Help me choose

[jkt]

Thanks for this wonderful website; it's helping me a ton.

I've been browsing the forums for a while, but I still have a couple questions.

1. Choosing a motherboard. I've decided to go with the Intel E8400 CPU, but I'm having trouble deciding on a motherboard. Many people have suggested the ASUS P5Q. However, there's like so many different versions of this...

P5Q
P5Q Pro
P5QL Pro
P5Q-E
P5Q-EM
P5Q SE
ect...

They're all different prices, and I assume higher price = more features. However, I can hardly tell the difference between all of them. Anyone have suggestions on which one in particular to get?

2. Videocard. This is where I'm completely lost. I've seen someone suggests that you should get a videocard that's made by the same manufacture as your motherboard for good performance. Is this really that important?

How do the GeForce8800, 9800, 9600 etc compare? Or should I go with ATI?

The most I'm willing to spend is $200 (preferable $150) and I plan on using this computer for gaming. Suggestions?

3. RAM. According to crucial website, P5Q supports several RAM frequency speeds (6400, 8500, 9600). Does it matter which speed I get? Will the difference between 2GHz, 3GHz and 4GHz of RAM be very significant? I know if I get 4GHz of RAM I'll need 64bit Vista.

4. OS. Everyone tells me not to get Vista, because it's so buggy. Should I just stick with XP, or will Vista really be the future? If I choose Vista, is it worth investing in Vista 64 bit edition? Will 64bit be the future?

5. General Price. Right now I don't mind holding out until after Thanksgiving on black Friday to score discounts on some parts. Anyone have good experience with this? Will popular computer hardware generally be on sale, or will it mostly be monitors and such?


Thanks for any answers...really appreciate it!

[Barrister73]

I cannot really answer most of your questions, hopefully the elite will be on later to explain everything. I can tell you that I have Vista 64 (go with 64 to actually use all the RAM you plan on buying) and have had no problems with it.

The only issue I've had is that my computer will not send a signal to the monitor after waking from sleep. This is very minor, easily worked around, and probably due more to my old video card than Vista.

I was nervous about installing Vista, but I am glad that I did.

MRR

[RickyTick]

Maybe this will help you decide
http://usa.asus.com/products.aspx?l1=3&l2=11&l3=709

The P5Q Pro seems to be the most popular

[zburns]

I strongly recommend using Vista; I have the 32 bit version (SP1 installed at the same time). Really have had no problems; very pleased in all respects. Based on what I have heard on this forum, I would now go 64 bit; wish I had four months ago when I cranked it up. 4 gig ram for sure; you will use all of it with 64 bit.

My rig CPU is AMD 5600; you will use a faster CPU. Ricky, Wise Monkey and others with high end machines should discuss video card, final mobo choice, etc. Good luck. Go Vista!!

[RickyTick]

5. General Price. Right now I don't mind holding out until after Thanksgiving on black Friday to score discounts on some parts. Anyone have good experience with this? Will popular computer hardware generally be on sale, or will it mostly be monitors and such?


Thanks for any answers...really appreciate it!


Sign up with Newegg and Zipzoomfly for their weekly sales flyer email. I've found great deals in there.

btw, I find nothing buggy about Vista 64 bit. Very happy with it, and I'm a gamer.

[Damlite]

Your motherboard statements answer your question exactly on the spot. Yes, higher price generally means more overheads for overclockabillity and features, slight variations will alter the prices accordingly, but what you want to do is to purchase a motherboard that will last you a fairly long time. Most people just go for the P5Q Pro, versatile and can accomodate for mid to high end gaming rigs.

The graphical market is up to you. Last few years, NVIDIA had a strong market position, but with the recent release of the ATI 4000 series cards, ATI now has a strong grasp on the performance side. ATI cards run hotter than NVIDIA cards if that bothers you, and popular FPS games like Crysis generally run better on NVIDIA cards than ATI cards because of their drivers and software being altered specifically for nvidia products (marketing strategy).

With that being said, choosing which brand you want to go for is entirely up to you. Within your $150-200 price range, i'd go for the ATI HD4850 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121253) or the NVIDIA 9800GTX+ (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130386). Both cards are excellent purchases in terms of a performance vs price ratio.

Same branded mobo/video cards have a higher chance to be more stable, but it doesn't really matter or won't make a big difference if you have a different branded version.

Ram speed is important, but it won't make a significant difference in performance overall. Spend the extra $20 to get PC28500 ram as opposed to PC26400, but don't bother with PC316000 that goes for $200 more.

OS. Stick with whatever you feel comfortable with. Make sure its the 64 bit version. If it's vista, go for home premium or higher (I like Ultimate).