Building or Purchasing A New Computer. . .Any Suggestions or Comments?

Pride · 06-24-2005, 04:46 PM

Ok, this is my first post, and I have a couple of questions. I'm in the process of purchasing a new destop system, mainly for gaming and multimedia. I haven't made up my mind, to whether I will build it myself, or configure it online, already assembled. However, I have narrowed it down to a handful of computer manufacturers, if I assemble it online. (Alienware, Sony, Dell, Gateway/EMachines & HP/Compaq)

As of right now I have an HP, with some upgrades I have made:

HP Celeron 2.1 Ghz
40 GB Hard Drive (95% full)
512 RAM
Panasonic CD-ROM Drives (CD Burner - CDROM) & 3.5" Floppy
nVidia GeForce 2
Creative Soundblaster w/ 6 speaker surround sound

If I build it myself here is a rough sketch or idea, of what I would want/use:

Processor - AMD Athlon 64 3700 San Diego Socket 939
Motherboard - Gigabyte Mobo 4 DDR, 2 PCI-E x 1, 2 PCI-E x 16, 2 PCI, 4 GB expandable, LAN, No integrated video
Video Card - BFG Tech GeForce 6800Ultra 256mb PCI-E x 16
RAM - 4 x 512 MB (Probably Corsair or OCZ)
Hard Drive - Western Digital Serial ATA 7200 RPM 250 x 2 HB
DVD Combo Drive - Samsung, LG or Toshiba
CD/DVD Drive - Same as above
Cooling - Probably Thermaltake, Aspire or Coolermaster fans. Not sure how many yet, depending on the case I have. Decided not too go with liquid cooling, considering I probably won't overclock anything.
Case - Not sure yet. . .I really like alot of the models manufactured by Coolermaster, Thermaltake & Aspire.
LCD - Probably will be the last of the selection. I'm prefering a 19" - 24" display.

Personally, I have never built a system myself, from ground up. But, I have dealt with computers for more than 20 years. And I have no problem building things with my hands, and assembling and connecting plenty of electronic equipment. The only thing really puzzling me right now, would be connecting everything correctly. I don't want to purchase some parts at Newegg and come to find out that it's the incorrect part, and I can't send it back. However, that isn't what I'm puzzled on the most. The case and matching componets is what I am puzzled on the most. I'm just wanting to make sure that I purchase the correct parts, instead of purchasing unmatched parts. Also, I can't quite figure out how many fans I need, to keep the system cooled. I was debating on 5 x 80mm fans, or possibly 2 x 80mm fans & 2 x 120mm fans. And how would I connect an additional cooling fan, say a Thermaltake Silent Boost?

Any suggestions or comments will be greatly appreciated and thought about. Thank you for your time, and attention.

loeakaodas · 06-24-2005, 04:56 PM

Prettty good setup. My only comment would be on the RAM why get 4 sticks of 512 MB when you can get 2 sticks of 1 GB and probably get better performance and dual channel them.

ripken2004 · 06-24-2005, 05:01 PM

he has a san diego tho, it should be able to handle 4 sticks vry well, sum1 should do some benchies for 4 sticks

and dont get a gigabyte board, get the dfi lanparty sli dr

LittleHoov · 06-24-2005, 05:02 PM

basically you should start off by finding out what makes up a computer and then assemble a list of compenents and pick out what you want, which it looks as if youve already done...you need to make sure that your motherboard has SATA ports and that it supports RAID if you want to do that, and see what sort of memory it will support and buy accordingly.

i would say that any case by those brands would be good, you need a power supply as well, usually the ones the come with cases are junk, so you will need to buy one separately, take a look at PSU 101 to know what to look for in a power supply.

as for cooling, you can ask a million people and get a million answers, some things to consider are whether or not you want your PC to be quiet? its hard to make a PC that runs quiet with 15 fans in it

but if you asked me i would say that you needed a good CPU cooler for sure, which the stock cooling that comes with AMD is excellent in my opinion, and AMD 64s seem to run cool anyway...and then a reasonable amount of steady air-flow, you need cool air coming in and hot air going out, i would say hot air going out is more of a priority, and air will come in through the cracks and openings in the case as well, a case isnt airtight, i dont care who its made by...also remember your power supply acts as exhaust fan as well in most cases...mine personally does not, but thats because mine is just weird

but basically all those components you have picked out look good, just get a good power supply, of course if you are doing alot of multimedia, its proven the Intel does that sort of stuff better than AMD, whereas AMD owns the gaming world...so which one are you doing more of? and just how hardcore are we talking?

also hooking up the components is downright foolproof, almost everything inside that computer can only be hooked up one way, its almost impossible to screw it up, the smaller connections for power LEDs and reset buttons and things like that can be a pain at times, but they usually are easily troubleshooted....or would that be troubleshot? not sure on that...for example i wired up my power switch wrong at first, its a 2 pin connector and the manual was unclear as to which way it went, but i knew which two pins it went on, so all i had to do was turn it around and it worked fine

