Will these all work together?

[BuzzSaw55]

Mmm, if it's a retail version you *might* be able to get away with it, if you tell them that you're upgrading the old computer and reinstalling. If it's from a retailer or OEM, you're pretty much SOL.

As far as the video card goes, it's a decent card, but there's newer and better cards out that you might be able to get for around the same price. They finally blocked Newegg out here at work (covering a weekend shift) so I'd have to look when I get home if no one else chimes in.

As long as you have a legitimate serial number your operating system OEM or retail can be transferred to a new computer just be sure to tell them what they want to hear, this operating system is only installed on one computer, even if it isn't.

Joe

[{CLR}geneSW]

Sorry, i'm an Nvidia fan... always have been, always will be... just like i'm an AMD fan. Even though they aren't the best right now doesn't mean they shouldn't be supported. How else will prices stay low for everybody else?

Besides. You might be able to find an older 8800gts for cheaper and it still runs great. I'm running C:W on 1280x1024 with 4xAA and almost all good quality settings and still get 40-50FPS. With everybody on good quality I get 30-35FPS, which is still playable.

[{CLR} Naillik]

Ok, I'm gonna ask the easy way -- Could one of you try and bump that setup at the top down to $1000 bucks, get rid of any un needed stuff, but make sure it will still be able to play new games well at good settings?
I am laazyy today :I

[{CLR}geneSW]

Ok, I'm gonna ask the easy way -- Could one of you try and bump that setup at the top down to $1000 bucks, get rid of any un needed stuff, but make sure it will still be able to play new games well at good settings?
I am laazyy today :I

So... Make you a rig of under $1k. ok... Check back in about 20-30 minuets.

Edit: Here's a list from directron.com with prices. Came out to about $900 total...

CPU:Intel Core 2 Duo E8200 2.66GHz 1333FSB 45nm (178.99)

Motherboard: Abit I-N73HD nForce 630i LGA775 mATX Motherboard (69.99)

RAM: Two Corsair XMS2 2GB DDR2 800 (95.9

Case: Black Aerocool ZeroDegree Flexi Tower Computer Case, (129.99)

CPU cooler: Thermaltake DuOrb CPU Cooler (62.99)

PSU: Black Thermaltake Toughpower 600W ATX 12V and EPS 12V Power Supply (112.99)

GPU: BFG BFGE98512GTOCPE GeForce 9800GT OC+ 512MB GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 Video Card. (143.9

Harddrive: WD Caviar SE 500GB 3.5in SATA 3Gb/s Hard Drive, 7200 RPM, 8MB Cache, Model: (67.99)

C.D. (x2): Black Sony CRX320EB ATAPI/EIDE 52X32X52X CD-RW and 16X DVD-Rom Combo Drive (45.9

Now. I know that a lot of people are going to say "Why go with Nvidia"... well, that's a cheap price for a good GPU from a good company... Sure, it isn't the 1gb model, but 512 is more then enough power for any future gaming for the next 1.5-2 years.. Same goes with the Thermaltake PSU. I own one... and I have had no troubles what so ever... As a matter of fact the only difference between that PSU and mine is that mine is 700w not 600w.. Also, with that PSU you should have less cable cluster to deal with as you only need to add the calbes that you need to use. The rest you can store somewhere!

[DougBob]

4GB Memory is fine unless your going to run 64 bit OS. You'll only be able to use 4 GB or 3.5GB depending on MB arch.

[{CLR} Naillik]

So... Make you a rig of under $1k. ok... Check back in about 20-30 minuets.

pretty much, lol...
Thanks
I gotta head to bed, it's almost 20 to 1 here, so I'll check tomorrow.
ty

[Trooper110]

Ok gene, I haven't checked prices recently, but from things I've read and seen, going with a quad core chip over a dual core is the current way to go, even if all programs/games aren't optimized for multi-core chips. Might want to bump the power supply, especially as it seems that current graphics cards keep taking more and more power these days. The cache on the hard drive is a little low, might want to kick that to one that has at least a 16mb cache on it. Even if you don't go with any kind of RAID, having at least 2 hard drives, or one large one, isn't going to be that much more expensive.

