The (new) Official PC building thread!

The 7600GT is going to be better value than either the GS or the 7300GT.

 

@mphsbelle
What are you using the computer for...Media Server?..Video Editing?..Office or Home?..

 

Lp you're so nosey. I'm sure she's not worried about viewing PRON on a 42" Plasma. hehehe. Good question tho!!! Might help in deciding what you can get away with on the GPU. j/k buddy....

....gm

 

always the comedian *wags finger*

 

Mort81,

The link given was for an Evga GT. That's why I suggested an XFX. I prefer the XFX! I like the ATi's performance, but they seem to run a lot hotter and consume more power, even without overclocking them. The 7600GTs are getting hard to find as well! Newegg and Tigerdirect no longer carry them, although Tigerdirect is still supplying them with certain barebones kits! It's not that they are out of stock, but no longer listed at all!

Clock On,
theone :>)

 

theone,

not to argue but here is the card greensmans link goes to and it is a GT http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130017

he might have changed the link since you first read it from a GS to a GT.

 

Mort81,
I was editing my post when you posted. Still half asleep and I just Boobed! Just check my edited post! Got it right this time! LOL!!

Best Regards,
Russ

 

theone,

affirmative. I consider Evga and XFX about equil. both good manufactures with lifetime warranty. the price with MIR for the Evga is $24.02 less (not including shipping for either) and very hard to beat. core clock on Evga is 10mhz more than the XFX. the memory clock on the Evga is 1500mhz (effective). provantage doesn't give the memory clock on the XFX but I asume it's about the same.

 

Mort81,

It's the card I have and it's 570/1450. I just like XFX better! The only problems I've ever had with nVidia based cards have been with Evga cards. The very first one I ever bought (about 3 years ago) was DOA, and it's replacement died about 2 months later! I've never had a problem with the XFXs! In all fairness, Evga has improved their quality quite a bit over the last 3 years!

Best Regards,
Russ :>)

 

@greensman
Remember that lobotomy I offered to Gerry..

So do not worry...I am completely qualified...Besides...I promise....You will not be able to tell if I mess it up anyways..

 

From what I've heard though, they're 680i motherboard still isn't exactly perfect...

 

Which of my plasmas are you refering to? I will try and find the recommended graphics card - 7600GT. Thanx

 

i think they have IDE problems

 

Ah right, well, still not great for anybody who doesn't use a serial ATA optical drive then.

 

Ok. Me and my dad want to build a computer. And i need to decide which parts we should get. I don't really have a budget right now. I looked in WikiBooks and found out which basic parts i need to build a computer:

I decided out which parts i wanted to get for my computer:

PSU - I don't know if it really matters what PSU i get, but if i end up overclocking it, i'll probably want to get a cheap, big one.

Motherboard - I don't know if it matters what Motherboard i get. Are they all the same? Which one will be best with my computer?

CPU - Once i found out that the Intel Core 2 Duo was clocked at 2 GHz, i thought it was lame. I mean, my PS3 has a better processor! So that's why i want my processor to be stronger (or atleast as strong) then/as the Cell Broadband Engine. Is there a processor stronger then the CBE? (that means a clock rate higher then 3.2 GHz)

RAM - RAM means how much programs i can have running at one time, right? well i want something that is 2 gig. lol

HDD - I want an HDD enough to store all my crap, something cheap and atleast more than 160 GB.

Optical drive- Oh, now this is cool. I want a drive that can read and write CDs, DVDs, and Blurays.

GPU - Just like the CPU, this is something hard to decide which. I don't know which to get, ATI or Nvidia? If i get Nvidia, should i wait for the Geforce 9 series or get the best of the Geforce 8 series?

If you need anymore details, tell me.

 

OmriSama,

I'll answer these in the order you asked
PSU: Today you will need at least a 500 watt with 70% efficiency or better! You can find decent quality ones for $79-99!

Motherboard: Asus, Biostar, GigaByte and Evga all make decent quality boards in both AM2 and socket 775. Lower prices tend to mean less features. You would want one that has Sata and a PCIe 16x slot for your video card! Decent quality ones can be had from about $99-150!

CPU: Processor speed means nothing these days. My Intel E4300 Core 2 Duo at a stock 1.8GHz could stomp on the processor in your PS3. At my present 3.2GHz overclock the one in the pS3 would be a distant memory! Price range $144-190 depending on model!

