# Looking for a new PC, recommendations needed



## Namek (Dec 3, 2008)

Hey.

I’m looking to purchase a new pc this week. I have to buy it this week.

I’m a little pressed for time so I need some advice.

I bought my current pc in January of 2005 and I kind of got screwed. So I need some help to make sure my new pc will be a far better deal than the last one. 

Feel free to make any kind of suggestions and tell me your opinions. Any help is appreciated.

Anyway these are the PCs I’m looking into:

This is the one I want to get 

iPentium Q6600 CORE 2 QUAD 2.4G 8M 1066
MB: ASUS P5QL PRO LGA775 1600
4 GB RAM DDR2 800MHz
ASUS GeForce9800GT 1Gb DD3 256bit
HDD 500GB SATA II 7200rpm

Other options include

1.
Core2Duo E6850 3.0 Ghz 2x2 Mb 800Mhz
MB: MSI Intel P35 NEO ICH9
4Gb RAM DDR2 800MHz
HDD 320Gb SATA II WD 7200
MSI NX8600GT T2D256E

2.
Athlon AM2 6000 3Ghz DualCore 2x1 cache 800MHz
MB: MSI K9N SLI-F V2 NVIDIA nForce 570 sli MCP
HDD 500 Gb SATA II 7200
4GB RAM DDR2 800MHz
2 x MSI NX8600GT-T2D256E

3.
Intel Core Quad Q6600 2.4G
82031 (?)
4Gb RAM DDR2 800MHz
HDD 500GB SATA II 7200
NVIDIA EN 9600/GT -512M
Intel P43 Chipset

4.
MB: ABIT IP35 - P
RAM: 4GB DDR II / 800MHZ
HDD: SEAGATE 320GB SATA II / 16MB cache
VGA: 9500 GT / 1GB / DVI / HDTV
CASE: 450W SH09A
CPU: INTEL CORE 2 DUO E7300

5.
HP dc5700 MT Intel® Pentium® D 945; 3,40 GHz; 512 MB RAM; 80 GB SATA 3,0 Gb/s 7200 rpm HDD; keyboard, mouse; Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator 300

6.
HP dc5700 MT PD-945 80G 1.0G 4 PC Intel Pentium D-945, 80GB HDD 7200rpm SATA, No Floppy, DVD-ROM, 1.0GB PC5300 DDR2 (dual channel)

7.
HP
CPU: Intel Pentium E2160 Dual Core 1.8GHz/1MB/
MB: Intel GigaByte X48T-DQ6, DDR3/1600
RAM: 2GB DDR3/1333
HDD: 250GB, SATA2 7200rpm
VGA: PCI-E nx9600GT 1GB DDR3

8.
Intel® P965 + ICH8 chipset, 1066 MHz FSB
Core 2 Duo 3,0GHz 6MB
4GB RAM DDR2
HDD 320GBSATA II
VGA: GeForce 8400GS 512MB


Thank in advance 


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## techjunkie (Dec 3, 2008)

> iPentium Q6600 CORE 2 QUAD 2.4G 8M 1066
> MB: ASUS P5QL PRO LGA775 1600
> 4 GB RAM DDR2 800MHz
> ASUS GeForce9800GT 1Gb DD3 256bit
> HDD 500GB SATA II 7200rpm



This one will be the most suitable. just change the 9800GT for a 4850 and you'll be smokin in notime. Also buy a good cooler like this one http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835186134 so you can overclock you q6600 to unleash its true potential


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## Namek (Dec 3, 2008)

thank you


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## wolf (Dec 3, 2008)

agreed, the;

iPentium Q6600 CORE 2 QUAD 2.4G 8M 1066
MB: ASUS P5QL PRO LGA775 1600
4 GB RAM DDR2 800MHz
ASUS GeForce9800GT 1Gb DD3 256bit
HDD 500GB SATA II 7200rpm

-system is pretty damn sweet, and a 9800GT1gb is just fine, the 1gb frame buffer will keep it going a while and will likely come in just cheaper than a 4850, at least here i am...

i'd always recommend a custom build, but if your strapped for time/cash or just cant be bothered, the above system is right on the money.


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## Asylum (Dec 3, 2008)

Is this for gaming or what?  What is your price range?  And do you want to build or buy already put together!!


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## Namek (Dec 3, 2008)

It's for gaming. It's all the same to me build/already put together.

It's just I've got to buy it by next week. You see I live in Macedonia and our government gives students that are in the last year of college a coupon thats worth 250 euro to buy a PC, so I'm adding my own money too it.

