Ok, I am in the process of planning to build my next pc.

In someones opinion give me some hardware that is worthy but, not over the top price wise!!

Mr., Martin, Silent.

Any of you pc builders out there I want a pretty hot system for when and if I ever get a connection lol.

Dell....feel free to contact me by AIM if you need help.

BIO

Well, I can heartily recommend the graphics card I just purchased although it is an agp card there is also PCI-E versions available.

PCI version of my card:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814102636
(~$140).

If you have a few more extra bucks to spare then I would recommend this card:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814102602
(~$159) since it has 12 pixel pipes (4 more than the one above)

I would have got the second card but for some reason I only saw it after I received the card I ordered! :|

I've been very happy with it. The Sapphire cards come with a handy overclocking tool that works, so you'll get at least 10% extra with the stock fan which is also quite substantial.

All my games are running with settings on high and look great (they also play great). Most commonly played: CS:S, NFS:MW, Guild Wars, Dawn of War. All around the 1024x768 or 1240x1040 resolutions.

Get a DELL!!
Just kidding, what price range are you aiming for and what are you salvaging from your current system or is a whole new build?

Well, ATI Radeon 800XL and up, good performing cards that don't cost an arm and a leg like a BFG card would.

Hard drive, Seagates have the best warranty (3 years) of all hard drive manufacturers (typically 1 year). However, I have never had a Western Digital fail on me yet.

DVD+/-WR drives...I usually go cheap on those. Dynex or something.

Best CPU, hmmm...Unless you own a 64-bit operating system, stick with Intel.

Just got a 850Pro (AGP). Flashed the bios to a PE and opened up the 4 extra pipes.

Shimpi - Intel is shit. The only intel chip I own is in my thinkpad.

I am not even going to explain because you should just know..........

Also ATI - screw ATI.

My next system is definately going to be AMD after a long line of Intel chips. Not sure I'll go dual core but for sure it'll be 64-bit.

ATI rock! My first few cards were nVidia but I've since seen the light and my cards are now ATI.

My gfx card is more of a budget card since I didn't want to spend over $200 on an upgrade for an aging system that I'm going to replace later in the year.

yea ima end up building a new comp later in the year as well... definatly going to have an ati gard... not sure on anything else tho.

AMD is the only way to go...they're dual cores kicked the CRAP outta Intel in every way. As far as I'm concerned you can say that about most of their processors.

ATI is champ atm as far as graphics go.

I would love to build a system this year...but we'll see how things go.

Planning a new build.

I have a list of a harddrive company that has lifetime warranty if I can just find it!!!

I am not overly concerned on cost as long as it's not more than 2g for the whole system.

The only thing I will still have from the original system is the operating system. (WinXP)

I am planning on stepping up to 64bit, if this is not a problem with using my old operating system.

I am def. not a pro at this shit, but, I have had my pc appart a few times now since my lightening blow up.

So, pretty much everyone is on the AMD band wagon

Is ATI better than Nvidia or not?

I know the Nvidia can get u wrapped up in a dual card for about 2g, don't want that much expense.

What about Ram? Is kingston ok?

Wouldnt mind one of them FX60's, Just a mere $1,021 and also its the last card amd will release with the socket 939.

Also wouldnt mind a sli motherboard running dual 7800gtxs... Common you can do it dell, it will totally make your dail up faster :P

I know the Nvidia can get u wrapped up in a dual card for about 2g
Both companys have the hardware but nvidias is a little more economical.

As for ram, you can go with value ram that has lower timings. But if you are gonna overclock, most definitly go with OCZ.

Ps to tell the truth about gfx cards, nvidia actually has a little advantage currently.(cheaper prices that is)

what about motherboards?

oh, and remember I am a nub, let's try and keep things in laymans terms.

How about Dell you give these geeks a price range... they search online and post which ones they find. You get to choose the best one and everybody wins.

Flitch Pay attention!!!

I allready stated don't want to go over 2g.

Do you remember where your car keys are?

:-0

January - Maximum pc magazine

They just did a review....
Best Athalon Chip set = nvidia dual x16 pci express slot-equipped nForce4 x16 chipset - They say it "spanked" the ATI and VIA chip sets. A good motherboard which uses the nVidea chip set is ASUS A8N32-SLI Deluxe

Best Mid Range Dual Core CPU
AMD ATHLON 64 X2 4400+
Intels competition = Pentium D 840

Best High End Dual Core CPU
AMD ATHLON 64 X2 4800+ Made a mockery of....
Intels competition = Pentium extreme edition 840

Best High End Single Core CPU
Athlon 64 FX-57
Intels competition = Pentium 4 EE

Best Mobile CPU
Pentium M
This is mainly because of battery life.

