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Bang for the Buck

Post Date: 2008-04-20
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Devin View Drop Down
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  Quote Devin Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Topic: Bang for the Buck
    Posted: 20 Apr 2008 at 8:27pm
After looking at all the manufacturers out there, I have decided to go with DS for my next gaming rig. It seems they have unquestioned quality and service. Thumbs%20Up

Now comes the hard part: configuration.

Like anyone else, I want the most bang for my buck. Of course, I could max out all the settings in the config and pay a small fortune, but I know there is a point at which the increase in price no longer matches the increase in performance. I really don't want to pay for any piece of equipment if I'll never get the most out of it. I'm a gamer (FPS) and a serious PC user, but I'm not a video editor who needs to render complex 3D animations and convert large video files.

I want a powerful PC for my purposes, but I don't want to waste a dollar. If anyone could help make this happen with some helpful suggestions, I'd be very appreciative. :)
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SunfighterLC View Drop Down
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Posts: 1527 		  Quote SunfighterLC Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 20 Apr 2008 at 8:30pm
How big is your monitor and what rez do you usually play your games on?
E8500@ 4.03Ghz
XFX 790i Ultra
1000W Corsair HX
2 280 GTX EVGA FTW
4GB OCZ Reaper 1800Mhz
250-80-300GB VR HD
Logitech Z-2300 2.1 Speakers
Asus Xonar 7.1
Hanns-G HG 281D 28" HDMI Monitor
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Tyler Lowe View Drop Down
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Posts: 0 		  Quote Tyler Lowe Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 20 Apr 2008 at 8:32pm
There are many helpful people on these boards that would love to help, but perhaps some additional information would be useful first?

Any additional PC uses beyond gaming.

Monitor size, and native resolution.

Budget cap.

Time frame between upgrade and replacement.
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Devin View Drop Down
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  Quote Devin Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 20 Apr 2008 at 8:45pm
The most stressful thing this computer will probably do is run games. I might watch the occasional movie on it while doing homework, but games will take the most power.

A Monitor will be a part of the upgrade, but I haven't even started looking at which one I'll get. I'm looking at either a 22" or 24" LCD monitor, but I'm not sure if I'll be getting it through DS (I have a 250 dollar Best Buy gift card I might use on a monitor).

As far as a budget cap, I'd like to stay around 2000-2500.

Of course, a mobo with plenty of room for upgrades would be a plus.
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SunfighterLC View Drop Down
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Posts: 1527 		  Quote SunfighterLC Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 20 Apr 2008 at 9:06pm

arg..im trying...im not so good when it comes to this bang for the buck stuff..i keep going...ooohhh i want this and this and this...suddenly ive blown your budget..haha...

Um, do you need a keyboard and mouse too by the way? And would you be willing to do a 64 bit OS? Some people 64 bit isnt good because they have things like an older printer they want to use or something, and obviously an old printer probably wont have the drivers for 64 bit etc...


Edited by SunfighterLC - 20 Apr 2008 at 9:08pm
E8500@ 4.03Ghz
XFX 790i Ultra
1000W Corsair HX
2 280 GTX EVGA FTW
4GB OCZ Reaper 1800Mhz
250-80-300GB VR HD
Logitech Z-2300 2.1 Speakers
Asus Xonar 7.1
Hanns-G HG 281D 28" HDMI Monitor
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Tyler Lowe View Drop Down
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Posts: 0 		  Quote Tyler Lowe Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 20 Apr 2008 at 10:23pm
Alright, most mileage for the dollar, absolutely no frivolous extras:

$2216

That would leave you room within a budget of $2500 to upgrade a single portion of the build or possibly even two items, if there were something you really wanted to see incorporated.
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Devin View Drop Down
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  Quote Devin Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 20 Apr 2008 at 10:24pm
Originally posted by SunfighterLC

arg..im trying...im not so good when it comes to this bang for the buck stuff..i keep going...ooohhh i want this and this and this...suddenly ive blown your budget..haha...

That's my problem exactly Wink

I have old keyboards and mice I can use. I may get some wireless stuff eventually, but that's of little concern right now. 

I shouldn't have any problems with a 64-bit OS. I don't think I'll have any old equipment problems.
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Devin View Drop Down
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  Quote Devin Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 20 Apr 2008 at 10:32pm
Originally posted by Tyler Lowe

Alright, most mileage for the dollar, absolutely no frivolous extras:

$2216

That would leave you room within a budget of $2500 to upgrade a single portion of the build or possibly even two items, if there were something you really wanted to see incorporated.




Thanks! Definitely a solid computer. I've been playing with the idea of getting a 10k RPM HD, but other than that I'm not seeing anything major that I'd change. I'll definitely tuck this config away.
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SunfighterLC View Drop Down
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Posts: 1527 		  Quote SunfighterLC Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 20 Apr 2008 at 10:50pm
I cant beat Tylers =/. Hes really good at being able to supress the urges to go OHHH I WANT THAT!!! I dont...so i just keep going OOHHHH and before you know it the budget is overblown by about 115%.
 
