The Official PC building thread!

Sorry, I didn't mean that I wanted someone to build it for me. I get great enjoyment out of putting it together myself. I just wanted recommendations for modern video cards, processors, mobos, and ram. I do not know of very many unbiased websites that give good recommendations for these things. I am sure they are out there, but I am not sure which are good. I've lurked at Afterdawn for quite some time and am very happy with what I've read and so I would trust the recommendations of its members. Thank you for the quick reply though.

 

TO MANY TO THINK OF BUT YOU MIGHT LOOK AT THIS

INTEL 840 D DUAL CORE CPU
Intel® Pentium® D processor 840 90 nm, LGA775 2x1MB L2 3.20 GHz 800 MHz

INTEL MOTHER BOARD D955XCS GO TO http://intel.com/design/motherbd/cs/index.htm

WESTERN DIGITAL WDC 36.7GB Internal 3.5-in SATA HDD 10000rpm 8MB 1-in Height 5-year Warr AND ADD THIS WDC 160GB Internal 3.5-in SATA HDD 7200rpm 16MB RAID Edition 5-YEAR WARRANTY

ATI Sapphire ATI X800GT 256M DDR TV DVI CRT PCI-E

PLEXTOR Plextor DVD+RW CD-RW PX-716A SW 8x4x16 DVD+RW 48x24x48 CD-RW

Kingston Memory 1GMB DDR 400MHz PC3200 184-pin CL3 DIMM Non-ECC X2

CASE
Image Marketing Description
ASUS VENTO 3600, the first gaming chassis that combined practical features and style to take high-performance gaming to the next level.

MPN
VENTO3600-TA363 BLK
Key Features
Dimensions WxDxH 12.1"x24.7"20.7"
Cooling System 2xFan
Weight 33lbs
Motherboard I/O Expansion Slots 7
Rackmount Rail Kit N/A
Enclosure Color Black
Accessories N/A
Regular 3.5" Bays 3
LEDs N/A
Motherboard Supported up to Form Factor ATX
Chassis Type Mid Tower
Front Ports USB, Audio
Qty per pallet N/A
Warranty 1 year
Power Supply No Power Supply
Regular External 3.5" Bays 1
Intrusion Switch N/A
Built-in SCA Bays N/A
Regular 5.25" Bays 4

Thermaltake Power Supply W0049RUC 680W 2Fan PFC CB,CE, FCC, UL, CUL, TUV certification ATX 2.01 Version Black

Compliant with SSI EPS 12V and ATX 12V 2.01 Version. Higher output 680W output power provides sufficient power. Dual PCI Express, 4 SATA connectors and ten 4-pin power connectors. Active PFC, improved energy efficiency and reduced current load on AC delivery systems. Mirror Finish Lapping. High efficient with dual fans for lowest noise. Intelligent Cable,provide optimum air flow . Protections against Over voltage, Short-Circuit, Over-current, Overload, and Over-temperature. Safety / EMI Approvals CB,CE, FCC, UL, CUL, TUV certification

AC Input 100V to 240V
Weight 2.7 kg
Warranty 1 Year
Fan Features 2 Ball Bearing Fans
Connectors Dual PCI-E, 4 x SATA, 10 x 4-pin power
Dimensions WxDxH 15 x 16.5 x 8.6 cm
Output Power 680 Watts
Form Factor ATX


THIS SHOULD BE A GOOD START FOR YOU IF YOU ARE A GAMMER IT SHOULD FLY IT IS TRENDY IN PRICE BUT YOU WONT NEED ANOTHER FOR SOME TIME TO COME THE BOARD WILL HANDLE THE EXTREAM EDITION CPU BY INTEL THE CASE IS A LITTLE FANCY BUT NICE TO LOOK AT
HOPE THIS WILL HELP YOU SOME

 

The first thing you shoudl know is not to go with intel. If your building a high performance PC anyway, and with the CPu you chose, your are.

AMD may not support DDR2, but the memory controllers and architecture surpass any similar costing intel chip running 1GHZ+ higher.

Intel traded latency for brute force. The high clock speeds are an advertising point, but the architecture is childish, and has high latency problems all across the board, and has to use those extra GHz to come in second.

