I've decided to use my tax return this year to build a new computer. I currenty dont even have a computer powerful enough to run BF2, I have to drive to a friends house to play. I am not at all knowledgable about computers and thought maybe you guys could make some suggestions as to what I need to buy to build a computer that will last me a few years without having to upgrade. My budget is around $1,200.00 US, I'll be using my HD television as a monitor and I want my cable and everything to go through the computer. Is this possible? Do I need to set more than $1,200.00 aside to build a good computer? I basically want the best shit so I dont have to worry about upgrading, however, I would like a machine that is upgradable b/c when the day comes, I will upgrade. So if you could suggest what I would need to get going on this I would really appreciate it. Remember, I'm a dumbass when it comes to this stuff, so I need Manufacture name, model, etc. thanks!!
Are you planning on building your own or ordering a sys form like dell or something?
Just some things to know.
PCI express is the best for vid cards.
2g mem is standard but you don't need more than that at this point.
get a SLI ready mobo if you ever decide to run 2 vid cards
Power is everything. Get as big a PSU as you can afford. When upgrading, this usually gets upgraded to because its to small. And look at the amp rating on the 12v system of the psu. the higher the better. 18a is preferable especially if you overclock stuff because most overclockable items run on the 12v sys of the psu.
Just some things to know.
PCI express is the best for vid cards.
2g mem is standard but you don't need more than that at this point.
get a SLI ready mobo if you ever decide to run 2 vid cards
Power is everything. Get as big a PSU as you can afford. When upgrading, this usually gets upgraded to because its to small. And look at the amp rating on the 12v system of the psu. the higher the better. 18a is preferable especially if you overclock stuff because most overclockable items run on the 12v sys of the psu.
Last edited by viper313 (2007-02-01 07:18:58)
Core 2 Duo E6400
Nvidia 8800GTX
2Gb of either OCZ gold or XMX2 corsair
Hiper 580W PSU
18X Dual Layer Drive
WD Raptor 10k RPM (either 36gb 76gb or 150gb)
err and a decent mobo like a Asus P5BWH-Deluxe or something
you will be sorted for years to come
Nvidia 8800GTX
2Gb of either OCZ gold or XMX2 corsair
Hiper 580W PSU
18X Dual Layer Drive
WD Raptor 10k RPM (either 36gb 76gb or 150gb)
err and a decent mobo like a Asus P5BWH-Deluxe or something
you will be sorted for years to come
yeah, i plan on buying everything, and having a more computer literate friend assemble, thanks for the direction, now at least i know what to look for. +1 if I could
i was thinking about doing the 2 vid card deal, but does it really make a big difference and will i be able to run my cable, and everything through the comp to the HDTV??
i was thinking about doing the 2 vid card deal, but does it really make a big difference and will i be able to run my cable, and everything through the comp to the HDTV??
Depends on the card. Two 8800GTX is over kill, infact I suggest you swap that for the lesser powerful 8600ultra/GT which will still run like a dream and half the cost of your graphics solution. Though its not quite the same as doubling your graphical power in SLI (two card deal) maybe 70-80% increase, again depends on the specfic rig. Do what Zero! said and perhaps change the card and your good go. Check the cable connections of the card with your tv before purchase though, should be ok and I wanna see pics damit! Good luck
Martyn
Martyn
I'd go for:TheEl_Gayo wrote:
yeah, i plan on buying everything, and having a more computer literate friend assemble, thanks for the direction, now at least i know what to look for. +1 if I could
i was thinking about doing the 2 vid card deal, but does it really make a big difference and will i be able to run my cable, and everything through the comp to the HDTV??
E6300 (just as much OC potential, often more, than the 6400).
2GB PC6400 RAM - decent brand. Personally I recommend Geil and Corsair, but I've had compatibility issues with Corsair XMS stuff.
8600 Ultra or 8800GTS - the GTX is a little pricey and not absolutely necessary.
I wouldn't recommend Raptors that much. Get 2 200/300GB SATA2 drives, preferably with NCQ, and run them in RAID. Cheaper and faster than a single Raptor and you get much more storage space.
Get a nice MB (I like the 680i, 650i and 975X chipsets personally) and a nice HSF (a big Arctic cooling or Zalman one), then you'll be set.
thanks for all the help guys, I filed today and should be getting my return in about 9 days or so. pics will come but of course it will be a few weeks before i get all the parts and everything
I'd karma all of you for your help but alas i am not able to give karma yet
I'd karma all of you for your help but alas i am not able to give karma yet
OK so my tax return should be getting here any day now and I've started looking for this stuff online, I have pretty much been confused about this for a while now and I dont know what I need to build the comp from scratch. here's what I have been looking at so far:
Hard Drive: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a … 6822136012
I was thinking of getting two of these, one for games, one for music. What do you think?
