building a mid-range pc, suggestions?

[toasty2]

Porn is a bad idea. It will make it more difficult for you to do well in the real world, and have real relationships. It will warp your view of women -- those actresses are paid to do what they do and pretend. Don't get caught up in that addictive fantasy world. Instead, sleep at 2AM so you can be rested and alert when real life is happening.

He's right. If you wanna get unaddicted, go lightly on the porn and reduce the amount you watch until you can stand not looking at it. Or, if you're mentally strong, go ahead and just delete all of it and keep yourself from it. Or install porn-blocking software.

The easiest thing to do is simply delete/throw away, and find something else to do...

 

[Lionhardt]

lol, wow, that really is a very good explanation why not to do that...
reader.... ur a good poster
how old are u guys....lol
yeah, i have dial up too, did i mention, so really there wasnt any looking at all
but anyway... ok lets plan out the final sh!t

im debating on the e6300 or e6400, i mean the 64 is opnly about 40 bucks more, and is 300mhz faster, whoich is cool

the 7600gt is a great card for now that wil;l last me mabye 2 years or soo (and it has the new shader model)

2gbs, i still have no clue on this, but im thinking around 200 bucks or less

m & kb dont really matter too much

im thinking a 19" lcd but without widescreen, only because of the weird res'es, but i mean most 19 inchers are 1280 x 1024 right?

ill look for a 250 gb ish hd with hopefully 16 megs of cache

but the mobo, i guess i want the 965p chipset, right?
SLI isnt really thast usefull is it?

the case i just want a cool looking one that has good ventilation and mabye a side window with one of those side fans i can attach that is blue and freaking awesome...and is a well known brand like antec or theramallake or somwething

with the power suplly i dont really know how many watts is enough but probably like 500 to stay on the safe side, or is that too much?

just saying this because oif the dx 10 cards i will get 2 years down the road...(although they will switch to an 80nm process by then)

ohhh and heres my current comp:

p3 933mhz
256mb sdram pc133
pny fx5500
40 gb hdd
yeha it sucks

 

[Lionhardt]

http://shop2.outpost.com/product/4587977

Ultra V Series 500W Power Supply

its free after rebate, but i doubt its a good brand, so just give me some comments ont hat too, and the cool case, and mobo

 

[toasty2]

I'm only 14 😀

Those components are some good choices.

Edit: Try this PSU: http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16817104954
It's 450Watt, but should be plenty.

 

[Lionhardt]

yeah, but that is an unknown brnadname, and this psu is 500w and is *FREE*

so that would cut the price a lot

also, ur 14 like me and ur giving me advice on porn? wtf? ur saying u dont think about girls, naked?

but yeah guys just keep talking about this sh1t

 

[toasty2]

also, ur 14 like me and ur giving me advice on porn? wtf? ur saying u dont think about girls, naked?

Oh no, lol, I think about that sometimes. And yeah, I do feel weird giving advice on porn. 😱 But I made a decision for my own good and I'm advising yours.

yeah, but that is an unknown brnadname, and this psu is 500w and is *FREE*
so that would cut the price a lot

While it's always nice to get things free/cheap, you still need to think about reliability. Your whole computer depends on the PSU. You don't want to get something cheap, but you don't have to buy something expensive. Get something in between.
450Watt $48.49 http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16817104954
500Watt, good reviews $48.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817189005
500Watt $52.99, good reviews http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817182044
500Watt $79.99 GOOD reviews http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817153028

And, If you want to drop the total price about $30 or $50. Get a X800GTO
Benchmark: http://www23.tomshardware.com/graphics.html?modelx=33&model1=531&model2=568&chart=196
As you can see, the X800GTO can be better than the 7600GS in some benchmarks for a much lower price. It's also the best card under $100 and the cheapest card that has a 256-bit interface, it's also GDDR3. I considered getting a 7600GS once, but then I saw that. And it made me start looking at ATI, they have some great deals 😀

 

[toasty2]

19" LCD monitors (not widescreen) http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.asp?Category=19&N=2010190020+1309821317+1301922115&Submit=ENE&SubCategory=20

 

[ethel]

hehe, never did me any harm - now where did I put my white stick?

