Need help building a system

[Lob]

Hey all I'm new here . I currently have a p4 2ghz and was thinking about upgrading. I don't mind if the new CPU is Intel or AMD, just want ideas on what's good to get. My current budget is around $1000-1500.

Any ideas what I should get for the CPU, Ram, Mobo, Vid Card, Case?

Thanks in advance!

 

[kd2777]

what are you going to be doing with the computer?

what is important to you ie - size (sff), power, game performance, number crunching, pimp factor

what all do you need? -- everything, do you have some peices

welcome to the forums!!!!

kd

 

[Lob]

Mostly gaming but I'll be doing other things such as record/encoding or school work. And I have no pieces to work with as I would be passing down my old computer.

 

[Appledrop]

athlon 64, x800 pro vivo - mod to xt - see video section,

 

[effee]

^^ What he said. But with a 6800GT

 

[kd2777]

You say school work, so do you live in the dorm? Is a big case a problem, or would you rather go with something like this for space saving reasons. The reasons I ask is because it matters a great deal. I have several computers and no two of them have the same requirements. The computer I am on now has a well over clocked 939 AMD Athlon with a 2GB RAM, a fast Video card, CD-RW, and about 400GB of storage. My other computer in my office has a 120GB HDD, Stock Athlon 3000(754), Integrated graphics, DVD-Burner, card reader, and is a SFF (small form factor)(it is my detached media PC), but then my wife has a computer that is different, then I have a second gaming rig that still plays a lot of games if people come over and want to game over the house LAN. Even still I have a wireless Laptop that fits a whole other category.

That said I will agree with both of the post above. Athlon64 id the way to go right now, basically decide how much of your budget to allocate to this and then buy the one that fits in there. Personally I would go with the 939 pin (Winchester core) Athlon64s right now 3000+, 3200+or 3500+ just pick your poison. Just remember if you are going to over clock your CPU they will all basically give you the same 2.5-2.6 results, so you may want to go with the cheaper and buy a better HSF. (This is assuming you don't need a laptop, if so go with the Pentium-m Dothan core).

If you are going with tower type case I like the 6800GT over the x800 pro. If you are going with a SFF then I like the x800 pro over the 6800GT (heat and power consumption).

So let us know a little bit more about your computer needs and we can steer you in the right direction for a purchase.

kd

 

[Lob]

Well to make it easier I'll just say gaming rig, as they can do pretty much anything anyways. Looking for a tower type case that has good airflow/cooling/psu.

Main thing I'm looking for so far is CPU, Case (brand), Mobo (brand), Vid Card (brand), Ram (brand).

Thanks again for all the help so far!

 

[Appledrop]

for the case, its a bit on the heavy/large size, but its brilliant quality, with good psu, pre installed casefans, that keep the case VERY cool, and quiet too.......

http://www.antec.com/us/productDetails.php?ProdID=81046

 

[gamekid]

for the mobo, i herd the MSI neo2 platinum wiht the nforce3 ultra chipset (~$130) is great but i would wait for the nforce4's.

 

[Lob]

What's the difference for nforce 3 vs. nforce 4? Other than it obviously being better

 

[gamekid]

nforce 4 is basically just a better nforce 3 but with the sli version, u can hook up 2 of the same vid cards and get a performance boost

 

[Lob]

When does the nforce 4 come out?

Any one else have any input on what I should get?

 

[ts3433]

I'd just build an NF3 now and wait for PCIe to mature. 90nm S939 A64, 6800GT, 1 gig of RAM (PC3500-4000 for moderate-heavy to heavy OCing, otherwise just value PC3200--CL2 not necessary), no board recommendation from me though (not familiar with the 939 selection). This should be good for gaming for a fairly long time, in today's terms.

 

[kd2777]

I have this setup that I like well.

Cooler Master Praetorian Case
EPoX EP-9NDA3+ nF3 Ultra Motherboard
AMD Athlon64 3000+ s939 Winchester Core
Thermalright XP-90 Heatsink
1 GB Corsair pc-3200 cas2.5 Value Select (2*512)
BFG 6800GT OCed version
Antec TRUE430 Power supply
Seagate 120GB HDD
NEC 16x Dual Layer DVD+/-RW
XP Professional
Office 2003

That brings us to 1529.98 right now. You still need a monitor, keyboard, mouse, and possibly a floppy or a media card reader. But this is a good place to start from. There is a lot of places you can cut cost here, but be sure you don?t do it in the wrong places if you are wnating a good gaming rig.