Not only is latency terrible, but the FSB on a dual core CPU is pethetic. The 2GHz HT bus on AMD boards is unparalelled. Intel offers 1066MHz in some situations.

AMD's 4800+ X2 is a far better choice for less money.

 

if all you have to worry about is caps then mabye you need to have a look at getting a real life I am almost blind or are you just haveing a handicaped problem?
I dont intend to do that I just forgot to change it to lower case

 

I am getting ready to build a media center pc and everything I read is about gaming. I will not be playing any of the games like halo, doom, or half life. I will be backing up dvds, editing video, and recording live tv. While I'm backing up dvd's I do want to do other things, so I don't want the minimum requirements for a system. Now with that said I also don't want a top of the line system just a middle of the road will work. TV used will be analog so digital is not necessary for output.

Here is what I know I want included in my system:

AMD XP 3200+ or 64 3200+
1 gig RAM (not sure which kind)
200 gig WD HD
Windows XP or Windows Media Center

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

Media center, is the new definition of a need for dual core.

http://www.pricegrabber.com/search_...up1[]=75:276/popup3[]=12:278/popup2[]=120:976

It'll cost you $370, but that's a good CPU handling parallel threads. AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+.

 

i know there are a lot of asus fans in here, i am looking at an msi board http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813130492

i would like an unbiased opinion on it compared to a asus board

 

Way to go ddp!!

Hobo4430, I see spelling and punctuation were skipped in your schooling. Lol...

syntheti, I like ASUS boards. And I have never used MSI. Sorry.

 

you know if this is the best you can do in here is injure some one then why bother ? are you that little? and I thought you were adults, I guess Afterdawn.com isnt a place for an adult, this is a place or use to be a place to get answers to questions and not throw personal injuries around like toy's mabye you need to go and read the rules for this place again as it seems that you missed some things in it the first time , Ill send a copy of it to the mods and see what they think of your being here, then again mabye I should look else where my-self..... good thought

 

ddp of course i will be getting a dvd burner, but i'm more interested in mb cpu and video card as the heart of the system. basically i can read reviews on dvd burners, fans, and ps. what i need is info on what core parts would best be put together and enhance the others performance.
thanks in advance

 

dgib2000 go take a look at this web sight look at cpus and you will see what mb will work with it their is a lot of informatipon on this web sight


http://www.intel.com/products/processor/index.htm?iid=HPAGE+header_products_processors&

 

hello all. thanks to ddp and hobo i have come to the realization that my psu frankly sucks (thanks for your help guys). i have a dell dimension xps t800r. i found one, and only one, psu that is compatable with this damn machine. it is the silencer 360 atx from pc power and cooling. unfortunately i tried ordering it today and i received a phone call not long after telling me it is on backorder until 9/15. i am starting to get very frustrated at dell and am wondering if it is really worth spending another $80 on this thing. my future plans were to someday build my own machine and now i am starting to wonder...is today that day?? so again i am relying on the vast expertise, knowledge, and willingness to not only put up with but actually help a noob like myself in this community. btw thanks in advance!

here's what i have that i could keep (sorry if i don't know brand names) :
cdrw
dvdrw
30g quantum hdd
160 seagate barracuda internal hdd
creative soundblaster
ati 7000
broadband input

i also have 768 pc100/133 kingston sdram but i know this wont be able to make the transition and of course some other cards that i dont know the function of.

please keep in mind that i work for a non-profit alternative high school so spending any money is already over budget for me

 

the problem with the power supply is not the 20 pin connector which my dell motherboard does have, but the 6 pin connector which it also has. I have not found any psus that are comptable with this motherboard and vice versa except the one from pc power and cooling. so i guess i need to start out with a case, psu, and a new motherboard. but that is where i run into a problem because no matter how much reading i do i still have no idea what the difference is between sockets and so on. any recommendations?

 

4 pin? i don't think so. it is a dimension xps t800r. i know its intel but thats it. the service tag is EYINB if your so inclined to look it up. afaik i just hooked up the old psu and there was only a 20 pin and a funky 6 pin. the rest of the connectors were standard.