Help on a simple PC issue (your opinions and advises needed)

[MightyMacbeth]

Okay I am thinking of getting a new pc or something similar.
I wanted to see your views and opinions as to what I should do. I saw a PC with these specs: (wondering if I should get it)

* Intel Core 2 Duo Processor E6400
* (2.13 GHz, 1066 MHz FSB, 2MB L2 Cache)
*20'' LCD
*2048 MB RAM
*500 GB HDD
*16x DVD+/-RW
*1.44 MB FDD
*Internal 13 in 1 Card reader
*Dual 256MB Nividia Geforce 7900GS Graphics card

Thats mostly it.
Oh I am also wondering, if I get windows Vista, wont I need a graphics card that is 512MB? cause the one on this pc is Gefore 7900 (which is pretty fine) except its only 256 MB, just like my current one, which is Geforce 6200.

And thanks :smil:

 

[Donkey]

Well that is a DUAL video card setup at least from how I read it

 

[MightyMacbeth]

Well that is a DUAL video card setup at least from how I read it

it says dual yep. :smil: Why? I know it sounds good but my novice experience fails to tells me anything. Is it like better than 512mb , IF I ever wanted to get vista or anything?

Oh and what about the other specs?

 

[MontyB]

If you are looking at gaming and can afford it I would bump the RAM up at least 1Gig and perhaps look at the Nvidia 7950GX2 video cards if not it still looks like a better than average system.

I would also look to avoid Vista for a little while until there is a full range of manufacturers drivers and software to support it.

 

[MightyMacbeth]

If you are looking at gaming and can afford it I would bump the RAM up at least 1Gig and perhaps look at the Nvidia 7950GX2 video cards if not it still looks like a better than average system.

I would also look to avoid Vista for a little while until there is a full range of manufacturers drivers and software to support it.

very well :smil: hmm, but is it true that I need a 512mb video card in order for vista to work propertly? And say I get this pc, and vista eventually conquers everything, will I be able to easily get it and let everything work propertly?

Oh and isnt this pc more than 1gb of ram?

2048 MB RAM

? :?

thanks

 

[Big_Z]

No you dont need 512 megs for Vista. If you got the cash I would drop the dual setup and get one of the new GF 8 series cards. Two gigs of ram will be perfectly fine as well. That CPU overclocks very well too, some of them can be bumped up 1000mhz....

 

[MightyMacbeth]

new GF 8 series cards.

hmm interesting. Okay, say I get that 7900 now, and then decide to change it to the 8 series, will that be fine? wont I need to change anything with the pc?
Oh and you see, this is an already built Pc soo.. but is the 8 series out yet? (edit, okay, its out)

thanks

 

[mmarsh]

* Intel Core 2 Duo Processor E6400
* (2.13 GHz, 1066 MHz FSB, 2MB L2 Cache)

-Don't get the E6400. Get the E6300 or E6600 instead. Why the E6300 is a monster overclocker. I know guys who have overclocked it to as much as 3.0 Ghz (from 1.8. You just need to add a good heatsink/fan like the Zalman 9700. If you arn't intersted in overclocking (or at least not much) get the E6600. It is by far the best bang for buck. They overclock pretty good too, I got mine at 3.1 GHZ (and I have seen guys at 4.0GHZ). Again you'll need a good cooler. The price difference is less than €100 between the two, so I think the E6600 is the better deal, espically if you plan on SLi


*20'' LCD

Samsung 225BW Its a 22" Screen. At its cheap at 350€.

*2048 MB RAM

CORSAIR DDR2 PC6400 XMS2 5-5-12 SLI ready. Make sure you get PAIRS (1 box of 2 chips as they are tested to work with each other.

*500 GB HDD

Since you will only have the 1 Disk I would recommend that its a SATA2 15000 RPM. You other option is to get 2 slower disks 7200 RPM and create a RAID 0 stripe set. You'll want to add a 2nd disk anyway for backups. As for Brands go with Seagate, Hitachi or WD. Avoid Maxtor, its cheap, but as we say in the USA "You get want you pay for". Make sure it all supports SATA 2.

*16x DVD+/-RW

NEC 3520 Burner Black I'd also add a PIONEER DVD Drive for €20.

*1.44 MB FDD

Any. NEC, Mitsumi...

*Internal 13 in 1 Card reader

IOMEGA 12 in 1. You can even omit the floppy if you choose this.

*Dual 256MB Nividia Geforce 7900GS Graphics card

THIS IS A MISTAKE!!! MS VISTA is out, which means DirectX 10 is out too. Only the Geforce 8800 series supports DirectX 10, the 78/79 series do not. If you don't buy a DirectX 10 capable card now, then you will be buying a new one within a year or 2. For the Price of 2x 7900GS you can buy a single 8800GT, and then buy a 2nd 8800GT later. This 8800 is also a much faster card.

Keep in mind that in terms of performance all the cards of the same chipset preform the same. Therefore you should choose the card that has the best options (extra ports, best software, extra features).

You neglected Mainboard, case and PSU.

