New gaming rig prospective

[oldman_gamer]

Originally Posted by azianai

And also consider the EVGA or XFX Vid Cards if you're planning on OCing yourself. Can also wait another few weeks the new 9000 series if you plan it

There will be no OCing in his or my pc.I had a hard enough time just updating the mobo.LOL seriously! From what I have read here,OCing shortens the lifespan of components...I need them to last 4 or 5 years maybe more.The only OC that would maybe be a possibility would be a graphics card OC..but some of them come already OCed.

Try to keep in mind here,we dont have the comprehension as most of you do about pcs.Im trying like hell to learn more as time goes by and go back over threads continuously to find valuable information.I cant thank everyone enough for their lasting efforts here.

[One4yu2c]

Originally Posted by oldman_gamer

I thought I chose the same case as mine,mine has a side window that you can see all the bling inside.
The cd/dvd choice sounds like a good choice.

The one you linked to doesn't have a window. This is probably the version you're looking for.

Originally Posted by oldman_gamer

There will be no OCing in his or my pc.I had a hard enough time just updating the mobo.LOL seriously! From what I have read here,OCing shortens the lifespan of components...I need them to last 4 or 5 years maybe more.The only OC that would maybe be a possibility would be a graphics card OC..but some of them come already OCed.

Tread carefully with your videocard. Because of the high amount of heat involved, videocards are arguably more susceptible to failures than any other component. On a related note, both XFX and EVGA officially support end-user overclocking without voiding the lifetime warranty.

There's no shame in running stock, but with the foundation you're working towards, the option to OC your processor will be there if you decide to dabble down the line.

[polobunny]

Revisions revisions. Cutting on final price.
Newegg.com - MSI NX8800GT 512M OC GeForce 8800GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail
$199.99 after $20.00 MIR.

Newegg.com - Acer AL1916WAbd Black 19" 5ms DVI Widescreen LCD Monitor 300 cd/m2 700:1 - Retail
$179.99

Newegg.com - OCZ StealthXStream OCZ500SXS ATX12V / EPS12V 500W Power Supply 100 - 240 V - Retail
$39.99 after $20.00 MIR (as proposed by Paul)

[oldman_gamer]

Hows this then so far..
Newegg.com - XFX PVT88PYDD4 GeForce 8800GT XXX 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail

Newegg.com - COOLER MASTER eXtreme Power RP-550-PCAR ATX from factor 12V V2.01 550W Power Supply 110-115V/ 220-230V Nemko, TUV, cUL, CE, BSM, FCC, CCC - Retail

Newegg.com - Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz 6MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor - Retail

Newegg.com - Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST3500320AS 500GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM

Newegg.com - Acer AL2016WCbd Black 20" 2ms(GTG) DVI Widescreen LCD Monitor 300 cd/m2 800:1 - Retail

Newegg.com - Microsoft Windows Vista 64-Bit Ultimate for System Builders Single Pack DVD - OEM

Newegg.com - ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro 92mm CPU Cooler - Retail

Newegg.com - Crucial Ballistix Tracer 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail

Newegg.com - COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 CAC-T05-WW Black/Silver Aluminum Bezel, SECC Chassis ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail

I will let him decide on a cd/dvd /thumb drive vs. floppy etc ...
Im going to wait and see what DFI has in store for the Blood Iron series.
This is already $1321.90 not counting -$40mir and +$41.83 in shipping.
To me it seems high.But I probably spent close to that.After a board is added and internal cd dvd drives etc....your looking at another $200 about. I will have to see what he wants to spend beyond the $1100-$1200 he asked me to work with.

[Hitman]

Now that's a respectable rig.

[Stormcrow]

Originally Posted by polobunny

The problem with waiting for the GeForce 9 series is that they will likely release high-end cards first, going for $700 pop.

9600GT looks to be released first oddly enough, the new beta drivers already have added support for it in the release info.

The reason you're seeing such low scores is because from a comparative look, the 8600 is a piece of crap. Nvidia cut too much out of it, 32 Shaders compared to the 96 found on the original 8800GTS and a 128-bit bus that really choked the already cut down performance. Probably already know this already though.

Personally, I would go with a HD3850 with 512mb RAM like I suggested in someone elses thread. The reason for this is because the 3850 hauls ass right up there with the G80 8800GTS which is amazing for such a cheap card, and supports DX10.1 and PCI-E 2.0 which is a bit of "future proofing" if you plan on keeping this rig for awhile. It's also cheaper, and has performance comparable to the HD3870 for a bit less. The P35 chipset also supports Crossfire, so later on you can add in another card for dirt cheap and give the rig a good boost.
Of course it's your call, but if I was building a new system this is the card I would go with. Especially since it'll be gaming on a 19" monitor and you won't need to worry about the cheaper card failing at the higher resolutions.

[polobunny]

Originally Posted by Stormcrow

9600GT looks to be released first oddly enough, the new beta drivers already have added support for it in the release info.