RAM: Decent quality DDR2800/PC6400 can be had for around $100-130 for 2x1GB Dual Channel. Corsair, GSkill, OCZ are some of the better brands!

Hard Drive: Sata 3.0 is the only way to go these days. A 160GB Seagate will run you about $60. A 230GB about $80!

Optical drive: For now I wouldn't recommend Blueray. First they are way too expensive and with all the problem it's not at all certain that it's going to be around for too long. You can get a nice Sony Optiarc NEC 18x DVD burner for about $30

GPU: Unless you are a serious gamer anything above a 7600GT should do fine! $99-129

You said the "magic" word before, Cheap! When it comes to PSUs, memory, CPU Coolers and to a degree everything else, cheap doesn't get it! You can find 500 watt PSUs for as little as $29. Using one will wind up costing you more money in the end. Nothing I can think of will ruin a good computer faster, especially if you plan to overclock! There is a huge difference to buying something quality at a good price and buying something cheap.

Take a look at www.newegg.com and look over all the things you want to buy. make a list and come back to us and we will help you with your choices. With the right components, you can put together quite a good system for well under $1000!

Best Regards and Good Luck,
theone :>}

 

TYs. But can you believe i want high end components for a gaming PC? lol. I mean, i want to be sure that my computer can run computer games coming out in atleast the next 4 years. Not like any dopey computer that lasts for 1-2 years in the gaming area. So i want a good processor and something that can run Crysis.

My current laptop sucks. The GPU dosen't even have a pixel shader (it's an Intel GPU)

 

PSU: Cheap is not the answer. Make sure you get a quality power supply, then build on the budget that's left. DO NOT SKIMP ON THE POWER SUPPLY. I'd recommend a Corsair HX 520W.
Motherboard: It depends which type of processor you use, a recommended combination is the Core 2 Duo and GA-965P-DS3.
Note: A Core 2 Duo overclocked to 3Ghz (very easily done) would beat ALL SEVEN 3.2GHZ CORES of a PS3. The PS3 is nowhere near as powerful as you think it is.
RAM: 2x1GB Corsair PC6400 - it's pretty much what everybody goes for now.
Hard drive: Serial ATA, typically 320GB or 500GB, they're relatively inexpensive at those sizes now.
Optical Drive: DVD Writer. Bluray will never get used and it costs too much. I recommend NEC (now Sony Optiarc NEC)
Graphics card: I agree with theone, a 7600GT is the standard starting point, if you want better, then we can always up it.


Actually, you laptop does have a Pixel shader or it wouldn't be able to shade any pixels! It'll be Pixel shader 1.0 though, the most basic form. I do agree on it sucking though!

You mentioned the magic word, Crysis.
Based on that,
Processor: Core 2 Duo E6750
Graphics card: Geforce 8800GTS or 8800GTX, depending on budget
Power supply: Corsair HX 620W
Other components as before

As for the case, personal preference, but pick something that has (or can have) lots of 120mm fans, for good cooling.

You can also play around with overclocking with a Core 2 Duo, and for that I'd recommend an aftermarket cooler, something like an Arctic Freezer 7 Pro.

Here are some links at newegg to get you started.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115029&Tpk=E6750
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128012
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145034
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150173
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139002&Tpk=Corsair+620W
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827152079
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16821104104
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148136
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835186134&Tpk=Freezer+7+Pro
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835100007
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811146038


This lot comes to $1232, plus a bit for delivery.
There are $100 of rebates offered here, so if you send off for those, it effectively becomes $1132, and that's a very powerful PC there, certainly capable of playing Crysis.

Do you need peripherals? (Monitor, keyboard, mouse etc.)

 

I already have a Keyboard and Mice. Monitor should be a cakewalk to get.

So, you're saying that the Intel Core 2 Duo is much better then the Cell Broadband Engine when OverClocked? What about when not OverClocked?

 

Well put it this way.
The Cell CPU has 7 cores clocked at 3.2Ghz. Currently PS3 games use anything between 1 and 3 of them.
Now, a Core 2 Duo has 2 cores, and in the example I gave you they're clocked at 2.66Ghz.
The cell's cores are based on the IBM powerPC standard, which means that a 1.8Ghz core 2 core would be about as powerful as two of them. So, an entire core 2 Duo CPU clocked at 1.8Ghz would be about as good as 4 of them, and thus at 2.66Ghz, that's about 6.
It doesn't work quite like that, but that's essentially it, a Core 2 Duo is MUCH better than the Cell.