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The next-gen Baumaxx Beast? Coming Soon?

Posted: 27 Jul 2008, 08:50
by baumaxx1
Remember how my comp died a while back?

Well... I had to replace the mobo cos that failed, rendering the CPU, RAM and GFX incompatible, so I got some 2gb DDR 2 RAM, a cheap 8600GT 512mb that my friend used for a month while waiting for his 9800, and an E2180.

It's alright for my puny 17"... can push medium setting on newer games, and high on some lower or less intensive ones. However... I will be dropping some cash on a BenQ E2200HD 21.5" 16:9 Full Hi-Definition monitor, as the 17" is lame and I want to be able to multi-task for uni... so have a few windows open on the same screen like a translator + word, or encyclopaedia + word, etc. Also, it'll be much nicer and I can plug my headphones into the side rather than getting on my knees. It also appears to be a good quality monitor in terms of colours and blacks and that.

A Logitech G15 and Mx518 Gaming are other goodies. As one of my keyboard stands is broken and it's held up by a mint tin. It's pretty crap equipment anyway.

However... there are significantly more pixels to render now... and my hardware won't really cope.

So... going for this:

Motherboard Gigabyte EP45 DS3L 164
CPU Intel Q6600 295
RAM 4GB G.Skill DDR2 RAM 800 115
Master HDD WD SATA 400GB 79
Secondary HDD WD SATA 400GB 79
GFX Card ATI HD 4870 512 MB Asus 355
DVD Burner 20x Pioneer SATA 34
Case Antec 900 190
PSU Seasonic PSR650+ 158
TV Leadtek DTV1000 54
Keyboard Logitec G15 89
Mouse Logitec MX518 Gaming 33
Monitor BenQ E2200HD 22" 2ms Wide 239
OS Vista Home Premium 165

Total: 2049

Prices are in Australian Dollars, and getting the gear at http://www.msy.com.au
There isn't anywhere cheaper locally.

I've already put a fair bit of thought into the pack and gotten some advice. Now I just need the cash. I have it actually... but I'm trying to avoid taking cash out of my savings account. Don't want to stretch the budget any further. No point really; this is good stuff.
A bit of a graduation gift from myself, as I haven't spent much over the past year. Also gives me something to relax at after coming home from the factory (Working for dad until I find another job... It'll be a bit difficult, as I won't be home during Christmas and New Year... so no one would hire me, lol).

So yeah, this is basically to replace a 5.Y.O. system. Why not upgrade what I have now again? HDDs are old, IDE, and not benefit much from doing a full system wipe and getting a SATA one, just a waste of time. Space... I can't fit the larger GFX cards in there and this case doesn't cool well. Not that the 450watt PSU will hold up. The CPU isn't great... The mobo is a cheap M-ATX
Yeah... see... I'll be better off with a new rig as I'd probably only be keeping the DVD drive and the TV card off the current one, lol.
Plus, second PC would be handy... want it as a media centre in my room.

Re: The next-gen Baumaxx Beast?

Posted: 27 Jul 2008, 10:30
by vellu
Not bad, not bad.

I'd go for Q9300 though, best bang for buck atm.

Re: The next-gen Baumaxx Beast?

Posted: 27 Jul 2008, 11:40
by baumaxx1
vellu wrote:Not bad, not bad.

I'd go for Q9300 though, best bang for buck atm.
If you can afford it, lol. And I may change the GFX to a 4850 ATI. Everyone is telling me to swap. And now I got the RAM to 4gb at a different store.

Re: The next-gen Baumaxx Beast?

Posted: 27 Jul 2008, 11:44
by Pabl0z
I'd go for the E8400 myself :).
A week or two ago it and Q6600 were the best bang for buck... Dunno how much Q9300's price has come down from then..
I'd say it's pretty useless to get a quad core atm if you're only gonna buy the cheapest kind, because if you're gonna buy one, you're buying it for the long run because you really don't get much benefits from the 2 additional cores right now.

And go for the Radeon 4870 in the gfx-card departmant... or 4850 if you wanna save money.

Re: The next-gen Baumaxx Beast?

Posted: 27 Jul 2008, 12:01
by baumaxx1
The 4870 is out of my price range. The shop that I go for may not have the ATI card, but I save $100, get more RAM, and a considerably better case and motherboard.

Anything I get is more than enough for my 17" monitor... I'll upgrade that later, and I'll upgrade the GFX in 2 years most likely.