I don't know enough about the case or the motherboard at this point in time to make any comments. I'm assuming though that you'll have him going with onboard sound with that setup.

[{CLR}geneSW]

Ok gene, I haven't checked prices recently, but from things I've read and seen, going with a quad core chip over a dual core is the current way to go, even if all programs/games aren't optimized for multi-core chips. Might want to bump the power supply, especially as it seems that current graphics cards keep taking more and more power these days. The cache on the hard drive is a little low, might want to kick that to one that has at least a 16mb cache on it. Even if you don't go with any kind of RAID, having at least 2 hard drives, or one large one, isn't going to be that much more expensive.

I don't know enough about the case or the motherboard at this point in time to make any comments. I'm assuming though that you'll have him going with onboard sound with that setup.

1.) yes, Abit has good onboard sound, so he can save up a bit and throw in a sound card later on if he wants. 2.) the cache on that HD is big enough. You don't need blazing fast to load up a map. You might miss the first 5 seconds, but you save yourself some cash. 3.) 600W is more then enough for that set-up. It's actually a bit overkill IMO, but I wanted to be sure that he had the room to expand later on down the line if he wanted. And lets not forget that prices are bound to drop on quads around december or so simply for sales reasons. So if he wanted to wait untill then then perhaps it would be a bit less expensive. 4.) that board supports quad-core CPU's, but a dual will run things just fine for under $1k. Keep in mind that I left him with $100 for shipping, which is overkill, but he could get next day with that much money.

Honestly, at the end of the day you could go with a cheaper case (save about $70 or so), but I wanted to throw in something that displays all of that cash he is spending! It also somewhat keeps in the design of the original case he posted up.

[Ghost_Rain]

I have the Asus 750i P5N-D motherboard and I have not had one problem with it it surports the new Intel Cpu and it a great buy for the price, As for the Nvida 260 and 280 card give them a miss because the are full of bugs and faults. My friend as 2 260 cards in Sli and He as had nothing but problems.

[WalkinTarget]

Here's the best I could do without really digging for rebate buys:

CPU: Q9300 - $260
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115043

MoBo: Gigabyte GA-EP45 - $99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128345

RAM: G. Skill 4gb (2x2gb DDR2-800 - $67
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128345

Video: Asus 4850 512mb PCIe - $140 AR
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814121253

PSU: Corsair 650TX PSU - $90 AR
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139005

Case: Cooler Master RC690 - $80
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811119137

Hard Drive: WD 640gb AKS 7200rpm 16mb - $85
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822136218

HSF: Xigmatek HDT120mm HSF - $37
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835233003

Optical: Samsung 22x DVD/RW - $28
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827151173

Total is $886 AR but doesn't include S/H. Add an OS and that will still be under $1,000 I'm sure, and seems like a solid build with upgrading potential.

I agree to an extent on the HardOCP bias, as they can really tick off some people with their blatant hardware testing methodology, but other sites show the 4870 and GTX260 trading higher scores, so it really is a toss up in regards to which card to buy.

[juneau]

Here's the best I could do without really digging for rebate buys:

CPU: Q9300 - $260
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115043

MoBo: Gigabyte GA-EP45 - $99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128345

RAM: G. Skill 4gb (2x2gb DDR2-800 - $67
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128345

Video: Asus 4850 512mb PCIe - $140 AR
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814121253

PSU: Corsair 650TX PSU - $90 AR
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139005

Case: Cooler Master RC690 - $80
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811119137

Hard Drive: WD 650gb AKS 7200rpm 16mb - $85
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822136218

HSF: Xigmatek HDT120mm HSF - $37
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835233003

Optical: Samsung 22x DVD/RW - $28
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827151173

Total is $886 AR but doesn't include S/H. Add an OS and that will still be under $1,000 I'm sure, and seems like a solid build with upgrading potential.

