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[Matt_C]

Heya, as I ordered this setup from another post, I wonder if 500 watt Antec would be enough for those things, a Happauge MCE TV tuner, IDE DVD-+RW, 320gig IDE drive, and a Geforce 8800GTS (95m) 512MB? I only plan to run XPMCE and have no intention to run Vista anytime soo.

I just mainly want fast performance (better than PS3) on UT3 @ 1024x786 and/or 720p. I also want to test out Unreal Editor as well.

 

[Teknopathetic]

Yes the 500w will be enough. Also, that 5200+ and the 8800GTS 512mb would probably run UT3 at just about any resolution you want at 60fps + max settings, barring like 2056x15whatever and above.

Though, I've heard sometimes AMDs don't play nicely with UT3? And be sure to turn off Cool 'n Quiet as that apparently causes some performance loss (in UT3).

 

[Inflammable Slinky]

Well, I finally decided on the things I'm getting:

No incompatibility issues jump out at me, but doesn't hurt to check with you smart PC people.

 

[Visualante]

Well, I finally decided on the things I'm getting:

Go back to /b/

In other news, Dell are really testing me. They have an XPS 420 very cheap, quad core, 8800gt, 3gb of ram, and 640gb RAID 0. Forced Vista professional though.

 

[urk]

Again, I don't know much about computers. Any input would be much appreciated.

You might need to pick up extensions for your 12v cable depending on where the proc power cable is on the MoBo you selected. Antec is putting the PSU on the bottom of the case and it might be a stretch.

Wiring is also going to be a bit messy in there for the same reason. All the wiring will be upside-down and you'll be stretching across the length of the board and either over or around the GPU.

 

[kbear]

Go back to /b/

In other news, Dell are really testing me. They have an XPS 420 very cheap, quad core, 8800gt, 3gb of ram, and 640gb RAID 0. Forced Vista professional though.

Got a link? how much

 

[sh4mike]

*more specific post below*

 

[SRG01]

If that's all you want to spend (300-500), you could go with a e2180 for about 90$ (prices are coming off the top of my head), spend 50$ on 2GB of DDR2 667 RAM, 90$ on a P35 based mobo, and have about 250$ left to pick up either an ATi HD3870 for 230$ or if you can find a sweet deal get an 8800GT for 250$. That rig should actually run most current games on high-ish settings, especially if you care to overclock.

The one thing that worries me about that computer you linked (if it's actually the one you have), would possibly be the power supply, possibly. You could go for an ATi HD3850 or 8800GT 256mb and use the 5-60$ or so you saved to go towards an earthwatts 430w power supply, to stay as close to 500$ as possible.

I'm not even sure if the aforementioned mobos would fit in the case. Don't manufacturers like HP/Dell use proprietary form factors and screw positions?

 

[Teknopathetic]

"I'm not even sure if the aforementioned mobos would fit in the case. Don't manufacturers like HP/Dell use proprietary form factors and screw positions?"


Oooh, it's possible it may use BTX. Maybe.


Edit: After some searching, if his computer is the same as the one he linked, his motherboard is MicroATX, and there's plenty of options for those.

 

[Inflammable Slinky]

I'm not too worried about fitting things in the case, as I've actually got like 3 or so other cases just lying around, so I'll be able to tinker something to work I figure.

 

[sh4mike]

I don't know anything about power supplies and motherboards, but I'd like to order a PC today. Here's my current configuration:

Case ( Thermaltake Armor Jr. Gaming Case w/420W Power Supply Black )
Case Lighting ( Cold Cathode Neon Light Blue )
Power Supply ( Standard Case Power Supply )
Processor ( [=== Quad Core ===] Intel Core 2 Quad Processor Q6600 (4x 2.4GHz/8MB L2 Cache/1066FSB) )
Processor Cooling ( Certified CPU Fan and Heatsink )
Motherboard ( Asus P5N-E SLI nForce® 650i SLI Chipset w/6-channel CODEC, Gb LAN, S-ATA Raid, USB 2.0, IEEE-1394 Dual PCI-E MB )
Memory ( 4096MB [1024MB X4] DDR2-800 PC6400 Memory Module Corsair-Value or Major Brand )
Video Card ( NVIDIA GeForce 8500GT 512MB w/DVI + TV Out Video )
Video Card Brand ( Major Brand Powered by NVIDIA )
Hard Drive ( [Special !!!] 200 GB HARD DRIVE [Serial-ATA-II, 3Gb, 7200 RPM, 8M Cache] )
2nd Hard Drive ( [Special !!!] 200 GB HARD DRIVE [Serial-ATA-II, 3Gb, 7200 RPM, 8M Cache] )
CD/DVD Drive ( [** Special !!! ***] 20X Dual Format/Double Layer DVD±R/±RW + CD-R/RW Drive Black )

Should I get a different power supply or motherboard? I'm happy with the quad 2.4 (OC to 3.0), dual 250GB HDs, and 4GB RAM. I don't know much about video cards, but the 8500GT seemed reasonably priced.

http://www.ibuypower.com/ibp/store/configurator.aspx?mid=224

If anyone has a better spec while keeping the price within $1500, please let me know.

 

[urk]

If anyone has a better spec while keeping the price within $1500, please let me know.

Cut the memory in half and maybe look at bumping the GPU up. I assume this is for gaming?

 

[sh4mike]

Hi, Urk -- thanks for helping.

I am redoing my home office, and I want a PC that can do the following:

1. play all my emulators (N64 being most demading)
2. surf
3. watch hi-res downloads without hiccuping
4. play "newish" titles like Oblivion on normal setting (e.g. I don't need Crysis)
5. TV-out so I can play games off my nearby 42" plasma
6. priced under $1500
7. does things fast (e.g. I hate wating for screens/items to load)

I have a 22" monitor currently which works fine. The reason I'm looking @ "ibuypower" is because I love some of their cases.

If you have a better configuration, please post it and I'll buy it -- not kidding. I'm a noob at this sort of thing.

Also, I'm not sure if I need to get an "SLI-ready" power supply, since the 8500GT is "SLI-enabled" as is the motherboard.

I'd really like to order this within the next few hours. Thanks for the help.

P.S. My wife asked if most of these companies provide the OS OEM CD for reimaging. It's $104 to add Vista Premium directly. But for a bit more we could buy it off Amazon and be sure to get the OEM CD. I tried calling the company's 800 number but no response.

 

[urk]

Also, I'm not sure if I need to get an "SLI-ready" power supply, since the 8500GT is "SLI-enabled" as is the motherboard.

Thanks for the help.

I wouldn't worry about SLI power. You would be better off with a single 8800gt then you would another 8500 in SLI. In fact, you'd be better with a single 8600.

I assume that build is close to $1,500? Can you post the pricing for each component? Just from guesswork, I assume you can't just drop half the memory and make up the difference for an 8800gt? Is the 2nd HDD discounted?

 

[sh4mike]

Oh, SLI means a second video card. Well, $1500 isn't a hard line -- I'm looking for value.

Current configuration is at $1170 right now.

- the RAM upgrade from 2G to 4G is $200
- second 200GB hard disk was $68
- there are five 8800GT upgrade options over the 8600GT:

NVIDIA GeForce 8800GT 512MB w/DVI + TV Out Video (+$182)
NVIDIA GeForce 8800GTS (G92) 512MB w/DVI + TV Out Video (+$304)
NVIDIA GeForce 8800GTS 640MB w/DVI + TV Out Video (+$340)
NVIDIA GeForce 8800GTX 768MB w/DVI + TV Out Video (+$500)
NVIDIA GeForce Ultra 768MB w/DVI + TV Out Video (+$612)

Is an 8800 really worth so much more than an 8600? I thought these would go into the "moderate improvement, high cost" class for power gamers.