Mainboard. Since you are planning on SLi you MUST use a i680 chipset ONLY. If its not out in your area than wait for it. DO NOT GET Nvidia i590 chipset for Intel, it sucks lemons and has already been replaced. Other Chipsets like SiS and Intel DO NOT SUPPORT SLi. So avoid them.

The i680 boards that are out now are good, but not great. They are either buggy or overpriced. There are new ones coming out this one. Gigabyte just released theirs, DFi, MSI, and Abit should be coming along soon.

If you must by now get the ASUS P5N32-E SLI. Its what I have.

Case
Antec, Coolermaster or Lian-li. I have 2 Lian-li, they are expensive but very good craftsmanship.

PSU. You will want at least 500W for SLi. You must get a good name brand. ENERMAX, COOLERMASTER, ANTEC, HIPER. I just picked up a ASUS that isn't too bad. Also modular cables are a big help if you get them.


Thats mostly it.
Oh I am also wondering, if I get windows Vista, wont I need a graphics card that is 512MB? cause the one on this pc is Gefore 7900 (which is pretty fine) except its only 256 MB, just like my current one, which is Geforce 6200.

512MB Video cards do help with Aero. But that isn't a good enough reason by itself. However, If you get the 8800GT like I told you, it, comes with 640MB standard. Just don't get the 320MB cheaper version, it isnt worth it.

And thanks :smil:[/quote]

 

[MontyB]

Personally I dont agree with the choice of the 8800 cards for several reasons:
1) I have yet to know anyone with one that hasn't had issues with them.
2) From what I understand good reliable drivers are currently not available and until last week there wasn't even a generic set of 8800 drivers with Vista.
3) There are few applications if any that support the 8800's or Vista currently and if he is using any non-generic software it could well be a long wait until it is updated.

 

[MightyMacbeth]

I appreciate the help , very much :smil:

Although its quite complicating and confusing, for me at least.
I could write the specs you guys advise me to get, as well as the brands, and then just show it to the store or whoever is building my pc (I thought of getting an already built one but may change my mind).So my specs are open for editing: and your advises are much appreciated

* Intel Core 2 Duo Processor E6400
* (2.13 GHz, 1066 MHz FSB, 2MB L2 Cache)
*20'' LCD
*2048 MB RAM
*500 GB HDD
*16x DVD+/-RW
*1.44 MB FDD
*Internal 13 in 1 Card reader
*Dual 256MB Nividia Geforce 7900GS Graphics card

------------------
But I also have another question. Say I get that 7900GS, and find out that the 8series is out, can I buy it and simply replace it with the 7900GS? (without any other major pc changes and modifications)

Oh and this made me pause:

Personally I dont agree with the choice of the 8800 cards for several reasons:
1) I have yet to know anyone with one that hasn't had issues with them.
2) From what I understand good reliable drivers are currently not available and until last week there wasn't even a generic set of 8800 drivers with Vista.
3) There are few applications if any that support the 8800's or Vista currently and if he is using any non-generic software it could well be a long wait until it is updated.

Interesting, hmm, then what should I get? the 7900gs for now? for example?

---------------

You have to put in mind that I have little experience with PC technical issues such as these. Facilitation is needed

And thank you alot fellas :camo:

 

[MontyB]

Before answering it would be nice to know what it will be used for mainly.

I am not really trying to put you off either Vista or the 8800 cards I just think that it is worth being wary of them as they are at the beginning of their release cycle which usually means there support isn't good 6 months from now this will not be the case. The question is do you want to take the risk now or wait for the bugs to be fixed.

On the whole I agree with Mmarsh with the exception that I am not convinced 2Gig is enough especially if you intend to game.

 

[MightyMacbeth]

well I intend to mostly use it for games, with alot help on other stuff for uni for example. And I can wait for the bugs to be fixed, and still get the pc. But will I be able to easily change it to the other version?
About the 2GB of ram. Mine right now is 1gb of ram, isnt 2 good enough? or is it possible to increase it.

Thank ya :m1:

 

[MontyB]

well I intend to mostly use it for games, with alot help on other stuff for uni for example. And I can wait for the bugs to be fixed, and still get the pc. But will I be able to easily change it to the other version?
About the 2GB of ram. Mine right now is 1gb of ram, isnt 2 good enough? or is it possible to increase it.

Thank ya :m1:

The beauty of the PC is its modular design so as long as you are buying current gear you will be able to update almost any parts about the only thing you will need to do is ensure the motherboard is capable of taking the parts you want ahead of time.

As far as 2GB of ram goes I would consider it to be the entry level amount, all of my PC's now run 4GB but I have heard some software has issues with more than 4GB but I don't know how true that is.

 

[MightyMacbeth]

The beauty of the PC is its modular design so as long as you are buying current gear you will be able to update almost any parts about the only thing you will need to do is ensure the motherboard is capable of taking the parts you want ahead of time.

ahh thats the thing. How will I be able to know that my motherboard will be able to withstand the new things if I ever decide to get them for my pc?

As far as 2GB of ram goes I would consider it to be the entry level amount, all of my PC's now run 4GB but I have heard some software has issues with more than 4GB but I don't know how true that is.

Oh I see, so I am fine and doing good if I get something between 2GB of ram and 4GB of Ram then?

