If you built a new PC what would you build?

[lebbect]

Motherboard: Always Asus - always reliable never failed me once
CPU: AMD - i like the brand
GPU: Nvidia
Memory: Geil - Great price and never had any problems
HDD: seagate


My current setup:
Asus A8V Deluxe
AMD 939 3800
Nvidia 6600GT
1Gig Geil
1.2 TB of storage
DNTV HD Tuner on mediaportal
All in a silverstone HTPC case on a 32 inch LCD
running windows xp pro
(cost me $2000 AU a few years back it was high spec at the time)

My up and coming PC(many many months away)(for games too not just a HTPC)
AMD x2 6000
ASUS M2N-SLi DELUXE
2x ASUS 8600GT(may b an 8800gt if i can afford it)
2 gig Geil Ram
DNTV dual HDTV tuners
(not sure yet - vista or xp, 32 or 64 bit?)
42 inch HD LCD TV
and of course running media portal
A bluray player
FFDshow codecs and nothing else
silverstone HTPC case


Then my old pc will run windows server 2003 on 250gig seagte
with 4x500 gig segate running for storage and backup of my new PC in raid 5.(also great for a gaming server)



Forgot to mention.

all running through my Yamaha amp with 6.1 surround!!!

[Spragleknas]

I don't see any reason to go for 8800 for HTPC usage, unless you're gonna play games. Also: nVidia is releasing new gfx in the comming months I believe.

Keep in mind that the x2 has a TDP rating of 125W.

[lebbect]

Games are a must. With 125w not sure about that. I would include a huge power supply and after market cooling(if it fits. It needs to be quiet though.

[SwingSultan]

well this setup doesnt need a huge psu. a 400w seasonic m12 would be fairly enough. atx psu get more efficient when close to 100% load (which is still far away with a 400w psu). the thing with cheap psus is that they dont deliver the needed power at 12v or 5v. my overclocked 8800gts and core 2 duo are just fine with my 380w seasonic s12.

im an amd fan too but today intel is THE choice in the upper midrange class. you simply get more cpu power for ur money at less power consumption which means less noise. if you want to build a silent media (with a redeon 2400 also more than sufficient even for 1080p decoding) or office pc the amd x2 be is your choice but most defenetely not for gaming.

[bigflause]

don't get the 8600 if you want to play games at 1080p. it stuggles to play on my tv at that resolution. the good thing about my 8600 though is that it's passive so is completely silent. there is only 1 passive 8800 gt at the moment.

[SwingSultan]

dito! the 8600 should only be sufficien for strategy games like starcraft 2.

if you really want to be sure with your psu buy a 500w model. with a 500w model you could even put in an additional graphics card or a really big bunch of hard disks.

[lebbect]

I was going to run 2 graphics cards on the board. Do you think a single 8800gt or 2 8600gt's would give me better gaming performance?

For a power supply i have a thermal take 600w psu in my existing machine. I would probably buy the same again as it seem to be a very reliable and stable psu.

The Processor? Ive always use AMD, so that has been my preference. Should go I intel? A little bit of noise is ok, but silent is better. It seems to be hard to do when i want to use the same machine for games. I always use after market cooling on my CPU and GPU, so may be a good fan controller will help.

I like to keep my pc nice and cool. say around 40-45 deg at idle. I think this will increase the life span of my setup.

[SwingSultan]

intel cpus are your choice. google some benchmarks. a 8800gt is considerably faster than 2 8600gt. even if the sli was faster there are so very little few of a small amount of games that have good sli support that a single 8800gt is the better choice. if you already have a 600w psu well use it there wouldnt be a point to buy another.

[lebbect]

Thanks.

Sounds like intel and a single 8800gt is worth considering. May ill buy a second one next year when hopefully their is more game support 4 it.