***

There are also a bunch of motherboards:

[===Support QX9650===] Asus P5E Intel X38 CrossFire Chipset w/7.1 Sound, Gb LAN, S-ATA Raid, USB 2.0, IEEE-1394 Dual PCI-E MB [+ $129]
[===Support QX9650===] Asus P5E WS Professional Intel X38 CrossFire Chipset w/7.1 Sound, Gb LAN, S-ATA Raid, USB 2.0, IEEE-1394 Dual PCI-E MB [+ $174]
[===Support QX9650===] Asus Maximus Formula Intel X38 CrossFire Chipset w/7.1 Sound, Gb LAN, S-ATA Raid, USB 2.0, IEEE-1394 Dual PCI-E MB [+ $163]
[===Support QX9650===] Asus P5K Premium/WiFi-AP Intel P35 CrossFire Chipset w/7.1 Sound, Gb LAN, S-ATA Raid, USB 2.0, IEEE-1394 Dual PCI-E MB [+ $114]
Asus P5N-E SLI nForce® 650i SLI Chipset w/6-channel CODEC, Gb LAN, S-ATA Raid, USB 2.0, IEEE-1394 Dual PCI-E MB
Asus P5N32-E SLI nForce® 680i SLI Chipset w/7.1 Sound, Gb LAN, S-ATA Raid, USB 2.0, IEEE-1394 Dual PCI-E MB [+ $138]
[New !!!] Asus Striker Extreme nForce® 680i SLI Chipset w/7.1 Sound, Gb LAN, S-ATA Raid, USB 2.0, IEEE-1394 Dual PCI-E MB [+ $227]
Nvidia NForce 680i SLI Chipset w/7.1 Sound, Gb LAN, S-ATA Raid, USB 2.0 Dual PCI-E MB [+ $84]
MSI P35 Neo-F P35 Chipset w/7.1 Sound, Gb LAN, S-ATA, USB 2.0 PCI-E MB [- $10]
MSI P6N SLI-F nForce 650i SLI Chipset w/7.1 Sound, Gb LAN, S-ATA, USB 2.0, IEEE 1394, PCI-E MB [- $5]
[$30 OFF Mail-In Rebate] MSI P6N Diamond nForce 680i SLI Chipset w/7.1 Sound, Gb LAN, S-ATA, USB 2.0, IEEE 1394, PCI-E MB

***

And a bunch of power supplies:

500 Watt -- NZXT PF-500 Power Supply [+ $49]
550 Watt -- Power Supply [+ $55]
600 Watt -- Power Supply SLI Ready [+ $64]
620 Watt -- Enermax Liberty DXX Power Supply SLI Ready [+ $135]
650 Watt -- NZXT PRC-650 Power Supply SLI Ready [+ $99]
720 Watt -- Enermax Infiniti 720 Power Supply SLI Ready [+ $185]
[$40 OFF Mail-In Rebate] 750 Watt -- Thermaltake Toughpower W0117RU Power Supply Quad SLI Ready [+ $169]
800 Watt -- Power Supply Quad SLI Ready [+ $110]
[$40 OFF Mail-In Rebate] 850 Watt -- Thermaltake Toughpower W0172RU Power Supply Quad SLI Ready [+ $198]
950 Watt -- Tuniq Miniplant Power Supply Quad SLI Ready [+ $219]
[$50 OFF Mail-In Rebate] 1000 Watt -- Thermaltake Toughpower W0155RU Power Supply Quad SLI Ready [+ $253]
1000 Watt -- Ultra X3 Energy Efficient Modular Power Supply Quad SLI Ready [+ $232]
1200 Watt -- NZXT PRC-1200 Power Supply Quad SLI Ready [+ $279]
[$50 OFF Mail-In Rebate] 1200 Watt -- Thermaltake Toughpower W0156RU Power Supply Quad SLI Ready [+ $297]

 

[CharminUltra]

Mmmm... nice thread. I'm thinking of upgrading my 2 yr old PC so this might come in handy.

