Which Graphics Card?

[deleted30]

My childhood mascot!!

What about Skype? Can you also anwer those past questions there?

BTW Sorry if I'm using all the bandwith of the site. It's up to 7 pages now.

 

[Nibiru2012]

I'm gonna throw the proverbial monkey wrench in the works here and state that I believe you'll get a better motherboard by going with a Gigabyte brand.

Check out this one at Newegg, plus it has twice as many USB ports as the MSI. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128473

Unless the USB 3.0 is an important feature for you.

Just my humble two cents here.

 

[clifford_cooley]

What about Skype? Can you also anwer those past questions there?

BTW Sorry if I'm using all the bandwith of the site. It's up to 7 pages now.

I don't currently have skype installed. I'm not big on messaging programs.
It's not that I can't post the answer, it's I don't know the answer to post. If I knew the answer to post, I would post it.

I wouldn't worry about bandwidth, this is not the first time a thread has gotten longer than normal. As long as you are getting the answers you need, that is all that matters. And hopefully this will help others in the future too.

 

[clifford_cooley]

I'm gonna throw the proverbial monkey wrench in the works here and state that I believe you'll get a better motherboard by going with a Gigabyte brand.

Nah, thats not a monkey wrench. the tables are still turning just with a different option.

 

[deleted30]

I'm gonna throw the proverbial monkey wrench in the works here and state that I believe you'll get a better motherboard by going with a Gigabyte brand.

Check out this one at Newegg, plus it has twice as many USB ports as the MSI. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128473

Unless the USB 3.0 is an important feature for you.

Just my humble two cents here.

What exactly makes a motherboard "better"? I like that it has many USB ports. But what else would make me choose it over the MSI one?

 

[Nibiru2012]

Gigabyte's Ultra Durable PC board layer of heavier copper for the power layer is one. More than twice as thick as the competitors. They run cooler too because of that fact.

Their quality of components is hard to beat for the price too. Their quality is just as good, if not better than Asus and more reasonably priced. They were innovators a few years back with Japanese Solid-State capacitors, higher quality power feed chokes, etc. The reviews are what's impressive too. I just feel you get more features and bigger bang for the buck versus Asus or MSI. That's purely a personal opinion though.

I use a Gigabyte EP45-UD3R board and it's been rock solid and stable for nearly 3 years now.

To be honest with you the top three motherboard makers are: 1. Asus 2. Gigabyte 3. MSI (MicroStar International)

Motherboard choice is highly subjective for a lot of users. I happen to prefer Gigabyte boards. If you choose the MSI, then more power to you and such.

In the end, it's your decision, I was just showing another alternative, that's all.

As TM, Cliff and davehc will tell you, I am picky and stubborn on what brands I recommend to others. This is based on my use of those products.

linux731 - whatever you decide is great by me and your the final end-user not me. Whatever you do, don't ever, ever, consider using an ECS motherboard. Those are pure crap and poorly made.

Go check out some review websites such as Hardware Canucks dot com or Benchmark Reviews, Tom's Hardware and a few others.

 

[clifford_cooley]

As TM, Cliff and davehc will tell you, I am picky and stubborn on what brands I recommend to others.

Agreed. LOL

Nibs you are not alone, I think I'm in that boat too.

@Linux731, I do agee with Nibs whole post. :beer:

 

[deleted30]

Fine! Lol I'm going with the gigabyte because of the USB ports. I'll come here later in a second

 

[deleted30]

Alright peeps.

This is my final build:

Plus Windows 7 HP ($99.99)

=

$732.91

Nibiru, I did not choose your MOBO model because as of now the price has increased. But, when I buy it in December, I may choose it.

Do you guys think that these items will change over the 3 month period? I mean, will better technology take over? I'm afraid I'm gonna have to do this search all over again.

 

[TrainableMan]

Where is the GPU? You just using on board graphics?

There is no all-in-one media reader in that case and none on your list. If you ever want to plug in camera cards etc you may want to add one in the future.

And yes, in 3 months some of the prices will come down a little but the sale/rebate items likely will no longer be on sale so those may be a little more.

 

[deleted30]

Where is the GPU? You just using on board graphics?

There is no all-in-one media reader in that case and none on your list. If you ever want to plug in camera cards etc you may want to add one in the future.

And yes, in 3 months some of the prices will come down a little but the sale/rebate items likely will no longer be on sale so those may be a little more.

That was my next point. I need recommendations for a good GPU. Help me please.


PLEASE, I don't use card readers. Like, AT ALL. I don't use them. Simple. I don't have any cameras with cards, they're all just HDD.

