OT - Video Card Question(s)

On 19 Nov 2006 16:33:23 -0800, Jay Honeck wrote:

What is your opinion of this system set-up? Would a system like this
make FSX fly? If not, what would you change?

INTEL CORE DUO PROCESSORS E6600 CORE 2 DUO 2.40 GHZ 4M / 1066 FSB
$416.00
INTEL CORE DUO MOTHERBOARDS INTEL DQ965GF DDR2 MOTHERBOARD
$153.39

I haven't checked the board, but I assume that a NIC is on board.

DDR2 MEMORY 2 GB DDR2 667 MEMORY $426.00

what brand of memory? nd is this before tax? $213.00 for 1 GB sounds rather
expensive to me.

IDE HARD DRIVES MAXTOR 160GB 7200RPM 8MB SATA HARD DRIVE $78.63

(with raid you need 2 drives and the controller)

CD-ROM DRIVES LITE-ON 16X DVD 52X32X52 CD-RW BLK COMBO $60.00

*whow* do they come with golden trays?

PCI-EXPRESS VIDEO CARDS EVGA 7800 GT 256MB PCI-E VIDEO CARD $348.00
SOUND CARD CREATIVE SOUND BLASTER PCI 128 $19.00

a better soundcard (dolby? these little sound systems don't cost that much)

FLOPPY DRIVES SONY 1.44 FLOPPY DRIVE WHT $13.68
MID TOWER CASES EVERCASE WITH FRONT USB2/1394 400W $68.50
POWER SUPPLY INCLUDED (UNLESS DESCRIPTION SAYS NO PS) $0.00

this case (at this price) should buy you a decent 420W PSU. For about $120
(relating to our prices) should buy you a very good case and PSU.
so: what type of PSU is included? any brand?

CASE FANS TWO EXTRA YATE LOON CASE FANS $20.00

too expensive.

OPERATING SYSTEMS MICROSOFT WINDOWS XP HOME OEM SP2 $99.00

upgrade to XP Pro
Antivirus?

WARRANTY THREE YEARS PARTS & LABOR

SYSTEM PRICE $1702.20
^^^^^^^^
good god!
--
Enemy Combatant http://itsnotallbad.com/

Check the Dell website...

You can get a Dell E520 with similar options (including FSX Deluxe) for
about half the price...

"Jay Honeck" wrote in news:1163982803.277882.283880
@b28g2000cwb.googlegroups.com:

What is your opinion of this system set-up? Would a system like this
make FSX fly? If not, what would you change?

INTEL CORE DUO PROCESSORS E6600 CORE 2 DUO 2.40 GHZ 4M / 1066 FSB
$416.00
INTEL CORE DUO MOTHERBOARDS INTEL DQ965GF DDR2 MOTHERBOARD
$153.39
DDR2 MEMORY 2 GB DDR2 667 MEMORY $426.00
IDE HARD DRIVES MAXTOR 160GB 7200RPM 8MB SATA HARD DRIVE $78.63
CD-ROM DRIVES LITE-ON 16X DVD 52X32X52 CD-RW BLK COMBO $60.00
PCI-EXPRESS VIDEO CARDS EVGA 7800 GT 256MB PCI-E VIDEO CARD $348.00
SOUND CARD CREATIVE SOUND BLASTER PCI 128 $19.00
FLOPPY DRIVES SONY 1.44 FLOPPY DRIVE WHT $13.68
MID TOWER CASES EVERCASE WITH FRONT USB2/1394 400W $68.50
POWER SUPPLY INCLUDED (UNLESS DESCRIPTION SAYS NO PS) $0.00
CASE FANS TWO EXTRA YATE LOON CASE FANS $20.00
OPERATING SYSTEMS MICROSOFT WINDOWS XP HOME OEM SP2 $99.00
WARRANTY THREE YEARS PARTS & LABOR

SYSTEM PRICE $1702.20
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

Check the Dell website...