Best High End Video Card
NVIDIA GEFORCE 7800GTX (512MB ver)Blows away ....
ATI X1800 XT


Best Mid Range Video Card
LEADTEK winfast 7800 GT TDH EXTREME

Best budget video card
AOPEN AEOLUS 6800 GT (nvidia)

Get the magazine! You will see all of the numbers.
AMD!!!!! NVIDIA!!!

RS, I luv U Man!!!

Yeah, just thought I would bounce it off u puter heads b4 I listen to some magazine that makes money off of selling adds for pc gear!!!

Thanx for the info. Like I said I am in planning stage but, will be piecing one together soon (I hope).

Yes, I saw that part of your post... but the beef of my post was about the geeks posting what they thought was worth your money...

Man, if I build my own pc should I change my screen name?


hehe

Dell, that is more then your SN... it is your life. The end.

OMG, can I at least change the Dell part? I don't want my life to be like a piece of crap computer anymore!!!

Da Grunt lol

I was thinking more along the lines of "Sexy_Grunt"

I'd ask you what you think but, I know I won't take your responses seriously lol

Is it possible that Grunt can post this fast? Did he get dial up or is God just being graceful to him tonight?

No one else in my beloved broadband hell area is up this hour of the night and online!!!

I have a great 198 ping as we speak lol

I think people would also be able to give better advice if they knew what kind of price range you were looking at for the whole system and what parts you'll be keeping from your current setup, things like keyboard, monitor, mouse etc.

He did! Mr, there goes one of your green squares ;)

he said $2000
The only thing he is using from his old system is the OS.

Dell Id go look at Max Pc's Rig of the year and the ones that build for 1k 2k and 12k and see what you can price together.

They are pretty straight forward on the stuff. They build a pretty decent machine for a little over 1k i think so you might be able to meld a mid lvl with a high lvl.

RetardSandwich']He did! Mr, there goes one of your green squares ;)

he said $2000
The only thing he is using from his old system is the OS.

Whoops. Damn, missed that in his post. :|

www.extremetech.com also has articles on buildling different levels of computers that you may also want to take a look at.

"Bang for your buck" (http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1697,1825477,00.asp)

"Killer Gaming Rig" (http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1697,1778730,00.asp)

"$800 Gaming Rig" (http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1697,1822644,00.asp)

All have their pros and cons.

Ok, I am just going to build a tower.

I may buy a flat screen too

But all the peripherals I will be re-using

so I need

Tower
motherboard
processor
graphics card/s
sound card (re-using speakers)
(will get dvdwriters)
modem and ethernet cards
prob a disk drive (not sure I need)
hard drives

Just want a good to great gaming rig
wanted to know a little about 64bit

Mostly, just don't want to buy junk and who better to ask then you folks that actually build your own!

Thanx for any and all help

Oh, also want something easier to upgrade than my current shit system!!!

Ok, yeah, don't think I am gonna spend $6,900.00 on a gaming rig!

This is my next rig once I save up the cash

THE RIG!!!
http://images10.newegg.com/NeweggImage/productimage/11-144-089-23.JPG

everything from Newegg.com so click me bitch! (http://www.newegg.com)

PARTS LIST

CASE: ASPIRE X-Navigator ATXA8NW-AL/500.......................................$150

POWER SUPPLY ENERMAX EG701AX-VE SFMA (24P) 600-watt...............$40

PCU: AMD Anthlon 64 3500+ (socket 939)...........................................$219

MOTHERBOARD: ASUS ABN-SLI ATX................................................$135

RAM: Rosewill 512MB (2x256MB)..................................................$88

VIDEO CARDS: Two PNY Geforce 6800GT.............................................$648

OPTICAL DRIVE: Plextor PX-740A..................................................$93

FLOPPY: MITSUMI USB2.0 & FDD Digital Card Reader FA404A/404M........$21

HARD DRIVE: Western Digital Caviar SE 320GB, Serial ATA150..............$160

SOUND CARD: Creative Labs Sound Blaster X-Fi ExtremeMusic.................$130

OS: Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition with Service Pack 2...................$92


Total.......................................................................$1776

if you only wanna use 1 vid card it's:................................... $1,452

and if you also decide to use ASUS's onboard audio instead of an X-Fi......$1,322

Gnome of Death']Just got a 850Pro (AGP). Flashed the bios to a PE and opened up the 4 extra pipes.


Is that possible to do with an 800XL?

DIY_Grunt!!! Sounds good to me...
The new AMD FX-60 Dual-Core Processor looks shiny
http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1697,1909497,00.asp

And dont waste your money on low latency RAM.

Well after reading that article AMD isn't leaps and bounds ahead anymore especially for the money!!!

Well shit son, wtf can you rely on?

As soon as you buy something it is outdated!!!

(Sits and grinds teeth,while rubbing bigger bald spots on his head)

Well shit son, wtf can you rely on?

