Help with New Gaming System

[ppain52]

I am looking to build a new Gaming PC. I am using one systems on the "****System Buyer's Guide****NEW UPDATE 12/01" post as a starting point. My Budget is a flexible $1500. Here is what I am thinkig of.

Processor
AMD Athlon 64 3500+ 2.2GHz "Winchester" Processor Retail - $295

Motherboard
MSI K8N Neo2 Platinum NForce3 Ultra Motherboard Retail - $139.99

Memory
PQI Turbo Dual Channel 184 Pin 1GB (512MBx2) DDR PC3200 Retail - $246.0

Optical Drive
Pioneer Black DVD+RW/-RW Drive, Model DVR-108, OEM - $73

Video Card
RADEON X800 XT - $475

Floppy Drive
NEC 1.44MB Black Internal Floppy Drive - $9.99

Case
SilverStone Temjin Black ATX Full-Tower w/ Wind Tunnel - $137.00

Power Supply
OCZ PowerStream 420W PSU - $94

However I still have a couple of areas I am not sure about. I primarily play World of Warcraft and would like to know what Video card you guys recommend for it. By what I have read it seams Radeon provides better results than GForce. Also any recommendations on RAM are welcome, as I am not very knowledable on which brand/type provides is better. I like the case recommended, however I would like to know if u guys think the Wind Tunnel will make a noticeable difference. The priceing is rather tentative, as I have not done much looking around(mostly newegg). I would also like to buy a 17" LCD monitor. Can anyone recommend a good one at a good price. I am rather weary when it comes to monitors since I have not tried many.

 

[jterrell]

Very good setup IMHO.
I might choose the lower priced PDP memory with xbl. It was 229 shipped at newegg.
I would likely upgrade the psu just a bit to the 470.

WoW(from waht I've read I haven't ordfered it YET) plays great with either ati or nvidia as long as you go new generation cards.

I like the Samsung LCD monitors. It will run you about 350 bucks to get one with a solid refresh rate which s important in gaming. Check the newegg reviews and not the ones who say they are or are not having ghosting issues. I have used a few different LCD's and honestly as long as it was made recently it seems they are all fairly nice now. The Dell 20' ones we have at work never ghost and the 17' I have at home hasn't either. You might wanna head up to a Best Buy or some where to see the displays before making that purchase.

Anandtech has a guide up for buying 19' lcd's so thats worth a read. The Samsung scored very well but there were cheaper ones that scored high as well such as BENQ and one other.

 

[frankie38]

I would suggest that 17"lcd is not large enough and 19" and larger is preferred.

Another option for gaming is to buy a 21" crt monitor (refurb) while you can. I am looking to pick up a 21 inch trinitron while they are still here, prices are reasonable.

 

[CraigRT]

Yeah looks like a nice setup to me... that rig will haul

 

[meltdown75]

everything looks really good with your potential system. as far as the ati vs. nvidia... (radeon/geforce).. i haven't played WoW, but chances are if its an OpenGL game it runs better with the Nvidia cards. personally i'd still go with the radeon anyway.

 

[ppain52]

I took a look at the article jterrell recommended on 19" LCDs and I noticed the NU L921G did very well and is resonable priced. Has anyone had any experience with NU monitors?

 

[Cheetah8799]

19" LCD is crazy expensive. Why not a 19" or larger CRT? I suppose going to lan parties will be problematic with a heavy CRT, but I don't have trouble hauling my 19". It'll save you a lot of money too.

 

[ppain52]

I have noticed Corsair seams to be a popular brand. Is it a better buy? Also info on the effectiveness of the Wind Tunnel would be appreciated.

 

[ppain52]

bump

 

[Rapsven]

X800XT on a nForce 3 motherboard?

Good luck with that, buddy.