|
Korean Job Discussion Forums
"The Internet's Meeting Place for ESL/EFL Teachers from Around the World!"
|
| View previous topic :: View next topic |
| Author |
Message |
Otherside
Joined: 06 Sep 2007
|
 Posted: Mon Jun 30, 2008 11:27 pm Post subject: Pc sweetspot. |
 |
|
hey guys, I'm thinking of buying a new pc for gaming and such, but I've been out of the game for about 3 years now, so I'm not sure where the market is.
Could someone give me a brief outline on what components I should be looking at (i.e. the sweetspot, where you will get the most bang for your buck, before you start hitting marginal returns for big chunks of change)
Generally, I'd prefer to go Intel and Nvidia. |
|
| Back to top |
|
 |
Temporary
Joined: 13 Jan 2008
|
| Posted: Tue Jul 01, 2008 12:09 am Post subject: |
|
|
Google is your friend..
ATM Intel and ATI is the king if it comes to bang for buck. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Demophobe
Joined: 17 May 2004
|
| Posted: Tue Jul 01, 2008 12:34 am Post subject: |
|
|
Intel E8400 or Q6600...dual or quad core. Quad core has more cores, dual core is faster with more cache. The 8400 is 3GHz (x2), 6MB of cache @ 1333 FSB, the Q6600 2.4GHz (x4), 4MB of cache @ 1066FSB. Both have advantages and disadvantages. Google these two CPUs. On both, the prices are pretty sweet....about 180,000 and 220,000.
Mainboard? No secret I am an ASUS fan...P5K-E is a solid performer for the price, 140,000.
Graphics? No doubt, ATI 4xxx series.
4GB RAM, etc... |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
eamo
Joined: 08 Mar 2003
Location: Shepherd's Bush, 1964.
|
| Posted: Tue Jul 01, 2008 12:56 am Post subject: |
|
|
| Demophobe wrote: |
Intel E8400 or Q6600...dual or quad core. Quad core has more cores, dual core is faster with more cache. The 8400 is 3GHz (x2), 6MB of cache @ 1333 FSB, the Q6600 2.4GHz (x4), 4MB of cache @ 1066FSB. Both have advantages and disadvantages. Google these two CPUs. On both, the prices are pretty sweet....about 180,000 and 220,000.
Mainboard? No secret I am an ASUS fan...P5K-E is a solid performer for the price, 140,000.
Graphics? No doubt, ATI 4xxx series.
4GB RAM, etc... |
I'd say the sweet spot right now for a low/mid-range gaming rig would echo most of what Demo just said.
Specifically....
E8400
Any P35 motherboard by Gigabyte, Asus or Abit.
ATI HD4850 or HD4870 depending on budget.
WD 640GB HDD
4GB of 800mhz or 1066mhz RAM, depending on budget.
Zalman ZM-HP 600w power supply
Zalman 9700 CPU cooler.....depending on budget.
LG DVD-multi drive.
You could probably get all that for around 1 million. Maybe a little more.
The great thing is, that system would chew up and spit out a 1 million won system from just 9 months ago. There's great value and performance to be had right now. Especially in CPU's, RAM and graphics cards. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
chevro1et
Joined: 01 Feb 2007
Location: Busan, ROK
|
| Posted: Tue Jul 01, 2008 1:34 am Post subject: |
|
|
| One minor point to add, 4GB of ram is not needed unless you are running 64-bit windows. 32-bit windows will only recognize ~3 gigs of ram. But, ram is so cheap these days, you may as well spring for a 2x2 gig set. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
I_Am_The_Kiwi
Joined: 10 Jun 2008
|
| Posted: Tue Jul 01, 2008 5:41 am Post subject: |
|
|
im all in for dual core, but quad core...im still holding off on. Dont know if anyone on here has one, but are all cores really being utilized by anything that your running on your PC.
Most s/w is catching up to making use of dual cores, let alone quads. May be wrong but thats what ive seen and read lately...seems like more money or something that wont give you a huge performance boost. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
ttompatz
Joined: 05 Sep 2005
Location: Kwangju, South Korea
|
| Posted: Tue Jul 01, 2008 5:50 am Post subject: |
|
|
| I_Am_The_Kiwi wrote: |
im all in for dual core, but quad core...im still holding off on. Dont know if anyone on here has one, but are all cores really being utilized by anything that your running on your PC.
Most s/w is catching up to making use of dual cores, let alone quads. May be wrong but thats what ive seen and read lately...seems like more money or something that wont give you a huge performance boost. |
I have been running quad core machines for a while now.
Single or dual-threaded applications alone, including many games, do not benefit from the second pair of cores of a quad-core CPU over an equally clocked dual-core CPU.
