Hi. This is a long post so read it all or not at all.

I think right now is a fine time to get a new computer! I've had this one since November 30th 2004 and I was really happy to get a Geforce 6600 and play HL2 with medium-to-high settings back then. Oh boy!

Anyhow. This fancy computer bundle (1500 euros in total, hooray for Finland!) I'm eyeing at the moment has:

Ati Radeon 5870 1GB DX11 (GPU)
Intel Core i7 860 2.8GHz (Processor)
Noctua NH-U12P SE2 (cooler?)
Intel P55 (motherboard)
8GB 1333MHz DDR 3 (RAM)
1000Gb Sata (HD)
Blu-ray (read) / DVD (burn)

Is that good? I guess those other parts sound fine to me except for the GPU, since the only two old (as in pre-2002) games that I absolutely want to run are Deus Ex and JK (+ MotS) and both of those are known to work better on nVidia cards... so what are the GeForce equivalents of that ATI card? More like GTX 275/280 or GTX 295?

As for the operating system, is it now official that I should skip Vista and get Windows 7? And I'm hoping there aren't as many serious issues between 32- and 64-bit versions as there were in 2007... or are there?

The cheaper (both around 1100 euros) variations I've also checked have parts like these:

nVidia GTX 260 896mb (GPU)
Intel Core i7 Quad 920 2.66GHz (CPU)
Intel X58 (motherboard)
6GB 1333MHz DDR 3 (RAM)
1000Gb Sata (HD)
DVD (burn)

nVidia GTX 260 896mb SLI
Intel Core i5 750 4 cores (CPU)
Intel P55 (motherboard)
4GB 1333MHz DDR 3 (RAM)
500Gb Sata HD
DVD (burn)

So in any case, this computer lasted fine at least until late 2007 when I still managed to get Bioshock and Gears of War run near-flawlessly so I'm not really looking forward to upgrading any time soon. I only had to get a new graphics card (GF8600GT in summer 2007) to play the aforementioned games, but the rest I didn't really touch.

Of course there are some other parts that need to be added, but for the first time in ages I actually have some money to spend so I can try something else than getting a premade box and upgrade the GPU or something (even though it did work quite well the last time).

I have one that's almost exactly like the cheaper one (w/ the GTX 260 and i7 920) and it is pretty awesome but the top end one is even awesomer no doubt

I've said it alot and I'll say it again, an i5 750 is excellent price/performance wise, but if you really need the couple hundred extra megahertz, then go i7 I guess.

The main difference between the 1156 i7s and i5s is hyperthreading

The main difference between the 1156 i5s and i7s and the 1366 i7s (like the 920) is different socket (meaning likely drop-in upgrade to forthcoming six-core Gulftown i7 980X if you're into that sort of thing), a crappier Turbo, and triple-channel memory (not necessarily a huge performance increase as of yet).

If you do get an i7 920 though, there is no reason to not OC it to at least 3.6Ghz if you are not using the stock cooler because they OC like beasts and many of them can hit 3.8 / 4Ghz no problem.

Also i7 920s can be had for $200, and 1366 mobos can be had for < $200, so .. yeah. el oh el

I am planning to buy a new PC too! Currently this one is 7 years old and I am really stretching the performance. I can't even run an AV since it just grinds everything to a halt whenever I download a file or extract an archive.

My budget for my new PC will probably be roughly US$1000 (700 euros), as that seems like a good enough number and I can still have all the stuff I want. But maybe parts are more expensive over there?

A friend of mine put together a parts list for me based on some of my requirements, I haven't really looked at it yet and I'll probably look around myself for parts and get his feedback instead of just using any pre-built list...

This is all from NewEgg btw.

First here's the things I asked him to include on it:
- ~$1000 budget
- Quad core processor, 64-bit preferred
- 1TB internal drive
- 32/64GB SSD internal drive
- 3GB or more memory (he suggested 4 instead)
- Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit
- No monitor, I have two on my current PC so I can look for a good widescreen one for gaming another time (my current are 5:4, I want a 16:9, game videos look so sweet at that res >_>).

