Gamer Seeking Help

[criminal_001]

My current rig starting to suck so im giving it to my dad and hes going to buy me a new pc. I have about 1400 to spend on a new computer including taxes.
-It needs to include o/s and monitor if i can squeeze one in.

The only thing I will do with it is play online games(fps/mmorpgs/rts) and browse net/chat on msn.

Should I buy from large company like dell/gateway/compaq etc

OR

Would I be getting more performance for my money if i just built it myself? I have no experience building pcs but I would be willing to research how to build one if I could get a better one doing this.

I may be able to go above budget a bit but needs to stay in that general area.

Main thing I want is a good motherboard that allows for future upgrades(with pci-e slot if theres some good ones in my price range)...1 gig of ram minimum, dont really know much about timings and such. Good vid card that I wont have to upgrade for at least a year or two, and an amd 64 939 slot processor.

If I build myself id prefer to buy from newegg as everyone ive spoke with gives them really good reviews.

Im looking for suggestions for a complete system. thanks in advance

 

[Ned_Flanders]

Build your own - much more fun!

Oh, and are you wanting to overclock?

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Who's the man with the master plan?

 

[criminal_001]

Dont know a whole lot about overclocking...I dont want to void my warrantys so prob wont do it until the computer starts to slow down and not run games as good.

Main thing I need a suggestion on is a good pci-e motherboard. Will take suggestions on other parts though as well...or a complete system.

 

[walterblackberry]

Don't know if it will help but have a look at what I've scrambled together through many nights of reading reviews etc.
<A HREF="http://forumz.tomshardware.com/hardware/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=203795#203795" target="_new">http://forumz.tomshardware.com/hardware/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=203795#203795</A>

note that I changed it to an amd 3800++, and a better PSU

If you're going for a gaming computer, I definitely would put money inte o good video card, such as the radeon x850xt, x800xt or the "pro" versions of these cards... GPU seems alot more important than CPU, especially for directx games like half-life 2 etc. I might have gone overboard with the CPU, have a look at the THG buyers guide and it will tell you that 3400++ should be quite enough.
I've only heard good things about Corsair RAM, so that's what I'm going to get even though they might be considered a bit expensive. According to Corsair's buyers guide, 400 Mhz PC3200XL should be a good choice for gamers.
I've chosen a raptor 10000rpm harddrive for fast loading of games and maps etc. within the games. According to some this is a big advantage, to others it's a waste of money. To me it seems sensible. Here's a <A HREF="http://www.anandtech.com/storage/showdoc.aspx?i=2073" target="_new">nice review</A> that I got from Rugger.
Sorry I can't give you better reseller tips since I'm planning to buy most of the stuff here in Sweden.
My tip for motherboard maufacturer is ASUS, since I've only heard good things about them, both from reviews and from friends. If you're going to get a pci-express video card you'll have to go with either a NForce4 or a VIAK8T890 chipset, and there are ASUS boards with both. I'm getting the Nforce4 version because it's more mainstream (less problems with compatability and more online support opportunity i hope ). There is a SLI version of this mobo and an ULTRA version. I'm never going SLI so I'll just get the ULTRA but since they are so equal in price, many seem to prefer getting the SLI version just in case. Two pcie ports are a waste of space IMO.

Oh and don't get anything from Dell and similar companies, you'll never be able to get the streamlined, economimical system that suits your needs perfectly. They either throw in alot of redundant stuff or important stuff is missing, plus they tend to put alot of your money into unimportant components, like an oversized CPU or an audigy 2 sound card (not bad thing per se, but on a thight budget you want to maximize the gaming experience, not the mp3 experience).

Plus like already mentioned, building your own computer is fun! and not that hard. I'm no expert but I didn't have any bigger problems throwing together my first build in about 2 hours. It's a big advantage if you have a friend who has built a computer before who can help you, but it's really not that much harder than plugging in and programming your VCR for the first time...

Hope this is a little help if any

 

[Guest]

Not bad stranger, not bad

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[monegard]

BTW changed my username, walterblackberry is just a bugmenot.com account. Figured I'd join for real now

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amd 1800++, soltec mobo w VIA chipset, r9800xt, chieftec 350w psu, 758mb Kingston PC2700 @ 333mhz
<i>noone really needs sleep</i>

 

[criminal_001]

Ok ive decided I will try to build my own system...the parts ive picked out so far are...

-Thermaltake VA3000 Dream Tower VA3400BNA Black Mid Tower Case With 400W PSU -RETAIL =$117.50
-ATI Radeon X800 XL Video Card, 256MB GDDR3, 256-Bit, DVI/TV Out, PCI-E, Model "100-435500" -OEM=$309
-AMD Athlon 64 3000+, 512KB L2 Cache, Socket 939 64-bit Processor - Retail=$153
-Mushkin Dual Pack 184-Pin 1GB(512MBx2) DDR PC-3200 - Retail=$118
-Seagate 120GB Barracuda 7200RPM SATA with NCQ Hard Drive, Model ST3120827AS, OEM=$94
-Logitech Media Keyboard PS/2 104 keys -RETAIL=$18
-SAMSUNG SyncMaster 990DF-Black 19" DynaFlat CRT Monitor -Retail=$179
-Logitech Blue Performance Optical Mouse PS2/ USB, Model "MX510" -RETAIL=$39
-Lite-On Black 52X32X52X16 Combo Drive, Model SOHC-5235K BLACK, Retail=$36.50
-Logitech X-230 2.1 Black Speaker System -OEM=$35
-Microsoft Windows XP HOME Edition With Service Pack 2 -OEM=$92.95
-GIGABYTE "GA-K8NF-9" NVIDIA nForce4 4X Chipset Motherboard For AMD Socket 939 CPU -RETAIL=$118
total=$1309 before shipping

-Will I need a floppy drive for anything?
-Will the ps that comes with case be sufficient?
-Will all of these parts work together?
-Are there any parts I should spend less on and others i should spend more on?
-Have I left anything out?