The reason you're seeing such low scores is because from a comparative look, the 8600 is a piece of crap. Nvidia cut too much out of it, 32 Shaders compared to the 96 found on the original 8800GTS and a 128-bit bus that really choked the already cut down performance. Probably already know this already though.

Personally, I would go with a HD3850 with 512mb RAM like I suggested in someone elses thread. The reason for this is because the 3850 hauls ass right up there with the G80 8800GTS which is amazing for such a cheap card, and supports DX10.1 and PCI-E 2.0 which is a bit of "future proofing" if you plan on keeping this rig for awhile. It's also cheaper, and has performance comparable to the HD3870 for a bit less. The P35 chipset also supports Crossfire, so later on you can add in another card for dirt cheap and give the rig a good boost.
Of course it's your call, but if I was building a new system this is the card I would go with. Especially since it'll be gaming on a 19" monitor and you won't need to worry about the cheaper card failing at the higher resolutions.

The fact it's in the drivers doesn't mean it will be released first, neither does it mean it will be a good product. ;) Apparently, twice the 8600 performance for $189 retail price. I'd love to see that. Do I believe it? Not really. Still apparently, like you said it will be released first, around 21st of Feb. 9800 GX2 around CeBIT.

[oldman_gamer]

Originally Posted by Stormcrow

9600GT looks to be released first oddly enough, the new beta drivers already have added support for it in the release info.

The reason you're seeing such low scores is because from a comparative look, the 8600 is a piece of crap. Nvidia cut too much out of it, 32 Shaders compared to the 96 found on the original 8800GTS and a 128-bit bus that really choked the already cut down performance. Probably already know this already though.

Personally, I would go with a HD3850 with 512mb RAM like I suggested in someone elses thread. The reason for this is because the 3850 hauls ass right up there with the G80 8800GTS which is amazing for such a cheap card, and supports DX10.1 and PCI-E 2.0 which is a bit of "future proofing" if you plan on keeping this rig for awhile. It's also cheaper, and has performance comparable to the HD3870 for a bit less. The P35 chipset also supports Crossfire, so later on you can add in another card for dirt cheap and give the rig a good boost.
Of course it's your call, but if I was building a new system this is the card I would go with. Especially since it'll be gaming on a 19" monitor and you won't need to worry about the cheaper card failing at the higher resolutions.

What say you about this? Cons: If you run Vista, this card will not work for you. ATI has not fixed a crucial flaw in their drivers for Vista in over a year that causes the display driver to fail when running 3D applications. If you want more information, google "" atikmdag has stopped responding "" None of the solutions on any of the forums works.

Not that I doubt you in any way,but have any fixes come out,or is this guy blowing smoke?
This FB from a buyer on the egg.*

[Stormcrow]

Originally Posted by oldman_gamer

Cons: If you run Vista, this card will not work for you. ATI has not fixed a crucial flaw in their drivers for Vista in over a year that causes the display driver to fail when running 3D applications. If you want more information, google "" atikmdag has stopped responding "" None of the solutions on any of the forums works.

This is actually a problem with both Nvidia and AMD, and I had this problem just last week with the drivers for my 8800 crashing. It's one of two things, either the card is overheating or theres a problem with the memory and it's causing the drivers to crash.
The overheating issue is the most common, obviously, as these cards just dump heat and usually the manufacturer set's the fan to run silently so under load they overheat and artifact, causing the crashing. The solution to make sure the fan speed is set to around 70%+ in Rivatuner or pick up a card with a decent heatsink on it. I personally like the Powercolor HD3000's with the aftermarket sinks on them.
The other issue is due to RAM errors, this was my problem since I was messing around with the settings due to overclocking. Everytime the computer would stress, the drivers would crash. I figured the error out when running Orthos, the blend test would crash after 9 seconds and the drivers would follow. Stressing the RAM only caused the same problem. Went into the BIOS, loosened the timings a little and no problems since.

So it's a common problem that effects both brands of cards, and can be fixed. Keep in mind Newegg reviews are the scrapings from the barrel on where to judge hardware, like the guy who posted that complained about driver problems for over a year when not even the HD2900XT has been out that long.

[One4yu2c]

Originally Posted by oldman_gamer

What say you about this? Cons: If you run Vista, this card will not work for you. ATI has not fixed a crucial flaw in their drivers for Vista in over a year that causes the display driver to fail when running 3D applications. If you want more information, google "" atikmdag has stopped responding "" None of the solutions on any of the forums works.

Not that I doubt you in any way,but have any fixes come out,or is this guy blowing smoke?
This FB from a buyer on the egg.*

We've recently reviewed two ATI videocards (2400XT and HD 3850), and we use Vista for our testing environment. Neither card had any problems tearing through our gauntlet of benchmarks, both at stock and overclocked.

On a personal note, I have had similar fits using an NVIDIA card on my personal system, which is just one of many issues I encountered with my 680i motherboard. The problem disappeared as soon as I switched out the mobo for an Intel chipset (X38).