System Build

[Isfl]

Hi, I am new here and I am not sure if this is the right forum for this, but here goes. I am looking to build a new system and only want to spend about $500-$700. I am not worried about looks, clear panels, cathode tubes, or anything like that. I have a ti4600 G.card already, and I have a small 30 gig HD. I am only wanting this system for gaming purposes only. Now, I want the speed to be fast and my 'fps' to be pretty high. Any help here? Should I go P4 or AMD? What motherboard should I pick? What type of Ram? Where can I get these pieces at a great price? The main games I play are UT2k3, CS, HL, WC3, etc. etc. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank You!

ISFL

 

[techfuzz]

You could go either way really, P4 or Athlon XP. If you're looking to overclock, the P4's (2.4b GHz) are the best option right now I believe. The new Athlon XP Barton chips with 512KB cache are looking very nice as well.

As far as ram goes, DDR is the way to go these days. PC2700/DDR333 would be your best bet, PC3200 or higher if you really want to overclock. You'll want a minimum of 512MB, maybe 1GB if you can afford it.

Retailers like GoogleGear and Newegg come to mind when ordering from reputable places. If you find some other place online that has good prices, check Reseller Ratings to check on how other people have faired when ordering from them.

techfuzz

 

[human2k]

Well if this is going to be for gaming, definetly build an overclockers rig, here what I'd get:

Epox 8RDA+ Soundstorm 5.1/Lan/Firewire- $99 mwave.com
Athlon XP 2100 Tbred B- $93 newegg.com
SK7+80MM 45CFM YS tech - $30 svccompucycle.com
Antec Beige Mid-Tower Chasis w/300W SmartPower (220w combined) $49 newegg.com
Kingston Hyper-X PC3000 256mb x 2 - $100 excaliberpc.com
HD-you got one
video-you got one
sound-on board Nforce 2 audio
lite-on dvd drive- $33 dell.com
lite-on 52x cdrw-$50 dell.com
WinXP PRO OEM-$141 newegg.com

total = $595

 

[Isfl]

Thanks! i will get started narrowing it down, you have been a great help!