# Building for a friend.



## Ahhzz (Aug 11, 2008)

Given:   $1500  
Needs: World of Warcraft  
Assumed: WinXP (  vista)

Direction: SLI-NVIDIA, AMD. 

Not Needed: OverClocking performance.  :shadedshu

So. Any thoughts anyone?   


Got a friend needs a new box, gonna get him squared away. Doesn't need a monster drive (200 probably max), gonna get away with a simple DVD reader, and a base 17-19" wide. The rest is a BASE case (hopefully I can snag a good Antec for him, maybe another 900, for under $100), solid P/S (Liking my Corsair right now), and wanting to go AMD and Dual SLI. Would like some input from you guys. I've built more than a couple, but I usually start looking about 2 months in advance when I go for my upgrades, and this needs to be a fast turnaround, so I've not done any research lately, and no time for it. So, I'm cheating  Asking those who stay so far on top of the newest stuff developers ask THEM what they're supposed to be developing   Thanks in advance


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## Urbklr (Aug 11, 2008)

Phenom 9950
Nvidia Mobo(No idea, look around)
4GB Gskill Pi
2x9800GTX

And whatever else, to tired right now to go shopping


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## ShadowFold (Aug 11, 2008)

CD - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135174
RAM - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820208283
HDD - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148262
video card - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130328
CPU - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103773&Tpk=6000%2b
case http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147114
mobo http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131280
psu - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139004
OS - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116511

about 710$ after shipping. Save your money for beer and energy drinks for late night raiding


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## Urbklr (Aug 11, 2008)

ShadowFold said:


> CD - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135174
> RAM - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820208283
> HDD - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148262
> video card - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130328
> ...



But the buyer wants AMD and SLi.


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## ShadowFold (Aug 11, 2008)

Edited.. Why would he need two GPU's for WoW tho? Apparently thats all he is playing


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## WarEagleAU (Aug 11, 2008)

I think ID change that DVD Rom for a few bucks more and get an awesome DVD Burner from Samsung!


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## farlex85 (Aug 11, 2008)

If he's just playing wow sli is a complete waste of money, as is about half of that budget. You could max wow w/ a $500-700 or so machine, depending on the monitor. I maxed wow fairly comfortably w/ a x700 pro and a pentium d, which was part of a $400 system I built more than a year ago. So.......


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## ktr (Aug 11, 2008)

This is completely over kill for WoW, but if your friend has a Budget, exploit it . Any ways, his comp will run pretty quick. 

CPU - 9950 Black Retail(http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103273) <---was cheaper than the non-black OEM...lol
Mobo - Gigabyte AM2+ 750a SLI (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128339) <---cannot go wrong with gigabyte
Memory - OCZ Reaper HPC 2GB 1066Mhz (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227239) <---2gb is good enough
GPU - two XFX 9600GT XXX (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150306) <---they are cheap, and are the most efficient in SLI cards to date...very good scalers
HDD - two Western Digital Caviar SE16 640gb (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136218) <---raid 0 these suckers
Case - Antec 900 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129021) <---your choice, I personally dont like it.
PSU - PC&C 610w (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817703005) <---best in PSU
Sound - Creative XFI Fatal1ty (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829102005) <---improves sound quality
CPU Cooler - XIGMATEK HDT-S1283 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233003) <---the cpu will run cooler
Optical - Pioneer 20X dvd-rw (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827129018)
OS - Windows XP MCE (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116049) <---Its pro without pro cost. 

Total = 1,441.88 w/o shipping or tax (if any) 

There are many rebates, about $100+ worth. I think the XFX video card rebates will work for two cards. It doesn't say on the rebate for itself, but when I bought my card, it did.


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## Ahhzz (Aug 11, 2008)

Excellent post KTR. Thanks. So, you don't like the 900? I like mine, tons of airflow, altho I still have a mess of cables inside . So, why don't you like the 900, and what would you recommend instead?


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## Katanai (Aug 11, 2008)

Wait a minute. Don't even listen to these guys and see what I come up with.


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## ShadowFold (Aug 11, 2008)

He needs a quad core and two 9600GT's for WoW? Did they update their graphics engine to the Cryengine or something? A single 9600GT is more than enough to run WoW with 16x AF and AA why would you need two?


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## Ahhzz (Aug 11, 2008)

Alright, Katanai, I'm waiting....better hurry, I'm already checking my resources for deals on the RAM and P/S!!  


Altho, honestly, I'll probably go Newegg all the way. Have always enjoyed doing business with them, and their shipping is superb.