But the coupon runs out next week so I'm in a hurry.


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## niko084 (Dec 3, 2008)

Where are you from, where will you be buying it from?
For gaming TBH your probably better off with say an e8400 and save money.


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## InnocentCriminal (Dec 3, 2008)

niko084 said:


> Where are you from, where will you be buying it from?
> For gaming TBH your probably better off with say an e8400 and save money.





I'm going to agree with Wolf and TechJunkie - as for the 9800GT/4850 conundrum, which ever is cheapest for you really. Both are excellent cards, I'd expect the 4850 to perform better than the 9800GT, but like I said, it all depends on the price. Funds permitting, I'd recommend the 4850.

Oh, I also like to keep my RAM and CPU bus speed in sync, again, depending on the financial aspect of things, I'd opt for some 1066MHz RAM instead of the 800 you've listed. Not necessarily a _must have_ but one I can't help do myself.


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## niko084 (Dec 3, 2008)

InnocentCriminal said:


>



Whats with the Eye roll?

I recently went from a dual to a quad again, saw almost no gain in games with the same clock.
Now lets compare a Q6600 which a lot now a days don't even seem to want to do 3.6ish, and an E8400 which almost all do 4+ghz and saves you money.


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## InnocentCriminal (Dec 3, 2008)

You asked a question where the answer was right above you, the post before your post.


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## niko084 (Dec 3, 2008)

InnocentCriminal said:


> You asked a question where the answer was right above you, the post before your post.



Oh that , LOL, ya but I still don't know where he will be buying it from so I can look at prices.


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## InnocentCriminal (Dec 3, 2008)

That's true. 

^^


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## Namek (Dec 4, 2008)

A friend recommended this PC, what do you guys think:

GeForce 9800GTX+, 512MB DDR3 256 bit,
HDD 500GB Seagate 7200rpm 32MB SATA-II
P5Q, LGA775, Intel P45
Corsair 4GB 800MHz TWIN2X4096-6400C5 20 DDR2
CM eXtreme Power 460W (RS-460-PCAPA3-EU)
iPentium E8400 CORE 2 DUO 3.0G 6MB 1333


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## InnocentCriminal (Dec 4, 2008)

I'd recommend a Corsair PSU tbh, at least a HX520W if you plan on updating and upgrading later on.


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## Namek (Dec 4, 2008)

^^

Besides that is it better the the previous PC i posted?

Is the GeForce 9800GTX+, 512MB DDR3 256 bit better than the GeForce9800GT 1Gb DD3 256bit or ATI HD 4850? I see it costs more.


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## InnocentCriminal (Dec 4, 2008)

The GTX+ is better than the GT, if you look at the link I provided in my previous post, that'll show you where all 3 cards come in terms of performance in those games. As for the dual core V quad core - d'you see yourself wanting to replace the dual core for a quad core when games finally start utilising more than two & half threads?

If you figure out which is the better card for the price, then go for that and drop to the E8400 (or even a E8200) as you'll still have one heck of a machine, where a quad can be dropped in a later date when you feel the need.


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## spearman914 (Dec 4, 2008)

wolf said:


> agreed, the;
> 
> iPentium Q6600 CORE 2 QUAD 2.4G 8M 1066
> MB: ASUS P5QL PRO LGA775 1600
> ...



+1 too. But what brand do you ment by 4 GB RAM DDR2 800 MHz?



Namek said:


> ^^
> 
> Besides that is it better the the previous PC i posted?
> 
> Is the GeForce 9800GTX+, 512MB DDR3 256 bit better than the GeForce9800GT 1Gb DD3 256bit or ATI HD 4850? I see it costs more.



The 9800GTX+ pwns the gt hard but between the 4850 it's neck to neck. So if ur gonna buy a 4850/9800 then get whatever u can get cheaper.


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## niko084 (Dec 4, 2008)

spearman914 said:


> +
> The 9800GTX+ pwns the gt hard but between the 4850 it's neck to neck. So if ur gonna buy a 4850/9800 then get whatever u can get cheaper.



+1!

But you would seriously want a better psu, a standard P5Q isn't a great board, if you can stretch the P5Q E or Pro that would be well worth it, stand clear of the SE and SE/R though.
Check the DFI bloodiron prices, or get a good deal on a P5K E or Pro?


