Help building a rig, Need help choosing hardware

Computer Forum New Build / Upgrade Advice
1

I’ve been out of touch with the hardware scene these days so I dont know which Intel Processor to get and all…

I’m will to spend $1100 on just the rig thats without the display.

I dont know what to get of these things:

ITS a gaming Rig ppl, I also tend to do some DV editing…

  • Processor
  • Ram
  • MOBO
  • I want a Mobo that supports SLI but will it cost more? later I might get 2 graphics cards… Also can u run an SLI MOBO with just one card on it?
  • Definitely want SATA the 3.0 Gbps version… (sorry I’ve just heard its faster, I’m not too acquainted with it)
  • Graphics Card - NO compromise on this…
  • Im not looking to get an expensive sound card, Because I’ll be using headphones most of the time…

Say I had another question: has anyone ever tried out those 3D headphones the ones that run over USB? how do they work? I might get those.

  • Mouse I’ll prolly get a Logitech, Keyboard is standard…

PS you guys dont need to put down the prices just if you could give me a rough base, something to start my research off… possible even list down your own rigs…

Thanks LOADS
Kenan

2

I think as your going to use your system for games that the AMD athlon 64 would be a better option that the Pentium 4. there also better value for money.

3

[QUOTE=duffgun]
I think as your going to use your system for games that the AMD athlon 64 would be a better option that the Pentium 4. there also better value for money.
[/QUOTE]

What about the rest of the system? which MOBO? which AMD processor?

4

1 GB of ram would probably be choice for a gaming pc. ive been looking into some corsair xms series myself but im sure there are some competitors.

5

[QUOTE=kenanmir]
I’ve been out of touch with the hardware scene these days so I dont know which Intel Processor to get and all…

I’m will to spend $1100 on just the rig thats without the display.

I dont know what to get of these things:

ITS a gaming Rig ppl, I also tend to do some DV editing…

  • Processor
  • Ram
  • MOBO
  • I want a Mobo that supports SLI but will it cost more? later I might get 2 graphics cards… Also can u run an SLI MOBO with just one card on it?
  • Definitely want SATA the 3.0 Gbps version… (sorry I’ve just heard its faster, I’m not too acquainted with it)
  • Graphics Card - NO compromise on this…
  • Im not looking to get an expensive sound card, Because I’ll be using headphones most of the time…

Say I had another question: has anyone ever tried out those 3D headphones the ones that run over USB? how do they work? I might get those.

  • Mouse I’ll prolly get a Logitech, Keyboard is standard…

PS you guys dont need to put down the prices just if you could give me a rough base, something to start my research off… possible even list down your own rigs…

Thanks LOADS
Kenan
[/QUOTE]

SLI motherboards cost extra, but we’re not talking another $100 on top of it.
You can get a decent, no frills SLI motherboard starting at around $100.

SLI requires 2 of the same nVidia GeForce 6000 series (the 6200 is excluded) or 7000 series video cards. SLI combines the power of the two video cards to give an 80-90% performance increase over a single video card. The way nVidia has SLI implemented does not allow to run two different SLI capable cards, like you can’t run a 6600GT and a 7800GTX in SLI. It has to be two 6600GT’s or two 7800GTX’s, in this example. And, yes, you can run a single video card in an SLI motherboard. You can even use an ATi Radeon series card if you want.

My DFI-based box in my sig ran about $700, not including the hard drives. I also bought a DVD burner later (locally, so the prices were higher), but I’ve spent about $800 on this box. Mind you, I bought it about last April, so you should be able to get something better for the same amount of money.

Right now, AMD has the better performance, not to metion a better price in general, than Intel’s offerings. I don’t go by brands, I go by performance. Right now that’s AMD. If Intel had the better performance, I’d have a Pentium instead.

$1100 will buy you a nice rig. You may not want to start off with SLI, but having a motherboard available that can do it when you decide to go for SLI is easy to go for.

6

Ive already choosen the: Asus A8N32-SLI-Deluxe and Im pretty sure im going to go for the AMD X2 3800+ but i dont know what ram and GFX card to go with… also i had another question I was planning on making this rig by july/august, is there any new technology being released or somethign new that I should wait for before deciding?

7

http://www.tbreak.com/reviews/article.php?id=436

You might want to read that article. The nForce 4 SLI X16 chipset doesn’t really offer any improvements over the older nForce4 SLI chipset. If you want to, that’s fine, but realize that you can save about $100 or so if you don’t go with the X16. Companies aren’t really pumping these boards out. I can only name three companies that use the chipset right now: Asus, Abit, MSI. The A8N-SLI (non Deluxe, non Premium) runs around $120 in the US online. The A8N32-SLI (non-Deluxe, runs between $220 and $230. Performance increase is virtually zilch.

