configuration comparison helpPost Date: 2007-11-09 |
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rallymaster 
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 Topic: configuration comparison helpPosted: 09 Nov 2007 at 10:15pm |
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Hello Folks,
My wife has granted me three wishes, and one of them is a new system since my old computer finally gave up and had a physical hd failure. I've been patient for the last 3 months and now I have the green light.
Based on my given budget, I've put together 2 systems, one AMD based and one Intel based. Not being as well versed as many here, I would like to hear your opinions on which system to pursue...
I mainly use my gaming system for racing simulations (GTR2, rFactor, RACE) as I'm a racer in real life, and the newest sims are quite good and keep me in good practice. I have selected a single 8800GT based on most discussion here, and would like the option to add a second in SLI in the future. Without further adieu, these are the 2 configs I have. Any tips or suggestions regarding my selections are much appreciated.
Total Price with Instant Savings: $1,519.00 Total Price with Instant Savings: $1,552.00 |
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skyR
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Digital Storm Apprentice 
Joined: 08 Oct 2007 Online Status: Offline Posts: 2220 |
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Posted: 09 Nov 2007 at 10:47pm |
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Intel performs better than AMD and since they are both at $1500, go with the Intel.
If you are not going to overclock, you don't need Dominator ram so save some money and get XMS2 instead. The 650i motherboard does not support SLI. You will need to select the 680i motherboard if you are interested in adding another card in the future for SLI. A 620W PSU can handle a 8800GT SLI easily. I would suggest upgrading to the Pro case as well for the Intel build if you are planning to go SLI in the future. |
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Tyler Lowe
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Joined: 14 May 2008 Online Status: Offline Posts: 0 |
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Posted: 09 Nov 2007 at 11:04pm |
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Before offering too many suggestions, may I ask, what is your typical replacement timeframe for a gaming system?
Also, what is your absolute budget ceiling?
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rallymaster
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Posted: 09 Nov 2007 at 11:29pm |
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thanx sky for your suggestions, especially for catching my motherboard issue! That would've really blown if I had continued not to realize that.
Tyler:
My last system served me well for 5 years, but I had a shop do some significant upgrades (mobo, memory) 3 years ago, and I also "upgraded" the vid from a 5700 to a 6800 a year and a half ago. As I don't play shooters or RPG's, I don't really need the newest and baddest system for the newest and baddest games to remain interested every year. And I'm pretty content with the current state of racing simulations. Us simmers don't really stray too much in the community, as there is still a huge following for GPL, which was released in 1998! I do see where you are going with your question, and yes, I would like some sort of upgradability ready to be tapped into at some point in the future.
As for $$$, with my first child on the way (due in March), I'm pretty much at my ceiling atm. Now, convince me otherwise (not a problem) and I can try to convince the other half as well (not so easy)....
:)
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rallymaster
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Posted: 09 Nov 2007 at 11:38pm |
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? in regards to the PSU. Will 620 W be sufficient for 2 8800GT's in SLI in the future? Tyler: to clarify, $1500-$1600 is my budget for the initial purchase. I'll be able to add/improve individual components in the future, so I'm really asking for a suggestion for a good platform that can slowly be developed up to it's potential.... :)
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skyR
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Digital Storm Apprentice
Joined: 08 Oct 2007 Online Status: Offline Posts: 2220 |
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Posted: 09 Nov 2007 at 11:45pm |
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Yes 620W is enough for SLI 8800GT.
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Tyler Lowe
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Joined: 14 May 2008 Online Status: Offline Posts: 0 |
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Posted: 10 Nov 2007 at 12:01am |
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Ok, cool
 .
I try and squeeze every last week of lifespan from my systems before replacing. I probably waited a bit long this last time (games from 1998 ran great on it though
 ).It'll be easier if we drop the SLi mobo. Both from the standpoint of the price of the motherboard itself, and from the standpoint of the PSU. If you don't have to plan for another GPU, your potential power needs go down, and so will the price.
