Hey gang. I'm in the market for a new computer, but I really don't have the time to educate myself on the latest-and-greatest technology. This is the thing I hate about buying new computer prats -- by the time I get around to it again, everything has changed and I don't know what's "good" and what's a lemon anymore. So, I'm hoping someone here can simplify a few things for me. I'll say potato and you say "Idaho Potato Commission". I'm canabalizing a couple of other computers, so I already have: a case (ATX form factor) a power supply (I think it's 500W, though I will have to double check it to make sure). adequate hard drives and CD/DVD Drives. a brand new PCI sound card (SoundBlaster Audigy 2) monitors keyboard, mouse, etc So really, I just need: cpu: I'm willing to pay for max performance here. memory: I'm looking for at least 4 gigs here, and I want it to be fast. Again, I'm willing to splurge here. gpu: I have my XBox360 mainly for games, but I do my own graphics programming sometimes. I don't need top-of-the-line here, but I do need something respectable. motherboard: whatever I need to satisfy the above. I have a lot of USB devices, so the more ports the merrier. Which are pretty much the 4 things that change so often that I can never keep up with them. I typically write a lot of small, high-performance, number-crunching programs, as well as doing some fairly massive image manipulations in photoshop (like compositing mutliple 8MP images shot in 16b RAW mode) so I actually do have significant use of a high-performance machine. Assume price is no object.

thanks for the tip on the price drop.

I'm thinking that I will get:
Intel Core 2 Duo e6700
4GB of DDR2 1066 RAM
GeForce 6800GTS

aaaand a motherboard to fit them all... probably something Asus.

Video Card: 8 series
CPU: Any Core 2 Duo will do, I have the second slowest one and it's blazing.
RAM: Kingston DDR2 Value RAM
As for the motherboard, Asus is usually good but my Asus PN5-E SLI has bad memory slots and that seems to be a recurring trend with that model.

I generaly go for an Asus, Gigbyte, MSI although I've heard good things about the new Intel boards. Just avoid VIA chipsets, I've had bad experiences and from what I've read those experiences happen often. Just make sure that it has the right slots for you Video Card, CPU, and RAM. It's a good idea to check the manufacturer's site for info on a motherboard before buying it.

i dont rcommend asus any way...
thats just making show...
the asus is loks good for all because the coming with some free software...
but i think this cant chance the hardwares dezavantages.
msi or gigabyte is more better...
i tryed 2 versions of asus and one or more gigabyte.
and i think gigabyte is my favorite...

also i expirenced about core duo cells ...
and i can say they are not too different..

i recommened one cell but faster cpu of intel...
i think that can be so faster...

i think 6GH is better then 2*3GH (absolutely if exists)
also i think celerons are good then pentium

and just hardware can't make your pc faster allways...

[Edited by - RSC_x on June 30, 2007 1:39:24 AM]

Quote:Original post by capn_midnight
thanks for the tip on the price drop.

I'm thinking that I will get:
Intel Core 2 Duo e6700
4GB of DDR2 1066 RAM
GeForce 6800GTS

aaaand a motherboard to fit them all... probably something Asus.

Get a quadcore if you want ultimate performance not to mention photoshop is one of the only apps where quadcore shows off it's power.
I'm running a 6600 on the asus p5nsli motherboard and it's working great for me but it sounds like a majority of others have problems with it. I guess I got lucky and got one of the good boards.
You realize you won't be able to use all 4GB with a 32bit OS so I don't recommend that much mem unless you running 64bit OS.
Finally there is absolutely no reason I can think of to get a 6800card instead of a 8600gts, which I own by the way, since the 8600card is DX10 compatible,smaller,uses less power,faster,etc.
Other than that, everything else looks good.
Actually depending on how old your power supply is you might need to get a new one if it's not 24pin since most newer motherboards use that now. Also the newer ps come with sata and pci-e power connectors now so you don't need to use cable adapter like you have to with older power supplies.
You should really set an upper limit on how much you planning to spend since if price really is no object short of buying a octocore macpro the fastest consumer pc you can build can easily hit $12,000!


[Edited by - daviangel on July 2, 2007 3:07:22 AM]

Yeah, I'm going to get Vista for this system. You talked about DX10 anyway, which is only going to work on Vista.

Hi,

I'm rigth now also in the progress of obtaining a new computer.

I have three options:

- AMD Athlon64 X2 6000+ 2x3.0GHz 2x1024kB
- Asus M2N32-SLI Del. (nForce 590 SLI)
- 4096MB Corsair TWIN2X DHX DDR2-800 CL5 (2x 2048MB)
- SLI-Bundle 2x NVidia GeForce 8800 GTX Extreme 768MB

or

- Intel Core 2 Duo E6700 - @2x3.33GHz 4096kB 1333FSB
- Asus P5N32-E SLI (nForce 680i SLI)
- 4096MB Corsair TWIN2X Dominator DDR2-1066 CL5 (4x 1024MB)
- NVidia GeForce 8800 Ultra 768MB PCIe

or

- Intel Core 2 Duo E6700 - 2x2.67GHz 4096kB 1066FSB
- Asus P5N32-E SLI
- 2048MB Corsair TWIN2X Dominator DDR2-1066 CL5 (2x 1024MB)
- SLI-Bundle 2x NVidia GeForce 8800 GTX 768MB PCIe

I want to play games, program games and do simulations for university. Rigth now I would go with the second one.
- Does an SLI System realy make a big diverens or is pure CPU Power more importent?
- Can I run physics on one GPU and Graphics on the other?

If this is not the right place to ask, please direct me to the place where it's more fitting to ask.

Thank you for your time and replays.

Quote:Original post by dragongame
Hi,

I'm rigth now also in the progress of obtaining a new computer.

I have three options:

- AMD Athlon64 X2 6000+ 2x3.0GHz 2x1024kB
- Asus M2N32-SLI Del. (nForce 590 SLI)
- 4096MB Corsair TWIN2X DHX DDR2-800 CL5 (2x 2048MB)
- SLI-Bundle 2x NVidia GeForce 8800 GTX Extreme 768MB

or

- Intel Core 2 Duo E6700 - @2x3.33GHz 4096kB 1333FSB
- Asus P5N32-E SLI (nForce 680i SLI)
- 4096MB Corsair TWIN2X Dominator DDR2-1066 CL5 (4x 1024MB)
- NVidia GeForce 8800 Ultra 768MB PCIe

or

- Intel Core 2 Duo E6700 - 2x2.67GHz 4096kB 1066FSB
- Asus P5N32-E SLI
- 2048MB Corsair TWIN2X Dominator DDR2-1066 CL5 (2x 1024MB)
- SLI-Bundle 2x NVidia GeForce 8800 GTX 768MB PCIe

I want to play games, program games and do simulations for university. Rigth now I would go with the second one.
- Does an SLI System realy make a big diverens or is pure CPU Power more importent?
- Can I run physics on one GPU and Graphics on the other?

If this is not the right place to ask, please direct me to the place where it's more fitting to ask.

Thank you for your time and replays.

You should start your own thread and I'd reply there.

Quote:Original post by daviangel
You realize you won't be able to use all 4GB with a 32bit OS so I don't recommend that much mem unless you running 64bit OS.

Why not?