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## Namek (Dec 5, 2008)

What do you guys think about this pc:

Intel Core2Quad Q9400 2.66GHz 8MB 12/1333Mhz 
MB MSI Intel P45 NEO-F 
HDD 500GB - RAMDR2 4GB/800 
VGA MSI N9500GT-MD1GB OC edition 
Sound Blaster 7.1


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## mullered07 (Dec 5, 2008)

9500gt for gaming no not a very wise idea, you seem to be going backwards  , i liked the last pc you posted with the e8400 and 9800gtx, that looks like the best buy imo, 

these are prebuilt pc's right ? what site/s are you looking at ?


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## Namek (Dec 5, 2008)

All of them are pre-build with the exception of the e8400 and 9800gtx one, that one was put togther by a friend.

Like I said I live in Macedonia so I'm looking at shops in my area .


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## mullered07 (Dec 5, 2008)

Namek said:


> All of them are pre-build with the exception of the e8400 and 9800gtx one, that one was put togther by a friend.
> 
> Like I said I live in Macedonia so I'm looking at shops in my area .



that looked like the best system to me for gaming anyway, seems pretty solid.


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## InnocentCriminal (Dec 5, 2008)

I finally pulled my finger out and started spec'ing my friend's new set up...

Q6600 (G0)
ASUS P5QL-E
2GB Crucial DDR2-1066
ATi 512MB HD4850
500GB Samsung Spinpoint F1 502IJ
Corsair HX520W
Antec 300

... thought you might be interested to know.


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## Namek (Dec 5, 2008)

Does RAM make a big difference in VGAs?


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## kysg (Dec 5, 2008)

depends on what your talking about...

GDDR3 < GDDR4 < GDDR5 difference is slightly.
don't go GDDR2 because that will be a slowdown.

if your talking desktop memory then just go 4gb just because.


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## Namek (Dec 5, 2008)

For desktop I'm going with 4 gb.

I'm asking in graphic cards, does it make a difference if it's 1 gb or 512 mb. Because I see a lot of 512mb ones are better reviewed than some 1 gb ones.


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## InnocentCriminal (Dec 5, 2008)

Well, usually 1GB cards are just a marketing gimmick to make people think the more memory, the better the card. Hence why we see some lower-ended cards (budget range) such as the 85/8600 GS or whatnot with 1GB of RAM.

Realistically, the cards that do come with 1GB of RAM are usually limited by the memory bus (which on most cards is 256bit) so the RAM doesn't exactly have the room (bandwith) to stretch it's legs.  One advantage to having 1GB over 512MB is that at much higher resolutions (1920 x 1200 and higher) games can make use of the extra RAM for loading more, high detailed textures.

That's a really basic insight into it, I can go into more detail providing links to back up my statements, but I've just got in from work and I haven't had a cup of tea yet. ^^


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## Namek (Dec 5, 2008)

^^

Thanks for the info man. I appreciate it.


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## InnocentCriminal (Dec 5, 2008)

Not a problem, it's what why we're all here right?


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## Namek (Dec 5, 2008)

niko084 said:


> +1!
> 
> But you would seriously want a better psu, a standard P5Q isn't a great board, if you can stretch the P5Q E or Pro that would be well worth it, stand clear of the SE and SE/R though.
> Check the DFI bloodiron prices, or get a good deal on a P5K E or Pro?



They have both a P5Q-3 and a PRO, which one would you recommend? They both cost a bit more than the P5Q, I'm willing to pay the extra if it's worth it. The P5Q-E costs the most.

Also for power supply which one of these would you guys recommend:

CM eXtreme Power 550W
CM Real Power 520W


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## niko084 (Dec 5, 2008)

Namek said:


> They have both a P5Q-3 and a PRO, which one would you recommend? They both cost a bit more than the P5Q, I'm willing to pay the extra if it's worth it. The P5Q-E costs the most.
> 
> Also for power supply which one of these would you guys recommend:
> 
> ...



P5Q-3 is DDR3, so I wouldn't spend the money on that.

P5Q-Pro is a great board, don't spend the extra on the P5Q-E if your on a budget.
Kets modified bios for the P5Q's is great also!

I would grab the eXtreme Power, those are not as bad, how much is that costing you and where are you buying the stuff from?


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## Namek (Dec 5, 2008)

Like I said I live in Macedonia, I'm buying this from this shop http://www.set.com.mk/setClient/products.asp.

So this PC:

MB: P5Q-Pro
E8400 CORE 2 DUO 3.0G 6MB 1333
Corsair 4GB 800MHz TWIN2X4096-6400C5 20 DDR2
GeForce 9800GTX+, 512MB DDR3 256 bit
HDD 500GB Seagate 7200rpm 32MB SATA-II
CM eXtreme Power 550W

Will cost me about 720 euro or 980 $

I have 3 questions:

1. Is it worth the money?
2. Will it work well?
3. Will it play games that will come out in the next 2 years?

And the P5Q-E is like 10 euro more than the P5Q PRO I wouldn't mind spending it if it's worth it. Is it?


