How's this for a gaming comp? (on a budget)

[Kabob]

Now if you've gotten rid of the extra HD and the extra junk on HL2, then next I'd work on the RAM. That should be OK, but you can do alot better for not much more. Go for name brand memory. Corsair, Crucial, Mushkin, OCZ, Geil, and (personally) Kingmax (the Hardcore stuff works great, and it's not terribly expensive) PQI isn't bad either (or so I've heard).

Then I'd switch up the video card and go with a 6800 GT. Check around on the forums. You should be able to get one for ~$350 or less. Don't spend $400 on a 6800 GT.

Also, what PSU did you finally decide on??

 

[Gamingphreek]

For the case, I like the Thermaltake Xaser V. It's a tad bit expensive, but very nice. Whatever you do, do NOT buy a case online unless you find really cheap shipping, because shipping a case can cost alot of money.

Thermaltake makes some of the worst cases on the market. They are loud and have unnecessary fans. Their PSU's are known to be DECENT at best. Stay away from them, lean towards Antec, Chieftec, Lian-Li etc...

I would seriously consider going with a NF3 or VIA Pro chipset over NF4, as I am willing to bet that NF4 is going to be chock full of problems with the initial launch...

Any basis for this statement. Nforce 3 didn't have a "chock full of problems". You might be talking about the Nforce 3 150 series which was not bad per se. It was not meant to last as long as it did. That is why they released the 250 series. A64 had one of the smoothest launches i have ever witnessed.

MSI s939 boards suck, as do all their mobo's. At least that's from my past experience. Stay as far away as possible from MSI junk. Of course, they'll be one of the two first NF4 makers (I think Asus is making the other, which could be a good thing. If it's Gigabyte though, then NF4 is SCREWED for a few months ag least) so you'll have no choice I guess if you really want NF4.

Once again, any basis for this statement. MSI boards are known to have cheap capacitors (back in the day at least) and Gigabyte is attributed to having everything but the kitchen sink but not always the highest quality components. They are both very nice and well respected M/B manufacturers. Again why would NF4 be screwed if only Gigabyte supported it. Gigabyte is a very popular board maker. Obviously they couldn't push it out on their own but nonetheless.

You need to get some hard information and stop just blurting out the first thing that comes to your mind.

-Kevin

 

[Kabob]

First off, I personally like Thermaltake cases immensely and have never had any problems with them (noise wise or quality wise) Antec makes nice ones as well, but he asked "what is a good case" and I told him what I thought.

Second, MSI and Gigabyte are "respected" companies, yes. But they also have the highest amounts of complaints of any motherboard manufacturers I've heard of. Anandtech had to send back 3 MSI boards in a row to get one that functioned correctly on one of the tests, and the Gigabyte's s939 board has people enraged over the huge amount of problems.

I am making statements about MSI and Gigabyte off of the companies' current reputations. Neither have been impressive with their move to s939 NF3, and I am not counting on them to suddenly get...good, when they make the jump to the lesser used technology of NF4.

And finally, notice that I said "I am willing to bet that NF4," not "NF4 is going to have" earlier. Like many new releases, problems tend to occur when a product first hits the market. I'm just "guessing" that problems will occur when the NF4 is first sold.

So stop judging my personal thoughts as you havn't put in alot of input yet other than "buy this and this"...

Thanks...

-Chris

 

[Kabob]

Oh yeah, now that that's over, back to the purpose of the post.

The Winchester 3200+ is a bit cheaper at www.mwave.com and www.monarchcomputer.com I believe.

Also, I heard that www.buy.com has the xfx GeForce 6600 GT for a bit cheaper, although I would seriously consider going for a 6800 GT.

That power supply is still a little weak on the 12v rails.

Just my thoughts...

 

[Omizzle]

hmmm.... i am not very educated in the field of PSUs. Please explain why you think that both the 1st and this PSUs are weak.

I dont see KINGMAX hardcore on newegg either

 

[Gamingphreek]

Neither have been impressive with their move to s939 NF3

Oh yeah, and that editors choice on the K8N Neo2 Platinum means absolutely nothing. :roll:

noise wise or quality wise

WTF!?!? Lol thermaltake makes the loudest and cheapest (not to say they are cheap for us but the quality sucks) things out there. Look at the review of any Thermaltake case it sounds like a Jet Engine next to your monitor. Yes i have owned Thermaltake before.

I am willing to bet that NF4

I am saying why would you be willing to bet on a topic that has absolutely no basis? Nforce 3 250 launched with very few problems. You want problems go back to the early Athlon days with heat issues and everything... good times

So stop judging my personal thoughts as you havn't put in alot of input yet other than "buy this and this"...

