Building a new computer from scratch

Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
M

McRhea

Senior member
Apr 2, 2001
221
0
0
So I'm building a computer, to replace the computer I don't have right now. Yeah, it sucks.

My budget for the main components is in the $1,200 - $1,300 range. This number does not include monitor, software, keyboard, mouse, soundcard, etc. I want to spend no more than $1,300 on just the components that go into the computer case.

I'm mainly a gamer, and I want my games to look pretty damn nice. However, I'm not convinced that I need to spend 350 or more on a graphics card... but perhaps you can persuade me. More on the graphics card later.

I've searched around a little, and it seems like the AMD Athlon 64 3700+ San Diego is the best bang for your buck. It looks like it's a decent price (around 220 from newegg), so unless someone says otherwise, I'm happy with it.
AMD Athlon 64 3700+ San Diego
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103539

I guess I'll need a heatsink... how about this Zalman?
Zalman heatsink: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16835118223

I also want 2 gigs of ram, good fast ram. I'm thinking this OCZ ram, but LW07 mentioned this DDR400 ram (Kingston).
DDR2 ram: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820227047
DDR400 ram: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820141465
Is it a waste to get DDR2? Should I just get some cheaper DDR400 ram instead? If I decide to get DDR2 ram I'd have to get a different mobo than the one listed below, right?

I realize I'll need some sort of decent PSU, and I've found both of these PSU's listed on the boards. Which would you choose?
$90 PSU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817103931
$50 PSU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817104954

Hard drive... looking for a 300GB drive with 16MB cache. This Maxtor seems decent, anyone disagree?
Maxtor 300GB: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822140166

After reading around, talking to friends, etc, I'm pretty sure I don't want to go with SLI for a motherboard.
LW07 made a post in another thread suggesting this board:
Asus A8N5X: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131569
Like I mentioned above, if I got this board I'd have to stick with DDR400 ram (PC 3200)... is that a bad idea? Should I get a mobo that's capable of DDR2?

LW07 also mentioned this case and it seems fine to me. I'm not into snazzy cases or showing my computer off, etc. I just want it to sit in the corner and do its thing.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811129152
Antec Solution SLK3000B

Finally, for a video card, I was thinking something along the lines of the Radeon X1800XL. The XL is just over $300 (after rebate), which is in my comfort zone. I don't want to spend 350+ for a video card... but is there any reason why I should?
ATI X1800XL: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a...102642&ATT=14-102-642&CMP=OTC-d3alt1me

Haven't really looked at GeForce cards... is there a better option from Nvidia that I'm unaware of?

Total: $1,055 if I stick to the cheaper PSU and the DDR 400 ram (kingston). That'll leave me some room to get a nice monitor, windows xp, sound card, DVD drive, etc.

Comments would be appreciated! :) Oh, and thanks for reading all that.
 
H

Howard

Lifer
Oct 14, 1999
47,986
11
81
Good case. If you don't go SLI/Crossfire, you'll probably be alright with the AX450-PN PSU.

You going to overclock?
 
M

McRhea

Senior member
Apr 2, 2001
221
0
0
Overclocking is something I've never really been into, mainly because of my lack of knowledge about overclocking.

I probably won't overclock at first, but in 6 months to a year, I might OC, just to squeeze a little more performance out of the system.
 
Ika

Ika

Lifer
Mar 22, 2006
14,264
3
81
For the CPU, if you're going to get a computer now, I would recommend getting/finding a 3000+ Venice or 3200+ venice. Both are overclockable to high speeds (2.7+) and are great values. You can save about $100 bucks by switching to the 3200+/3000+ from the 3700+.

For heatsink, the 9500LED is fine, BUT! you can get a cooler with about the same performance for a lot less, in the form of the Arctic Cooling Freezer 64 Pro. LINK: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16835185125 . You might want to shop around, but thats a good price.

For a video card, definitely get the X1800XT, as you can find it UNDER $300 from places like NewEgg. XT performance is much better than the XL version. From Nvidia, however, there is an option in the 7900GT, which stands in at about $300 as well. Its extremely overclockable and if tweaked right (through voltage mods), can be a ridiculously powerful card for the price.

For the motherboard, getting SLI would not be a bad idea, if you want an upgrade path in the future from Nvidia. Crossfire will work for ATI's upgrade path as well. Plus, SLI/Crossfire boards generally have more features and better overclockability. Also, if you're going to get a current AMD CPU, then DDR2 is not an option at this point.

hope that helps :D
 
M

McRhea

Senior member
Apr 2, 2001
221
0
0
So I did some reading, and I've revised my setup:

Motherboard:
Asus A8N-E (for SATA 3.0gp/s compatability)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131530

Thanks for the input killuminati, but after looking at the user reviews for the Asus A8R-MVP I'm going to stay away for now. I'm going to gamble that I'll upgrade my mobo and graphics card in the next year anyway, so that's why I'm staying away from SLI for now. We'll see if my gamble pays off in the next year. :)

CPU:
AMD Athlon 64 3700+ San Diego
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103539

Heatsink:
Arctic Cooling Freezer 64 Pro
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16835185125

RAM:
G.SKILL 2GB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820231047

Harddrive:
Western Digital or maybe Seagate? (The Anandtech says that Maxtors are a bit loud)
http://labs.anandtech.com/alllinks.php?pfilter=4237
http://labs.anandtech.com/alllinks.php?pfilter=3764

Haven't really read anything about the Seagate, so right now I'm leaning towards the WD drive.

Graphics card:
From the inputs that I've gotten here, the posts on other threads, and the guides i've read, I'm starting to favor the X1800XT. However, I've been hearding some bad things about Sapphire's cards... is MSI any better?
http://labs.anandtech.com/products.php?sfilter=399

Case:
Going to do a little more research on cases, but I've found two that seem to be decent. Both are from Antec. The Sonata II has my attention if the PSU is decent (its a 450W Smart Power).
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811129155
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811129152

Total: $1,045 if I go with the Sonata II and assume around $330 for the graphics card.

Thoughts? Comments?

***EDIT***
Changed the ram because it seems the Samsung chips on the Corsair were giving people some problems.
 
C

Cabages

Platinum Member
Jan 1, 2006
2,918
0
0
You might consider going for an X2 3800+ Processor for $75 more.

7900GT if you have second thoughts on the video card.

I noticed you can pair that heatsink up with a hell of a lot of items. You can save $10 pairing it with that processor, or $10 with the X2. Or any other thing you like.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
Top Bottom