n00b building his first rig !!!

[DJCrunkMix]

Hi yall !!! This be DJ asking for some help here. I currently own a laptop and I am willing to build a new PC. Well, I can just go on dell.com and buy one right away, but there is some fun in building on my own! I love building stuff because I am a mechanical engineer. Moreover, I know that It will end up being cheaper than all this dell.com crap. And oh yeah, I am not that n00bish as far as computers are concerned, but its just that I have never built a computer and I dont want to end up buying worthless and incompatible stuff.

Here are my contraints:-

Budget = 1000 $
I already have a 19" Samsung LCD. Also, I have a wireless mouse (MX 1000 Laser).
I want a dual core processor and a nice GPU.

Please suggest some configurations. I love to play strategy games like AOE III and FPS games like BF2 and FEAR (i need a nice graphics card). I dont want to OC anything.

Thank you in advance.

 

[Gamer X]

Welcome to the forums DJ, here you go :

CPU : AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ $297.00

Mainboard : EPoX EP-9NPA+Ultra $94.00

Memory : Crucial Ballistix 1GB (2 x 512MB) $88.00

Vieo Card : SAPPHIRE Radeon X1800GTO $199.00

HDD : Western Digital Caviar SE16 320GB $130.00

Optical Drive : BenQ 16X DVD±R DVD Burner DW1655 $42.99

Case : Antec Performance I P-160W $93.99

Power Supply : SeaSonic S12-600 600W Power Supply $169.99

Keyboard : Microsoft Natural 4000 Black Wired Keyboard $49.98

Total : $1162.97 (Exceeds your budget by $160 but worth it).

 

[dBTelos]

The above only pickup your case at a local PC shop to save yourself the shipping costs and get a cheaper case. For a power supply get a 450W fortron for less. If you want to knock down the price then Crucial Value Ram.

 

[Figure]

to cut the price down on that rig then maybe do the following...

1) get the 450w fortron PSU as dBTelos said

2)get cheaper value RAM as he wont be oc'ing so no need for RAM as good

3) may want to consider the 7600GT ??? its smaller,uses less power,is much quieter,runs much cooler,and i think (not possitive) is a bit cheaper...it also performs pretty much the same if not better(in some scenarios) that the X1800GTO

 

[Ultralight]

Great CPU, great motherboard, great RAM -- EXCEPT Crucial Ballistix has dropped their 1 and 2 Gig sticks because of issues (but NOT the 512 sticks; they are still solid). The reason I mention this is because I would seriously consider 2 Gigs of RAM in a 2x1 kit. People mention seeing very good gains especially in the hardware demanding new games of today.

Games are also putting great demands on the video cards of today. Overall you will have a very, very nice PC.

 

[DJCrunkMix]

Lian Li PC-61 USB Black Aluminum ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
$110.00

ASUS A8N-SLI Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 SLI ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
$106.99

SAPPHIRE 100150SR Radeon X1900XTX 512MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail
$499.00

Thermaltake TR2 W0070 ATX 430W Power Supply - Retail
$39.99

AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ Manchester 2000MHz HT Socket 939 Dual Core
$297.00

CORSAIR ValueSelect 1GB (2 x 512MB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Unbuffered Dual Channel Kit System Memory - Retail
$77.00

Logitech 967502-0403 Black PS/2 Wired Standard Value Keyboard - OEM
$7.00

NEC 16X DVD±R DVD Burner Black IDE/ATAPI Model ND-3550A - OEM
$37.89

Subtotal: $1,174.87 + Rebates = 40 $ - Shipping 39 $ = 1 $
Grand Total = $1,175.87

How is this ? As I said, I am gonna be playing a lot of games this summer . Also, I have a 300 GB Seagate Barracuda 7200 SATA Harddrive that I can use (its in the ext drive enclosure but I guess i can back it up and install OS. Save that money to buy a kick ass X1900XTX). Please let me know if all the parts are compatible and what about the psu ? Is this enough for that xtx beast ?

 

[CalvinHobbes]

*I* would spend a little less on the video card and more on the PSU. I would also do 2GB of RAM.

 

[dBTelos]

TT PSUs are terrible.

 

[DJCrunkMix]

Can you please suggest some good PSU's that I will need according to the above configuration ?

