5-7 year computer

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   I am curious what other people would do if they only purchased a new computer every 5-7 years and wanted it to be able to run most games for that time period.  My 7 year old computer with a TI 4200 just finally blocked me from playing games, although I blame it mostly on the windows 7 upgrade.  Anyways, I am currently leaning towards an i-7 setup with a gtx 260.  My budget is 1500 and I have to get windows 7 and office 2007, which means my hardware budget is only 1300, which has to include 24" monitor and keyboard.  I do have a couple of thoughts/questions along with this, and I do appreciate anyones input.  Basically every seven years I relearn computers and build my own, needless to say a lot has changed since agp 4x and IDE drives.  Thanks everyone.

1. I am reading a lot about USB 3.0 being released soon on motherboards, but can't find anything solid.  My last computer was built right before USB 2.0 so needless to say I spent the last 6 years getting the error message.

2. What hardware will be most upgradeable in the years to come.  Intel seems to be standardizing on two different socket sets, and I am hearing about sata 3.0, and all of that.

3. If 2 years from now I needed to upgrade my graphics card, am I better off just adding another gtx 260 and going sli, or getting a new card.  I do not know much about graphics cards.

4.  Any thoughts on the i9, it seems a little too pricey and more than I need, but would an i5 be even more up what I am looking at.

I appologize for the long post, I am just caught up trying to relearn computer hardware and am looking for opinions from people who know a lot more than I do.  Thanks guys.

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joshjohansen Members Profile Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 02 Jul 2009 Online Status: Offline Posts: 25	Quote Reply Topic: 5-7 year computer Posted: 15 Jul 2009 at 8:19pm
	I am curious what other people would do if they only purchased a new computer every 5-7 years and wanted it to be able to run most games for that time period. My 7 year old computer with a TI 4200 just finally blocked me from playing games, although I blame it mostly on the windows 7 upgrade. Anyways, I am currently leaning towards an i-7 setup with a gtx 260. My budget is 1500 and I have to get windows 7 and office 2007, which means my hardware budget is only 1300, which has to include 24" monitor and keyboard. I do have a couple of thoughts/questions along with this, and I do appreciate anyones input. Basically every seven years I relearn computers and build my own, needless to say a lot has changed since agp 4x and IDE drives. Thanks everyone. 1. I am reading a lot about USB 3.0 being released soon on motherboards, but can't find anything solid. My last computer was built right before USB 2.0 so needless to say I spent the last 6 years getting the error message. 2. What hardware will be most upgradeable in the years to come. Intel seems to be standardizing on two different socket sets, and I am hearing about sata 3.0, and all of that. 3. If 2 years from now I needed to upgrade my graphics card, am I better off just adding another gtx 260 and going sli, or getting a new card. I do not know much about graphics cards. 4. Any thoughts on the i9, it seems a little too pricey and more than I need, but would an i5 be even more up what I am looking at. I appologize for the long post, I am just caught up trying to relearn computer hardware and am looking for opinions from people who know a lot more than I do. Thanks guys.

DST4ME Members Profile Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List DS ELITE Joined: 14 Apr 2008 Online Status: Offline Posts: 36758	Quote Reply Posted: 15 Jul 2009 at 8:34pm
	1. usb 3.0 might be here in Q4 of 2009 or H1 of 2010. 2. sata 3.0 might be here H1 of 2010 also. 3. you are better off getting a new GPU, since future GPUs will be more powerful. 4. gulftown is now even out yet and its not officially called i9 as far as I know, however if you go with an i7 now you can upgrade to gulftown in the future. now if you can get a good 24" monitor and an i7 all for under $1300 from a creditable builder I will have to change my name. I don't see how you are gonna get a proper i7 and a proper 24" monitor for $1300. you would be better off going with vista and a win7 upgrade coupon like they have here, office 2007? what from office 2007 do you need? this is the closest I can come to without monitor or office 2007: Here you go Ticket# 308562 --- Price: $1702 (To see this build click here) Price after current promotion $1552 Copy of Specifications: Chassis Model: Antec Nine Hundred Two Exterior Finish: - Standard Factory Finish Interior Finish: - Standard Factory Finish Trim Accents: - Standard Factory Finish Processor: Intel Core i7 920 2.66GHz (Quad Core) Motherboard: XFX X58 3X SLI (Intel X58 Chipset) (Supports Triple SLI or CrossFire) System Memory: 3GB DDR3 1333MHz Digital Storm Certified by mushkin enhanced (Highly Recommended) (Hand Tested) Power Supply: 750W Digital Storm Certified (Dual SLI Compatible) (Silent Edition) Card Reader: - No Thanks Hard Drive Set 1: Operating System: 1x (320GB Western Digital (16MB Cache) (7200 RPM) (SATA) Set 1 Raid Options: - No Thanks Hard Drive Set 2: Multimedia\Data: - No Thanks Hard Drive Set 3: Backup\Misc.: - No Thanks Optical Drive 1: DVD±R/RW/CD-R/RW (DVD Writer 20x / CD-Writer 48x) Optical Drive 2: - No Thanks Internet Access: High Speed Network Port (Supports High-Speed Cable / DSL / Network Connections) Video Card: 1x NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260 896MB (216 Cores) (Includes PhysX Technology) Add-on Card: - No Thanks Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio Extreme Cooling: Standard Factory Heat-sink and Fan Liquid Color:- Not Applicable, I do not have a H20: Stage 3 Cooling System Selected Chassis Airflow: Standard Factory Chassis Fans Internal Lighting: - No Thanks Enhancements: - No Thanks Chassis Mods: - No Thanks Boost Processor: Stage 1: Overclock the processor between 3.3GHz to 3.9GHz (Requires Air Cooling Upgrade) Boost Video Card: - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my video card(s) Boost Memory: - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my memory Tweak Windows: - No Thanks, Please do not tweak the services on the operating system Windows OS: Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium (64-Bit Edition) With Windows 7 Upgrade Coupon Restore Kit: Digital Storm Specialized Recovery System (DVD Image Based) Virus Protection: - No Thanks Office: - No Thanks Benchmarking: - No Thanks Install/Test Game: - No Thanks LCD Display: - No Thanks Surge Shield: - No Thanks Speakers: - No Thanks Keyboard: - No Thanks Mouse: - No Thanks External Storage: - No Thanks Exclusive T-Shirt: - No Thanks Priority Build: - No Thanks, Ship Within 5-10 Business Days After Order Is Successfully Processed Warranty: 3 Year Platinum Care Extended Parts & Labor Warranty now keep in mind in order to game on a 24" on high settins you will need 2 gpus which is not in your buget.
	Nvidia Drivers----AMD Drivers

