Advice on buying a new PC

Alexius · 14-02-2008, 09:31 PM

Hi all,

I am planning on buying a new custom PC. This was an offer I got from a company. I am an expat living in the Netherlands.

CPU:
Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 3.00GHz 1333 6MB Box voor € 172.00 (artikelnummer: 046255), 4Launch Shop

Motherboard:
Asus Striker II Formula nForce 780i SLI, SATA2 voor € 249.00 (artikelnummer: 045513), 4Launch Shop

Video cards:
2 x EVGA Videokaart PCI-e GeForce 8800GT 512MB 2xDVI/HDCP voor € 209.00 (artikelnummer: 045203), 4Launch Shop

Memory:
Corsair 2x2GB DDR2 SDRAM PC6400 CL5.0 TwinX voor € 92.00 (artikelnummer: 034683), 4Launch Shop

Casing:
Antec Midi Tower P182 Performance One ATX No PSU (zwart) voor € 117.00 (artikelnummer: 029347), 4Launch Shop

Power Supply:
Thermaltake Powersupply Toughpower 750W Modular voor € 115.00 (artikelnummer: 024289), 4Launch Shop

DVD device:
Samsung DVD-/+/RAM SH-S203D 20x/20x/12x BEBE Bulk (zwart) voor € 23.50 (artikelnummer: 037383), 4Launch Shop

Hard Disk:
2 x Samsung 1TB SATA300 32MB, HD103UJ voor € 231.00 (artikelnummer: 037577), 4Launch Shop
These can be put in RAID 0 for more performance.

Alternative CPU cooling:
Cooler Master Processor Koeler RR-CCH-L9U1-GP Hyper TX2 AMD & Intel voor € 12.00 (artikelnummer: 030486), 4Launch Shop

Windows:
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium 64bit UK OEM voor € 94.50 (artikelnummer: 026290), 4Launch Shop

I was thinking about getting quad core (Intel Core 2 Quad Q9450 2.66 or Core 2 Quad Q6600 2.40GHz), 1TB instead of 2TB and maybe a better video card (2 cards that is).

I want it to be my work station and somewhat a high end gaming PC. To run games like Crysis (smoothly but not perfectly) and other high demanding games. I was planing on buying a Mac Pro but it's way too much for my budget.

I am not an expert in hardware. Please bear in mind I will be buying all my stuff from 4lunch.nl it's known to be one of the best site in the Netherlands.

Thank you in advance for your advice and tips.

(p.s I have posted this very same question on other tech forums hoping to get the most feedback from the hardware gurus.)

gazaway · 14-02-2008, 08:38 PM

Pretty much you've got there is a dream machine. Sure there are upgrades, but that beast will pretty much run anything you need. I can't see a reason to upgrade any of that (except the proc - if you plan on using workstation programs that actually utilize four cores.) Everything from top to bottom is solid, with known brand names, and upgradable. That 780i mobo will last you a while, proc will last a while and is great to overclock later, video cards are the most average part (but will do more than enough). I would CONSIDER adding maybe more ram since you are getting the 64 bit version of Vista. 6 gigs would be perfect. Other than that - You will be quite happy with that beast.

If you don't mind me asking, whats the total they are gonna charge you for that?

Edit: Another thing that I would like to throw in is actually a downgrade. You haven't got a reason for that 780i mobo. It's nice but you can't 3-way SLI 8800GTs. That means it's an upgrade that will never happen. You would be happy either downgrading to a 680i chipset mobo (saving yourself plenty of money) or upgrade your cards to GTXs (Spending LOTS of money.) AND.. If you upgraded to two GTXs You would want to upgrade your powersupply a bit, too.

max12590 · 14-02-2008, 10:08 PM

Since I don't know why anyone would need/want 2 TB and you said you considered downgrading it, here is my suggestion. Get a 150 GB Western Digital Raptor and second hard drive of whatever size you need (1 TB is what you would get, I assume). The single 150 GB Raptor would be much faster than a RAID 0 of slower drives and a RAID 0 of Raptors as a possible future upgrade is basically the fastest consumer-oriented storage option (consumer-oriented meaning disregarding SSD and 15k SCSI).You could keep the OS and all apps (or the apps you use most if you have a hell of a lot of apps) on the Raptor and all media on the big drive.

Pimp · 15-02-2008, 10:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alexius

I was thinking about getting quad core (Intel Core 2 Quad Q9450 2.66 or Core 2 Quad Q6600 2.40GHz)

You should definitely go for the Q9450 much better over clocking potential then Q6600. It's an all round better CPU so go for it in my opinion, slightly more expensive but hay you seem to have the money

Addis · 15-02-2008, 02:08 PM

*sigh* I wish I needed advice on choosing between 2TB of storage, or a Q9450 or a Q6600...

