New Hardware build

[InsanePerson]

Well, while my current box is not really "that" old i do believe its time for a new build. Looking to go AMD64, willing to consider P4.
What i'm really looking for is not just opinions (though they are more then welcome) but rather reviews/comparrisons/benchmarks.
I am pretty much open to any remakrs anyone has so i'll get to it.
I'm a gamer. Currently playing World of Warcraft, UT2004, Half-Life 2 and Tribes Vengeance (+ all the old classics but they wont effect this)
I also do some photoshop and web design, nothing too fancy... still stuck in hand coding html.

I'm currently running an Athlon XP 2500+ mobile on a Abit NF7-s with 512mb (2x256) PC3700 Kingston HyperX DDR and a Radeon 9700 Pro.

As i mentioned i'm leaning towards an AMD64 build. First and formost a motherboard to base the system from. I'm not much for marketing hype, but whats the current "to drool for" AMD64 mobo, from a user standpoint. Latest and Greatest is not always as important as Tried and True. I'm not all that keen on onboard sound, even of the hardware nature, personally i was not all that impressed with the onboard hardware sound on the NF7-s, i currently have the Cambridge Soundworks DTT2500, and old set of 5.1 speakers and a new set of Klipsch are prob not too far on the horizon and i'm thinking i'd like to run them on a Audigy2 (if someone can show me a review or comparrison against a particular motherboards onboard sound that would be great)
CPU wise i'm looking at a AMD64 3200+ Venice. As best i can tell, best bang for the buck. For that what would be a great cooling (pref air cooled) sollution for this (needs to accomidate the motherboard i get, does me no good if it wont fit the board.....)
RAM i think i have figured out, OCZ Gold Series 1GB (2 x 512MB) PC3200. Plz if i am wrong on this let me hear it.
And finally the age old question, which video card... I'm not a zeolet... i like what runs good, i dont want most expensive version of either ATI of nVidia cards, middle of the road x800 or gf 6800 suggestions would be great.

 

[chaudharymic]

If you are a gamer, good job at looking at an AMD 64. I like the 6800GT's benchmarks, but can't comment on the actaul performance.
Some kind of budget mentioned would help them pick out parts for you.

 

[InsanePerson]

I'm looking to spend ~$1500. OC options would be nice (one of the reasons i was looking at the Venice 3200+)
Included in that budget are my storage and optical drives which i've already got selected, already got a case/psu

 

[Twsmit]

Originally posted by: chaudharymic
If you are a gamer, good job at looking at an AMD 64. I like the 6800GT's benchmarks, but can't comment on the actaul performance.
Some kind of budget mentioned would help them pick out parts for you.

I wouldnt look at the 6600GT. Its only marginally faster than a 9800Pro.


Honestly you are probably better off just getting a new AGP video card and a stick of ram, or otherwise wait until you can "really" upgrade.

 

[chaudharymic]

I don't have a clue about what mobo will be best. A venice on air overclocks great, so the 3200 would be fine.
Remember, you can pick up hard drives pretty cheap AR a few times a month.
What case and PSU did you decide on?

Take a look at the NEC 3520a, http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16827152039 (Supposed GREAT burner)
A soundblaster 5.1 or 7.1 sound card will work fine.

I am not sure about the RAM, I like my Patriot and Kingston sticks.

 

[Washoe]

I'd like to say that I am a gamer and a recently converted LCD user, and that I have seen the light and I'm never going back to CRT. I got a widescreen 2005FPW and it's really great. So my recommendation here is to get an LCD monitor, either the Hyundai L90D or one of Dell's Ultrasharp (2001 or 2005 (I don't mention 2405 due to your budget)). Widescreen gaming is really great for the newer games, particularly Half-Life 2 stands out. It's so awesome. UT2004 and Far Cry are also superb in WS format. The older games (which I see you mentioned) do have their issues, some of which are difficult to resolve, others are not. Check out http://www.widescreengamingforum.com/forum for information, resolutions, and discussions if you have interest in WS gaming. That site is excellent, for example, I was upset that I couldn't play Dungeon Siege in WS format at first. But reading through the solutions at this forum showed me how to do a very simply hack and now I'm playing DS in WS. Some games there is simply not a resolution for. You can play the game, just not in WS format. The screen will show a normal 4:3 ratio, with an inch or so of a black column on either side. Hey I can live with that - it does not affect the look of these games that I can tell, only that you have the black columns on the sides during play.

If not interested in WS or in having to look up "fixes" for games that won't run WS resolutions, I highly recommend the Hyundai L90D. A friend of mine has one and it's probably the best 19" non-WS monitor for gaming out there (CRT and LCD included).

anyway. There's my input.

on edit - I see you mention WoW. I'm not a WoWer but I do play EQ and EQ2, also Guild Wars and SWG. MMORPGs are truly awesome in wide-screen format, and I have heard that WoW is no different. Consider it.

 

[bob4432]

Originally posted by: Twsmit

Originally posted by: chaudharymic
If you are a gamer, good job at looking at an AMD 64. I like the 6800GT's benchmarks, but can't comment on the actaul performance.
Some kind of budget mentioned would help them pick out parts for you.

I wouldnt look at the 6600GT. Its only marginally faster than a 9800Pro.


Honestly you are probably better off just getting a new AGP video card and a stick of ram, or otherwise wait until you can "really" upgrade.

he said a 6800GT, not a 6600GT.

you are kind of in the position i am in, not really time to build new, but don't want to put $$$ into current rig...

i guess the only thing i could recommend is go amd64, as they beat p4s in just about everything except certain types of encoding, and read the anandtech reviews, they have quite a few on hand for your hardward requirements.