Tagged

 

[urk]

Well, $1500 isn't a hard line -- I'm looking for value.

Current configuration is at $1170 right now.

- the RAM upgrade from 2G to 4G is $200
- second 200GB hard disk was $68
- there are five 8800GT upgrade options from $180 to $500 depending on RAM (512 to 768) and "Ultra" type

NVIDIA GeForce 8800GT 512MB w/DVI + TV Out Video (+$182)
NVIDIA GeForce 8800GTS (G92) 512MB w/DVI + TV Out Video (+$304)
NVIDIA GeForce 8800GTS 640MB w/DVI + TV Out Video (+$340)
NVIDIA GeForce 8800GTX 768MB w/DVI + TV Out Video (+$500)
NVIDIA GeForce Ultra 768MB w/DVI + TV Out Video (+$612)

I'd ditch the extra 2GB of mem. You can always upgrade later if you want (and for much cheaper as well if you don't go with Corsair). HDD is your call. If you think you need the space, nab it. $68 is pretty cheap for 200GB.

Personally, I'd grab the 8800GT. You'll see more benefit there then from the RAM since you'll have 2GB anyway. It's more than you need, but it will keep you gaming on medium for some time. And if you do decide to pick up Crysis, it'll tackle it pretty well. No need to get the GTS or GTX or Ultra.

Depending on the PSU, you might need to upgrade in order to power the GPU, but probably not. The retailer should be able to take care of that for you. Most people go with 500W and up for an 8800GT.

 

[Splatt]

Well sh4mike, if it's going to help, here's the PC i plan on getting.

GPU:

Palit GeForce 8800 GT Sonic Video Card - 512MB DDR3: 300$

RAM:

KINGSTON 2GB (2x1GB) 800MHz DDR2: 60$

Cpu:

Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 2.66GHz 4MB Box FSB1333 S775: 220$

Mobo:

DFI INFINITY Blood Iron P35-T2RL: 120$

Case:

ANTEC Nine Hundred: 100$

Power Supply:

CORSAIR CMPSU-450VX: 80$

A nice little mid-range rig for about 880$ + the cost of extra stuff like HDD, DVD Reader and such.

Anyway, i'm sure someone will find what's wrong with this build.

 

[sh4mike]

OK, sounds good. I wish I could contact the retailer on the power supply -- no answer.

Is the stock motherboard OK? I edited/added in a list to my previous response.

Edit: Thanks, you Splatt. I feel better about going with the 8800GT now. =)

 

[urk]

OK, sounds good. I wish I could contact the retailer on the power supply -- no answer.

Is the stock motherboard OK? I edited/added in a list to my previous response.

Edit: Thanks, you Splatt. I feel better about going with the 8800GT now. =)

Not a bad board. Newegg has a ton of reviewers on it and it's sitting at 4/5, with the overwhelming majority rating it at good or better.

The 8800GT will destroy that 8500. The 8500 with 4GB of RAM would be a major bottleneck for gaming. The 8800GT with 2GB will be a much better fit and it'll give your system way better legs.

 

[sh4mike]

Just got off the phone with a sales rep. He recommended a power supply and motherboard upgrade:

Power Supply:
800 Watt -- Power Supply Quad SLI Ready [+ $110]

Motherboard (choice of two):
Asus P5N32-E SLI nForce® 680i SLI Chipset w/7.1 Sound, Gb LAN, S-ATA Raid, USB 2.0, IEEE-1394 Dual PCI-E MB [+ $138]
Nvidia NForce 680i SLI Chipset w/7.1 Sound, Gb LAN, S-ATA Raid, USB 2.0 Dual PCI-E MB [+ $84]

