Halo 1 & 2 for PC
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  • Subject: Advice on new Desktop
Subject: Advice on new Desktop
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I am purchasing parts for a new desktop through newegg. I have never done this before and would really appreciate help. I would like to use it for gaming like Halo, Halo 2, Counter Strike, etc. I have changed plenty of components in a pc, bu never built one. My budget is around $800. Here is what I came up with so far.:

$182 Processor - AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+ Windsor 2.2GHz 2 x 512KB L2 Cache Socket AM2 Processor (there is also a 65 watt version?)
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E1681910374 7

$55 Motherboard - ECS NFORCE4M-A (V3.0) Socket AM2 NVIDIA nForce4 4X ATX AMD Motherboard (no idea if this one is good or not?)
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E1681313502 8

$155 RAM - CORSAIR XMS2 1GB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Desktop Memory (I can always get a second GB later)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E1682014558 8

$95 Case - APEVIA (ASPIRE) MX-PLEASURE-NW-BK Black Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case ATX 500W dual fan w/ automatic fan speed control Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E1681114413 5

$180 Video Card - eVGA 256-P2-N624-AR GeForce 7900GS 256MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 KO Video Card (need lots of advice here)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E1681413005 6

$30 DVD burner
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E1682713609 1

Don't know what SLI is?

I am going to keep my hard drive which is a Western Digital 120GB. When Vista comes out, would there be any issues converting to it with this pc? Do I need anything else?

Thanks,

Dave

  • 11.19.2006 7:29 PM PDT
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Posted by: CosmoKramer2
I am purchasing parts for a new desktop through newegg. I have never done this before and would really appreciate help. I would like to use it for gaming like Halo, Halo 2, Counter Strike, etc. I have changed plenty of components in a pc, bu never built one. My budget is around $800. Here is what I came up with so far.:

$182 Processor - AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+ Windsor 2.2GHz 2 x 512KB L2 Cache Socket AM2 Processor (there is also a 65 watt version?)
Lazy Link 1

$55 Motherboard - ECS NFORCE4M-A (V3.0) Socket AM2 NVIDIA nForce4 4X ATX AMD Motherboard (no idea if this one is good or not?)
Lazy Link 2

$155 RAM - CORSAIR XMS2 1GB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Desktop Memory (I can always get a second GB later)
Lazy Link 3

$95 Case - APEVIA (ASPIRE) MX-PLEASURE-NW-BK Black Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case ATX 500W dual fan w/ automatic fan speed control Power Supply
Lazy Link 4

$180 Video Card - eVGA 256-P2-N624-AR GeForce 7900GS 256MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 KO Video Card (need lots of advice here)
Lazy Link 5

$30 DVD burner
Lazy Link 6 Handing Your Ass to You

Don't know what SLI is?

I am going to keep my hard drive which is a Western Digital 120GB. When Vista comes out, would there be any issues converting to it with this pc? Do I need anything else?

Thanks,

Dave


You're welcome.

  • 11.19.2006 8:04 PM PDT
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-EDIT- Never mind, I'm a noob.

More RAM would be good, but you can stick with that.

[Edited on 11/19/2006]

  • 11.19.2006 8:07 PM PDT

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As a rule I always make sure that I have the latest motherboard, because if you have to replace that your buying a new computer.

  • 11.19.2006 9:38 PM PDT
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I have the same processor and it is pretty 1337, but Core 2 Duo's pwn the hell out of AMD right now. For the motherboard, I've never heard of that company so ask around, ASUS are a good manufacturer btw. Don't skimp out on your motherboard, you'll regret it later. SLI is when you run dual video cards, you don't need it unless you want to run games at ultra resolutions. I'd go with 2 GB's of ram, but 1 gb will suffice for "now." Everything else looks fine, have fun building it.

Check relative performance for video cards here.
http://www23.tomshardware.com/graphics.html

P.S. Kramer is a -blam!- God.

[Edited on 11/19/2006]

  • 11.19.2006 10:28 PM PDT
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Thanks for the advice. Anyone else want to lend some help?

  • 11.20.2006 5:38 PM PDT
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That's a cheap motherboard. I'd be more careful if I were you. Also, $95 for a STEEL case? There are aluminum ones out there for cheaper.

  • 11.20.2006 5:41 PM PDT
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well im gonna have to say... if you don't know what SLI is, id double check that you know how to build a computer ; ) but your motherboard is good- if you can afford it though, go for a 600i chipset instead of a nforce 4. dont go SLI or crossfire- its a waste of time and money. it's for people with too much money.