GIGABYTE Radeon HD 5850 (Cypress Pro) GV-R585D5-1GD-B Video Card
$314.99
AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition 3.2GHz Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor
$165.00
GIGABYTE GA-MA790GPT-UD3H ATX AMD Motherboard
$114.99
HITACHI Deskstar 7K1000.C 1TB 3.5" SATA 3.0Gb/s Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
$79.99
PQI DK9320GD3R000A03 2.5" MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)
$99.99
G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Dual Channel Kit Desktop $94.99
Microsoft Windows 7 Professional 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders
$139.99
LITE-ON Black 24X DVD Writer Black SATA Model iHAS424-98 LightScribe Support
$33.99
Antec Three Hundred Black Computer Case
$0
Antec NEO ECO 620C 620W Continuous Power Power Supply
$114.94
Grand Total: $1,158.87

I don't really need feedback on this list because, again, I'll probably build my own from scratch, though I might use it as a starting point. But it might be useful to Niku, unless parts are simply more expensive over there. I am surprised that for twice the money you can only double the memory, get a slightly slower CPU, and a slightly better GPU. Check out newegg, see what prices you can get there. [Edit: nm they only ship to the US :(]

My friend says there's nothing that I'd need in 7 Ultimate over Professional but I'll have to check a features table before I decide (I am still sore over missing out on Vista Ultimate bonuses because I had Business).

I also specifically asked for a SSD, since one of my main problems with my current system I think is I/O performance, partly because XP has no I/O priority like Vista, and also because all my big drives are USB2.0 which only has a top speed of about 20Mbytes/s... so I want to be sure I/O speed is not a bottleneck in my new system, so the SSD will hold Windows and maybe a commonly played game or two. Might reconsider the SSD considering the relative prices of the SSD and the HD... I will probably see if I can find a better deal for one, at least.

Oh yeah and definitely go with the 1tb drive Niku, you'll be surprised how quickly drives fill up. My Steam folder jumped to 200gb somehow recently.

Oh and I'll probably keep my eye on this list for components to check out, looks interesting: http://www.pcper.com/hwlb.php?guide2=y&guide1=y&guide3=y&guide4=y

Considering my budget I guess I'd look at the "mid" stuff there, but I'd also see what higher price components could offer and I will be open to raising my budget if necessary.

Yes it is.

Also costs a dickload more.

No it doesn't my 1366 mobo and 920 and 6GB ram cost $480 ish total

Well... Goddamn.

Some thoughts on all of that:

Win7 x64, no doubt. Personally I found very few games or apps that had compatibility problems with X64 (Vista or Win7) Unless it was free, I cant imagine why anyone would be picking Vista right now

Both my 5870 and GTX260 both run JK great. The only difference is the GTX260 didnt require the ddraw.dll it still worked fine with current nvidia drivers. Dunno about Deus Ex.

For a pure gaming system the Phenom II or i5 750 are great recommendations (HT does nothing for gaming). Whatever you do end up picking, you should try a little overclocking.

MaZZ's pick of 5850 is a very smart one too, alot of people are getting that card and overclocking it to 5870 speeds.

MaZz, the only feature I feel I might have missed out with my Win7 Home Premium x64 would be the XP Virtual Mode support. You need atleast Win7 Professional for that. Of course I have a feeling you might stick with VirtualBox anyway. I wouldnt recommend that particular SSD, I think it uses a JMicron controller and has been plagued with 'stuttering' issues. The cheapest decent SSD is Kingston's 40gb SSDNow V (only the 40gb version, it uses Intel's controller) or a 32gb OCZ Vertex series.

Nuh-uh

http://www.tweaktown.com/articles/1665/intel_core_i7_memory_analysis_can_dual_channel_cut_it/index.html

If you're willing to accept vague handwaving about the psychology of human vision, the best perceptible picture quality bang for your buck is going to be a 120 Hz monitor and that NVIDIA 3D Vision kit.

Mm'hmm. So my current combo is:

* Intel Core i7 920 2.66GHz LGA1366 (CPU)
* Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD3R, LGA1366, X58, DDR3, CrossFire, ATX (mobo)
* EVGA GeForce GTX 285 1GB DDR3, PCI-E, 2 x DVI, HDCP (GPU)
* Corsair 4GB DDR3 1333MHZ KIT XMS3 DHS (RAM)
* Western Digital 500GB Caviar Black, SATA II, 7200RPM, 32MB (HD)
* Corsair 650W 650TX ATX2.2 (Power supply)
* Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium 7.1 PCI-E (sound card)
* Samsung SH-S223B DVD±RW DL
* Windows 7 Professional 64-bit OEM
* Akasa AK-BKINF-01 ATX Tower (I sure hope that ATX2.2 p. supply is backwards compatible?)