How about this:
Case: Digital Storm Twister PRO (Black Anodized Aluminum Finish)
Power Supply: 520W Corsair HX (Dual SLI Compatible) (Silent Edition) Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 2.66GHz (1333MHz Front Side Bus) (4MB Cache) Motherboard: nVidia 650i Core 2 Quad (By: eVGA) (nForce 650i Ultra) Memory: 2GB DDR2 Corsair at 800MHz XMS2 (Dual Channel) (Performance) Floppy / Media: Sony 1.44MB Floppy (Black Edition) Hard Drive 1: 250GB Western Digital (16MB Cache) (7200 RPM) (SATA) Hard Drive 2: - No Thanks Raid Option: - No Thanks Optical Drive 1: DVD-ROM/CD-ROM (DVD Reader 16x / CD Reader 40x) Optical Drive 2: DVD±R/RW/CD-R/RW (DVD Writer 20x / CD-Writer 48x) Network Card: High Speed Network Port (Supports High-Speed Cable / DSL / Network Connections) Modem: - No Thanks Video Card: nVidia GeForce 8800GT 512MB (By: eVGA) (PCI-Express) TV Tuner: - No Thanks Sound Card: Motherboard Multi-Channel High Definition Audio (7.1 Channel) Physics Card: - No Thanks Cooling: Air Cooled Stage 2 (Silent Artic Cooling Heat-sink (Copper Heatpipes) Case Lighting: Blizzard Internal Lighting (Red Edition) (Cold Cathode Tubes) Round Cables: - No Thanks User Manual: Personalized Platinum Digital Storm Binder (Includes Paperwork/Benchmarks/CDs/Manuals) Windows OS: Microsoft Windows XP Home (Includes Service Pack 2) Restore Kit: Digital Storm Specialized Recovery System (DVD Image Based) Protection: - No Thanks Office: - No Thanks LCD Display: - No Thanks Surge Shield: - No Thanks Speakers: - No Thanks Keyboard: - No Thanks Mouse: - No Thanks my keyboard comes with a mouse Warranty: 3 Year Platinum Care Extended Parts & Labor Warranty Support: Lifetime Toll-Free Platinum Care Technical Support This system comes in at $1469. I dropped the keyboard and mouse, as I figured you probably already have them, and they are easily purchased locally if you want a replacement at some point. If you want to add an LT motherboard, you could go SLi, but keep in mind that means pushing the price of the PSU up too, in which case I would recommend the 620HX.
You don't hear this one much, but I *love* my power supply. It's dead on with the voltages and has a unified 12V rail for graphics cards which means you don't have to panic over "can this rail push enough amps" later.
I also added the floppy to the build. I don't have a strong enough base in software to be 100% certain of this, but I was given to understand that XP needs a floppy as a boot device for some purposes. I am thinking it's BIOS flashing, but it may be something else. For $10 it seemed cheap insurance against the potential need, but you might wish to inquire of DSO whether or not what I have been told is correct.
If you are positive that you won't overclock later you could drop to 667 RAM. A 1333 FSB and 667 are synchronized. Their base speeds are the same. I believe that is a difference of $50 which is enough to cover the PSU upgrade. I won't tell you there is *no* difference in performance. There is, but it's not a significant difference, certainly not enough that I'd let it stand in the way of other things that are harder to upgrade later.
You could also drop the stage 2 cooling, but IMO, anything that helps a system run cooler and reduces wear and tear on the CPU is a very good long term investment. Even if you don't overclock it (say a couple years down the road, when the system is starting to show a little age, it might be nice to be able to push a little more muscle while you save for the next upgrade).
With the mobo change, and the psu change, if you drop the RAM down, you should be right around $1540-$1550. If you can convince the minister of finance that buying the RAM is worth going to ~$1590, you can have it all.
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juggernaut
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Joined: 06 Nov 2007 Online Status: Offline Posts: 31 |
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Posted: 10 Nov 2007 at 12:08am |
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Are the case lighting and second optical drive necessary?
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Tyler Lowe
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Joined: 14 May 2008 Online Status: Offline Posts: 0 |
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Posted: 10 Nov 2007 at 12:34am |
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That last bit about taking a while to reach full potential of the system has been stewing in my head while I've been looking through the forums. I took that approach and sacrificed on the GPU to go quad and upgrade the motherboard. I don't know how much such an option would appeal or not, but that is how I did things- bought the best I could afford when it came to components I was not going to want to mess with later, and saved on the stuff I knew I could handle myself as finances allowed. It is another option.
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rallymaster
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Posted: 10 Nov 2007 at 12:36am |
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Lighting, no. but yes, I need both a CD drive and a DVD-ROM (some of my sims are imports and need DVD ROM readability.
Do I understand correctly that 2 video cards in SLI can nearly double your performance, whereas the most you might get out of a memory and processor upgrade might be 30%? If so, going SLI capable would insure me a good performance boost in the future for what could be really cheap by then as the 8800GT price comes down? Am I off base with this thinking? help :(
Thanx for the tip on the floppy. I'll inquire.