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## Ahhzz (Aug 11, 2008)

Shadow, thanks for the input, I appreciate you taking the time to respond...





you can stop now.


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## Katanai (Aug 11, 2008)

ShadowFold said:


> He needs a quad core and two 9600GT's for WoW? Did they update their graphics engine to the Cryengine or something? A single 9600GT is more than enough to run WoW with 16x AF and AA why would you need two?




Of course he is going to need two video cards!
But not those puny 9600's...


How about this?

2X   EVGA 896-P3-1260-AR GeForce GTX 260 896MB 448-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail

ASUS M3N72-D AM2+/AM2 NVIDIA nForce 750a SLI ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail

AMD Phenom 9850 BLACK EDITION 2.5GHz Socket AM2+ 125W Quad-Core Processor Model HD985ZXAGHBOX - Retail

A-DATA 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model ADQVE1B16K - Retail

Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3750640AS 750GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
    Model #:ST3750640AS

LITE-ON 20X DVD±R DVD Burner Black IDE Model DH-20A4P-04 - OEM

 ZALMAN CNPS 7500 Cu LED 110mm 2 Ball CPU Cooler - Retail

CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply - Retail

Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail

Microsoft Windows XP Professional With SP2C for System Builders - OEM

All from newegg.


For a grand total of $1,527.90



I think this rig could handle WOW on medium settings  
(whilst also playing Crysis on Highest settings and watching a movie or two)


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## ShadowFold (Aug 11, 2008)

Ahhzz said:


> Shadow, thanks for the input, I appreciate you taking the time to respond...
> 
> 
> 
> ...



I sure as hell will


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## Ahhzz (Aug 11, 2008)

ShadowFold said:


> I sure as hell will




Sorry man. But I stated pretty plainly what I wanted up front...posting "Why do you need that???" over and over really doesn't add anything to the discussion. It's what he wants to spend, he has it to spend...and really, come on. I see your gear listed. Why do you 'need' what you have? Why do ANY of us really 'need' what we have or want? None of us are saving anything but a virtual world, or virtual maindens. We have what we have for the bragging rights, just because we can, some of it is 'in case'.....  He gave me the money, said 'Spend this, and make me a computer able to play WoW without any problems". I can do that. I know he's not going to play WoW the rest of his life, and $1500 will get him a computer with a longer life to it than if he bought a prebuilt.

I do appreciate the responses, just..if you're going to make one, try to color inside the lines  It's his coloring book, and his crayons. He just let me choose the colors


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## alexp999 (Aug 11, 2008)

Ahhzz said:


> Sorry man. But I stated pretty plainly what I wanted up front...posting "Why do you need that???" over and over really doesn't add anything to the discussion. It's what he wants to spend, he has it to spend...and really, come on. I see your gear listed. Why do you 'need' what you have? Why do ANY of us really 'need' what we have or want? None of us are saving anything but a virtual world, or virtual maindens. We have what we have for the bragging rights, just because we can, some of it is 'in case'.....  He gave me the money, said 'Spend this, and make me a computer able to play WoW without any problems". I can do that. I know he's not going to play WoW the rest of his life, and $1500 will get him a computer with a longer life to it than if he bought a prebuilt.



You did ask in your original post, "Any thoughts anyone?". That implies to me you want people's opinions, shadow has given his opinions, and tbqh I agree with him (but thats another story).
And his system isnt a bragging system, none of it is the "best" (no offence shadow), he has a good performing system, a no frills get the job done system, a braggin system would be something like a QX9650, ROG mobo, 16gb DDR3 ram, two 4870X2's or 3 GTX280's etc.

I think we are just trying to work out why you are effectively going to "waste" money on a computer that could probably run three instances of the game at once. Unless he wants it future proofed for the next warcraft game, in which case thats another matter...

Moral of the story, dont ask for people's thoughts and then knock em down when they give them.


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## Urbklr (Aug 11, 2008)

Don't bother with the GTX260's, I think 2 9600's or 8800GT's will do fine. All the higher end cards would do for him is increase his power bill.


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## quasar923 (Aug 11, 2008)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103273 -cpu 235$
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227347 -ram 85$, $30 MIR
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129021 -antec 900 120$, $40MIR
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136075 -hdd 160gig- 42$
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371009 850watt Antec PSU -140$
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824009127 19" acer 160$
i dont know about amd mobos so just say $150 for that
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151171  DVD- 25$
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814134042 2x 9800GX2 - $560
get XP the good way 
total with out rebates- $1557

Add in shipping -  est. 30$  subtract rebates ($70)-  est- $1477

that will be a kick ass comp


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## Katanai (Aug 11, 2008)

Yeah I was thinking to go Quad-Sli with this WOW system too but after seeing some comments I thought I would be burned at the stake. 


