Question about buying a PC

I'd also recommend the 8800GT/512 over the GTS/512. Cheaper and about as fast, if not faster.

The good thing with GTS over GT is that it cools the case instead of heating it. GT blows the heat right back in the case heating other components, while GTS works as an extra casecooler blowing the air OUT of the case.

I havent really decided if quadcore has somthing to offer over dual. The only reason I need this expensive HW is games and quad offers 0% more fps. Not to mention all games dont use dual even yet.

Intel Core 2 Duo E8500, boxed. Core: Wolfdale, 45nm Clock Speed: 3.16GHz FSB: 1333MHz LGA775 251.90 €

costs same as

Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600, 2.4GHz, SKT775, FSB1066, 2X4MB cache. 252.90 €

I currently own E6600 (2,4Ghz) so upgrading to Q6600 would give me 0% more performance in games. E8500 looks much more lucrative. Cpu is the bottleneck in my computer so I need every Mhz I can get.
 
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I currently own E6600 (2,4Ghz) so upgrading to Q6600 would give me 0% more performance in games. E8500 looks much more lucrative. Cpu is the bottleneck in my computer so I need every Mhz I can get.

I fail to see that you already have a bottleneck with your cpu. Your new one will only be marginally better then your old one. I don't say you have to waite, just that I wouldn't change it yet.
Btw, the prices of your Q6600 and E8500 seem really high. Are you sure you can't find any cheaper store in your neighbourhood? (Knowing that my components are higher in Belgium - where I live - then in Germany or the Netherlands)
 
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I fail to see that you already have a bottleneck with your cpu. Your new one will only be marginally better then your old one. I don't say you have to waite, just that I wouldn't change it yet.

My gpu is limited due to the cpu (the bottleneck), because cpu isnt working fast enough along side it. Its very clear for the fact that I get very good performance boost from overclocking (up to 3Ghz or so iirc).

Updating to 3.17Ghz E8500 and new gpu (that alone gives 45% boost) would certainly be much more than marginally good.

Another thing is I bought this set over a year ago and Im quite lucky to find that I can actually still get good updates if I want. In the past Ive noticed that the cpus for my mb have been canceled and the remaining supply is been sold for very high prices only. So if you want to update you should do it before its too late. Well Im not gonna miss the bus this time.

This is more or less what im planning to get:

-4gt memory ~50eur
-Intel Core 2 Quad Q6700 / Core 2 Duo E8500 (3.16GHz,1333FSB,L2:6MB,65W,rev.C0) ~200eur
- 8800GTS 512mb ~250eur
-1T harddrive ~200eur
-Seasonic M12-600 150€

Alltogether its 700-850 depending whether I need to get the new powersupply. But its still a good deal for kick ass rig that should run anything at max. Also since I dont need to switch the mb the installation should be fairly easy. The old parts might get me back 150+ or somthing.

The prices are the max Im willing to pay. Im still waiting for them to come down a bit. Also if they release new cpus/gpus it might change things a bit. Im not really in hurry though unless they start to make stuff that doesnt fit into my motherboard anymore.

Btw, the prices of your Q6600 and E8500 seem really high. Are you sure you can't find any cheaper store in your neighbourhood? (Knowing that my components are higher in Belgium - where I live - then in Germany or the Netherlands)

Not really. Many finns order stuff from germany for that reason alone. Just week ago I was looking at som HDTV prices and at best they are som 1000€ cheaper in germany.
 
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1 suggestion that I want to make (I don't know if it was here or my colleague I heard this from): Buy two HD's of 500GB with the 32MB cache -> When you put them in RAID0 (stripe), they will be a lot faster then 1 TB HD.
 
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To get the best use of that I would need to install my windows on that raid and I dont fancy the idea of reinstalling everything (I dont remember even half of the passwords/configs). The reason to buy it was storage not speed. I was looking to get rid of som old drives. My case is crammed with old hds of various sizes using a bundle of power and generating a nice amount of heat.

Allthough I might not need the hd at all as long as the old ones keep ticking (5 years and counting). Just skip that update until vista. Then it might be good time to check again that raid too.
 
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1 suggestion that I want to make (I don't know if it was here or my colleague I heard this from): Nuy two HD's of 500GB with the 32MB cache -> When you put them in RAID0 (stripe), they will be a lot faster then 1 TB HD.

Connect them to a professional RAID Cache controller if you need even more performance. Not the light version on your mainboard. ;)
I don´t know how compatible such a solution is with game CP, though.
 
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Connect them to a professional RAID Cache controller if you need even more performance. Not the light version on your mainboard. ;)
I don´t know how compatible such a solution is with game CP, though.

For your windows it will be if it's one disk, but a fast one. A game will have benefit too from RAID since with your solution, it doesn't even know there's more then one HD. (large difference with software RAID)
 
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Just wanted to tell you: I finally ordered my pc. Still went for the 8800GTS, because my screen has become a costly one, namely the IIyama 24inch. I also added a logitech z2300 speakerset and a keyboard. (I have a spare mouse)
Combined this gives me a bill of €1766,2. A bit to high, but at least I can say that this is what I wanted.

