Thinking of building this computer, thoughts??? - Page 5

**Arisen Dragon** · 07-04-2009, 02:38 AM

Oh ok thanks Parks, I dont really mind since some motherboards only come with one sata cable and having to end up buying another one.

pparks1 · 07-04-2009, 02:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 011191

Shit goes so fast nowadays!

You got that right. It's funny, when I mentioned that I was going to do a Core 2 Quad 9550..i got a few people that were like (no, get the Core i7...the Core 2 Quads are reaching the end of their lifespan and aren't as fast. Same thing with my video card...I just went with an Nvidia 9800GTX+ because I wanted something that had performance, but wouldn't cost a ton, would work with the hackintosh concept and was relatively quiet. Plus, I find that I just don't game much on my PC. Compared to some of the newer cards, the 9800GTX+ isn't anything too special...but just a year or so ago they were pretty kickass...so for me, it feels fast.

5 years ago, I bought
Pentium 4 3.2Ghz
2GB of RAM
160GB SATA drive
Radeon X800XT PCI Express 256MB card ( was about $550 at time)
Windows XP Professional...gaming machine

3 years ago, I bought
AMD Sempron 2800+
Antec Sonata II case
1GB of RAM
2 x 200GB drive
dedicated home file server

2 years ago, I bought
AMD Athlon 64x2 4600+
Antec Sonata II case
4GB of RAM
320GB SATA drive
Nvidia 7600GT 256MB
Multiple Linux distros (mainly Ubuntu).

So, needless to say this new machine is a real screamer from what I have become accustomed to at home (although, that AMD 4600+ wasn't really a bad performing machine in any way. When I tried out WIndows 7 64-bit on it...it actually ran great).. Granted, I have a core2duo laptop with 4GB of RAM for a work laptop...so I haven't been in the stone age.

And with the 2 AMD machines that I bought, those were relatively inexpensive machines to fill a particular need. I think both were around $400-$500 when new. So, I haven't spend $1,000+ on a PC since my P4 nearly 5 years ago.

011191 · 07-04-2009, 02:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pparks1

You got that right. It's funny, when I mentioned that I was going to do a Core 2 Quad 9550..i got a few people that were like (no, get the Core i7...the Core 2 Quads are reaching the end of their lifespan and aren't as fast. Same thing with my video card...I just went with an Nvidia 9800GTX+ because I wanted something that had performance, but wouldn't cost a ton, would work with the hackintosh concept and was relatively quiet. Plus, I find that I just don't game much on my PC. Compared to some of the newer cards, the 9800GTX+ isn't anything too special...but just a year or so ago they were pretty kickass...so for me, it feels fast.

5 years ago, I bought
Pentium 4 3.2Ghz
2GB of RAM
160GB SATA drive
Radeon X800XT PCI Express 256MB card ( was about $550 at time)
Windows XP Professional...gaming machine

3 years ago, I bought
AMD Sempron 2800+
Antec Sonata II case
1GB of RAM
2 x 200GB drive
dedicated home file server

2 years ago, I bought
AMD Athlon 64x2 4600+
Antec Sonata II case
4GB of RAM
320GB SATA drive
Nvidia 7600GT 256MB
Multiple Linux distros (mainly Ubuntu).

So, needless to say this new machine is a real screamer from what I have become accustomed to at home (although, that AMD 4600+ wasn't really a bad performing machine in any way. When I tried out WIndows 7 64-bit on it...it actually ran great).. Granted, I have a core2duo laptop with 4GB of RAM for a work laptop...so I haven't been in the stone age.

And with the 2 AMD machines that I bought, those were relatively inexpensive machines to fill a particular need. I think both were around $400-$500 when new. So, I haven't spend $1,000+ on a PC since my P4 nearly 5 years ago.

Damn, that's quite an impressive track record! I have the 9800 GTX + in my machine right now. Quite good performance (it's a big mother

though. Sadly, for the same price now, i could get an Nvidia 250

)

**Arisen Dragon** · 07-04-2009, 02:53 AM

Yeah amazon has samsung drives for a little more but not many. Also yeah you want to hear my pc specs and I use it everyday. I have a laptop but I rarely ever use it only like 2 years old or so here is my pc specs now for my desktop:

Intel Pentium 4 2.0 ghz
512 mb ram
80 gig hdd
Nvidia GeForce 4 mx 420

Have it for over 5 years or so.

pparks1 · 07-04-2009, 03:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Arisen Dragon

Oh ok thanks Parks, I dont really mind since some motherboards only come with one sata cable and having to end up buying another one.

