Help a girl gamer build a computer?

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InflatableBuddha

Diamond Member
Jul 5, 2007
7,416
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Originally posted by: dclive
Originally posted by: InflatableBuddha
Originally posted by: SerpentRoyal
Only problem is one cannot overclock a DELL. At that speed, the CPU will be the bottleneck for a serious gamer. I would never touch a cheap DELL if I was going to work with GPU-intensive applications. The garbage case cannot provide adequate ventilation for a modern overclocked CPU and GPU.

In addition, the stock PSU in entry level Dells or other off-the-shelf PCs is inadequate for many add on video cards (see below).


I haven't found that to be the case. If you look at AT's reviews, their GTX systems require under 250W, by and large, and the 8800GTS/GT and the 8600s will require quite a bit less power. I had an 8800GTS/320 in my Acer (300W PSU) for a while - no issues at all, even with 4 HDDs, 4 RAM sticks, 2 tuners, etc., in it too. I think this entire PSU thing is wayyyy overrated.

I agree that most people don't need a 700-800 watt PSU; I was pointing more at the relative inefficiency of those PSUs. Also, you need a little "wriggle room" - you can't have your components taking up 90% of the power that can be delivered by your PSU, especially since its capacity will degrade a bit over time.

SerpentRoyal has a good point. Putting aside overclocking, these higher-end video cards are large. They take up a lot of room in a case that wasn't originally designed to handle them. This will disrupt the airflow inside the case and make the components run hotter than they should, and you can't add case fans to fix this problem.


Originally posted by: dclive

Add an nVidia 8600GT/GTS for $100-ish if you want more graphics horsepower.

Originally posted by: InflatableBuddha
Sorry, but it's hard to recommend this when a Radeon HD 3850 is only $80 more, and will beat the pants off the 8600 series.

There are many threads in General Hardware about gaming PCs on a $600-800 budget. The cost of an OEM Windows license will only add $100 or so to that cost.

Originally posted by: dclive
(re: the card) Erm...that's TWICE as much... sure it's faster! :)

Yes, and it offers MORE THAN TWICE the performance. So it's a better value.

For a gaming system, many games benefit far more from a better GPU. It's generally a good idea to get a better graphics card and a slightly slower CPU - that will give better results (RTS games might be an exception). Also consider that the GPU will likely become outdated before the CPU - not a great idea to be continually buying lower-mid range cards. Get a GPU that will have a decent usable lifespan.

 

seemingly random

Diamond Member
Oct 10, 2007
5,277
0
0
Originally posted by: InflatableBuddha
Putting aside overclocking, these higher-end video cards are large. They take up a lot of room in a case that wasn't originally designed to handle them. This will disrupt the airflow inside the case and make the components run hotter than they should, and you can't add case fans to fix this problem.
The p182 has a provision to add another fan for this exact purpose. And there are other means for other cases - more work, but it can be done.
 

RadiclDreamer

Diamond Member
Aug 8, 2004
8,622
40
91
Originally posted by: seemingly random
Parts list:
$200 cpu - Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 Conroe 2.66GHz
$100 mb - abit ip35-e
$100 ram - 2gb 800 ddr2
$300 gpu - nvidia 8800gt
$110 hd - 500gb
$040 dvd - any sata model
$150 case - antec p182
$110 psu - Corsair 520hx
$115 os - vista32
------
$1225 subtotal

$xxx monitor
$xxx speakers
$xxx kb/mouse
$xxx cpu hsf
$xxx case fans

Prices are conservative.

cpu - might be faster than you might think you need now but won't be in five years; the included hsf can be used for a while and exchanged later for another if needed (thermal right or scythe: $30-60).

mb - one of several x35 based mb's - I wouldn't go bleeding edge; bios maturity is more important

ram - 2gb will last a while; can always upgrade later

gpu - may or may not be more than needed; this model might be in short supply for a while; the new ati x3000's look interesting.

hd - cables will come with mb; I would go with WesternDigital or Samsung.

case - will get many opinions here; the p182 includes three fans and convenient cable mgmt.

psu - 500w will be more than plenty; this pc will draw ~150 at idle and ~275 at load; the corsair runs cool and quiet and modular cables are nice.

os - vista will eventually be as stable as xp; there's a way to order 64bit for a shipping charge.

newegg.com is handy to browse
buy.com has a few better deals; psu,

As far as the actual build, I always test with the mb outside of the case before the final install.

I agree with this everything except the RAM portion. She mentions that she would like to do some work with After Effects and I know from first hand experience of After Effects that it is a RAM HOG. I would bump it to 4GB and do Vista-64
 

RadiclDreamer

Diamond Member
Aug 8, 2004
8,622
40
91
Originally posted by: practor
Originally posted by: Roguestar
^^ Recommending the OP to use RAID-0 when she admitted naivete in building PCs is a pretty bad call, especially when it provides little to no real-world performance gains.

Soz m8 it does add performance as the os is shared between two.

I will have to agree with Rogue, Raid 0 isnt something you really want to encourage a first time builder to setup. Actually any raid for that matter. Besides the performance gain is so small in most situations that it makes no sense to take the hit to reliaiblity
 

InflatableBuddha

Diamond Member
Jul 5, 2007
7,416
1
0
Originally posted by: seemingly random
Originally posted by: InflatableBuddha
Putting aside overclocking, these higher-end video cards are large. They take up a lot of room in a case that wasn't originally designed to handle them. This will disrupt the airflow inside the case and make the components run hotter than they should, and you can't add case fans to fix this problem.
The p182 has a provision to add another fan for this exact purpose. And there are other means for other cases - more work, but it can be done.

Exactly. That's why I'm saying it's better to go with an aftermarket case like the p182 so you can get the proper airflow.

I'm not sure how much fun or success the OP will have with ghetto-rigging case fans into a cheap Dell.
 

seemingly random

Diamond Member
Oct 10, 2007
5,277
0
0
Originally posted by: RadiclDreamer
I agree with this everything except the RAM portion. She mentions that she would like to do some work with After Effects and I know from first hand experience of After Effects that it is a RAM HOG. I would bump it to 4GB and do Vista-64
Ok - never used After Effects. So you think vista64 is ready for prime time? I haven't tried it yet but have read about incompatibilities and support problems.

Would you get 2x2gb to allow for future upgrade? > 4gb useful in any consumer app?
 

dclive

Elite Member
Oct 23, 2003
5,626
2
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Unless it's a 64 bit app it's the few and far between 32 bit apps that can even see over 2GB, so it's typically not something worth worrying about - a 32 bit OS with 3GB or so is more than enough for the vast majority currently. RAM's cheap, so 4GB is a fine choice too for the extra $20 or so.