$1500 to spend on a new computer

[Finzz]

well my bro just totaled his car and now, I don't even know if I'm getting a computer. cuz my sis needs a new mac for one of her college classes which is bullshit, I'll have to ask her about that, because when I was trying to build a computer before, she had to get the computer she got now so I can't

 

I went down to a $1000 budget to make it more appealing to the parental units....

 

 

Sorry for the small pic....

Just hit full size

http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v605/Alex_/?action=view&current=list.jpg

 

Sorry for using a picture, but I'm just too stressed out right now to edit all of the links and shit, cuz this site only allows 600x600 which I understand, I would make the list public on newegg but I have to wait for it to be approved

 

Yes, I had to go to DDR2 The only thing I dont have on the list is a video card, because im getting a 4670 to hold me over until I can save for a GTX 275 or something

 

It's everything except an OS because my dad has a copy of XP 32, you can install it on more than one pc right?

[Akaru]

well my bro just totaled his car and now, I don't even know if I'm getting a computer. cuz my sis needs a new mac for one of her college classes which is bullshit, I'll have to ask her about that, because when I was trying to build a computer before, she had to get the computer she got now so I can't

 

I went down to a $1000 budget to make it more appealing to the parental units....

 

Yes, I had to go to DDR2 The only thing I dont have on the list is a video card, because im getting a 4670 to hold me over until I can save for a GTX 275 or something

 

https://secure.newegg.com/WishList/MySavedWishDetail.aspx?ID=11287152

 

It's everything except an OS because my dad has a copy of XP 32, you can install it on more than one pc right?

 

Can't see you wishlist. You need to click the share button or whatever for us to see it.

 

Usually, operating systems can be install on 1 computer at a time if its a retail version. If it is a OEM version, the disc can only be used once and it's garbage.

[Finzz]

I fixed the link, and I thought you could install xp on as many computers as you wanted altough technically you are not supposed to.

 

I hope you are wrong lol otherwise....linux anyone? lol

 

Fuck that, linux supports like no games right?

[Shadowex3]

You should be fine with XP, it wont hurt to try it. As for your sister needing a mac... that's bullshit. Macintoshes literally are intel laptops running OSX that cost more because of the apple brand. Unless she needs a very specific mac-only absolutely cannot be run on a pc program, of which afaik there are very few thanks to macs now using PC hardware, it's an utter waste of money to buy a new one if you need one at all.

 

However if she really does "need" a mac because of an actual legitimate reason rather than just wanting a trendy laptop go and get an older one that costs a damn sight less than the barely better newer ones and has all the same stuff on it. The older ones also use higher quality parts for the screens as opposed to the cheap dithered new ones so if she's artsy it'll be better.

 

And for your brother totalling his car... if it wasnt his fault insurance should cover him (the other guys) if it was then there's no reason other people should be punished because of his mistakes.

 

Rant aside, You can have the DDR3/Core i7 rig for less than $1,000. There is, on average, only 10fps difference between the Core 216 GTX 260's and the GTX 275. The GTX 260 will also run with power to spare on a 620hx power supply, which means that the non-modular and much cheaper Corsair 650tx (50amps) will EASILY power it. Ditch the soundcard while you're at it and you are now at $1,044.93. Unfortunately the only gigabyte motherboards I can find are like $9 cheaper and the ram's the same.

 

Core 216 GTX 260 (farcry2+CoD5) $179.99

Corsair 650tx $89.99

Optional 4870 512mb from XFX $134.99

 

$1,044.93 new total

 

Now if you really do need a monitor because you don't have any others you want to use, and a mouse, and a keyboard things get more complicated and back up to the $1100 range.

 

Also dude, don't bother with the anti-static wrist strap. Assuming you dont get one with something free you can just use the power supply switched off and plugged into the wall to ground the entire computer case and render you basically bulletproof as long as some part of your skin is touching something metal that's touching the power supply.

 

[edit]

 

Oh and $144 is INSANE for a case. I payed that much for THIS beast. To give you an idea of it's size that motherboard tray is removeable, it's taller than a 2liter coke bottle, and each of those squares in that plastic bracket thing is the size of a CD.

 

If you absolutely can't buy a case locally I suggest This of which I've owned 2 and still have 1. 2x120mm fans, good toolless drive bays, excellent ventilation.

[Akaru]

You should be fine with XP, it wont hurt to try it. As for your sister needing a mac... that's bullshit. Macintoshes literally are intel laptops running OSX that cost more because of the apple brand. Unless she needs a very specific mac-only absolutely cannot be run on a pc program, of which afaik there are very few thanks to macs now using PC hardware, it's an utter waste of money to buy a new one if you need one at all.

