DVDGuy’s Blog @ Digital Digest

Welcome to the second ever “If I were to buy a new computer today” feature. Back in September, I first wrote about what I would be looking for in a computer if I were buying one today, and today’s blog will see what has changed in the last few month. To get a better idea of the kind of system I’m looking for, please refer to the original blog entry, but to sum up, it would be a system for playing the latest 3D games as well as a system ready for Blu-ray and HD DVD playback, but one that is reasonable in price and without the need for overclocking.

So let’s not waste any time. Here are the specs of the computer, including comparisons with my original specs back in September (as compared to September: upgraded parts in blue, lower prices in green, higher prices in red):

As you can see, there are in fact lots of changes, and an increase in price too. But just under $300 more, we’re getting a vastly superior system, and one that can play both Blu-ray and HD DVDs, so I think it’s worth the slight increase in cost. Let’s go over each specification.

CPU:We’re sticking with the Intel Core2Duo 6750, as it still represents the best price/performance Intel processor. There’s a price drop too, so that’s a bonus. If you like AMD processors, then you might also look at the AMD X2 6000+ for just over $200. Those that are patient can wait for the Intel Penryn range of processors (non Extreme Editions) to come out early next year. It will the the “tick” in Intel’s “tick-tock” release schedule, which means the new 45 nm CPU will use existing architecture. For real improvement, you should wait for the “tock” release later in 2008, where a new architecture will be introduced to better take advantage of the new fabrication process.

Motherboard: I like Gigabyte motherboards, although the sheer number of models that are available for a single chipset is a big confusing at times. Gigabyte was recently chosen as the best overall motherboard manufacturer in an Australian PC magazine survey (PC Authority). The model I chose is one that supports both DDR2 and DDR3 memory, allowing for a smoother upgrade path when DDR3 memory pricing becomes a bit more reasonable. Despite getting a newer motherboard, the price has actually decreased. Note that the previous chosen motherboard had ATI crossfire support, which the new one does not, but since we’re going with an NVIDIA card anyway, it doesn’t really matter.

RAM: An upgrade from PC-6400 to PC-8500. You could save money here by getting cheap DDR2 memory and upgrade to DD3 until prices are more reasonable. Price has increased as a result of the upgrade.

HDD: A slight upgrade for the same price, from 320 GB to 400 GB. The same PC Authority survey I mentioned above also gave Seagate the best overall award, so it’s an easy choice for me.

Video Card: After all my blah blah-ing about the GeForce 8800 GT being “the card everyone’s been waiting for”, I had to choose it for this month’s selection. I chose the XFX version of the card since it’s the cheapest I could find – the Asus come highly recommended (via the PC Authority survey), while there are also “souped up” versions from XFX for a slightly higher price. We’ve done well here by upgrading to a better card, while saving money at the same time.

Sound Card: Still going with a on-board solution. Until HDMI audio output gets sorted out, it’s probably not worth getting a new sound-card for your PC. HDMI audio output would allow the pass-thru or decoding or several of the new HD audio formats, which is not possible through SPDIF/optical due to insufficient bandwidth.

Optical Drive: This is where the big cost increase has come from. Instead of settling for a run of the mill DVD writer drive, I’ve gone out and replaced it with a state-of-the-art Blu-ray and HD DVD dual format reader drive, which also can write to the usual DVD formats. With this drive, you can make your PC format neutral and playback both Blu-ray and HD DVD movies. The huge cost increase, especially for those that want HD movie playback right now, is therefore understandable.

Monitor:I’ve stated with the Chimei 22″, since it has dropped in price too. Others might want to consider a HDMI capable monitor (the Chimei has a HDMI capable model), but it’s not needed for Blu-ray/HD DVD playback as long as the DVI port is HDCP compatible (which it is) – the 8800 GT doesn’t even have HDMI output anyway. The main use for HDMI would be to connect external devices to the monitor (eg. the PS3), but 22″ is probably on the small side if you plan on using the monitor for watching Blu-ray/HD DVD.

Case:I’m sticking with the Antec Sonata III case, because it’s good value as it comes with a high quality 500W power supply (designed for quietness), and the overall build quality of the case (and Antec cases, in general) is quite good. Building a quiet system is essential if you plan on using the machine as your Blu-ray/HD DVD player. Of course, a quiet PC depends much on the type of cooling you have for your CPU and GPU.

So there you have it. A brand new HD gaming and movie PC for just over $AUD 2,200 (that’s $1,930 for you US folk). Not the cheapest system, but one that will pretty much do everything for you and some. Certainly cheaper than buying a same spec’d system from Dell or HP. The next edition of this feature might see the new Intel Penryn being added to the specs if the price is right, but who knows.

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.