- You can cut a good amount on the case and Power Supply if you fine one you like just as good for less.
- The motherboard and CPU is about as good as you can do for the price because I currently have it running at 2.5 with the cheaper RAM, so leave this the way it is, another choose on the motherboard is the MSI Neo platinum, lots of people like it.
- The heatsink is good investment if you are going to over clock, there are cheaper ones out there that will do a good job, but I have no complaints with this one.
- This memory is great for the cost. I actually use 2GB of this stuff (4*512) but that is actually more than you need. 1GB of this stuff will serve you well.
- The Video card is a good place to cut some cost if you aren?t a huge gamer. A 9800pro at half the cost will give you great results in almost every game but DOOM3. If you are a DOOM player than you might want to stay with the 6800GT.
- The HDD selection is up to you, I use 2 of these Seagate?s, and they are all I need. Some people can get by with 80GB, some with 20GB, and some need 800GB, it depends on the amount of space you need. But I like to stay with Seagate.
- The DVD burner is more of a want for me than a necessity, if you won?t be burning any DVDs than you may want to opt for the CD/RW (I suggest Lite-On).
- An operating system is a must, unless you already have one. You can save a few bucks by going with the home version, but if you are going to be living in a dorm then pro will be preferred.
- Office is another necessity for a college student if you don?t already have it. The one I put in above is the Standard version, there is a pro academic version for 40 bucks more that also includes Access, publisher, and contact manager. It may be worth it to you or not.

This is a good starting point, if this price scares you to death and makes you want to buy an 800 Dell, I would understand. But you said a good gaming rig and this would be that, you can?t compare it to any of the dells except maybe the XPS (but they use the p4 Prescotts and you don?t want one of those!!!).

You may want to check this Anantech guide out. It has a small budget Gaming rig that comes out to be 750 with out keyboard, mouse, operating system, office, and monitor. You might be able to use their suggested parts and come in at 1500 after the extra stuff.

Good luck

kd

 

[Frew]

Originally posted by: kd2777
I have this setup that I like well.

Cooler Master Praetorian Case
EPoX EP-9NDA3+ nF3 Ultra Motherboard
AMD Athlon64 3000+ s939 Winchester Core
Thermalright XP-90 Heatsink
1 GB Corsair pc-3200 cas2.5 Value Select (2*512)
BFG 6800GT OCed version
Antec TRUE430 Power supply
Seagate 120GB HDD
NEC 16x Dual Layer DVD+/-RW
XP Professional
Office 2003

That brings us to 1529.98 right now. You still need a monitor, keyboard, mouse, and possibly a floppy or a media card reader. But this is a good place to start from. There is a lot of places you can cut cost here, but be sure you don?t do it in the wrong places if you are wnating a good gaming rig.

- You can cut a good amount on the case and Power Supply if you fine one you like just as good for less.
- The motherboard and CPU is about as good as you can do for the price because I currently have it running at 2.5 with the cheaper RAM, so leave this the way it is, another choose on the motherboard is the MSI Neo platinum, lots of people like it.
- The heatsink is good investment if you are going to over clock, there are cheaper ones out there that will do a good job, but I have no complaints with this one.
- This memory is great for the cost. I actually use 2GB of this stuff (4*512) but that is actually more than you need. 1GB of this stuff will serve you well.
- The Video card is a good place to cut some cost if you aren?t a huge gamer. A 9800pro at half the cost will give you great results in almost every game but DOOM3. If you are a DOOM player than you might want to stay with the 6800GT.
- The HDD selection is up to you, I use 2 of these Seagate?s, and they are all I need. Some people can get by with 80GB, some with 20GB, and some need 800GB, it depends on the amount of space you need. But I like to stay with Seagate.
- The DVD burner is more of a want for me than a necessity, if you won?t be burning any DVDs than you may want to opt for the CD/RW (I suggest Lite-On).
- An operating system is a must, unless you already have one. You can save a few bucks by going with the home version, but if you are going to be living in a dorm then pro will be preferred.
- Office is another necessity for a college student if you don?t already have it. The one I put in above is the Standard version, there is a pro academic version for 40 bucks more that also includes Access, publisher, and contact manager. It may be worth it to you or not.

This is a good starting point, if this price scares you to death and makes you want to buy an 800 Dell, I would understand. But you said a good gaming rig and this would be that, you can?t compare it to any of the dells except maybe the XPS (but they use the p4 Prescotts and you don?t want one of those!!!).

You may want to check this Anantech guide out. It has a small budget Gaming rig that comes out to be 750 with out keyboard, mouse, operating system, office, and monitor. You might be able to use their suggested parts and come in at 1500 after the extra stuff.

Good luck

kd

Who the hell needs office for 140$? There are plenty of Freeware versions of office.

 

[kd2777]

There are no freeware versions of Office (r) there are plenty of word processing programs out there that are free. However a lot of professors of mine want it to be on a floppy written on Word. Sure there are computer labs all over campus that have Word on them that you can use, but to me it is worth 140 to be able to do it in my room. And honestly if you are a student and can get the Academic version, 140 is a steal for Office. But I'm sure you have not one dime wrapped up in software, other than games, so it probably sounds high to you.

kd