For real now man. The most sensible approach I see here is to listen to all of us and practically look at all components posted and choose the best ones. The system I've posted would probably be overkill even for WOW 3 and 99.99999999999999999999% percent of games out there. Yeah Crysis is exactly that 0.0000000000000000001% statistic. You could either get the video cards I've posted and be certain that he will be able to play all games for 3 years from now on. Or get something like the x2 9600Gt's or if you stretch it a bit even 2x9800GTX  + a nice BluRay drive. That should future proof the system as a media machine if he is not so keen on gaming. But I for one given that amount of money to spend on a PC I would end up with something very similar to that system only with an Intel CPU instead and I wouldn't ever have second thoughts about it...


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## Ahhzz (Aug 11, 2008)

alexp999 said:


> You did ask in your original post, "Any thoughts anyone?". That implies to me you want people's opinions, shadow has given his opinions, and tbqh I agree with him (but thats another story).
> 
> ...
> 
> Moral of the story, dont ask for people's thoughts and then knock em down when they give them.



Fair enough, altho the "thoughts?" question, you gotta admit, was pretty directly a request for thoughts on what would be the best way to spend the $1500. I guess I just expected people to jump on the "Build a wicked machine with a souped up budget!!" and not really grouse about _why _I was building it, or what he was going to use it for. 

For the future? Let's pretend I'm hoping to beta test Crysis 2 with this, ok?


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## alexp999 (Aug 11, 2008)

Ahhzz said:


> ... Let's pretend I'm hoping to beta test Crysis 2 with this, ok?



Well in that case... I dont suppose there is any chance of convincing him Intel is the far better option. With anyone asking for a new system spending a lot of money, I am recommending to wait for nehalem. And I would recommend it here too. But if there is no budging from AMD/nvidia...


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## farlex85 (Aug 11, 2008)

Even for the beta of Crysis 2, this is an extremely ineffective build w/ these restraints. What will your friend say when he starts getting micro-stuttering w/ these massively overpowered cards in a simple game like wow? SLI will likely end up being worse than a single card in many ways, not to mention that there is, again, absolutely no need or benefit he will see from it. He ends up paying about $300+ more for extra problems that way. AMD is also a poor choice if your going for anything speedy right now. I mean, I say KTR's build is probably the most solid, and sure he'll be happy w/ it. We benchmark on this forum and like new technology, which is why we go over what we "need." My rig is under what I want, and always a work in progress, like many here. Your friend isn't benching or going to be working on his rig (afaik) and is just throwing away money in more ways than one for simple lack of reason, he thinks he knows what he wants w/o really knowing anything about it. If you'd like to keep it that way fine, but I'd at least try to educate him and get him to do a intel/ non-sli build.


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## Katanai (Aug 11, 2008)

farlex85 said:


> Even for the beta of Crysis 2, this is an extremely ineffective build w/ these restraints. What will your friend say when he starts getting micro-stuttering w/ these massively overpowered cards in a simple game like wow? SLI will likely end up being worse than a single card in many ways, not to mention that there is, again, absolutely no need or benefit he will see from it. AMD is also a poor choice if your going for anything speedy right now. I mean, I say CD Dude's build is probably the most solid, and sure he'll be happy w/ it. We benchmark on this forum and like new technology, which is why we go over what we "need." My rig is under what I want, and always a work in progress, like many here. Your friend isn't benching or going to be working on his rig (afaik) and is just throwing away money in more ways than one for simple lack of reason, he thinks he knows what he wants w/o really knowing anything about it. If you'd like to keep it that way fine, but I'd at least try to educate him and get him to do a intel/ non-sli build.



That's exactly the reason, my friend that the system I've posted is the best. You get micro stuttering? Fine then, just shut down SLI and use the second card for PhysX. How about that? One of those cards can play any game at any setting. A single 9600GT can't.Some people throw away double that amount in one second at a gambling table. Who are we to judge? If the guy wants a 1500$ PC let's just make sure he gets the best parts. Someone at this exact moment (probably) is buying a 5000$ Alienware system. And we argue over what?


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## FatForester (Aug 11, 2008)

Ahhzz said:


> Fair enough, altho the "thoughts?" question, you gotta admit, was pretty directly a request for thoughts on what would be the best way to spend the $1500.



Not really. Saying "Given: $1500, Needs: WoW" is pretty ambiguous, since a lot of people here are excellent at building exactly what you need without any overspending. Shooting down Shadow for helping you out and trying to save you hundreds of dollars is irrational on your part, not his. 

