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The Ultimate Dream Computer
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Senior Member
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13. February 2007 @ 19:13 |
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thnx for the tips guys...now i dont need to spend too much money on mobo...
SEX
Now Ive got your attention please read my post above
Own: Computer, PS2, PS3, PSP and Asus UX32VD i5 Ultrabook
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PacMan777
AfterDawn Addict
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13. February 2007 @ 19:30 |
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Building a PC on a decent budget requires putting the money toward the best overall purchases. A well balanced system often performs near what the uber systems do. Some people pay big bucks for a small advantage when it comes to highend performance. Look for stability as well as reliable performance from a PSU, get a good mobo and CPU combo, use good RAM and make sure you have what you need. As you know not all RAM is equal. Pay attention to your drives as well. SATA hard drives are better for the new platforms. You don't have to have SLI or even the top end graphics card, but get a decent one. Go more upscale as your needs or wants require and your budget allows.
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slym
Newbie
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13. February 2007 @ 19:44 |
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Everything up there seemed rather budgetless..
so say... you were given $10 000 dollars to upgrade/build your ideal sytem... what would it be~?
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PacMan777
AfterDawn Addict
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13. February 2007 @ 20:18 |
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Originally posted by slym:
Everything up there seemed rather budgetless..
so say... you were given $10 000 dollars to upgrade/build your ideal sytem... what would it be~?
LOL I'd keep my current PC and sink the bundle in a motorcycle upgdrade or invest in a new highend entertainment system. My woman wants a Hawaiian vacation. LOL If it was a forced deal though I'd go with SLI or Crossfire and use the high end GPUs. The Striker or P5N32 would be the board choices with an X6800 CPU. Add a couple of GB of Corsair Dominator RAM or highend OCZ (depends on GPU). Heck, may as well go with 4GB with Vista looming. Then probably add something like a couple of EVGA 8800GTX GPUs. Then add a good liquid cooling system and a highend case. We don't want to save any money here. LOL Just to make sure I spend as much money as possible I'd get something like a Samsung 320P monitor. Throw down about $85 on a Kensingtion Trackball and I'm sure I could find some ridiculous deals on the peripherals in order to blow some more money. LOL Gotta throw some money on a high end sound card and some outrageous speakers so I can hear the tunes and the whistle of bullets in the games. ;) If I tried hard, I think I could spend more than $10,000.
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 13. February 2007 @ 20:50
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Senior Member
1 product review
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14. February 2007 @ 01:19 |
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10k id keep curernt my current its great.
I have a Yammaha YZF 600
I enjoy motorsport more then pc's so id do sometyhing wiith it there.
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Senior Member
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14. February 2007 @ 03:20 |
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lol...i'll get the best computer with that money...the rest i'll save it...in case i need it in the future
ok i have a 250W PSU...will i be able to power 7600gs(AGP) with no problem...
SEX
Now Ive got your attention please read my post above
Own: Computer, PS2, PS3, PSP and Asus UX32VD i5 Ultrabook
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 14. February 2007 @ 04:33
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AfterDawn Addict
4 product reviews
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14. February 2007 @ 04:40 |
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Probably not. I certainly wouldn't recommend it.
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Senior Member
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14. February 2007 @ 05:05 |
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well...my uncle ask me wat graphics card i want for free...the 6200, 6800 or the 7600 all AGP..why not get the best...well will 6800 be run with 250W
SEX
Now Ive got your attention please read my post above
Own: Computer, PS2, PS3, PSP and Asus UX32VD i5 Ultrabook
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PacMan777
AfterDawn Addict
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14. February 2007 @ 07:17 |
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With AGP I don't think you'll get into too much trouble. Most are old tech and don't take too much power at normal operation. 250W is similar to the older Dells and Gateways. Most were under 300W. I've upgraded those in the past without crashing the system. I wouldn't go trying to power many accessories with 250W. I won't build a system anymore with less than 500W. PSUs are relatively inexpensive compared to other system components. I'd suggest getting something better able to carry the load if you're going to be doing serious improvements or a resonable performance build.