  • 11.20.2006 6:20 PM PDT
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Heyyo,

I'll lend some advice... I'mma A+ Certified Computer Technician.. how's that? ;)

Posted by: Lucifuge777
I have the same processor and it is pretty 1337, but Core 2 Duo's pwn the hell out of AMD right now. For the motherboard, I've never heard of that company so ask around, ASUS are a good manufacturer btw. Don't skimp out on your motherboard, you'll regret it later. SLI is when you run dual video cards, you don't need it unless you want to run games at ultra resolutions. I'd go with 2 GB's of ram, but 1 gb will suffice for "now." Everything else looks fine, have fun building it.

Check relative performance for video cards here.
http://www23.tomshardware.com/graphics.html

P.S. Kramer is a -blam!- God.

Buddy here knows his stuff. X2's are great, Intel Core2Duo's are orgasmic goodness. I myself have an Intel Core2Duo E6300 coming in from work (partnership with Intel, even comes with a half-decent mobo and a RETAIL copy of Windows Vista Ultimate... cause businesses get it before the public does, we're cool that way... my order comes in tomorrow. Staff Purchases are great eh?)

Here's an example of how much the Intel Core2Duo's pwn:
http://www23.tomshardware.com/cpu.html?modelx=33&model1=4 33&model2=469&chart=165
(if you can edit your first post... add [url] before and [/ url] after tags on your links without that space between the "/ u" in the 2nd part that goes in)


Posted by: Pet0sh
That's a cheap motherboard. I'd be more careful if I were you. Also, $95 for a STEEL case? There are aluminum ones out there for cheaper.

Indeed. Don't waste good cash on a bad mobo, it'll give you preformance, probably even stability headaches. Get a good Asus mobo. avoid VIA Chipset mobos cause they are junk compared to NForce mobos, and the new Nvidia 600i chipset family.. my last VIA chipset mobo didn't accept my Soundblaster X-Fi soundcard, just crackled, but works flawlessly on my REFURB Gigabyte NF4 mobo.. that's how much VIA sucks, and how much even refurb NF4 mobos work great. Yeah, I guess I reccomend Gigabyte mobos too, cause they're good... their custom cooler's are pretty sweet too.

Posted by: Ryanman7
well im gonna have to say... if you don't know what SLI is, id double check that you know how to build a computer ; ) but your motherboard is good- if you can afford it though, go for a 600i chipset instead of a nforce 4. dont go SLI or crossfire- its a waste of time and money. it's for people with too much money.

Yes, the new 600i chipset family's pretty sweet. the 500i and such sucked with Intel CPU's, but are making up for it.
http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/showdoc.aspx?i=2869& p=12
That link proves how a good mobo will differ preformance in gaming. Not a bunch, unless you got a really good mobo, but a really cheap mobo will get ya junk.. tbh, a lot with computing is... "you get what you buy" you buy cheap, you will get cheap. Btw, Ryanman7, letme test your SLi history knowlege... what company did first invented the technology "SLi" before it was called "SLi" that Nvidia bought out? and don't google, that's cheating. ;)
Btw, don't really need to know what SLi is to build a comp, just means he's an old skool computer user. Marathon FTMFW! Gawd, what a great old skool series by Bungie.. I still give them major props for freeware unlike 3D Realms still keeping Nuke Nukem 3D as shareware...

As for vidcards? 7900GS will be ok... but it is not DX10 compatible.. and the 8800GT vidcard's SLAUGHTER the 7900GS's... and are DX10 cards, so they will run crysis as it was meant to be my friend.. and yeah, if you're gonna spend pretty good cash onna 7900GS, just to buy a DX10 card not much later is kinda a waste of cash tbh. I myself only took my x1900GT cause my x850 PRO broke down (futureshop PSP warranty ftw), so my current vidcard's gonna hold me ti'll I decide I've got enough saved up for a behemoth of a DX10 card.

So I reccomend if possible changing some stuff to even this (if not better):

$180.00 - Intel Core 2 Duo E6300 Conroe 1.86GHz 2M sharing L2 Cache LGA 775 Processor
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E1681911500 5

$129.99 - Intel BOXDG965WHMKR Socket T (LGA 775) Intel G965 Express ATX Intel Motherboard:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E1681312105 2
The mobo's decent, not great. It's what I'm starting off with too (part of my intel bundle that I can't customize.. meh). If you get it, flash the BIOS right away once you get the chance...