I figured id at least show my effort but dont take it with any sort of merit. I think my reasoning behind it was it would allow for plenty of upgrading room down the road. It has the 64 bit to allow more then 4+ GB of ram, even though it only has 2GB to start...(DDR3 is still pretty damn expensive). A single GX2 which should be more then enough for a 22 and 24 inch monitor, but it has the Power supply to upgrade to a second GX2 should you choose to waste some money down the road and add a second one for Quad Sli. Again, see thats the OOHHHH problem right there.
 
And yes Tyler...Its about the same as the build i want to get soon..haha. I dont mean to do it i swear! it just keeps coming out that way! Apparently I have great focus, maybe too great. Anyways dont take this thing to heart.
 
E8500@ 4.03Ghz
XFX 790i Ultra
1000W Corsair HX
2 280 GTX EVGA FTW
4GB OCZ Reaper 1800Mhz
250-80-300GB VR HD
Logitech Z-2300 2.1 Speakers
Asus Xonar 7.1
Hanns-G HG 281D 28" HDMI Monitor
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Tyler Lowe View Drop Down
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Posts: 0 		  Quote Tyler Lowe Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 20 Apr 2008 at 11:58pm
One thing to bear in mind: the Cosmos S may have decent cooling, but the standard Cosmos does not.
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SunfighterLC View Drop Down
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Posts: 1527 		  Quote SunfighterLC Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 21 Apr 2008 at 8:23am
The differences arnt huge, but yes the original cosmos doesnt have as great of cooling as the S, it was originally built around being a quiet rig hence why it has sound proofing on its walls.
 
Here is some temp tests comparing some popular cases.
 
 
The Cosmos S seems good under load, but again, the differences are too huge.
E8500@ 4.03Ghz
XFX 790i Ultra
1000W Corsair HX
2 280 GTX EVGA FTW
4GB OCZ Reaper 1800Mhz
250-80-300GB VR HD
Logitech Z-2300 2.1 Speakers
Asus Xonar 7.1
Hanns-G HG 281D 28" HDMI Monitor
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Tyler Lowe View Drop Down
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Posts: 0 		  Quote Tyler Lowe Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 21 Apr 2008 at 11:02am
I'm reading that review and it says under load there is a 6* delta in C-Rise between the two cases. That's a rather substantial difference in a pursuit where 1 or 2 degrees are the difference between "good" and "average" thermal interface materials, and a 5*C improvement can prompt someone to buy and install a new cooling system for their CPU.
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cronedog View Drop Down
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Posts: 62 		  Quote cronedog Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 21 Apr 2008 at 3:41pm
From all i have read from extreame ram, it is only really good on synthethic benchmarks.  Most games and applications will get a benefit of 1-5%.

Might the money better be spent by going down to 800mHz ram and putting the OS/games on a raptor and the rest on a mass storage?

The increased load times and reduced stuttering seem more beneficial.
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SunfighterLC View Drop Down
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Posts: 1527 		  Quote SunfighterLC Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 21 Apr 2008 at 4:54pm
Yeah you can do that. I only selected DDR3 with the build because DDR3 will be in the near future. That allows this computer to be flexible for a longer amount of time.
E8500@ 4.03Ghz
XFX 790i Ultra
1000W Corsair HX
2 280 GTX EVGA FTW
4GB OCZ Reaper 1800Mhz
250-80-300GB VR HD
Logitech Z-2300 2.1 Speakers
Asus Xonar 7.1
Hanns-G HG 281D 28" HDMI Monitor
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Devin View Drop Down
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  Quote Devin Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 21 Apr 2008 at 8:09pm
How long do you guys think it'll be before DDR3 really starts to drop in price and such? Is it something worth waiting for?

BTW, SunfighterLC: You did a great job in leaving room for upgrades. Adding a Raptor will make it a little more costly than I'd like though, but I'm enjoying comparing the two systems currently offered.
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SunfighterLC View Drop Down
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Posts: 1527 		  Quote SunfighterLC Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 21 Apr 2008 at 8:36pm
Yeah that system i build was kinda way overbudget, but it is great for adding on more stuff later. Id be one hell of a system with all the add ons added..but expensive as hell...
 
About the DDR3 im not totally sure...there are a couple articles.
 
Samsung (largest memory maker) saying it will be commonplace by Early 2009, problem is the article is rather dated.
 
Going by what im seeing though DDR3 adoption might be a little slower then that because the performance increases are not too huge right now...but the ram is getting faster everyday, i believe the highest of the high is 2200Mhz only problem is that its still rather pricey, but it can only go down in price as it matures.
 
The performance boost is rather small, but the DDR3 uses less energy as well. 1.8V+ from DDR2 vs 1.5V+ from DDR3.
E8500@ 4.03Ghz
XFX 790i Ultra
1000W Corsair HX
2 280 GTX EVGA FTW
4GB OCZ Reaper 1800Mhz
250-80-300GB VR HD
Logitech Z-2300 2.1 Speakers
Asus Xonar 7.1
Hanns-G HG 281D 28" HDMI Monitor
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