***

Here's the rest of the configuration:
Intel Core 2 Quad Processor Q6600 (4x 2.4GHz/8MB L2 Cache/1066FSB)
Thermaltake Armor Jr. Gaming Case
Cold Cathode Neon Light Case Lighting
2048MB [1024MB X2] DDR2-800 PC6400 Memory Module
Nvidia 8800GT 512MB
dual 200GB HDs
20X Dual Format/Double Layer DVD±R/±RW + CD-R/RW Drive
3D Premium Surround Sound Onboard
600W PMPO 3 PCS Super Bass Subwoofer Speaker System
Onboard LAN Network (Gb or 10/100)
Wireless 802.11g 54Mbps PCI Adapter + GigaByte GN-AT2050D 2.4GHz Indoor Omni-Directional Dipole Antenna [+ $49]

***

I need to pull the trigger within 2 hours -- can anyone recommend the better motherboard? Anything else wrong?

 

[urk]

I need to pull the trigger within 2 hours -- can anyone recommend the better motherboard? Anything else wrong?

:O

Power supply is Quad-SLI ready. Overkill for sure. You're only running a single card. Unless you plan on buying three more, I'd bump it down to 500w. Did he give you an explanation for the recommendation?

On the MB, it looks like you'll net better onboard sound. Other than they, they're pretty similar. Up to you. Your money.

 

[sh4mike]

LOL, are you saying that this trusted, prestigious service rep would be pushing me to upgrade and fatten his commision? =)

No explanations given -- I wouldn't know what to say anyway.

If you think 500W is good enough, that's what I will do. It also sounds like you don't feel the motherboard upgrades are worth it; I really don't care about extravegant sound capabilities since I'll run everything through my Denon receiver for post-processing. Room is small and basic 5.1 is fine.

Any final thoughts, Urk? Again, I want value.

 

[urk]

Yeah, I'd stick with the original board, drop into a 500w PSU, and kick the speakers out if you have a capable receiver. Just make sure it has the audio options you need (optical, coax, etc.) I'm pretty sure I see a coax out, but I'd verify.

If you still want to shave some money off, you can step down into a Core Duo processor instead of a Quad. Quad is going to be great for future games that utilize more than two threads, but most games, especially games already out, won't see major performance increases from Quad Core just yet. Just another thing to think about.

That's a pretty sick rig, btw.

 

[bigmit3737]

Tagged. Doing research for my upcoming upgrade.

 

[Everdred]

Just ordered the parts for my new Comp, all from NewEgg except the 8800

CPU: CPU INTEL|C2Q Q6600 overclocked at 3.2 Ghz
Case: APEVIA CASEX-CRUISER-BK
Video card : BFG 8800GT Superclocked
Monitor : HP 20" 1680x1050
Dvd Writer : 20x SAMSUNG|SH-S202G 20X
PSU : SIGMA|SP-635 635Watt
Motherboard : ASUS P5N32-E SLI ATX Intel Motherboard
Hard drive : Western Digital 320 GB
Ram/Memory : Crucial 2GB (2 x 1GB) DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel

Total will be around $1000 after rebates come back.

 

[Masta_Killah]

Building a pc for the first time and this is what I have so far...



COOLER MASTER CAVALIER 3 CAV-T03-UK Black Aluminum / Steel ATX Mid Tower
$64.99 - $5.00 Instant = $59.99


MSI P6N SLI Platinum LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 650i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard
w/ Mail-in Rebate
$139.99

EVGA 512-P3-N802-AR GeForce 8800GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card
$289.99

Rosewill RP550-2 ATX12V v2.01 550W Power Supply
$66.99 - $10.00 Instant = $56.99

Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 Conroe 2.66GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor Model
$189.99

CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TWIN2X2048-6400C4
Model #: TWIN2X2048-6400C4
w/ Mail-in Rebate
$87.00 - $10.00 Instant = $77.00

Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD5000AAKS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
$104.99 - $5.00 Instant = $99.99

LITE-ON 20X DVD±R DVD Burner With 12X DVD-RAM Write Black SATA Model LH-20A1S
$32.99

Subtotal: $946.93


Don't know if I picked the right parts or not, so any suggestions would be helpful.

