New Machine :)

jhines142

Hey everyone just wanted feedback on my new machine. Here are my specs:

AMD Phenom II x6 3.0Ghz
8gb ddr2 pc-6400
Nvidia GT630 1gb
gigabyte MA780g motherboard
Asus 16x Blueray burner


Still need two new HDD and a SSD.

What do you think?

Richard Kain

Pretty good. It seems like a budget-friendly box. A GT 630 could be had for much less than the 650+, but should still provide ample performance for most games that aren't Crysis.

Did you get the Asus BluRay burner from Fry's? I noticed they had one on sale yesterday. I was tempted to pick one up for the new rig I'm putting together, but I don't do much optical burning these days. Still have stacks of blank DVDs that I ought to use first.

conte

Powerful.

VelvetElvis

Drop the blu ray burner and buy more ram.

Andreas

jhines142 wrote: »

What do you think?

What are you going to be doing on it? What software? Is budget a big issue?

Blaizer

Any new computer should have at least 8GB of ram. 16GB does not represent a lot of more money, but if you won't be using that amount of memory is a WASTE of money.

-put 8GB-16GB DDR3 1333-1600mhz.
-Forget the Blu-ray unless if you are going to play blu ray content. A DVD writer is more than enough. Usb 3.0 memory sticks and portable HDDs are far better than discs, and cheaper.
- Invest more on the Graphic Card. GTX 650ti/660 or 660ti.

monster

I've got the AMD Phenom II x6 3.0Ghz Black Edition. It's awesome. I can rip a DVD while playing Battlefield or Team Fortress without a hick-up. I guess there's newer stuff now, but you can't beat the price to power ratio.

One thing I found when getting an SSD for your OS is that the READ speed is more important than WRITE speed. I got an SSD with an equivalent Read/Write speed and it's alright. But I got one for my wife that had a much higher read than write speed because it was cheaper. Well her computer boots about 10 seconds faster than mine, and loads things much quicker overall. And a slow write speed on an SSD is still faster than a HDD.

PolyHertz

Why would anyone use DDR2 these days? It's actually more expensive then the faster DDR3 last I checked. That gpu is terrible too, even the integrated gpu on the newest Intel cpus (Haswell) is faster then that.

Andreas

PolyHertz wrote: »

Why would anyone use DDR2 these days? It's actually more expensive then the faster DDR3 last I checked. That gpu is terrible too, even the integrated gpu on the newest Intel cpus (Haswell) is faster then that.

Yeah I was gonna say, maybe you should wait for the unlocked i5 haswell processor thats out soon.

Richard Kain

Not everyone can afford the latest and greatest. There have been several times that I've walked into Fry's Electronics, and walked out with enough components to build a capable rig for $400-$500 USD. Those rigs were never cutting edge. But they were solid, stable, and would let me run a lot of games at decent settings.

In these financially uncertain times you have to temper your expectations, and occasionally tighten your belt. Blowing the rent to get the latest Core i7 is not a responsible way to live. Sometimes its better to get the older Phenom instead.

PolyHertz

The problem is that ddr3 is cheaper then ddr2, and the latest i5 (not i7) is probably about the same price as buying a 'Phenom II x6 3.0ghz' and a 'geforce630 2gb' gpu but at the same time should give much better overall performance. Hes spending more for worse parts, unless we're talking used parts.

Andreas

Richard Kain wrote: »

In these financially uncertain times you have to temper your expectations, and occasionally tighten your belt.

butbutbut benchmarks!! Won't someone think of the graphs!!

Yeah unless you know you'll be using the full potential of an i7 best to go with an i5. GPU's are starting to do the jobs of processors now, so there's little point in a pimped out i7.

ZacD

If you do a lot of baking an i7 might be worth it. Also the next gen consoles are going to have 8 cores, so games might be optimized for 8 threaded processors in a year or two.

Richard Kain

PolyHertz wrote: »

and the latest i5 (not i7) is probably about the same price as buying a 'Phenom II x6 3.0ghz' and a 'geforce630 2gb' gpu but at the same time should give much better overall performance. Hes spending more for worse parts, unless we're talking used parts.

Actually, he probably purchased the processor and motherboard together in a combo deal. And one or the other was probably getting cleared out at the store he got it from. (a common practice for disposing of older tech at big-box retailers) And once you've picked a motherboard, that constrains what manner of RAM you can purchase.

I'm not saying he made all of the right decisions here, I'm just saying don't brow-beat the poor guy over picking up cheaper components.

Personally, I would have probably spent a little extra on the GPU. A 630 isn't bad, but the 640s and 650s aren't that expensive these days. You can get quite a few of those in the $100 range, and the extra CUDA cores you would be getting with it would be worth the cost.

Target_Renegade

Do you have an SSD drive? I'd seriously invest in one, I have a 250gb Samsung in my new 2 month old rig with a i7 3770k and it works very well. Windows 7 mind you, won't upgrade the OS yet. The 8/16GB RAM question, I went for 16GB but I think 8 is a more sensible option. Unless you're hitting 16GB levels and the software allows it there might not be a reason to go higher. The i7 runs really cool with a Scythe Shuriken, not sure about the stock cooler. ASUS GTX 660 runs very cool also. I went for a GPU brand/company that matches the motherboard - vice-versa, I feel that it's more logical doing it this way, so whatever mobo you're going for it might be an idea to consider this also.

jhines142

1. the motherboard can only spport ddr2 ram. I have installed 8gb now. 2. I didn't want to spend gobs of money on the graphics card. my 9500gt was fine, but, i wanted something a little better until i save for a big time card purchase. I chose the phenom 2 x6 because its a 6 core, and its cheaper than an i7. plus i have had no issues with amd in the past so. I wasn't looking to build a "monster" machine. I'm just building somehting that I think will work for me until i can afford better.

Richard Kain

A sensible, prudent approach to building a computer. Kudos.

How does your new machine handle games like StarCraft II and Civilization V? Those are two regulars that I go back to time and again. I have a less powerful rig than yours and its still able to handle both those games decently.