 

[Nibiru2012]

Nibiru, I did not choose your MOBO model because as of now the price has increased. But, when I buy it in December, I may choose it.

Do you guys think that these items will change over the 3 month period? I mean, will better technology take over? I'm afraid I'm gonna have to do this search all over again.

You do whatever suits your particular requirements at the time when you purchase. I took over six months of choosing my hardware for my last build in 2009. But I didn't get OCD or anal about it. Once every two or three weeks I would check my "Wish List" at Newegg and see if anything was available for similar results at a better price. I checked the various hardware review sites from time to time and verified my choices.

If you don't mind, let me give you some solid advice here. The THREE most important items for your build, other than choice of CPU are:

1. A high quality stable power supply, with a Bronze 80+ rating or better. Use one of the various online PSU calculators or several then average your results, then add about a 20-25% fudge factor and then find the one you can afford. If possible get a modular unit where you can plug-in only the cables you'll be needing as this make for a neater, cleaner appearing build. DO NOT BUY a PSU that's within 50 watts of your total need as you'll be stressing it. When I was looking for a PSU, the calculators told me I need anywhere from 375 watts to 410 watts, so I bought a 550 watt modular PSU that is Bronze 80+ certified.

2. A high quality motherboard from one of the 3 major motherboard manufacturers. One that has been reviewed by several hardware review sites and receives 4 stars or better from user reviews. (Be careful of negative user reviews as most the time the one reviewing is a n00b and can't find their you-know-what from their you-know-what!) Some n00bs don't seem to be able to figure out how to configure a BIOS settings so they blame the mobo rather than their own lack of knowledge, failure to read the mobo user manual or pure ineptitude.

3. Get high quality RAM sticks from a known vendor of quality RAM such as Corsair, Mushkin (my choice), OCZ, Kingston, Patriot, G.Skill, or Crucial.

As I stated at the beginning, ALL of us here have opinions on certain hardware. I am just trying to narrow it down a little so you won't have any issue crop up with your build. If you ever need any help, suggestions, or guidance on installing the OS and related drivers feel free to PM as needed.

 

[yodap]

linux731-

Nibiru helped me with my first build over a year ago. There were a few mistakes on my end, but with his help the build succeeded and he was there for any questions that came up before during and after. I've done 2 more since then with confidence because of his help. Basically what I'm saying is if I can do it then anyone can do it. We are all here to help you when you're ready to purchase so stay calm and do your research and you will be happy with your decision.

 

[deleted30]

Thanks guys. Nibiru, I have in my cart those RAM sticks. Are there any good? I was going for Kingston, my personal fav., but it was more expensive to buy 2 2GB ram sticks rather than 1 2 2GB ram sticks. Are you saying the Rosewill PS is crap? I also think MSI is a great brand for mobos.

 

[deleted30]

Also another thing to add.

What's the main difference between the 2600 and the 2600k? It's about $15 more, so it may be worth it or not?

 

[tanner2]

for $15 get the 2600k. It's unlocked, makes it easy to overclock to 4.3ghz+

 

[deleted30]

for $15 get the 2600k. It's unlocked, makes it easy to overclock to 4.3ghz+

Nah, I won't overclock. Thanks though.

 

[Nibiru2012]

Yes, the Rosewill is not a very good PSU. Remember that price is a decent reflection of quality regarding power supplies. Not always, but $49 for a 600 watt PSU makes me very leery of its quality.

This is a very good unit - OCZ 600W MODXSTREAM PRO POWER SUPPLY Modular

The i7 2600K is an unlocked CPU and very easy to overclock it as tanner2 states. For the $15 difference it's definitely worth it for sure.

 

[deleted30]

Yes, the Rosewill is not a very good PSU. Remember that price is a decent reflection of quality regarding power supplies. Not always, but $49 for a 600 watt PSU makes me very leery of its quality.

The i7 2600K is an unlocked CPU and very easy to overclock it as tanner2 states. For the $15 difference it's definitely worth it for sure.

Meh. I don't know how to overclock a CPU at all. For a GPU though, I just use CCC. (Catalyst)

For the PSU, do you recommend a 600 watt one that has AT LEAST 2 PCI E connectors (6 pins)? The one Clifford said that he uses is sort of expensive, but like I said before prices are gonna change when I buy it.

 

[Nibiru2012]

It's easy to overclock a CPU, just change the frequency multiplier in the BIOS or actually change the frequency itself.

See the edit to the prior post of mine. There's rebates on it all the time, such as now. Plus it's free shipping.

If you find a really good deal, go ahead and get it ahead of time of the rest of your build.