I just built an i7 rig as well the other day. You will not be dissapointed. This thing will be MEGA fast.

Hey guys,

Building a computer. Waiting to see what deals are like in the next couple weeks on the i7 and accompanying mobo and such, but in the meantime I jumped on a deal on NCIX for a GTX 260. Now, I have an older 17" CRT monitor that is actually pretty decent. And I also have a Sony 42" LCD Projection HDTV. It is native 720P resolution.

What kind of perfomance would I get playing games on my TV rather than my monitor? My TV has an HDMI port, and so does the card, so that is how I would hook them up. Is it going to look bad being shown on such a big screen? Or do I just have to run the game in my TV's native resolution?

[QUOTE="IvanElk"]drop the i7 and get a decent quad core like q8200. Since in a matter of months there will be 6 core processors. I would suggest atleast a nvidia GTX 2** or a ATI HD 4870. Look for new egg deals.paullywog

So your opinion is to just spend a little more now with the i7? I actually just found an AWESOME deal on a video card on NCIX.

XFX GeForce GTX 260 Core 216 576MHZ 896MB 2.0GHZ GDDR3 PCI-E Dual DVI-I HDCP HDTV Out Video Card - 209.00 after mail in rebate.

[QUOTE="remlap"]

Not a pure gaming build, as I do other things like downloading almost all the time my computer is on, occasional video encoding, internet, watching movies, stuff like that.

-GeordiLaForge-

Ya this computer build is coming from someone who's last "gaming" rig was a family computer that had a Radeon 9800 256MB in it. I think the CPU was running at around 2.0Ghz. The newest thing our family has played on it is Civilization 4 + Expansion packs. 1024x768, medium settings I believe. After I got my Xbox 360 I stopped PC gaming all together. I just found it too expensive to upgrade parts every 1-2 years.

But recently I got a decent new laptop that could play some newish (1-2 yr old) games at high graphics and I LOVED it. Fortunately the laptop had some issues so I'm in the process of sending it back, and I have $1400 to play with haha. So for me, even an 8800 would probably blow me away at first.

Well I posted in the Tom's forum mentioning the i7 + DX11. I also posted a larger post saying this.

Which one should I go with? Not a pure gaming build, as I do other things like downloading almost all the time my computer is on, occasional video encoding, internet, watching movies, stuff like that. Budget is definitely less than $1400, trying to bring it down as much as possible to $1200-$1000. Prices in CAD. From what I can tell, there's not a HUGE difference in price between DDR2 and 3. Maybe if I went 3, I'd only get 4GB whereas if I went 2 I might get more. Or just get a slightly better case instead.

Gigabyte GA-EP43-DS3R w/ DualDDR2 1200, 7.1 Audio, Gigabit Lan, 1394, PCI-E 2.0 x16 - 144.99
Intel CoreTM2 Quad Processor Q9550 2.83GHz w/ 12MB Cache - 349.99 (on sale till Sunday w/ 25.00 off)
Sapphire Radeon HD 4870 512MB GDDR5 PCI-E w/ Dual DVI, HDTV-Out, HDMI - 289.99
OR
BFG GeForce GTX 260 OC MAXCORE 55 896MB PCI-E w/ Dual DVI, HDMI, HDTV-Out, Mirror Edge Coupon - 284.99

Total - 785.00

Gigabyte GA-EP43-DS3R w/ DualDDR2 1200, 7.1 Audio, Gigabit Lan, 1394, PCI-E 2.0 x16 - 144.99
Intel CoreTM2 Quad Processor Q8200 2.33GHz w/ 4MB Cache - 214.99 (on sale till Sunday w/ 15.00 off)
Sapphire Radeon HD 4870 512MB GDDR5 PCI-E w/ Dual DVI, HDTV-Out, HDMI - 289.99
OR
BFG GeForce GTX 260 OC MAXCORE 55 896MB PCI-E w/ Dual DVI, HDMI, HDTV-Out, Mirror Edge Coupon - 284.99