Did I read somewhere that DS can add additional fans into cases? Are the different stages of cooling upgrades easily upgraded and user friendly?
Thanx again, you guys are a great help!
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skyR
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Digital Storm Apprentice
Joined: 08 Oct 2007 Online Status: Offline Posts: 2220 |
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Posted: 10 Nov 2007 at 12:41am |
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Air stage 1 is stock heatsink
Air stage 2 is better heatsink Air stage 3 is better heatsink + overclock You gain about 15%-30% with SLI, not double. You can request Digital Storm to add additional fans to the case if you like.. |
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rallymaster
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Posted: 10 Nov 2007 at 8:42am |
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noted....
thanx again!
:)
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rallymaster
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Posted: 10 Nov 2007 at 10:00am |
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OK. After tweaking my configuration around based on the many suggestions, this is what I think I've fianlly settled on. Total Price with Instant Savings: $1,567.00
Specifications: Case: Digital Storm Twister PRO (Black Anodized Aluminum Finish) Power Supply: 620W Corsair HX (Dual SLI Compatible) (Silent Edition) Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 2.66GHz (1333MHz Front Side Bus) (4MB Cache) Motherboard: nVidia 680i LT Core 2 Quad (By: eVGA) (nForce 680i SLI) Memory: 2GB DDR2 Corsair at 667MHz (Dual Channel) Floppy / Media: Sony 1.44MB Floppy (Black Edition) Hard Drive 1: 320GB Western Digital (16MB Cache) (7200 RPM) (SATA) Hard Drive 2: - No Thanks Raid Option: - No Thanks Optical Drive 1: DVD-ROM/CD-ROM (DVD Reader 16x / CD Reader 40x) Optical Drive 2: DVD±R/RW/CD-R/RW (DVD Writer 20x / CD-Writer 48x) Network Card: High Speed Network Port (Supports High-Speed Cable / DSL / Network Connections) Modem: - No Thanks Video Card: nVidia GeForce 8800GT 512MB (By: eVGA) (PCI-Express) TV Tuner: - No Thanks Sound Card: Motherboard Multi-Channel High Definition Audio (7.1 Channel) Physics Card: - No Thanks Cooling: Air Cooled Stage 2 (Silent Artic Cooling Heat-sink (Copper Heatpipes) Case Lighting: - No Thank sr Manual: Personalized Platinum Digital Storm Binder (Includes Paperwork/Benchmarks/CDs/Manuals)
Windows OS: Microsoft Windows XP Home (Includes Service Pack 2) Restore Kit: Digital Storm Specialized Recovery System (DVD Image Based) Protection: - No Thanks Office: - No Thanks LCD Display: - No Thanks Surge Shield: - No Thanks Speakers: - No Thanks Keyboard: - No Thanks Mouse: - No Thanks my keyboard comes with a mouse Warranty: 3 Year Platinum Care Extended Parts & Labor Warranty Support: Lifetime Toll-Free Platinum Care Technical Support I'm sticking with SLI compatable just for future options, and I understand that if I up the vid card(s), I'll probably have to replace the PSU as well. I don't have need for overclocking, but I may want to in the future, so I know that I'll have to upgrade the memory if I do so.
Barring any other hardware incompatabilities that you may pick up on, I think this is what I'll be contacting the guys at DSO about.
John
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Church
Groupie 
Joined: 04 Nov 2007 Online Status: Offline Posts: 74 |
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Posted: 11 Nov 2007 at 1:21pm |
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make your sound card a tiny bit better, go with soundblaster audigy.. good price and good sound. use it on my old comp and it works just fine
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Church
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Joined: 04 Nov 2007 Online Status: Offline Posts: 74 |
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Posted: 11 Nov 2007 at 1:24pm |
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its really cheap too
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Tyler Lowe
Newbie
Joined: 14 May 2008 Online Status: Offline Posts: 0 |
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Posted: 11 Nov 2007 at 3:21pm |
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I think that config looks great. Anything else can be added in later with minimal headache.
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Tybo
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Joined: 15 Oct 2007 Online Status: Offline Posts: 69 |
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Posted: 13 Nov 2007 at 3:34am |
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I agree with church 100%. Choose the soundblaster audigy card. Just my opinion but Realtek onboard sound stinks. A inexpensive sound card will sound a lot better as well as increase overall performance a tad.
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