Well i did some research but there's so many options. I don't want someone's prebuilt configuration, I'd rather try my own thing, it feels more "custom" that way. So I'd like to know if there's any serious issues with this parts combination, that i took about 2 hours to pick. Bear in mind, i am a complete n00b. Never looked at parts comparisons, just looked up the compatibility stuff yesterday, etc. So if even the slightest thing is wrong, or if i'm missing something, please tell me! I basically went by two things: Customer reviews, and price. I'd like to keep it in about this price range, the total works out to $750, before shipping. I'm guessing I could ship this all together and save a lot, right? CPU (Good deal?) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103274 Motherboard (really could use help here. This has an on-board Video and Audio, but are they any good? If not, I'd prefer a motherboard without these. Recommendations?) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128339 Memory http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820146784 Hard Drive (was going to go for 500gb, but this is the same price/GB of the cheapest 500 on here) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152100 Video card (going with 8000s rather than 9000s since the deal is better. also going for high end because i'd rather have it for a few years.) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130352 Audio card (i trust creative, have had one for my laptop for over a year) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829102012 Case/Power Supply (seems like a really good deal, unless there would be a need to upgrade the power supply in the next 3 years do you know if i could do it with this?) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811156062 DVD http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827129018 Have already: Monitor: http://www.polaroid.com/global/deta...4488338773&bmUID=1216150704956&bmLocale=en_US Speakers: Logitech X-530 (5.1) Mouse: Logitech wired USB Keyboard: Some cheap USB one from walmart, could always replace. Thanks.
case http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119068 cpu http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115052 mobo http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128337 ram http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145590 gpu http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127359 psu http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139004 fan http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835186134 hdd same total $750 before shipping first thing is the power supply. never use a power supply that comes with a case. most of the time they are junk and can damage your parts. a good quality corsair unit is what you need. intel is better for gaming right now so it would be best to get an intel cpu and a good overclocking motherboard. for the ram you want to sticks so you can run in dual channel mode for better performance. the 8800gt is a last gen card and is no longer the best midrange card. you want to get the new 4850 from ati. it kicks the crap out of it and beats out the 9800gtx.
intel has a better architecture for it's cpus. this means that they are faster at the same clock speed. intel also has an advantage in overclocking. that 2.5ghz cpu can overclock to well over 3ghz. the amd cpu does not have much overclock ability. the second cpu you listed, the 6000+ is an old cpu. it is a 90nm chip. the intel cpu i recommended is a 45nm chip. this means that the transistors are half the size. smaller transistors use less power, and generate less heat. that ram will be fine. i just recently upgraded to a similar set of ram. gskill 2x2 ddr2 1000. i got it for $85 and it is working great. the main advantage of higher clocked memory is that it allows you to set the fsb higher and overclock farther. the reason i recommended the other set of ram was because i was trying to follow you budget and i picked the cheaper one. the fan i listed is for the cpu. it attaches to the motherboard and cools the cpu better then the stock cooling. yes you can use a copy of windows you have already but it cant be a reinstall disc from an old dell or something. it needs to be a retail copy. if you dont have that you can get it from a few different places. just send me a pm if you would like to know were to get it.
As I said in my post, I want to build my own. But I did use your suggestions as a basis. For example, the case, fan, psu and gpu look like awesome deals so i see no reason to dispute them. Why is intel better? The only advantage i see to the intel cpu + mb (assuming higher numbers are better, lol) is a 3mb L2 cache instead of 2mb. But the AMD has a .5GHz higher operating frequency. So please explain the differences? But i kept with AMD for the moment and here's what i found. So the only things I'm changing from what you said are cpu, motherboard and ram. What does anyone think of these? ram: (eh why not its a better deal, and more future proof)(question about ram: does 1066 vs 800 make a big difference in speed to warrant the 30 dollars extra?) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231166 cpu http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103773 mb http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128081 New total: $781 Also, jw, how exactly would that fan be installed in that case? And I really don't see a point to upgrading to vista so (incredibly noobish question) can i use a copy of windows xp i already have on it? Or do i have to buy a new one?
