Neeb trying to build my own computer

[ekerch10]

Hey, Im about to build a new computer, but dont know a whole lot about all the newest technologies or those that will be coming out soon. I need help trying to find a processor and motherboard but like i said i dont know much about the new technologies. Can anyone either direct me when I can learn more about this stuff, or how i can go about selecting the right combo for me. Thanks for any help

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Welcome to AT.

The articles here are a great resource for what new technology is out.

If you give us a budget, we can also give you some ideas on systems that would be good for the money.

Are you looking to go a lot of gaming? Do you need a whole system (monitor, keyboard/mouse, Windows)?

If this is your first system, mechbgon's guide is a good thing to check out before you build.

 

[bocamojo]

Yeah, give us your budget. Also, make absolutely sure you specify whether you have an operating system or not (such as Windows XP), as that is the resident favorite question when budgeting you a new system. Also, I think you meant to spell it noob and not neeb...

 

[qbek]

Welcome to AT. Start by reading one of the AT buyer's guides (i.e last guide).

Once you get a better idea of what you want, come back and ask more specific questions.

 

[Budman]

What's a neeb?

You noob.

 

[ekerch10]

haha my bad that was just a spelling error im not quite that bad. I can spend about a thousand or so however im not restricted to that if it would be that beneficial to go a little higher. My last system i have is about 3 years old and I had it made for me, and im goin to sell it to my dad, but keeping my drives and such so dont need that. I will need a new tower, video card, cpu, mother board, ram, and i guess i dont really need a sound card, i can prob just use whatever is in the mother board. Im going to give my dad my version of xp, and am going to buy a version of xp prof from my school which i can get pretty cheap. Im looking for a good quick system that will still be able to hold its on in years to come. I will use it as a gaming computer and would like it to be able to suffiecently handle the newer games that will be coming out in the next couple years;however I dont need any top of the line graphics cards or anything. So i guess im just looking to find more information so I can make sure i select the best, cpu, motherboard and graphics card that will fit my needs now and take me into the future. Thanks a lot for your help

 

[UsandThem]

Originally posted by: ekerch10
Can anyone either direct me when I can learn more about this stuff, or how i can go about selecting the right combo for me. Thanks for any help

Thread at the top.


AMD Based Computer $1095.00

AMD Athlon 64 3000+, 512KB L2 Cache, Socket 939 64-bit Processor $151.00

EPoX EP-9NPA+Ultra Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 Ultra $122.00

Thermaltake SOPRANO VB1000SWS Silver ATX Mid Tower Case $79.00

E-POWER "Tagan" Series 480W Power Supply $79.00

Corsair Value Select (Dual Pack) 184 Pin 512MBx2 DDR PC-3200 $91.00

Modem if needed $14.00

Windows XP Home $88.00

SAMSUNG 160GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive $94.00

Samsung 160GB 7200RPM Hard Drive $88.00

POWERCOLOR Radeon X800XL 256MB PCI-Express Video Card $289.00

 

[hans030390]

get a 6800gt

im not even going to say why...just do it...

 

[UsandThem]

Originally posted by: hans030390
get a 6800gt

im not even going to say why...just do it...

Anandtech review

$289.00 for the X800XL or $359.00 for 6800GT (PCI-E version).

 

[ekerch10]

Nice sounds good thanks a lot, i have windows and hardrives though but the rest looks good. Do u think that a 3000 cpu is good enough? i was lookin at like 3400, or is that overkill? also this may be a stupid question but whats the difference between a sata hard drive and a reg one. Anyone else have an opinion on the graphics card? thanks again for ur help

 

[UsandThem]

A Athlon 64 3000+ will easily overclock to a 3400+ level, but outside of that, you really won't notice the difference between a 3000+ and 3400+.

I would just go with a 3200+ if you have a little extra money, or a 3500+ Venice core CPU if you have $275.00 to spend on the CPU.

SATA (Serial ATA drives) are the newest hard drive standard, are faster (at least benchmark wise), and use very small cables which help with airflow.

An ATA hard drive, has really been unchanged for years now.

The most important thing is to get a hard drive that spins at 7200RPM and has an 8mb cache. You can get a higher performing hard drive, but the 7200 RPM and 8mb cache is really the minimum you should look at.

 

[imported_yetti]

here ya go:

CPU & Memory - OEM AMD 64 3200+ and 1GB Corsair Value Select pc3200 $262 Link

Motherboard - Gigabyte GA-K8NS $114.99 Link

CPU Cooler - Coolermaster KCC-V91-U1 $33.99Link

Video Card - Leadtek 6800GT $359 Link

Case - Antec SLK-3000B $47 Link

PSU - Antec TruePower 2.0 430W $89.99 Link

Total - $906.97

 

[Gadzookie]

MAKE SURE YOU GET A SOCKET 939 PROCESSOR and a socket 939 MOBO your last post makes me belive your going 754 !

754 is getting old :-(

also the newer motherbaords use PCI EXPRESS graphics cards dont forget that ! also the newer motherboards use 24 pin power connectors !
make sure the PSU Has 24 pins !

i got a nice build for you its what i use !