Pride · 06-24-2005, 05:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LittleHoov

as for cooling, you can ask a million people and get a million answers, some things to consider are whether or not you want your PC to be quiet? its hard to make a PC that runs quiet with 15 fans in it

but if you asked me i would say that you needed a good CPU cooler for sure, which the stock cooling that comes with AMD is excellent in my opinion, and AMD 64s seem to run cool anyway...and then a reasonable amount of steady air-flow, you need cool air coming in and hot air going out, i would say hot air going out is more of a priority, and air will come in through the cracks and openings in the case as well, a case isnt airtight, i dont care who its made by...also remember your power supply acts as exhaust fan as well in most cases...mine personally does not, but thats because mine is just weird

but basically all those components you have picked out look good, just get a good power supply, of course if you are doing alot of multimedia, its proven the Intel does that sort of stuff better than AMD, whereas AMD owns the gaming world...so which one are you doing more of? and just how hardcore are we talking?

The majority of the time I will playing games like SimCity 4 Rush Hour, which seems to be a RAM hog. Other games that I play are Star Wars Galaxies, any of the Tom Clancey games by Ubisoft (Ghost Recon/Rainbow 6/Farcry), and some fantasy anime games. Also, I'm a multimedia freak as well.

ripken2004 · 06-24-2005, 05:20 PM

how much do u have to spend

also, dont get a 6800ultra, the 7800gtx is at newegg for 599

Pride · 06-24-2005, 05:23 PM

I'm trying to keep the system around the $2,000 mark for everything, including LCD.

ripken2004 · 06-24-2005, 05:39 PM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16824179014
monitor

loeakaodas · 06-24-2005, 06:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ripken2004

he has a san diego tho, it should be able to handle 4 sticks vry well, sum1 should do some benchies for 4 sticks

The only reson I suggested that is because if in the future he wants to add more RAM he won't have to trow anything away and can just add more sticks.

[-0MEGA-] · 06-24-2005, 06:13 PM

The only companies you might be able to get a computer with about the same specs as those, would be alienware, or a company that buys parts and build it to your liking. No other company that i've heard of offers 6800ultras, amd 64 3700+, or OCZ ram.

Its not incredibly hard to build a computer, just make sure that all the parts are compatible and everything. If i were you, i would build it myself and save some serious $$$.

And i would get 2x 1GB OCZ memory, instead of 4X512MB OCZ. In the future you could upgrade to 4GB.

06-24-2005, 04:46 PM	#1 (permalink)
Pride Bronze Member Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Nashville, TN Age: 36 Posts: 68	Building or Purchasing A New Computer. . .Any Suggestions or Comments? Ok, this is my first post, and I have a couple of questions. I'm in the process of purchasing a new destop system, mainly for gaming and multimedia. I haven't made up my mind, to whether I will build it myself, or configure it online, already assembled. However, I have narrowed it down to a handful of computer manufacturers, if I assemble it online. (Alienware, Sony, Dell, Gateway/EMachines & HP/Compaq) As of right now I have an HP, with some upgrades I have made: HP Celeron 2.1 Ghz 40 GB Hard Drive (95% full) 512 RAM Panasonic CD-ROM Drives (CD Burner - CDROM) & 3.5" Floppy nVidia GeForce 2 Creative Soundblaster w/ 6 speaker surround sound If I build it myself here is a rough sketch or idea, of what I would want/use: Processor - AMD Athlon 64 3700 San Diego Socket 939 Motherboard - Gigabyte Mobo 4 DDR, 2 PCI-E x 1, 2 PCI-E x 16, 2 PCI, 4 GB expandable, LAN, No integrated video Video Card - BFG Tech GeForce 6800Ultra 256mb PCI-E x 16 RAM - 4 x 512 MB (Probably Corsair or OCZ) Hard Drive - Western Digital Serial ATA 7200 RPM 250 x 2 HB DVD Combo Drive - Samsung, LG or Toshiba CD/DVD Drive - Same as above Cooling - Probably Thermaltake, Aspire or Coolermaster fans. Not sure how many yet, depending on the case I have. Decided not too go with liquid cooling, considering I probably won't overclock anything. Case - Not sure yet. . .I really like alot of the models manufactured by Coolermaster, Thermaltake & Aspire. LCD - Probably will be the last of the selection. I'm prefering a 19" - 24" display. Personally, I have never built a system myself, from ground up. But, I have dealt with computers for more than 20 years. And I have no problem building things with my hands, and assembling and connecting plenty of electronic equipment. The only thing really puzzling me right now, would be connecting everything correctly. I don't want to purchase some parts at Newegg and come to find out that it's the incorrect part, and I can't send it back. However, that isn't what I'm puzzled on the most. The case and matching componets is what I am puzzled on the most. I'm just wanting to make sure that I purchase the correct parts, instead of purchasing unmatched parts. Also, I can't quite figure out how many fans I need, to keep the system cooled. I was debating on 5 x 80mm fans, or possibly 2 x 80mm fans & 2 x 120mm fans. And how would I connect an additional cooling fan, say a Thermaltake Silent Boost? Any suggestions or comments will be greatly appreciated and thought about. Thank you for your time, and attention.

