Building a new system ...

[slpavman]

Okay all you tweakers and system builders ! I've been asked to build a gaming system from scratch by a friend (who has money and is a relative newbie to the computer world).

Here's all the direction I got:
1) Must be Intel (sigh, I have no clue as far as Intel mobos etc - I'm an AMD-guy)
2) Must be able to run ALL of the newest games easily
3) Doesn't need CDRW or DVD (has DVD, doesn't want burner)
4) Should be built for performance AND looks (so I guess window case and lights are a must, she likes purple)
5) Should be very user-friendly (she won't o/c and doesn't want a "touchy" system)
6) She has a monitor she wants to use ...

My initial thoughts:

Thermaltake Xaser Case (or suitable equivalent)
Enermax 465W Whisper PSU
1 GB of either Corsair or Mushkin PC3200 Ram
Lite-on 52X CD
Sound Blaster Audigy LS Sound Card
Logitech Z640 5.1 Speakers
WinXP home
No clue on mobo,cpu, or hsf combo!

All suggestions are welcomed!

 

[GTaudiophile]

SHE???

:camera: or BAN!

 

[GTaudiophile]

J/K

CoolerMaster Case
ASUS P4C800
Intel P4 3.2EE (Actually, just a 3.2C would be a much better deal!)
ATi Radeon 9800XT (Again, the Radeon 9800 PRO is a better value.)
Fortron 350W Power Supply (Been told these are reliable and the quietest.)
1GB Corsair DDR400 RAM
Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS soundcard
WinXP PRO!

 

[slpavman]

Yes ... she. Come on guys! I can't believe that no one wants to help put this virtual system together! I really don't know anything about Intel CPUs or mobos so I need advice on best bang-for-the-buck combo. Please ...

 

[jdogg707]

Intel P4 3.0C Processor
Abit IC7 Motherboard
1GB OCZ PC3200 Platinum Memory
ATI Radeon 9800XT Video Card
Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS Sound Card
Antec P160 Tower
Antec TruePower True Blue 480W PSU
Logitech Z-680 Speakers
Lite-On 52x CD-ROM (I would get the combo DVD-ROM/CD-RW, cheap, and covers all the media bases)
Windows XP Pro
Zalman CNPS7000A-Cu Heatsink

Fast, Quiet, looks good and did I mention fast....

 

[slpavman]

Thx! Some good suggestions!
I was wondering about the MSI 875P Neo-FIS2R mobo too, it got really good review at Toms Hardware ... anyone have this?

 

[MDE]

Out of curiosity why does it have to be Intel?

Not knowing much about Intel, I'll leave off MB\CPU\RAM

Radeon 9800 Pro\np (not much of a performance difference from the XT) or FX 5900nu
Audigy 2 ZS \TB Santa Cruz
Fortron 350W PSU ($36 at Newegg, single adjustable 120mm fan for performance\noise balance)
Zalman Al-Cu heatsink (performs on par with the all copper version and is cheaper)

EDIT: If you're not OCing, and need stability why not go for an Intel motherboard or a Dell?

 

[oNiceGuy]

Intel P4 3.0C Processor
Abit IC7 Motherboard
1GB OCZ PC3200 Platinum Memory
ATI Radeon 9800XT Video Card
Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS Sound Card
Antec P160 Tower
Antec TruePower True Blue 480W PSU
Logitech Z-680 Speakers
Lite-On 52x CD-ROM (I would get the combo DVD-ROM/CD-RW, cheap, and covers all the media bases)
Windows XP Pro
Zalman CNPS7000A-Cu Heatsink

Looks good, but I'd suggest going with an ASUS Board, P4P800 Board. Reason is, Abit (Great Mobo) although it's an overclockers board. ASUS is very reliable, along with the intel board: Intel 875PBZ . I know that some people are having a little trouble with ASUS, but they trully are reliable - I have the board.

I would suggest you save money on the heatsink fan. Intel's HS fan is more than enough to keep youre machine cool. Especially if you go with a Thermaltake Xaser 2000A case, which includes 7 fans!

Oh and i'd save money and not buy the ATI Radeon 9800 XT, Instead you should buy the ATI Radeon 9800 PRO ALL IN WONDER: It includes over 300$ of software alone and you can watch tv on it. It includes all the cables for any setup to watch/record tv (It has a coaxl sp. cable on it - watch tv right away) It also comes with a tv guide and you can record tv shows on youre computer (Set it and forget it It will cost less than the XT model, and it will run just as fast ( 2-5 at most ) fps slower. This is an awesome card.

Review : http://www.tech-report.com/reviews/2003q3/ati-aiw9800pro/index.x?pg=1

 

[slpavman]

The reasons:

Why Intel - because that's what she insists on
Why not intel mobo - because I'd like to maximize the performance I can get on an "untweaked" board (price/performance ratio on Intel Mobos is pretty bad and from what I've read, strangely enough, stability often isn't that great either!)

Thx for the suggestions peeps!