Motherboard: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a … 6813131028
Some of the reviews said this was a picky board but overall a good purchase
Processor: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a … 6819115005
This looks good to me, but I dont know what I'm talking about so help please!
Video Card: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a … 6814130038
Eventually I want two of these to run SLI
Memory: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a … 6820227047
This should be good right?
Power: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a … 6817128001
I still need a rom drive, burning dvd's and cd's will be important so i dont want one that is gonna burn out in 6 months, any ideas?
also, besides a case what else will i need to construct my comp?
thanks in advance for all the help!
Hard Drive: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a … 6822136012
I was thinking of getting two of these, one for games, one for music. What do you think?
Motherboard: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a … 6813131028
Some of the reviews said this was a picky board but overall a good purchase
Processor: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a … 6819115005
This looks good to me, but I dont know what I'm talking about so help please!
Video Card: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a … 6814130038
Eventually I want two of these to run SLI
Memory: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a … 6820227047
This should be good right?
Power: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a … 6817128001
I still need a rom drive, burning dvd's and cd's will be important so i dont want one that is gonna burn out in 6 months, any ideas?
also, besides a case what else will i need to construct my comp?
thanks in advance for all the help!
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a … 6813131142 $139 Mobo
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a … 6820220143 $129 RAM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a … 6822144701 $$74 HD
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a … 6811133145 $79 Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a … 6817152026 $99 Power
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a … 819115005R $163 CPU <--open box
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a … 6827152076 $30 DVD/CD
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a … 6814130038 $299 Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a … 6835118019 $60 Heat sink
NEC 18X DVD±R DVD Burner With 12X DVD-RAM Write Black E-IDE / ATAPI Model 7170A-0B - OEM
Thermaltake SOPRANO VB1000BWS Black 0.8 mm SECC Chassis, Plastic Front Door ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD2500KS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
EVGA 320-P2-N815-AR GeForce 8800GTS 320MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Video Card - Retail
RAIDMAX RX-630A ATX12V / EPS12V 630W Power Supply - Retail
Patriot eXtreme Performance 1GB (2 x 512MB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit
ASUS P5N-E SLI LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 650i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
Open Box: Intel Core 2 Duo E6300 Conroe 1.86GHz LGA 775 Processor Model BX80557E6300 - OEM
ZALMAN 9700 LED 110mm 2 Ball CPU Cooler - Retail
That puts you at 1,074.62
If you have any room to spare I suggest an extra gig of memory.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a … 6820220143 $129 RAM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a … 6822144701 $$74 HD
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a … 6811133145 $79 Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a … 6817152026 $99 Power
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a … 819115005R $163 CPU <--open box
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a … 6827152076 $30 DVD/CD
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a … 6814130038 $299 Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a … 6835118019 $60 Heat sink
NEC 18X DVD±R DVD Burner With 12X DVD-RAM Write Black E-IDE / ATAPI Model 7170A-0B - OEM
Thermaltake SOPRANO VB1000BWS Black 0.8 mm SECC Chassis, Plastic Front Door ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD2500KS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
EVGA 320-P2-N815-AR GeForce 8800GTS 320MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Video Card - Retail
RAIDMAX RX-630A ATX12V / EPS12V 630W Power Supply - Retail
Patriot eXtreme Performance 1GB (2 x 512MB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit
ASUS P5N-E SLI LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 650i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
Open Box: Intel Core 2 Duo E6300 Conroe 1.86GHz LGA 775 Processor Model BX80557E6300 - OEM
ZALMAN 9700 LED 110mm 2 Ball CPU Cooler - Retail
That puts you at 1,074.62
If you have any room to spare I suggest an extra gig of memory.
Last edited by Kmarion (2007-02-28 12:09:10)
Xbone Stormsurgezz
You sure about the Raptors? They are great hard drives but if you're only getting one - don't bother, it's not worth it. Granted the improved access time is nice, but the sustained transfer rate on a RAID setup is always going to be better for cheaper and give you more space. But then 2 Raptors in RAID are very nice - a lot of people seem to buy Raptors just because they hear they are the best without really thinking about if it's actually the best choice for their system. The premium price on Raptors makes them less worthwhile if you ask me.TheEl_Gayo wrote:
OK so my tax return should be getting here any day now and I've started looking for this stuff online, I have pretty much been confused about this for a while now and I dont know what I need to build the comp from scratch. here's what I have been looking at so far:
Hard Drive: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a … 6822136012
I was thinking of getting two of these, one for games, one for music. What do you think?
Motherboard: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a … 6813131028
Some of the reviews said this was a picky board but overall a good purchase
Processor: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a … 6819115005
This looks good to me, but I dont know what I'm talking about so help please!
