Help Wanted: Building my own PC

[syberspunk]

Ok yet another comparison question (I know, I know, I keep flip flopping, just how's I likes it, hee hee):
 

Between these graphics cards, which would be considered the best bargain?

I was ultimately thinking bout goin with the BFG one... but then pokin around tomshardware again, I went back to check if there were any other upper end ones that were below 200$.  I found a couple, and I am wondering... would it be better to spend extra on the graphics card, or would I be better off with getting the RAM with the shorter timing?

Also... is Albatron a trustworthy company?  Would I be better off with the 7900GT(MSI)?  Or get the 7950GT (Albatron)? Or does the 7900GC just make more economical sense?  And if I'm gonna dip down to that level, then does BFG really make a difference quality wise?  Or should I just go bargain hunting and stick with the EVGA or XFX?

I mostly use my computer for:

Simming or modding for the Sims 2
Browsing/posting/emailing/chatting
Ripping/burning CDs/DVDs
Downloading pr0n.
Watching TiVO files and/or pr0n.
Storing media: video, photos, and music
Editing photos
Word/Spreadsheet Processing

Pretty much in that order (i.e. Simming/modding is typically the priority, while the other activities occur, but not as often).

I rarely multitask nowadays.  If I use my Desktop for any of the more CPU/bandwidth intensive stuffeths, I tend to use my laptop for the more meanial things (i.e. browsing and chatting).

Ideally, in the near future (read: sometime possibly by the end of this year), I would like to add:

MMORPGing
IPoding (not necessarily CPU intensive, but I'd like to eventually get an ipod and [re-]organize my data)


With that in mind... is it better to have better RAM or a better graphics card?

I'd like this compy to last me at least another 4 yearsish or so.  For the most part, I will probably focus most of my PC gaming on the Sims... however... one of the main reasons I never got into MMORPGing was due to having a mediocre computer (not to mention, lack of time and/or funds).

Truthfully... I really should be saving my money and paying off bills... But meh, I'm getting a decent tax return, and I really haven't splurged excessively in awhiles.  I will probably regret this later... when the bill collector's come knocking on my door with their baseball bats hunting for my kneecaps... but meh.  I'll deal with the consequences later.

Ste

[miros]

But you'll have a nice 'puter to play with while your knee caps heal.

[DrBeast]

Mmm...thread about new hardware! Finally, I can make myself useful again! Let's examine your questions then...

Between these graphics cards, which would be considered the best bargain?

I was ultimately thinking bout goin with the BFG one... but then pokin around tomshardware again, I went back to check if there were any other upper end ones that were below 200$.  I found a couple, and I am wondering... would it be better to spend extra on the graphics card, or would I be better off with getting the RAM with the shorter timing?

Also... is Albatron a trustworthy company?  Would I be better off with the 7900GT(MSI)?  Or get the 7950GT (Albatron)? Or does the 7900GC just make more economical sense?  And if I'm gonna dip down to that level, then does BFG really make a difference quality wise?  Or should I just go bargain hunting and stick with the EVGA or XFX?

The GS is basically a mildly "toned down" GT (some pipelines are missing or just deactivated, and core and memory timings are lowered a bit). The BFG in question, however, is factory overclocked, which basically means a) it's pushed near its limits, and b) if it fries, it's still under warranty. As for the 4 extra pipelines the GT models offer, those are good and fine if you're into graphics-demanding games such as Oblivion. For TS2 they're not really that helpful. What complicates things a bit is the fact that the MSI is a mere $15 over the BFG! And what's that? Lifetime guarantee for the BFG? Lifetime guarantee for an overclocked product? Boy, they must be fairly confident of the quality of their products over at BFG headquarters! Tough call, my friend...me, I'd flip a coin! I deliberately left the Albatron out of this debate, because that name isn't exactly the synonym of quality, at least among greek users.

Ideally, in the near future (read: sometime possibly by the end of this year), I would like to add:

MMORPGing
IPoding (not necessarily CPU intensive, but I'd like to eventually get an ipod and [re-]organize my data)


With that in mind... is it better to have better RAM or a better graphics card?

Obviously, better of both is the correct answer!  But from what I recall from your previous posts, you're already aiming for 2GB of RAM, correct? That's quite a satisfactory amount, and the graphics card(s) you're pondering about are already more than capable of dishing it out. What you really should check out is the MAXIMUM amount of RAM your motherboard can support. Upgradeability is the key here. If it's 8 GB max, you're fine. If it's 4 GB, you might want to reconsider, but only if you plan to get Vista (which I wouldn't recommend, from what I've read)

I'd like this compy to last me at least another 4 yearsish or so.  For the most part, I will probably focus most of my PC gaming on the Sims... however... one of the main reasons I never got into MMORPGing was due to having a mediocre computer (not to mention, lack of time and/or funds).