 

[Lionhardt]

okok, any more f'ing good ideas?

 

[toasty2]

Well, what do you need/want? And for what price?

 

[reader850]

I might try the Optiquest for $195 & free shipping:
Optiquest by Viewsonic Q9b-2 Black 19" 8ms LCD Monitor 300 cd/m2 700:1 Built in Speakers {You will want separate speakers ASAP}
But the trade off for including a monitor in a $1000 system is a slower video card and/or less DDR2 memory. I still recommend waiting for Santa to bring you a nice new gaming monitor. Pick up an old CRT somewhere real cheap for now, or wait to build after Christmas when prices will surely be lower for ~everything. Also, decide whether you will overclock; if you will OC, then get an E6300 and a MB that OCs well. If not, get a cheaper MB but get an E6400.
I like the first case suggestion: "Antec SONATA II 450W SmartPower $100" -- it is a nice quality quiet case with a good power supply.
But keep in mind, there are lots of "right" answers; much of the fun in picking your parts is deciding what YOU want.

 

[Lionhardt]

ok, so give me my final elite uber setup...
is 1gb of ram good for now? and then add another later? just gmme the final setup

 

[reader850]

Answer these questions, and we'll give you specific recommendations. (1) Will you overclock your processor? (If so, you'll need a better MB. If not, I'd get the E6400 instead of the E6300.) (2) Will you buy your own LCD monitor as part of your $1000 price limit? (If not, you can get a better video card.) (3) Will you play Battlefield 2? (If so, you should get 2Gigs of RAM.) (4) Will you watch DVDs AND play games? (If so, most of the fast 19" gaming LCDs will dissappoint with movies, so you'd likely prefer a medium speed 19" monitor, or a 17".) (5) Do you need firewire capability? (For input of video, for example.) (6) Is your dollar limit $1,000 total? (Remember, for a new build, you have to "waste" $90 on WinXP OEM, so you'll really only have $910 for the hardware.)

 

[ethel]

1 GB RAM is actually a bit light for a new setup now, as games are increasingly using more and more memory.

However, RAM is extremely expensive right now so it's your call.

 

[Lionhardt]

okok:

1. probably not, im14 dont want to screw it up, adn i want this to last for a decently long while, so mabye like 4 years

2. im still not even sure if my $1000 limit is my limit, yes i would probably include that into it, but who knows mabye not, just make a scenario for both i guess

3. most likely not, but i might, and even then if i ahve 1 gb it wont make that much iof a difference, and i can upgrade to 2 gigs in like 6 months then

4. well definently games, probably not too many movies at all

5. no, but isnt that integrated anyway?

6. i could get 50 bucks xp home easy mabye even less, and idk, i mean mabye even less then 100 bucks, im think 1000 is the limit, but i mean, arent there any cheaper c2d mobos?

7. its be cool to have a side window with one of those neon fans, and the 7600gt(110 after rebates) sounds like a good card now, since the mid range g80 cards wont come out till january anyway

8. im leaning towards 1gig only becasue i want to keep the price down, but 2 gigs seem so much of a better investment....idk

 

[reader850]

