New rig time...

[Kruzin]

So I am still running my crusty old XP2800+ rig (as outlined in my sig)....
Might have the chance to give myself an xmas present and finally upgrade, but can't go 'top of the line'.
I'd appreciate opinions on todays 'best bang for the buck' rigs.
It's been a while since I really kept up on CPUs/mobos/etc. Been throwin money at my Jeep instead lately

Not tied to AMD or Intel, but still hold a grudge against nVidia, so would preffer ATI (since M don't offer crap these days).
I expect the only thing I can carry over from this rig is my gigabit NIC. Rest of the rig will get handed down to GF (with a spare NIC).

Also, how's the current state of Vista? Still runnin XP-pro. Should I move up to Vista, or find another copy of XP?

Want something capable to handle any game out there with as many bells n whistles possible, and possibly act as a DVR if I can afford a TV card with the package.

If I can, this will happen this month, so not gonna play the 'wait a few months for xxx' game (that's a never-ending loop). Interested in what's available now...

[Marshmallowman]

With windows 7 due kind of soon, I would try and stretch it a bit.
Last windows OS I was willing to "beta" was win2k(it was good), however I am tempted to do it again for win7.

The early release of win 7 has completly convinced me to ignore vista.

However having said that, if you need a cheap interim OS vista basic may be the cheapest choice.

Top end wise i7 is the go, but for me am2+ boards with backward compatabilty of the am3 cpu's is the best economic choice. Doubly so with the price of ddr2 so low.

I have gone from completly nv for mobo and vid to ati/amd and am really pleased with the results.

[Jammrock]

I don't think you can get a mobo these days without an integrated NIC, so just give you NIC to you GF. Many boards even come with dual Gb NICs.

As for CPU, Intel has the crown by a long shot, though the Phenom II's coming out are supposed to put a chip in the crown, but not take it away. Core i7 is best-of-the-best, but the cheapest CPU in that line (until Phemon II hits) is $300, and the X58 boards run $200-$350. With the i7 you are married to the X58 boards, which ... EDIT: the X58 can do both SLI and CrossfireX, so you can double up on ATi cards if you choose.
The best of those boards are the EVGA, Asus and Gigabyte boards. You can read up on them at NewEgg.com, or your online place of choice. Just be sure you buy the i7 RAM packs, which have three modules. The i7/X58 has triple channel RAM so you need to go in sets of three or you'll have issues. Look for the 3 x 1 GB or 3 x 2 GB sets from NewEgg to get an idea.

On the lower end side you've got the Intel Core 2 and AMD Phenom. Intel is still faster, but AMD is a tad cheaper. Either way you will do well. If you go Phenom, make sure you get the ones ending in 50 (i.e. 9850, 9550, etc), which have the fixed errata and perform better.

Boards include the Intel X48 or P45 north bridges (some of which support Crossfire) and the ATi/AMD 700-series chipset is the way to go.

OS, Vista SP1 is nice. It's sluggish on low-end stuff, but the kind of system you are building it will be snappy. 4 GB RAM minimum to make it really perform, but 4 GB of DDR2 is like $50, so it's no big deal when building new. I would personally go 64-bit as well so you'll be able to support large amounts of RAM (especially if you go i7 and 6 GB RAM).

Video card wise, it depends on budget as usual. Since you are opposed to nvidia, the AMD 4850, 4870 and 4870 X2 are the ones you are looking for. If you go 4850/4870 get the 1 GB flavors. 512 MB only if you will game at 1280x1024 or lower (which these cards can handle much more with lots of eye candy on). The 4850's retail for around $160-$200 after MIB, the 4870's around $220-$250 after MIB, and the 4870 X2 (the big daddy) goes for around $500. There is also a 4850 X2, but only one card out at the moment and it retails for $310...and not quite worth it.

[Mehen]

Budget, what resolution you'll be running, and any other peripherals? Overclocking? Any idea of what size case you want (mid-full)? Are you picky about noise?

