I'm Buying A Computer!
TychoCelchuuu
Anememone Join Date: 2002-03-23 Member: 345Members
Anememone Join Date: 2002-03-23 Member: 345Members
<div class="IPBDescription">Part 1: Zehr Hardwareining</div>So I'm headed off to college at the end of August, and I need a computer. Up until now I've shared this computer with the rest of my family, which you can imagine isn't much fun for an ubernerd who enjoys 3d modelling, the intertubes, and computer games, and who also does all his writing on the computer. That's all periphery info, though. This is Part 1 of a 2 or more part series on me and my first computer. It focuses on the hardware and pleads with you to help, because we all know it's fun to act knowledgeable about this stuff on forums online. Here's my prospective list:
ASUS P5B Deluxe
Intel Core 2 Duo E6750
2GB PC6400 DDR2-800 SDRAM
NVIDIA Geforce 8800GTS 640MB
An X-Fi soundcard, the cheap one (XTREEME MUSIX or something)
Whatever Hard Drive is on sale on Newegg
Some DVD drive
Either an Antec Sonata 3 or an Antec P180B (Sonata 3: cheaper, 180B: beautiful, larger)
Logitech G5
Whatever keyboard catches my fancy
The monitor will be the Samsung SyncMaster 930B that is currently the secondary monitor on this computer. I'm going to be in a dorm, so in lieu of speakers I'm going with a good set of headphones. Sound good? Let's get to my questions (oh so many questions).
<b>1. ZE HEADPHONEZ</b>
<div align="center"><img src="http://www.mrgadget.com.au/catalog/images/sennheiser_hd202_headphones.gif" border="0" alt="IPB Image" /></div>
I want some really nice headphones, because there's no point in blowing lots of money on a videocard and a nice monitor to make the games look really pretty and play quite smooth if it sounds like they're being played in a tin can hooked up via string to another tin can held against your ear. I have no idea where to start; I think I want 5.1 or 7.1 surround sound or whatever they can do these days, and I know I want a microphone, but it's dashed difficult to find good reviews online and the thread we had a while ago didn't mention much about sound quality. What headphones shall I choose?
<b>2. ZE VEEDYOCARD</b>
<div align="center"><img src="http://regmedia.co.uk/2006/11/16/sparkle_8800_4.jpg" border="0" alt="IPB Image" /></div>
Is an 8800GTS a good idea? I feel pretty good about it (apart from the price but there's not much I can do about that), but if there's a better option that has slipped under my radar, I'd appreciate if you light it up with a targeting laser or uncover it with an AWACS so that my UAVs can zero in and hit it with a cruise missile, metaphorically.
<b>3. ZE POOTING IT TOGEZER</b>
<div align="center"><img src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/55/Mycomputer.jpg/270px-Mycomputer.jpg" border="0" alt="IPB Image" /></div>
I built my family's current computer but that's pretty much it. I'm a computer whiz but that's really just software (and Windows, at that). Anyone have any tips for building a computer? Wiring those tiny little wires to those tiny little pins on the motherboard so that the lights on the front light up gives me a headache.
<b>4. ZE AIRFLOAW</b>
<div align="center"><img src="http://www.centennialofflight.gov/essay/Dictionary/bernoulli/DI9G1.jpg" border="0" alt="IPB Image" /></div>
Do I need to buy a buncha fans? In deference to my 2 roomates, only one of which seems crazy so far (hooray?), I don't want an F-22 sitting on my desk, but I also don't want it to melt. I'm not going to be overclocking (srsly it's fast enough kthnx), and I'm not really sure about what fans the cases come with, but like I said, this is my first time with supar fast hardware. Heck, my current vidya card doesn't even have a fan. Just a heatsink. I'm not used to this sort of power.
<b>5. ZE CASE (of ze meexed up cases?)</b>
<div align="center"><img src="http://www.continent.com.au/images/CAA-P180B.jpg" border="0" alt="IPB Image" /></div>
What case do I go with? I'm staring at an Antec Sonata Mk. I right now, and it's pretty awesome, if a tad small. I also like how the Sonata Mk. III comes with its own PSU. I'm leaning towards it, but I think objectively the P180B is supposed to be better, actually. So yeah.
<b>6. ZE OZHER STUFF</b>
<div align="center"><img src="http://slayeroffice.com/gr/javascript_the_cat.jpg" border="0" alt="IPB Image" />
Cats count as other stuff</div>
Am I like, forgetting anything? Other than the floppy drive; I know I left that out. Don't want one. I also don't think I need a CD/DVD burner. Oh, and I've already got a joystick. Anything else?
