First Gaming Rig Build

[Stal]

Motherboard
ASUS "A8N-SLI Deluxe" nForce4 SLI Chipset Motherboard For AMD Socket 939 CPU

CPU
AMD Socket 939AMD Athlon 64 3200+, 512KB L2 Cache, Socket 939 64-bit Processor

Memory
Geil Ultra Series Dual Channel 184 Pin 1GB(512MBx2) DDR PC-4000

Hard drive
Seagate 120GB Barracuda 7200RPM SATA II with NCQ Hard Drive

GCard
eVGA nVIDIA GeForce 6800 Ultra Video Card, 256MB GDDR3, 256-bit, Dual DVI/TV-Out, 8X AGP
Not real sure if this is the correct G-Card I should be useing with a PCI motherboard?!

CDRW
Lite-On Black 52X32X52 CD-RW Drive

DVDRW
NEC 16X Double Layer DVD±RW Drive

I?m not sure on which case to get yet, and this will be my first PC build. If anything is wrong please let me know, or if I should change something. Also this is a great site, with a lot of great info.

 

[VigilanteCS]

That video card you have listed is AGP, you need a PCI express video card.

 

[acorcoran]

Do you have a budget going on?

There are a lot of threads out there...mainly the big argument will be do you really need SLI? Here is a not SLI PCI-e model:

Note the MB doesn't come out until Friday and it sounds like you may have a bit higher of a budget to get the 6800 GT or Ultra. I thought I would just post this to take some of your guess work out. Cases are more of a preference. People tend to really like Antec, Lian-Li, then others enjoy the Coolermasters and Thermaltake Tsunamis. I'd personally go with something you like the looks of.

MSI K8N Neo4 Platinum nForce4 Ultra Athlon 64 Skt939 DDR ATX Motherboard w/Audio, Gigabit LAN, RAID/Serial ATA $169.99
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/...jsp?ProductCode=241158

AMD Athlon 64 3200+ Processor Socket 939 $203.00
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/...sp?ProductCode=80701-2

Corsair VS1GBKIT400 1GB Kit DDR400 PC3200 CAS2.5 Value Select Memory $113.00
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/...p?ProductCode=80098-21

Leadtek nVIDIA GeForce 6600GT Video Card, 128MB GDDR3, 128-Bit, DVI/TV-Out, PCI-Express, Model ""PX6600GT TDH Extreme" $195.00
http://www.newegg.com/app/View...tion=14-122-201&depa=1

Seagate Barracuda 7200.7 ST3160827AS 160GB Serial ATA 7200RPM Hard Drive w/8MB Buffer $109.99
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/...jsp?ProductCode=101559

Lite-On HD166S/167T 16X IDE DVD-ROM Drive (Black) $29.50
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/...jsp?ProductCode=170628

Enermax EG495P-VE-SFMA Noisetaker 485W Power Supply $113.99
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/...jsp?ProductCode=270323

Antec P160 Anodized Aluminum Super Mid Tower Case $112.00
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/...jsp?ProductCode=140032

Grand Total $1,046.47
Last Modified 1/17/2005

 

[Stal]

Ok I will look for a PCI express video card, thanks for the advice VigilanteCS

acorcoran, as far as budget is concered I would like to stay under $2,000.

WOW, this site is awesome, just posted my first thread and gotten 2 replys with in secs., and great links
with some great ideas. Thanks for all help.

 

[acorcoran]

Well 2k is a healthy budget. If I were you, I'd stray away from the SLI model unless you really plan on using it. I'd stick with an NF4 board (comes out Friday), spend your money on a quality video card, eVGA, LeadTek, BFG 6800 GT or Ultra PCI-e and go from there. You look like you have done your research.

 

[RadiclDreamer]

Other than needing to change the video card to a PCI-E. Even I dont have anything to complain about, and I'm VERY picky when it comes to hardware

 

[beany323]

Originally posted by: Stal
I?m not sure on which case to get yet, and this will be my first PC build. If anything is wrong please let me know, or if I should change something. Also this is a great site, with a lot of great info.

yes these are a great bunch of guys.... i found them somehow and you can learn so much by just reading and I do ask allot of questions (mostly i think they are stupid ones) but there are people here who are so willing to teach..... give the man a fish.......

gl! tell us how your build came out, ok? I am considering doing one also..(ok so i bought another book at the book store...(magazines = 2, book = 1)....

laterz

 

[Edward Lee]

Why in the world would you need an SLI system when you don't even know the diffence between PCI and AGP?

