WHat else? What do you think of this config?Post Date: 2008-07-21 |
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tdubois 
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Joined: 21 Jul 2008 Online Status: Offline Posts: 4 |
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 Topic: WHat else? What do you think of this config?Posted: 21 Jul 2008 at 1:09am |
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Used primarily as gaming computer - first person shooters, but a bit of everything, dabble in a little video editing. Trying to stay under $2500.
1. Worth getting 2 drives with OS on drive 1 and apss and data on drive 2?
2. Is the memory overkill (1066Mhz) if I intend to add a second graphic card later?
3. SHould I have shifted my dollars somewhere? More CPU?
4. Should I overclock the GPU?
5. Other suggestions?
6. Considering either DSO or Puget - Puget saves me sales tax. Are the companies close enough in quality to make the $260 in sales tax a deciding factor?
Thanks for the feedback - really like the community on these boards.
Specifications:
Chassis: Cooler Master Cosmos S Edition Exterior Finish: - Standard Factory Finish Interior Finish: - Standard Factory Finish Power Supply: 650W Corsair HX (Dual SLI Compatible) Processor: Intel Core 2 Quad Q9450 2.66GHz (1333MHz FSB) (12MB Cache) Motherboard: NVIDIA 780i Core 2 Quad (Chipset: nForce 780i SLI) System Memory: 2GB DDR2 OCZ at 1066MHz (SLI-Ready Edition) Card Reader: - No Thanks Hard Drive 1: 150GB Western Digital Raptor (10K RPM) (16MB Cache) (SATA) (Extreme Speed) Hard Drive 2: 500GB Western Digital (16MB Cache) (7200 RPM) (SATA) Raid Option: - No Thanks Hard Drive 3: - No Thanks Optical Drive 1: DVD±R/RW/CD-R/RW (DVD Writer 20x / CD-Writer 48x) (LightScribe Edition) Optical Drive 2: - No Thanks Internet Access: High Speed Network Port (Supports High-Speed Cable / DSL / Network Connections) Video Card: CLEARANCE PRICED: NVIDIA GeForce 8800GTS 512MB TV Tuner: - No Thanks Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio Extreme Cooling: Air Cooled Stage 2 (Silent Artic Cooling Heat-sink Upgrade (Copper Heatpipes) Internal Lighting: - No Thanks Modifications: - No Thanks Boost Processor: Yes, Overclock the processor as much as possible with complete stability Boost Video Card: - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my video card(s) Boost Memory: Yes, Overclock memory timings (Includes Memory Fan Kit Installed) Tweak Windows: - No Thanks, Please do not tweak the services on the operating system Windows OS: Microsoft Windows XP Professional (Includes Service Pack 2) Restore Kit: Digital Storm Specialized Recovery System (DVD Image Based) 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 Warranty: 3 Year Platinum Care Extended Parts & Labor Warranty |
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TomD
Groupie 
Joined: 22 Jun 2008 Online Status: Offline Posts: 289 |
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Posted: 21 Jul 2008 at 1:43am |
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Looks like a pretty solid build.
Biggest suggention bang-for-the-buck would be to drop the Raptor and upgrade your videocard instead. That will have a much bigger impact on the performance of your games.
I like 2 drives, and my Raptor - but wouldn't do it if I wasn't at or near the best video cards available at the time I ordered.
Puget just got a horrible review in PCGAMER (Maybe they just dont buy enough ads - so take it for what it is worth). No personal experience with them so can't really compare.
Good luck,
Tom
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tdubois
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Joined: 21 Jul 2008 Online Status: Offline Posts: 4 |
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Posted: 21 Jul 2008 at 1:49am |
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Yeah, I saw that review - was a dual core CPU so not really sure how valid the review is for a particular config when you order a custom box. Both companies have a rep for good customer service.
So if I go with a single, 500GB drive, would you then go with a better single GPU or 2 GPUs in SLI mode?
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Tyler Lowe
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Joined: 14 May 2008 Online Status: Offline Posts: 0 |
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Posted: 21 Jul 2008 at 1:53am |
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For what resolution, please?
