My buddy is buying my pc off of me. So i want to build a new one for myself. It shall be used for gaming, budget is 1300 bucks for the whole thing.(slightly flexible but dont' wanna go above it really) I want to go with AMD (looking into the 64) this time around, i've heard good things. Now my question so far is what socket should i get and what is better than a pentium 4 @3.0 ghz cuz thats what i used to have. . Also if you can suggest a respective pci express motherboard to go with it it would help me a great deal I don't want to spend more than 350USD for the cpu and motherboard Thank you! *edit* I need a bitchin case with good ventilation!
I would go with either of these AMD processors http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103539 or http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103514 u can go higher if u want but for a good gaming rig and not overkill these are great plus u want to improve over ur p4 right since u got the dough either is fine........... now to a mobo highest but really good http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813188003 next best http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813136163 good cheap stable upgradable http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813136163 Case : its really up to you i can suggest some cases i think look good but you may not like but there are a lot out there with good ventilationm but choose wisely and as always if the psu is a never heard of generic replace immediatly especially on a great system like this
also one thing since i know your a graphics car geek and i dont know if youve been looking at a 7800gt or a ATI but check ou this deal: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814130239
Thanks kenshin you're awesome. (lol thanks for noticing about the graphics ) I just wanted to know, would i have to buy windows 64 for this system? or is the regular windows xp good enough?
win 64 bit is very unstable and it's hard to find device drivers under it as it's relatively new and not very recognized. Any form of windows should work on it, as it's 64-bit, it has all over 32-bit's abilities and then some.
The Athlon 64's are 32-bit and 64-bit compatible, so you do not have to have a 64-bit OS to run with one. You have the option down the road if you so choose (and eventually things will probably be 64-bit, just not for a good while down the road). Look at the following stuff for an upgrade: Motherboards: Asus A8N-E or A8N-SLI, DFI LanParty/UT NF4 Ultra or SLI (if you want a lot of tweaking options---avoid it if you don't). CPU: Athlon 64 3000+ to 3800+, depending on the budget in Socket 939. Video Card: Start off with a GeForce 6600GT in PCIe, but feel free to snag anything you want that's faster. Power supply: Don't skimp here, but some of the cheaper units include the Enermax EG565P-VE that I'm running. Check my sig for an indepth info session on choosing a PSU and why you should get certain units. Don't use a power supply that comes in a case, as they're generally poor quality (except for Antec) and really won't be sufficient to power your new rig. RAM: Patriot's +XBL, Corsair's XMS, Crucial Ballistix, OCZ Gold---those should serve you well. Hard Drives: Seagate or Western Digital SATA. Optical: Lite-ON for the cheap end, Pioneer and Plextor for the deeper pockets. As cheap as DVD burners are getting, you should seriously consider getting one. Case: Lian-Li, CoolerMaster, Antec, Thermaltake...those companies offer stylish cases with good airflow, but just look around as you might be able to find some rebadged cases that are the same things for less.
Ok, so here's what I came up with ASUS A8N-SLI http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131524 $129.00 AMD Athlon 64 3500+ ClawHammer http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103514 $231.00 GIGABYTE Geforce 6600GT http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814125156 $146.00 Thermaltake 560w PSU http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817153015 $105.00 CORSAIR XMS 512MB (two of them) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820145521 $101.00(each) LITE-ON DVD/CD burner http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16827106988 $41.99 Seagate Barracuda 80GB http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822148040 $64.75 CHENMING Case http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811125486 $45.00(Not stylish, but an excellent case. Give it a look) TOTAL COST = $963.74 (not including S&H) And if you need a monitor for it: SAMSUNG 997DF http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16824001068 $209.99 (excellent monitor!) Yeah, I know it didn't use all of your money, but that's probably a good thing, right? And of course, you can change your components a bit and see the price differences if you want to go a little higher. To be honest, I think that's about all you're going to need. Maybe a second DVD/CD rom, you could get a "prettier" case if that's the way you like it, HDD should be fine unless you use a WHOLE lot of room, you could up the video card a bit, the CPU should be more than enough. Anyways, I hope that helps. I think that setup would do you fine.
Samsung DVD+/-RW-- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16827151066 Pretty much the best air cooling for you $-- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16835106061 Seagate Barracuda 250gig-- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822148065 Saitek keyboard-- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16823175103 Logitech MX518 mouse-- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16826104178 Patriot 2x512 kit-- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820220045 DFI LP UT-- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813136152 Enermax Whisper II 460wt PSU @ 33A/12v-- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817103464 AMD 3500+ Venice-- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103533 Creative Sound Blaster Live! 24-bit-- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16829102177 eVGA 7800GT-- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814130238 I realize this pretty much maxes the budget with shipping but I'm assuming you already have speakers and a monitor so I didn't include those. I would have suggested a X800GTO2 but I remember you were unsatasfied with your 6800GT so that wouldn't be the best move I guess. However for the price the performance is amazing it will best the 6800GT in some tests But naturally the 7800GT is a better move if all out gaming is your main concern. Hope this helps.
thats the wrong link for the dual channel patriot ram, here is the dual channel one. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820220006
sorry the third mobo is a doubl;e post of the 2nd heres what i was talking about as the third sorry http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813170146 good look and look for good deals do plenty of research and try to save money for whenever or if u wanted a little somethin somethin extra not thought of before
Thank you ALLL, you've been great help and definitely remember stuff that like from the past:crying: totally awesome. Ok so here's what i'm going for! http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814130239 gfx http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813188003 mobo http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16827135128 dvd rw http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103539 cpu http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820227015 ram http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16827130043 dvd http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811133126 case i already have a hard drive, monitor, thermaltake purepower supply.
Once u get your memory beretta i welcome u to the 2gb ram overkill club with me as a proud member overall u put together a A+ comp most parts i wouldve picked in your budget
Liking the case there mate:good: You don't really need a 3700 unless you plan to overclock, it's great chip but you can save around $50 and get a 3500+ which performs about 2-4% less in most tasks at stock speeds. If you want to overclock it could be a different story though. Sorry dude, no DDR2 for AMD motherboards as of yet. The ram you picked out is just that so you'll have to stick with DDR for now. Don't worry the better latency nulifies DDR2's higher speeds.
How many amps does that power supply have on the 12V rail? While the 7800GTX isn't quite as power-hungry as the 6800 Ultra, most of the ThermalTake units have around 18A on the 12V rails, and that might be a little tight between the video card and cpu as they both run off the 12V line. If you need to, I know Newegg has an Enermax 460W power supply with around 25A on the 12V rail for around $52+ shipping.
Crap, how will it affect my system if its got an 18A on the 12 V rail?? And yeah thanks for the advice on the RAM, damn ddr2 is cheaper than ddr, why?
I'd check what DDR and DDR2 I were comparing. However, DDR2 may have saturated the market enough to become reasonable and/or there's enough product out there that the demand for it isn't as much since it can be had more easily. If you don't have enough amperage on the 12V rail, the CPU and video card may not get sufficient power. This can lead to stability issues including crashes and restarts, possibly data corruption as well as just odd things happening.
DDR2 is cheaper because the latency is horrid, 5-5-5-12 is such and ugly set of timings, though you'll only see that on the higest speeds.
Ohhhhh that makes total sense. Well this is the ram i'm going for, its in my budget and it looks decent. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820144322. What do you guys think? (btw thanks for everything you guys are awesome!)