 

However if she really does "need" a mac because of an actual legitimate reason rather than just wanting a trendy laptop go and get an older one that costs a damn sight less than the barely better newer ones and has all the same stuff on it. The older ones also use higher quality parts for the screens as opposed to the cheap dithered new ones so if she's artsy it'll be better.

 

And for your brother totalling his car... if it wasnt his fault insurance should cover him (the other guys) if it was then there's no reason other people should be punished because of his mistakes.

 

Rant aside, You can have the DDR3/Core i7 rig for less than $1,000. There is, on average, only 10fps difference between the Core 216 GTX 260's and the GTX 275. The GTX 260 will also run with power to spare on a 620hx power supply, which means that the non-modular and much cheaper Corsair 650tx (50amps) will EASILY power it. Ditch the soundcard while you're at it and you are now at $1,044.93. Unfortunately the only gigabyte motherboards I can find are like $9 cheaper and the ram's the same.

 

Core 216 GTX 260 (farcry2+CoD5) $179.99

Corsair 650tx $89.99

Optional 4870 512mb from XFX $134.99

 

$1,044.93 new total

 

Now if you really do need a monitor because you don't have any others you want to use, and a mouse, and a keyboard things get more complicated and back up to the $1100 range.

 

Also dude, don't bother with the anti-static wrist strap. Assuming you dont get one with something free you can just use the power supply switched off and plugged into the wall to ground the entire computer case and render you basically bulletproof as long as some part of your skin is touching something metal that's touching the power supply.

 

[edit]

 

Oh and $144 is INSANE for a case. I payed that much for THIS beast. To give you an idea of it's size that motherboard tray is removeable, it's taller than a 2liter coke bottle, and each of those squares in that plastic bracket thing is the size of a CD.

 

If you absolutely can't buy a case locally I suggest This of which I've owned 2 and still have 1. 2x120mm fans, good toolless drive bays, excellent ventilation.

 

Listen to shadowex3. Everything he has said in that one post was win. I 110% agree with him.

 

I've never used anti-static wrap. All I do is hold my computer case and something else metal in my room to be absolutely safe.

 

Case, you can get something cheap for now, and as for shadowex3's suggestion, CM makes the best cases ever. Any case by them is good. Or if you really have to, you can use your old case, I think.

 

GTX 260 Core 126 is in fact, as shadowex3 has said, on average 10 fps less. But getting an ATI is a somewhat better choice if you really want the i7 rig. ATI are extremely inexpensive for their performance. A GTX 260 Core 216 ($170) = HD 4870 1GB ($150). A GTX 275 ($225) = HD 4890 ($200). Both of these comparisons are performance, not price.

[Shadowex3]

Actually my preference for nvidia is only for two simple reasons:

 

1. ATI used to get a performance hit in opengl games like Quake Wars

2. ATI used to not have any decent manufacturers like EVGA, XFX, and BFG.

 

The first is largely fixed due to ATIs tendency to get better and better with driver updates over time and opengl maturing a little and the second... it's an XFX card. Not only do they give a lifetime warranty to whoever you sell it to a few years down the road, they also still give you full warranty support even if you replace the heatsink with your own (not that I recommend this at your level).

 

and just to expand on the static thing: you need to think in terms of electricity. Shuffling, rubbing, scooting around, hairdryers, fans, things with friction (even, and especially, against the air) build static. Static discharges to "ground". Your computer's power supply is grounded even when your comp is off as long as it is plugged into the wall or a grounded surge protector (even if THAT is turned off). YOU are thus grounded as long as you have a connection to anything that's grounded. Anti-static wrist straps are just a metal wire that touches your skin and clips onto the computer case to make that easier.

 

You can actually stay grounded by touching a metal toaster that uses 3 pins on an outlet.

[Finzz]

I know but I figured its $3, why the fuck not? Don't wanna fuck up my first rig, lol I don't think it's that big of a deal.

 

I told my dad the same shit about the mac and its bullshit cuz now she has 2 new comps and I'm still using this old one.

 

He agreed with me and let me go with the i7 rig, for now im using a HD 4670 to hold me over until I can get a better card, once I get the better card, I can pass the 4670 to this computer I'm on now to help it out.

 

I guess I can go with that $50 Master Cooler case, I just wanted the HAF cuz I heard really good things aboiut its airflow, because I am going to be overclocking, and I can't afford liquid cooling, so I wanted the best air rig possible. How far do you think overclocking that i7 would be safe? I wanted to go at least like 3.25GHz...4 GHz would be my goal obviously lol.

 

You're right, I was being a little ignorant because I could just get a cheaper case and put my own fans in.

 

I think I will get the sound card later down the road.

 

Will the Noctua fit in the mid tower? Thats why I was going with a full tower, because I didn't wanna get fucked with anything not fitting.

 

http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2009/07/07/review_accessory_cpu_coolers/page6.html

 

Just looking at that review, what do you think about the Thermalright Ultra-120 eXtreme or the Akasa Nero compared to the Noctua?