ASUS P5B Deluxe
Intel Core 2 Duo E6750
2GB PC6400 DDR2-800 SDRAM
NVIDIA Geforce 8800GTS 640MB
An X-Fi soundcard, the cheap one (XTREEME MUSIX or something)
Whatever Hard Drive is on sale on Newegg
Some DVD drive
Either an Antec Sonata 3 or an Antec P180B (Sonata 3: cheaper, 180B: beautiful, larger)
Logitech G5
Whatever keyboard catches my fancy
The monitor will be the Samsung SyncMaster 930B that is currently the secondary monitor on this computer. I'm going to be in a dorm, so in lieu of speakers I'm going with a good set of headphones. Sound good? Let's get to my questions (oh so many questions).
<b>1. ZE HEADPHONEZ</b>
<div align="center"><img src="http://www.mrgadget.com.au/catalog/images/sennheiser_hd202_headphones.gif" border="0" alt="IPB Image" /></div>
I want some really nice headphones, because there's no point in blowing lots of money on a videocard and a nice monitor to make the games look really pretty and play quite smooth if it sounds like they're being played in a tin can hooked up via string to another tin can held against your ear. I have no idea where to start; I think I want 5.1 or 7.1 surround sound or whatever they can do these days, and I know I want a microphone, but it's dashed difficult to find good reviews online and the thread we had a while ago didn't mention much about sound quality. What headphones shall I choose?
<b>2. ZE VEEDYOCARD</b>
<div align="center"><img src="http://regmedia.co.uk/2006/11/16/sparkle_8800_4.jpg" border="0" alt="IPB Image" /></div>
Is an 8800GTS a good idea? I feel pretty good about it (apart from the price but there's not much I can do about that), but if there's a better option that has slipped under my radar, I'd appreciate if you light it up with a targeting laser or uncover it with an AWACS so that my UAVs can zero in and hit it with a cruise missile, metaphorically.
<b>3. ZE POOTING IT TOGEZER</b>
<div align="center"><img src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/55/Mycomputer.jpg/270px-Mycomputer.jpg" border="0" alt="IPB Image" /></div>
I built my family's current computer but that's pretty much it. I'm a computer whiz but that's really just software (and Windows, at that). Anyone have any tips for building a computer? Wiring those tiny little wires to those tiny little pins on the motherboard so that the lights on the front light up gives me a headache.
<b>4. ZE AIRFLOAW</b>
<div align="center"><img src="http://www.centennialofflight.gov/essay/Dictionary/bernoulli/DI9G1.jpg" border="0" alt="IPB Image" /></div>
Do I need to buy a buncha fans? In deference to my 2 roomates, only one of which seems crazy so far (hooray?), I don't want an F-22 sitting on my desk, but I also don't want it to melt. I'm not going to be overclocking (srsly it's fast enough kthnx), and I'm not really sure about what fans the cases come with, but like I said, this is my first time with supar fast hardware. Heck, my current vidya card doesn't even have a fan. Just a heatsink. I'm not used to this sort of power.
<b>5. ZE CASE (of ze meexed up cases?)</b>
<div align="center"><img src="http://www.continent.com.au/images/CAA-P180B.jpg" border="0" alt="IPB Image" /></div>
What case do I go with? I'm staring at an Antec Sonata Mk. I right now, and it's pretty awesome, if a tad small. I also like how the Sonata Mk. III comes with its own PSU. I'm leaning towards it, but I think objectively the P180B is supposed to be better, actually. So yeah.
<b>6. ZE OZHER STUFF</b>
<div align="center"><img src="http://slayeroffice.com/gr/javascript_the_cat.jpg" border="0" alt="IPB Image" />
Cats count as other stuff</div>
Am I like, forgetting anything? Other than the floppy drive; I know I left that out. Don't want one. I also don't think I need a CD/DVD burner. Oh, and I've already got a joystick. Anything else?
Comments
Rig is very similar to the C2D beast I just built in January. Looks well put together; make sure you consult enthusiast review sites and forums for recommendations on RAM and power supply. Please soak up the knowledge available <a href="http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=59" target="_blank">on these forums</a> before you hit any Checkout buttons. For the small parts like DVD drive that you can't be bothered to research, the most current <a href="http://arstechnica.com/guides/buyer/guide-200706.ars" target="_blank">Ars System Guide</a> will give you a straightforward answer on what model to buy.
