Final Thoughts......

Status
Not open for further replies.
raptors not worth it unless you notice the slight speed increase for the price, and cheetahs are mainly used for servers, go with an 80 or 160 gb seagate barracuda if you dont want much space
make sure 16mb cache
 
As has been stated... Don't waste your money on the Raptor get an 80 or 160gb barracuda, you will not be disappointed.

Also, get the AF7 Pro instead of the Tuniq 120 as Sora has first hand knowledge that it will handle a major overclock on a dual-core.

Don't worry about future proofing too much when talking about the GFX card. In 1-2 years you will probably be upgrading to the 9 series cards so save the $100 now and get the 320mb card.

As for the monitor, if you make the few changes that are being recommended you will have the extra cash saved to spend towards either the samsung 21.6in wide screen or the 22in widescreen lcd.

Ultimately it's your choice but with what you have now and the few recommended changes you could have a killer setup.
 
As has been stated... Don't waste your money on the Raptor get an 80 or 160gb barracuda, you will not be disappointed.

Also, get the AF7 Pro instead of the Tuniq 120 as Sora has first hand knowledge that it will handle a major overclock on a dual-core.

Don't worry about future proofing too much when talking about the GFX card. In 1-2 years you will probably be upgrading to the 9 series cards so save the $100 now and get the 320mb card.

As for the monitor, if you make the few changes that are being recommended you will have the extra cash saved to spend towards either the samsung 21.6in wide screen or the 22in widescreen lcd.

Ultimately it's your choice but with what you have now and the few recommended changes you could have a killer setup.

Thanks for the tips, but here are some of my thoughts:

I think I'll downgrade to the 7200.10, thats fine, but as far as future proofing, this computer is going to have to last me a while, the only upgrade I'm going to be making within the next few years (definately more than 2) is an upgrade to a Penryn. So I think I may stick with the 640gts. In terms of the AF7 vs Tuniq, where a AF7 would be fine, wouldn't I be able to OC more with a Tuniq cus of the lower temps? Let me know your input, thanks.
 
Thanks for the tips, but here are some of my thoughts:

I think I'll downgrade to the 7200.10, thats fine, but as far as future proofing, this computer is going to have to last me a while, the only upgrade I'm going to be making within the next few years (definately more than 2) is an upgrade to a Penryn. So I think I may stick with the 640gts. In terms of the AF7 vs Tuniq, where a AF7 would be fine, wouldn't I be able to OC more with a Tuniq cus of the lower temps? Let me know your input, thanks.

The 640 isn't a bad idea if you already play at 1440x900 res.

No you will not be able to overclock more with a Tuniq than an AF7 really unless if your considering a Quad-Core which there the Tuniq would be a good investment...I have my E6300 @ 3640mhz with my Arctic freezer pro 7 and a DS3R....My loads never go above 50 with this board.
 
Again by the time you switch to the new Penryn CPU there will probably be a better CPU cooler. If not the Tuniq is only $60 which is pretty cheap considering you wont upgrade for a year or two.

You can pick up an AF7 Pro right now at svc.com for $19.99+shipping.

I understand you wanting to futureproof the pc for more than 2 years (as I follow the same path). I do not think you will see a dramatic increase between the 320mb and the 640mb cards even a couple years down the road.

I was going to go the same route with the card but I know I will run my card till it dies before I grab another one and by the time it dies I'll upgrade to the newer card. Most of my cards have been going for 2 years easily. I have a 6600gts right now that I have had for 2 years :) I would get the 320mb card and grab that 22in samsung as you will definately have that longer than the GFX card :)

Now that I am off my soap box on the GFX card I'll end with it's your money and you have to be ultimately content that you got the most bang for your buck. If you can do that than it does not matter what any of us think or even recommend :)
 
Again by the time you switch to the new Penryn CPU there will probably be a better CPU cooler. If not the Tuniq is only $60 which is pretty cheap considering you wont upgrade for a year or two.

You can pick up an AF7 Pro right now at svc.com for $19.99+shipping.

I understand you wanting to futureproof the pc for more than 2 years (as I follow the same path). I do not think you will see a dramatic increase between the 320mb and the 640mb cards even a couple years down the road.

I was going to go the same route with the card but I know I will run my card till it dies before I grab another one and by the time it dies I'll upgrade to the newer card. Most of my cards have been going for 2 years easily. I have a 6600gts right now that I have had for 2 years :) I would get the 320mb card and grab that 22in samsung as you will definately have that longer than the GFX card :)

Now that I am off my soap box on the GFX card I'll end with it's your money and you have to be ultimately content that you got the most bang for your buck. If you can do that than it does not matter what any of us think or even recommend :)

6600gts???
 
The 640 isn't a bad idea if you already play at 1440x900 res.

No you will not be able to overclock more with a Tuniq than an AF7 really unless if your considering a Quad-Core which there the Tuniq would be a good investment...I have my E6300 @ 3640mhz with my Arctic freezer pro 7 and a DS3R....My loads never go above 50 with this board.

I'm definitely going to upgrade to a quad 45nm (Kentsfield or whatever) eventually, so, for the extra $30-40 now, I'd rather not have to buy a new cooler in a year or so. I'm thinking I'll stick with the Tuniq....overkill....probably, but definitely not underkill....

So I think my final decision is gonna be the Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 250gb, the 8800gts 640, and a Tuniq. thanks everyone!
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top Bottom