Getting a new comp...

Hi! I'm a member of GameSpot.com and while posting there about looking at avadirect.com for a computer, someone recommended that I come here to purchase a computer! I have to say, I really like the layout of the site and it looks like they have great quality computers for good prices. But I need some help. I'm basically a comp n00b lol I've been a console gamer all my life but now I'm making the scary jump to comp games! I must say, it's very overwhelming and I'm having trouble deciding what to get. I have the basic outline of what I want but I'm working out the specifics I guess haha.
So here's what I put together on this site:
http://www.digitalstormonline.com/comploadsaved.asp?id=91996

What do you guys think?
My budget is on the low side ($1100) compared to some people so I'm trying to get the most bang for my buck and get a comp that'll last me a good couple years. Also, the games I want to play are Crysis, Unreal Tournament 3, Gears of War PC, and the Orange Box. But as you can see from that link, I'm not afraid to go over the budget a bit, as long as it stays within reason. But one question I have is this: Seeing what I want to use the comp for, do you recommend that I get the Q6600 or the E6750 Twister upgrade or whatever? Thanks a lot guys! The community here looks very friendly and helpful and I look forward to becoming a DSO customer! :)

Well I guess what I meant is of course I'd like to spend around $1100 but I can spend $1400 you know what I mean?

Mmm... I'd like to have this computer for a couple years at the least and I'd like to avoid upgrading down the road, prolly just get a whole new comp by that time you know?

So yeah I guess I'd be keeping it for around 5 years. Give or take some. Although everyone at Gamespot says a comp bought now will only be good for like 3 years at most!

Well yeah that's the thing, I've heard that you should get a Quad becuz now the newer games are going to be optimised for more cores and also I heard that Crysis will have like a 60% increase in performance with a combination of Vista 64-bit and a Quad.

But like you said, since I'm kinda wanting to spend a more modest amount of money (since I still have to have some left to actually buy the games that I want to play! :D), the E6750 may be the better choice for me...

Hey guys, John is a gamespot friend of mine. Can you give him some of your sage advice?

I think he should bump up to the pro case. But I am not sure about his processor choice and motherboard.

Especially, since I think he should stick with the new 8800 GT.

It looks like he can go to $1400.   I know that there are plenty of dudes here playing the high end games on machines in that range.

Welcome to the DS forum and family!

Oh hey Monstromo!

Yeah I'm definitely getting the 8800GT but everything else is getting kinda hazy for me lol

So yeah I'll listen to any advice you can give!

There are a lot guys here that know tons more than me. But here is possible build:


http://www.digitalstormonline.com/comploadsaved.asp?id=85601

One side note, you should go with the 8800GT 512MB. It's NVIDIA's new budget card and will play Crysis fairly well. You don't need to go with the TwisterBoost Enhanced E6750 because you have already selected our TwisterBoost technology with the stage 3 cooling system.

Thanks a lot Alex! As you said, that would seem to fit me perfectly!

Also, Tyler Lowe I think I'll take your advice too about changing it to a DVD writer.

Originally posted by Alex One side note, you should go with the 8800GT 512MB. It's NVIDIA's new budget card and will play Crysis fairly well. You don't need to go with the TwisterBoost Enhanced E6750 because you have already selected our TwisterBoost technology with the stage 3 cooling system. Go with this configuration: http://www.digitalstormonline.com/comploadsaved.asp?id=92032   That should definitely do exactly what you are looking for.

Oh, one last question. If I change the cooling to the stage 1 cooling system and changed the CPU to the E6750 (Twisterboost Enhanced), isn't that the same thing just a bit cheaper? Or will that not be cool enough?

Originally posted by Tyler Lowe That's a mismatch. I wish they'd pull the twisterboost from the CPU selections as it causes confusion.   In order to price that out correctly, you'd select the twisterboosted E6750, and then select stage 2 air cooling. In essense, this is the same thing as selecting stage 3, just broken down into more steps.   The cooling fan used to gain stable overclocks is a massive passive heatsink combined with a 92mm 3,000 RPM fan. It's truly impressive. You wouldn't want to have an overclock done with the stock cooler anyway.   If you want to see what they use, it's an  Arctic Cooling Freezer Pro AC7.

Ahhh I see. I figured that I was missing something there

So it'd prolly just work best to get the regular E6750 with stage 3 cooling?

Originally posted by Monstromo What do you think about using the Pro case for 15 bucks more? That seems to me the best value and the Pro Case is awesome.

Ah it's only $15 more? I'll have to take a looksie then

Originally posted by Nomad Just curious, is there any big difference or is it just aesthetics?

Slightly larger case-- Better cooling and easier to install upgrades.
Look nicer too

A good review of the case and some pictures:

http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=article&item=615&num=1


http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1023811&page=9

The above link shows the Silverstone cases including the TJ09 which is the Pro case.

It is worth more than the 15 bucks in my opinion.

It's a simpler case mechanically. There are fewer parts involved, so there is less to go wrong over time. It's a steel body, which when you get down towards a 1mm thichness, seems a more sensible choice to me. Aluminum is stronger than steel by mass, not by volume.

Here is the specs for the computer I am thinking of getting what to you think.

Current consoles do not have quad core CPUs.

Sure maybe a lot games in 4 years will utilize quad cores... but games now and in the next year aren't taking full advantage of it yet. With such a small budget, there's no point in investing in technology that gives such a minimal increase in performance over the cheaper technology.

If he's a gamer, he is going to be upgrading in 4 years time... guaranteed. You can play Crysis on five year old PC so why bother buying a new PC to play it? Because it's not going to run well...

You can either save a few hundred and invest in a quad or you can purchase a duo. Both will become outdated in 4 years.. so no matter what route you decide to do, you going to be buying a new PC.

Worry about the present and not the future...

Tyler, ayes I undestand.  I also re-read my post and was like WTF was I thinking typing that:x.  However, I will indeed put money down that it will happen before 5 years for games using quads.

Remember that these are first generation quads on 65nm fab process. In 4 years time, Intel will releasing 32nm native quads with speeds of probably 3.5GHz+

This was like single vs duo back in the day. When the first gen duos came out (Pentium D & Athlon X2), it was the greatest thing ever... and 2 years later, the new processors (Core 2) completely dominated the Pentium Ds =\

I think that it is really easy to get confused about the concept of number of cores.  That is because of the term "multi-"core.  It is not the same as "quad" or "duo" cores.  I think it is true that for PCs/Macs there are not a lot of games written or going to be written specfically for "quads" because that would limit the PC market.