 

[rollingstart]

Just a quick question. Is it difficult to do a motherboard swap on my existing pc?

 

[Teknopathetic]

"Just a quick question. Is it difficult to do a motherboard swap on my existing pc?"

XP will throw a fit. If you swap motherboards, you should usually just go ahead and reinstall windows (after backing up your shit).

 

[rollingstart]

"Just a quick question. Is it difficult to do a motherboard swap on my existing pc?"

XP will throw a fit. If you swap motherboards, you should usually just go ahead and reinstall windows (after backing up your shit).

crap, ive gotten myself into a quite a pickle then.

I guess I deserve it for ordering a PCI-E graphics card before making sure my motherboard had a PCI-E slot.

 

[Masta_Killah]

After reading the entire thread, I made some changes to my original build.

Anyone have a suggestion for the cpu? Right now, my build has a 6550, but is there a cheaper alternative? I don't plan to oc it till later on, if ever.

so far I have:

cpu= intel 6550
gpu= nvidia 8800gt
mb= DFI BLOOD IRON P35-T2RL LGA 775 Intel P35
memory= G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400)

total cost w/ a 22" monitor and all the other stuff is <$1100. Im trying to build a budget/midrange system and trying to get it under $1000 total.

 

[Teknopathetic]

the e4400 is around 140~ and the e2180 is 80 or so.

 

[Masta_Killah]

the e4400 is around 140~ and the e2180 is 80 or so.

how is the e2180? I tried tomshardware for performance analyst, but they don't have it.

 

[Teknopathetic]

The e2180 stock is super super budget.

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu/display/pentium-e2160_14.html#sect0

There's a review of it's siblings, the e2140 and e2160 to get a handle on where it stands.

 

[Masta_Killah]

toms doesn't have the 4400, but they do have the 4300. Is it similar in performance? Whats the verdict on the 4300?

Edit: newegg is out of the 4400 and the 4300. Any other suggestions? How about the 4500?

 

[Masta_Killah]

Quick question, is the 8800gt 256MB worth getting over the 512MB one?

 

[NovemberMike]

Quick question, is the 8800gt 256MB worth getting over the 512MB one?

If the price is important.

 

[Masta_Killah]

If the price is important.

performance wise, is it a big step down from the 512?

 

[NovemberMike]

performance wise, is it a big step down from the 512?

Depends on resolution and AA used. From what I have seen, at 1280 x 1024 or worse with no AA they are pretty much the same. As the resolution and/or AA goes up the performance on the 256mb part drops faster.

If you are gaming on a 19" 3:4 monitor, then I would say to go with the 256. After that it depends on how cheap you are and how big your monitor is.

 

[Masta_Killah]

Depends on resolution and AA used. From what I have seen, at 1280 x 1024 or worse with no AA they are pretty much the same. As the resolution and/or AA goes up the performance on the 256mb part drops faster.

If you are gaming on a 19" 3:4 monitor, then I would say to go with the 256. After that it depends on how cheap you are and how big your monitor is.

Thanks for the reply. I found this forum that had a comparison between the two.

http://www.computerforum.com/103146-8800gt-256mb-review.html

Seems like they are comparable until you get to >1990x1200, which I'll probably not run.