Personally I detest MMORPGs, but the rig you're planning to get is a pretty capable one. Happy hunting!

Truthfully... I really should be saving my money and paying off bills... But meh, I'm getting a decent tax return, and I really haven't splurged excessively in awhiles.  I will probably regret this later... when the bill collector's come knocking on my door with their baseball bats hunting for my kneecaps... but meh.  I'll deal with the consequences later.

Ste

But you'll have a nice 'puter to play with while your knee caps heal.

Couldn't have put it better! 

[syberspunk]

Mmm...thread about new hardware! Finally, I can make myself useful again! Let's examine your questions then...

Yay for usefulness! 

The GS is basically a mildly "toned down" GT (some pipelines are missing or just deactivated, and core and memory timings are lowered a bit). The BFG in question, however, is factory overclocked, which basically means a) it's pushed near its limits, and b) if it fries, it's still under warranty. As for the 4 extra pipelines the GT models offer, those are good and fine if you're into graphics-demanding games such as Oblivion. For TS2 they're not really that helpful. What complicates things a bit is the fact that the MSI is a mere $15 over the BFG! And what's that? Lifetime guarantee for the BFG? Lifetime guarantee for an overclocked product? Boy, they must be fairly confident of the quality of their products over at BFG headquarters! Tough call, my friend...me, I'd flip a coin! I deliberately left the Albatron out of this debate, because that name isn't exactly the synonym of quality, at least among greek users.

Thanks for the info.  And... actually, I guess up until recently, the BFG one also had a 20$ rebate... so it was selling for 169.99 (after rebate).  Which means shit, I better up and decide quickly and buy some parts before all the rebatey stuff goes away and then I'm totally screwed.  I took way too long being all indecisive.

Sooo... if you had to pick between the two, which is a better bargain?   Do you think the OC'd BFG is good, with the lifetime guarantees and such?  Or is the MSI a better deal now that the BFG no longer has a rebate.  But the MSI only has a limited warrantee or what not.  Gah!  I better decide soon before that rebate goes away too.

Obviously, better of both is the correct answer!  But from what I recall from your previous posts, you're already aiming for 2GB of RAM, correct? That's quite a satisfactory amount, and the graphics card(s) you're pondering about are already more than capable of dishing it out. What you really should check out is the MAXIMUM amount of RAM your motherboard can support. Upgradeability is the key here. If it's 8 GB max, you're fine. If it's 4 GB, you might want to reconsider, but only if you plan to get Vista (which I wouldn't recommend, from what I've read)

Heh.  Well... if I had the money, I'd splurge.  Hell, I'm splurgin already as it is... so far, with rebates, the cost is within the 800-900$ range.  But for all I know... the other rebates might be gone now too.  Blah...

If it means anything, the mobo that I picked has a max of 8GB.  And I do plan to get Vista... eventually, but most likely only if I am ever really forced to switch.

But you'll have a nice 'puter to play with while your knee caps heal.

Couldn't have put it better! 

I'm gonna miss my kneecaps... but hey, it's a small sacrifice to play my Sims.

Ste

[DrBeast]

Sooo... if you had to pick between the two, which is a better bargain?   Do you think the OC'd BFG is good, with the lifetime guarantees and such?  Or is the MSI a better deal now that the BFG no longer has a rebate.  But the MSI only has a limited warrantee or what not.  Gah!  I better decide soon before that rebate goes away too.

Ste

Hm...I'd prolly go for the MSI. Lifetime guarantee is good and all, but I rarely keep the same graphics card on my rig for more than a couple of years anyway, maybe 3 years max. After that it's time to rob a bank take a chunk out of my monthly allowance and eat spaghetti for a month or so in order to buy a new card Also, the MSI has the added benefit of more pipelines, and you can always o/c it yourself, whereas the BFG is already pushed to or near its limits and there's nothing you can do with the missing pipelines (in older cards there was a chance you could activate the missing pipelines, but I think that's not feasible in the 7xxx series). Plus, I've owned a couple of MSI products and I was happy with them quality-wise

And hey...you yankees should be happy you have newegg! I check that site from time to time and drool at the product range and prices. Almost the only reason I'd ever visit the States!

[syberspunk]

Thanks Beastykins! Hehe.

I think I'll go for the MSI, if it hasn't sold out by the time I get home.

And what do you think about these power supplies.  I think the NeoPower would be a great deal, but should I worry about overheating?  Even tho it has 550W, it has one fan, whereas the SmartPower has 500W but two fans.

Also, the mobo I wanted is now out of stock. So... between these mobos which do you think is a better deal?  Are these trustworthy manufacturers?  The ABIT one was recommended by one of the guides at Toms, but it might be slightly pricey for me.

The ASUS looks good, and it says it supports Quad core, so does that mean I could potentially upgrade in the future by just buying a new processor (and I wouldn't have to buy a new mobo?)  Or does it just make sense, when upgrading, to always buy a new mobo and processor?

