New Computer!?

[SlickRick15]

Well.. i'm due for an upgrade, Hooray! Here's my current setup...
AMD Athlon 3000+
Radeon X850XT PCI-E
1.5GB DDR RAM
I have been needing some help on finding a near-top-of-the-line PC. I'm interested in cheap near the top performance hardware, such as the Core 2 Duo 6600. I wanted to pair the processor up with a new Intel MObo, but cant decide which one, and stick 2GB DDR2 800 RAM into it. I will probably stick with my X850 XT for awhile until the DX10 cards drop in price.... So anyway any help with a mobo? What do u guys reccomend i do? Im up for anything!

 

[Celegorm]

right now, i'll keep from giving you links to newegg for the boards, but i will give you links from intel. The following two boards are my personal favorites from them, have seen absolutly no problems with them.

First one, DG965WH http://www.intel.com/products/motherboard/DG965WH/index.htm Decent price, Has built in RAID (from my research, its the lowest price Intel board with built in RAID that supports the Core 2)

Second, DG965RY http://www.intel.com/products/motherboard/DG965RY/index.htm Not quite as highend as the WH, no built in RAID, 2 less SATA ports and not as good audio.

If either of theses appeal to you and you live in the US, i'll find you links on Newegg.

 

[SlickRick15]

Yup teh first one soudns great! send me a link... does it support DDr2 800? I think it does.. but not sure. Would i see a huge difference as well in upgrading to a SATA Hard Drive.. i got 160GB WD right now, IDE. Do you think its a smart decision to wait for the prices to drop for the DX10 cards?

 

[Celegorm]

here ya go: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813121052 To answer your question yes, it does support DDR2-800, but only 4 gigs. it can handle 8 gigs of the slower speed DDR2s. That is the one downside to the intel boards. However, their Customer service is good. I have seen them RMA a customer's board when it was six months out of warranty.

Looks like there is a deal right now for 2GB OCZ DDR2-800 memory with it.

You will notice a difference, but it won't be an "oh my god" one. I would still get a Sata drive for it though, because it only has one IDE channel on the motherboard, and you would be severly limiting the speed of your hard drive if you pair it on the same channel as a Optical drive.

As for DX10 video cards, i'm probally the worst one to ask when it comes to waiting to buy because of price. I bought my 8800 soon after it hit the market. I found teh buy worth it immediatly, but not knowing if you game or not, i can't answer that.

 

[SlickRick15]

Ok ill look into that mobo for the near future! Yes i am a gamer, however not currently, i used to be a heavy gamer,but once crysis hits the shelfs count me in, i need a good comp for it. I have a 360 to keep me company until then so. I need to find a Video Card sooner or later

 

[SlickRick15]

Which brings me to another topic, can i buy an HDTV Cable for X850 XT nad plug it into my card, then hook my 360 up to it, and it will display out to monitor on the DVI Port?

 

[Celegorm]

if your gamming, then i wouldn't wait too long. However, if the money is an issue, and you don't mind being on integrated video for a bit, hold off until crysis does come out.

right now, it looks like the Nvidia cards are doing better performance wise, so when the time comes, that's where i would start looking.

As for the HDTV to the 360, i honestly couldn't tell ya.

 

[SlickRick15]

Well.. couldnt i upgrade my processor mobo and ram, and use my X850XT until Crysis comes out?

 

[alvino]

If I were you, I would wait for Barcelona then make my decision.

As for Crysis, you can still run it with a DX9 card, but the graphical effects won't be as shiny.

 

[Celegorm]

What is the Barcelona? googling it gives me travel guides.