Total - 650.00 (Could possibly sneak an even better card in here because of the savings on the CPU)

Gigabyte GA-EX58-DS4 w/ TripleDDR3 2100, 7.1 Audio, Gigabit Lan, 1394, PCI-E, CrossFireX - 279.99
Intel CoreTM i7 Processor 920 2.66GHz w/ 8MB Cache - 374.99
BFG GeForce 9800GTX+ 512MB PCI-E DualSlot w/ Dual DVI HDTV-Out - 189.99

Total - 845.00

AMD PhenomTM II X4 940 Quad-Core Black Edition 3.0Ghz w/ Asus M4A78-E Bundle (Mobo and CPU) - 429.99 (on sale for 40.00 off till end of March)
Sapphire Radeon HD 4870 512MB GDDR5 PCI-E w/ Dual DVI, HDTV-Out, HDMI - 289.99
OR
BFG GeForce GTX 260 OC MAXCORE 55 896MB PCI-E w/ Dual DVI, HDMI, HDTV-Out, Mirror Edge Coupon - 284.99

Total - 720.00

So what do ya think? I want to stick with Intel if possible. I can find a decent case for about $70. PSU for about $120 or so. DVD Drive from an old computer at my house. Like I mentioned, RAM for about 120 or so.

[QUOTE="remlap"]

[QUOTE="-GeordiLaForge-"]Go for the 1366 platform. It'll save you money in the long run, since it's only about $200 USD more than a 775 setup... -GeordiLaForge-

Well it works out to more than $200 because I have to buy DDR3 instead of 2. So I could probably save a bit more than that, and put that towards a better video card.

Hmm ya don't say.. I've been on another forum (Tom's Hardware) and pretty much everyone is saying that I should get the e8400 or a q9400 (or something similar), and put the money I've saved there into a better video card. And I mean, I could do that, stay with the 9800, and spend the extra on a better case or something.

[QUOTE="remlap"]

[QUOTE="-GeordiLaForge-"]Stick with the 9800gt. I'm sure that you'll want to upgrade to a DX11 card next year...-GeordiLaForge-

Yea thats sort of what I'm thinking. If I go with the 1366 platform then I'm set for quite a while. I can always find a 4870x2 in a year or so for much much less. Then again, I could go with a good video card and a lesser processor, and then upgrade the CPU and Mobo once the price of the i7 comes down in a year or so. Either way I may have to upgrade in a year or two.

Well it works out to more than $200 because I have to buy DDR3 instead of 2. So I could probably save a bit more than that, and put that towards a better video card.

Stick with the 9800gt. I'm sure that you'll want to upgrade to a DX11 card next year...-GeordiLaForge-

Yea thats sort of what I'm thinking. If I go with the 1366 platform then I'm set for quite a while. I can always find a 4870x2 in a year or so for much much less. Then again, I could go with a good video card and a lesser processor, and then upgrade the CPU and Mobo once the price of the i7 comes down in a year or so. Either way I may have to upgrade in a year or two.

Hey I have some good news. You have your i7 listed as 374.99. On newegg its listed at 288.99.............

So that saves you about $100 right there.

csquared13

I'm in Canada. newegg.ca has it for I think 359.99. But then I have to pay $12 shipping on it.

I'm not gonna pose as an expert on computers but if you are gaming I definetly suggest getting a better video card, maybe a 9800gtx+, hd 4850, or an hd 4870. If you really need to stay within your budget i would suggest going with 4gb of ram as that's all you really need. But like I said, I'm not an expert.

goleafsguy

I would go with 4GB, but its actually cheaper to get the 6GB package they offer rather than get 2 2GB packages. Weird as that sounds haha. Thats the only reason why 6 is there.

And I have thought about getting putting a better video card in there, but I figure this one should last me for at least the next year or so? Or am I mistaken? I'd like to save money after dropping so much for the i7 :( lol