DeathSniper
Member
I'm looking for some advice/opinions on certain components for building my new computer.
I currently own an AthlonXP 1800+, 1152Mb DDR266 RAM @ 2.5-3-3-6, Visiontek GeForce4 Ti4400 128mb, Creative SB Audigy X-Gamer mounted on a MSI Dragon KT-3 Ultra mobo. I've got two Maxtor drives - 30GB and 80GB both with 2mb buffers I'm pretty sure. I had to replace the stock PSU a few months ago (w/ Antec SmartBlue 350w), as well as the stock fan last month (w/ Vantec Stealth 80mm) - so...yeah it's my dinosaur. Not to say that I haven't loved this comp - I've used and abused the hell out of it and it's pretty much gone through everything with me. It's just time to put that aside as a secondary gaming computer (ie it still runs D3 + HL2 - just not that well) and get a new one.
It'll be used mostly as a platform for high-end/continous gaming as it's primary, with multi-tasking various programs and 'regular use' (ie surfing the net/browsing forums/IMs) secondary. I keep my computers on pretty much 24/7. I considered dual-core, but...I'll probably hold off on that for a year or so. I have ALREADY gotten some components for my computer, so some things I will not be changing. I will be looking to finish this build either tonight or tomorrow (purchasing everything else at a local store) since I've been waiting since April to finish this computer - I can't wait anymore.
CPU: Athlon 64 4000+ (939-pin San Diego) w/ 1Mb Cache (already acquired)
I'll be using this stock for awhile, if I do overclock I'll be looking to crank it up to 2.8Ghz max, although I highly doubt I'll do it since I keep my computer on 24/7.
Heatsink: I'm still open to advice on a heatsink/fan for my cpu...I WILL be taking this computer to places from time to time (LANs) so I'd rather have something that won't weigh so much.
Graphics Card: BFG GeForce GT 256mb o/c AGP8x (already acquired)
Love the look of it, so when I got a good deal on it I picked it up. This was what most of my computer has been waiting on, and it took awhile to get to me, but I have it now. It's AGP and I'd rather go PCI-E, but I really can't wait anymore and to do that I'd either need to give up another month (for the 7800GT to come out to see prices) or give up another $200-300) and I'm just not willing to do that.
Motheboard: Not sure at the moment
I'm considering the Gigabyte GA-K8NS Ultra 939
I'm still open to suggestions, however the board MUST have 4xSATA and 4xDIMMs for RAM.
I'm checking out MSI products as well...
RAM: Hmm...this is the part where I have the most trouble. I'd really like 2GBs, and I'm not looking to overclock too much, if at all. I've got to go 2x1GB if I want 1T, or 4x512mb if I can settle with 2T. Not sure which one I should go for? Someone did suggest 2x1GB of value ram, but I do quite a bit of alt-tabbing and I do notice a slowdown from 2.5ns to 3ns RAM.
I was thinking of going with OCZ PC-3200 DDR400 Premier Series but not sure how the 2T will affect it.
Another choice given to me was Mushkin High Performance 2048MB Dual Channel DDR Memory except I don't know if I would be able to find it locally.
Anyways...I'd appreciate any help I could get on this subject. I'm not 100% sure I'll get 2GB for now, I might just go with 1GB of my first choice, then order the 2GB Mushkin near Christmas (and swap out the 1GB into another comp).
Power Supply: Antec TruePower 2.0 TP-II Blue 480
Not much to be said here - I love Antec PSUs and I've got a thing for that blue LED inside. I might not *need* 480 currently but I sure as hell am not going to skimp on this - bad things happen. I've got a few more components that I'll be adding at a later date, and this one is ready in case I switch over to PCI-E at a later date.
CDRW/DVD: Pioneer DVR-109
I know of two people who've had this for a substantial amount of time (not to mention they do quite a bit of burning) and it hasn't caused any problems for them so...I think I'll go with it. I know there's faster ones out there but at this moment a few minutes off a burn time doesn't really matter to me.
Sound Card: Creative Labs SoundBlaster Audigy 2 ZS
Need I really say more?
