What do you look at when purchasing a system?

[iDenTiTy]

Ok, here's some thought provoking questions..

When looking at purchasing components, giving a limited budget, what components (in order of importance) do you concentrate on?

Such as;

1) Motherboard. Spend money on the most important component,
2) Processor. Important, but not as important as mobo..

etc....

Is it wise to spend money first on mobo, then other components? OR can one put money towards a fast cpu, then the rest on mobo?

 

[Weasley]

Mine would be GPU,CPU,mobo specs(like 6 rams slots and not 4 for I7's,sata ports),hdd's,ram and then big power supply that can support it all

 

[Grimspoon]

I say never skimp on a good mobo, processor as you mentioned is not AS important, but obviously you want to get the decent CPU.

If you are a gamer then next would be a decent GPU, this is where you really don't want to mess about. Assign as much cash to a decent GPU, I so often see oaks get a mid range card only to cry in 6 months when they can’t run the latest games.

 

[iDenTiTy]

Cool.

I am planning to spend as much as I can on a good mobo (best I can afford), then a CPU (best I can afford), then RAM (I already own a nice GPU).

:/

RAM bothers me. IS cheapo RAM good enough to overclock an X3 720BE?

I say never skimp on a good mobo, processor as you mentioned is not AS important, but obviously you want to get the decent CPU.

If you are a gamer then next would be a decent GPU, this is where you really don't want to mess about. Assign as much cash to a decent GPU, I so often see oaks get a mid range card only to cry in 6 months when they can’t run the latest games.

 

[Grimspoon]

Cool.

I am planning to spend as much as I can on a good mobo (best I can afford), then a CPU (best I can afford), then RAM (I already own a nice GPU).

:/

RAM bothers me. IS cheapo RAM good enough to overclock an X3 720BE?

Honestly I am not very clued up on RAM, I purchased 4 GB's of pretty much the cheapest they had, I don't really see the point in spending a wack load on RAM, but I may be wrong here.

 

[iDenTiTy]

I suppose it's ok, I mean one could always upgrade the RAM (provided a good mobo is around).

Hmm..

I recon a X3 is a good enough upgrade, and future proof enough, from an E6420 cpu.



I think it's roughly as good as a Q6600.

Honestly I am not very clued up on RAM, I purchased 4 GB's of pretty much the cheapest they had, I don't really see the point in spending a wack load on RAM, but I may be wrong here.

 

[Dolby]

I look at how cool the case looks ...

 

[Conradl]

Depends on what I want to do:

For Work:

1. CPU (support VT, multiple cores)
2. Lots of cheap disks
3. Lots of cheap RAM
4. Any motherboard that can support 1,2,3
1000. VGA card

For Play

1. VGA card
2. The cheapest everything to get 1 to work....

 

[LFX]

if it runs crysis on enthusiast you're good to go

 

[iDenTiTy]

Original post did mention something along the lines of a budget...

if it runs crysis on enthusiast you're good to go

 

[Sheepbot]

I suppose it's ok, I mean one could always upgrade the RAM (provided a good mobo is around).

Hmm..

I recon a X3 is a good enough upgrade, and future proof enough, from an E6420 cpu.



I think it's roughly as good as a Q6600.

AFAIK, with a 720BE, you don't really need expensive ram as you'll probably be messing around with the multiplier more than the fsb. I have an Asus M4A78T-E mobo paired with a 720 and 4GB of corsair ram. At 3.2GHz with the stock cooler it never goes above 47 degrees, which is pretty decent (just changed the multiplier). Once I get a decent cooler I'll look at pushing it more, but for now it's exceeding my expectations

 

[RPG_Fan]

I would look at CPU & GPU first. Then RAM and then Mobo. Applications will require CPU & RAM and games will require all 3. Getting a decent mobo from a reputable brand will guarentee that the latency between the various components are optimized. Make sure you can get integrated components for the things you dont wana pay for separately to max value on your mobo.

 

[Nerfherder]

I always design my system from the motherboard I choose.

The MB will help you decide on every other component that you need.

 

[kaaskop]

Some time ago i would have said the mobo is the most important decision in a new buy but not anymore. You still have to buy according to your needs (SATA ports, Raid ect) but if ure not going to do extreme overclocking a midrange mobo should be fine.

The other thing to keep in mind is crossfire/sli. If youre going that way in the future its best to buy a mobo that supports 16x/16x and not 8x/8x to get the most out of ure GPU's.

My G31 Mobo overclocks fine for a third of my previous mobo's price, all i need is a good GPU.

Fast ram is only for overclocking and mebbe a 1-2 fps in games.

My 2cents.

 

[chickenbeef]

I look at price vs. performance and looks

 

[Juggy]

Never underestimate the importance of a decent PSU.

My order of importance is.

1. Mobo
2. PSU
3. CPU
4. CPU Cooler
5. Ram
6. GFX
7. Case
8. HDD

 

[The_Techie]

Mine:

Motherboard (backbone of the system)
PSU (need I elaborate? )
CPU
RAM
Graphics
Hard drives
Case
Display
Aftermarket cooling

 

[Zenbaas]

Something like that although the first four are very close for me. A good PSU is a must though

Motherboard
PSU
CPU
Graphics
RAM
Hard drives
Display
After-market cooling
Case

 

[TheRift]

Not much of a gaming person so I don't quite bother with graphics cards.
Don't look for monitors these days. Still run a Philips 19" CRT and will do so until I can afford the HP IPS panel. TN doesn't do it for me.

1. Motherboard (chosen ofcourse from CPU type decision and what I intend to do)
2. CPU
3. PSU (number of power points important)
4. CPU cooler
5. RAM (I keep buying Kingston it seems)
6. Case
7. Drives (keep re-using what I have though, so look at them when they die)

Ofcourse, by the time I've found a motherboard to go with I've wound up seeing too many awesome pieces online and budget goes out the door by point #2.