Building a new PC

[..]

My theory is that I do not chase technology. The 6600 fits the bill perfectly. It is new enough to run everything, but old enough to be cheap. And if one is not using the power, why pay for it? Kinda like owning a Ferrari in Bangkok.

 

YMMV, of course. This is just my method of buying stuff. I usually upgrade every two years and it works for me.

 

Cheers,

SD

[Neo]

The 6600GT/7600GT are not about chasing technology. These are mid cycle, mid range cards designed to give good performance for a good price. Benchmarks show the 7600GT can be twice as fast as a 6600GT for about a 2000 baht adder; that's a deal. The fact is, we all WILL outgrow whatever card we have, it's just a matter of how long it takes. Last years card of choice=6600GT, this year=7600GT.

[..]

I hear ya, but I have a different philosophy. Note that they are testing intense 3D graphics on that site. Fine, but this is not what we are looking for here. "The fact is, we all WILL outgrow whatever card we have, it's just a matter of how long it takes." Yup, I understand, especially if you are a 3D gamer who plays Half-Life, et al and is into cutting edge games of that type. Those of us who are not simply do not need the power.

 

Back to the Ferrari anology. Yup, the Ferrari is super cool, and sure is fast. It is awesome, no doubt. Ignoring price & ego, if I only drive in the city during daylight hours and it will never see north of 100Km/hr, why buy it when an Audi A6 will do? But if you live in Germany and use the Autobahn, then it makes perfect sense.

 

Therefore, to buy the bigger & badder when you do not need it *is* chasing technology, or buying stuff for the "cool" factor. Not dogging those who do it (up to you), but not my style. I'm all about current requirements (1st) and value for the buck (2nd). For me, having the latest & greatest does not enter into it. But for a lot of folks it does. And I thank them because they keep the cycle rolling.

 

And the added advantage of buying things one step back in the technology cycle is that they are all patched/upgraded and bug free by that time. AND you will not be burned by buying a piece of hardware that for some reason does not gain acceptance in the software community (been there, done that ) and therefore has compatibility issues.

 

Cheers,

SD

 

PS -- My logic stems from the following. Looking at Sierra's specs for F.E.A.R., their recommended (NOT minimum) set-up is a lowly GeForce? FX 5900 or equivalent; The "ultimate" Doom 3 system is said to be using a GeForce? 6800 card w/128Mb of RAM. These are arguably the most graphics intense games out there right now. So if the card in question will deliver performance above or even at the same level as the "ultimate" on these games, it will surely be good for a couple of years IMHO.

[Neo]

Try to understand the 7600GT it is NOT chasing technology. It is NOT a super fast card. It is NOT a Ferarri. It is NOT leading edge. Your auto analogy is has no applicability here at all. Think of it as the speed limit keeps going up; buying a car that tops out at 70MPH because this year the speed limit is 55MPH while next year the speed limit is going to be 100MPH is stupid unless you are a granny.

 

The 7600GT is the cheap, powerful card "for the rest of us" who don't need bleeding edge $1000 cards and SLI. It's for people who want performance at a sound price. That's why it took the crown from the 6600GT for the best value for money out there; the 6600GT just can't hold onto that forever you know. If you want to keep KS in the dark ages and boast you have a more powerful card than him, then fine otherswise I just don't follow your logic because the 7600GT represents a huge step forward for a very small price increment. These are things buyers appreciate because they didn't pay much and they don't get outdated very fast.

 

Your gaming requirements are questionable, especially doom3 which when it came out there wasn't a graphics card made that could handle it at full quality as it wanted 512MB. Games will raise the bar to reach photo realistiic quality which is the holy grail in gaming. Just look at the benchmarks on my previous link; Serious Sam brings the mightiest 30,000 video cards to their knees at 1600x1200 4xAA 16xAF. That's today's game and not a single card can deal with that. Tomorrow's games will need more and more, that is a certainty. Limping by with a 6600GT by throttling back quality, resolution, and frame rates is ludicrous when you can have twice the card for just a little more baht.

[ptyrider]

suadum said:

IMHO, a case is a case is a case. Go for what looks good to you and has the right amount of slots & bays. You can always switch out power supplies.

SD

 

carlton68 said:

Power supply: I guess a 350W one will do.

 

. . . .

Case: Well, what's available at your dealer? USB and Audio out the front is a must. Hole in the side for an additional fan (12cm) is recommended.

 

The case is an important compontent of a great computer system. It will be with you the longest. It makes repairing/upgrading/working with the computer a much pleasanter experience. The switches last longer. Your system runs cooler since the airflow is better. Fans are placed to keep your hard drives cool. Filters keep out the dust and are easily cleaned.

 

It's surprisingly hard to find a really good case. You can't go by looks. The standard cases sold in most shops are all crap, really.

 

Get a Lian Li or Coolermaster and you'll see what I mean. Busitek at Panthip (great shop for higher-end stuff) sells both:

 

http://www.busitek.com/forms/cases.html

 

Also the quality of the PSU is important. A number of the better shops carry Enermax, well worth the premium:

 

http://www.busitek.com/forms/psu.html