DVDGuy’s Blog @ Digital Digest

Because I am such a nerd, and one that doesn’t have a lot of money, I like to from time to time dream about a new computer that I will buy, even though the chances of me buying one are remote (my next purchase is planned for January-March 2008 – this means my current computer would have lasted more than 4 years by that time). I’m so sad that I actually do research and price comparisons for this computer that I won’t be buying. This is even sadder considering that I share my gathered information with no one. Well, things are about to get a little less sadder – in what could become a regular feature on the blog, I will from time to time share my thoughts on a new computer purchase with the dozens of people that read my blog, the reasons why I pick these specs and perhaps it will inspire others to dream about their new computer (and not buy one).

Before I list my proposed specs for the computer, I should share my intended uses for the computer so you can get a better idea of what I am after. This computer will mainly be used for entertainment purposes. This includes 3D gaming, video playback and video encoding, but mostly for gaming. I connect my computer to my TV and sound system and use it to play DivX/XviD video files, and I plan on eventually adding a Blu-ray/HD DVD drive to it so that it becomes a dual-format HD player too. My budget is not that high, and my intention is not to get the best possible system, or do any overclocking – I’m looking to strike the right balance between price and performance, getting the parts that should provide the best price/performance ratio at the time of purchase (in Australia, of course, so the situation in the US might be completely different).

So here are the specs:

Now is probably not the best time to buy a computer, at least not for me (even if I had the money). The reason is that DDR3 memory has come out and it fits in nicely with the Core2 Duo 6750 processor’s 1333 MHz FSB.  But that would mean investing in a DDR3 motherboard, which is hard to come by here in Australia, and it would also mean buying much more expensive DDR3 memory, which is not worth the premium at the moment. The other reason is that out of all the available GPUs, there isn’t one that offers great 3D performance plus solid HD (H.264/VC-1) acceleration – both of the top of the range GPUs from NVIDIA and ATI (8800 and HD 2600) do not have the same high performance acceleration as their low/mid range GPUs (eg. 8600 and HD 2400 both accelerate HD better). Waiting 6 month will hopefully solve these two problems. You might think with a 6750, acceleration won’t matter – but if you want a quiet and cool system, having GPU HD acceleration is a must.

Now for my reasoning. I chose the 6750 as the CPU since it represents the best value for money right now. Gigabyte motherboards have been rated quite highly recently, and their price is good. The RAM I’ve gone with PC-6400 as opposed to PC-8500 to save a bit of money – as mentioned before, I would prefer DDR3 PC-10600 but for the price, so maybe cheaper RAM now, with a view to motherboard+RAM upgrade in 6 months time (still not as ideal as waiting 6 months to buy the computer).

Moving on to the HDD – 320 GB represents better value than 400 GB drives. I get 2 of them and use either RAID-0 or some kind of matrixed array where the system file/saves partition is mirrored, while the rest is striped.

The choice of video card, also mentioned before, is not my ideal choice, but it’s the best available now. I could save money by opting for the 320 MB version of the GeForce 8800 GTS too, but what I want is a card that combines the HD acceleration (PureVideo HD or AVIVO HD) of the 8600 GTS (or HD 2400 XT) with the 3D performance of the 8800 GTS. Again, waiting 6 months will probably make this possible.

I almost always buy a Creative sound card, but I might skip it for this computer and try out the in-build sound. I can always get a card later if needed. I also like Pioneer optical drives – this drive is really just a temporary measure until a Blu-ray/HD DVD read-only + DVD writer drive becomes available cheaply (I can always use my Xbox 360’s HD DVD add-on drive to play HD DVD movies for now on this computer).

I put the specs for the monitor and case in brackets because I haven’t researched these areas too much – I usually only research these when I do decide to spend the cash. For a monitor, I will look for a 20-22″ screen, with HDMI input (the Chimei I listed does not have HDMI). For the case, it will have to be a good looking one that matches the other A/V equipment near it, plus be quiet too (the Antec Sonata III is the one I’m looking at – I have the original Antec Sonata right now). Other things like keyboard and mouse I might not even upgrade, since I like my current (Logitech wireless) setup.

So that’s it for this edition of “If I were to buy a new computer today” … I might do one next month, or when some prices start dropping, and do a comparison with the one today. It should be interesting.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 26th, 2007 at 6:34 pm and is filed under Computer Buying Tips, Computing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.