Going to be building soon...Is this a good gaming system??

[TopAce]

Hello all,

I joined these Anandtech forums for one reason, learn about Computer parts and get enough information and courage to build my own gaming rig. For the past month i have been looking at each thread on these forums. A few days ago, i created my own account and decided to start posting. I got great advice from some people that i would not know. through this advice, i put together my gaming rig. All of these parts are from newegg.com, which from i heard, supposed to be a really good online store. Please tell me parts i could upgrade but not ruin the wallet. If i do need to upgrade, i would want something that would have a good priceerformence ratio.

Here is the system...
Case-Chenming Blue Entry Level Case
Power Supply-Fortron 530W Power Supply
CPU- AMD Athlon 64 3500+ Socket 939 Winchester
Motherboard- nforce4 Motherbaord (specifics TBD)
RAM-Need help...(2x512) DDR PC-3200
Hard Drive- Western Digital 80GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive
Graphics Card- GIGABYTE ATI RADEON X800 XT Video Card, 256MB GDDR3, 256-Bit, DVI/VIVO, PCI-Express
Optical Drive- Lite-On Black 16X DVD-ROM

If you would like links to a specific part, please let me know, for i can give it to you. Also, am i missing anything? How about cables, screws, etc... or are those included in the parts?

The next few questions refer to how to actuall bulid a PC..

1) What other tools besides these parts do i actual need to build a PC?
2) I think from the guides on Overclockers.com and a google search, i know how to actually build a PC, but it isn't really clear on how to do it after all the hardware is in (Operating System etc...) Could anyone tell me, or show me guides on how to do this? I also don't know what these boot disks or such are...

Thanks in advance,
Ace

 

[Muscles]

Looks pretty good. The only thing I'm a little weary on is that case. I don't have any experience with Chenming. If you aren't overclocking I suggest you just go with corsair, crucial, kingston, or mushkin value ram pc3200. 1 gig is fine although 2 gigs is even better but the majority of games out really wouldn't utilize it. I prefer nvidia over ati in general because they provide better linux support and they also help support competitive gaming more so a 6800GT would be my choice. It's also cheaper for not much performance loss.

Regarding your questions
1) You really only need your own philips screwdriver. The case comes with all the screws and stuff you need.
2) Installing the OS? Go into the bios and set your dvdrom drive as 1st boot device, put OS CD in, follow on-screen instructions.

 

[TopAce]

I actually do perfer Nvidia over ATI and was planning on getting the nForce4 SLI with dual video card support. I looked, but couldn't seem to find any 6800 GT pci-express cards, just agp.

If you could find some, that would be awesome...

Ace

 

[imported_Computer MAn]

I don't think they have released any 6800's in PCI-E. I expect they will be released about the same time as the Nforce 4.

 

[Thermalrock]

too big psu. way too small hdd. prolly crappy case. rest looks good. if you go pcie 6800 youll get a great card if i understand right the broken video processor is only on agp cards while on pcie cards it works great. the x800xt is a very nice card too tho you wouldnt regret buying that one either.

 

[JustAnAverageGuy]

.

 

[TopAce]

too big psu

I origianally had a Antec 420w TrueBlue. I thought that was going to be enough, but suddenly i heard more and more people who had it, couldn't get 6800 GT and AMD 3500+ to work. then, after some other reasearch, i heard the Fortron was one of the best.

way too small hdd

I knew people were going to say this. I do plan on upgrading to a Rapter after I pay back the money from the current system. Also, on the computer i have (4 years old0, i have a 80Gb and has a crap load of stuff on it. I've only used 30GB of stuff. I don't think a 80GB is too small for what i do.

prolly crappy case

I had someone recommend this case to me, and from the reviews i read, it said it was a very nice case with racks for optical drives and very big and roomy. If you think another case is better, please tell me and i will look into that case and see which one is better.

 

[everman]

Only 80 gigs? You can easily go 120 or 160 without a big hit to the wallet.

