Building my own computer - Page 2

Philliesfan980 · 01-28-2006, 02:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hell Atlantic

i just don't know what i should do video card-wise. i don't know much about video cards, to be honest. i know i want tv capability (need a jack to connect cable to). you can get a GeoForce 6200 for about $60, however 6800 is probably now considered "the norm" with the $200+ 7800 now the high end card. i know i need PCI Express, but other than that i don't know what's good - Radeon or GeoForce.

I'm not an expert by any means with video cards, but not wanting to harp on the CPU subject, you might want to shift some of those CPU dollars into your video card budget. I think you'll get an overall better product that way.

Anthony · 01-28-2006, 03:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Philliesfan980

I'm not an expert by any means with video cards, but not wanting to harp on the CPU subject, you might want to shift some of those CPU dollars into your video card budget. I think you'll get an overall better product that way.

i'm thinking of just going with a $60 GeoForce and a $40 tv card. it's much easier to upgrade a video card than a cpu, which is why i'm eager to get the "big stuff" out of the way now (ie, important hardware such as the cpu). i totally see what you're saying, though. my everyday pc that i use now is a P4 2.4 ghz, so when i get that Athlon 64 X2 4400 (which has 2 2.4 cores) i'll essentially have a mega pc that has the computing power of two of my current pcs. i like that. thanks for your thoughts and observations though, always good to look at things from different angles.

Philliesfan980 · 01-28-2006, 04:19 PM

Someone please interject! You're going to really do a disservice to spend all that money on the rest of your system and then go cheap on the video card.

sterlingice · 01-28-2006, 06:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Philliesfan980

Someone please interject! You're going to really do a disservice to spend all that money on the rest of your system and then go cheap on the video card.

Yeah, Philliesfan is right. You're spending all that cash on a super system that's going to be bottlenecked at the graphics card. All the computing power in the world means nothing if you have too little RAM or a lousy graphics card. You're going to end up paying $1500 for the performance of a $500 machine because it's so uneven. It's like putting a ferrari engine in a VW bug: great, so you have the power but you can't push the car past 65 without it falling apart.

Forget the second hard drive- those are really easy to add later and you don't need it nearly as bad as you need to put that extra $150 towards a $200ish graphics card. Especially if you're doing movie editing.

SI

the_meanstrosity · 01-29-2006, 07:54 AM

If you want to play any of the newer FPS games then you'll want a video card that will cost about $200-$300. Nvidia's GeForce is the better card at this time over ATI. I would look at the GeForce 6800 GS at least and possibly the Geforce 7800 GT.

As for the CPU, I would look for the Opteron 165 over the 4400. I believe it's still cheaper even with the recent AMD price cuts. The Opteron 165 has some very good overclocking settings that will get you some very good performance.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...=Opteron%20165

Anthony · 01-29-2006, 09:13 AM

i don't think you guys understand:

1. all the parts have been purchased, save for the CPU and the graphics card. the mobo i have is compatible only with AMD.

2. this is going to be primarily a video editing rig. there'll only be minimal usage on gaming. the ratio of video editing to gaming will be something like 70/30. i just don't need the latest and greatest video card. i need processing power and speed. the graphics card plays no role in being able to burn DVDs, port over footage from a digicam without losing video quality, being able to quickly convert from one media to another, render special effects.

3. video cards aren't the end-all, be-all - you still have to have a monitor with excellent resolution to exploit a high end graphics card; my brother in law offered to selll me his flat screen monitor for $50, and if he's selling his flat screen monitor to me at that price i can only assume it's not going to be anything spectacular. if you don't have a good enough monitor it's like watching DVD's through a CRT tv.

when building a rig, it's important to note what the intended usage will be for, that way when you're assembling the parts you aren't paying for features you aren't going to need and you can apply your money to those features which are more pertinent to that tasks you plan on doing.

Anthony · 01-29-2006, 09:32 AM

case in point, in doing research to back up my claim regarding the (non)importance of a video card in the video editing forum i frequent, i found this topic which pretty much prooves my point.

and another quote from the same forum (but different topic):

"The 3 things that define how quick you machine renders are: RAM, CPU & Disks. - You GFX card has nothing to do with rendering.

More ram, a faster CPU and a faster disk setup will sort it."

the_meanstrosity · 01-29-2006, 09:50 AM

The mobo you have will use the AMD Opteron 165 that I suggested. If I remember correctly the Opteron 1xx series were created for servers, but can be used in desktops. It's a dual core processor which may be useful in the video editing use you noted earlier in this thread. The Opteron 165 or 175 can be overclocked to similar speeds as the 3800 and 4400, but they are normally cheaper.

As for the video card, you are correct if your only pc use is video editing. RAM and CPU are the best way to go there. But you stated there would be some game play hence why I suggested the 6800 GTS.

PS: Just an FYI, the two video cards being discussed in your link are for laptops and not desktops.