06-24-2005, 05:02 PM	#4 (permalink)
LittleHoov Gold Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Climax Springs, Missouri Age: 21 Posts: 302	basically you should start off by finding out what makes up a computer and then assemble a list of compenents and pick out what you want, which it looks as if youve already done...you need to make sure that your motherboard has SATA ports and that it supports RAID if you want to do that, and see what sort of memory it will support and buy accordingly. i would say that any case by those brands would be good, you need a power supply as well, usually the ones the come with cases are junk, so you will need to buy one separately, take a look at PSU 101 to know what to look for in a power supply. as for cooling, you can ask a million people and get a million answers, some things to consider are whether or not you want your PC to be quiet? its hard to make a PC that runs quiet with 15 fans in it but if you asked me i would say that you needed a good CPU cooler for sure, which the stock cooling that comes with AMD is excellent in my opinion, and AMD 64s seem to run cool anyway...and then a reasonable amount of steady air-flow, you need cool air coming in and hot air going out, i would say hot air going out is more of a priority, and air will come in through the cracks and openings in the case as well, a case isnt airtight, i dont care who its made by...also remember your power supply acts as exhaust fan as well in most cases...mine personally does not, but thats because mine is just weird but basically all those components you have picked out look good, just get a good power supply, of course if you are doing alot of multimedia, its proven the Intel does that sort of stuff better than AMD, whereas AMD owns the gaming world...so which one are you doing more of? and just how hardcore are we talking? also hooking up the components is downright foolproof, almost everything inside that computer can only be hooked up one way, its almost impossible to screw it up, the smaller connections for power LEDs and reset buttons and things like that can be a pain at times, but they usually are easily troubleshooted....or would that be troubleshot? not sure on that...for example i wired up my power switch wrong at first, its a 2 pin connector and the manual was unclear as to which way it went, but i knew which two pins it went on, so all i had to do was turn it around and it worked fine __________________ ZTSystems Notebook Intel Core Duo 2 TS5450 1.66ghz 3GB DDR2 RAM 250GB Hard Drive Nvidia 8600M GT OCed at 600/430 plus a host of other goodies. Last edited by LittleHoov; 06-24-2005 at 05:06 PM.

06-24-2005, 05:23 PM	#7 (permalink)
Pride Bronze Member Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Nashville, TN Age: 36 Posts: 68	I'm trying to keep the system around the $2,000 mark for everything, including LCD. __________________ Dell XPS Gen 5 Intel P4 3.6 Ghz HT w/ 955X Chipset nVidia GeForce 6800 GT PCI-E x 16 (256) 2 GB DDR2 SDRAM @ 533 Mhz Western Digital 250 X 2 GB S-ATA Hard Drive (7200 rpm) 460W PSU Dell 19" Digital LCD Flat Screen Windows XP Pro w/ SP2 Creative SB Audigy 2 Z2 & 5.1 Surround Sound LG DVD-Rom & DVD+/-RW

06-24-2005, 06:13 PM	#10 (permalink)
[-0MEGA-] Diamond Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Concord, NH Age: 19 Posts: 26,409	The only companies you might be able to get a computer with about the same specs as those, would be alienware, or a company that buys parts and build it to your liking. No other company that i've heard of offers 6800ultras, amd 64 3700+, or OCZ ram. Its not incredibly hard to build a computer, just make sure that all the parts are compatible and everything. If i were you, i would build it myself and save some serious $$$. And i would get 2x 1GB OCZ memory, instead of 4X512MB OCZ. In the future you could upgrade to 4GB. __________________ Core 2 Duo E8400 @ 3.83GHz Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L ATI HD 3870 GDDR4 @ (840/2332) 4GB (2x 2GB) DDR2-850 500GB SATAII HD w/16MB SilverStone 750W +12V@60A 3DMark06: 11593

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06-24-2005, 04:56 PM	#2 (permalink)
loeakaodas Bronze Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Florida Age: 21 Posts: 57	Prettty good setup. My only comment would be on the RAM why get 4 sticks of 512 MB when you can get 2 sticks of 1 GB and probably get better performance and dual channel them.

06-24-2005, 05:01 PM	#3 (permalink)
ripken2004 Platinum Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 534	he has a san diego tho, it should be able to handle 4 sticks vry well, sum1 should do some benchies for 4 sticks and dont get a gigabyte board, get the dfi lanparty sli dr

06-24-2005, 05:20 PM	#6 (permalink)
ripken2004 Platinum Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 534	how much do u have to spend also, dont get a 6800ultra, the 7800gtx is at newegg for 599

06-24-2005, 05:39 PM	#8 (permalink)
ripken2004 Platinum Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 534	http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16824179014 monitor