 

[OAKside24]

Antec TruePower 430 or higher. Clean power. $75
I may up the case to a Antec P180, it's awesome. $110
GPU is grossly overpriced and needless 512MB.
I HIGHLY recommend an nVIDIA 7900GT. $325.

Savings: $150

 

[imported_red5]

Originally posted by: Figure
to cut the price down on that rig then maybe do the following...

1) get the 450w fortron PSU as dBTelos said

2)get cheaper value RAM as he wont be oc'ing so no need for RAM as good

3) may want to consider the 7600GT ??? its smaller,uses less power,is much quieter,runs much cooler,and i think (not possitive) is a bit cheaper...it also performs pretty much the same if not better(in some scenarios) that the X1800GTO

Good advice (and also good advice from GamerX too). You may be able to get a 7600gt slightly cheaper and just as fast. the X1800GT is faster with settings like AA on due to 256-bit RAM but in plain speed settings the 7600gt is just as fast or faster at some games. Might be a little cheaper too - I think you can find them for $150-170 if you look hard enough (of course, look for brands other than PNY, their stuff is ******).

Also heads up to GamerX for the Western Digital hard drive. All my Western Digital hard drives are still working, where all my Maxtors and Seagates aside from one did not make it three years.

 

[DJCrunkMix]

@Oakside24, thanks for the valuable information. I just consulted with the benchmark tests of XFX 7900 GT Extreme Edition and it outperforms many of the cards in same price range. Here is the review :

http://www.thetechlounge.com/article/26...eForce+7900+GT+256MB+PCIE+XXX+Edition/


how is this ?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a...150139&ATT=14-150-139&CMP=OTC-d3alt1me

and I can add Corsair XMS 2 GB (2 x 1) RAM on top of it.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820145575

Grand Total (with rebates and shipping) = 1054 $

Any suggestions for the PSU ?

 

[Ultralight]

Unless you are going to run two video cards a SLi board is a waste of money. The EPoX GamerX linked to will do you well. Very stable at stock settings.

Seriously, two gigs of RAM in a gamer's rig. 2x1 kits. Edit: Good! You're getting the 2x1. Check out G.Skill, too. Good stuff.

Please, go with a different brand of card.

As for a PSU a Fortran 480 or Enermax or Antec in the 500+ range.

 

[1N0V471V]

X2 3800+
2x1GB Corsair XMS
DFI LANPARTY nF4 Ultra-D
520w OCZ Powerstream
X1900XT or EVGA 7900GT

should be around $1300

 

[dBTelos]

Originally posted by: Ultralight
Unless you are going to run two video cards a SLi board is a waste of money. The EPoX GamerX linked to will do you well. Very stable at stock settings.

Seriously, two gigs of RAM in a gamer's rig. 2x1 kits. Edit: Good! You're getting the 2x1. Check out G.Skill, too. Good stuff.

Please, go with a different brand of card.

As for a PSU a Fortran 480 or Enermax or Antec in the 500+ range.

Exactly, although spending an extra $10 - $20 for a SLi mobo coud benifit you in the future.
OP, Fortron, Fortron, Fortron. A fortron 450W would do you perfect. The value RAM you posted is great. Oh, and eVGA > Anything else for nVidia.

Oakside, 512MB = a waste? Not at all, especially with BF2, Fear, and most new games.

 

[OAKside24]

Originally posted by: DJCrunkMix
@Oakside24, thanks for the valuable information. I just consulted with the benchmark tests of XFX 7900 GT Extreme Edition and it outperforms many of the cards in same price range. I can add Corsair XMS 2 GB (2 x 1) RAM on top of it.

Great RAM choice for an AMD CPU especially, since you can't go DDR2 yet. Unbeatable price. Also, if you can find a 7900GT in-stock I'd get it. Very impressive card and considerably underpriced for the performance.

Originally posted by: dBTelos
Oakside, 512MB = a waste? Not at all, especially with BF2, Fear, and most new games.

I remember seeing numerous reviews, one here, for 512MB GPU memory performance, and it was rarely needed in games released to date. Plus, He's not going for an -extreme- game PC, and would be paying $100-150 premium for the extra 256MB. I would wait to spend that on a 512MB DirectX 10 card next year when games start to use the extra GDDR3.