Video Card: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a … 6814130038
Eventually I want two of these to run SLI
Memory: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a … 6820227047
This should be good right?
Power: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a … 6817128001
I still need a rom drive, burning dvd's and cd's will be important so i dont want one that is gonna burn out in 6 months, any ideas?
also, besides a case what else will i need to construct my comp?
thanks in advance for all the help!
For example you could get 2 of these drives for the same price and get generally better performance and have more than quadruple the storage space.
I'd also advise going for 800MHz (PC6400) RAM.
Me no like NEC DVDRW. I've had motors fail on two that I got.Kmarion wrote:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131142 $139 Mobo
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a … 6820220143 $129 RAM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a … 6822144701 $$74 HD
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a … 6811133145 $79 Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a … 6817152026 $99 Power
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a … 819115005R $163 CPU <--open box
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a … 6827152076 $30 DVD/CD
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a … 6814130038 $299 Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a … 6835118019 $60 Heat sink
NEC 18X DVD±R DVD Burner With 12X DVD-RAM Write Black E-IDE / ATAPI Model 7170A-0B - OEM
Thermaltake SOPRANO VB1000BWS Black 0.8 mm SECC Chassis, Plastic Front Door ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD2500KS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
EVGA 320-P2-N815-AR GeForce 8800GTS 320MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Video Card - Retail
RAIDMAX RX-630A ATX12V / EPS12V 630W Power Supply - Retail
Patriot eXtreme Performance 1GB (2 x 512MB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit
ASUS P5N-E SLI LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 650i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
Open Box: Intel Core 2 Duo E6300 Conroe 1.86GHz LGA 775 Processor Model BX80557E6300 - OEM
ZALMAN 9700 LED 110mm 2 Ball CPU Cooler - Retail
That puts you at 1,074.62
If you have any room to spare I suggest an extra gig of memory.
He should have a spare $130 for some more RAM if he's still on a $1200 budget. A second HDD for RAID would be good too. I'm sure he can save a bit on that rig somewhere, he doesn't need a 630W PSU for a start, a 450W would do (500W to be on the safe side).
I went with the higher PS keeping in mind his desire for upgrades. That of course could be replaced later. I have had luck with the NEC myself.
I was just trying to get him in the right direction.
I was just trying to get him in the right direction.
Xbone Stormsurgezz
So, I posted my specs elsewhere, but sans monitor, I'm about at your budget...I agree to drop the raptors...get good HDDs with 8MB cache and a spindle speed of 7400 and run raid, which is what I do...my full specs are:
Intel Core 2 Duo 6600 @ 2.4 GHz
2GB Corsair top-of-the-line memory
Asus P5B Deluxe mobo
nvidia 7900GTO (I got this thing more than six months ago...)
2xWD2500KS HDD
I have the whole BOM in a spreadsheet somewhere, but suffice it to say that since I upgraded, my abilities are on another level...as evidenced by my relatively crappy K and such...I've pulled my K and such up quite a bit by getting the new system (I was on an old Pentium D w/ AGP before)
Intel Core 2 Duo 6600 @ 2.4 GHz
2GB Corsair top-of-the-line memory
Asus P5B Deluxe mobo
nvidia 7900GTO (I got this thing more than six months ago...)
2xWD2500KS HDD
I have the whole BOM in a spreadsheet somewhere, but suffice it to say that since I upgraded, my abilities are on another level...as evidenced by my relatively crappy K and such...I've pulled my K and such up quite a bit by getting the new system (I was on an old Pentium D w/ AGP before)
well... I can tell you the new system I ordered....:
Core 2 Xtreme QX6700
Asus p5n32-E SLI mobo
GF 8800 GTX (maybe a second one SLI later this year)
SB X-Fi Fatality
WD Raptor X 150GB
WD Caviar SE16 320Gb (to dump my useless software)
Corsair Twin2X (4Gb)
Thermaltake Toughpower 750Watt PSU
Logitech G11 keyboard.... (I got a Z-board now.... it sucks)
Logitech G5 gaming mouse
(Already got case, monitor and speaker system....this was originally just planned as an upgrade )
costs me round about 3000 euros which is round about 4000 USD.... at least this one will last more then two and a half years..... if you got the money to spare...go for it....
Core 2 Xtreme QX6700
Asus p5n32-E SLI mobo
GF 8800 GTX (maybe a second one SLI later this year)
SB X-Fi Fatality
WD Raptor X 150GB
WD Caviar SE16 320Gb (to dump my useless software)
Corsair Twin2X (4Gb)
Thermaltake Toughpower 750Watt PSU
Logitech G11 keyboard.... (I got a Z-board now.... it sucks)
Logitech G5 gaming mouse
(Already got case, monitor and speaker system....this was originally just planned as an upgrade )
costs me round about 3000 euros which is round about 4000 USD.... at least this one will last more then two and a half years..... if you got the money to spare...go for it....
