New Rig for Easter

{OF}Erad · 04-16-2006, 08:50 AM

Bought myself a new gaming rig for Easter.

Got 2 good deals yesterday
Got this for $553.99 (Bought an Open Box Unit, full warranty)
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....=1138087857783

and added this for $179.99 (was on sale, ended yesterday):
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....=1138088147244

My old rig was an HP Athlon 2800+ with a GeForce 6600 GT. New rig is scoring on average 25% better on 3dMark scores across 2001se, 2003, and 2005. Very happy with it.

Why HP? I'm a company Man... I also ended up getting $800 in Best Buy Gift cards, so, it was a good way to use them. Total Cost was $778 with tax. The Video card is based on the new 7X series GPU, and doesn't require an additional power connector, and runs much cooler than the 6600 GT.

Still loading programs. Loaded UT2K4 last night, and joined as everybody was leaving... See y'all later tonight?

Dynamic · 04-16-2006, 10:23 AM

Even though it doesn't need the power connector, it still requires a certain amount of power. Check to see what size the power supply is in that computer, you should get around a 350 seeing the card requires a 300w power supply, i have seen thoes computers come with anything from 250 - 350 soo, check... its always a good idea

anyways, the computer does have nice specs.

Chem might be able to answer this question better, but i believe that you can get a software hack for the 7600 GS to unlock the other pipelines, that will enhance your performance even more.

ChemicalWarrior · 04-16-2006, 12:04 PM

The HP unit isnt bad. Decent price.

As for the video card...... shame shame. The 7600GS is much cheaper online (about $70). And in general the X1600 Pro is faster and has better image quality (both 2D and 3D).

Dyn, the 7600GS does not unlock, its just a down clocked version of the 7600GT.

{OF}Flying_Dutchman · 04-16-2006, 12:05 PM

Planning on being there tonight Erad. Looking forward to seeing you back on! Don't forget to load up Vent.

{OF}Erad · 04-16-2006, 01:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChemicalWarrior

The HP unit isnt bad. Decent price.

As for the video card...... shame shame. The 7600GS is much cheaper online (about $70). And in general the X1600 Pro is faster and has better image quality (both 2D and 3D).

I had $800 in Best Buy gift cards to spend. I know I could have gotten the card cheaper elsewhere, but not using the Best Buy gift cards. I looked all over the web before buying the card, and on most reviews, the 7600 GS beat out the X1600 Pro. The Chipset is also nVidia on the board, so no driver issues using the 7600 GS. I have several systems in the house, and a few have ATI, and the 2D is much better on the ATI Cards, but for gaming, I like my nVidia cards. Plus, the x1600 Pro cost more at Best Buy and is noisy compared to the 7600 GS. I like Quiet...

{OF}Blong · 04-16-2006, 04:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChemicalWarrior

The HP unit isnt bad. Decent price.

As for the video card...... shame shame. The 7600GS is much cheaper online (about $70). And in general the X1600 Pro is faster and has better image quality (both 2D and 3D).

Dyn, the 7600GS does not unlock, its just a down clocked version of the 7600GT.

can you ever add anything nice to say when someone says they are buying a certain thing. Erad has been in the business longer than you (not saying his knowledge is where yours is) and he understands, for the most part, what he is getting into and doing

.

as Erad said he did research and got what the best deal for him would be.

{OF}Impaired · 04-16-2006, 05:15 PM

I have to say a thing here in this strange ladn of Tech talk.. ( scared).........

But I got to tip my hat to Erad on the Box... I got a refurb M300y HP media center for 600$ after taxes and thanks to belarc advisor, I was able to register it with HP.. they gave me full warrenty and cd set plus three remote controls

....

havent had a problem with any thing in the box thus (been three years) far ( I have fragged my own Hds due to mis-use)..

the vid card I would like info on..
Dynamic, I got a Nvidia NX6600 Can't remember whether it is NT or GX or...... ¿ is there any software proggy that I can get to UNLEASH the power????

ChemicalWarrior · 04-16-2006, 06:00 PM

No, a 6600 (either GT or nothing at all) has all its pipelines intack, none are locked. The only way to achieve higher performance is through OCing, which voids your warranty. Unlocking voids the warranty also.

Erad, I understand. Just curious. One thing I've wondered for awhile is why cards at BB and other stores are so expensive, yet systems are actually very well priced. I guess I should blame the video card companies actually, they set the MSRP and that's what BB goes with.

Harbinger · 04-16-2006, 07:00 PM

Nice rig Erad and good for you being a company man

. Hell we even use HP's at work! Ok one, and so it's tucked away in the studio and ok, so it's a rip, but hey we still use HP!

Enjoy the new gaming computer, I'm currently happier than a pig in mud playing PC games on my MacBook Pro.

{OF}Erad · 04-16-2006, 10:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChemicalWarrior

No, a 6600 (either GT or nothing at all) has all its pipelines intack, none are locked. The only way to achieve higher performance is through OCing, which voids your warranty. Unlocking voids the warranty also.

Erad, I understand. Just curious. One thing I've wondered for awhile is why cards at BB and other stores are so expensive, yet systems are actually very well priced. I guess I should blame the video card companies actually, they set the MSRP and that's what BB goes with.

Chem the 6600 LE has half the pipes locked. I bought one for my son and unlocked it. Not a very well known card... Don't take it wrong.

As for Retail pricing... Most retail outlets charge low for base systems and make up on profits using a thing called Attach. I am a Technical Lead on an Attach Marketing team now. The idea is to sell the box low, and talk the customer into buying high margin options to add into the box to make it a system that they really want. It works, bringing in a gross profit of 35% or more, which is good on average. Let me know Chem if you would want to talk about the marketing and pricing strategies someday. It is very interesting (to some folks).

Ok, Blong made a comment about me that I might know more than Chem... I don't go around talking shop all day, but I have been working with PCs, servers and storage since 1983, which is 7 years before Chem was even born. I have been on engineering teams developing technology that you are using today, I just don't talk shop all the time. I can tell you that there is technology coming soon that will change everything that we do today, and the way that we view hardware completely, but I can't talk about it due to it being Confidential information. Chem knows a lot about current technology, and I give him a lot of credit! I work with Future Technology, and I can't talk about most of it because it would be a breach of ethics and rules. Keep up the great work chem! Let me know when you finish college so I can help get you a job at HP.

Harb, that poor ML110 server in the basement is working well, and hiding from the Apple and Dell servers you have upstairs. It is very happy where it is at.