Dave's Poor Recession PC - 2009

[Dave]

Current Status

[$158.98] --- CPU/MB: AMD Phenom 9850 2.5GHz Socket AM2+ 125W Quad-Core BE OEM + ASUS M3A78-EM AM2+/AM2 MB (Link
[$59.99] --- Memory: OCZ Platinum 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (Link)
[$154.98] --- Case/PSU: Thermaltake Strike Mx VI6000BNS Black SECC Steel ATX Mid Tower / Thermaltake W0116RU 750W (Link)
[$0.00] --- Video Card: BFG 280 (free!ish)
[$29.00] --- CPU Cooler: XIGMATEK HDT-S1283 120mm Rifle CPU Cooler - Retail Link
[$89.99] --- HD: SAMSUNG Spinpoint F1 HD103UJ 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM (Link)
[$???.??] --- Operating System: Windows 9?

[$0.00] --- Tax
[$37.52] --- Shipping & Handling
[$538.45] --- Total

[-$105.00] --- Rebates

Blatantly ripping off Vinny's format, this was the new pc I was sorta of playing around with putting together just because. I wonder if I can see if the multi-use xp cd from gradschool will work.. but its not 64-bit >_>. What was the rationale behind getting Vista Ultimate 64 ?

Thoughts? Comments? Completely forgetting something?

[Jonathan]

A Phenom II would be better for not much more, I bet.

I spent $80 on 6GB of DDR3. That DDR2 seems overpriced in comparison.

Optical? Honestly I don't use mine.

Anandtech has a sub $800 article up which should suit you perfectly with free graphics.

[Jonathan]

32 bit can only use 3GB of memory total and just 2GB per game.

[Dave]

Ya, my main concern was getting a PSU that I don't need to worry about incase I decide to add all my old HDs into and still power the ginourmous 280.

I only picked that CPU/MB because it was on sale atm >_>

[Jonathan]

This Intel system for $370 for no display or graphics will whup the ass of the system you specced out.

http://anandtech.com/guides/showdoc.aspx?i=3528&p=5

Processor Intel Core 2 Duo E7500 Wolfdale
(2.93GHzx2 3MB Cache 1066 FSB) $145
Cooling CPU Retail HSF $-
Video On-Board $-
Motherboard Gigabyte GA-E7AUM-DS2H nVidia GeForce 9400 $120
Memory OCZ Fatal1ty Edition 4GB DDR2-1066 OCZ2F10664GK ($28 after rebate) $43
Hard Drive WD Caviar GP WD5000AACS 500GB $59
Optical Drive Samsung 22X DVDRW/DL SH-S202G $25
Audio On-Board $-
Case Cooler Master Elite 330 RC-330-KKN1-GP Mid Tower $40
Power Supply BFG Tech LS Series LS-550 550W SLI Certified, CrossFire Ready, 80 PLUS Certified ($20 Rebate) $60

What you'd actually do is get an even cheaper motherboard because you don't need the integrated graphics. You can get Intel FSB mobos for like $60-$70 nowadays.

[Dave]

Decided to update myself on the CPU terminology/types since I've been totally oblivious since Pentium 4s which were fairly easy to figure out a relative speed ranking. Stupid ass duo core 2 duo Phenom Phenom 2 X3 X4 X7500 crap. But apparently the cheaptes i7 is pretty pimp, but the motherboards/memory is like 2X more expensiverish.

Changing the CPU to i7 920, ASUS MB, 6GB Ram and with a semi-decent case (Antec 900?) makes the system ~1k with Vista Ultimate... hmmm

[Jonathan]

Do it for the economy!

[Dave]

i owe the government taxes tho!

[Dave]

i7 Config... ~1K

$110 6gb RAM (240 DDR3 1333)
$190 Antec 900 Mid Tower Case + Antex EA650 650W PSU
$290 ASUS P6T Deluxe V2 LGA
$400 i7 920 + Vista Ultimate 64-bit OEM
[$24 Shipping]

Blarg! Sad that my main system is still the P4 2.4 I got in grad school, and neither the gaming PC I got since - AMD 3200 (Current HTPC) or the Vista computer E6550 (browsing, ex-WoW PC) obtained that status. Probably since Vista Home didn't have windows remote desktop and my gaming system was full of crap.

I just wonder how loud a stock i7 fan + Antec 900 + GTX280 will be...

[Dave]

Decided to hold off buying a new PC until something worth actually using the PC comes out (D2/sc2?) and maybe a gooder OS.

Sold the 280 for $200... to buy groceries!

[VLSmooth]

Incredibly good deal on a video card if you need/want one: (heck, even resale if you're willing to trouble yourself finding a buyer!)

HOT!!! ATI HD4890 for $183.24 w/ Free Shipping AC AR
http://www.fatwallet.com/forums/hot-deals/916871

This competes against/beats the card Dave just sold.

[Jonathan]

I'd hop on that except ATI under Linux is still a PITA.

[Dave]

My poor recession PC is now a Pentium 4 2.8 that I looted from the trash bin at work and loaded an old hard drive and some lame ram. Gonna be the bedroom TVPC once i load an OS or something!

[Jonathan]

Word on the street is there will be cheaper i7s (and i5s) in September. The cheap i7s will be on the new socket and won't be compatible with any CPUs/mobos currently out.

Why this is a brand simplification I have no idea.

[Dave]

Saw this deal online... probably planning on getting a new computer sometime this year, but in no hurry

$750 + tax i think for a gateway pc with:

* Intel Core i7-920 processor (2.66GHz, 1MB L2 + 8MB shared L3 cache with QPI Technology)
* 6GB DDR3-1066MHz SDRAM [3 DIMMs]
* 640GB 7200 rpm SATA 3Gb/s hard drive
* 1GB ATI Radeon HD 4850 [2 DVI, HDMI and VGA adapters]
* LightScribe 16X max. DVD+/-R/RW SuperMulti drive
* Integrated 10/100/1000 (Gigabit) Ethernet, No wireless LAN
* 15-in-1 memory card reader, 1 USB, 1394, audio
* Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Audio
* HP multimedia keyboard and HP optical mouse
* Norton Internet Security 2009 - 15 month
* Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium with Service Pack 1 (64-bit)

[Jonathan]

http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/new ... ips-prices

No Core i7 price cuts. Core 2 Quad & Duo went down to match AMD prices.

[Jonathan]

Leaks!

i7 9xx: socket 1366, highest end, all the goodies

i7 8xx: socket 1156, high end, all the goodies except it has dual instead of triple channel memory controller

i5 xxx: socket 1156, mainstream, dual channel mem contrlr., no HT

a few other points:
only the dual cores (to be launched later) will have integrated graphics

all variants except the i7 9xx (socket 1366) will have integrated PCIe controller too.

http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/new ... lynnfields

$562 Core i7 870 2.93GHz (3.6GHz) processor, quad-core hyper-threaded processor with 95W TDP.

$284 Core i7 860 2.8GHz (3.46GHz) processor, quad-core hyper-threaded processor with 95W TDP.

$196 Core i5 750 2.66GHz (3.2GHz) processor, quad-core, no HT, 95W TDP.

$337 Core i7 860s 2.53GHz (3.46GHz) processor, quad-core, hyper-threaded processor with 82W TDP.

$259 Core i5 750s 2.4GHz (3.2GHz) processor, quad-core, no HT, 82W TDP.

Looks like -s variants use 82W TDP by having a lower max non-turbo ratio but the same turbo speed. Fun!