For example, the quad-core Extreme QX6700 (Kentsfield) did not process those applications faster than the older dual-core Extreme X6800 (Conroe XE core), because its FSB's speed was the same, and it was clocked slightly slower.
Nevertheless, a simultaneous running of several processor-intensive single/dual-threaded applications on the quad-core CPU is generally much faster than on equally clocked dual-core CPU.
The quad-core CPU is useful also to run both the client and server processes of a game without noticeable lag in either thread, as each instance (up to four) could be running on a different core. Furthermore, multi-threaded games (see Crysis and Gears of War) benefit from the quad-core CPUs, because - as Cervat Yerli of Crytek said - four cores will make for better frame rates and gameplay as audio, physics and AI as well as other things are all offloaded to separate cores.
I have both a dual core (e6750 machine) and a quad core (q6600 machine).
They both run on gigabyte s-series p35-d3sr mainboards with 4 gigs of RAM.
If you are single tasking or not using software designed / optimized for multi-core use, then a dual core will perform in a similar fashion to the quad.
In my own experience, with hard use and significant multi-tasking the quad outperforms the dual significantly all the time.
I like the ability to do video capture from my camcorder, encode the video and write a different video to a DVD at the SAME time without getting errors or writing coasters.
All the while running apps like BOINC at full throttle in the background.
This is the life of my quad core.
Others here have had similar experience with their quad core machines. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Temporary
Joined: 13 Jan 2008
|
| Posted: Tue Jul 01, 2008 6:01 am Post subject: |
|
|
| Well I would go with the Penryn q9XXX series the q6600 is the older version. Definetly go with ATI card now. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
spliff
Joined: 19 Jan 2004
Location: Khon Kaen, Thailand
|
| Posted: Tue Jul 01, 2008 6:06 am Post subject: |
|
|
| Go w/ the E8400 |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Otherside
Joined: 06 Sep 2007
|
| Posted: Tue Jul 01, 2008 6:32 am Post subject: |
|
|
| eamo wrote: |
| Demophobe wrote: |
Intel E8400 or Q6600...dual or quad core. Quad core has more cores, dual core is faster with more cache. The 8400 is 3GHz (x2), 6MB of cache @ 1333 FSB, the Q6600 2.4GHz (x4), 4MB of cache @ 1066FSB. Both have advantages and disadvantages. Google these two CPUs. On both, the prices are pretty sweet....about 180,000 and 220,000.
Mainboard? No secret I am an ASUS fan...P5K-E is a solid performer for the price, 140,000.
Graphics? No doubt, ATI 4xxx series.
4GB RAM, etc... |
I'd say the sweet spot right now for a low/mid-range gaming rig would echo most of what Demo just said.
Specifically....
E8400 215,000
Any P35 motherboard by Gigabyte, Asus or Abit. (p5k-e 152,000
ATI HD4850 or HD4870 depending on budget. HD4850 250,000
WD 640GB HDD 87,000
4GB of 800mhz or 1066mhz RAM, depending on budget. 2x2gb800mhz 100,000
Zalman ZM-HP 600w power supply 128,000
Zalman 9700 CPU cooler.....depending on budget. 60,000
LG DVD-multi drive. 30,000
[b]Total: 962000
You could probably get all that for around 1 million. Maybe a little more.
The great thing is, that system would chew up and spit out a 1 million won system from just 9 months ago. There's great value and performance to be had right now. Especially in CPU's, RAM and graphics cards. |
Perfect, thanks alot guys, thats exactly what I was looking for. I did a quick search on Gmarket, and those were the prices I found.
A few questions.
1.Is a CPU cooler really necessary? I don't plan to overclock, shouldn't the factory cooler be sufficient?
2.250,000 for a GFX card...for that kind of money I hope it does laundry and makes a mean breakfast, what would be a good card to go for in the $150 sort of range. I doubt I'd be playing games that would greatly benefit from an "extreme" card... top end for the near future is looking like starcraft 2.
3. Any case you'd recommend?
4. Finally, those were the Gmarket prices, if I went into Yongsan in person, would i be able to get much of a discount (with cash, if necessary). |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
kprrok
Joined: 06 Apr 2004
Location: KC
|
| Posted: Tue Jul 01, 2008 6:43 am Post subject: |
|
|
Without looking up exact numbers...
I know the E8400 is running about 185,000 instead of 215,000.
The HD4850 can be had around 225-230,000 instead of 250,000.
The Zalman PSU is about 110,000 instead of 130,000.
The RAM can probably be found around 80,000 instead of 100,000.