Hard Drive: WD-2500KS 250GB
I'm *pretty* sure this will work with a normal SATA connector? Someone correct me if I'm wrong. Having two HD's with 2Mb buffers currently, yeah I'm liking that 16Mb buffer. 250GB sure is alot, but that's what I said about my 80GB drive I got three years ago and I've since learned my lesson. This drive's only purpose is for storage of downloaded/personal files as well as multimedia uses.
I've got 3x WD 74Gb Raptors (already acquired) awaiting my new computer. One's going to be split in half for Windows and Program Files. Another is going to purely be for games. I'm still mulling over what to do with the third one as I don't really *need* it. (Yeah I know I can go with a RAID config with the extra drive but I'm unsure right now if that's what I want to do, although it'll probably find it's way into my girlfriend's computer as a boot/game drive as well).
Case: Antec P160 (already acquired)
I've already picked this up and I'm liking it. It's way lighter, roomier, and stronger than my old generic case. The design looks very nice, the only thing I hate about it is the shiny plastic bezel at the front. It sorta ruins the whole look of the case and gives it a VERY cheap look. I've thought about giving the whole case a custom paint job but...we'll see about that.
Mouse & Keyboard: Logitech Cordless MX DUO (already acquired)
Hands down.
Monitor: No idea - I'm eyeing the Samsung 710N (600:1 contrast, 12ms response)
I'd love any intake in this area. I'm looking for something that's 17 or 19", with a good contrast and response time. I'll be looking to run at 1280x1024 and it needs to be crisp due to me playing games and watching DVDs on the computer.
Fans/Cooling: Not sure yet
I'll be looking into getting a good/reliable and quiet CPU/heatsink combo for the chip, as well as another 120mm fan for the front of the case (to *try* to cool down my HDs).
Misc: I'll get a floppy drive from somewhere.
If you've actually read everything I've typed, then I'm damn flattered and you get a cookie. Any comments/advice/opinions people want to give is much appreciated. There's a few things I've already got (CPU, Video Card, Mouse/Keyboard, 3x Raptors, Case) but other than that I'm open to suggestions - as well as the reasoning behind them - especially regarding the mobo, memory, or monitor. Thanks!
I currently own an AthlonXP 1800+, 1152Mb DDR266 RAM @ 2.5-3-3-6, Visiontek GeForce4 Ti4400 128mb, Creative SB Audigy X-Gamer mounted on a MSI Dragon KT-3 Ultra mobo. I've got two Maxtor drives - 30GB and 80GB both with 2mb buffers I'm pretty sure. I had to replace the stock PSU a few months ago (w/ Antec SmartBlue 350w), as well as the stock fan last month (w/ Vantec Stealth 80mm) - so...yeah it's my dinosaur. Not to say that I haven't loved this comp - I've used and abused the hell out of it and it's pretty much gone through everything with me. It's just time to put that aside as a secondary gaming computer (ie it still runs D3 + HL2 - just not that well) and get a new one.
It'll be used mostly as a platform for high-end/continous gaming as it's primary, with multi-tasking various programs and 'regular use' (ie surfing the net/browsing forums/IMs) secondary. I keep my computers on pretty much 24/7. I considered dual-core, but...I'll probably hold off on that for a year or so. I have ALREADY gotten some components for my computer, so some things I will not be changing. I will be looking to finish this build either tonight or tomorrow (purchasing everything else at a local store) since I've been waiting since April to finish this computer - I can't wait anymore.
CPU: Athlon 64 4000+ (939-pin San Diego) w/ 1Mb Cache (already acquired)
I'll be using this stock for awhile, if I do overclock I'll be looking to crank it up to 2.8Ghz max, although I highly doubt I'll do it since I keep my computer on 24/7.
Heatsink: I'm still open to advice on a heatsink/fan for my cpu...I WILL be taking this computer to places from time to time (LANs) so I'd rather have something that won't weigh so much.
Graphics Card: BFG GeForce GT 256mb o/c AGP8x (already acquired)
Love the look of it, so when I got a good deal on it I picked it up. This was what most of my computer has been waiting on, and it took awhile to get to me, but I have it now. It's AGP and I'd rather go PCI-E, but I really can't wait anymore and to do that I'd either need to give up another month (for the 7800GT to come out to see prices) or give up another $200-300) and I'm just not willing to do that.
