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 CyberPower Forum : Hardware : Build & Compability Questions |
 Topic: Need help with college computer configuration. |
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Shane2208
Newbie 
Joined: 12 Jul 2008 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 30 |
   Topic: Need help with college computer configuration.Posted: 12 Jul 2008 at 12:47pm |
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Hi, I'm finally getting around to buying a computer for college. I bought an Alienware 4 or 5 years ago, it was a good computer but very pricey and I had a few problems. So I figured if I'm going to have problems I might as well get a huge bang for my buck and ended up here. I don't have time or the trust with my handywork to build my own. Also I plan on using this computer for future gaming at top levels and of course the usual school work.. but I want a top end gaming computer first and foremost!
Here is my build, I'll put my questions below it. *Recently updated to show new specs, barely a change* My first question is should I go with dual 8800gt's at 512mb or just one at 1gig? The 1gb 8800 would save me a bit of cash, would it give me similar performance though? Hard drives, is the 10,000 rpm really that useful? I'd much rather get a large 7,200 rpm one as I did. Do I need a floppy drive these days? I remember using one on my Alienware when I ran into the problems but can't I just set my BIOS to boot from CD? Ok my main concern. Network Cards. I will be using these in the dorms where there is a strong wifi signal. So a normal network card is useless, correct? Do I need a wireless network card? An external wireless network card? Which would give me the top performance? I will be buying speakers/monitor probably on newegg or something, I am kind of hoping to keep it all under $1,500 so if I could drop a bit that'd be great. Any help is much appreciated. If you even read this far I thank you. Edited by Shane2208 - 15 Jul 2008 at 6:56pm |
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joe11
Senior Member 
Joined: 27 Jun 2008 Online Status: Offline Posts: 415 |
Posted: 12 Jul 2008 at 2:27pm |
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The build itself is pretty good. The performance difference between 1gig 8800gt and 512 is negligible.
10,000 rpm drives are nice as they speed up the load times. I would personally just get a 7200 rpm, perhaps 2 in a raid-0 configuration. Floppy isn't necessary with bootable removable devices (flash drives) and cd-rom although some setups may be finicky and require floppy to load certain drivers. network cards - It depends if your dorm room has an ethernet cable for you to hook up to your connection or if your dorm room only has wifi. If anything, just order an internal wifi network card. Use the onboard network card if your dorm supplies you with a ethernet cable for internet. |
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Shane2208
Newbie
Joined: 12 Jul 2008 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 30 |
Posted: 13 Jul 2008 at 1:10pm |
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Did you mean the difference between 1gig 8800gt is negligible to a single or dual 512mb 8800gt?
I looked into and the dorms have the cables for me to hook it up. So these network cards don't really affect performance at all (ie:lag) and you recommend the on board one? Thanks for the response by the way. |
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ggorrell
Groupie 
Joined: 22 May 2008 Online Status: Offline Posts: 46 |
Posted: 14 Jul 2008 at 6:56am |
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He meant the differcne between one 8800gt with 512mb, and one with 1gb is negligible. Two cards will be faster then the one card is most instances (although one higher end card is usually better, the ATi 4850, or 4870 come to mind). The network card is rarely the source of lag on a system. I would just use the onboard network card.
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covertcycle
Senior Member
Joined: 29 May 2008 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 316 |
Posted: 14 Jul 2008 at 12:24pm |
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depending on your monitor resolution, i would go with the single card setup. the 2 cards will perform better if youre running higher resolution, (say 1600x1200 or 1920x1200). But if youre running at a lower res, say 1024x768, or 1152x864 the single card will be better, and as you said, save you some money.
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Shane2208
Newbie
Joined: 12 Jul 2008 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 30 |
Posted: 14 Jul 2008 at 3:46pm |
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I'm kind of trying to future proof myself as this will probably be my computer for the next 4 years. I'm trying to take full advantage of the quad processor/dual video cards. Also I may get some of those graphic intensive games(Crysis) just to play for the graphics. The one very nice part I want is graphics cards.
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joe11
Senior Member
Joined: 27 Jun 2008 Online Status: Offline Posts: 415 |
Posted: 14 Jul 2008 at 8:47pm |
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Well if you plan to future proof, I would go with 1 fast video card setup and purchase another in a few months or when you have the extra cash to do so. Like ggorrell pointed out, the ATi 48xx series are pretty fast cards for their price. However, if you are an Nvidia guy, a 9800GTX is a pretty nice card for the price they're going for at the moment. I would either get 1 4850/4870 (ATi) or 1 9800 GTX (Nvidia) and buy another in a few months or when you need Sli to run the more graphic intensive games.
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sheltom
Groupie
Joined: 13 Jul 2008 Online Status: Offline Posts: 64 |
Posted: 14 Jul 2008 at 11:57pm |
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Shane since you are using air to cool your system, I would make very sure that case is best for air flow. A full tower might be better. See what others think about that.
You might also consider better RAM with heat spreaders since that setup will probably run warm inside.
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Shane2208
Newbie
Joined: 12 Jul 2008 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 30 |
Posted: 15 Jul 2008 at 6:50pm |
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Should I maybe add extra fans? It seemed like all the other rams were a huge price jump. I found a way(taking advantage of the specials) to get this setup+shipping to $1199(exactly, funny it turned out that way). I'm kind of stubborn about the video cards now and afraid to go inside my system after I buy it. After this month I will no longer have money for computer parts for the next four years! hah
Also any opinions on the towers? Oh also forgot, I've moved onto monitor research now. I like CRTs usually as I don't mind the space they take up and dig the quality/price but I heard LCDs may possibly be easier on the eyes. CRTs also seem to be a thing of the past as I can't find any new ones. Any recommendations for a good gaming monitor for under 250$? Speakers too. Any sweet(possibly 7.1 surround) speakers for under 100$? Edited by Shane2208 - 15 Jul 2008 at 6:54pm |
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