I would go with the Seagate 500GB/32MB over the WD 640/16. They're both around 80,000 right now.
That's a savings of around 90,000 or so. Bear in mind that you do need a case and the other odds and ends, plus the build fee, so that'll probably eat up that savings.
If you need to save a little more, you could look at the E7200 (2.5GHZ Wolfdale with 3MB cache) for 125,000.
As for the 4850, you will love the card. it's a great deal, but it's also brand new. If you are planning to wait a month or so, the price will probably come down. Plus, by then there will be models with better cooling as it runs kind of hot right now with the stock cooler.
If you really wanna go nVidia, look at the XFX 9600 GT for about 150,000 or the 9800GTX which is supposed to be coming down in price to about 200,000. This has not yet happened, and I'm not sure when it will happen.
KPRROK |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
JustJohn
Joined: 18 Oct 2007
Location: Your computer screen
|
| Posted: Tue Jul 01, 2008 7:12 am Post subject: |
|
|
+1 for the E8400/4850 combo
If you want a cheaper processor go with the 7200. Runs fast, cool and stable, and overclocks well just like the 8400. $130.
Video card is harder. The 4850 should be $200, not $250 and it is most definitely the answer to your original question. If you want to go cheap the 9600GT might be what you're looking for, but the 4850 absolutely blows it away. If we're lucky the 8800GT will drop to $150 in which case that would be my recommended cheaper option. You don't want to go too cheap with video cards these days because games are getting really intensive. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
eamo
Joined: 08 Mar 2003
Location: Shepherd's Bush, 1964.
|
| Posted: Tue Jul 01, 2008 6:01 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| Quote: |
A few questions.
1.Is a CPU cooler really necessary? I don't plan to overclock, shouldn't the factory cooler be sufficient?
2.250,000 for a GFX card...for that kind of money I hope it does laundry and makes a mean breakfast, what would be a good card to go for in the $150 sort of range. I doubt I'd be playing games that would greatly benefit from an "extreme" card... top end for the near future is looking like starcraft 2.
3. Any case you'd recommend?
4. Finally, those were the Gmarket prices, if I went into Yongsan in person, would i be able to get much of a discount (with cash, if necessary). |
1. The Intel CPU cooler works well enough if you don't overclock. But I've found that in dusty Korea, it becomes clogged very often. The Intel cooler is a downwards blowing device. This means that even when you blast some compressed air into the fins, it still retains some of the dust.
However, the Zalman cooler has the fan mounted sideways. So you can totally get the dust out of the copper fins. It's just easier to maintain.
2. I'd say 200,000 for a graphics card is cheap! If you want a satisfactory gaming experience over the next couple of years, then 200,000 is your bottom limit. Unfortunately, in rip-off Korea the price GPU's is about 20% more than in the USA. So the HD4850 will cost you around 240,000 until prices come down a little in a couple of months. But, really, it is the card to go for. Nothing compares to it for the price.
3. Case? I'm using the Gigabyte Triton. About 70,000. It came with 2 crappy fans which I didn't use. It's a good case though. Solid. Try to find a case with a good, open, 120mm air-intake at the front.
4. I would order online every time. Enuri.com has good prices and good service. Because I build myself.
The only reason I ever went to Yongsan was to use a guy I know who is very reliable and will order in all the parts and build the machine in front of me for about a 30,000 fee. He knows his stuff and tries to build his customers the computer they need, not the computer he wants to sell. PM me if you want to use him. But you won't get cheap component prices from him. You'll pay full rip-off Korea prices. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Gaber
Joined: 23 Apr 2006
|
| Posted: Tue Jul 01, 2008 7:25 pm Post subject: |
|
|
I would (and am going to) go for a AMD 6400+ X2 and a 4850, though I'm thinking one with an aftermarket cooler may be a good idea, looking at the temps people are reporting. Also, I don't care about anything but game performance and for games these days 2 cores is as good as 4. AMD wise at least.
This may be helpful: http://techreport.com/articles.x/15009 |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Otherside
Joined: 06 Sep 2007
|
| Posted: Tue Jul 01, 2008 7:40 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Thanks for all the replies guys..
The 4850 seems like an awesome card so ill splurge.
Eamo: I checked out enuri.com and their prices are quite a bit better than gmarket...just doing some math in my head, i shaved about 110K off the Gmarket list prices. One thing though, it doesn't seem to have an English option, so ordering would be pretty tough (could get a Korean to help out). However, I don't have a credit card, so how does ordering work? Bank transfers...or am I up @#$% creek without a paddle on that one? |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
|
|
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum
|
|
FAQ
Search
Memberlist
Usergroups
Register
Profile
Log in to check your private messages
Log in