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## spearman914 (Dec 5, 2008)

Namek said:


> Like I said I live in Macedonia, I'm buying this from this shop http://www.set.com.mk/setClient/products.asp.
> 
> So this PC:
> 
> ...



Everything looks good. 9800GTX+ is definitely a solid choice but what res u game at. If it's higher then 1650 x 1200 then u'll probably need a 1GB or 768MB one.

1. Is it worth the money?

Yes but could be cheaper if it was egg. 
2. Will it work well?

Yes it will
3. Will it play games that will come out in the next 2 years

Depends on what games will come out.


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## Namek (Dec 5, 2008)

Thanks.

Does it matter what kind of case I get?


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## kysg (Dec 6, 2008)

Try to find a case with good airflow.

you know they range in different sizes, full, mid, minitower, and lanstyle, and mitx.

Usually lots of people get midtowers, good ones are made by antec, cooler master thermaltake the list goes on.   Color doesn't really matter.

but try to aim for a case that gives you good airflow.  at least a 120mm fan in the front or the rear.


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## Namek (Dec 6, 2008)

Does anyone recognize anyone of these cases:





And can recommend a cheap one.

Conversion is 48 = 1 $


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## kysg (Dec 6, 2008)

not all of them but I did do some googling.

the ones labeled with the TA are from ASUS example TA-881
http://www.asus.com/products.aspx?l1=7&l2=37&l3=94&l4=0&model=1182&modelmenu=1
you will also find those on Asus's site.

the ones with DLC are made by a company called delux, a chinese OEM I looked at there site and everything is in chinese I know some japanese but chinese is a whole different ballgame.

and the ones with the CM are cooler masters.  From familiarty I would tell to get a coolermaster.  but those look kinda expensive out the door.  with the exception of the one for 3299,

http://www.coolermaster-usa.com/category.php?category_id=17

also the pihranna the blackfin and few others are made by Spire you may want to take a look at them

http://www.spirecoolers.com/main/product_cas.asp


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## Namek (Dec 6, 2008)

Thanks man. You shouldn't have gone to that trouble of checking everything out.

I appreciated it.

Does it make a huge difference if I get a TA or a CM?


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## InnocentCriminal (Dec 6, 2008)

Usually Coolermaster have the better cases compared to ASUS. Coolermaster are a case company first when ASUS aren't. I'd recommend going with CM over ASUS tbh. ASUS cases aren't exactly amazing and they don't look very nice (imo) either.

Still, it all boils down to price and personal opinion on aesthetics I guess, oh! That and airflow.


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## kysg (Dec 6, 2008)

TA's are cheaper and made by asus you'd have to look over the pics and check the description, 

TA's have 2 front spots and 2 rear spots for fans, thats the 8 series ones 891, 881, 861 you would have to go purchase those fans, looks like they are older models,

and the cooler masters generally get 120mm in the rear, and typically a 120mm in the front.

and its as exactly as the guy above me said Cm is a case first company better quality, better concept, just makes more sense.


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## Wozzer (Dec 6, 2008)

ATi 4850 is a must. Could you work our currency in poundS (£). If so - i'll try and build you a machine via the internet.


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## techjunkie (Dec 8, 2008)

> Originally Posted by Namek
> Like I said I live in Macedonia, I'm buying this from this shop http://www.set.com.mk/setClient/products.asp.
> 
> So this PC:
> ...



I disagree with you guys recommending him the 9800GTX+. I may be not a guru but doesn't the 4850 have like a lot of overclocking headroom ?

And with proper case cooling, you might even be able to hit 700 MHz on the core without an aftermarket cooler. Now this would be faster than a 9800GTX+ by a notable margin. Correct me if I'm wrong. So I again recommend the 4850

Also since you are going with the P5Q Pro (it supports crossfire) you can add in a second 4850 in time when you feel like your pc is becoming obsolete. Can't do that with a 9800GTX+ on that borad


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## Namek (Dec 8, 2008)

They don't have the 4850. I want that one as it's cheaper. The GTX+ from what I've read overclocks better. But all reports I've read said they're more or less the same.

As for crossfire, since I'm getting the P5Q-E will be an option in the future. Maybe in a year or so I'll sell the GTX+ and get an ATI card.


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