Buying a New Computer.

[Aecliptic]

Before you decide to buy, you should let us know what parts youre getting and how much its gonna cost you because we might be able to find shops that you could order from which will save you some money.

Also, make sure the store actually has the parts, because alot of the stuff mentioned here sells out pretty quick.

 

[_Daut_]

Sure will.
They wanted 3550$ for this but I made them lower it to 3200$. I just told them if it's not 3200$ I'll simply won't buy it from them. (They probably buy those parts for 10$ each, hehe.)

Here's what he sent me on Email, I added the NewEgg links. It actually comes out fairly cheaper then NewEgg... I think.

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CPU: Intel Core 2 Extreme X6800 Conroe 1066MHz FSB
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16819115001

Motherboard: ASUS P5W DH Deluxe Wifi-AP Socket T LGA 775 Intel
975X ATX
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16813131025

CrossFire Installment:
Card 1: Sapphire Radeon PCI-E X1900XTX 512MB GDDR3
Card 2: Sapphire Radeon PCI-E X1900 GDDR3 CrossFire edition

1) http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16814102671
2) http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16814102676R

Memory: G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) DDR2 4-4-4-5 1066MHz (PC2 8500) 2.4V
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16820231086

Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda 500GB 7200RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16822148136

Sound Card: Creative SOUND BLASTER X-Fi Platinum 7.1 PCI
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16829102190

PSU: Silverstone ATX 750W 12V Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16817256006

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One thing I don't understand is the 750W PSU while you guys gave me the impression that 600W is more then enough.


Now I'm getting rather confused... It seemed like a very good deal for a second but the more I think about it, it seems they shoved in parts my son won't really need.

 

[Aecliptic]

The video card Im not sure about, Im not a gamer, so Im not gonna give advice about it - hopefully someone else could give you a thumbs up or down on that setup.

The G Skill card is not worth the money it costs, its a good card, but if I were you Id get the Corsair XMS2 2GB card with 3-4-3-9 latency - its faster and cheaper.

I think 750W is a bit much for a PSU... I suggested the 600W PSU, but if you want more juice, heres the same PSU with 700W (OCZ GameXStream 700W PSU) and its $70 cheaper.

 

[THEpiGUY]

Daut, that looks like a fantastic system. The ONLY problem I see (besides the extra watts floating around, which is never truly a problem besides price) is that I don't think 1066MHz RAM works in your Motherboard.

P5W DH Deluxe Stats

Also, just for a reference, Here's a comparison of the two cards (Radeon X1900XTX & nVidia Geforce 7950GX2.) Please keep in mind that the 7950GX2 is two cards built into one, and the specs they give are simply theoretical and are not necessarily accurate. Each card in the 7950 has exactly half of what's listed. And yet the X1900XTX still has more shader operations per second (which is very, very good). For the price you're paying for the GX2's, it's simply not worth it, IMO. The X1900XTX is amazing from what I've heard.

Your son should be very happy with this computer.

 

[_Daut_]

The video card Im not sure about, Im not a gamer, so Im not gonna give advice about it - hopefully someone else could give you a thumbs up or down on that setup.

The G Skill card is not worth the money it costs, its a good card, but if I were you Id get the Corsair XMS2 2GB card with 3-4-3-9 latency - its faster and cheaper.

I think 750W is a bit much for a PSU... I suggested the 600W PSU, but if you want more juice, heres the same PSU with 700W (OCZ GameXStream 700W PSU) and its $70 cheaper.

I talked to the master salesperson at the shop and he said, quote: "The G.SKILL 4-4-4-5 is better and by far more reliable then the XMS2 3-4-3-9" Tell you the truth, 4-4-4-5 does seem faster then 3-4-3-9 to me...

About the PSU he said that the PSU you stated costs only 35$ less from where they're ordering it and that actually Silverstone PSUs are far more relianble then OCZ.

Daut, that looks like a fantastic system. The ONLY problem I see (besides the extra watts floating around, which is never truly a problem besides price) is that I don't think 1066MHz RAM works in your Motherboard.

He gave me the manufacturers site- http://usa.asus.com/products4.aspx?modelmenu=2&model=1198&l1=3&l2=11&l3=248

It clearly states 800/1066MHz.

P5W DH Deluxe Stats

Also, just for a reference, Here's a comparison of the two cards (Radeon X1900XTX & nVidia Geforce 7950GX2.) Please keep in mind that the 7950GX2 is two cards built into one, and the specs they give are simply theoretical and are not necessarily accurate. Each card in the 7950 has exactly half of what's listed. And yet the X1900XTX still has more shader operations per second (which is very, very good). For the price you're paying for the GX2's, it's simply not worth it, IMO. The X1900XTX is amazing from what I've heard.

What you said is pretty much the same as what he said. "The GF7950GX2 is a strong card, probably even stronger then the X1900XTX in some situations, but when it comes to real high-end performance computers the X1900XTX, especialy in a CrossFire installement overthrows Nvidia's 7950GX2 series. It's also cheaper." (Direct quote from the email I recieved.)

Your son should be very happy with this computer.

For 3000$+ he better be...

 

[Aecliptic]

Who are you going to trust? A salesperson trying to make commission on a memory card that is hard to sell because of its price, or from 10 people who live computers who are here to help and make nothing from it?

Go to newegg and read the reviews of the G Skill memory card versus the Corsair Memory card.

OCZ is one of the best companies on the market when it comes to making computer parts.

 

[_Daut_]

Don't think I favor his opinion over the opinion of the various people here, I only quoted what he said. Besides, his point was rather logical, 4-4-4-5 does seem faster then 3-4-3-9

About the reviews I did just that and the G.Skill has no reviews while the Corsair got mixed reviews, some saying not very nice things, as you can see here.

 

[Aecliptic]

Just so you know, the lower the numbers the faster the card.

 

[_Daut_]

I understand that but is 4-4-4-5 not less then 3-4-3-9?

 

[Aecliptic]

What do you mean, I just looked at the reviews for the Corsair, they all give 5 stars... with no negative remarks about it.