Here is what Sharkey recommended last month - September Value Gaming PC Guide
http://www.sharkeyextreme.com/guides/MVGSBG/article.php/3633106
Case: Antec Sonata II (with 450W PSU) - $89
CPU: Core 2 Duo E6300 (1.86GHz) Retail - $186
Cooling: included Retail HSF - $0
Motherboard: AS Rock ConRoeXFire (i945P) - $81
Memory: 1-GB (2x512-MB) Generic PC2-4300 - $83
Hard Drive: 120GB WD Caviar SE (8-MB) SATA 3.0 Gb/s - $55
Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce 7600 GT 256MB (PCIe) - $153
Monitor: 17" LCD with 8-12ms Refresh - $160
Sound Card: 8-Channel Integrated - $0
Speakers: Logitech X-530 6-Piece Speaker System - $53
CD/DVD-ROM: LG GSA-H10NB 16X DVD Writer - $29
Communications: Onboard LAN - $0
Mouse: Logitech MX310 - $23
Keyboard: Microsoft Multimedia Keyboard - $15
Operating System: Windows XP Home - $74
Total: $1,001 <but those were last month’s prices>
This fits your requirements pretty closely, and I endorse the choices, except for the motherboard and monitor (I prefer 19”). I have Antec cases and PSs, WD hard drives, Logitec speakers, and that mouse. Since that ASRock board doesn’t overclock well, get the E6400 instead. Or get a better motherboard; those with the Intel P965 chipset are better, and overclock well; consider the Gigabyte GA-965P-DS3 ~140 , or maybe the Gigabyte GA-965P-S3 ~115 (they don’t have firewire). But I’m really not very familiar with C2D boards yet, so can’t give the best motherboard advice. You’ll want 2GB RAM at some point, so get a 1GB stick, not two 512s. I really urge that you get a bit more $ and upgrade that motherboard and get 2x1GB RAM if you can, then study overclocking carefully and try it once you learn how, just be conservative. If you pick a cheap flashy case, don’t get stuck with an inferior PS, which is what most of them come with. A quality power supply is very important.

 

[vegettonox]

I just finishing building this system for someone with a limit of roughly 650.

As is this sytem comes in at 711.93

PROCESSOR
Intel Core 2 Duo E6300 Conroe 1.86GHz LGA 775 Processor Model BX80557E6300 - Retail - 183.00
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16819115005

MOTHERBOARD
ABIT AB9 Socket T (LGA 775) Intel P965 Express ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail - 128.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16813127005

RAM
G.SKILL 1GB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) System Memory Model F2-6400PHU1-1GBNR - Retail - 129.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16820231085

VIDEO CARD
SAPPHIRE 100106L Radeon X850XT 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail - 120.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16814102688

POWER SUPPLY
Rosewill RE502-BLK ATX12V V1.3 500W Aluminum Power Supply - Retail
- 47.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16817182002

HARD DRIVE
Seagate Barracuda 7200.9 ST3160811AS 160GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM - 56.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16822148149

CASE
Linkworld 3210-04-C2628 Black/Silver Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail - 24.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16811164040

OPTICAL DRIVE
SAMSUNG 18X DVD±R DVD Burner With 12X DVD-RAM Write Black E-IDE/ATAPI Model SH-S182D - OEM - 28.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16827151133

Add the few parts you need

MONITOR
Acer AL1706Ab Black 17" 8ms LCD Monitor - Retail 165.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16824009088

Keyboard/mouse/speakers
Cyber Acoustics CA-4100rb 45 watts 4.1 Speaker - Retail 25.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16836150035

Keyboard and mouse are casual devices pick whatever one you want i picked up the desktop duo from logitech

Logitech 967742-0403 Black USB RF Wireless Standard Deluxe 650 Cordless Desktop Mouse Included - OEM - 25.75
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16823126014

Operating System
Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 w/SP2B - OEM - 109.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16832116049


Total system price is $1,039.65 to save money id sacrifice to windows home and maybe a less expensive monitor or buy one at your local department store to save shipping as well. I think this is an excellent system should do you well.