Any suggestions/critiques are appreciated

1300 is around what i want to spend on the complete system but can go a bit higher if needed.

 

[monegard]

Thats quite a nice system you've put together there, much better price/performace than any compaq/fujitsu/dell solution I've seen for gaming. I especially like the screen, been looking for one like that myself. To bad I can't comfortably ship it across the great blue...

Nice futureproofed mobo from what <A HREF="http://www.motherboards.org/reviews/motherboards/1489_2.html" target="_new">I can see</A>. (unless you're really hot on SATA 2, which is only supported by NForce4 Ultra or SLI, not the plain NF4 here, but I don't think that's a bit deal)

The only thing I can think of for a floppy drive is a neat ram test called Memtest86 (finds any defects in your RAM). Since I havn't used mine for anything else the last couple of years I'd say don't bother with a floppy drive.

Seems like it will all fit together to me... Don't forget to order a CPU cooler + thermal paste unless it is included with the CPU.<A HREF="http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu/display/he-cpu-coolers.html" target="_new">suggestions by x-bit labs</A>

About the PSU and alternative spending on individual parts I'm not the guy to ask.
<font color=red>Happy building!</font color=red>


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<i>formerly known as walterblackberry</i><P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by monegard on 03/11/05 10:29 AM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

[Rugger]

Here goes:
1. NCQ won't provide you any benefit and will probably run slower than a non-NCQ drive for you. Read this <A HREF="http://www.anandtech.com/storage/showdoc.aspx?i=2073" target="_new">Anandtech HDD review</A>.
2. Why not spend a few more dollars and get a DVDRW?
3. Recommend getting XP Pro with SP2.
4. It's always good to have a floppy around - even if it's not in the system...
5. The TT PSU is a good PSU, but will be underpowered for your system. Read this <A HREF="http://www.tomshardware.com/howto/20050228/index.html" target="_new">THG PSU review</A> and learn about
<A HREF="http:// www.tomshardware.com/howto/20041223/index.html" target="_new">ATX12V v2.0</A>. I think either of these PSUs would be great for your system: <A HREF="http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=17-104-934&depa=0" target="_new">Fortron Blue Storm 500W</A>
<A HREF="http://www.mwave.com/mwave/viewspec.hmx?scriteria=BA21102" target="_new">Enermax 535W Whisper II</A>
6. I think you've put together a well-rounded, outstanding system overall!

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<font color=red>You're a boil on the arse of progress - don't make me squeeze you!</font color=red><P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by Rugger on 03/11/05 11:24 AM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

[monegard]

Sorry but I don't get why NCQ would have a negative impact on system performance. Especially with the NF4 SATA controller.
Care to explain to a hard-drive n00b?

*edit* never mind, I found <A HREF="http://forumz.tomshardware.com/hardware/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=193687#193687" target="_new">it</A>
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<i>formerly known as walterblackberry</i><P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by monegard on 03/11/05 11:43 AM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

[Rugger]

LOL - I'm glad you did the research and found it! If only more people would do that. I will say that the number doing some research before has at least increased over the past couple of days. I wouldn't call it a major trend, but it takes me to a "happy place" thinking about it! :lol:

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[sjonnie]

NCQ uses drive firmware to arrange drive requests in a queue. Under normal usage desktop systems <b>never</b> build a queue or a very short one (2-4) at most where queuing cannot help. The extra command overheads involved in processing the drive request through the queuing commands creates a small but noticeable delay. This negatively impacts on performance.

If you don't believe me go check out the difference between a <A HREF="http://www.storagereview.com/php/benchmark/compare_rtg_2001.php?typeID=10&testbedID=3&osID=4&raidconfigID=1&numDrives=1&devID_0=259&devID_1=267&devCnt=2" target="_new">WD740GD w TCQ and w/o TCQ</A> over at <A HREF="http://www.storagereview.com" target="_new">storagereview.com</A>. The drive w/o TCQ wins on all the desktop benchmarks, because there's no queue. The drive w TCQ wins in most of ther server benchmarks because servers have multiple users and hence a queue of drive requests. If you look at Intel I/O meter results in more <A HREF="http://www.storagereview.com/articles/200406/20040625TCQ_2.html" target="_new">detailed reviews</A> you'll see that TCQ only really starts to kick in with queues >16. You'll never get that on a desktop.

 

[Rugger]

Thanks for the links!

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[Robc1880]

Have you looked at the <A HREF="http://www.pdpsys.com/products/index.jsp?source=dc" target="_new">Patriot memory</A> at all? It's got really good reviews and when you need it, you can overclock it to some pretty impressive numbers.

 

[Rugger]

Which reviews are you talking about?

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[Guest]

Good job, and grats on the new username

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[sacco20]

Ok I'm not the biggest pc geek but from what ive dealt with it seems like cheap AGP gfx cards run better that high priced PCI cards. Maybe it just happeded to work out that way with what ive seen. But all I see is people talking about PCI. Thinking of building my own pc also and if anyone has any ideas for gfx cards for me I would appreciate it. Gaming is what I do so keep that in mind.

 

[Rugger]

You'll get more responses with a new thread in the graphics card forum. AGP and PCIe cards perform the same right now, but the PCIe has more future potential and is becoming the new standard for graphics cards.

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