 

[LOUISSSSS]

i built my friends system for $1000 recently
coolermaster centurion 5
asus a8n5x
corsair 2 x 1gb VS
sapphire x1800xt
WD 160gb SATA
enermax noisetake 485watt
sony dvd burner

 

[Ultralight]

Here is the thing about DFI: Great overclockers but one really needs to know how to tweak because they can be quite tempramental at times. (And now DFI fanboys will flame Ultralight)

If you are not going to overclock then a DFI would not be for you. These boards are designed and made for overclocking.

 

[1N0V471V]

DFIs are better than any ASUS. Period. An ASUS would be something my grandma would like, but to any self respecting enthusiast, DFI's offer a great price with a LOAD of features and stability. All he'll need is an adequate PSU and to be able to enter the BIOS and load optimized defaults. My buddy used an SLI-DR like mine for his first build. He didn't have one problem.

 

[royalk4]

Originally posted by: DJCrunkMix
Lian Li PC-61 USB Black Aluminum ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
$110.00

ASUS A8N-SLI Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 SLI ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
$106.99

SAPPHIRE 100150SR Radeon X1900XTX 512MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail
$499.00

Thermaltake TR2 W0070 ATX 430W Power Supply - Retail
$39.99

AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ Manchester 2000MHz HT Socket 939 Dual Core
$297.00

CORSAIR ValueSelect 1GB (2 x 512MB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Unbuffered Dual Channel Kit System Memory - Retail
$77.00

Logitech 967502-0403 Black PS/2 Wired Standard Value Keyboard - OEM
$7.00

NEC 16X DVD±R DVD Burner Black IDE/ATAPI Model ND-3550A - OEM
$37.89

Subtotal: $1,174.87 + Rebates = 40 $ - Shipping 39 $ = 1 $
Grand Total = $1,175.87

How is this ? As I said, I am gonna be playing a lot of games this summer . Also, I have a 300 GB Seagate Barracuda 7200 SATA Harddrive that I can use (its in the ext drive enclosure but I guess i can back it up and install OS. Save that money to buy a kick ass X1900XTX). Please let me know if all the parts are compatible and what about the psu ? Is this enough for that xtx beast ?

Get a coolermaster Case they are wicked cool and cost like 50 bucks. Also why get an SLI board if you aren't gonna use SLI. If you don't plan on using SLI. Video Card is phenominal. ALso get 2gb of GSKILL or OCZ, they are awesome. Otherwise stuff looks great. That should also put you close to the current price. The GSKILL 2GB ram is like 150 I think.

 

[Ultralight]

Originally posted by: 1N0V471V
DFIs are better than any ASUS. Period. An ASUS would be something my grandma would like, but to any self respecting enthusiast, DFI's offer a great price with a LOAD of features and stability. All he'll need is an adequate PSU and to be able to enter the BIOS and load optimized defaults. My buddy used an SLI-DR like mine for his first build. He didn't have one problem.

But he doesn't want to overclock - he makes that clear in his first post - thus he is not an enthusiast. Why buy a DFI when you aren't going to overclock? As I said in my post: DFI are designed and made for overclocking. That is the intent behind the manufacture. Period. And don't say DFI's don't have issues of their own, including being picky about RAM, because I'll then need to direct you to DFI-Street.

Every motherboard model ever built has someone somewhere having issues. And every board has tons of people having no issues.

And as for ASUS and grandmotherly loving goodness -- well if that isn't DFI fanboy speak I don't know what is.

 

[SonicIce]

Elite PC


Motherboard: DFI LANPARTY UT nF4 Ultra-D $127.84
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813136152

Processor: Opteron 165 Denmark Socket 939 $308.35
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications...65&SRCCODE=SHOPPINGDF&CMP=OTC-SHOPPING

RAM: G.SKILL 2GB (2x1GB) DDR 400 $153.8
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820231047

Video Card: eVGA Geforce 7900GT PCI-E $309.99
www.chiefvalue.com

Case: Antec SONATA II w/ 450W PSU $105.98
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811129155

Total: $1005.97

Prices include shipping.

oops just noticed that you're not an overclocker. well just substitute the DFI and opteron for something cheaper