Antec Black ATX Mid Tower "SLK3000-B" 45.00
ENERMAX Noisetaker Series 420W 24 pin 76.00

AMD Athlon 64 3200+ 939 190.00
CHAINTECH NVIDIA nForce4 Ultra 939 84.00
Corsair Value Select 512MBx2 83.50
Seagate Barracuda SATA NCQ 80GB 68.00
NEC 16X Double Layer DVD±RW 48.99
Rosewell ATI x800xl PCI express 269.99

Total 865.48
if you got extra cash get a 3500 and a 6800 gt althought the x800xl is almost as good you might not have to !

here is a review of the motherboard http://www.pcstats.com/articleview.cfm?articleID=1777

i hope this helps !

 

[UsandThem]

Originally posted by: yetti
here ya go:

CPU & Memory - OEM AMD 64 3200+ and 1GB Corsair Value Select pc3200 $262 Link

Only thing to consider, is you don't have a 3 year warranty with an OEM CPU and no included heatsink/fan.

 

[Gadzookie]

if you want to msg me on aol my sn is friendlypirate80 if you got any questions

also if your not going to overclock get a 3500 and a 6800gt that alone will last you a good three years or so for gaming !

computer games is 75 percent video card and 25 percent cpu IMO

 

[ekerch10]

Ight looks like im going with the,

THERMALTAKE VB1000SWS Silver Steel/Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail

EPoX EP-9NPA+Ultra Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 Ultra ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail

AMD Athlon 64 3200+ Winchester Integrated into Chip FSB Socket 939 Processor Model ADA3200BIBOX - Retail

Now im working on the video card, The ones u guys suggested seem a little steep, and some friends were tellin me I dont need one that good, What are some other options?

Thanks again for all ur help everyone, def couldnt do this wit out ya

 

[ekerch10]

One more thing, how many watts of a power supply shoudl I get, I saw a few were recommended however besides teh watts are there many other differences between them i should be aware of? thanks

 

[bob4432]

if you want a machine that will last you a couple of years and play the newer games you will need that card. it will last for a while.

also for ~$50, get a new hdd. the 3 year old one will definately slow your machine down. get either a sata or pata, basically whichever is 7200rpm 8MB cache and the better deal for the size you want. i have a couple 30GB 7200rpm hdds (not sure the cache) that are about 3 years old and my newer 80 and 120GBs are quite a bit faster, it is very noticeable. if you are running a 5400 rpm drive that will be much worse.

gadzookie's suggestion looks good

 

[shoRunner]

x800xl is 250 at monarch a much better deal then a 6800gt

 

[Gadzookie]

alot of ppl suggest builds that they have no experience with or dont even own! research what ppl recomend !

the build i suggest is what i use and its great, i havent had a probelm yet ! and later down the road if you wish to overclock you can
here is some more links to help you choose

Antec Solution SLK3000-B Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail 45.00
Computer cases are a personal choice you can choose what you like i choose this one cuase its simple and from a good company antec i dont like cases with 50 pink neon lights and a screaming yellow case and with the money you save on a simple case you can put it toward a better graphics card, processor, porn, 40 ounces etc etc !

ENERMAX EG425P-VE SFMA 2.0 ATX12V 420W Power Supply - Retail 76.00
YOU NEED A GOOD POWERSUPPLY DO NOT BUY ONE THAT COMES WITH A CASE I CANNOT STRESS THAT ENOUGH !
for new motherboards you also need a 24 pin power connector this enermax noisetaker is quit and has a 24 pin power connector and enough amps to power anything you throw at it !

AMD Athlon 64 3200+ Winchester 512KB L2 Cache Socket 939 Processor - Retail 190.00
great processor the wincester cores are easily overclockable and do not heat as much as there intel conterparts also the best processor for gaming ! also way cheaper then intel here is a review of what this processor can do in halflife 2 compared to other intel chips (also this pattern is the same with most if not all videogames)

http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/showdoc.aspx?i=2330

CHAINTECH VNF4/Ultra Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 Ultra ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail 84.00
at first i was skeptical about the chaintech brand motherboard but after i started hearing good reviews and ppl recomended it i decided to give it a try and i love it ! i had no probelms setting it up ( it was plug and play for me) and no stabilty issues also its a great overclocker ! here are some reviews

http://www.ninjalane.com/display.aspx?docname=vnf4ultra
http://www.neoseeker.com/Articles/Hardware/Reviews/vnf4ultra/

CORSAIR ValueSelect 1GB (2 x 512MB) DDR 400 (PC 3200) - Retail 82.55
ram is ram alot of ppl will argue you need low latency overclocking ram that costs over 300 bucks that is not nessesary its nice but not worth it money wise you can run a divider and get good results ! AMD 64 processors are not as ram reliant as INTEL processors for overclocking

Seagate Barracuda 7200.7 SATA NCQ ST380017AS 80GB 7200 RPM Hard Drive - OEM 68.00
Serial ata is the way to go ! also new NCQ technogly even make it faster along with seagates 5 year warrenty this drive is a steal !