[Akaru]

I know but I figured its $3, why the fuck not? Don't wanna fuck up my first rig, lol I don't think it's that big of a deal.

 

I told my dad the same shit about the mac and its bullshit cuz now she has 2 new comps and I'm still using this old one.

 

He agreed with me and let me go with the i7 rig, for now im using a HD 4670 to hold me over until I can get a better card, once I get the better card, I can pass the 4670 to this computer I'm on now to help it out.

 

I guess I can go with that $50 Master Cooler case, I just wanted the HAF cuz I heard really good things aboiut its airflow, because I am going to be overclocking, and I can't afford liquid cooling, so I wanted the best air rig possible. How far do you think overclocking that i7 would be safe? I wanted to go at least like 3.25GHz...4 GHz would be my goal obviously lol.

 

You're right, I was being a little ignorant because I could just get a cheaper case and put my own fans in.

 

I think I will get the sound card later down the road.

 

Will the Noctua fit in the mid tower? Thats why I was going with a full tower, because I didn't wanna get fucked with anything not fitting.

 

http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2009/07/07/review_accessory_cpu_coolers/page6.html

 

Just looking at that review, what do you think about the Thermalright Ultra-120 eXtreme or the Akasa Nero compared to the Noctua?

 

I don't know about the Akasa Nero, but the Thermalright Ultra-120 eXtreme is better than the Noctua. But currently the best cooler for the i7 is the Prolimatech Megahalems. If I were to get a cooler, it would be either the TRUE, Noctua NH-U12P, or Prolimatech.

 

I saw people going at 3.9 GHz on the TRUE and Prolimatech.

 

Put 2 fans on your heatsink with a push/pull configuration for better cooling. I heard that the best fan to use is the Noctua, forgot which model. I'm trying to look for reviews, but can't find it. NF-S12B FLX if the fins on the heatsink are not very close and NF-P12 if the fins on the heatsink are really close. the P12 has more static pressure, but a lower airflow and noise level. The S12B FLX has a higher airflow and noise level but lower static pressure.

 

EDIT: According to this site, http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/coolers/display/core-i7-coolers-roundup.html, the Thermalright IFX-14 is better than the 3 I list above. It was able to reach higher clocks at lower temperatures.

[Shadowex3]

I prefer to use Anandtech's data for picking heatsinks. It's a little older but Anandtech has a good rep for solid methodology and they've been fairly accurate over the years, moreso than many other places I've been to as well. Their data shows the U12P beating the TRUE by a pretty impressive amount. Now the IFX-14 can beat them both... but it's also... Enormous.

 

the TRUE is a very good heatsink, I have one, but it just barely didn't fit into my midtower. Here's the dimensions of the TRUE and U12P:

 

95(L) x 126(W) x 158(H)mm -U12P

63.44(L) x 132(W) x 160.5(H) mm -TRUE

 

They're about the same height, but the noctua is a little longer and a little thinner. The IFX 14 on the other hand is 146.2(L) x 124(W) x 161(H) which puts it solidly into the realm of "oh hell no" for most people. The extra few MM if height difference on the U12P should have it fitting a midtower. It'll be a little tight when you try to install it but if you put the PSU in first, then mount the motherboard, and then the CPU-paste-heatsink it should be reasonably possible to get a good mount with a long screwdriver.

 

Hell I got a Tuniq Tower (size of an IFX 14, but no spaces) mounted in a midtower so hey anything's possible.

[Akaru]

I prefer to use Anandtech's data for picking heatsinks. It's a little older but Anandtech has a good rep for solid methodology and they've been fairly accurate over the years, moreso than many other places I've been to as well. Their data shows the U12P beating the TRUE by a pretty impressive amount. Now the IFX-14 can beat them both... but it's also... Enormous.

 

the TRUE is a very good heatsink, I have one, but it just barely didn't fit into my midtower. Here's the dimensions of the TRUE and U12P:

 

95(L) x 126(W) x 158(H)mm -U12P

63.44(L) x 132(W) x 160.5(H) mm -TRUE

 

They're about the same height, but the noctua is a little longer and a little thinner. The IFX 14 on the other hand is 146.2(L) x 124(W) x 161(H) which puts it solidly into the realm of "oh hell no" for most people. The extra few MM if height difference on the U12P should have it fitting a midtower. It'll be a little tight when you try to install it but if you put the PSU in first, then mount the motherboard, and then the CPU-paste-heatsink it should be reasonably possible to get a good mount with a long screwdriver.

 

Hell I got a Tuniq Tower (size of an IFX 14, but no spaces) mounted in a midtower so hey anything's possible.

 

LOL! I have never even seen the IFX-14. I just saw the results on the site. LOL! That thing is so ugly. I would never get it.