What computer should I buy

[-Spector-]

Alright, after saving up for awhile and getting a bit of a loan from my parents, I can finally get a new desktop computer. (It's been about 4-6 years since I've gotten one.)

Anyway, I'm going to list the specs/price and I want your opinions on the best deal. I'm mainly looking for a computer that can run good graphic video games, run programs smoothly, etc.

Also, if you have any suggestions on upgrading something, or if you know a piece of hardware is faulty, let me know. :D

(I'm going to put them in separate posts because they're pretty extensive.)

So, Here we go:

Case - Nzxt Alpha Gaming Tower Case w/420W Power Supply

Case Lighting - Neon Blue

Standard Power Supply

Processor - Intel Core 2 Duo Processor E8500 (2x 3.16GHz/6MB L2 Cache/1333FSB)

Processor Cooling - AVC Silent Intel CPU Fan and Heatsink

Motherboard - [SLI] Asus P5N-D Nvidia nForce 750i SLI Chipset w/7.1 Sound, Gb LAN, S-ATA Raid, USB 2.0, IEEE-1394, Dual PCI-E MB EPU Technology

RAM - 4 GB [2 GB X2] DDR2-800 PC6400 Memory Module

Video Card - NVIDIA Geforce 9500GT 512mb w/ DVI + TV Out Video

Hard Drive - 500 GB HARD DRIVE [Serial-ATA-II, 3Gb, 7200 RPM, 16M Cache]

CD-RW/DVD-RW Drive - LG 20X Dual Format/Double Layer DVD±R/±RW + CD-R/RW Drive

Sound Card - 3D Premium Surround Sound Onboard

NIC - Onboard LAN Network (Gb or 10/100)

Flash Media Reader/Writer - 12-In-1 Internal Flash Media Card Reader/Writer

Price: $641.00

[-Spector-]

Case - Nzxt Alpha Gaming Tower Case w/420W Power Supply

Case Lighting - Neon Blue

Standard Power Supply

Processor - Intel Core 2 Duo Processor E8500 (2x 3.16GHz/6MB L2 Cache/1333FSB)

Processor Cooling - AVC Silent Intel CPU Fan and Heatsink

Motherboard - [CrossFire] Asus P5Q Pro Intel P45 Chipset w/7.1 Sound, Gb LAN, S-ATA Raid, USB 2.0, IEEE-1394, Dual PCI-E MB

RAM - 4 GB [2 GB X2] DDR2-800 PC6400 Memory Module

Video Card - ATI Radeon HD 3450 256mb PCI-Express x16

Hard Drive - 500 GB HARD DRIVE [Serial-ATA-II, 3Gb, 7200 RPM, 16M Cache]

CD-RW/DVD-RW Drive - LG 20X Dual Format/Double Layer DVD±R/±RW + CD-R/RW Drive

Sound Card - 3D Premium Surround Sound Onboard

NIC - Onboard LAN Network (Gb or 10/100)



[B]Price: $629.00

[-Spector-]

Case - PSI CycloneX Gaming Tower Case w/420W Power Supply

Case Lighting - Neon Blue

Standard Power Supply

Processor - Intel Core 2 Duo Processor E8500 (2x 3.16GHz/6MB L2 Cache/1333FSB)

Processor Cooling - AVC Silent Intel CPU Fan and Heatsink

Motherboard - [SLI] XFX MB-N790-IUL9 Nvidia nForce 790i Ultra SLI Chipset w/7.1 Sound, Dual Gb LANs, S-ATA Raid, USB 2.0, 3-Way PCI-E MB

RAM - 4 GB [2 GB X2] DDR3-1333 Memory Module

Video Card - NVIDIA Geforce 9400GT 512MB /w DVI + TV Out Video

Hard Drive - 500 GB HARD DRIVE [Serial-ATA-II, 3Gb, 7200 RPM, 16M Cache]

CD-RW/DVD-RW Drive - LG 20X Dual Format/Double Layer DVD±R/±RW + CD-R/RW Drive

Sound Card - 3D Premium Surround Sound Onboard

NIC - Onboard LAN Network (Gb or 10/100)



[B]Price: $668.00

[Mantralord]

i know its the cool thing to build your own system, but i hate dealing with all the issues like diagnosing system instability: is it the motherboard? bad ram? overheating cpu? bad psu? who knows! you'll figure it out eventually after a few RMAs and all that shit but why bother. i'd say 80% of the time your self-built system will work perfectly but why take the risk

i recommend getting a coupon for a nice dell or something and then putting in a nice video card. it will probably cost a hundred bucks (or more) extra in total but you'll have a system thats practically guaranteed to work well, all tested from the factory, and with a warranty in case shit fucks up

sure you wont get any e-peeen but who the fuck cares about what computer you use...it should work well for YOU

i'll see if i can find you a nice coupon link, if you wish to go this route

[Chruser]

#1.

Go for a P5Q motherboard if possible. The P5Q series are pretty OC-friendly, but I think they're incompatible with Nvidia cards. How much more (or less?) do you have to pay to switch the 9500GT for a Radeon HD 4850 or 4870?

Also, in practice, a 420W power supply will most likely not provide your components with as much as 420W of power. Your choice will most likely be sufficient, but upgrading to a 500W one still seems feasible. Corsair is a pretty good PSU brand.

[-Spector-]

I'm readin your advice guys, and I'll get back to you. I'm still designing several other models to choose from.