NEC ND-3520A Black IDE DVD Burner - OEM 48.99
BEST DVD BURNER I HAVE EVER USED ! 50 bucks nuff said

eVGA Geforce 6800GT 256MB GDDR3 PCI-Express x16 Video Card - Retail 359.00
im a nvidia fan boy and i love the nvidia drivers this is a great card and will be great for gaming for a good 3 years and can easily be overclocked to ultra levels ! now the x800xl is also a great card and is around 250 -299 bucks which is great too and preforms almost as good as the 6800gt ! but does not have model 3.0 either card is good for gaming

here is a review of the 6800gt and the x800xl going head to head
http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=2299

now if you really dont wanna spend that much you can get a 6600gt for about 179.00 it will play all the newest games but dosent have the longevity like the 6800 or ati x800xl
the 6600gt is 128 bit and 128 mb ram while the others are 256 bit and 256 mb ram


Total 953.54 (with the 6800gt) Total 879.53 (with the x800xl)

now this is what i use and i love it but i cant guarentee you will, just use this as a outline and build a comp that for you !

remember

AMD socket 939 processor

Motherboard with NVIDIA nForce4 Ultra chipset socket 939

A GOOD POWERSUPPLY ! Antec, Enermax and Forton are some of the good brands! make sure it has 24 pins !

stick to those and everything else should be fine !

 

[Gadzookie]

btw here is a screen shoots of guildwars on a 6800gt

http://img244.echo.cx/img244/5950/gw0618em.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v318/jondaviskorn/gw0001.jpg

just to give you a inkling of what it can do

 

[bob4432]

Originally posted by: Gadzookie
alot of ppl suggest builds that they have no experience with or dont even own! research what ppl recomend !

exactly!! you gave us your requirements and we stayed under your price for a kick@$$ machine, what more could you ask for? in the video card department the manfs love to play these naming convention games and it is very easy to get all lost in their ways but what was suggested here were very nice cards. remember, if gaming you can take a hit on cpu speed and put it toward a better video card, to a point. so go with a slightly "older, slower" cpu like a 3200 instead of a 3500 and get the best video card you can get.

personally i wouldn't go over a grand though, putting a cap at a grand is a good idea.

remember gaming is much more about the video card than a cpu. take this for instance - my setup is a 2.8P4 @ 3.15 / 1GB OCZ Ram / intel i865pe based board (very good intel chipset) running xp pro. now if i put in a geforce 4 ti4200 (couple year old video card) i can barely play bf1942 @ 800x600 over 30fps, but i bought a 9800pro about 7 mos ago and i can play bf1942 and the mods @ 1024x768 (about the highest resolution i play since after that the text gets too small on my 19" crt) well over 60fps, if i put in one of the newer top of the line cards like a 6800 gt or ati x800xl i would be good to go with just about any game out there.

think of it this way, with the speeds at which processors are today, cpu speeds are so high that in 2-3 years you will probably only need to upgrade your video card and not the whole system, unless you want to keep on the cutting edge.

in all honesty few people (video editors, 3d creators, cad/cam) other than gamers need high "horsepower" machines. hell for internet surfing and word processing a 800MHz P3 or 1GHz Athlon with a decent 7200 rpm 8MB cache or a 10krpm u160 scsi drive would be just fine. hell on one of my machines - 533 celereon / 192MB ram / 5400rpm hdd i am running linux and although it is slow, it would be fine for just word processing or internet surfing.

 

[n7]

Originally posted by: hans030390
get a 6800gt

im not even going to say why...just do it...

Not everyone is dillusional like yourself.

When i bought my 6800 GT, it was the best deal out there.

Now there is a better one, & that's the X800XL.

Keep your SM 3.0 BS to yourself.

 

[Gadzookie]

i lov emy 6800gt ! hehe my friend has a Rosewill x800xl and he loves it ! it preforms the same as my geforce 6800gt but we dont run it at ridiculus resoultion ! we stay at 1024x768

like i said before im a nivida fanboy who is in love with nula !
( the mermaid chick on nvidia cards )

now does it mean that just becuase the x800xl can almost preform as good as a 6800gt not to get one ? and get a x800xl
noo the 6800gt is still a great card and has SM3 which right now isnt anything special but it will be in the future games
and you can also easily overclock the 6800gt to ultra levels squuuezing out my preformance out of the card thenyou can for a x800xl !

either card is a fine choice ! i didnt want to start a flame card war lol

 

[Jeff7181]

In my opinion, it would be better to spend more on the processor now, like maybe a 3500+ or 3800+ and stick with a cheaper 6600GT. If you're a gamer, you pretty much need to upgrade the video card once a year, maybe a little longer, to be able to play the latest games. You don't need top of the line stuff to play new games... you can stay a step below... but it's difficult to play a new game on last generation's hardware, especially when new features are introduced like HDR and crap like that.

You should also consider getting an nForce4 based motherboard for PCI Express since it's replacing AGP for video cards, and will be used by other things such as that new PPU that will supposedly work with the Unreal 3 engine.