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tdubois
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Joined: 21 Jul 2008 Online Status: Offline Posts: 4 |
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Posted: 21 Jul 2008 at 2:03am |
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Not sure - shopping for new monitor too
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Tyler Lowe
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Joined: 14 May 2008 Online Status: Offline Posts: 0 |
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Posted: 21 Jul 2008 at 2:18am |
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It becomes considerably more difficult offer advice that will suit your needs if the resolution is uncertain. SLI and crossfire really only make sense with screen sizes of 22" and larger. if you have an idea you would like to purchase a 22, 24, or 30" monitor, then multi GPU solutions should be strongly considered.
If you think you might want to plug into an HD TV which displays much lower resolutions and uses line multipliers to fill a larger screen area, or into a smaller display such as a 17 or 19" monitor, you can easily get away with even a midrange single GPU.
To me, it looks like your suggested build lacks focus. I'm saying this because to me, it looks like you are trying to do everything at a high level on a budget that requires some sacrifices in order to get the most performance in the tasks that really matter to you.
If you have at least some idea of the size and type of display you hope to purchase, it would make it much easier to tailor advice to your needs. Edited by Tyler Lowe - 21 Jul 2008 at 2:33am |
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tdubois
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Joined: 21 Jul 2008 Online Status: Offline Posts: 4 |
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Posted: 21 Jul 2008 at 2:36am |
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THanks for the feedback. Let's say I stick with a 20" monitor. I may add a second monitor later but no plans for HDTV or a larger monitor.
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Tyler Lowe
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Joined: 14 May 2008 Online Status: Offline Posts: 0 |
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Posted: 21 Jul 2008 at 4:17am |
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At a 20" size, I assume you are looking at either a widescreen at 1680x1050, or a 4:3 at 1600x1200. In either case, a multi GPU solution will provide benefit. The key, is to try to get the most bang for your buck, be that single or multi GPU. For $2500, I would likely be looking at something along these lines: I tried to preserve some of the things you wanted from your original build, such as the case, and the cpu, but eliminated the 10k RPM HDD. As the previous poster noted, that is a luxury item, and will have far less impact on your gaming performance than a better GPU. The HD4870 will run circles around the 8800GTS. In the configuration I have suggested, you would be able to simply drop in a second HD4870 as finances permitted to take things to the next level, should you so desire. Depending upon how much you "dabble" in video editing, you may want a slightly larger capacity HDD. a 750GB drive can be partitioned into a 150GB for OS and ~600GB partition for apps/data if you need a large amount of storage. If you require the additional space, I would drop down to a less expensive case to stay within budget. Edited by Tyler Lowe - 21 Jul 2008 at 4:18am |
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Kliebor2
Senior Member 
Joined: 22 May 2008 Online Status: Offline Posts: 659 |
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Posted: 21 Jul 2008 at 1:10pm |
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I would say Tyler is pretty much onto a good thing.
Only thing I would say is 320 Gig while it was pretty sizable at one time, a couple of large hoggish games and you are looking for space. I mean World of Warcraft eats like 8 Gig My old Fave Oblivion eats about the same... You start throwing a dozen games, plus windows, your documents, a few productivity apps... like e-mail and whammo you have 30 gig left and are wondering what happened :) Dave  |
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Digital Storm 950Si - Q9450 Quad Core @ 3 Ghz
Dual PNY OC2 GTX 560Ti 8 Gigabytes DDR2/800 2 Western Digital 500 GB SATAII 7200 RPM HD |
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widdlecat
DS Veteran 
Joined: 11 Mar 2008 Online Status: Offline Posts: 840 |
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Posted: 21 Jul 2008 at 7:54pm |
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When considering DSO vs other companies, you mustn't forget the added cost of a 3 yr warantee that would be extra if you don't go with DSO. I personally would consider comparison of DSO vs Puget computers as a case of comparing apples to oranges. Puget specialises in quiet pcs while DSO specialises in performance pcs. Given my personal preferences, I should have gone with Puget, but DSO was still cheaper for entry level pcs.
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