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Build me a computer
I'm thinking about trying to build a computer for the first time. I know I could do it and have a pretty good idea on everything I need to get. Still I have never done this before and could use some help. So could someone help me out and put a list together of everything they would put in a computer if they were to build one. I'm thinking about spending around 1000 but if I go over a little thats fine.
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I've never built a computer either, but I have heard nothing but excellent things of the Asus A7N8X Deluxe motherboard.
More Info |
how does the ASUS A7N8X stack up to the ABIT NF7-S ?
and now w/ intel speeding up the intro of PCI-Express.. how's that gonna affect this? |
Depends all on whether youre a gamer or not.
Cuz you can build a cheap comp for $300 that's not for gaming. And all the rest is gaming.. |
Re: Build me a computer
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but, in general, i suppose i'll give a vague general reply: Case Power Supply Cooling (casefans etc) Harddrive(s) Floppy ? dvd-rom/dvd-burner (i recommend separately tbh) Motherboard CPU RAM Gfx card* Soundcard* Network card* * onboard or PCI i think that covers it, for the basics. if you want specific rec's narrow down your requirements... and i'm sure there's some good info in other threads in here, try a search :) |
I can add more after we see more of your specific needs, but for some generally high power/dollar stuff, look at:
Mobo: Abit NF7-S V2 ~$95 Proc: Athlon XP 2500+ Barton (1.83 GHz and 333 MHz FSB) $90 RAM: Crucial PC 3200 512MB ~85 Video card selection will depend strongly upon what you want to do with your system. The NF7-S has onboard 5.1 that is supposed to be quite good. It also has a 10/100 NIC built in. Things to consider and let us know about: Gaming preferences (as mentioned above) OS choice: Windows only? Linux too/only? |
Parabola, do you want to use the computer to play games, or just use average software like Microsoft Office? You can get an "average" computer today for insanely cheap, and you can even get a very nice gaming computer for $1,000. If you want it for gaming, then I'll suggest the top-of-the-line components, but if you just want a computer to type and read e-mail, etc. on, then it's a different story.
-Lasereth |
This list would be my suggestion's for a nice $1000 + PC........
All Prices from http://newegg.com/ Case ~ ANTEC SOHO File Server Tower ATX Case with 400W Power Supply, Model "SX1040BII" $83.00 Processer ~ Intel Pentium 4/ 3.0C GHz 800MHz FSB, 512KB Cache, Hyper Threading Technology $267.00 Motherboard ~ ABIT 875P Chipset Motherboard for Intel Socket 478 CPU, Model "IC7-G MAX2" $149.99 Ram ~ Kingston HyperX Series Dual Kits 184 Pin 512MB(256MBx2) DDR PC-3200 $127.00 Video ~ ATI RADEON 9600SE Video Card, 128MB DDR, 64-bit, DVI/TV-Out, 8X AGP $125.00 Sound card ~ Creative Labs Sound Blaster Audigy2 ZS $89.00 Sony Black DVD+/-RW Recorder Drive, Model DW-U14A $139.99 Sony Black 16X DVD-ROM Drive, Model DDU1612/B2 $29.00 Sony MPF920 Black 1.44MB 3.5INCH Floppy Disk Drive $10.99 Main HD ~ Western Digital Raptor 36.7GB 10,000RPM SATA Hard Drive, Model WD360GD $115.00 Storage HD ~ Western Digital 120GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive, Model WD1200JD $95.00 Total $1231.00 - tax & shipping and a few things like cables, case fans ect. This would be a nice all around machine for gaming, video ect, and have plenty of room for expansion..... It all depends on what you plan on using it for, the price can easily be brought down by going with standard IDE drives, a cheaper video and sound card....... even a cheaper motherboard, I chose the Max 2 because it's a great board with dual Sata and onboard Lan, but if you're on dial up you'll need a network card so the "IC7" would be a better choice. My main machine has most of the above with a few more bells & whistles, 2 x 512 Kingston Hyper X Radeon 9800 Pro Audigy2 ZS Platinum 2 x 36.7 Raptors (Raid0) 200gb Maxtor (storage) Coolermaster Musketeer Vantec Fan controller http://ashtonxxx.smugmug.com/photos/1494036-L.jpg |
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I do want this for gaming. It's one of the reasons I want to get a new computer. My 1ghz athlon and 8500 Radeon aren't what they used to be.
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If ya want a $1,000 PC, you're gonna get just about the best you can buy right now. Ashton's setup is nice, but for a gaming PC, that shitty Radeon 9600SE will not do the trick. A P4 3.06 with Hyper-Threading will be incredibly bottlenecked by a videocard like the 9600 SE. Games these days have changed over the past few years; they're now more dependant on the videocard instead of the processor. You can get a 10 GHz processor if ya want, but the game won't run worth a shit unless you have a good videocard.