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PacMan777
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14. February 2007 @ 07:25 |
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This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 14. February 2007 @ 07:29
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AfterDawn Addict
4 product reviews
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14. February 2007 @ 07:58 |
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All I know is that an X800 Pro, of not too dis-similar TDP to a 6800 does not run on a 250W PSU.
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PacMan777
AfterDawn Addict
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14. February 2007 @ 09:02 |
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I used a 250W PSU as a temp backup when a PSU failed with a system running an X850XT Radeon. I didn't go uber gaming on it trying to crash the system, but for viewing video and normal gaming it did okay. Maybe I didn't load it as much as Sammorris did his, but I had good luck under normal conditions.
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Senior Member
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14. February 2007 @ 10:32 |
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i just bought a 350W psu...tomorrow i'm gonna buy a 7600gs...unless it can last me until the end of the year...
SEX
Now Ive got your attention please read my post above
Own: Computer, PS2, PS3, PSP and Asus UX32VD i5 Ultrabook
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PacMan777
AfterDawn Addict
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14. February 2007 @ 10:36 |
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A decent 500W couldn't have cost that much more. I look at those as a starting level. 350W works though, if you're not going to add a bunch of extras and go uber gaming.
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Senior Member
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14. February 2007 @ 10:51 |
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yes i know that...but i dont know if it will fit in my case...
SEX
Now Ive got your attention please read my post above
Own: Computer, PS2, PS3, PSP and Asus UX32VD i5 Ultrabook
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AfterDawn Addict
4 product reviews
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14. February 2007 @ 10:52 |
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Almost all PSUs are a standard size. You could have measured it anyway...
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PacMan777
AfterDawn Addict
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14. February 2007 @ 12:36 |
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Originally posted by sammorris:
Almost all PSUs are a standard size. You could have measured it anyway...
Sam's right, most retail PSUs are standard. They need to be to fit all the cases being offered. The exception I've seen are some made specifically for some manufactured PCs. Not all because Dell and others use the regular size we can purchase through vendors.
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AfterDawn Addict
4 product reviews
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14. February 2007 @ 12:56 |
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Well except for those Optiplex desktop-style PCs that used those tiny 145W PSUs with the corner missing... The exceptions are high end PSUs such as the Enermax Galaxy, but most ATX PSUs are indeed a specific size.
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forkndave
Member
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14. February 2007 @ 18:11 |
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If anyone's interested, I got that Gigabyte board with the ULi chipset today and installed it in my granddaughter's computer. What it replaced was an old Soyo KT400 board with an Athlon XP 2400 CPU. Now she has this board with an Athlon 64 3200 on it. It seems to work OK. I did have to do a repair install of Windows since it wouldn't boot with the Via drivers. Boards with Nvidia chipsets won't either or at least any I've ever tried. The funny thing is that boards with Via chipsets will generally boot when hooked up to a hard drive with Nvidia drivers on it. You still have to install the correct drivers, but they will at least boot. I got about what I expected for a $50.00 board. It will play the Barbie games fine.
Dave
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slym
Newbie
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14. February 2007 @ 19:29 |
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Quote:
Originally posted by slym:
Everything up there seemed rather budgetless..
so say... you were given $10 000 dollars to upgrade/build your ideal sytem... what would it be~?
LOL I'd keep my current PC and sink the bundle in a motorcycle upgdrade or invest in a new highend entertainment system. My woman wants a Hawaiian vacation. LOL If it was a forced deal though I'd go with SLI or Crossfire and use the high end GPUs. The Striker or P5N32 would be the board choices with an X6800 CPU. Add a couple of GB of Corsair Dominator RAM or highend OCZ (depends on GPU). Heck, may as well go with 4GB with Vista looming. Then probably add something like a couple of EVGA 8800GTX GPUs. Then add a good liquid cooling system and a highend case. We don't want to save any money here. LOL Just to make sure I spend as much money as possible I'd get something like a Samsung 320P monitor. Throw down about $85 on a Kensingtion Trackball and I'm sure I could find some ridiculous deals on the peripherals in order to blow some more money. LOL Gotta throw some money on a high end sound card and some outrageous speakers so I can hear the tunes and the whistle of bullets in the games. ;) If I tried hard, I think I could spend more than $10,000.
hahaha.. *shrugs* it was a criteria on something i had to work on... except that the system we were asked to make changes to was rather old and unstable, not that i think 10k wld b enuff to get it to the standards we were suppose to meet..
spend more than 10k wouldnt be hard, unfortuntely it might make a dent financially. maybe, maybe not. depends? i suppose.