 

[MontyB]

ahh thats the thing. How will I be able to know that my motherboard will be able to withstand the new things if I ever decide to get them for my pc?

I don't think you are going to have a problem as long as you buy "new" just make sure that the video card you want to buy has the same connection as the one you have ie PCI-e and you wont have issues.

Oh I see, so I am fine and doing good if I get something between 2GB of ram and 4GB of Ram then?

Yep.

 

[MightyMacbeth]

I don't think you are going to have a problem as long as you buy "new" just make sure that the video card you want to buy has the same connection as the one you have ie PCI-e and you wont have issues

Okay, say I get the geforce 7900GS, and in 4 months, I decide to get the geforce 8800, substitution will be easy? just get the same connection?

Oh I see, so I am fine and doing good if I get something between 2GB of ram and 4GB of Ram then?

Yep.

Excellent :smil:
Okay, if you had the chance to get a pc with the specs I gave, and also had the ability to change a few things, what will you change?

* Intel Core 2 Duo Processor E6400
* (2.13 GHz, 1066 MHz FSB, 2MB L2 Cache)
*20'' LCD
*2048 MB RAM
*500 GB HDD
*16x DVD+/-RW
*1.44 MB FDD
*Internal 13 in 1 Card reader
*Dual 256MB Nividia Geforce 7900GS Graphics card

 

[MontyB]

Okay, say I get the geforce 7900GS, and in 4 months, I decide to get the geforce 8800, substitution will be easy? just get the same connection?

Yep it should just be a matter of removing the old card putting the new one in and installing the drivers.

Okay, if you had the chance to get a pc with the specs I gave, and also had the ability to change a few things, what will you change?

I would pretty much follow Mmarsh's post, myself I would definitely go with 2 smaller raid configured hard drives but thats about it. The system you are looking at seems perfectly fine for what you want to do (with the few tweaks mentioned by others).

If you have any concerns I would get them to give you a list of components they plan to sell you and do a web search for information on them there is a lot of information out there and if there are any issues with items people will have found them and posted about it.

 

[MightyMacbeth]

Yep it should just be a matter of removing the old card putting the new one in and installing the drivers.



I would pretty much follow Mmarsh's post, myself I would definitely go with 2 smaller raid configured hard drives but thats about it. The system you are looking at seems perfectly fine for what you want to do (with the few tweaks mentioned by others).

If you have any concerns I would get them to give you a list of components they plan to sell you and do a web search for information on them there is a lot of information out there and if there are any issues with items people will have found them and posted about it.

Magnificent :smil:
Well, I shall contemplate on the matter, and many salutations to you noble ally

 

[mmarsh]

Personally I dont agree with the choice of the 8800 cards for several reasons:
1) I have yet to know anyone with one that hasn't had issues with them.
2) From what I understand good reliable drivers are currently not available and until last week there wasn't even a generic set of 8800 drivers with Vista.
3) There are few applications if any that support the 8800's or Vista currently and if he is using any non-generic software it could well be a long wait until it is updated.

1. The only issue I know of are related to VISTA SLi because Nvidia was too slow in releasing drivers for VISTA. Nvidia just released a new driver last week driver 100.54 that finally addressed this. And the drivers will only improve afterwhich.

On the otherhand the final drivers for geforce 7800/7900 SLi for VISTA are NOT out yet. There are betas that you can download, but Nvidia had made it clear the 8800 series will get priority. In otherwords no SLi on a Series 7 card if you are running VISTA (unless you use BETA drivers).

2. As I said, driver 100.54 SLi VISTA is for the 8800 series ONLY. The Geforce 7800/7900 drivers SLi drivers for VISTA are beta only. Nvidia is focusing its resources on series 8. We techies have a saying "friends dont let friends buy old tech".

3. There are no applications that support DirectX 10 yet. But they all support the 8800. The 8800 series is backwards compatible to DirectX 9, the series 7 cards are NOT compatible with DirectX 10. Lastly the first DirectX10 games will be released THIS MONTH (Supreme Commander) and there are a lot more to follow.

Mighty Macbeth

Yes you can simple replace the series 7 with a series 8. But you would be wasting almost 400€. For a brand new computer, its not worth it.

Also series 8 supports LINKBOOST (a SLi turbo mode that will give you another 20% boost) the series 7 do not. All you need is a compatible motherboard (I believe all i680 support it).

The 7900GS is a good card, but its not the wisest investment. I doubt they will even be sold in 3 months. Its obsolete.

MontyB isn't wrong to suggest more RAM. Computers always love more RAM. But I am comparing bang for buck. I am not convinced adding an extra 2 Gigs (total 4GIG) is worth another 250€. The only benefit you might see in games is slightly decreased load times.

If your on a budget, going to 4GIG IMHO isn't worth it, YET. Another reason to wait is that memory (espicially DDR2) is rather expensive now. RAM prices fluctuate alot, I would wait until prices drop again.

 

[MightyMacbeth]

Thanks mmarsh :smil:
Okay, I'll see what can be done about the video card matter.
About the 4GB or ram, is it possible to not get 4gb but at least 3gb then?