Now, the final decision! AMD or Intel!! Either one is fine considering you're spending $1,000. Budget-minded gamers usually go AMD, but with $1,000 you can afford either choice. If you want an AMD system, there's another choice on top of the first one: Athlon XP or Athlon 64? Yeah, with $1,000, you can afford either. I suppose I'll list both recommendations! Athlon 64 Setup GIGABYTE GA-K8VT800M Motherboard - $96 Athlon 64 3000+ Retail - $227 Corsair XMS Extreme Memory Speed Series, PC3200, 256 MB x 2 - $124 Lite-On 52x32x52 CD-RW - $38 OEM Samsung Floppy Drive - $9 Maxtor 80GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive - $82 Whatever Case You WantŪ $50 ENERMAX EG365P-VE(FCA) 350W Power Supply - $59 SAPPHIRE RADEON 9800PRO Video Card, 128MB DDR, 256-bit, DVI/TV-Out, 8X AGP - $229 The total on that computer is $914 before shipping. That's considerably under your price limit and will deliver incredibly performance on ANY of today's games. All prices are directly from the one and the only -- NEWEGG!! Now for the Athlon XP system: AMD Athlon XP 2500+ Barton at 1.8 GHz stock - $80 OEM Abit NF7-S Revision 2.0 Motherboard - $99 Corsair XMS Extreme Memory Speed Series, PC3200, 256 MB x 2 - $124 Lite-On 52x32x52 CD-RW - $38 OEM Samsung Floppy Drive - $9 Maxtor 80GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive - $82 Whatever Case You WantŪ $50 ENERMAX EG365P-VE(FCA) 350W Power Supply - $59 BFG GeForce FX 5900 ULTRA Video Card, 256MB DDR, 256-bit, DVI/VIVO, 8X AGP - $336 Thermaltake Volcano 9+ CPU Fan - $30 The total on the Athlon XP system is $907 before shipping. Now for the Intel system: Intel Pentium 4/ 2.4C GHz 800MHz FSB, 512K Cache, Hyper Threading Technology - Retail - $163 ABIT 875P Chipset Motherboard for Intel Socket 478 CPU, Model "IC7-Max3" - RETAIL - $186 Corsair XMS Extreme Memory Speed Series, PC3200, 256 MB x 2 - $124 Lite-On 52x32x52 CD-RW - $38 OEM Samsung Floppy Drive - $9 Maxtor 80GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive - $82 Whatever Case You WantŪ $50 ENERMAX EG365P-VE(FCA) 350W Power Supply - $59 SAPPHIRE RADEON 9800PRO Video Card, 128MB DDR, 256-bit, DVI/TV-Out, 8X AGP - $229 The Intel system is about $940 before shipping. I hope these recommendations help with buying your computer! They are the exact combinations I'd get if I had $1,000. Good luck!! -Lasereth |
I was reading all the responses and I was thinking, am I the only person who couldn't build a PC for a grand or less?
Maybe my taste is just a little too expensive. |
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I just built a good pc for around $650, all parts from newegg except the case and power supply. Specs are:
Athlon Barton 2800+ (oc'd 3200+) MSI K7N2 Delta Motherboard 512 MB Geil PC-3200 RAM GeForce 5900 Video Card 120GB Maxtor HDD 7200 DVD ROM CD RW 42x Creative Audigy Sound Card |
My Barton 2500+ system rocks. Just got better RAM and now running at 2300 MHz, 200 MHz FSB. Not bad for a $90 CPU. Now I need a new video card, 9500 Pro is still sweet, but I want a 9800 Pro.
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Thanks very much. I don't know exactly what I'm going to get but all of this was a big help.
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Might as well posts the specs for what I am building.
AMD based: Motherboard: Abit Nf7-s V2 $98 Proc: Barton 2500+ $90 Video: BFG Geforce fx5900 $175 Ram: Corsair XMS 3200 (2x512) $250 System HD: WD 37 GB Raptor SATA $110 Storage HD: Hitachi 160 GB 7200rpm $110 CD-rom: Aopen CD-rw/Dvd $57 Case+cooling: Case: Thermaltake supertower (7 fans) $130 PS: Antec (2 fan) 550w PS $100 Proc HS: Thermaltake silentboost heatsink $30 Grease: Artic Silver 5 $11 about 1200 total and yes the excessive cooling is for massive overclocking of the proc and videocard... |
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that's definitely what I would do, but you can knock down some of that stuff. I would just get a nice $50 case, and he seriously doesn't need a 550 watt power supply. a 350-400 would serve him fine. might could clock down that 160 as well, if he doesn't need that much storage. I have no room to talk, I am running 540 gigabytes right now.... |
What is the point of having the 37gb raptor HDD. I assume it's because it is a lot faster. So what kind of files would you put on that? Games? Then keep stuff like documents and photos and music on the huge drive.
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SharkeyExtreme is a great site for guides on building your own pc. They have three levels, value ($1000), high ($2500), and extreme ($4000). For each level, they'll provide both an Intel and an AMD configured recommendation.
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I'm not sure what to do about the processor. On one hand the 2500+ is cheap and can be overclocked. I don't know how to overclock at all and am kind of worried about doing a good job with it. Then I could also just get a 3200+. It would be nice to save the money but I can afford it and I won't worry about trying to overclock it.
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can u overclock a 3200+?
or any other athlon xp for that matter.. like a 2800+.. why's 2500+ the one everyone's going for? |
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People want bang for the buck. People, not me, are too cheap to buy a 3200+. |
what do you mean by easily overclocked?...