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slym
Newbie
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14. February 2007 @ 19:33 |
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outta curiosity.. and some confusion...
what upgrades are good and/or necessary, chip/board as well as visual/sound -wise ?
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PacMan777
AfterDawn Addict
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14. February 2007 @ 20:39 |
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Necessary for what?
With ample RAM, say 1GB, and a fast enough CPU (say a 900MHz PIII) you can run the XP OS and be able to use most office programs, surf the net, transcode movies (takes a long time), and play the more simple games. You only need a burner and a decent older AGP graphics card along with a sound card and some speakers. Monitor is optional as the system will work with the old CRT or could use one of the LCD flatscreens. Now that's workable old. I don't know if a PIII is worth a couple of hundred in upgrades, but some people seem to think so. Frankly I don't see it unless you have the old parts on hand. Put the money in a new system.
To power up for Vista there's a list of compatible hardware necessary. Just follow the Vista requirements during the build or upgrade. You can do that without going crazy and can come out with a good system for less than $2000. Go with a C2D CPU and a good mobo that supports it, a Vista compatible GPU, a quality PSU, some SATA HD drives, some optical drives, quality DDR2 RAM, and a Vista ready monitor and you have what's needed. Older platforms can be upgraded for Vista with Vista compatible components replacing the old. The peripherals and how highend you want to go with components will change it from a "grunt" to a uber performer. Like I said, you can have a good E6600 system for less than $2000 with good performance or spend some serious bucks like I mentioned joking around in the previous post. 2 EVGA 8800s will run you over $1000 for a highend SLI setup. But a good 1950 Radeon will handle most people's needs.
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 14. February 2007 @ 20:52
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PacMan777
AfterDawn Addict
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14. February 2007 @ 20:46 |
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Originally posted by slym:
outta curiosity.. and some confusion...
what upgrades are good and/or necessary, chip/board as well as visual/sound -wise ?
Naturally the board has to support the CPU and necessary items like a Vista compatible graphics card to support the Vista ready monitors. Other than that it depends on the mobo to some degree. Many Asus boards have onboard audio that does a good job. Other brands do as well, just note the specs. You can go from stereo to serious surround sound speaker systems. Tailor the audio to your tastes. A sound card is going to give better sound if you go with a quality card. Quality speakers are better than the cheap-Os, the system improves according to the extras you want to invest in.
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 14. February 2007 @ 20:49
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AfterDawn Addict
4 product reviews
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15. February 2007 @ 03:31 |
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As far as Vista and HD video goes, it's not really that easy or cheap. You need an HDCP video card, of which there aren't many until you get to the DX10 cards. In addition an HDCP monitor. Now my monitor is, and my GPU will be when I buy an R600 when they're released, but the total cost of those components is £1400...
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PacMan777
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15. February 2007 @ 09:10 |
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Sammorris
I played cheap on the video card for this build. LOL About the only thing. Not really cheap, just not highend. I'm thinking of curing that. I have no plans of switching to Vista any time soon, but it is already Vista ready. ATI has a sytem analyzer for testing systems, which I ran recently. My system meets all the best aspects except for, you guessed it, the vid card. It meets all the best requirements except for the shader. I have 2.0 and for best requires 3.0. The analyzer rates the system and parts on a slow to fast scale with Good, Better, Best. My old card comes in at a shade below Best. Everything else rates Best. So for Vista and HD video, all I'd have to do is install a drive. For best results I need to buy a $250 GPU.
For those wanting to analyze their sytem, here's the link.
http://ati.amd.com/technology/windowsvista/AreYouVistaReady.html
With a decent performing system with last gen parts an upgrade to Vista is painless. It's those who built on the cheap who will have the problems. For Vista all I have to ante up is the cost of the OS. If I want HD Video, then I'll have to add the drive to the list. For optimal quality, a good GPU. No where close to £1400. Going on the cheap for Vista would be a no cost proposition, except for the OS itself.
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