Building a Computer

[Coriander]

Ok, What I need to know is what you guys would recommend what parts I should buy to build a good Computer for Gaming, Videos, Movies, etc. I know the amount of ram I want, 2gigs to be exact, all I really need. But what other stuff should I get? Graphics Card, Mother board, all that stuff. And I mean which brand should I go with etc etc. I'm debating just buying this one,http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/system/Mega_Special_I/ and editing it to be green and green neon with a green optical drive and that would be all I would do to it, would it be a good gaming computer?

[Lenny]

Before we give any suggestions for core components, the question to ask is this - how much are you willing to spend?

I'm also going to ask if you have things like a keboard and mouse (which won't add much to the final price), monitor and speakers (which will add a few hundred dollars), and which OS you want (personally, I think you'll need more than 2gb of RAM - 4gb would keep you more comfortable, but to take advantage of the full 4gb you need a 64-bit OS).

[Coriander]

I will be able to spend anywhere from $500 to $3000 dollars, with the Three throusand taking awhile longer to save up. And I could always order mea keyboard and a mouse, monitor, and speakers. I'll take your Advice on the ram and the OS, you seem computer Savvy. I know I want Windows XP home edition, I'll get vista when I feel I can rely on it.

[Mantralord]

e8400
that $80 gigabyte p35 board
4gb of whatever ddr800 ram you choose
western digital 640gb
8800gt
450W power supply

dont listen to the retards on every hardware forum, they're idiotic wasteful people

[Willkillforfood]

Mantralord's rig is more than capable of running whatever you can throw at it right now.

[!King_Amazon!]

Mantralord's rig is more than capable of running whatever you can throw at it right now.
Out of curiosity, how much would it cost?

[Coriander]

Yeah, How much would it cost mantra?

[Willkillforfood]

If you guys aren't too lazy, you can look it up on places like www.newegg.com :p.

[Coriander]

http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/system/Gamer_Ultra_8200/#configurator_top

I am debating that one, But adding a 64 bit OS, 4 gig a bytes of ram, Cross fire ready Mother Board, 20 inch monitor, keyboard, mouse, All that shit to it and more, and a Full Tower case.

[osmoses-jones]

Here build for yah

motherboard: any p35 board i will recommend gigabite Ep38 ds3L
os: windows xp 64 bit don't waste your time with vista
case: i like coolmaster cosmos 1000
graphic: get evga 8800 gts
proccesor: Quad core Q6600 with go setting
make sure you buy cpu fan if you want to overclock your processor. and any other shit i gess like ram that support your motherboard.

[Lenny]

Why the GTS? For the same price he can get a GT, and better performance. They even out-do the lower end 9 series cards.

Just seen that Mantra has said the GT. Go go PowerMantra!

Otherwise, I agree with Mantra and Osmoses - the P35's are good boards. I quite like the Asus one.

Definitely a Quad core (Intel over AMD) - no point going for a dual.

I reckon you'd be better with a bigger PSU than 450W. Maybe 600W, as it gives you a bit of elbow room. And if you ever want to upgrade your graphics card (say you want to get a second, in which case you need to make sure the mobo supports SLi) you'll be glad for the extra power.

[Medieval Bob]

e8400
that $80 gigabyte p35 board
4gb of whatever ddr800 ram you choose
western digital 640gb
8800gt
450W power supply

dont listen to the retards on every hardware forum, they're idiotic wasteful people

/agree

Except for the power supply. I wouldn't go below 600W or so. Also, I'd say..... with a nice case and an inexpensive optical that would cost.... like $900 if you shopped around. Depending on what you mean by "video" you could get a blu-ray combo drive for another couple hunnard. Now buying that from a manufacturer, you can assume... what like 30% markup? Cyberpower's always had pretty decent prices, and they're customer support has improved over the last 5 years or so. I'd say it's a decent place if you can't build a pc yourself.

[Goodlookinguy]

e8400
that $80 gigabyte p35 board
4gb of whatever ddr800 ram you choose
western digital 640gb
8800gt
450W power supply

dont listen to the retards on every hardware forum, they're idiotic wasteful people

A 450w power supply isn't enough to run the top of the line graphics cards. In fact I've put in a graphics card before without playing attention to the fact that you needed a higher internal power supply; and when the computer turned on, it was blank.