 

[TopAce]

Originally posted by: everman
Only 80 gigs? You can easily go 120 or 160 without a big hit to the wallet.

Like i said, will be upgrading to a Rapter when i need it.

Ace

 

[JustAnAverageGuy]

.

 

[tinydancer]

Why do I hear so many people advising for a larger hard drive, or two in some case. I'm new to all this, but what does having a bigger, or additional, hard drive do for gaming performance.

 

[Muscles]

Why do I hear so many people advising for a larder hard drive, or two in some case. I new to all this, but what does having a bigger, or additional, hard drive do for gaming performance.

Absolutely nothing. I guess most people are assuming you're into porn or something like they are and you need the space.

 

[TopAce]

nope, not into that crap. I will upgrade to a Rapter when i nned faster speeds. I think 80GB will do just fine for me. I'll i do is play music and games. Also school work...

IS everything fine? I don't see anymore complaints?

Ace

 

[bluewall21]

Originally posted by: Muscles

Why do I hear so many people advising for a larder hard drive, or two in some case. I new to all this, but what does having a bigger, or additional, hard drive do for gaming performance.

Absolutely nothing. I guess most people are assuming you're into porn or something like they are and you need the space.

Well, most games use a few gigs nowadays and hard drives fill up fairly fast. Also taking up space is video editing with its massive AVIs.

Even if you can't find a PCI Express version, the 6800 series is the way to go.

 

[everman]

Originally posted by: TopAce

Originally posted by: everman
Only 80 gigs? You can easily go 120 or 160 without a big hit to the wallet.

Like i said, will be upgrading to a Rapter when i need it.

Ace

Raptor is a huge waste imo; check out the benchmark comparisons in applications you intend to use it with. (for gaming, I don't think it's worth the price premium)

 

[Gagabiji]

The case you are looking at is a direct rip of this case. I know for a fact Antec cases are about the best you can get, and I have never used a Chenming case before so that is why I am a little cautious.

BTW, like other people have said, I would also wait if I were you on the video card. I will cost you much less in the future to get double the performance for a cost much less than buying a brand new top of the line card for $500.

 

[MDE]

IIRC Chenming makes Antec's cases so I wouldn't worry too much about it. The system looks fine, but personally I'd hold out for nForce4 SLI and PCIe 6800GTs to hit to give you a nice upgrade path later on (slapping in another 6800GT when they're cheap).

 

[Ralidan]

about the HDD space, when i built my first box, i thought the same thing, but soon you'll have 80 gigs full in no time, then you'll get a second, which will eventually fill, then you';ll have to throw away the 80 gig to put in a 250 gig just so you don't run out of room. My suggestion is to always OVERestimate your storage space.. .you can get Hdds for under 50 cents a gig right now so cutting an extra 20 bucks to get an 80 gig over a =< 160 gig, is in my opinion, not a smart idea.

For the video card, here is another vote for nVidia! That, imho, is a place where you can cut corners on the pocketbook, the 6600GT, for ~$200 is just slightly under the 6800 or 6800GT, but around half the price. I am in the process of shopping for a new box right now as well, and i am definetly going with the 6600GT PCI-E because of the incredible value it brings... then down the road when they realease dual pci-e mobos (stackable vid cards like the old voodos or Quadros of today) you can just get another 6600GT and be up to or over a 6800ultra.

If you intent on overclocking at all, i might suggest looking into a better PSU, Enermax or a Turbo-Cool

For just around 80 bucks you can pick yourself up a Dual Layer DVD burner... which isn't going to be all that more expensive from the DVD-ROM you are getting. ... and seince you have an extra couple hundred bucks by switching from an 800TX to the 6600GT, i think that is a great way to spend the money.

hope these ideas help and good luck with the build!

- Ralidan

 

[TopAce]

you know, i was actually thinking about that dual 6600GT. I would much rather get a $400 6800GT, and then when i see fit, get another 6800GT.

That would be sweet.

I also plan on getting a 120GB hard drive instead.