Looks good except for the MOBO. It's the same one I have .DocZ wrote:
well... I can tell you the new system I ordered....:
Core 2 Xtreme QX6700
Asus p5n32-E SLI mobo
GF 8800 GTX (maybe a second one SLI later this year)
SB X-Fi Fatality
WD Raptor X 150GB
WD Caviar SE16 320Gb (to dump my useless software)
Corsair Twin2X (4Gb)
Thermaltake Toughpower 750Watt PSU
Logitech G11 keyboard.... (I got a Z-board now.... it sucks)
Logitech G5 gaming mouse
(Already got case, monitor and speaker system....this was originally just planned as an upgrade )
costs me round about 3000 euros which is round about 4000 USD.... at least this one will last more then two and a half years..... if you got the money to spare...go for it....
Xbone Stormsurgezz
It's been quite a while since I've had an NEC drive (I had a 2.4x and a 4x). I've heard lots of good things about them, but in my experience they break. Pioneer and Plextor drives have served me well though - Plextor are my favourite, but to be honest they're not worth the money.Kmarion wrote:
I went with the higher PS keeping in mind his desire for upgrades. That of course could be replaced later. I have had luck with the NEC myself.
I was just trying to get him in the right direction.
I suppose the 630W PSU would be sufficient for another GPU in SLI, but barely (and that board is only 8x, 8x in SLI so not really much benefit to be had).
Last edited by Bertster7 (2007-02-28 12:38:53)
Is that system not a bit too expensive. I think I can get that system for about 1700£DocZ wrote:
well... I can tell you the new system I ordered....:
Core 2 Xtreme QX6700
Asus p5n32-E SLI mobo
GF 8800 GTX (maybe a second one SLI later this year)
SB X-Fi Fatality
WD Raptor X 150GB
WD Caviar SE16 320Gb (to dump my useless software)
Corsair Twin2X (4Gb)
Thermaltake Toughpower 750Watt PSU
Logitech G11 keyboard.... (I got a Z-board now.... it sucks)
Logitech G5 gaming mouse
(Already got case, monitor and speaker system....this was originally just planned as an upgrade )
costs me round about 3000 euros which is round about 4000 USD.... at least this one will last more then two and a half years..... if you got the money to spare...go for it....
wow thanks for all the help, I'm an idiot when it comes to this stuff, I cant wait to finally have a computer I can do all my gaming and music shit on without having to worry about upgrades. This stuff should be good for a few years, thanks again!
i was looking at monitors today for shits and grins. i saw that some said "Vista Ready".....what the fuck? i have a 19 inch LG thats like 4 months old, am i screwed?
....which is round about 3000 euros......stef10 wrote:
Is that system not a bit too expensive. I think I can get that system for about 1700£DocZ wrote:
well... I can tell you the new system I ordered....:
Core 2 Xtreme QX6700
Asus p5n32-E SLI mobo
GF 8800 GTX (maybe a second one SLI later this year)
SB X-Fi Fatality
WD Raptor X 150GB
WD Caviar SE16 320Gb (to dump my useless software)
Corsair Twin2X (4Gb)
Thermaltake Toughpower 750Watt PSU
Logitech G11 keyboard.... (I got a Z-board now.... it sucks)
Logitech G5 gaming mouse
(Already got case, monitor and speaker system....this was originally just planned as an upgrade )
costs me round about 3000 euros which is round about 4000 USD.... at least this one will last more then two and a half years..... if you got the money to spare...go for it....
I think I'd do this:
okay you guys can find it cheaper obviously..... but I got excellent service from my hardware store guy.....
Good picks, I guess I was shooting for a lower budget..
Xbone Stormsurgezz
1700£ is 17000 dkkr while 4000 is about 24000 dkkr.
I just checked the currency.
And dkkr or dkk is danish kroners. They are not so much in value therefor I can give a pretty accurate answer.
I just checked the currency.
And dkkr or dkk is danish kroners. They are not so much in value therefor I can give a pretty accurate answer.
Last edited by stef10 (2007-02-28 13:03:06)
Still comes in under budget after rebates....Kmarion wrote:
Good picks, I guess I was shooting for a lower budget..
I was going to stick the HSF I use (Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro) in it, but it cost loads of money! I bought it in the UK for £12 (it's up to about £15 now but that's still fairly cheap) and it's going for $70 on Newegg. One of the few times I've seen components be cheaper in the UK.
Now I understand why they don't seem so popular with Americans - they don't have the great price incentive to get Arctic Cooling stuff.