Price being 1454 € (~2000 USD... yeah, Finland is bloody expensive). I'm not sure what type of a HD (SATA or SATA II) my current secondary 300 GB one is but I could probably rip it out from this computer and put it in the new one. I'll sure miss the fancy camera memory card reader device but I guess an external one won't be that bad. Of course, I could wait until this store would have Geforce GTX 260s in stock so the price would be like 170 € lower (around 1300 € then...). Should I wait for that?

And for that matter, is DirectX 11 some kind of a hardware-style update since ATI cards seem to have "DX11 compatible!" stickers all over them and Geforces have none.

Opinions?

The full DirectX 11 feature set requires specialized hardware.

ATI is probably the better buy right now, unless you want to do 3D.

DirectX 11 is new with 7, just like 10 was Vista. I wouldn't worry too much about it, most people can't seem to tell the difference and there's only a couple "exclusive" games. And those have been hacked to run on XP.



It is Professional. I would be interested in Virtual Mode since it has better integration than other solutions, but I will still use VirtualBox of course for Linux. Depending on performance I might use it for Windows too, I'll have to experiment.

BTW do you know prices for those two drives?

I saw a cheaper $79.99 one but it had slower speeds, my friend who picked up the $99.99 said for $20 extra I might as well get the faster one.

Here's both of 'em in case you want to take a look:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820141419
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820322012

I'm going to guess about $130-150 most places for either of those. Buy.com just had a great deal on the Kingston 40gb, it was $90 but its currently sold out and I have no idea if it will comeback at that price.

Are you talking about 10, or 11?

The 11 SDK just left beta a couple of months ago and there isn't really any documentation for it yet. Biggest new feature in hardware is order-independent transparency.

D3D11 works in Vista.

Technically there is no issue with this but some stuff I wish to point out.

One of the advantages of 1366 platform over 1156 is Triple Channel Memory.
Now the 1366 motherboard you have picked (Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD3R) is odd because it is one of the few 1366 boards with 4 memory slots. If you run 2x2gb it will only be running in Dual Channel. I think in most cases the performance difference is pretty minor, but something you might want to look into. If you wanted to to run Triple Channel in the future it has an odd setup, you need to populate slots 1,2,4.

Also, make sure your DDR3 kit uses 1.5-1.65 V. The pre-i7 DDR3 kits sometimes had voltages as high as 1.8-1.9.

Yeah, I got one of those by accident.
Que 5 months of crashing with no clear cause, and then a tech pointing it out when I brought it in to RMA.

MaZZ, Apparently Intel just released a 40gb version for $130 as well
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820167025

Alright, so my (pen)ultimate list is:

* Intel Core i7 920 2.66GHz LGA1366 (CPU)
* Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD4P, LGA1366, X58, DDR3, SLI/Crossfire, ATX (mobo)
* Ati Radeon HD 5870 1GB, GDDR5, 256-bit, PCI-E, Dual DVI/HDMI/DP (GPU)
* Corsair 6GB Kit (3x2GB) Dominator, TR3X6G1600C8D, DDR3 1600MHz (PC3-12800) (RAM)
* Western Digital 1 TB Caviar Green, 3.5", SATA II, 64 MB, IntelliPower (HD)
* Corsair 650W 650TX ATX2.2 (Power supply)
* Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium 7.1 PCI-E (sound card)
* LG Blu-Ray 8x SATA, Black Retail DVD+-RW
* Windows 7 Professional 64-bit OEM
* Antec P183 ATX case

Sound good?

(Mentioning the price would make me cry.)

It looks great. No doubt it would be a gaming monster. I start to feel bad when I see people other than me spending this much on a computer

I would suggest comparing that against the i7 Combo you initially were looking at in 1st post:



Compare prices after you add your sound card and case is there any price savings still there? Because honestly performance will be basically identical, between those. Think about if you will really be taking advantage of things like SLI/Crossfire, or upgrading to a 6 core cpu in the lifetime of this computer.

Yeah, with the combo I chose I'm gonna save 7 euros

But in any case, computer ordered! Here's hoping it won't get fried up in 2 weeks.

*waits for a stork to bring it on my window*

haha more like its going to snow and your computer will be lost in the snow FOREVER.

Then you'll be like [mp3]http://patcartelli.com/sound/Snow-DarthVader.mp3[/mp3]

Good case choice!