You can get a Dell E520 with similar options (including FSX Deluxe) for
about half the price...

Interesting. I just went through all the rigamarole of building a
similar system on the Dell website, and ended up at over $2100.

See it he (Only addition is Flight Simulator X)

How'd you come up with less than $1000?

XPS 700:
Intel® Core™2 Duo Processor E6600 (4MB L2 Cache,2.4GHz,1066 FSB)
MBE66H [222-4389] 1

Operating System:
Genuine Windows® XP Media Center 2005 Edition with re-installation CD
WMCE
[313-7222][412-0688][420-4927][420-5460][420-5476][420-5586][420-5769][420-5924]
11

Memory:
2GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz - 2 DIMMs 2GB62 [311-5030]
3

Hard Drive:
250GB Serial ATA 3Gb/s Hard Drive (7200RPM) w/DataBurst Cache™ 250S
[341-3666] 8

Optical Drive:
Single Drive: 16X CD/DVD burner (DVD+/-RW) w/double layer write
capability 16DVDRW [313-4304][313-4339][420-5780][420-5791] 16

Video Card:
256MB nVidia GeForce 7900 GS 7900GS [320-4806] 6

Sound Cards:
Sound Blaster® X-Fi™ XtremeMusic (D) Sound Card XFI [313-4307]
17

SYSTEM DETAILS:
2.5MM aluminum thickness Chassis with front & back customizable LEDs
DOZER [465-3640] 147

SYSTEM DETAILS:
7-slot, BTX design motherboard MB7BTX [465-3641] 147

SYSTEM DETAILS:
750-watt Power Supply 750WPS [465-3642] 147

SYSTEM DETAILS:
Tower Six-heat pipe, Copper base Heat Sink with aluminum fans HEATSNK
[465-3644] 147

SYSTEM DETAILS:
Two 120mm x 38mm front fans FANS [465-3645] 147

Mouse:
Dell Optical USB Mouse OM [310-7966] 12

Floppy Drive and Media Reader:
No Floppy Drive Included NFD [341-3764] 10

Modem:
No Modem Requested N [313-3607] 14

Gaming Softwa
Microsoft - Flight Simulator X Deluxe 713261 [A0713261] 174

Warranty and Service:
1Yr Ltd Warranty and At-Home Service S111OS
[950-3337][950-9797][960-8700][980-8190][985-3718] 29
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

You can get a Dell E520 with similar options (including FSX Deluxe) for
about half the price...

I just tried again, using the E520 as a starting point, and got the
price down to $1400.

Better, but still not half price!
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

"Jay Honeck" wrote in news:1164051117.927132.80760
@h54g2000cwb.googlegroups.com:

You can get a Dell E520 with similar options (including FSX Deluxe) for
about half the price...

I just tried again, using the E520 as a starting point, and got the
price down to $1400.

Better, but still not half price!
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

Hi Jay,

When I posted the message originally, it was based on an E520 at $904.

Two things that might have made up the $500 difference:

1) I didn't get the "PC-Care" support plan that they pushed at the start. I
opted for the standard 1 year support plan.

Besides, after the 1st year, the thing is only worth $500 anyway... And if
the thing breaks in 3 years, you buy another one for $900 and call it an
upgrade - you're still better off than the $2000 you would have paid
otherwise.

2) I didn't get the special sound-blaster card. I got the Sound-blaster
Audiology On Board. I don't know what it means, but I can't imagine that
engine noise sounds all that much better in SoundBlaster-audiology than it
does in the 7.1 on-board...

3) I didn't get the floppy drive. I didn't think you could even buy
floppies anymore.

4) No monitor - it looked like you already had the monitors covered.