 

[beany323]

Originally posted by: Edward Lee
Why in the world would you need an SLI system when you don't even know the diffence between PCI and AGP?

you may want to enlighten the young lad.. he is here for the same reason i am.. to learn.


and as i said...i have learned more in the last week reading at lunch during work and 1 hr when i get home at nite.

I didnt know the difference btwn pci/agp and sli... (the btx (intel thing)) is still unsure of) but i now know what choices i can make.... and am contemplating doing it myself... (unless the cost is not that bad having someone else do it...(10 hr work days, 3-4 hour commute, makes for a long day!!)

laterz

 

[otispunkmeyer]

Originally posted by: Stal
Ok I will look for a PCI express video card, thanks for the advice VigilanteCS

acorcoran, as far as budget is concered I would like to stay under $2,000.

WOW, this site is awesome, just posted my first thread and gotten 2 replys with in secs., and great links
with some great ideas. Thanks for all help.

heh its not always lik that dude

 

[blackinches]

if you are not going to overclock blackinches would suggest going with mushkin or corsair pc-3200 value ram, and save a few bucks. also you probably don't have to buy the lite on burner since the nec burner will do all of that. blackinches agrees with acorcoran that you should go for a nforce4 ultra board instead of the sli. good luck finding a pci-e 6800, blackinches has been looking with no luck. as for cases blackinches like the coolermaster centurion 5 or the praetorian.

 

[beany323]

Originally posted by: blackinches
if you are not going to overclock blackinches would suggest going with mushkin or corsair pc-3200 value ram, and save a few bucks. also you probably don't have to buy the lite on burner since the nec burner will do all of that. blackinches agrees with acorcoran that you should go for a nforce4 ultra board instead of the sli. good luck finding a pci-e 6800, blackinches has been looking with no luck. as for cases blackinches like the coolermaster centurion 5 or the praetorian.

got that 3rd person thing going on huh? you don't drive a big SUV do ya? hehe...:laugh:

laterz

 

[blackinches]

blackinches does not drive an suv.

 

[ts3433]

Dump the memory for Corsair/Crucial/Mushkin value RAM ($140 for 2x512MB) even if you overclock. Link

Instead of the A8N-SLI and 6800U, I'd get a good AGP motherboard (like the Epox EP-9NDA3+, $120) and a 6800GT (you get 95% of Ultra performance, and most will OC to Ultra speed and beyond; eVGA's AGP card is $388). That graphics card should last quite a while, and by the time you need to upgrade to the 8800GT, a board/processor upgrade will probably be due anyway. If you don't play above 1280x1024 at very high details or 1600x1200 at medium details, you're probably fine with even a 6600GT for now.

Have fun overclocking that Winchester 3200+. They can go quite far even on stock cooling (partly thanks to the Shin-Etsu paste they put on there).

If you don't have a case/PSU picked out yet: Consider Antec, Lian Li, and CoolerMaster for the case. Fortron (they make PSUs for OCZ, Zippy/Emacs, and PCP&C's TurboCool line), Seasonic (their parts are used for PCP&C Silencers), Antec, and Enermax are good PSU manufacturers.

If you have leftover money, spend it on other things or save it (maybe so you can upgrade later on when you need to--there's very little perceptible performance in gaming with a $2000 system versus something closer to $1200).

 

[Stal]

Originally posted by: Edward Lee
Why in the world would you need an SLI system when you don't even know the diffence between PCI and AGP?

That?s why I posted a thread, that way I could learn about the things I may or may not need to suit my needs in a gaming/learning rig. You are 100% correct, why would I want an SLI system when I posted the AGP Card, that was a mistake on my part for being ignorant, and not reading/researching more before I posted my first post. It?s just I would like to try and future proof this rig as much as I possible, because $2,000 is a lot of money to me. As far as Over clocking and stuff like this is concerned, the more I read about the things some of you guys/girls do with your rigs the more I want to learn. As always thank you all for the great replies!

 

[beany323]

its ok stal...
try to use the search button under a subject you would like to know more about, I use "sli" and a bunch of topics come up. Read them and there are links to other topics, read those. dont be afraid to ask questions if you don't understand something.

i am getting more comfortable with the thought of building my own rig. I am planning on doing one as a sli and maybe in a few months doing another one and oc'ing it!

(that way the kids can frag on their own computer!!)

just remember, knowledge is power. and there is no thing as a stupid question............ usually!

g/l and laterz