Does that mean the 2800+ is harder to overclock? and can the 3200+ be overclocked? thanks for helpin this noob :icare: |
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the 3200+ and 2800+ and 3000+ can all be OCed, but the 2500+ is the cheapest :) |
While we are on the OC'ing subject,
I have an Athlon XP 2000+ palomino that I would like to try OC'ing with, but I think that its multiplier and fsb is hard to tweak without doing things to the chip..? I am new to this sort of thing and haven't found many good resources for OC'ing. I could use some tips/sites to check out.. |
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-Lasereth |
Here is the computer I think I will be getting. any comments would be great. My only real question is if the Antec Sonata case is big enough. I read a few reviews and one said that it was a little on the small side. I also haven't made up my mind yet on a graphics card but I'm leaning toward the 9600xt 256mb. I don't really plan on overclocking at all at least for now either.
AMD Athlon XP 3200+ "Barton", 400MHz FSB, 512K Cache Processor - OEM Corsair XMS Extreme Memory Speed Series, (Twin Pack) 184 Pin 1GB(512MBx2) DDR PC-3200 - Retail SONY Black 52x32x52 IDE Internal CD-RW Drive, Model CRX230E-B2, OEM SONY BLACK 16X DVD-ROM Drive, Model DDU1612/B2, OEM SONY MPF920 Black 1.44MB 3.5INCH Floppy Disk Drive, OEM Western Digital Raptor 36.7GB 10,000RPM SATA Hard Drive, Model WD360GD, OEM Drive Western Digital Special Edition 120GB 7200RPM IDE Hard Drive, Model WD1200JB, OEM Drive Only ABIT nForce2 Ultra 400 Chipset Motherboard for AMD Socket A CPU, Model "NF7-S V2" -RETAIL ANTEC Life Style Series Black Case With 380W Power Supply, Model "Sonata" |
what's the use of the 37GB hdd? Is it really that helpful?
And just out of curiousity.. what video card will you be using? hehe.. You're pc looks like what I was thinkin for myself... (how much is that corsair ram cost?) |
the Raptor drives are the next step for general consumer harddrive quality.
SATA , no longer IDE/ATA is faster and more stable. 10,000 RPM: apprently faster then 7200rpm, this allows for the read/write heads to access the platters faster. Is it worth the difference? I feel so yes. And if you do RAID its beyond worth it w/out going SCSI. |
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I haven't got everything assembled yet, so if you can wait 24 hours before ordering, I can offer a much better review, but I don't forsee any real problems. |
allright I have one final question, I think. Would it be worth it to spend a few extra bucks on a better and quieter heatsink fan combo on the CPU. I don't plan on overclocking but I want to have a very quiet computer. Also the case I'm getting the Sonata only comes with one big fan. If so what would you recommend. Doesn't have to be the best at keeping cool, good but not the best. Most important it doesn't make much noise.
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-Lasereth |
Vantec's AeroFlow - $25.00
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...110-007&depa=1 I my self find it very quiet, but then again anyone who has more then 3 normal 80mm fans wont even hear it anyways. http://www.cluboverclocker.com/revie...7040/specs.jpg For the excellent job it does cooling vs other coolers in its class, its dead quiet. And dont let TMD fans fool you, they once were bad news, Vantec has perfected it. |
Well its time for the daily noobie question from me :D
What's the diff. between SATA and IDE? -its special double dose wednesday!- Does having a higher buffer on hdd's and cd-rw's (ie. 2mb -> 8mb) make the burning process, or moving files faster? and if so, by how much Thanks a bunches :icare: |
Well without going into a completly geeked out definition...
IDE/ATA currently pretty much only comes in two flavors, ATA 100 and 133. Each relating to its speed, 100MBps and 133. Newer technologies offer higher cache on board, allowing even better performance. Serial ATA on the otherhand offers a whole new realm. Starting at a minimum of 150MBps going upwards to 600MBps (You wont find this anywhere atm), and uses a parallel ribbon cable sending 1 bit bus unlike ata's 8bit to 16bit bus. SATA has built in data protection, part reasoning for the new bus method. A nice thing about SATA is the loss of worrying about Master and Slave setups, easier bios setups, and is backward compatible with mixing other IDE/ATA devices. They also on newer power supplies get thier own dedicated power cable. On larger cases ribbon cable lengths can become a problem, with SATA they go up to 39" (1meter) w/out worry of data loss or corruption. It is highly debatable wether the cost vs performance is worth it atm, but as time goes on you will notice SATA is the future. Why not switch now? (Just dont get the impression that SATA is ment to replace SCSI as well, SATA is just a updated faster and better IDE/ATA) |
ah.. I've learned so much in these forums. :D thanks
well for more learning, Arent SATA drives currently around 35 to 50 Gigs big? and reallly expensive? So if i want movies and songs and stuff, i should also get a IDE and make it a slave... rite? |
Yeah, cost is always a factor.
But for the most part, SATA is the same general cost of IDE. a buck per gig. for example: Seagate 80GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive, Model ST380013AS, OEM - 82$ @ newegg.com |
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