My Components
Intel ® Core™2 Duo Processor E6400 (2.13GHz, 1066 FSB)
Genuine Windows® XP Media Center 2005 Edition
Express Upgrade to Windows Vista Home Premium from XP Media Center Edition
2GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHz- 2DIMMs
160GB Serial ATA Hard Drive (7200RPM) w/DataBurst Cache™
16x DVD+/-RW Drive
No Monitor
256MB ATI Radeon X1300 Pro
Integrated Sound Blaster®Audigy™ HD Software Edition
My Accessories
No speakers (Speakers are required to hear audio from your system)
Dell USB Keyboard and Dell 2-button Scroll Mouse
No Floppy Drive Included
56K PCI Data Fax Modem
My Software
No productivity suite- Includes Microsoft Works 8. DOES NOT INCLUDE MS WORD
No Security Subscription
Trial pack- Basic and trial products from Corel and Yahoo
My Service
1Yr Ltd Warranty and At-Home Service
6 Months of EarthLink Internet Access Included
Also Includes
Mouse included in Wireless, Laser or Bluetooth Package
Adobe® Acrobat® Reader 7.0
Integrated 10/100 Ethernet
Windows Vista™ Capable
Award Winning Service and Support
Vista Capable Sticker

$904

Top posting, unusually.

I didn't see an operating system included. I would think it wise to get XP Pro,
since this is a MS game that will be used.
--
Jim in NC


"Judah" wrote

My Components
Intel ® Core™2 Duo Processor E6400 (2.13GHz, 1066 FSB)
Genuine Windows® XP Media Center 2005 Edition
Express Upgrade to Windows Vista Home Premium from XP Media Center Edition
2GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHz- 2DIMMs
160GB Serial ATA Hard Drive (7200RPM) w/DataBurst Cache™
16x DVD+/-RW Drive
No Monitor
256MB ATI Radeon X1300 Pro
Integrated Sound Blaster®Audigy™ HD Software Edition
My Accessories
No speakers (Speakers are required to hear audio from your system)
Dell USB Keyboard and Dell 2-button Scroll Mouse
No Floppy Drive Included
56K PCI Data Fax Modem
My Software
No productivity suite- Includes Microsoft Works 8. DOES NOT INCLUDE MS WORD
No Security Subscription
Trial pack- Basic and trial products from Corel and Yahoo
My Service
1Yr Ltd Warranty and At-Home Service
6 Months of EarthLink Internet Access Included
Also Includes
Mouse included in Wireless, Laser or Bluetooth Package
Adobe® Acrobat® Reader 7.0
Integrated 10/100 Ethernet
Windows Vista™ Capable
Award Winning Service and Support
Vista Capable Sticker

$904

"Jay Honeck" wrote in news:1164051117.927132.80760
@h54g2000cwb.googlegroups.com:

You can get a Dell E520 with similar options (including FSX Deluxe) for
about half the price...

I just tried again, using the E520 as a starting point, and got the
price down to $1400.

Better, but still not half price!
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"



I should point out the E520 is only a E6400 chip, instead of E6600 chip. I'm
not much of a gamer, but I suspect you won't notice the difference.
Frankly, I suspect you might not have noticed the difference between that and
a E6300, but for $50 a few more hundred MHz is probably worthwhile...

"Judah" wrote in message


I should point out the E520 is only a E6400 chip, instead of E6600
chip. I'm not much of a gamer, but I suspect you won't notice the
difference.
Frankly, I suspect you might not have noticed the difference between
that and a E6300, but for $50 a few more hundred MHz is probably
worthwhile...

Another difference: The E6600 has a 4MB cache while the E6400 has half that.

I also recommend the Sonata or Sonata II "silent" case from Antec. Combined
with the factory cooler on the E6600 and a passively cooled Gigabyte video
card, my system is damned near silent - even when rendering video.

http://www.antec.com/us/productDetails.php?ProdID=15139
http://www.gigabyte-usa.com/Products/VGA/Products_Overview.aspx?ProductID=2235

--
John T
http://sage1solutions.com/blogs/TknoFlyer
Reduce spam. Use Sender Policy Framework: http://openspf.org
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