Shopping spree (need help)

Prophecy have the 4850 for R1300.

Anyway here's where i suggest you get a phenom2 940. They're for the performance you get. The motherboards are also cheaper.
 
cerebus said:
My personal recommendation is rather to go for a high end quad core and a p5k deluxe motherboard with 4gigs of memory. Let's say a q9550 (3k) + mobo (1.6k or lower) + ram = 5k. that's a significant enough savings that you can push some other things and hit the 10k budget. A couple of months will not be enough to make a real dent in the prices I think - except that ati's 4000 series is receiving a significant price cut very soon, which will make a 4870 quite manageable with your budget.
Click to expand...

+1

regarding your "future proofing" I dont think you will have to worry at all if you go with a top of the range quad core. I mean, I have a Intel C2D E8200 (stock speed) hooked with a ATI HD 4870 and 4GB RAM and I run everything on 1680x1050 on max detail. I have had this CPU for at least 2 & half to 3 years now and it still rocks!

Top of the range quad, hooked to a top end GPU is gonna last you a loooong time me thinks...

oh and dont forget a decent PSU... remember quality is the main thing, not the highest W ammount.
 
Yeah, maybe you guys are right. As others have said, to afford the i7 I'd have to cut costs in another areas which would lower the quality of the setup anyway.

If I go quad I can make sure everything is top quality and maybe even get a nice wide screen LCD as well.
 
Well I just got the quotes for the two systems and...and they're very similar in price.

i7 920 + p6t + 3 GB RAM + 500 GB HD + geforce 260 + DVD writer + Raidmax 730W PSU + Coolermaster Elite case + 2333SW LCD + assembly and shipping = R13629

Q9550 + P5QD + 4 GB RAM + 500 GB HD + geforce 260 + DVD writer + 550W Huntkey PSU + Coolermaster 590 Chassis + 2333SW LCD + assembly and shipping = R12983

The quad cpu+mobo+ram combo is only around R600 less than the i7 combo.

Ok, so in both setups I can downgrade the GPU a bit. And the LCD is more of a want than a need. But is there something else I'm missing here? Is that quad mobo a bit of an overkill?
 
Well I remember there was a tomshardware value for money comparison test, and they concluded that quad core still offered best bang for the buck.

Thing is if you blow 60% of your budget on an i7 processor, board and ram you're going to end up with an unbalanced system - a cheap case, psu, lower end gpu, smaller monitor, slower hard drive etc so you're actually going to waste the potential of something as powerful as that.

Q9550 - R2900
P5 Deluxe motherboard - R1650
4gb Corsair ddr2800 - R700
Coolermaster CM690 - R900
P2350 - R2000
GTX260 896mb - R2100
Vantec 600w psu - R870

= 11k. If you can sell your current monitor you should have the extra to make that happen :)

Oh I see your quotes...yeah I think the quad mobo is overkill. But believe me the monitor is something you should put aside money for. What's the point of a great system when you have a rinky dinky screen to use it with? I'm getting a 23" for my e7200 :D
 
Last edited:
Man...if you can afford that 14k system go for it. You can always buy some better components in time.
 
What MOBO should I ask for in the quad setup? Is 550W enough for the quad setup?

Those links are great but I'm not one for cherry picking from different places and putting it all together. My skill levels cap at putting in a new graphics card :-P
 
yeah I just did a mybb search for the individual components. Who are you sourcing the system from?

Yes 550w is enough for a quad. The mobo I posted is a good choice I reckon - P5N-D. You might not like to cherry pick but the system I posted is a good 2k cheaper than yours for practically identical specs. You should at least price compare around a bit...
 
Its from Pcint.

Getting from different places is great if I could put it all together myself. But I suppose there must be a place out there who will put a system together for you.
 
Putting a system together is easy if you have a good case - like that coolermaster.
 
Got a PM from someone who has access to some dealers. I presume he's talking about computer dealers ;-)

Hopefully he can get those systems at slightly lower prices.
 
Well pcint is a good shop for prices...

ok let's see: p5q - 1442, q9550 - 2800, 4gig ddr2800 - 600, 500gb - 600, dvdr-260, 2494hs - 2,200, 260 - 2,100, Raidmax - 700, power supply (? - no prices on site, maybe r800).

= 11500. that's all from pcint with a great set of components including a 24" monitor.
 
Email address but nevermind, took a snapshot of the quad quote here.

http://www.natalieportman.com/picstemp/quote.jpg

I've looked at things and I really can't go over 11k overall.

The mobo that you found is a really nice saving. Also looks like your ram saves a few hundred. I'm cool with the 23" so thats a few more hundred. Can maybe go for the Geforce 250 instead to save a bit more...
 
That shot is the i7 quote. But yeah if you save on the mobo, ram and the gpu you'll hit your budget.
 
Going to need to upgrade the PSU. Don't like what I've read about the one I was quoted.
 
You are about as low as you can go with those specs I'm afraid. I wouldn't even like to recommend a gts250 considering you'll be gaming at 1920 resolution. But if you intend to upgrade anyway it's probably fine.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top
Sign up to the MyBroadband newsletter
X