Hmm what else would you like me to contribute?? He asked what he needs to get so i gave my recommendations. Did you want me to give a paragraph explaining why i chose what i did. If so then check out the other 24309320998 threads on this exact same topic.

BTW: 18A on the 12V rail (Thermaltake PSU) is horrible. 15 is considered the bare minimum these days for A64 based machines.

-Kevin

 

[Azndude51]

I find all this arguing amusing. But just to comment on Thermaltake cases, most of them aren't very good, but the Tsunami is a pretty good case. I've read a lot of reviews on it and havent read a bad one yet. The only problems with it would be its loudness and no mobo tray.

Originally posted by: KoolDrew
Is there any reason you are getiing a DVD burner and DVD-ROM? Get rid of the DVD-ROM.

He'd need the DVD-ROM to copy and make backups of DVDs.

 

[Gamingphreek]

Look at Thermaltakes specs. 18A on the 12V rail. THe rule of thumb is 15A minimum for a good stable system. Not much leeway there.

Secondly thermaltake uses low quality components that look flashy. That is how they get their sales not by quality but by good looks. The Tsunami only is decent because it is a copy of the Coolermaster wavemaster design. It doesn't have any originallity in it. Personally i would take the wavemaster over it hands down because Thermaltakes are noisy. They include fans for the heck of it and the fans are low quality high RPM Jet Engines that do barely anything.

I owned a Thermaltake Volcano (CPU Cooler) 6Cu+ and the MINIMUM dba was ~37. It was insance i couldn't sleep with it on. And it didn't cool woth crap either. My dad got a Silent Pure Power 420Watt (much to my dismay) and had it as a back up. As my POS PSU just blew (gives me an excuse for a shiny new one ) i am using it. It is the LOUDEST component in my sytem and its voltages are all over the place.

-Kevin

 

[Kabob]

Neo2 Plat: Editors choice, yet he still went through 3 of them to get a correctly working board...Just look up Neo2 under the motherboards forum and find all the threads with people who are having problems. Yes, there will be problems with every motherboard, but there seem to be many more complaints with the MSI board than with others.

I've never liked Thermaltake PSU's, although I do like the cases. IMO they seem to be well built. If you don't like it, then don't buy it...but IMHO, they are pretty nice.

NF3 launched well enough, but the transfer from s754 to s939 NF3 didn't go so well...

The purpose of this thread is to help him build a machine, not to bash every word I type...

 

[Kabob]

It is true, biggest reason I like Thermaltakes is the flashyness, but I've not had problems with the case.

 

[Azndude51]

Originally posted by: kabob983
Neo2 Plat: Editors choice, yet he still went through 3 of them to get a correctly working board...Just look up Neo2 under the motherboards forum and find all the threads with people who are having problems. Yes, there will be problems with every motherboard, but there seem to be many more complaints with the MSI board than with others.

Yeah, they do get a lot of complaints, but part (i'm not saying its the only reason) of that could be because it is one of the best selling NF3 boards.

 

[Kabob]

Originally posted by: Azndude51
because it is one of the best selling NF3 boards.

Good point...I should probably weigh that more than I do, but good grief, when I hear of people getting 2 or 3 bad boards in a row...that just seems odd.

 

[Gamingphreek]

s754 to s939 NF3 didn't go so well

It didn't?? Last time i checked it went pretty damn good. Where are you getting this information?

Yeah The MSI board is buggy, but that is software problems not HW. Secondly there are so many posts because the board is so popular so naturally everyone is going post at every little hiccup.

It is true, biggest reason I like Thermaltakes is the flashyness, but I've not had problems with the case.

Well what kind of problems would you have with the case?? The main thing they lack is the quality. Of course anything that thermaltake makes is a garaunteed Jet Engine, but they mostly put together flashy things that are made of very cheap components.

Here:
3200+ Winchester (Retail) = $204. Get the winchester core as it uses a lot less power and OCs much farther than any of the other cores.

M/B: CHoice A: MSI K8N Neo2 Platinum $134- Arguably the best Nforce 3 board out there (for Sckt 939)
Choice B: Wait for Nforce 4- A bit faster- supports everything besides the kitchen sink.
Video Card: A: Not quite sure what you are using this sytem for. If gaming and want the best then go for X800XTPE or 6800U (PCI-E or AGP depending on M/B)
If not used or concerned about high end gaming 6800NU or 6600GT.