Re: The next-gen Baumaxx Beast?

Posted: 27 Jul 2008, 15:59
by S2000_Skyline12
HD4850>9800GTX unless you're talking about the + and that's not by much

Re: The next-gen Baumaxx Beast?

Posted: 27 Jul 2008, 18:09
by vellu
Pabl0z wrote: I'd say it's pretty useless to get a quad core atm if you're only gonna buy the cheapest kind, because if you're gonna buy one, you're buying it for the long run because you really don't get much benefits from the 2 additional cores right now.
Very true, there aren't many apps, if any, that benefit from the 3rd and 4th cores outside of professional applications. But, if you're on a tight budget e8400 isn't a bad choice either.

Personally I opted for AMD Phenom 9850 for my new file server (which is even more cost effective) but then again on that machine I don't need top of the line number crunching ability instead I need as many threads/cores available as possible, as cheaply as possible. The server license alone was expensive enough... My eyes water even now when I think about it :)

See: http://forum.nfsunlimited.net/viewtopic ... 75#p339257
http://forum.nfsunlimited.net/viewtopic ... 00#p339694

Re: The next-gen Baumaxx Beast?

Posted: 27 Jul 2008, 19:32
by S2000_Skyline12
E84/8500>Q6600 in gaming peformance, and they OC to 4GHz too

Re: The next-gen Baumaxx Beast?

Posted: 27 Jul 2008, 19:43
by Carcrazy
If you're looking at the 4850, to me it's not worth it, just get a 9800GTX+...

The 4870's another story. I'm afraid to say I've been converted. :lol:

Re: The next-gen Baumaxx Beast?

Posted: 27 Jul 2008, 20:32
by PSZeTa
Carcrazy wrote:If you're looking at the 4850, to me it's not worth it, just get a 9800GTX+...
Why that?

The 4850 offers almost identical performance (stock), yet less energy consumption and more quiet under load.

Re: The next-gen Baumaxx Beast?

Posted: 27 Jul 2008, 22:54
by S2000_Skyline12
Exactly. And a lower price too. With OCing, it's pretty much a 9800GTX+ with a lower price. nVidia has been doing pitiful these days.

Re: The next-gen Baumaxx Beast?

Posted: 28 Jul 2008, 03:38
by baumaxx1
The 4850 benchmarks better, uses less power and saves me $50... I'll get that from the other joint.

edit:
Thanks guys, but It looks like the Godzilla lives... Looks like it'll be a bit later that I turn to you again. I'm probably better off getting the old one running as: my monitor is 17" and only does up to 1280x1024, so it would be a bit of a waste, there'll be better out soon, I'll be able to get a good monitor and better keyboard/mouse, and my cousin will have something that she can thrash.

Plus... budget will open up to allow for the HD4870, E9300, and a 24/96 compatible sound card.

Oh... it will get a new mo-bo, an E2180, and 2gb of DDR800 Ram... so, now GFX. Currently have a 7600GT. $50 barely used 8600GTS from a friend worth it? Also, 7600GT runs comfortably (I think) on my 450w PSU, will an 8600 be pushing it?

Re: The next-gen Baumaxx Beast? Coming Soon?

Posted: 11 Nov 2008, 13:06
by baumaxx1
See first post. Chapter 2 resumes!

Re: The next-gen Baumaxx Beast? Coming Soon?

Posted: 13 Nov 2008, 05:29
by Carcrazy
Stuck with the quad-core, nice... when Windows Seven gets here with DX11 these should blow the Dual-Cores out of the water... 8)

About your ram, where are you getting these from? I saw a set that I think is the same as that on Newegg for around $100, whereas mine can actually go faster but I got for around $60...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6820231145
The price has actually gone down a bit. They're still very capable of running at DDR2-800 speeds, but they'll have tighter clocks than those listed, not sure what you're paying for them though. :wink:

Re: The next-gen Baumaxx Beast? Coming Soon?

Posted: 13 Nov 2008, 06:03
by baumaxx1
I think those are american prices... I can't get 4GB RAM that cheap here.

Re: The next-gen Baumaxx Beast? Coming Soon?

Posted: 16 Nov 2008, 22:12
by Carcrazy
Isn't the Aussie Dollar stronger than the American Dollar?

Besides, I'm sure you could find something somewhere on the web... :P