Anthony · 02-22-2006, 10:00 AM

it's finally complete. while i didn't wind up getting the X2 4400 (decided to apply the $100 i saved and upgrade the video card i was planning on getting so now i can at least use my video editing rig to play some games), i'm happy with everything i've aquired thus far. here are the last two parts:

eVGA Geforce 6800XT

AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200

now it's just a matter of seeing what programs i can get off ebay and maybe springing $40 for a decent soundcard/speakers. don't need anything fancy at all, my everyday PC will be on the same desk and if i want to hear music or anything i'll use that. can't wait till i get my parts in the mail and build this thing (with the help of someone who's done it countless times before, mind you).

here is the rest of my mega pc, for those that care:

Gigabyte GA-K8N Pro-SLI Socket 939

Western Digital Raptor WD740GD 74GB 10,000 RPM

Western Digital Caviar SE 320GB

SeaSonic S12-600 ATX12V 600W Power Supply

HP DVD740i 16X Internal Double Layer DVD Writer

COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 Black/Silver Aluminum Bezel, ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

SONY Black 1.44MB 3.5" Internal Floppy

01-29-2006, 09:13 AM	#56
Anthony Banned Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Astoria, NY, USA	i don't think you guys understand: 1. all the parts have been purchased, save for the CPU and the graphics card. the mobo i have is compatible only with AMD. 2. this is going to be primarily a video editing rig. there'll only be minimal usage on gaming. the ratio of video editing to gaming will be something like 70/30. i just don't need the latest and greatest video card. i need processing power and speed. the graphics card plays no role in being able to burn DVDs, port over footage from a digicam without losing video quality, being able to quickly convert from one media to another, render special effects. 3. video cards aren't the end-all, be-all - you still have to have a monitor with excellent resolution to exploit a high end graphics card; my brother in law offered to selll me his flat screen monitor for $50, and if he's selling his flat screen monitor to me at that price i can only assume it's not going to be anything spectacular. if you don't have a good enough monitor it's like watching DVD's through a CRT tv. when building a rig, it's important to note what the intended usage will be for, that way when you're assembling the parts you aren't paying for features you aren't going to need and you can apply your money to those features which are more pertinent to that tasks you plan on doing. Last edited by Anthony : 01-29-2006 at 09:42 AM.

01-29-2006, 09:32 AM	#57
Anthony Banned Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Astoria, NY, USA	case in point, in doing research to back up my claim regarding the (non)importance of a video card in the video editing forum i frequent, i found this topic which pretty much prooves my point. and another quote from the same forum (but different topic): "The 3 things that define how quick you machine renders are: RAM, CPU & Disks. - You GFX card has nothing to do with rendering. More ram, a faster CPU and a faster disk setup will sort it." Last edited by Anthony : 01-29-2006 at 09:42 AM.

02-22-2006, 10:00 AM	#59
Anthony Banned Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Astoria, NY, USA	it's finally complete. while i didn't wind up getting the X2 4400 (decided to apply the $100 i saved and upgrade the video card i was planning on getting so now i can at least use my video editing rig to play some games), i'm happy with everything i've aquired thus far. here are the last two parts: eVGA Geforce 6800XT AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200 now it's just a matter of seeing what programs i can get off ebay and maybe springing $40 for a decent soundcard/speakers. don't need anything fancy at all, my everyday PC will be on the same desk and if i want to hear music or anything i'll use that. can't wait till i get my parts in the mail and build this thing (with the help of someone who's done it countless times before, mind you). here is the rest of my mega pc, for those that care: Gigabyte GA-K8N Pro-SLI Socket 939 Western Digital Raptor WD740GD 74GB 10,000 RPM Western Digital Caviar SE 320GB SeaSonic S12-600 ATX12V 600W Power Supply HP DVD740i 16X Internal Double Layer DVD Writer COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 Black/Silver Aluminum Bezel, ATX Mid Tower Computer Case SONY Black 1.44MB 3.5" Internal Floppy Last edited by Anthony : 02-22-2006 at 10:04 AM.

01-28-2006, 04:19 PM	#53
Philliesfan980 Banned Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Exton, PA	Someone please interject! You're going to really do a disservice to spend all that money on the rest of your system and then go cheap on the video card.

01-29-2006, 07:54 AM	#55
the_meanstrosity College Benchwarmer Join Date: Oct 2002	If you want to play any of the newer FPS games then you'll want a video card that will cost about $200-$300. Nvidia's GeForce is the better card at this time over ATI. I would look at the GeForce 6800 GS at least and possibly the Geforce 7800 GT. As for the CPU, I would look for the Opteron 165 over the 4400. I believe it's still cheaper even with the recent AMD price cuts. The Opteron 165 has some very good overclocking settings that will get you some very good performance. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...=Opteron%20165

01-29-2006, 09:50 AM	#58
the_meanstrosity College Benchwarmer Join Date: Oct 2002	The mobo you have will use the AMD Opteron 165 that I suggested. If I remember correctly the Opteron 1xx series were created for servers, but can be used in desktops. It's a dual core processor which may be useful in the video editing use you noted earlier in this thread. The Opteron 165 or 175 can be overclocked to similar speeds as the 3800 and 4400, but they are normally cheaper. As for the video card, you are correct if your only pc use is video editing. RAM and CPU are the best way to go there. But you stated there would be some game play hence why I suggested the 6800 GTS. PS: Just an FYI, the two video cards being discussed in your link are for laptops and not desktops.

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