUAL LAYER (BLACK COLOR)
# SOUND: HIGH DEFINITION ON-BOARD 7.1 AUDIO
# NETWORK: ONBOARD 10/100 NETWORK CARD
# Wireless 802.11B/G Network Card: PCI Wireless 802.11g 54Mbps Network Interface Card
# IEEE CARD: NONE
# USB PORT: Built-in USB 2.0 Ports
# OS: Microsoft® Windows Vista™ Home Basic w/ Service Pack 1 (64-bit Edition) -- Not sure about that, should I be looking at 34 or 64 bit?


And thanks in advance for your input, it's much appreciated.

 

[Bearcub]

If you're going over 4 gig of ram, then you need the 64 bit OS.

Read me

BC

 

[TheStrategist]

Ok, so I'm changing it to Vista Home Premium. Someone told me basic is bullshit, I thought I could save the extra money with basic, but apparently not.

Any other suggestions on my set-up?

(And thanks Bearcub)

 

[JimJohnson]

go with a 1k psu leaves you ability to just upgrade video cards in sli for feature expansion. Make sure the 12v rails have 25A also.

 

[Brano11]

Ok, so I'm changing it to Vista Home Premium. Someone told me basic is bullshit, I thought I could save the extra money with basic, but apparently not.

Any other suggestions on my set-up?

(And thanks Bearcub)

I just built a new computer myself and I have windows vista basic 64 bit (running 8 GB of ram) and I havent had any problems with windows basic.

 

[JimJohnson]

buying vista now is pointless wait a few months and just buy win 7. Run the beta till then.

 

[JimJohnson]

To your question about eq and SLI, eq doesnt utilize sli ability but you stated did not want to have to do a lot of upgrading later on. This just leaves you with more options as time moves on. Also if you go with a heavier videocard gtx 295 for example you can toss in a 8800 for your physics processor. This is not SLI but it should be utilized by eq.

 

[TheStrategist]

Yea, I'm just trying to keep it as cheap as possible. Since the only game I play is EQ, I don't need top of the line I think I currently have a 7300 GT, a bit outdated, heh.

 

[TheStrategist]

To your question about eq and SLI, eq doesnt utilize sli ability but you stated did not want to have to do a lot of upgrading later on. This just leaves you with more options as time moves on. Also if you go with a heavier videocard gtx 295 for example you can toss in a 8800 for your physics processor. This is not SLI but it should be utilized by eq.

But what about nVidia vs ATI? ATI Radeon HD 4870 PCI-E 16X 1GB DDR5 specifically. But then, I would have to change my mobo?

 

[Alexandra]

I would upgrade the hd to a Western Digital VelociRaptor 300GB 3.5" SATA 3.0Gb/s Harddrive 10000 rpm or go cheaper with the 150 GB

 

[htw]

Ok, so I'm changing it to Vista Home Premium. Someone told me basic is bullshit, I thought I could save the extra money with basic, but apparently not.

Any other suggestions on my set-up?

(And thanks Bearcub)

Just go with the version that has the features you want.

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-vista/compare-editions/default.aspx

htw

 

[slimpicken5]

i have a fairly similar system, I run BOTH win XP home and Win XP 64bit on 2 seperate partitions.

I highly recommend this. I found it a pain in the arse to find a few drivers for 64bit.
I now use the 64bit system to run games
and i use the standard 32 bit to run my general computer work/surphing.
But its pretty nice windows gives you the choise as to which OS you want to load at start up.

I found it very usefull

 

[JimJohnson]

ati vs nvidia

4870 is a damn nice card same price is the gtx 260/gtx280. You cannt go wrong with either one really.

Just more depends on what you want and the prices.

 

[Bearcub]

# MEMORY: 6GB (2GBx3) PC1333 DDR3 PC3 10666 Triple Channel Memory (Corsair or Major Brand)
# HARD DRIVE: Single Hard Drive (500GB SATA-II 3.0Gb/s 16MB Cache 7200RPM HDD)
# NETWORK: ONBOARD 10/100 NETWORK CARD

So...Corsair or major brand? fuck that, Corsair or Kingston, don't let them slide 'major brand PNY' on you.

HD should be WD, the Veloci's are nice, but I stick with WD regardless.

Network...gigE Yo! Make their gimp asses put in a 10/100/1000 port. That shit's getting more and more standard.

Also, I'd check out a Dell XPS and compare the prices, but that's just me.

 

[Sorarn]

from the research ive done about velicraptor Hd's there pointless. A Quarter Stroked 7200rpm HD, high performance formatted will out perform a 10,000Rpm HD. Im pretty sure if u google it ull find a few comparison articles about it. Much cheaper and faster solution.

also remember if your putting in a gigabite Nic card, remember your Router / Switch has to be giga also or again waist of money.

 

[JimJohnson]

from the research ive done about velicraptor Hd's there pointless. A Quarter Stroked 7200rpm HD, high performance formatted will out perform a 10,000Rpm HD. Im pretty sure if u google it ull find a few comparison articles about it. Much cheaper and faster solution.

also remember if your putting in a gigabite Nic card, remember your Router / Switch has to be giga also or again waist of money.

would like some data backing up this statement. I have done research and nothing I found showed a single 7200hd out performing VR. Older raptors yes not VR,

 

[TheStrategist]

I can't really go for a WD HD since it's a $236+ upgrade. And I can't do the gtx 260/280 as that's $100-$290 upgrade.

I only have a $1200 budget for this computer. Not looking for a total badass, but rather something that will still give me great performance for a few years.

Thanks for the advice so far!

 

[shaddrach]

Heres a 1TB WD HD SATA

Personally heres my computer setup that I am waitingfor the parts on.

Asus M4A78 Pro Motherboard
16GB DDR2 PC2 6300 800MHZ RAM
AMD Phenom II X4 Quad-core 940 3GHz Processor
nVidia GeForce 9800 GT
2 x 1TB SATA 32mb Buffer Hard drives
LG GGC-H20L BLU-RAY+HD DVD+LIGHTSCRIBE+16X DVD±RW SATA
Secondary DVDRW
Windows XP x64 (Yes XP 64 is way better than Vista 64 IMO)
Front Panel Card Reader + LCD CPU and Case Temp + Fan Speed & Speed Control
Aluminum Logisys Hard Drive Case / Cooler
Liquid Cooling setup.
Coolmax 650w PSU
22" Acer Wide LCD
Various lighted fans, cables, lights ect in and on the case.

Gonna be overclocking the shit to be able to rip and encode blu rays to standard DVDR.

Dumping Media Center for Arcsoft Total Media Extreme or Nero 8 or both.
Dumping IE for Firefox.

All this for about $1050, thats a price with extra ram for my other computer to bring it up to 8gb.

 

[JimJohnson]

the 150ish she would save would give her a computer that is about 3/4 the quality of the one she is building.