$469.99 - ASUS EN8800GTS/HTDP/640M 320-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E1681412103 4
Ooh, btw, I believe that card comes with a full version of 3DMark06, and GRAW (game's ok), and GTI Racing (which sucks).

for ram, dual channel kits are good if you can get a 2GB OCZ, or Crucial (me 2 favs, Kingston's ok as well.. kinda feeling lazy and not wanting to find links to them right now, lol).

Take my advice or dish it, entirely up to you man. :)

[Edited on 11/20/2006]

  • 11.20.2006 10:03 PM PDT
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Grateful for all the advice so far. $470 is a lot to shell out for a video card.

  • 11.21.2006 7:20 PM PDT
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Heyyo,

Posted by: CosmoKramer2
Grateful for all the advice so far. $470 is a lot to shell out for a video card.

Np, we're here to help out. :)

I know it's very pricey, but DX10 game's are just around the corner. So it's either get one now, or in a few months your vidcard will start to become outdated pretty quickly. I figure another year at least until word of DX11 with SM5.0... cause games are just gonna get more and more demanding, and DX10 relieves a lot of pressure on the CPU and so more is added to the GPU, so a really strong videocard is definately (if wasn't already 100% before) the single most important hardware peice in a gaming tower.

To me? the order of important gaming hardware quality is this:

Videocard
CPU
RAM
Motherboard
Monitor (I still prefer CRT's over LCD's due to response times. CRT's are 60nS while fastest LCD is 2mS.. still a pretty big gap)
Soundcard
Mouse
HDD
Keyboard
Speakers
Gamepad/Joystick/Racing Wheel
DVDRW/ROM (hey, you can still install games via network if you're l33t like me, heh heh)

Some people will probably have a different priority list, but that's mine. I like it best cause of that reason too. =P

In the end man, all we can give is advice, take it, leave it, in the end it's up to you. =D

[EDIT1]
Oh! and there will an "emulated DX9" version for WinV called DX9.1L or so... it will make DX9 games run on WinV without problems.. but to be on the safe side, I myself will dual boot with WinXP and WinV until I find it's just as stable as WinXP. I suggest you do the same if you have some spare hard drive space. ;)

[EDIT2]
W00t! My Intel stuff just came in!
Intel Core2Duo E6300
Intel DG965WHMKR Motherboard
Windows Vista Ultimate 32bit and 64bit (RC1 that upgrades to full once out)

So I just benched my previous setup in WinXP 3DMark05.. gonna start 3DMark06 while I go and buy some 2GB DDR2 Dual Channel Kit RAM... and then I'm gonna 3DMark05&06 with my Intel CPU in BOTH WinXP and WinVx64 (not x32... no fun. lol) and I'll post here to see if indeed WinV gives a good boost in performance, and how big of a step up my intel cpu is from an AMD Ahtlon64 3200+ with generic 2GB PC3200 DDR1 RAM...

So that means, the CPU and Mobo I reccomended to you will be tested to see how well it matches up against an average tower configuration today.

[EDIT3]
K, here we go...

ATI Radeon X1900GT
AMD AThlon64 3200+ @2.01GHz
2.00GB PC3200 RAM
Gigabyte GA-K8NF-9 Motherboard
Creative X-Fi Audio Processor (WDM) MP3 Audio
3DMark05 Score 7681
3DMark06 Score 3667 (SM2.0 1673 --- HDR/SM3.0 1824 --- CPU 766)

ATI Radeon X1900GT
Intel Core2Duo E6300 @1.86GHz-Per-Core
1.98GB DDR2 667MHz RAM
Intel DG965WH Motherboard
Creative X-Fi Audio Processor (WDM) MP3 Audio
3DMark05 Score 9120 (CPU Score 6501)
3DMark06 Score 4320 (SM2.0 1668 --- HDR/SM3.0 1819 --- 1644)
WinV 3DMark06 Score 4269 (SM2.0 1663 --- HDR/SM3.0 1797 --- 1591)

As you can see, CPU pwns. The mobo I got from intel only has 1 ide controller, so I am gonna get a different one, and one that supports 800MHz RAM. Other than that the mobo's fine after a good BIOS update I say.

Sadly, 3DMark06 isin't 64bit... so it ran in 32bit on vista. But the drop wasn't that big at all. So people who think Windows Vista with the Areo theme will be a major hog of resources? expect to only lose 1-5F/S... if you had a random scheme on WinXP with WindowsBlinds to load it? you actually lose more frames that way. So I give a big congrats to Microsoft for building Vista Ultimate like they said they would... where it won't kill your gaming preformance massively for running Areo. =D

[Edited on 11/22/2006]

  • 11.22.2006 12:10 PM PDT