The EPOX is appealing because it has 2 PATA and 8 SATA slots.  But I'm not sure if I should trust 'em or not.

I'm hoping to place my purchase this weekend, if not tonight.

Ste

[Stitches]

Thanks Beastykins! Hehe.

I think I'll go for the MSI, if it hasn't sold out by the time I get home.

And what do you think about these power supplies.  I think the NeoPower would be a great deal, but should I worry about overheating?  Even tho it has 550W, it has one fan, whereas the SmartPower has 500W but two fans.

Also, the mobo I wanted is now out of stock. So... between these mobos which do you think is a better deal?  Are these trustworthy manufacturers?  The ABIT one was recommended by one of the guides at Toms, but it might be slightly pricey for me.

The ASUS looks good, and it says it supports Quad core, so does that mean I could potentially upgrade in the future by just buying a new processor (and I wouldn't have to buy a new mobo?)  Or does it just make sense, when upgrading, to always buy a new mobo and processor?

The EPOX is appealing because it has 2 PATA and 8 SATA slots.  But I'm not sure if I should trust 'em or not.

I'm hoping to place my purchase this weekend, if not tonight.

Ste

As far as your ASUS vs. ABIT question, I can't speak for the exact board you are looking at, I built my computer on the ABIT AN8 Fatal1ty last year and it was a really good experience. The board was well designed for heat flow and roomy (important since it was specifically for SLi >.<) and installed very easily, unlike some boards I've struggled with in the past as a result of poor design choices.

[KatEnigma]

I love my Abit board. It was much easier to build my computer than it was to build my DH's with an Asus board. The schematics and diagrams were awesome- I never was in doubt about where something plugged in, even if it was hard to see the tiny print on the mobo. 

[syberspunk]

Ok, so I finally ordered my parts and they should be arriving... in fact, probably today!

WHHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!

I'm excited! Can't you tell!??!?! Heheh.

So... now that I will have my parts... where should I start.  I suppose I could look up stuff on tomshardware, 'natch.  But any other recommendations and/or suggestions?

I think Hegelian was saying that I shouldn't install two CD/DVD drives on the IDE/PATA slot.  That I should make one of the devices a harddrive.  Should that harddrive be the boot drive?

Ultimately, I ended up getting one of those new SATA drives as well and bought an ASUS with a single IDE/PATA slot.  I do have a PCI card that adds two more IDE/PATA slots.  So I figure, I can use that, and maybe I'll just keep the old puter around as sort of a fileserver/guest computer for visitors or the rest of the family (who don't really use computers much anyway).

I plan to move some data around and reformat my HD, so I can do a clean OS install.  Now, does it make sense to put the OS on the SATA drive?  Or should I put it on the IDE drive?

Also... what about the swap space.  It seems that it is recommended I keep it on a separate harddrive from the drive that has my OS.  Would this be an easy thing to set up?

What worries me is... what if the drive that houses the swap space dies.  I vaguely recall doing this by accident on my old (much older) machine.  And then the drive that had the swap space died.  And then I wasn't able to boot my machine.  The only way I resolved it was by reformatting again.  I would really like to avoid this.   So, if I do put the paging file on a different HD than the OS, and it happens to die... will I have problems booting?  Was that just a fluke when it happened to me the first time?  Or is this a problem because, since the OS can't boot without the paging file it is trying to reference?


Oh... and I also got Seasons... depending on whether I get all my parts tonight, I may attempt to start building my new machine tonight, or install Seasons on my old one just to futz around with.

Incidentally... my new machine comes with fortuitous timing.  My old machine has been constantly freezing up the past couple of days.  It's like, it knew it was being replaced, so to get it's revenge, it is now pissing me off by constantly freezing up.  What a cunty computer.  I kicked it to show it who's boss   But it still freezes up.

Anybody have any ideas why it might be freezing up?  I decided to defrag all my drives.  One drive has proven to be difficult because it contains a lot of DVD ISO images that I backed up from some of my favorite movies.  I tried checking the Event logs, but did not see anything reported.  I'm wondering if the fragged harddrive might be the issue... or maybe the boot drive is just crappity... I plan on reformatting anyways... so I'm hoping that will resolve some problem.

The only other reason I can possibly think of is heating.  My bedroom is a bit messy right now, and I have to stick my own PC under this crappy table I use as my desk, which happens to be next to the heater in my bedroom.   Also, one of the fans died on my old GeForce 5690 card.  It continued to work fine tho, this past year or so.  But I'm wondering if my bedroom is just too hot. :-/


Ste

[dizzy]

Putting the swap file on a different hard drive should be pretty simple (even in Windows). This should improve your performance in TS2 considerably.

If you have problems with the swap file, I seem to recall that you could boot in safe mode and move the swap file that way.