I've got to agree with him, as I used to (ashamedly) play WoW on my old computer on max settings @1280x1024. That was over 2 1/2 years ago on an AMD 3500+, 1GB DDR, and an X800XT. If all your friend is going to play is WoW, you could definitely build him a cheaper system suited to his needs instead of how much he's willing to spend.

If he has money to burn, then look at what KTR built up for you. That is an excellent system with the only thing I would reconsider is the sound card.


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## farlex85 (Aug 11, 2008)

Katanai said:


> That's exactly the reason, my friend that the system I've posted is the best. You get micro stuttering? Fine then, just shut down SLI and use the second card for PhysX. How about that? One of those cards can play any game at any setting. A single 9600GT can't.Some people throw away double that amount in one second at a gambling table. Who are we to judge? If the guy wants a 1500$ PC let's just make sure he gets the best parts. Someone at this exact moment (probably) is buying a 5000$ Alienware system. And we argue over what?



Change your harddrive and it would be good. 260s don't sli so well yet. If I was his friend I wouldn't want to have to disable a card if it has problems. How about just get one if the other one is just going to sit there, how about that? I doubt there's someone buying alienware right now just attempting to play wow. Alienware works for some, that's fine, I'm gonna sure as hell suggest they re-think it though first.


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## Ahhzz (Aug 11, 2008)

alexp999 said:


> Well in that case... I dont suppose there is any chance of convincing him Intel is the far better option. With anyone asking for a new system spending a lot of money, I am recommending to wait for nehalem. And I would recommend it here too. But if there is no budging from AMD/nvidia...




Can't wait for the processor either  need to get this one in the ground and buried this week.


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## alexp999 (Aug 11, 2008)

Ahhzz said:


> Can't wait for the processor either  need to get this one in the ground and buried this week.



K well do you think there is anyway of convinving them that intel is the best option? Even if you want to spend the full $1500, spend it on and intel build.


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## Katanai (Aug 11, 2008)

farlex85 said:


> Change your harddrive and it would be good. 260s don't sli so well yet. If I was his friend I wouldn't want to have to disable a card if it has problems. How about just get one if the other one is just going to sit there, how about that? I doubt there's someone buying alienware right now just attempting to play wow. Alienware works for some, that's fine, I'm gonna sure as hell suggest they re-think it though first.





Well how about that the guy asked for a SLI system?



Is it that hard to comprehend? And you give me this BS: 260 don't sli so well yet. Probably a single 260 is faster than two 9600's in SLI and you say they don't scale well. lol They don't have to scale or do anything to beat a 9600SLI system.   

Also most people in this discussion fail to think about the future. How about driver support? Yeah the 9 series is included in recent driver updates and is treated equally with the 200 series but how about in two years time? Do you think the 9600 has a better chance than the 260 to be fully supported by the Nvidia drivers? Do you think you will see FPS increase in 2010 on the 9600. Do you see that now with the 6 and 7 series from Nvidia? Bottom line being: Why buy old and underpowered tech when you can buy the newest cards out there? Over what? A sound card and a HDD? Do you really want me to get into Creative and their driver support now?


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## Ahhzz (Aug 11, 2008)

alexp999 said:


> K well do you think there is anyway of convinving them that intel is the best option? Even if you want to spend the full $1500, spend it on and intel build.




I'm preferable to the AMD house.... I've seen both sides of the disussion, but haven't looked recently (again, a rush build   ). Has Intel done something spectacular to make brand loyalty less of an issue lately?


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## Ahhzz (Aug 11, 2008)

I hate rushing into a build... *sigh* I do appreciate the input guys, even with the dissension. Just don't let my build get anyone wound up. It's just a computer


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## alexp999 (Aug 11, 2008)

Ahhzz said:


> I'm preferable to the AMD house.... I've seen both sides of the disussion, but haven't looked recently (again, a rush build   ). Has Intel done something spectacular to make brand loyalty less of an issue lately?



Clock per clock, intel CPU's out perform AMD's. Havent done extensive research but I do know everyone (well most people) recommend intel. AMD CPU's just dont cut it atm.


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## Ahhzz (Aug 11, 2008)

Shadow, I need to apologize. In reading the first responses to this thread, I missed that yours was the first recommendation. All I saw was an "Edit why two gpus for Wow", and then shortly after, a second "Why does he need 2 vid cards??". I just thought someone was coming in threadcrapping, and really didn't appreciate it. Thanks for the recommends.