@wolfmastr krj...has made some excellent choices for you...the Intel CPU's are much better at the throughput of Data...do not go by clock speeds when comparing AMD...to Intel...there is No Direct Correlation of the Numbers...You will definitely get more bang for the buck with an Intel... A Case suggestion: ENERMAX Chakra ECA3052B Black SECC ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail $69.99 Free 3 Business Day Shipping http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811124114
Y2K!!!!!! haha. I saw the same thing happen on another thread. Maybe a glitch with the editing? Anyway thanks for the elaboration. I never overclocked anything (obviously) but it cant be too hard since it seems like everyone does it. About that other case: I like the massive fan but other than that I don't see any advantages. Any personal experience with it?
overclocking is not that hard. it might be hard to understand at first but you will get it. here is a guide. http://www.overclockingwiki.org/forums/showthread.php?t=832
Well I guess I am going for the Intel stuff because it seems better in the long run. But i'm torn on the case. I've looked at a bunch and it seems like all of them have some advantages and disadvantages. So it's between those two 1 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119077 2 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductReview.aspx?Item=N82E16811124114 and this one. Thoughts? 3 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...aseMark=&VideoOnlyMark=False&Keywords=&Page=2 Also, I'm reading some real bad reviews on that intel motherboard, such as overclocking issues and bios issues. ( http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductReview.aspx?Item=N82E16813128337 ) Anyone know any alternatives? Preferably within 20 dollars of this.
dont listen to the newegg reviews. the people that wrote those are stupid. trust me, that is an excelent board. i have it and i am running my e2200 @ 3.2ghz. there are tons of overclocking options and settings and a safe reset in case you mess it up. now for the cases. the first one looks good. the second one i don't really care for. i think it looks cheap. also big side fans like that can sometimes mess with good air flow and cause the case to have bad cooling. the third case looks good. i didint know gigabyte made cases but their other products are top quality and this one should not be different. there is another case you might want to look at, the antec 300. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129042
I just realized I could get 200W more for 30 dollars more. Im guessing not worth it but i might as well ask. Worth it or no? $90 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128337 + $90 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139004 -10 MIR =170 vs $90 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128081 + $154 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128081 -25MIR -30 combo deal =200 I'm buying this around midnight tonight when i get back from work. Here's the current wishlist with the first power supply option http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWishDetail.aspx?WishListNumber=12336827&WishListTitle=PC On top of that I get Free Witcher game (still haven't decided if I'll play or sell that, it was rated 8.5/10), about 70 dollars in MIR. ~770 + 60 Tax (bah) + 30 some shipping. Edit- Just realized the DVD burner was out of stock, need to find another now. going for http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151173 unless someone wants to prove me wrong. Does that thing not even have cd support? agh maybe i wont be buying this tonight after all. more research.... edit2: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835186134 free hdmi cable with fan? haha i wasnt aware fans have video outputs. Anyway its free but for a 2 dollar increase in shipping. I dont need it but why not?
if you want to get the 750 watt psu then go ahead and get it. the only advantage you will get is future upgrade ability. otherwise 750 is much more than you will need. the samsung dvd drive will work great. i have the same drive and i dont have any problems with it.
I also second the ATi Radeon HD 4850 and an Intel processor over an AMD. The 4850 is about $160 with mail-in-rebate (and you can get a free The Witcher game). It's performance is around the 9800 GTX if not better! Intel CPUs seem to run better than AMD CPUs even though they are clocked at the same speed so I would go for an Intel. But if you get an Intel CPU you would also need a different motherboard (the one you picked is only compatible with AMD CPUs). As for the RAM I don't really know but I assume the ones you pick should work fine. For you case it's really up to you. It's for ventilation and cosmetics mostly, just don't pick something that's cheaply made and you should be fine. For your PSU I don't recommend 750W since you only have one GPU you would only need around 450W. Just my two cents. (Hope I made it in time!)
Yeah thank you. I know i dont even need the 550 i was going for, but two years down the line? i might need 560. Requirements are just going up and up so i might as well get the 750watt. it's rated well and a good deal.
Ugh. I just have bad feelings about this motherboard for some reason. I found a comparible one. Anyone see any serious problems? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130185 It's a better price and other than that is basically the same, but it supports 16GB ram? I know, I'll likely never use that, but still its nice. I'm sleeping on it but I think i'd rather go for that instead. I'll be buying something sometime tomorrow whether i have second guesses or not. edit- buying the original one recommended cause i'm tired of waiting. if this one i just linked is superawesome amazing and the one im getting causes some weird problem the day i get it, i dont care cause I'm tired of waiting. Worst case something happens and i can return/exchange. Best case, it works for years until 8gb is needed for games, which shouldn't happen within like 10 years i'd think. Because 2 years ago 1gb was the middle, now its the low and 2gb is the middle. Sorry for ranting but I'm making the purchase now so it's the end of this thread. Thanks for all your help!
You made a good decision going with the board. you will most likely not need more than 8gb in the near future and by the time that you do need it you want a new motherboard. good luck and let us know when you get your stuff and how it goes
