Building a new Computer*Input needed*

[deathstorm78]

I'm new to the computer forums, so I hope I'm putting this in the right place.

I've had my rig now for about 3 years and want to step it up and build a new one. I love my compy now but I realized after buying Frontlines: Fuel of War, that the minimum specs for most games now are no longer lower than what my computer was running at.

I'm a pretty hardcore gamer and that is what I mainly use it for though I do the occasional word doc here and there and do need some type of office suite. I may be getting into some video editing here in the future so I'd like to get my computer set up for that as well.

I'm looking to spend about $1000 for the basics in the box, since I will be keeping my current monitor(lol I paid $700 2 years ago for this NEC 20WMGX2), mouse, and keyboard. I don't know if you really need to know, but I thought I'd post what my old rig was running.

2 Gigahertz AMD Athlon 64
Sony DVD RW DRU-180A
GA-K8NS (gigabyte) for motherboard
2G Ram(don't remember what kind)
NVIDIA GeForce 6800GT
Audigy 2ZS soundcard

I don't really have any preferences as far as Intel or AMD, or NVIDIA vs ATI etc. I've been so detached from computer hardware and haven?t kept up with the trends or news to know what is going on anymore, so please advise me on your opinions. If you would care to explain anything as far as why you recommend something over another please do. I like to hear peoples opinions on hardware. That being said, I need to study up lol!

 

[paydirt]

I don't really have time to give all my reasons...

CPU: E8400
RAM: (4GB, CAS latency=4)
GPU: 9600GT or 3870

that should get you started.

 

[deathstorm78]

I guess I should have added, I need the box too! Sorry. Thanks for the input.

 

[Scottae]

For the budget Id go AMD

Proc
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16819103191

Mobo
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16813136044

Ram
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16820227270

Storage
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16822152054

Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16819103191

PSU
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16817703005

Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16811233002

Second Optical
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16827118002

Total is $959 before shipping... Remember No Operating system .... SO
Good luck

 

[deathstorm78]

Originally posted by: Scottae
For the budget Id go AMD

Proc
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16819103191

Mobo
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16813136044

Ram
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16820227270

Storage
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16822152054

Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16819103191

PSU
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16817703005

Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16811233002

Second Optical
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16827118002

Total is $959 before shipping... Remember No Operating system .... SO
Good luck

The link for the video card actually shows the processor again. Can you repost the link pls?

 

[Scottae]

sorry
Video card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814102719

the reason I recommended this set up is for a few reasons
1) Cost/Performance Ratio is good

2) Upgradeability ie: Phenom Quad Core (if they get better), Multiple Video Cards, More Ram

3) Overall Budget effectiveness.

By no means is this bleeding edge but it should be very solid for cost.. any questions feel free to ask ill keep an eye on this thread.. and good luck

 

[Frugal1ty]

what scottae said looks good. i would look into is saving some money on a few components and getting a better video card, since you say gaming's what you're into.

there's a few ways to do this.
-buy a less expensive processor and overclock it some. if you're into that sort of thing.
-if you're not running 64-bit OS then got with 2GB of ram. much less of a hassle. 2GB kits are super cheap these days, plus you could upgrade later if you so choose.
- don't know what your storage situation is like but maybe you don't need an extra 350GB hard drive (i always like to throw three smaller ~80GB OS drives in there in raid because it frees up that bottleneck, but that's just me (and raid's whole nother can a worms))
-if you've already got a DVD burner then i'm not sure what the point of another one is. i've always thought that unless you're doin a whole lotta duplicating then one drive is enough. but then again $30 isn't gonna break your budget. so it's your call.
-if i'm reading you correctly then you don't need a case, that'll save some money there, it makes sense to use the old one

after buying what you need: CPU, motherboard, RAM, hard drive(s), power supply, and what not, then go for the best video card you can find. NVIDIA's got the top of the video card market locked up so something 8800. or you could wait until the top of the line NVIDIA 9000 series comes out. either way you should have a pretty good chunk if change to spend on your video card. i'd prolly wait until the 9000 series cards come out because they'll run cooler than the current comparable cards and help you out that way if you want to SLi later.

 

[Frugal1ty]

p.s. sell your old A64, RAM, motherboard, and video card and you will have $100+ more to sink into your new build.

 

[deathstorm78]

I do need a new case. I absolutely hate my old case. It was a cheaply constructed blue plexiglass with screw on sides. And it's broken. LOL! I hate it!

Gaming is the biggest thing to me, so I wouldn't want to skimp on anything important.