My friend just wants to spend the money to make sure he can enjoy the game with NO problems, and I'm trying to make sure he gets the most mileage out of the money he wants to spend.


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## Ahhzz (Aug 11, 2008)

alexp999 said:


> Clock per clock, intel CPU's out perform AMD's. Havent done extensive research but I do know everyone (well most people) recommend intel. AMD CPU's just dont cut it atm.



Ok, I'll bite, and spend some time this afternoon checking it out. Got a comparable Intel mobo/proc you might recommend?


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## ktr (Aug 11, 2008)

Ahhzz said:


> Excellent post KTR. Thanks. So, you don't like the 900? I like mine, tons of airflow, altho I still have a mess of cables inside . So, why don't you like the 900, and what would you recommend instead?



I hate cases with bottom mount power supplies...as for one, the mobos are not designed for them (short cables mostly), and two...heat rises, and the psu serves as a case fan. It is ATX design to have the psu right about the cpu. Again, case is a personal choice, so get what ever you like.


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## alexp999 (Aug 11, 2008)

Ahhzz said:


> Ok, I'll bite, and spend some time this afternoon checking it out. Got a comparable Intel mobo/proc you might recommend?



Well I would say to get a P45 mobo, but thats only really good for single card solutions.

If it was me doing this sort of build for this money. I would probably get a 4870X2 and an Asus P5Q -(whatever depending on features wanted) and then a Q9x50 Processor. For starters...


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## farlex85 (Aug 12, 2008)

Ahhzz said:


> Ok, I'll bite, and spend some time this afternoon checking it out. Got a comparable Intel mobo/proc you might recommend?



If he's still insisting on sli for some reason, this is a good sli mb, or this for a little cheaper. Main difference between the two is possible tri-sli on the former, and two extra sata ports, and a few other features. The 750i has shown in some reviews to be a better overclocker.

If you can convince him that sli really doesn't make any sense at all for his build, then I'd say something like this would do the trick nicely, as would any p45 if more bells and whistles are required for whatever reason. Will you be oc this for him?

For either of those the q6600 (quad) or e8500 (dual) would be solid. If, like I said you can convince him sli is silly, you can spend that extra money on a q9550, which imo would be much more worth bragging about than sli, especially if you can oc it well. Any of those procs are faster than the 9950 phenom in games, the e8500 would lose in a few multi-threaded apps, but will usually win in anything else. The q6600 is considerably faster in everything than the phenom, and the q9550 downright puts the it to shame. Good luck.


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## Ahhzz (Aug 12, 2008)

Thanks all around for those who posted. I appreciate the input. System ordered today, about $1300, and Yes, overkill for WoW, but I know that he's covered for a while with a good system that should run anything on the market for at least a year or so without any major grief (except Crysis  , but really...who CAN run Crysis at a decent level short of Liquid Nitro Cooling heheh).  

Thanks again everyone.  Should be in by friday, and I'll be piecing it together this weekend. I'll try to take a shot of the inside (went with a base case, so no plexi) and post it when done. (Don't expect anything spectacular heheh, but you all deserve to see the misshapen fruits of your labors )

My only worry is the Vid Card over the NB (room and heat), and the rifle cooler coming close to the outside panel of the case. But, the case at $50 means if it don't fit, I can always build it with the side off and make her run sweet while I get another case en route.


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## Deleted member 24505 (Aug 12, 2008)

I agree with KTR,ditch the horible antec 900.They have nowere to hide the wires and having the psu at the bottom is a pain in the arse for the cpu power lead(i know i struggled with it,and it goes right across my mates mobo now) the wire managment is a nightmare in that case.

There are much better cases out ther considering your budget.If your building a $1500 pc you sure want it to look like a $1500 pc.


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## Ahhzz (Sep 19, 2008)

Well, the box has come and gone.  The rifle cooler was (as I was afraid) too high  So, I threw an AC 64 pro on it, and was happy, until I tried to put the RAM in: 2 of the slots were completely blocked by the cooler *sigh* So, I had to use the stock cooling, but again, we weren't going for an OC monster here. 

Vid cards went in great, routing on the cabling was not the best I've done, but without getting some extenders to route a little better, it was a nice job. Had a hiccup when he got it home: havnig never had a machine of this caliber, he had two connections on his new 19" monitor....had two built in connections on the motherboard (ignored the 4 below heheh), he decided to hook the two up from the monitor to the m/b  Well, the machine went freaky, blew up the drivers, and I had to walk him thru connecting up properly, and resetting the drivers heheh but, otherwise a sweet machine, and he's well pleased with his purchase. Thanks again all for the input.


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