Hmmm....my motherboard came with 4 SATA cables

. All 4 are the new clippy kind that stay connected better. 2 of them are right angled and 2 of them are straight up.

If you went with a non-OEM drive and got a retail instead, it would have the necessarily cabling. Might however cost you more than a SATA cable. I cannot imagine those are very expensive these days.

Edit: I just looked these up and they can be had from NewEgg for like $2. For a major reduction in wiring (not having to have IDE ribbon cables), I wouldn't even consider not going SATA. It's $2. That's like 1 pop and about 50 cents.

Quote:

Originally Posted by 011191

Sadly, for the same price now, i could get an Nvidia 250

)

Yeah, I think I paid $129 for the card from EVGA and I believe that I have a $10 or $20 mail in rebate on it. I gotta dig that out and get those filled out.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Arisen Dragon

Yeah amazon has samsung drives for a little more but not many. Also yeah you want to hear my pc specs and I use it everyday. I have a laptop but I rarely ever use it only like 2 years old or so here is my pc specs now for my desktop:

Intel Pentium 4 2.0 ghz
512 mb ram
80 gig hdd
Nvidia GeForce 4 mx 420

Have it for over 5 years or so.

And even though you are running that dinosaur as a desktop you have concerns that some of our build suggestions seemed a little low-powered to you. LOL....dude anything you buy is going to blow your mind compared to what you are currently using.

011191 · 07-04-2009, 03:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pparks1

And even though you are running that dinosaur as a desktop you have concerns that some of our build suggestions seemed a little low-powered to you. LOL....dude anything you buy is going to blow your mind compared to what you are currently using.

Fucking true that! I went from a P3 to a shitty store bought Core 2 Duo. That computer blew my mind when I played around with it. Now, it's the house's Dinosaur, since my rig blows that shit outta the water.

pparks1 · 07-04-2009, 03:14 AM

Yeah, computers have certainly come a very long way in the past 10 years or so. I'm not one for buying top of the line and I try to keep my builds reasonable at the time...knowing that I will most likely replace in 2-3 years time. And even though I love the new box that I just built, in 3 years....it will just be average. And even if I would have went with a Core i7 920...in 3 years it would still be just average. Like you said, eventually everything becomes the dinosaur. Technology just keeps improving. That's why I always laugh when I see the term "future-proof". It's completely a non-term when it comes to computer equipment.

011191 · 07-04-2009, 03:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pparks1

Yeah, computers have certainly come a very long way in the past 10 years or so. I'm not one for buying top of the line and I try to keep my builds reasonable at the time...knowing that I will most likely replace in 2-3 years time. And even though I love the new box that I just built, in 3 years....it will just be average. And even if I would have went with a Core i7 920...in 3 years it would still be just average. Like you said, eventually everything becomes the dinosaur. Technology just keeps improving. That's why I always laugh when I see the term "future-proof". It's completely a non-term when it comes to computer equipment.

True, there is no such thing as future-proof. I mean sure, it might help you out to do some little upgrades here and there...but wait a decade, and your "future proof" won't be worth shit.

Coby · 07-04-2009, 03:18 AM

If I were you dragon, Id get the cheapest computer that will fit your needs, but will be somewhat upgradeable as well so that in the future you could build upon it.

pparks1 · 07-04-2009, 03:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 011191

True, there is no such thing as future-proof. I mean sure, it might help you out to do some little upgrades here and there...but wait a decade, and your "future proof" won't be worth shit.

A decade....more like 5 years. A little less than 5 years ago, in November of 2004, Intel released the Intel Pentium 4 Extreme Edition CPU with hyperthreading at 3.46ghz. And if memory serves me correctly, that CPU was like $1200. For about $200, you could have gotten a P4 at about 2.8ghz. Either way, today...both machines are severely outdated and that SUBSTANTIAL extra paid for the Extreme Edition isn't helping at all.