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Goji_of_the_SquirrelOffline
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20 Post subject: lawlz at my computer  PostPosted: Oct 27, 2008 - 01:54 AM
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Sadly, my computer may have... *sniff* died! Who would have thought? Mr. Green

Actually, it's some problem with the harddrive failing to load the OS. At least, that's what I'm being told.

So, maybe I'll throw a new one together, complete with cords that go no where, dust encrusted fans, and an A drive.

Maybe I'll even strap the old FX 5200 to the top like a shark fin! Twisted Evil Twisted Evil Twisted Evil

But first, what's some good equipment?

What are your recommendations for computer builds from scratch?

(p.s. the * key took me a minute to find on this Japanese keyboard.)

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Post subject: RE: lawlz at my computer  PostPosted: Oct 27, 2008 - 02:19 AM
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Are you looking to do it now or wait till you're in the states?
 
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Goji_of_the_SquirrelOffline
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Post subject: RE: lawlz at my computer  PostPosted: Oct 27, 2008 - 02:23 AM
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Till I'm in the states. But, I'm still interested in looking into my options now.

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Post subject: RE: lawlz at my computer  PostPosted: Oct 27, 2008 - 02:46 AM
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Recommend me a good video card! Preferably an Nvidia!
 
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vandylOffline
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Post subject: RE: lawlz at my computer  PostPosted: Oct 28, 2008 - 04:37 AM
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the 9800GTX is going for like 179 over at newegg. Not a bad card, based on the G92 architecture, but not much of an improvement over the 8800 series based on the same G92 core.

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PhukFace: what d you get 72 virgins?
vandyl: yeah. unfortunately they were all members of either au gamers, au society of anime and manga, or both.
 
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Goji_of_the_SquirrelOffline
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Post subject: RE: lawlz at my computer  PostPosted: Oct 28, 2008 - 07:18 AM
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But those numbers are a little higher than my FX5200. Of course, they lack the FX, but from my experience anything with GT in the name must be good, right? Plus it has an X! Ooo...

But stupidity aside, what do you recommend for motherboards?

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vandylOffline
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Post subject: RE: lawlz at my computer  PostPosted: Oct 28, 2008 - 01:38 PM
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Well, face hates me for this, but I like the nforce chipsets - it depends on what processor you want to use. I've got a Pentium D 805 dual-core on an Asus P5N-E SLI, runs the nforce650 chipset.

The intel chipsets are very good too, just haven't used them in I don't know how long.

Gouji, til you can come up with a budget for your next build, trying to pick out components is pointless to be honest. At this stage, you might as well build your dream machine and then when economics comes into play, trim that badass build down to something affordable.

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PhukFace: what d you get 72 virgins?
vandyl: yeah. unfortunately they were all members of either au gamers, au society of anime and manga, or both.
 
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BanditOffline
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Post subject: RE: lawlz at my computer  PostPosted: Oct 28, 2008 - 05:14 PM
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I hate the 9800 line. It was little to no improvement in the functionality on the chipset. So if you must get an nVidia card I suggest the best 8800 or a 260, 260 being the preferred.

But if you are looking in the 9800 price range you are better off with one of the new ATI/AMD cards.
 
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vandylOffline
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Post subject: RE: lawlz at my computer  PostPosted: Oct 29, 2008 - 12:11 AM
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Yeah - I'm not a giant fan of the 9800 either, but there is probably a larger inventory of the 9xxx series left than there are of the 8xxx series.

Not sure I'd go with a 260 over the 88, but I haven't been keeping up with the 2x0 series. Now I'm off to look up some performance comparisons.

And I've really not kept abreast of the ati cards lately - just enough to know the 4850 is probably the best bang for buck card they're pushing out at the moment.

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PhukFace: what d you get 72 virgins?
vandyl: yeah. unfortunately they were all members of either au gamers, au society of anime and manga, or both.
 
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Goji_of_the_SquirrelOffline
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Post subject: RE: lawlz at my computer  PostPosted: Oct 29, 2008 - 01:12 AM
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Good point about the budget.

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BanditOffline
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Post subject: RE: lawlz at my computer  PostPosted: Oct 29, 2008 - 08:45 PM
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4850 is the best card for your dollar right now on the market.

4870 is better than a 9800.

the X2s and the 240 and the 260 get into price areas I'm sure you would like to avoid.

ask me again in 3 months and I'm sure nVidia will have a new architecture out, but right now ATI is your best value/performance.
 