As soon as you buy something it is outdated!!!

(Sits and grinds teeth,while rubbing bigger bald spots on his head)

Yeah, unfortunately that's always the way. There's always the next game that pushes the limit of what midstream gfx cards can do making that ultra-high end card the way to go. Most people don't have the money to go that route so you'll always have to make a compromise. The best you can do is build a system that will last for about 1-2 years but build it in such a way that you can easily upgrade it. With that in mind choosing a mobo will be very important. Everything else fits into that.

Right...the mobo is the key thing to pick first...pick a good one with a popular socket. For example, socket 939 is the current AMD format for the processor. All the 2x processors or and AMD 64 chips (the newest ones) fit that format. The chipset (Via vs. Nvidia) is up to you depending on your needs. I've been happy with the Nforce2 for a long time. It's Nforce 4 now.

I'd go Crossfire (ATI) or SLI (NVidia) compliant on a Mobo so, even if you don't use it now...you have the option to upgrade later. PCI-E over AGP, of course.

My Mobo is 2 years old...I've upgraded the processor twice and the memory at least once. I'm still using the same vid card I've always had with it.

My Mobo is 2 years old...I've upgraded the processor twice and the memory at least once. I'm still using the same vid card I've always had with it.

God I hate it when they change graphic card standards.

It took me almost 1.5 years before I switched from VLB to PCI. Took me less than that to switch from AGP to PCI-E, but those cards are expensive as hell.

Abit and Asuz are about the best bang for your buck in mobo's right?

Abit and Asuz are about the best bang for your buck in mobo's right?

Yup. Most reliability too.

Stay away from Soyo's and motherboards with VIA chipsets.

Ok, mobo being kinda set, lets move to processors

Amd still better than intel?

even with the slight cost dif?

Should I go with dual core and 64bit?

grafx cards;

ATI or Nvidia best right?

Ram;

any? but must have 1gig or more right?

ASUS A8N-SLI ATX AMD Motherboard $122

AMD Athlon 64 3800+ Venice 1GHz FSB 512KB L2 Cache $282

eVGA 256-P2-N525-AX Geforce 7800GTX 256MB 256-bit GDDR3 VIVO PCI Express x16 Video Card $449

CORSAIR ValueSelect 1GB 184-Pin DDR SDRAM Unbuffered DDR 400 $82

TOTAL: $935 (prices taken from newegg)

With the other grand you have you can add an other stick of Ram or pick a better mobo or cpu.

Yeah, if you're gonna get a 64-bit processor, get a 64-bit operating system to0. XP for home and XP Pro are 32-bit OS's. But There is also an XP Pro X64 edition too.

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/64bit/default.mspx

As for graphics cards, ATI and BFG (Nvidia). ATI is easier on the pocketbook and you get good performance. To me, that's value. Retard will disagree with me on this point. 256 MB should suffice. Getting more, like 512 MB is only worthwile if you do a lot of your stuff with super high resolutions. If you don't plan to change resolutions beyond 1280X960, 256 MB should suffice.

Ram, 1024MB and up.

Ram: PC3200 - OCZ is very good. 2x 1GB kit is good.

Graphics: I prefer ATI...and btw; so does Valve as the HL2 code is optimized to ATI. But you can't really go wrong. If you get dual GPU mobo, then maybe you can get 2 cheaper cards which will work better in tandem than a single top of the line card. Eg/ x800 crossfire + x800 as good or better than x1600.

64 bit operating system in a dual-boot setup is okay. Good drivers are still hard to come by for the 64 bit OS and all games are 32bit...so you still need 32-bit OS to run them.

Dual-core vs. single core depends on what you want to spend. A good single core will be more than sufficent for gaming, etc.

I would recommend about 2gb of ram just to give you a really nice safety margin. Some games also play better with more RAM e.g. BF2.

Graphics wise I do prefer ATI > nVidia but their dual card solution is still very much in it's infancy and SLI (nVidia) would be better if you really want to do dual-cards right now. If you are going to go SLI or x-fire then for sure in SLI mode you'd be wasting your money buying two high-end cards as the benefit of putting them in SLI is very much less than two lower level cards.

64-bit hasn't taken off that much but I'm sure it'll be the next big thing. Source recently went 64-bit if your OS supports it. My next CPU will definately be AMD (for the gaming performance which beats Intel) and 64-bit. I doubt it will be dual-core as I don't run that many programs at the same time.

Recent price drops on AMD 64 x2 chips:
http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1558,1914424,00.asp?kc=ETRSS02129TX1K0000532

If you are going xp64... make sure drivers are available for what ever you buy.

I have seen some people recently buy new systems and many have been saying that thier dual core 3800 is the bottleneck of thier system. All be it they have a 7800gt and 2 gigs of OCZ ram. Its all your call though. :)