Motheboard: Not sure at the moment
I'm considering the Gigabyte GA-K8NS Ultra 939
I'm still open to suggestions, however the board MUST have 4xSATA and 4xDIMMs for RAM.
I'm checking out MSI products as well...
RAM: Hmm...this is the part where I have the most trouble. I'd really like 2GBs, and I'm not looking to overclock too much, if at all. I've got to go 2x1GB if I want 1T, or 4x512mb if I can settle with 2T. Not sure which one I should go for? Someone did suggest 2x1GB of value ram, but I do quite a bit of alt-tabbing and I do notice a slowdown from 2.5ns to 3ns RAM.
I was thinking of going with OCZ PC-3200 DDR400 Premier Series but not sure how the 2T will affect it.
Another choice given to me was Mushkin High Performance 2048MB Dual Channel DDR Memory except I don't know if I would be able to find it locally.
Anyways...I'd appreciate any help I could get on this subject. I'm not 100% sure I'll get 2GB for now, I might just go with 1GB of my first choice, then order the 2GB Mushkin near Christmas (and swap out the 1GB into another comp).
Power Supply: Antec TruePower 2.0 TP-II Blue 480
Not much to be said here - I love Antec PSUs and I've got a thing for that blue LED inside. I might not *need* 480 currently but I sure as hell am not going to skimp on this - bad things happen. I've got a few more components that I'll be adding at a later date, and this one is ready in case I switch over to PCI-E at a later date.
CDRW/DVD: Pioneer DVR-109
I know of two people who've had this for a substantial amount of time (not to mention they do quite a bit of burning) and it hasn't caused any problems for them so...I think I'll go with it. I know there's faster ones out there but at this moment a few minutes off a burn time doesn't really matter to me.
Sound Card: Creative Labs SoundBlaster Audigy 2 ZS
Need I really say more?
Hard Drive: WD-2500KS 250GB
I'm *pretty* sure this will work with a normal SATA connector? Someone correct me if I'm wrong. Having two HD's with 2Mb buffers currently, yeah I'm liking that 16Mb buffer. 250GB sure is alot, but that's what I said about my 80GB drive I got three years ago and I've since learned my lesson. This drive's only purpose is for storage of downloaded/personal files as well as multimedia uses.
I've got 3x WD 74Gb Raptors (already acquired) awaiting my new computer. One's going to be split in half for Windows and Program Files. Another is going to purely be for games. I'm still mulling over what to do with the third one as I don't really *need* it. (Yeah I know I can go with a RAID config with the extra drive but I'm unsure right now if that's what I want to do, although it'll probably find it's way into my girlfriend's computer as a boot/game drive as well).
Case: Antec P160 (already acquired)
I've already picked this up and I'm liking it. It's way lighter, roomier, and stronger than my old generic case. The design looks very nice, the only thing I hate about it is the shiny plastic bezel at the front. It sorta ruins the whole look of the case and gives it a VERY cheap look. I've thought about giving the whole case a custom paint job but...we'll see about that.
Mouse & Keyboard: Logitech Cordless MX DUO (already acquired)
Hands down.
Monitor: No idea - I'm eyeing the Samsung 710N (600:1 contrast, 12ms response)
I'd love any intake in this area. I'm looking for something that's 17 or 19", with a good contrast and response time. I'll be looking to run at 1280x1024 and it needs to be crisp due to me playing games and watching DVDs on the computer.
Fans/Cooling: Not sure yet
I'll be looking into getting a good/reliable and quiet CPU/heatsink combo for the chip, as well as another 120mm fan for the front of the case (to *try* to cool down my HDs).
Misc: I'll get a floppy drive from somewhere.
If you've actually read everything I've typed, then I'm damn flattered and you get a cookie. Any comments/advice/opinions people want to give is much appreciated. There's a few things I've already got (CPU, Video Card, Mouse/Keyboard, 3x Raptors, Case) but other than that I'm open to suggestions - as well as the reasoning behind them - especially regarding the mobo, memory, or monitor. Thanks!
