New System Ideas - HELP!

[Jesterarts]

Hey guys, need some help.

My current system:

Core2Duo e6600
2GB RAM
7900gts 512mb

is getting about old now and I want to upgrade.

Basically I wwant something to run:

Far cry 2
GTA 4
COD World at War, etc.

Also I'm fairly keep to keep it as close to 1G as possible with a 1.4 absolute max.

Now, I'm thinking of getting:

Core2Duo e8400
4GB RAM 800mhz
gtx260.

What do you guys think? Any suggestions? Will a 9800gtx do a good enough job?

Also, how much does a HDD slow down the smoothness during games such as GTA 4?

Thanks.

[TA 91 WA]

You seriously have chosen the wrong time to buy... prices just went up cause of the core I7 processor release...

Your best bet is it wait till after christmas..

X48 mobo prices have jumped $50 to $70 in the past 3 weeks, E8400's which were worth $240 are now $290-$310, RAM has gone up $10-$20, Hard drives prices are holding but also graphics card prices have gone up...

Best bet is to wait till January and February.

You missed the "Computer sweet spot" by about 2 months champ..
But with a hard drive slowing down smoothness.. Sata II won't slow you down... The only thing that would slow GTA IV is the graphics card, CPU or just running the game at a level which the system is beyond capable of running at 40FPS (Chunking)

[Jesterarts]

Ok... Thanks cool... I can wait till after Summer... Probably not the best time to get a new PC heading into summer...

When is the "Computer Sweet Spot" and why?

[TA 91 WA]

Ok... Thanks cool... I can wait till after Summer... Probably not the best time to get a new PC heading into summer...

When is the "Computer Sweet Spot" and why?

Haha. The computer sweet spot is about 3 months before and 2 months after christmas or when a big new product comes out (in this case Intel's new CPU). The E series (E.g. E8400) of processors went up $50 per one (except the Pentium Dual-Cores).

Asus motherboards have held their price but Gigabyte have put their prices up. Graphics cards are a bit 50/50 after doing some research.. You can get a GTX 260 for about $360 (MSY).

4gb of DDR2 800Mhz RAM (Corsair with heatsinks on the ram) is about $90-$100. If you want the generic look you can score for about $80-$90.

I haven't checked the comparison of the GTX 260 against the 9800 GTX but itll come down to what screen you play on as your primary gaming monitor.

Alright... checked out MSY's website.. (Victorian stores) 896MB Nvidia GTX 260 Generic-Zotac Galaxy ECS MSI XpertVision Inno3D Palit DVI PCI-E Video Card = 366, Intel Core 2 Duo C2D E8400 3.00GHz (LGA775) CPU Genuine Retail Box = 265 and GSkill G.Skill PI F2-6400CL5D-4GBPI 5-5-5-15 4GB Kit (2GB X 2) DDR2 800 PC6400 Heatspreader RETAIL PACKING RAM 115. Total = $746 $250 under the set budget of 1k

[Jesterarts]

Awesome!! thanks mate!!

[TA 91 WA]

For the rest of the money, you could instead getting what you listed, you could get a GTX 280 instead of a 260, e8600 instead of an e8400, 8gb of RAM instead of 4gb, new case, more fans, new 22" screen. The options are available

[SMIT]

When you decide to buy, goto CenterCom in frankston just down the road from vicroads, i've found them cheaper than even MSY and you don't have to travel (far).

[Jesterarts]

^^^ yeah i've been jumping on their site and using they system building too.

Thanks mate

[TA 91 WA]

When you decide to buy, goto CenterCom in frankston just down the road from vicroads, i've found them cheaper than even MSY and you don't have to travel (far).

Never heard of em. They look good. I usually just use WA stores... since I live in WA but yeah... got some pretty competitive prices on their website

Also don't be afraid to shop from outside Victoria, sometimes its worth paying that little bit more shipping from NSW to save $30 to $40 on a certain product. Alot of computer sellers that do e-commerce use Australian Air Express and that's registered express post I can usually get a part from Sydney to Albany (500kms south of Perth) in 3 days max. Usually 2. So yeah, don't be afraid to shop around.

Websites such as www.staticice.com.au and www.shopbot.com.au are great places to start. If you need any good websites with competitive pricing just hit me a PM and I'll give you a list I recommend

Also just reading what you have and what you want.. what size is your power supply and what is your FSB on your motherboard. the GTX's are power hogs (Not as bad as a 4870X2) and also that you have a 1333 FSB on your motherboard which can support the E8400.

[Ozzie]

When you decide to buy, goto CenterCom in frankston just down the road from vicroads, i've found them cheaper than even MSY and you don't have to travel (far).

Frankston is a franchise of centrecom Sunshine.
If you want even cheaper go to Sunshine.. I kow this cous I used to work for them
barter with them aswell, theyll also beat msy prices

[TA 91 WA]

Frankston is a franchise of centrecom Sunshine.
If you want even cheaper go to Sunshine.. I kow this cous I used to work for them
barter with them aswell, theyll also beat msy prices

Why are you up late :P

Pointless post but eh.

[Ozzie]

Why are you up late :P

Pointless post but eh.

Im up late cous my daughter is lol
and the pub & lan lounge dont count toward our post count so i can put my 5c in

[TA 91 WA]

Im up late cous my daughter is lol
and the pub & lan lounge dont count toward our post count so i can put my 5c in

Haha.

I just got home from work. Sleeping pill is kicking in... no tafe till 1pm.

But yeah... I was gonna upgrade my system then noticed I missed the sweet spot on the market. Was not happy... oh well.. new plasma and sound system for christmas... Finally back to dual screen. God I've missed it.

[holdensupporter2005]

As mentioned above, now is not a good time to buy. Prices of IT components are increasing dramatically due to the Aussie Dollar dropping.
Current stock will be the same, but new stock will have an increase in price, as much as 46%. Something that was worth US$100 when the
dollar was up at 95c was AU$105.26 that now costs AU$158.76 @ 62.99c
If you can wait until the dollar increases, it would be wise idea.

[Jesterarts]

Yeah i know... i was thinking about getting a new system when the dollar was flying high but then the missus told me to wait till xmas... lol

[50LTRv8]

Yeah i know... i was thinking about getting a new system when the dollar was flying high but then the missus told me to wait till xmas... lol

I wouldn't be giving up on that system just yet.

My system is a 6600 CPU with 3 GB ram and a 8800 GT video card and I am playing crysis, far cry 2, COD 4 and any other new game at the moment at a good res.

Your weakest point is your vid card, there is a big jump from the 7 series to the 8800 GT and above. Quick check on MSY and you can get a 9800 GT 512 for between $164 and $192.

I would go so far ini that you would be wasting money with a new system, you could even overclock yours a tad if you felt like it, but to be honest I didn't notice the difference with mine when I did that.

[Jesterarts]

So you think that with a upgrade of my card I would be alright?

[50LTRv8]

I think you would be just fine. Say if you spend 200 bucks on your current one. Your machine will be better than mine, so you will be able to play those games that you want too. This will then give you time to buy a new machine in another 12 months or so.

My wife wants my machine right now and for me to get a new one and all I say is that it is doing everything I want it too so why should I upgrade?

Let the dust settle a little with the new stuff and just run with what you have (with a vid card upgrade) and you will be better off in the long run.

[MudBlood]

Pretty much just upgrade your graphics card and all should be fine.

That's the only thing limiting you really..

[Jesterarts]

sweet... thanks guys... pretty happy about that then!