RE cooling, do you plan to overclock? If so (judging by the motherboard I'll assume it a possibility), have you decided on CPU cooling? If not, and if you're not doing something elaborate like water or peltier cooling, I have 3 words for you: Tuniq Tower 120. Rest assured your fear of fan noise is undue, any modern 120mm cooling fan will be hardly (aurally) noticeable.
RE video card you just have to search review sites and make the cost/performance ratio decision for yourself.. it's a vague question that's already been answered by n'th number of review websites. It's about as difficult to answer as "what do I want to be when I grow up?", which is a question I'm sure you're already distracted by, going to your first year of college and all.
RE sound card, the x-fi Xtreme Gamer is the one you want. Cheapest one in its class with no frills but as effective as the highest end x-fi.
<!--quoteo--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE</div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Wiring those tiny little wires to those tiny little pins on the motherboard so that the lights on the front light up gives me a headache. <!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
That's the most daunting part for first time builders, I know where you're coming from. Your motherboard AND case will come with an effusively user-friendly picture diagram to help you overcome this, so don't let it worry you. You'll have no problem.
Oh, and other people are gonna rail you on this: case-included PSUs are generally isht. If you get an antec case with an included PSU with enough wattage it'll be gravy cause they have a solid rap, but no-name Taiwanese mfgrs are not going to give you a PSU you want to be connecting to all the fresh PCB you just spent thousands on.
You could wait like 2 days and get a Q6600. They should be like under $300.
Dont get a xtreme music. They suck. Get the xtreme gamer or something. Or just don't get a sound card and use on board.
Yup, same advice you'll get from me. Here's why:
<!--quoteo--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE</div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->This is from the creative forums"The Extreme Gamer uses a real x-fi processor while the Xtreme Music uses the imfamous Audigy LS/SE/24 Live! processor. In other words, the extreme music does not have hardware support for DirecSound3D and EAX gaming."<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<a href="http://forums.vr-zone.com/showthread.php?t=143958" target="_blank">http://forums.vr-zone.com/showthread.php?t=143958</a>
You could wait like 2 days and get a Q6600. They should be like under $300.
<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Nah....waste of money
If I was you, I'd wait just a bit longer, AMD as many of you know has been lagging behind in the past year and a half, but don't let that fool you because soon, AMD will launch Phenom which is a an actual quad-core as opposed to Intels two dualies glued together. They announced launch somewhere in October and since right now their main priority is market share, I can tell you right now that the price won't be that high. They took on a $1.8 Billion loss in the past 9 months (some expenses attributable to the buyout of ATI, but not that much) to compete with Intel's current CPU lineup such as Core 2 Duo. I think Intel followed too because AMD became way too competitive with the pricing. But as of this moment, Intel still got the best performance (not sure about bang for the buck though).
P.S. Does anyone know when Penryn (Intel's 45nm lineup) is due for release?
P.S. #2 Rofl I'm typing this up as the Startship Troopers music is playing on TNT, which reminded me of those epic Heavy rushes in NS. Was it PDF (ubermensch?) who always played them?
Seasonic and Corsair ones are a few that I know of.
ubermensch: Like I said, I'm not overclocking anything, so I think I'll just stick with the stock CPU cooler, or at the most an aftermarket heatsink/fan combo rather than something fancy.
Anyone know a good place to start looking for headphones/headests? I've been sort of browsing the Platronics and Logitech ones on Newegg but that's not exactly definitive.
Cerberus, I'm not waiting any longer; I need the thing for school.
ubermensch: Like I said, I'm not overclocking anything, so I think I'll just stick with the stock CPU cooler, or at the most an aftermarket heatsink/fan combo rather than something fancy.
Anyone know a good place to start looking for headphones/headests? I've been sort of browsing the Platronics and Logitech ones on Newegg but that's not exactly definitive.
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Sennheiser PC150, ~50 euro, good sound and microphone, can have it on my head for hours.
Edit: just to clear up confusion, I don't have the Sennheiser PC150, I have the lightweight ones, a PC135 to be precise. PC130 is practically the same, shorter cord though iirc, no cord-windup thingy, no USB soundcard (which I've yet to find a use for, though currently loaned it to a mate whose soundcard died.), and perhaps it has slightly less power or whatnot behind it, nothing you'd notice though I think..
The games I am playing are not incredibly intensive, mostly Source engine stuff, some BF2. But I would like a good amount of power for 3D work. Should I max out on RAM instead of spending all my moneys on a graphics card?