joshjohansen Members Profile Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 02 Jul 2009 Online Status: Offline Posts: 25	Quote Reply Posted: 15 Jul 2009 at 10:45pm
	Can you let me know what you think of this, maybe I am missing something obvious and thats why its close to my price point: ASUS P6T SE w/ Core i7 920 and 6GB Corsair 1600MHz DDR3 - 616.97 XFX geforce 260 core 216 896 mb gddr3 pdi-e 2.0 x 16 - 175.99 WD 320 gb SATA-300 - 45.99 Microsoft 6000 - 34.99 Asus 24" VW246H - 229.99 Vista 64bit - 99.99 LG Black SATA 22x DVD RW - 27.98 Office Studen 2007 - 96.00 Antec 300 w/ Antec TP-750 - 176.50 Total 1504.40 w/ shipping - 1557.69 Thanks again.

DST4ME Members Profile Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List DS ELITE Joined: 14 Apr 2008 Online Status: Offline Posts: 36758	Quote Reply Posted: 16 Jul 2009 at 12:07am
	your case is small, and on this case you gonna have a hard time fitting your GPU, your PSU is not a great quality, your 24" seems to develop pixel problems pretty quick. since your case is small and everything is crapped, your temps are gonna be on the warm side. you never said you were gonna build it yourself. Edited by DST4ME - 16 Jul 2009 at 12:07am
	Nvidia Drivers----AMD Drivers

joshjohansen Members Profile Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 02 Jul 2009 Online Status: Offline Posts: 25	Quote Reply Posted: 16 Jul 2009 at 6:15am
	Well I built it myself 7 years ago, but really am on the fence because it might be worth a little extra to get it from DS, get the support and the warranty and not have to worry about any issues. I don't know if building a computer has gotten easier since the last time I did it, like I said, after I built my last one I stopped looking at hardware all together, so I am way behind in all of it. I gotta be honest I would never have known that the case would be too small, can I ask how I can know that? I have issues with heat on my computer now, although I think it has something to do with the heatsink repair I did that may not be perfect. And same thing with the monitor, I assumed Asus would be a good choice, what do I need to look for there? I guess my biggest question is that if I am building a 7 year computer, I might be able to put it together for a little over 1500 myself, but to get 6GB of RAM with the video card I want might put me at 2000 here once I get everything else. I really do want something I can guy and forget about, but I didn't know about this place 7 years ago (if it existed). I do appreciate the help, I will admit I went into a local computer store to ask some of these things and the guys were either jerks and wanted to keep their secrets, or didn't really know what I was asking. What would be your recomendations as far as the USB 3.0 thing goes? I have decided to atleast wait until windows 7 is released and I could buy it directly without having to upgrade (just another wanting to buy and forget about it thing) and I figure the i5 will be out then so I will have a comparison on that. My only other concern is a direct x 10 video card, for the next 2 or 3 years I am thinking a video card with 9 on it would work, but maybe not after that, am I on the right track there? Ok, thanks again for your help, I appreciate it.

DST4ME Members Profile Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List DS ELITE Joined: 14 Apr 2008 Online Status: Offline Posts: 36758	Quote Reply Posted: 16 Jul 2009 at 7:07am
	Well if you are gonna have DS build it, the prices are not going to be the same prices you pay at the local store or newegg, I mean they have to make money also, they are not going to build a PC for me and you just for the heck of it. the prices of things that are not listed on the config page of DS will be higher, they will be the price of the part plus 30% of its cost. go on newegg and look at the review of the parts you want to get. read the the negative reviews so you know what the down sides are. as for usb 3.0 there is nothing to do there, you have to wait for a mobo that supports it, same with SATA 3. the i5 will not be able to do what the i7 does and will be a different socket. by the time win7 comes out some dx10.1 and dx11 cards might be out. but still there are not that many games that use dx like that. Edited by DST4ME - 16 Jul 2009 at 7:08am
	Nvidia Drivers----AMD Drivers

5-7 year computer

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