[-Spector-]

Case - Nzxt Alpha Gaming Tower Case w/420W Power Supply

Case Lighting - Neon Blue

500 Watt -- Power Supply

Processor - Intel Core 2 Duo Processor E8600 (2x 3.33GHz/6MB L2 Cache/1333FSB)

Processor Cooling - AVC Silent Intel CPU Fan and Heatsink

Motherboard - Asus P5Q3 Intel P45 Chipset w/7.1 Sound, Gb LAN, S-ATA Raid, USB 2.0, IEEE-1394, Dual PCI-E MB

RAM - 4 GB [2 GB X2] DDR3-1333 Memory Module

Video Card - NVIDIA Geforce 9400GT 512MB /w DVI + TV Out Video

Hard Drive - 500 GB HARD DRIVE [Serial-ATA-II, 3Gb, 7200 RPM, 16M Cache]

CD-RW/DVD-RW Drive - LG 20X Dual Format/Double Layer DVD±R/±RW + CD-R/RW Drive

Sound Card - 3D Premium Surround Sound Onboard

NIC - Onboard LAN Network (Gb or 10/100)



Price: $715.00

[-Spector-]

#1.

Go for a 9500GT and a P5Q motherboard if possible. The P5Q series are pretty OC-friendly. How much more (or less?) do you have to pay to switch the 9500GT for a Radeon HD 4850 or 4870?

Also, in practice, a 420W power supply will most likely not provide your components with as much as 420W of power. Your choice will most likely be sufficient, but upgrading to a 500W one still seems feasible. Corsair is a pretty good PSU brand.

Okay I played around with my #1 computer, the price jumped significantly so I'll probably still change some things up, but here's what it's got:




Case - Nzxt Alpha Gaming Tower Case w/420W Power Supply

Case Lighting - Neon Blue

500 Watt -- Power Supply

Processor - Intel Core 2 Duo Processor E8500 (2x 3.16GHz/6MB L2 Cache/1333FSB)

Processor Cooling - AVC Silent Intel CPU Fan and Heatsink

Motherboard - [CrossFire] Asus P5Q Pro Intel P45 Chipset w/7.1 Sound, Gb LAN, S-ATA Raid, USB 2.0, IEEE-1394, Dual PCI-E MB

RAM - 4 GB [2 GB X2] DDR2-800 PC6400 Memory Module

Video Card - ATI Radeon HD 4850 512MB PCI-Express x16

Hard Drive - 500 GB HARD DRIVE [Serial-ATA-II, 3Gb, 7200 RPM, 16M Cache]

CD-RW/DVD-RW Drive - LG 20X Dual Format/Double Layer DVD±R/±RW + CD-R/RW Drive

Sound Card - 3D Premium Surround Sound Onboard

NIC - Onboard LAN Network (Gb or 10/100)

Flash Media Reader/Writer - 12-In-1 Internal Flash Media Card Reader/Writer

Price: $793.00

[-Spector-]

Mantra, how does this setup sound, and how much do you think it should cost? (Retail and/or wholesale)


Case: Nzxt Alpha Gaming Tower Case w/420W Power Supply
Case Lighting: Blue Neon Light
Power Supply: 500 watt
Processor: Intel core 2 duo E8500 (2x 3.16 GHz/6MB L2 Cache/1333FSB)
Processor Cooling: AVC Silent Intel CPU Fan and Heatsink
Motherboard: [SLI] MSI P7N SLI-FI Nvidia nForce 750i SLI Chipset w/7.1 sound, Gb LAN, S-ATA Raid, USB 2.0 Dual PCI-E MB
RAM: 4 GB DDR2-800 PC6400
Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce 9500GT 512MB w/DVI + TV Out Video
Hard Drive: 500 GB
CD-RW/DVD-RW Drive: LG 20X Dual Format/Double Layer DVD±R/±RW + CD-R/RW Drive
And an onboard sound card/NIC

Do they sound decent? You think anything will conflict?

[Mantralord]

Mantra, how does this setup sound, and how much do you think it should cost? (Retail and/or wholesale)


Case: Nzxt Alpha Gaming Tower Case w/420W Power Supply
Case Lighting: Blue Neon Light
Power Supply: 500 watt
Processor: Intel core 2 duo E8500 (2x 3.16 GHz/6MB L2 Cache/1333FSB)
Processor Cooling: AVC Silent Intel CPU Fan and Heatsink
Motherboard: [SLI] MSI P7N SLI-FI Nvidia nForce 750i SLI Chipset w/7.1 sound, Gb LAN, S-ATA Raid, USB 2.0 Dual PCI-E MB
RAM: 4 GB DDR2-800 PC6400
Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce 9500GT 512MB w/DVI + TV Out Video
Hard Drive: 500 GB
CD-RW/DVD-RW Drive: LG 20X Dual Format/Double Layer DVD±R/±RW + CD-R/RW Drive
And an onboard sound card/NIC

Do they sound decent? You think anything will conflict?

i can build you a better system i'm sure

CPU (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115037)
gigabyte makes the best motherboards right now (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128372)
ram (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231122)
hard drive (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136218)
i'm very impressed with msi video cards, always overclocked and stable from the factory (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127409)
psu (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139001)

Subtotal: 673 bux $$

mix and match whatever case you like, i recommend a lian li or an antec. case lighting is for assholes but whatever you like. aftermarket cpu cooling is a waste of money unless you're overclocking or are paranoid about noise (you probably are not). check out the recommended heatsinks on silentpcreview.com, i have a scythe ninja. if you need a sound card (i recommend one if you have nice headphones and/or audio equipment) get an HT OMEGA STRIKER.

this system will probably work without issues 95% guaranteed. the weakest link is probably the ram in terms of coming DOA, but it probably won't

[Mantralord]

all of them