 

[ag-my001]

Apologies if this isn't the best place for this, but I was hoping for a bit of feedback. I feel like I've been out of the PC-building business for too long (and even then I had help) so I've been looking at the on-line "custumized" boxes available. This comes by way of Dell:

XPS 420:
Intel® Core™2 Q6600 Quad-Core (8MB L2 cache,2.4GHz,1066FSB)
Operating System: Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium with Digital Cable Support
Memory: 3GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz - 4 DIMMs
Hard Drive: 500GB - 7200RPM, SATA 3.0Gb/s, 16MB Cache
Optical Drive: Single Drive: 16X CD/DVD burner (DVD+/-RW) w/double layer write capability
Video Cards: 512MB Nvidia GeForce 8800 GT
Sound Cards: Integrated 7.1 Channel Audio

My plan is to have this hooked up to my 32" LCD HDTV. The list price with current discounts/rebates is $1,028. I like that it's $100 cheaper than customizing the lower-end system, even with a larger hard drive. Could anyone give me a rough estimate of what kind of mark-up I'm looking at? If it's significant, I might still try building it myself and pocket the cash. Also, how is Dell's reputation these days? I had issues with them years ago, but they seem to have improved. Thanks.

 

[BMAN]

Dell sucks stay away from them. Just build yourself a custom PC.

 

[NovemberMike]

I don't see what is wrong with the box.

You are looking at $500 for the CPU and GPU, probably around $500 for the case, ram, HDD, Mobo and OS, and you get customer service thrown in. After rebates, dell will often sell below what you can buy the parts (including the OS) for off newegg.

 

[ag-my001]

Well the offer is good for another two weeks, so I have some time to think about it. I'm a bit concerned about the reported shortages of 8800GT cards; it's hard for me to tell if the demand from the December rush has been met or if I'll be stuck waiting as well.

 

[Zzoram]

- there are five 8800GT upgrade options over the 8600GT:

NVIDIA GeForce 8800GT 512MB w/DVI + TV Out Video (+$182)
NVIDIA GeForce 8800GTS (G92) 512MB w/DVI + TV Out Video (+$304)
NVIDIA GeForce 8800GTS 640MB w/DVI + TV Out Video (+$340)
NVIDIA GeForce 8800GTX 768MB w/DVI + TV Out Video (+$500)
NVIDIA GeForce Ultra 768MB w/DVI + TV Out Video (+$612)

Is an 8800 really worth so much more than an 8600? I thought these would go into the "moderate improvement, high cost" class for power gamers.

The 8800GT 512mb is anywhere from 3-4x as fast as the 8600GT 256mb, depending on the resolution. It isn't a moderate improvement, it's a ridiculously huge improvement. The 8800GT 512mb is the best performance/$ card out there right now, other than maybe the HD3850 for $180.

 

[lexi]

crap, ive gotten myself into a quite a pickle then.

I guess I deserve it for ordering a PCI-E graphics card before making sure my motherboard had a PCI-E slot.

You can get away with it sometimes. I've gone from motherboard to motherboard sometimes and booted into windows successfully. I quickly reformatted and installed though.

 

[mike23]

What do you guys think about this comp in the ~$800 range? I have to add a dvd drive still. I'm probably gonna get a super cheap one since my laptop already has a dvd burner.

https://secure.newegg.com/NewVersio...asp?WishListNumber=7082432&WishListTitle=comp

 

[Insertia]

Noob Question. know next to nothing about pc to hdtv compatibility. Not sure if this is the right thread, but :

I'm want to do a duel screen set-up with my current monitor and a HDTV I plan to purchase soon. The HDTV I'm planning to purchase is a Toshiba REGZA 32" 720p LCD. The panel resolution is 1366 x 768 and it has a PC input.

I'm not sure how it will fare with Windows. I plan to use it for gaming and a second monitor for a slew of multimedia applications I use. Will the PC be able to produce resolutions that 'fit' the HDTV?

Anyone who has their PC connected to their HDTV...help?

 

[Teknopathetic]

A majority of video cards will support just about any resolution your monitor supports, I'm 99% sure that 1366x768 is one of them. Varies depending on video card, but yeah I'm pretty sure you'll be ok.

 

[Insertia]

A majority of video cards will support just about any resolution your monitor supports, I'm 99% sure that 1366x768 is one of them. Varies depending on video card, but yeah I'm pretty sure you'll be ok.

Thanks. Just needed some kind of verification before I went through the process.