/hijack
As for 3d graphics, a good processor and a couple gigs of RAM is pretty much all you need as long as your graphics card is supported. Unless you buy a Quadro or something, your gaming 3d card isn't going to make a huge difference no matter what its speed is, as long as it works. A dual or quad core processor is a good idea because many of those graphics programs are multithreaded and even if they aren't it's useful to be able to do other stuff when you render or run other programs, like Photoshop, along with the 3d app. 2 gigs of RAM should ensure you can open real big files without like, dying.
I am also building a new rig, with games and 3D modeling in mind. Is it worth getting a DX10 card since few games currently support it, and by the time they do said graphics card will be underpowered?
The games I am playing are not incredibly intensive, mostly Source engine stuff, some BF2. But I would like a good amount of power for 3D work. Should I max out on RAM instead of spending all my moneys on a graphics card?
/hijack
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A good graphics card is definitely worth it!
2Gb of RAM should be sufficient for gaming, I have no clue about rendering and 3d modeling.
lol. yes <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin-fix.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":D" border="0" alt="biggrin-fix.gif" />
<!--quoteo(post=1640004:date=Jul 21 2007, 10:02 AM:name=TychoCelchuuu)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(TychoCelchuuu @ Jul 21 2007, 10:02 AM) [snapback]1640004[/snapback]</div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Anyone know a good place to start looking for headphones/headests? I've been sort of browsing the Platronics and Logitech ones on Newegg but that's not exactly definitive.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Grado SR60 if you're an audiophile on a budget, if you're not an audiophile and are on a budget, it <b>just doesn't matter</b>. Get whatever design catches your fancy and has good reviews.
You don't need a DX10 card if your objective is to play DX10 games, since this is the first generation of those cards and they don't seem to do too well in DX10 stuff like Company of Heroes. A DX10 card is worth it, though, because the DX9 performance is so hilariously good that it doesn't matter that you can't really do DX10 well (considering it'll be a while until DX10 catches on).
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Add another 8800GTS 640MB and make it SLi if you're worried about DX10, should give you some nice performance.
Cerberus, I'm not waiting any longer; I need the thing for school.
ubermensch: Like I said, I'm not overclocking anything, so I think I'll just stick with the stock CPU cooler, or at the most an aftermarket heatsink/fan combo rather than something fancy.
Anyone know a good place to start looking for headphones/headests? I've been sort of browsing the Platronics and Logitech ones on Newegg but that's not exactly definitive.
<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Well, for one you're getting a desktop, so you can live a month or two without a computer. Core 2 Duo is already becoming aged as quad core will soon become the new standard. But If you need it now and it's urgent, then I understand
Anyway, nowadays computers and components are fairly idiot-proof, if you just take precation to touch a sheet of metal (the case or anything as your disposable) and avoid carpeted workspaces, you should be good.
About the components, I thought I would drop some comments since your build is fairly similiar to my rig.
The 180b has a nightmarish cable menagement in my opinion, I had to use violence and force to make it fit, and they are not fitting ideally at all. The case is heavy and somewhat cumbersome to transport, this is personal preference, but in hindsight I would have a chosen and smaller and more tigher case. The fans included are pretty effective, but could have been more quiet, even at low. Fairly expensive when a lesser case would have done the job almost as well. This case only comes with exhaust fans and you need to buy one if you want intake (although overkill if you are not overclocking)
If you are not overclocking, get 667 MHz ram (unless you want to have the option to overclock in the future?)
Most people at tech sites would recommend you to get a quad, even though that's abit of speculation whether it will become usable in the future. The 8800 GTS 640 is also the best choice in video atm.
Edit: plug the little front panels wires into the MB before any other wires, they also gave me a headache! <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/tounge.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":p" border="0" alt="tounge.gif" />
Do people actually play at over 1280x1024 and crank up the AA/AF? I've never had much of a desire to run either, and 1280x1024 is plenty high.
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People with LCDs with native res higher then 1280x1024 do. Its a small group though.
Keyboard and mousepad.
Normally I'd have no problem with a cheapo keyboard. The problem is, I don't want to buy one sight-unseen, since it might suck horribly, and Fry's doesn't have them on display (and Newegg won't let me touch them). I could buy a Saitek Eclipse or something expensive like that which I'm pretty sure will be good, but that's a lot of money. I just want a freaking IBM Model M with a USB interface or something. Why does nobody build simple good keyboards that I know are good before having to buy them?
Also, the mousepad. My friend has one of those slick ones and it's pretty, well, slick. Teflon-y I guess. I haven't used it a ton, though, and I dunno if it's worth 15 bucks. Is it? TELL ME.