Hardware suggestions? (Not a high-end system)

**SigniferOne** · September 11, 2007, 06:00 PM

Hi all, here's what I've been looking to buy on a $500 budget. I've already got HDD, monitor, etc, just need a new motherboard, ram, cpu, and gpu. (I HAVE to buy from dell.com or cdw.com). Here's what I've come up with in terms of options:

CPU:
Intel
http://www.cdw.com/shop/products/def...px?EDC=1240713 (Core 2 Duo)
or
http://www.cdw.com/shop/products/def...px?EDC=1212215 (Core 2 Duo)
or
http://www.cdw.com/shop/products/def...spx?EDC=985599 (Dual-Core Xeon, cheap but 771 socket??)

AMD
http://www.cdw.com/shop/products/def...px?EDC=1204861 (Athlon 64 X2 6000+)

Motherboard:
http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/p...9&sku=A1253918 (P5B, FSB 1066, dual-core DDR2)

RAM:
2 of these: http://www.cdw.com/shop/products/def...spx?EDC=859984 (1GB DDR2, 667 Mhz, PC2-5300)

GPU:
http://www.cdw.com/shop/products/def...px?EDC=1044528 (GeForce 7300GS 256MB)
or
http://www.cdw.com/shop/products/def...px?EDC=1206640 (GeForce 8600GT 256MB)
or
http://www.cdw.com/shop/products/def...px?EDC=1068337 (Radeon X1650, BUT with 512MB, does that matter?)
or

General question: how much does Video RAM matter at the current point? Say, if I wanted to play M2TW at the max.

$180 (CPU) + $140 (Mobo) + $140 (RAM) + $160 (GPU) = $520

**spartan_phalanx** · September 11, 2007, 06:35 PM

That's really unfortunate that you can't buy from elsewhere cause your losing a lot of money from those two sources (possibly the chance at an 8800GTS with savings). I'll have to research a bit to see what these two have to offer for components. Defiantly the...

CPU : E4400 from Dell = $139

**Roman Clone** · September 11, 2007, 07:25 PM

Holy son of a- stupid dell!

google toms hardware guide, that gives you the lowest prices on today's products.

**SigniferOne** · September 11, 2007, 07:39 PM

Anything I buy for $500 from dell is free, that's why I am not too concerned about other prices

Although I do see that, were I to buy them they would be highly overpriced compared to items on other websites. So, considering that price is not a problem for me (as long as the final total is somewhere around $500), would you agree with my list?

I also thought good thoughts about the Intel E4400

its was the price I used in my final total calculation. Other CPUs were kind of just for comparison. Assuming CPU is settled, and also RAM where I am getting a fairly good deal, the remaining two 'complicated' choices are the Mobo and the GPU.

**spartan_phalanx** · September 12, 2007, 05:52 AM

Well if it isn't your money and not a big deal then by all means what you have chosen is fine.

CPU : E4400
MOBO : What you listed will be ok.
RAM : Either of these. The Ballistix will probably OC to 800 speeds.
GPU : 8600 GT

Not sure on the total there.

**Garnier** · September 12, 2007, 07:36 AM

From everything I've read, the 8600 GT is horrible, and won't be much good for DX10 games.

Is there any reason to get it instead of one of the 7xxx series?

**SigniferOne** · September 12, 2007, 09:51 AM

what was wrong with the kingstons?

EDIT: Garnier, hmmm, you make a good point. But Tom's Hardware Guide also rated it as one of the best here:
http://www.tomshardware.com/2007/08/...ney/page2.html

**spartan_phalanx** · September 12, 2007, 12:26 PM

Well you want to try and get your memory in pairs. Buying single separate sticks typically isn't as good as buying paired sticks.

The memory I pointed out is for 2GB (2 x 1GB) kit. The equivalent to that in the Kingston is more money. Now I am also picking out 800 speed RAM as opposed to the 667 speed you chose because it gives you a bit of room before you need to replace it.

**SigniferOne** · September 12, 2007, 01:32 PM

spartan, you're a lifesaver. I placed the order for your ram, for the mobo. I also made slight modifications -- ordered the 7300GS because I really just want to run M2TW well right now, DX10 compatibility is not a huge deal because I don't play games much anyway; not like I'm going to buy Halo 15 or Quake 27. M2TW has very peculiar running parameters -- RAM and good gfx card are only valuable for loading things faster, but what it really requires is massive CPU to work well. For this game, it turns out that the CPU is the real bottleneck. So I bought a very nice Core 2 Duo E6750. So I have a very nice video card whose only drawback is absence of DX10, and thus a vastly slashed price, and I also gain a very strong workhorse CPU for the money that I end up saving. The total is $604, for a very nice powerful machine, off sites that don't even offer the best discounts. Quite a deal!

**Arakorn** · September 12, 2007, 01:59 PM

How much is the 8600 GTS?

**spartan_phalanx** · September 12, 2007, 02:48 PM

How much is the 8600 GTS?

The 8600 was $160 @ the site he posted from.

SigniferOne, I think you made a good choice going with the better processor and better RAM. That graphics card doesn't cost all that much so you can always upgrade later.

**Arakorn** · September 12, 2007, 04:03 PM

No, that was the GT. The GTS is better than the GT, and it's what you want to get!

**Pnutmaster** · September 12, 2007, 04:12 PM

Signifer, were you, by any chance, under the constraints of a school scholarship?

**SigniferOne** · September 13, 2007, 01:03 PM

Originally Posted by Pnutmaster

Signifer, were you, by any chance, under the constraints of a school scholarship?

Close. I am receiving that money from graduate funding, and so that's where the money comes from.

At all events, as it turns out we have another $75-$100 for me to spend! And I think I want to upgrade to the beast workhorse E6850, dual core at 3ghz! (thought I'd stay with the 7300GS because it's got 256MB, a good core, and everything else quite nice other than DX9.0c).

Ideas? Everything else seems good: a good motherboard, 2gb ram, 256mb video card, and now potentially a 3ghz dual core power-train-beast-of-a-machine.

I thought I'm going to be modest with this system, but the way things are going I might end up one of those people posting massive m2tw screenshots in Picture Of The Week...

EDIT: Important! Damnit, the bus speed on the CPU is 1333mhz. the highest fsb for the motherboard is 1066. Does this mean I need to pick a better motherboard too?

EDIT: Update, 4 hours later: well I can't wait you guys

So I decided on this CPU
http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/p...9&sku=A1213727

and on this motherboard:
http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/p...9&sku=A1270453

This motherboard does support the higher 1333Mhz FSB, but interestingly, it's also $30 cheaper! It has all the other fancy things, like support for DDR2 800. It seems its only downside is absence of SLI, which is perfect for a non-hardware-money-expenditure-junkie like me.

This board is $100, practically a steal for anybody buying a motherboard today.

For the saved money, I bought this:

**Arakorn** · September 14, 2007, 06:52 AM

You'll need to get a better GPU... Video memory means nothing if you're playing at "lower" resolutions, which you'll probably be doing with a not-top-notch computer. My suggestion is still the 8600 GTS.

**Leo4444** · September 14, 2007, 07:36 PM

Yea get the 8600gts its better than most of the 7000 series and is even better than 7950 in some games.(not by a lot though).

**Roman Clone** · September 14, 2007, 08:25 PM

I play RTW with a 8300 And it can Run Rome With No Problem, can overheat though with battles with over 7000 men. If your that tight on money, look around the 8300.