I'd suggest a 1000+ watt internal power supply if you plan to put one or more of the worlds most powerful Graphics Cards in your system.

Worlds most powerful Graphics Card to date = ATI Radion HD 3870 X2

Here's what I'd go for.

http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/system/Gamer_Ultra_8200/

Core Components

NZXT Zero Aluminum Full Tower 420W Case (I like full towers)
Extra Case Cooling Fan (2x)
Thermaltake ToughPower 1,000 Watts Power Supply - Quad SLI Ready (If not higher)
AMD Phenom™ X4 9850 Black Edition Quad-Core
(Take all of the freebies)
CoolerMaster Hyper TX2 Gaming CPU Cooling Fan
MSI K9A2 CF-F AMD 790X CrossFire Chipset DDR2/1066 Dual 16X PCIE (If not a better one)
I've personally never had much of an issues with memory so anywhere from 3GB of ram to 4GB is fine.
ATI Radeon HD 3870 PCI-E x16 512MB (If you want Super Gaming then go for the X2 version)
At least a 500GB HDD.


Accessories

(You do whatever you want here)


Software & Services

Microsoft® Windows® XP Professional w/ Service Pack 2
^You will need that if you want a gaming computer, Vista will slow you down FAR too much.^
(Set whatever else you want)

Final Price = $1246.00

Not shabby at all for a powerful computer.

[Mantralord]

1) Don't go for quad core, it's a waste if you're playing games (don't think you're future proofing by doing so either, you're not)

2) Don't believe the retards on other forums that say you need a million watts to run a computer. The computer i listed would use like 250W max. Funny how processors and graphics cards get more power efficient and yet the "requirements" on power go up. Thank the moronic teenager overclocker/gamers on forums and running review sites who would rather quantify a complicated array of variables in system power usage into one convenient number.

Example: The year is 2004. Pentium D's drawing 130W and X1900XTX's at 180W are all the rage (well, to some people). The average recommended PSU back then by those same idiots? ~500W. Nowadays we have E8400's at 65W and graphics cards at ~150W max. The average recommended PSU? 600W++

I wish they'd all die. I'm gonna laugh and laugh when we hit the wall to Moore's law in 5-10 years.

3) Don't go for sli/crossfire...it's a waste of money UNLESS you have a giant 30'' monitor or whatever. And if you're thinking of being stupid enough to buy such a huge overpriced piece of shit, just buy a 1080p TV instead and use that. Then you'll have a bigger screen and you won't need SLI.

4) Don't try to future proof. Don't buy quad core or PCI-E 2.0 or DDR3 or QUAD SLI or whatever else marketing and the douchebags that fall for it want to ram down your throat.

5) Don't buy a WD Raptor. The 640GB Western Digitals are only like 15% slower, and offer a far lower price and much more storage space. You're not gonna notice the performance difference.

6) Think value, not performance.

7) Don't spend more than $1000 to upgrade your system. If you do, you're an idiot.

8) fuck you all

[Coriander]

$2083.00 is what Mine will ultimately cost me. Anyone need their lawn mowed?

[Lenny]

A 450w power supply isn't enough to run the top of the line graphics cards. In fact I've put in a graphics card before without playing attention to the fact that you needed a higher internal power supply; and when the computer turned on, it was blank.

I'd suggest a 1000+ watt internal power supply if you plan to put one or more of the worlds most powerful Graphics Cards in your system.

Choo crazy, foo'! There's no need for that type of power for what Mantra suggested.

Here's what I'd go for.

http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/system/Gamer_Ultra_8200/

Core Components

NZXT Zero Aluminum Full Tower 420W Case
Extra Case Cooling Fan (2x)
Thermaltake ToughPower 1,000 Watts Power Supply - Quad SLI Ready
AMD Phenom™ X4 9850 Black Edition Quad-Core
CoolerMaster Hyper TX2 Gaming CPU Cooling Fan
MSI K9A2 CF-F AMD 790X CrossFire Chipset DDR2/1066 Dual 16X PCIE
I've personally never had much of an issues with memory so anywhere from 3GB of ram to 4GB is fine.
ATI Radeon HD 3870 PCI-E x16 512MB
At least a 500GB HDD.

Whilst the AMD processors are built from the ground up (and are so touted as being better than the Intels, which are basically two CPUs stuck together), I personally think they're inferior to the Intels. And this isn't because I'm an Intel fanboy, ho no - my current PC has an AMD processor, and it isn't worth shit.