Corsair’s XMS is certainly going to be some of the easiest stuff to find, although Crucial, Mushkin, and OCZ brands shouldn’t be too hard to find.

AMD is slated to release a new processor socket, AM2, for new Athlons supporting DDR2. However, we don’t know exactly when stuff will be available, and while its probably going to be available when you’re looking to buy, it probably won’t be cheap, as production will likely be limited. I’m not saying avoid it entirely, but right now, we don’t even know for sure that it will be available then let alone what performance level’s we’re looking at. It’s something that I wouldn’t hold out for.

Let’s go over the list of stuff you’re going to buy:

Motherboard: Asus A8N32-SLI?
Video Card: Radeon 1900XT or GeForce 7800GT
RAM: 1GB Corsair XMS?
CPU: Athlon64 3800+ X2
Power Supply: Antec TruePower TPII 550/Enermax EG565P-VE/Tagan TG480-U22?
Hard Drive: ?
Optical Drive: ?
Case: ?

You need to factor in a power supply as well, and this will run you between $80-100 USD. Unless you know for a fact that your power supply is at least 480-500W and has a 24-pin ATX connector, not an older 20-pin, you need to make sure you get a new power supply. For stability and to protect the condition of your new rig, this is essential.
Are you reusing your current drives and case?
While the X2’s are nice, they’re not necessary for gaming. You could save a bit of cash if you don’t absolutely have to have one.

8

[QUOTE=Big B]
http://www.tbreak.com/reviews/article.php?id=436

You might want to read that article. The nForce 4 SLI X16 chipset doesn’t really offer any improvements over the older nForce4 SLI chipset. If you want to, that’s fine, but realize that you can save about $100 or so if you don’t go with the X16. Companies aren’t really pumping these boards out. I can only name three companies that use the chipset right now: Asus, Abit, MSI. The A8N-SLI (non Deluxe, non Premium) runs around $120 in the US online. The A8N32-SLI (non-Deluxe, runs between $220 and $230. Performance increase is virtually zilch.

Corsair’s XMS is certainly going to be some of the easiest stuff to find, although Crucial, Mushkin, and OCZ brands shouldn’t be too hard to find.

AMD is slated to release a new processor socket, AM2, for new Athlons supporting DDR2. However, we don’t know exactly when stuff will be available, and while its probably going to be available when you’re looking to buy, it probably won’t be cheap, as production will likely be limited. I’m not saying avoid it entirely, but right now, we don’t even know for sure that it will be available then let alone what performance level’s we’re looking at. It’s something that I wouldn’t hold out for.

Let’s go over the list of stuff you’re going to buy:

Motherboard: Asus A8N32-SLI?
Video Card: Radeon 1900XT or GeForce 7800GT
RAM: 1GB Corsair XMS?
CPU: Athlon64 3800+ X2
Power Supply: Antec TruePower TPII 550/Enermax EG565P-VE/Tagan TG480-U22?
Hard Drive: ?
Optical Drive: ?
Case: ?

You need to factor in a power supply as well, and this will run you between $80-100 USD. Unless you know for a fact that your power supply is at least 480-500W and has a 24-pin ATX connector, not an older 20-pin, you need to make sure you get a new power supply. For stability and to protect the condition of your new rig, this is essential.
Are you reusing your current drives and case?
While the X2’s are nice, they’re not necessary for gaming. You could save a bit of cash if you don’t absolutely have to have one.
[/QUOTE]

Thanks for the info on the Asus A8N32-SLI I couldnt find it online though, the specs atleast whenever i googled it, it gave me the “Asus A8N32-SLI Deluxe” anywas I’ll look into that.

I wont be using my old case or PSU. Its a completly new rig… im willing to spend around $1100. I’m trying to look into cheap good ram and maybe im going to go with 1GB and then later upgrade because I also have to buy a monitor… HDDs i was thinking: Western Digital Raptor WD740GD 74GB 10,000 RPM Serial ATA150 and the Seagate Barracuda 3.0Gbps 300GB 7200RPM 16MB Barracuda 7200.9 . WHAt do u think?

9

[QUOTE=kenanmir]
I’ve been out of touch with the hardware scene these days so I dont know which Intel Processor to get and all…

I’m will to spend $1100 on just the rig thats without the display.