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Goji_of_the_SquirrelOffline
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Post subject: RE: lawlz at my computer  PostPosted: Oct 29, 2008 - 10:52 PM
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Cool. Out of curiosity, what do you guys use for cooling? I've always just stuck with a couple fans,but what do you guys think about the different cooling options out there.In otherwords, what other options are there for cooling besides fans, and what do you think about them?

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vandylOffline
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Post subject: RE: lawlz at my computer  PostPosted: Oct 29, 2008 - 11:05 PM
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water-cooling is useful only if you're really pushing your hardware.

For you, stick with standard air-cooling - but get an aftermarket heatsink for your processor. and three or four case-fans should be fine. I'm running 1x120mm and 2x80 on my case. Stays pretty cool, even overclocked (using the Arctic Cool Freezer 7 Pro heatsink on my cpu)

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PhukFace: what d you get 72 virgins?
vandyl: yeah. unfortunately they were all members of either au gamers, au society of anime and manga, or both.
 
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Post subject: RE: lawlz at my computer  PostPosted: Oct 30, 2008 - 04:26 PM
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I've found the Core 2s overclock very far with the stock cooler. Water cooling is just annoying and not really necessary anymore (how would you like changing the coolant every so often and dealing with water leaks inside your computer?). 3rd party fans are okay but why buy one when the stock works?
 
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vandylOffline
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Post subject: RE: lawlz at my computer  PostPosted: Oct 31, 2008 - 01:33 PM
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*shrug* Why not? heh heh

Maybe so - he may not need an aftermarket cooler, especially if he doesn't want to overclock.

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PhukFace: what d you get 72 virgins?
vandyl: yeah. unfortunately they were all members of either au gamers, au society of anime and manga, or both.
 
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BanditOffline
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Post subject: RE: lawlz at my computer  PostPosted: Nov 03, 2008 - 03:29 AM
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I use stock coolers. But I try to only use 120mm fans. The reason is the larger the radius of the blades the slower they can turn to move the same amount of air. Which means less noise.

There is a point at which more fans won't help. The reason for this is fans and heat sinks are not air conditioners, they are just heat equalizers. If the temp in your apartment is 80 then your system can't get below that temp. This is probably the single factor that has lead to so many LAN party pc deaths. Fans can only help your system reach an equilibrium with the rest of the air in your domicile.
 
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vandylOffline
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Post subject: RE: lawlz at my computer  PostPosted: Nov 03, 2008 - 02:21 PM
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yeah - 120s are better as far as cfm/noise, but you're also limited by the case itself. I'd have 120s all around if I could, but the front mounts are 80s

And yeah, temp is limited by ambient temp. I'd keep the office much cooler if I could, but I'm not fortunate enough to have a climate controlled room. (note to self...)

I'm thinking something along these lines Gouji - for your next build, your shopping list should look like this (it's price/performance)
MB: $100 - $150
CPU: $150ish (low- to mid-level Intel C2D)
GPU: $150 - $200
RAM: 2gig (4x512) (At least 800mhz)
Case: $50 - $120 (CoolerMaster makes a decent case for the price - check out the centurion series)
PSU: $60 - $85
Scavenge the rest of your necessities (harddrives, optical)

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PhukFace: what d you get 72 virgins?
vandyl: yeah. unfortunately they were all members of either au gamers, au society of anime and manga, or both.
 
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jokeyxeroOffline
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Post subject: RE: lawlz at my computer  PostPosted: Nov 04, 2008 - 03:51 AM
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"climate controlled room" = Window Unit
Bonus points for solar powered window unit

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jokeyxeroOffline
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Post subject: RE: lawlz at my computer  PostPosted: Nov 04, 2008 - 03:52 AM
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dealhack.com
newegg.com
slickdeals.net
pricewatch.com
tigerdirect.com

For your computer building needs

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BanditOffline
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Post subject: RE: lawlz at my computer  PostPosted: Nov 04, 2008 - 04:12 PM
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I rely on Tom's Hardware for non-biased information on hardware performance/price. This 1st link is to a list of recommended systems built on a budget.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/sys ... ,2056.html

Video Card benchmarks at 1900X1400 with AA. Always look up the video card resolution you are going to use on your system, because it will change the performance of cards. Video cards are tuned to do well in a particular resolution and Anti-Aliasing (AA).
http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/gami ... A,801.html
 
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