HDDs: Seagate Barracuda- Get the 7200.7 if you get the Nforce 3 and the 7200.8 for Nforce 4 as the .8 supports SATAII and NCQ. RAID is not worth it just get a decent size HDD.

Memory: Corsair Value Select is arguably the best Value memory on the market.

The rest of the stuff looks ok now that you updated the wish list.

-Kevin

 

[jpeyton]

There are a few main issues:

Aspire case + Antec PSU is more money than an Antec case + Antec PSU. Forget the flash, and buy a case built to last. I suggest any of Antec's SLK series cases, or the Sonata.

One quality 200GB Seagate SATA drive is less than two drives; why did you want two drives in the first place?

If you're getting a VIA based 939 motherboard, the one you want is the Asus A8V Rev2.

And $240 for a 6600GT is too much. For 20 bucks more, you can get a 6800 with 12 pipelines vs. 8 in the 6600, plus a good number of the newer 6800s are able to unlock the extra 4 pipelines to become 16 pipe cards.

 

[Kabob]

3200+ Winchester $199.50 here. It used to be $190 w/free Far Cry, but that deal is over I guess.

 

[Gamingphreek]

Forget the flash, and buy a case built to last.

Ya know if i had any more room in my sig i would put that there. Catchy little phrase lol.

I overlooked the aspire case. I agree with Jpeyton get an Antec-Antec (Case PSU).

We do need to know what kind of video card you are looking for and what not.

-Kevin

 

[Kabob]

Originally posted by: Gamingphreek

Forget the flash, and buy a case built to last.

Ya know if i had any more room in my sig i would put that there. Catchy little phrase lol.

You should make a little jig out of it. Next thing you know I'll see the "Case Jig" on MTV...

Ok, maybe not.

I've never tried an Antec case, but I've heard nothing but good things from them. In your opinion, what are the "top" quality wise case makers (since I've been going more for flash than...quality)

I'm pretty unhappy with my current case/PSU (case was cheap...) and am going to upgrade that soon...I think I'll go for the OCZ PowerStream PSU (470 or 520w) but I really like the side window on the case (yeah yeah, flash...I know) Is there any way to get my oh so beloved side window while getting a case that:

A) Doesn't weigh a ton
B) Isn't made out of bended pieces of steel
C) Is held together by more than 4 screws...

I'd seriously consider biting the bullet and buying a 6800 GT...

 

[Duvie]

3200+ Winchester (Retail) = $204. Get the winchester core as it uses a lot less power and OCs much farther than any of the other cores.

Are you sure??? that would void the warranty!!!! (joke amongst us ppl so no flames!!!)

I say OC the heck out of it and screw the warranty....

 

[Kabob]

Originally posted by: Duvie
I say OC the heck out of it and screw the warranty....

As shown by your 292MHz FSB

Nice OC

 

[Gamingphreek]

Lol Duvie!

As for kabob983:

THe Coolermaster Wave Master is supposed to be a very nice case. Also take a look at Lian-Li cases they are top o the line. Coolermaster makes good ones. Chieftec copies but they make good cases. Aspire has had like a FEW decent cases before but i wouldn't look at them first.

-Kevin

 

[Kabob]

What's your opinion of the OCZ PSU's?? Any you'd put ahead of them?? I love the high amps on the 12v rails... not many others come even close to the 33A's on the 520w...

 

[Gamingphreek]

My opinion ? I have said they were #1 since they were announced (before release with only a handful of stats) .... might have jumped the gun a bit but it hey .

They are right up there with PC Power and Cooling only much quieter with more features a about the same power. Haven't heard a bad thing about em yet. PSU's seem to rank with OCZ and PCP&C at the top teir with Enermax and Antec trailing them right behind (with the Enermax edging ahead slightly).

-Kevin

 

[Kabob]

Newegg doesn't sell PC Power & Cooling...well that suckith.

OK, what's the best for the buck then?? (Enough power on the 12v Rails to run a 6800 U without struggling...)

OCZ is great, but pricy (as are many of the Enermax's and Antec PSU's)

 

[Gamingphreek]

OCZ Enermax or Antec. Seasonic is very good but they dont make a as powerful PSUs. Like if they rated one for 500Watt it would run without problem at 520-540Watt. But the highest i remember is 400watt. SO the Best out there will by OCZ. I have heard good things about Tagan and Zippy but OCZ gets my vote hands down (more features and supposedly more powerful).

-Kevin

 

[Omizzle]

I also added an MX510 mouse. I have heard many good things about this mouse. What do you all think?