Building a new Gaming Rig

[RussianSensation]

Originally posted by: Bugalaman

oh yet another thing. OCZ is utter crap. Get Corsair XMS or Mushkin. THis is a good buy: </blockquote>"><a target=_blank class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=20-145-523&amp;depa=1

http://]http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=20-145-523&amp;depa=1<h">[url]http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=20-145-523&amp;depa=1[/q[/url]</a>[/L] [/quote]

OCZ is actually one of the fastest and best RAM companies out there. Did you see the latest review where it overclocked 40% from stock, while still retaining low latency? If not, please read HERE

I'd get slower latency ram for sure. Crucial Ballistix ram seems absolutely the best, but it's availability is a question. Of course it might become available in a week or 2. Link

OCZ also has the old Platinum Editions on Newegg with 2-3-2-6 or 2-2-3-6 speeds I believe, that can run at 2-2-2-5 at 400mhz and 2.7V.

Also I wouldn't go with the FX processor unless you intend to overclock. The cheaper 3800+ should offer slightly slower performance and give you that extra ooomph to get the 6800Ultra card.

Like others said invest in a good quality PSU. You simply cant get a good case and a power supply for $58. How much space does your friend need? Is 70gb enough for him? Just go with 1 raptor unless he needs 200gigs of space. I've never filled 80gigs of my WD but I guess everyone is different.

no DVD Writer?????

 

[Tostada]

I've gotta say that that system is going to be extremely disappointing for spending over $2000. Are you going to do a single thing that would perform noticably better on an FX-53 than it would on an A64 3500+? I doubt it.

You're spending over $2000 and you're getting a shadow mask CRT and a cheap case. Don't get me wrong, the Viewsonic G90FB is my top recommendation for a $600 box with a $200 monitor, but you should really be looking at 19-22" Trinitron/Diamondtron displays or a 19" DVI LCD like the BenQ.

I guess that's just me. I'd rather have a $1200 machine with a $1000 screen than a $2000 machine with a $200 screen.

Also, it is true that Socket 939 will be for high-end systems and 754 will be fore low-end systems next year, but it's still the first place you should be saving money for most systems. Upgradability isn't really an issue, because by the time you would be upgrading an A64 3500+ or better, you'll almost certainly want a new mobo, too. And remember that 512MB sticks are much faster than 1024MB sticks, so you have to count on them needing massive amounts of RAM if you want to justify going with slower, more expensive RAM.

 

[Mik3y]

Originally posted by: Ryoga
Ryoga's guide to bulding a PC:

Step 1: Wait six months. DDR2, PCIe, and dual core CPUs are coming to prime time. Buy a system now and you'll have to throw the whole thing away before you can upgrade.

Also s754 appears to be a dead-end road. It's likely there will be two kinds of chips made for it: Semprons, and midgrade Athlons to upgrade your Sempron from without buying a s939 board.

it'll be much longer then 6 months for dual cored cpus. with a $2100 budget, i dont see how anyone can afford a dual cpu. it'll cost just as much as having 2 opterons or 2 athlon fx's, which takes up $1600ish. also, dual cored cpu's will run off socket 900, not 939. we'll all have to wait 1 to 1.5 yrs till dual cored comes out to to become a reasonable purchase. the dual cored fx is not planned til Q4 of 2005 to Q1 of 2006.