I've had problems with MSI boards in the past, too, so I'd go for something other than MSI - Gigabyte, or Asus, say.

The 8800GT out-performs the Radeon 3870, and for about the same price, the nVidia card is the better buy.

[Coriander]

Following GLGs route and going with accessories it was $2083.00 Should I go with Mantras build? Also, When I am choosing an Operating system, if I go to vista, I have a 64 bit os option, But I don't get that option with XP, is XP a 64 bit OS or what?

[Mantralord]

server 2008 x64

http://www.win2008workstation.com

[Coriander]

O_o I...I'm confused.......

[Kaneda]

I believe Mantra is saying. Use server 2008 which is 64 bits and then convert it to a work station for your gaming use or w/e?

[Coriander]

Ok..So...Get my computer without a OS and install that OS?

[Medieval Bob]

Mantra's right.

Stay away from SLI (and Crossfire). Don't go quad core. You won't get the performance increase you're expecting, wanting, or even paying for if you get any at all. Check some benchmarks on tomshardware. You'll be surprised.

As for brands, I'd stick with Intel and nVidia for now.

And for an OS, I'd say 64-bit XP (http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/64bit/default.mspx). I wouldn't mess with Server 08 unless you actually wanted to put some work into it and know what you're doing (which I assume you don't).

Also
anywhere from 3GB of ram to 4GB is fine"
Wtf?! Always get even amounts of ram. 2gb or 4gb. (and with how inexpensive ram is today, I think 4gb is the only real option) Don't EVER get 3gb of ram for anything.

[Coriander]

Yeah, Thanks, I don't know what I'm doing so thanks for the link. I'll stick with Intel and Nvidia, and use that XP x64 and 4 gb of ram. Thanks guys!

[Mantralord]

yes yes

[Goodlookinguy]

Wtf?! Always get even amounts of ram. 2gb or 4gb. (and with how inexpensive ram is today, I think 4gb is the only real option) Don't EVER get 3gb of ram for anything.

Dumb ass.

3GB = 2x 1GB DDR and 2x 512 MB
A computer must have equal number of components in to run properly. Hence 2(1GB) x 2(512MB) = 4 components. I think your head was a little scrambled, or you didn't know that.


Coriander, screw nVidia and Intel. ATI and AMD are the best bet for a GAMING computer right now, not a crap filled one.

AMD Phenom X4 Quad Processor
ATI Radion HD 3870 X2

Those are your best bets.

[Mantralord]

Dumb ass.

3GB = 2x 1GB DDR and 2x 512 MB
A computer must have equal number of components in to run properly. Hence 2(1GB) x 2(512MB) = 4 components. I think your head was a little scrambled, or you didn't know that.


Coriander, screw nVidia and Intel. ATI and AMD are the best bet for a GAMING computer right now, not a crap filled one.

AMD Phenom X4 Quad Processor
ATI Radion HD 3870 X2

Those are your best bets.


hahahahahahahahaha

[Goodlookinguy]

hahahahahahahahaha

I don't see the humor in what I wrote, please do point it out.

[Coriander]

Ugh, Well, I may just say to hell with it and Buy a fuckin Dell.

[Lenny]

Heavens forbid! Sure, they're cheap to buy in bulk for companies, but not as personal computers.

What you're seeing in this thread is just a usual group of geeks eFlexing at each other. Nothing to worry about. :p

The general consensus seems to be an Intel Dual Core, a P35 mobo, 4gb RAM, an nVidia card (8800GT?), and a PSU between 450W and say 700W.

[Coriander]

I had decided to go with a 700 watt Psu, and I suppose you are right. Anywho, 'Preciate the help..Now...To make the money...

[!King_Amazon!]

Listen to mantra, IMO. He makes sense.

[Coriander]

Yes Yes, I will more then likely go with Mantra's Build, but a Higher PSU.

[D3V]

Just check the components and see if you would even need a higher PSU... you might not.

[Kaneda]

Heavens forbid! Sure, they're cheap to buy in bulk for companies, but not as personal computers.

What you're seeing in this thread is just a usual group of geeks eFlexing at each other. Nothing to worry about. :p

Ya, don't ever ever say you'll just get a Dell. eFlexing is right Lenny. :haha: Like that term.