Core2, you'll be looking at something like:
E8400, Q6600, Q9550
ASUS P5Q Pro
G. Skill or Mushkin 2x2GB DDR2-800 to DDR2-1066

i7 it'll be something like:
Core i7 920
ASUS P6T Deluxe or Gigabyte GA-EX58-DS4
G. Skill or Mushkin 3x2GB DDR3-1333 to DDR3-1600

And then:
4870 1GB or 4870X2
640GB WD Caviar Black 32mb cache
Corsair 650TX PSU
Pioneer DVDRW

Aftermarket CPU cooling will depend on whether or not you are overclocking. Regardless stock coolers suck. I like the Antec P182 case, but it really depends on personal taste, and noise etc.
Check out cases by CoolerMaster, Antec, Lian-Li, Silverstone.

[Mehen]

If you wanna look at some video card price/performance benchmarks:

http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/forum/hardware-canucks-reviews/12681-games-christmas-08-gpu-performance-part-1-a.html

If you do want to try nvidia again, I would highly recommend the GTX 260 (216/maxcore version).

[Kruzin]

Thanks for the input.
I'll probably go the Core2 route in a mid tower.
Noise isn't a major concern, though I don't want a jet on my desk.
I generally don't mess with o/c'ing.
My total budget will be in the $600 range, most likely to be built after xmas.

[UtwigMU]

I'd suggest an HP+videocard (if you have OS you can get it with freeDOS) at this budget however I know building it is half the pleasure so:
Case of choice or reuse old case, I'd still buy Chieftec LBX that I have now, though some Antecs are becoming interesting
PSU: if no Crossfire, Corsair 400W (3y) or 450W (5y, Seasonic), else Corsair 550W
Motherboard: GA-EP45-UD3P (DDR2 still cheaper)
Memory: Brand name 2x2GB DDR2
Videocard: Radeon 4780HD
Soundcard: onboard
NIC: onboard dual Gb NIC
HDD: WD 1TB black edition
Burner 1-2 SATA burners
Floppy-like multicard reader

[Kruzin]

An HP aint gonna happen. I've built my own rigs since my first 486dx33, and not gonna stop now.

I think I'll re-use my current LianLi case, and just move the guts over to a spare generic case I have sittin in the corner for the GF...that way, I'll just need to get a PS for this case, and save a few bux on that.

[Kruzin]

I'm within a couple days of taking the plunge.
Pretty much decided on a Core2 set-up, 2-4 gig RAM, ATI video, and a WD drive (along with a decent PS, and a mid-range DVD burner).
GF's rig will be built with the guts of this rig. This mobo has on-board sound and NIC good enough for her uses. She'll also inherit the XP on this HDD.

Would like to get opinions on:

Sound cards...I've always avoided on-board sound, and disabled it on the boards I have that have it, in favor of a dedicated card. Are the current on-board sound set-ups decent? I could take my trusty old Santa Cruz from the existing rig (leaving on-board sound for GFs rig). Or I could get something else. However, money is an object here. If I don't need to spend 100-200 bux on a sound card, I'd rather not. Just needs to handle gaming and MP3s.

Which OS? I'm comfortable with XP, but willing to make the switch to Vista if it's solid enough. And if Vista, 32 or 64 bit? I still hear rumblings of potential issues with 64.

I will probably go to a local store to buy, and understand it will cost a few more $$, but I preffer having someplace I can drive to if there are any RMA issues.

Any other opinions on the build welcome....

[Mehen]

Vista 64 with 4gb of RAM is great. Absolutely zero complaints here. I really can't think of anything I own that I've had problems getting to work with it...

[Nowhere]

Perhaps reconsider AMD again? I know I will probably choose it while upgrading...both Intel and AMD have roughly the same performance per price (and AMD is actually better in the low-end segment in which I'm interested, aided massively by lower price of motherboards (at least here) with good integrated gfx (ok, you're not interested in this part )).

However...c2d is soon to be dead-end (similarly to XP2800+ when you bought it, I guess), and prices of c2q don't seem to be falling after i7 debiut; I wouldn't be surprised if Intel wants to discontinue c2q as soon as possible and without massive price cuts to shift the momentum onto future i7 consumer derivatives...to which you won't be able to upgrade easily.

AMD otoh seems quite commited to supporting AM3 cpus on current AM2+ mobos...so you might do nice, easy & cheap cpu swap 2 years down the line or so...

In any instance powerfull GPU & RAM amount seem to be, as usual, deciding factors in game performance (two of my buddies are very satisfied with gf8800 paired to lowest-end (today) A64 X2)