Newbie trying to build first PC

[korey_k]

Hey everyone. My current PC is a Dell Dim 8100, P4 1.5 ghz, 256 mb ram, 40 gb hard drive. About two weeks ago I configured a new Dell Dim 8400 which uses the new intel mobo and chipsets. I have since cancelled the order and considered building my own system. Below is the basics of the Dell and also of the parts I have picked off of newegg.

My questions are:
1. Should I go with the Dell and the new Intel technology which I understand may not really be taken advantage of for up to 2 years.
2. Is there any adjustements I should make to the custom pc?
3. Anything else to consider. The prices of the two are very similar except that with the Dell I would also get a 17"CRT and a set of Dell speakers, both of which I don't need.
4. I mainly surf the net, burn CDs, do some actual work and play games. Plan to play Doom3 and HL2.

Dell
P4 540 3.2ghz
Intel 975 mobo
1 gb DDR2 @533
128mb ATI Radeon X800SE (PCIe)
SB Audigy 2 w/ 5.1
325W PSU

Custom
Mobo: MSI nForce3 250, 754 socket
Procesor: AMD Athlon 64, 3200+
Memory: Corsair Value 184 Pin 1GB DDR PC-3200
Power: Foltron 400W PSU
Video: ATI Radeon 9800 All-in-Wonder Pro
DVD: Plextor 712A DVD+/-RW
Case: Kingwin KT-424-BW Case (this I have no idea how to choose)
Keyboard: Logitech Cordless MX-Duo
Sound: Soundblaster Audigy 2 "SB0350"

 

[TheRod]

I never recommend for desktop PC unless you have a business (good warranty, etc...).

The DELL system is equipped with an X800SE, do you have the spec fo this GPU? Because, this version of the X800 has not been reviewed yet. This is probably a X800 version that is only available to system integrator. It's hard to tell if this card is faster or slower compared to a 9800 PRO.

By the way, a Radeon AIW cost much more than normal Radeon video card, because ti include a TV/FM tuner card. If you don't need this, buy a normal Radeon 9800 PRO.

I would recommend these changes for your custom build system :
MB : Chaintech VNF3-250 (cheap, reliable, good BIOS options)
CPU : Boxed AMD Athlon 64 3200+ (so you will not need to buy a separate fan/heatsink and the CPU have a 3 year warranty)
GPU : Radeon 9800 PRO 128Megs
CASE : no-name case (read cheap - I personnaly never choose a CASE, I buy the cheapest one)

You will have a lot of fun building your own system.

--
It's tricky to use words like <b><font color=green>AMD</font color=green></b> or <b><font color=blue>Intel</font color=blue></b> in a signature some users could think your are biased.

 

[davemar14]

I would say build your own system. I have a gripe that the Dell only has a 325 watt PSU. OEM's like Dell, and HP, customize their cases and motherboards, that make upgrades down the road harder to do. Build your own, if you know how. If you don't, try to find a friend to help you. My friend has a Athlon64 3200+ and a 9800 Pro, and it scores close to 20,000 in 3DMark 2001, stock. That combination is a great setup for gaming.

 

[jammydodger]

The CPU that the Dell system has is a prescott (read slightly slower, hotter and more power hungry than the cheaper northwood). The RAM while be faster than DDR has much higher latencies (I think in the region of 4-4-4-12) so actually has about the same performance DDR433 (<A HREF="http://www.anandtech.com/memory/showdoc.aspx?i=2112" target="_new">http://www.anandtech.com/memory/showdoc.aspx?i=2112</A>). A 325w PSU for this kinda system is in my opinion a joke, the prescott CPU consumes more power than any other desktop CPU (apart from maybe the Extreme Edition).
PCI express currently has no performance advantages over AGP, although this may not be true for the next generation of graphics cards.

If you go for the P4 option get a northwood 2.8c and overclock it to 3.2, this wont be a problem on good air cooling and it will be faster (and a lot cheaper) than the dell system.

To be honest your AMD system definatly looks like the better buy!

 

[Spitfire_x86]

Go for the custom A64 setup

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[korey_k]

In the end, I did choose to build my own. I ordered everything on Friday. I don't know too much about putting one of these suckers together, but my buddy at work is in our IT department and he is coming over this week to help me out. I was able to get everything from newegg, except the Athlon 64 processor because for $28 more, I went with the 1mb L2 cache instead of the 512k that newegg had. I picked that up from Dealsonic. They shipped as fast as newegg. Everything should be here by Tuesday and then the fun starts.

Thanks for everyone's advice.

 

[Spitfire_x86]

512k version is faster

------------
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<A HREF="http://geocities.com/spitfire_x86/myrig.html" target="_new">My Rig</A> & <A HREF="http://geocities.com/spitfire_x86/benchmark.html" target="_new">3DMark score</A>

 

[korey_k]

figures.

is it so much so, that I should return the one I get (today or tomorrow) and get the 512 version?

 

[TheRod]

Let's check this "normalized" CPU performance chart :
<A HREF="http://www.hardware.fr/articles/496/page12.html" target="_new">http://www.hardware.fr/articles/496/page12.html</A>

As you see, on average your CPU is 5% slower than a 512K, but I don't disagree with your choice and I would keep this CPU. You can easily overclock it by 200MHz if you have good RAM.

At this performance level 5% is barely noticable in most apps/games. And in 64bit mode, the 512K extra cache, might make a difference. We can only speculate, in 64bit, maybe the 5% gap will be reduce...

--
It's tricky to use words like <b><font color=green>AMD</font color=green></b> or <b><font color=blue>Intel</font color=blue></b> in a signature some users could think your are biased.

 

[Zeekfu]

Yea from what I read if you overclock the clawhammer core 200 mhz you have a processor with equal numbers to the athlon 64 3400+ clawhammer. Plus the clawhammer is being/has been phased out because it is more expensive to produce. I think you went with the right one.

Getting the cheapest case sounded alright if you don't care about looks. That is basically what I did for my first two computers. I would highly recommend you buy a good reliable power supply and not some junky generic that comes with a $25 case. I had two generics last for quite some time actually but when it had troubles it had big troubles and fried some other components. Don't skimp to save $50 on a power supply on a $500-1500 system. I think there are some good performers that aren't very expensive too from what I read on this forum.

When my second generic fried I went to best buy and spent about $100 on an antec 430 truepower. New egg has it a lot cheaper. People have also recommended much cheaper ones they say are just as good or better. I was interested in finding out more about those as well.

<font color=black>yippie ki ya, m..........<font color=black>