 

[reader850]

Here is the AnandTech Buyer’s Guide system from Sept 26:
http://www.anandtech.com/guides/showdoc.aspx?i=2839&p=3
Processor Core 2 Duo E6300 (775 - 1.86 GHz 2048K)
$183.00
Motherboard MSI P965 Neo-F
$100.00
Memory 2x1024MB GeIL PC2-5300 Value
$238.00
Video Card Gigabyte GV-NX76G256D-RH GeForce 7600GS 256MB (fanless)
$103.00
Hard Drive Samsung 3.0Gbps 250GB 7200RPM 8MB SpinPoint P
$76.00
Optical Drive NEC ND-3550A 16X DVD+/-RW
$30.00
Display Acer AL1916WAbd Black 19" 5ms Widescreen LCD
$202.00
Case and PSU GIGABYTE GZ-X1 Black 0.6mm SECC w/350W Power Supply $94.00
Keyboard and Mouse Microsoft Comfort Curve 2000 with Optical Mouse
$28.00
Operating System Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 SP2B (OEM)
$115.00
Bottom Line $1,169.00

For gaming I wouldn’t get a widescreen monitor. Read reviews on 5ms gaming monitors before you choose one. I wouldn’t get Media Center Edition. Notice their comments concerning the motherboard choice, and ASRock boards:

Unlike the AMD platform, picking an ideal motherboard for socket 775 is a bit trickier. We could always go with one of the cheap ASRock motherboards that we have reviewed recently, but most of those are a bit quirky and none of them overclock very well. For a midrange system, we really don't want to skimp on the motherboard at all, and the most reasonable choice is to get a board that uses the P965 chipset. The MSI P965 Neo-F gets our recommendation, as it is currently the cheapest P965 motherboard available and it still performs reasonably well. It won't overclock as high as many of the other offerings on the market, but it is a very solid offering overall. The ECS P965 P965T-A and Foxconn P9657AA-8KS2H are similar in terms of stability, features, and overclocking support -- better in some areas, and worse in others. After our talk above about how high the E6300 can overclock, we need to make it absolutely clear that you'll never come near those overclock levels with any of the three motherboards we've just mentioned. Plan on flashing the BIOS as well, as the vast majority of P965 motherboards have had some serious memory compatibility issues with the initial BIOS revisions. Assuming you can live with those limitations, at $100 the board is still a reasonable option, but you do get what you pay for.

Veg did a great job stretching dollars for the system he describes above.
Now you have plenty of recommendations. Make your choices and JUST DO IT!

 

[rwaritsdario]

You already had a better setup in mind that the two posts above recommend. If you need new, best $/performance recommendations or something has changed, ask me personally.

 

[vegettonox]

I would simply say look at the build above mine and mine and readers and pick what you like best and if necessary ask questions or get more information first.. Personally i like mine hehe but then again whos going to badmouth there own build hehe.

 

[ryokinshin]

if u want a gd guide, look for a magazine by pc gamer called pc building bible 2006

i build comps all the time, but i hav it so when someone else wants to learn, or needs a definition bout something i use it as kind of a dictionary

 

[kanoobie]

Just make sure you install the Service packs from Microsoft, and if you are buying a new copy of the XP, get one that has XP2 on it.

Since cash is limiting you now, and since you will be only be 15 next year , upgrading to Vista and DX10 would be expensive, so buy the beefiest DX9 video card you can right now, so you will be happily gaming when you are only 15.

 

[apt403]

you mean this?

Q. How does this licensing policy affect products such as Microsoft Windows XP Professional?

A. Microsoft Windows XP Professional and Microsoft Windows XP Home are not affected by this policy as they are licensed per installation and not per processor. Windows XP Professional can support up to two processors regardless of the number of cores on the processor. Microsoft Windows XP Home supports one processor.

i think it's saying you can only use 1 processor per installation of home not how many cores you can have.

 

[kanoobie]

you mean this?

Q. How does this licensing policy affect products such as Microsoft Windows XP Professional?

A. Microsoft Windows XP Professional and Microsoft Windows XP Home are not affected by this policy as they are licensed per installation and not per processor. Windows XP Professional can support up to two processors regardless of the number of cores on the processor. Microsoft Windows XP Home supports one processor.

i think it's saying you can only use 1 processor per installation of home not how many cores you can have.

Yes, you are right. I should really stop posting late at night. Sorry for the confusion.

 

[rwaritsdario]

And you posted that mistake like in three threads lol but NP