14-02-2008, 09:31 PM	#1 (permalink) Top
Alexius Geek Trainee Join Date: Feb 2008 Posts: 1 Status: Offline	Advice on buying a new PC Hi all, I am planning on buying a new custom PC. This was an offer I got from a company. I am an expat living in the Netherlands. CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 3.00GHz 1333 6MB Box voor € 172.00 (artikelnummer: 046255), 4Launch Shop Motherboard: Asus Striker II Formula nForce 780i SLI, SATA2 voor € 249.00 (artikelnummer: 045513), 4Launch Shop Video cards: 2 x EVGA Videokaart PCI-e GeForce 8800GT 512MB 2xDVI/HDCP voor € 209.00 (artikelnummer: 045203), 4Launch Shop Memory: Corsair 2x2GB DDR2 SDRAM PC6400 CL5.0 TwinX voor € 92.00 (artikelnummer: 034683), 4Launch Shop Casing: Antec Midi Tower P182 Performance One ATX No PSU (zwart) voor € 117.00 (artikelnummer: 029347), 4Launch Shop Power Supply: Thermaltake Powersupply Toughpower 750W Modular voor € 115.00 (artikelnummer: 024289), 4Launch Shop DVD device: Samsung DVD-/+/RAM SH-S203D 20x/20x/12x BEBE Bulk (zwart) voor € 23.50 (artikelnummer: 037383), 4Launch Shop Hard Disk: 2 x Samsung 1TB SATA300 32MB, HD103UJ voor € 231.00 (artikelnummer: 037577), 4Launch Shop These can be put in RAID 0 for more performance. Alternative CPU cooling: Cooler Master Processor Koeler RR-CCH-L9U1-GP Hyper TX2 AMD & Intel voor € 12.00 (artikelnummer: 030486), 4Launch Shop Windows: Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium 64bit UK OEM voor € 94.50 (artikelnummer: 026290), 4Launch Shop I was thinking about getting quad core (Intel Core 2 Quad Q9450 2.66 or Core 2 Quad Q6600 2.40GHz), 1TB instead of 2TB and maybe a better video card (2 cards that is). I want it to be my work station and somewhat a high end gaming PC. To run games like Crysis (smoothly but not perfectly) and other high demanding games. I was planing on buying a Mac Pro but it's way too much for my budget. I am not an expert in hardware. Please bear in mind I will be buying all my stuff from 4lunch.nl it's known to be one of the best site in the Netherlands. Thank you in advance for your advice and tips. (p.s I have posted this very same question on other tech forums hoping to get the most feedback from the hardware gurus.)

14-02-2008, 08:38 PM	#2 (permalink) Top
gazaway Mega Geek Join Date: Sep 2007 Posts: 432 Times Helpful: 36 My Mood: Meh Status: Offline My Computer	Pretty much you've got there is a dream machine. Sure there are upgrades, but that beast will pretty much run anything you need. I can't see a reason to upgrade any of that (except the proc - if you plan on using workstation programs that actually utilize four cores.) Everything from top to bottom is solid, with known brand names, and upgradable. That 780i mobo will last you a while, proc will last a while and is great to overclock later, video cards are the most average part (but will do more than enough). I would CONSIDER adding maybe more ram since you are getting the 64 bit version of Vista. 6 gigs would be perfect. Other than that - You will be quite happy with that beast. If you don't mind me asking, whats the total they are gonna charge you for that? Edit: Another thing that I would like to throw in is actually a downgrade. You haven't got a reason for that 780i mobo. It's nice but you can't 3-way SLI 8800GTs. That means it's an upgrade that will never happen. You would be happy either downgrading to a 680i chipset mobo (saving yourself plenty of money) or upgrade your cards to GTXs (Spending LOTS of money.) AND.. If you upgraded to two GTXs You would want to upgrade your powersupply a bit, too. Last edited by gazaway; 14-02-2008 at 08:49 PM.

14-02-2008, 10:08 PM	#3 (permalink) Top
max12590 Masterful Geek Join Date: Nov 2004 Age: 17 Male Posts: 1,016 Times Helpful: 76 Status: Offline My Computer	Since I don't know why anyone would need/want 2 TB and you said you considered downgrading it, here is my suggestion. Get a 150 GB Western Digital Raptor and second hard drive of whatever size you need (1 TB is what you would get, I assume). The single 150 GB Raptor would be much faster than a RAID 0 of slower drives and a RAID 0 of Raptors as a possible future upgrade is basically the fastest consumer-oriented storage option (consumer-oriented meaning disregarding SSD and 15k SCSI).You could keep the OS and all apps (or the apps you use most if you have a hell of a lot of apps) on the Raptor and all media on the big drive. __________________ In the words of a certain Battlefield 2 commander, "They're spawnin' like crazy at the Gas Station and then tryin' to Forrest Gump it down the Interstate."

15-02-2008, 02:08 PM	#5 (permalink) Top
Addis The King Join Date: Jan 2004 Age: 18 Male Posts: 5,255 Times Helpful: 403 My Mood: Drunk Status: Offline My Computer	sigh I wish I needed advice on choosing between 2TB of storage, or a Q9450 or a Q6600... __________________ Never trust a program you don't have the source code for. My website \| Powerful Desktop Linux \| Linux for human beings \| Linux for power users \| Linux for ricers

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