I don't need much storage space. I think I currently use about 25G of space right now. Not much at all.

I have a DVD burner, and a broken one. I think I may take the one I just bought(posted above) and use that one then see if I have a warranty on the original DVD drive.

I run xp pro on my comp and I'm happy with it. don't know what the real upside is to vista.

I don't know anything about overclocking.

I'm keeping my old rig for my wife to use, so I won't be able to sell the old stuff. Though I may consider it. She has a laptop anyway. So what's the easiest way to sell it?

BTW thanks Scottae and Frugal1ty for your input.

 

[Frugal1ty]

in that case keep the old computer for your wife, it will be much more useful to her then if you try and sell the parts.

also keep your storage situation, and forget i said anything about RAID.

i'll let you work those optical problems through, it's not a big deal since it has no effect on performance.

i'm assuming your xp pro is non 64-bit, if that's the case def go with a 2GB kit, until 64-bit vista makes itself more appealing to you.

if you're not an overclocker then forget i said anything about that too. (occasionally you can get your parts performing at that next level, but many times it's not worth the effort.)

if we use Scottae's blueprint then it shapin up something like

175 - AMD processor
145 - motherboard
35 - for 2GB kit by crucial
keep your hard drive(s)
~100 - power supply
~100 - case (don't buy the antec sonata iii, i did and it's, for the most part, junk)

leaves you with over $400 for a video card.
this 8800GTX is top of the line, more than enough to run any game on your 20" monitor, and well below four hundred with mail-in-rebate. though it is going to run hot and draw a lot of power. so we're back to waitin for the high end 9000 series.

anyway i could see you building a real nice rig for less than that 1k. in the end you might have enough left over to take your wife out for a nice dinner.

 

[krnmastersgt]

I like paydirt's suggestion more, no reason to build around AMD atm, in terms of gaming an E2180 would suffice, also deathstorm what kind of future upgradability do you want, or is this more like the situation where you build a system once every few years and don't upgrade in between?

Proc: E8400/Q6600
Video Card: 9600GT/8800GT/8800GTS(g92)
MoBo: Depends on if you want to run multiple video cards.
Ram: Find some well known ram on Newegg for like $30 for 2 gigs
PSU: Again, depends on if you want multiple video cards
Case: Cooler Master 690, it's $20 AR from newegg and it's a damn nice case.

 

[Scottae]

Everyone has valid points I was just trying to get something complete and pretty good all around for the proposed budget...and with a 32 bit OS yes 4 gigs is not necessary but... if you ever do go 64bit or vista you will wish you had it...

 

[Frugal1ty]

Originally posted by: krnmastersgt
I like paydirt's suggestion more, no reason to build around AMD atm, in terms of gaming an E2180 would suffice, also deathstorm what kind of future upgradability do you want, or is this more like the situation where you build a system once every few years and don't upgrade in between?

Proc: E8400/Q6600
Video Card: 9600GT/8800GT/8800GTS(g92)
MoBo: Depends on if you want to run multiple video cards.
Ram: Find some well known ram on Newegg for like $30 for 2 gigs
PSU: Again, depends on if you want multiple video cards
Case: Cooler Master 690, it's $20 AR from newegg and it's a damn nice case.

if you can swing it a Q6600 would be nice, however putting that extra $100 into a video card would give you better performance increase in games. and a E2180 would suffice same as a 5400+ X2. so you're right, it depends on whether you wanna drop another processor in there in between builds.

 

[Frugal1ty]

Originally posted by: Scottae
Everyone has valid points I was just trying to get something complete and pretty good all around for the proposed budget...and with a 32 bit OS yes 4 gigs is not necessary but... if you ever do go 64bit or vista you will wish you had it...

and you did a good job of that too i'd say, the thing about memory is it can always be had so not wanting vista now translates into 2GB for now.

 

[deathstorm78]

I generally don't rebuild that often. I'd say every three years I do. I make some upgrades here and there when I can. Mostly to video cards.

I don't exactly have a preference for running dual cards or just running a single one as I don't really know what the pros and cons are. All I know is I want it to kick some tail when it comes to gaming as that is what I use my PC for 95% of the time.

And what would be the best way to sell my old computer parts?

 

[deathstorm78]

Anyone? Anyone? Bueler?

 

[Skewer324]

An nvidia 8800 series will keep you in your budget without complicating things by adding SLi or needing a power supply upgrade. And you'll get some pretty darn slick graphics from it too.