I agree to an extent on the HardOCP bias, as they can really tick off some people with their blatant hardware testing methodology, but other sites show the 4870 and GTX260 trading higher scores, so it really is a toss up in regards to which card to buy.

Now that is a good spec! Do newegg stock the WD 640GB AAKS (2 320GB platters)? Or is that it? Never seen the 650GB model before. Just 500, 640, 750. The 640GB HDD is insanely fast.

Western Digital Caviar Blue 640GB SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM (WD6400AAKS)

The onyl part i'd probably change is the cooler.
Newegg.com - ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro 92mm CPU Cooler - CPU Fans & Heatsinks ACF7 Pro. While the Xigmatek is slightly better, i don't think he needs that kind of cooling as i doubt he will overclock. It might also be easier to install. The Xigmatek doesn't use the default push pins does it?

Mind PM me a few links WT? The ones i posted are from good ol' anandtech and when compared to some consumer tests i've seen on OcUK they're very similar. And show the 4870 to be roughly 20+FPS better than the GTX260.

Just in case anybody is wondering this is what i recommend as of now.

Low budget : 8800GT
Mid budget : 4850
High budget : 4870
No price too high : GTX280

[WalkinTarget]

DoH !! TYPO ... it was in fact the WD 640, not a 650.

I really like that parts list, and was surprised to see the new Gigabyte board under $100 already. The Q9300 is good for at least 3.33ghz with some tweaking, and the video card is obviously a step up from the 8800 series.

I hope Nail enjoys putting it together. He's a great guy, so he deserves a solid, trouble-free build that lasts him at least three years. You guys know I geek out on these threads as well, as I consider it my area of specialized knowledge, so its just a matter of doing some research and helping out friends.

Juneau, I re-read the Anandtech review, and based on their seven games, the ATI and Nvidia cards won three each with one being a tie .... so it mostly depends on what games you are palying, but no card came out a clear cut winner in thei opinion. They mostly criticized Nvidia for releasing so many different cards in an effort to slow the ATI bleeding they have been suffering.

[{CLR} Naillik]

Here's the best I could do without really digging for rebate buys:

CPU: Q9300 - $260
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115043

MoBo: Gigabyte GA-EP45 - $99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128345

RAM: G. Skill 4gb (2x2gb DDR2-800 - $67
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128345

Video: Asus 4850 512mb PCIe - $140 AR
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814121253

PSU: Corsair 650TX PSU - $90 AR
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139005

Case: Cooler Master RC690 - $80
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811119137

Hard Drive: WD 640gb AKS 7200rpm 16mb - $85
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822136218

HSF: Xigmatek HDT120mm HSF - $37
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835233003

Optical: Samsung 22x DVD/RW - $28
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827151173

Total is $886 AR but doesn't include S/H. Add an OS and that will still be under $1,000 I'm sure, and seems like a solid build with upgrading potential.

Sweet, I love it WT.... thanks for the help everyone - Now for the parent test... lol.
edit: I wonder if this will be available on newegg Canada when its finally ready.

[BenKenobi]

I'd go for this PSU... its 10 bucks cheaper after rebate, and 50W more... and I also have it... so you know it's good

Newegg.com - FSP Group FX700-GLN 700W ATX12V V2.2EPS12V SLI Certified CrossFire Ready Active PFC Power Supply - Power Supplies

[WalkinTarget]

Ben and I am both fond of our FSP power supplies, but I know name recognition counts for something on the Lair, and everyone knows Corsair builds rock solid PSUs. They mostly stick with one monster +12 rail whereas the trend has been to have multiple rails spread out, in the case of the FSP, 4 separate rails of 17a each.

It really is a toss up, with the only ding against the FSP that is has some ripple output when its loaded down very hard, so you don't want to max it out 24/7. If necessary I can link up a good read on JohnnyGuru.com on the FSP unit.

PS - I agree with Juneau on the change to the HSF. I was thinking Nail had built a rig before and would be OK with the tougher mounting of the Xigmatek unit. Arctic Cooler Freezer Pro 7 for an easy install.