I dont know what to get of these things:

ITS a gaming Rig ppl, I also tend to do some DV editing…

  • Processor
  • Ram
  • MOBO
  • I want a Mobo that supports SLI but will it cost more? later I might get 2 graphics cards… Also can u run an SLI MOBO with just one card on it?
  • Definitely want SATA the 3.0 Gbps version… (sorry I’ve just heard its faster, I’m not too acquainted with it)
  • Graphics Card - NO compromise on this…
  • Im not looking to get an expensive sound card, Because I’ll be using headphones most of the time…

Say I had another question: has anyone ever tried out those 3D headphones the ones that run over USB? how do they work? I might get those.

  • Mouse I’ll prolly get a Logitech, Keyboard is standard…

PS you guys dont need to put down the prices just if you could give me a rough base, something to start my research off… possible even list down your own rigs…

Thanks LOADS
Kenan
[/QUOTE]

See my system I bought for DV edit and a bit of gaming - cost me about 1050$ :

Be sure to get A dual core cpu + 1 GB RAM .

Good luck.

10

[QUOTE=kenanmir]
Thanks for the info on the Asus A8N32-SLI I couldnt find it online though, the specs atleast whenever i googled it, it gave me the “Asus A8N32-SLI Deluxe” anywas I’ll look into that.

I wont be using my old case or PSU. Its a completly new rig… im willing to spend around $1100. I’m trying to look into cheap good ram and maybe im going to go with 1GB and then later upgrade because I also have to buy a monitor… HDDs i was thinking: Western Digital Raptor WD740GD 74GB 10,000 RPM Serial ATA150 and the Seagate Barracuda 3.0Gbps 300GB 7200RPM 16MB Barracuda 7200.9 . WHAt do u think?
[/QUOTE]

Yeah, the two hard drive setup is an excellent decision.

The A8N32-SLI and A8N-SLI are different in basically the chipset, as I already mentioned. The A8N32-SLI is newer, so that could be why you’re picking up more info on it. Still, I’d try to find the regular A8N-SLI because of the price point and the performance being virtually the same.

And again, if you’re just gaming, I’d go with a single-core CPU instead. If you find you have more money left over, then you might see about going with an X2.
You’re going in the right direction.

Have you found any stores that ship to Pakistan? (I’m judging by the flag you have listed).

11

Oh I just got in to Northwestern Uni so I’ll be in Evanston just outside Chicago… I might not go with the 2 HD setup because i’m a little short, is it an issue if i dont, performance wise?

12

IS PC 3200 Ram better of pC 4000 because I cant afford to get a 2GB ram package just now and the mobo im choosing has 4 slots so im thinking of get 1GB right now of PC3200 and later getting antoehr GB which will fill up my 4 slots? is that a good idea? The other thing i cna do is buy 2 GB of Corsair XMS PC4000 but its a little on the expensive side…

13

[QUOTE=kenanmir]
IS PC 3200 Ram better of pC 4000 because I cant afford to get a 2GB ram package just now and the mobo im choosing has 4 slots so im thinking of get 1GB right now of PC3200 and later getting antoehr GB which will fill up my 4 slots? is that a good idea? The other thing i cna do is buy 2 GB of Corsair XMS PC4000 but its a little on the expensive side…
[/QUOTE]

For DV Edit 2 HD are very helpfull , DRAM at least 1 GB , 4000 iis usually better then 3200 but that also depend on the timings , by a pair for dual channel support. specify the exact model of the DDR module and people will be able to tell you…:eek:

14

If you’re not intending to overclock, then you’re probably blowing your money with PC4000. Even if you do, something like the XMS stuff will allow some decent headroom. As a general rule, you’re better off getting PC3200 over PC4000 or higher if you’re not into heavy tweaking. Even then, PC3200 is still a big standard, and many companies still put out modules that can run at low timings.

15

What ive come up with soo far

[SIZE=“1”]Motherboard The ASUS A8N32-SLI-Deluxe Newegg $224
RAM OCZ Gold Edition 2GB (2 x 1GB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 500 (PC 4000) Newegg $99
Processor AMD Athlon 64 X2 (939) 3800+ 2x512KB Manchester ZipZoomFly $295
Harddrive A Seagate Barracuda 3.0Gbps 300GB 7200RPM 16MB Barracuda 7200.9 Newegg $154
Video Card eVGA 256-P2-N516 Geforce 7800GT 256MB 256-bit GDDR3 VIVO PCI Express x16 Newegg $270
CD-RW
DVD-RW NEC Black IDE/ATAPI DVD Burner Model ND-3550A - OEM $39
Heat Sink Zalman
Power Supply
Fans Zalman
Case
Monitor SAMSUNG 940b-Black 19" 8ms LCD Monitor $319
Damage $1,400[/SIZE]

I need some way to make this more economical… IE less $$$$ anyways I need help with the Monitor… is the one i chose good?