1(Asus P5N-E SLI,s775,2xPCIe ATX,n650i,DDR2,Glan,SATA,RAID, ) 93,70
1(Intel Core2 Duo E8400 3.00GHz 6MB Boxed ) 168,80
1(Buffalo DDR2 4GB 800Mhz PC6400 Dual Channel Kit (2x 2GB) ) 94,90
2(Seagate 500GB SATAII Barracuda 7200rpm 32MB ) 207,80
1(LG DVD SATA 16/52 (zwart) ) 18,50
1(NEC 7203 SATA DVDRW 20x12xRAM Labelflash (zwart) ) 29,90
1(Antec Sonata III 500W ) 102,40
1(MS Windows Vista Ultimate (64bit) NL OEM ) 175,00
1(Asus EN8800GTS/HTDP, 512MB TV-out,2xDVI-I,PCIe,VGA,HDTV ) 301,10
1(Logitech Z-2300 Stereo Kit + Subwoofer 2.1 400W RMS THX ) 129,90
1(Logitech Media Toetsenbord Elite Zwart ) 17,90
1(Iiyama B2403WS-B1 3ms 24" TFT breedbeeld ) 426,30
 
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Nice configuration. Since you have 64bit Windows might as well get 4Gb of RAM - they're really cheap. Few games already starting to recommend 3 gigs RAM. And 8800GTS is good choice as it generates less heat and less noise.
 
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At incredibly inflated prices. They should drop down to current DDR2 prices in a year or so.
 
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Can anyone tell me how "hyperthreading" which I believe is a way to have a single core processor mimic dual core processing, stands up to actual dual core function? Will it play games designed for dual core?

I really hope so, since that's what I have and games are starting to come out with these specs. (if you need to know more about my rig, see my profile)

Thanks in advance. :)
 
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Can anyone tell me how "hyperthreading" which I believe is a way to have a single core processor mimic dual core processing, stands up to actual dual core function? Will it play games designed for dual core?

I really hope so, since that's what I have and games are starting to come out with these specs. (if you need to know more about my rig, see my profile)

Thanks in advance. :)

They just run slower, magerette. Not one dev will design his/her game for dual core only, that's more of console-thinking just going for one configuration. (Don't forget that there are quad cores already and 8cores in the pipeline -> What would they do if a game comes out dual core only)

@Remus I bought 4GB RAM. (2x2GB dual channel kit)
 
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Hyperthreading can be useful, but is definitely not as good as an actual dual core. It's supposed to offer 15-20% improvement, while an actual second core could get you as much as 80-90%, if the software is right.

However, most games nowadays aren't constricted by the CPU*, but rather by the graphics card (there are some exceptions, like Supreme Commander, but I doubt you play that). Furthermore, very few games are written concurrently - this usually means that the second core will do the various OS tasks, while the first concentrates on the game - again, this isn't a huge improvement.

Bartacus - you're kinda wrong. Programs are written either sequentially, or parallelized. Once you stop making them sequential, the task itself is the limit on how parallel you can go (well, you could also only write some part of the code in parallel, but that's just wasteful). This is the reason some applications (say, video encoding/decoding stuff), though "upgraded" way back when we got dual core for the first time, still scale gracefully to many cores (say, 8, which is fairly possible even for desktop users nowadays, if expensive).


*In fact, what games did you see that have a dual core processor as a (minimum) requirement?
 
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Bartacus - you're kinda wrong. Programs are written either sequentially, or parallelized. Once you stop making them sequential, the task itself is the limit on how parallel you can go (well, you could also only write some part of the code in parallel, but that's just wasteful). This is the reason some applications (say, video encoding/decoding stuff), though "upgraded" way back when we got dual core for the first time, still scale gracefully to many cores (say, 8, which is fairly possible even for desktop users nowadays, if expensive).


*In fact, what games did you see that have a dual core processor as a (minimum) requirement?

VPeric, when you read my post again, you'll see that there isn't a difference between my point or yours. I didn't talk about programs, I talked about requirements. A requirement of a game for dual core only isn't going to happen ever. They make a system requirement with testing in on various systems.(vmware comes in handy with this)
 
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*In fact, what games did you see that have a dual core processor as a (minimum) requirement?

Supposedly, the Assassin's Creed PC port.

Minimum System Requirements:

- Windows XP or Vista
- 2 GB RAM
- Dual core processor (Intel Pentium D or better)
- 256MB Direct3D 10 compatible video card, or Direct3D 9 card compatible with Shader Model 3.0 or higher
though of course, it's not set in stone they'll even do one--but you know how it goes--games only get progressively more resource intensive it seems.

Thanks for the explanation( also to you Bartacus)--I imagine it will depend on how the game code is written. then?...
 
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