I'm a n00b here, so please keep the flames to a minimum spark.
My 4+ year old Dell has been upgraded to its max - I've got a 1Ghz CPU (slot 1), 768 megs of SDRAM (thats the max the Mobo will take), and a GeForce 3 Ti500 card (AGP 2x) with an Intel 440BX Mobo. I mainly use the machine for gaming (FPS primarilly) but I also use it to surf, bank, print out stuff for the Mrs., etc.
In any event, rather than buy another Dell I thought I'd save some $$ and build myself a machine, as well as make it a learning experience. I've got the basics, buty I've never actually built one - and the only thing I'm not too certain about is what kind of a CPU/Mobo combo to go with. I really would prefer to go with an Intel-based board (somewhere in the 2.4 Ghz range) but I know many people recommend AMD for it's cheaper price and (in some cases) superior performance. I don't mind shelling out a little more for an Intel machine because I can get all the other peripherals (CD-RW drive, DVD drive, etc.) fairly cheaply - not counting the monitor, I figure most of the expenxe should go towards the CPU/Mobo/RAM/vid card. RAM is pretty cheap, and I might be going with one of the newer ATI boards for the vid (or a high-end Nvidia, but ATI seems to have come a long way in regards to their horrid driver support that they were notorious for).
So, I'm looking for some solid CPU/Mobo recs. Any suggestions?
My 4+ year old Dell has been upgraded to its max - I've got a 1Ghz CPU (slot 1), 768 megs of SDRAM (thats the max the Mobo will take), and a GeForce 3 Ti500 card (AGP 2x) with an Intel 440BX Mobo. I mainly use the machine for gaming (FPS primarilly) but I also use it to surf, bank, print out stuff for the Mrs., etc.
In any event, rather than buy another Dell I thought I'd save some $$ and build myself a machine, as well as make it a learning experience. I've got the basics, buty I've never actually built one - and the only thing I'm not too certain about is what kind of a CPU/Mobo combo to go with. I really would prefer to go with an Intel-based board (somewhere in the 2.4 Ghz range) but I know many people recommend AMD for it's cheaper price and (in some cases) superior performance. I don't mind shelling out a little more for an Intel machine because I can get all the other peripherals (CD-RW drive, DVD drive, etc.) fairly cheaply - not counting the monitor, I figure most of the expenxe should go towards the CPU/Mobo/RAM/vid card. RAM is pretty cheap, and I might be going with one of the newer ATI boards for the vid (or a high-end Nvidia, but ATI seems to have come a long way in regards to their horrid driver support that they were notorious for).
So, I'm looking for some solid CPU/Mobo recs. Any suggestions?
