Building a Computer

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nomhak

New Member
Hi guys, as you can tell this thread is directed towards the building of a new PC.
Now I made this thread because I'm a little lost; I know more about computer building then the average person (which isn't alot) but I know what I want. In fine detail, I don't know what I need.

The PC I plan on building is going to revolve around Graphic Design and slight gaming. So of course I'm going to need quite a bit of RAM (I was thinking around 4GB) and a nice processor (Quad Core), the Video card will have to support dual monitors (more information on my monitor selection later) it'll have to support High definition images, and capable of playing the newer games without a problem. The harddrives I have are a 500GB barracuda (SATA) and a 80GB Barracuda. The motherboard I'm still clueless on, I don't know what to look for, but I want it to have the capability of supporting 8GB of RAM at the max.

Now, like I said, I plan on playing games so I need a good audio card, plus of course I'll be watching movies so High Definition is a must.

The monitors I was thinking about is a 22" CRT (I hear CRT's are the best for Gamma output and overall displaying the best color, is this true? Or are flat panels just as good) and a 24" widescreen LCD.

Hmm, of course I don't have the know how to build this by myself, I got a couple of buddies who plan on helping me, but I would really appreciate some information from people who KNOW what their talking about, and some guidance.

List specific products, specs, links, anything that can help. Thanks.


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I heard that Audio cards are pretty useless now, so I will possibly cut that out.

Also, detailed information on Monitors would help a bunch.
 
Price range?
If you are a hardcore audiophil, you will notice the difference with a sound card. If not, dont worry about it.
I think CRT still has a slight edge, but LCD has closed the gap on color, gamma, bright etc. I may be wrong however.
Give us a price tag, and we can get you some parts.
 
As of now, my price range is $2,500-$3,000
I plan to start building late this month.
Thanks for that information.


Can anyone provide me with some info on Apple Monitors? I briefly skimmed over its ability to hook up with PC's and such; would I have to go out of my way to make that option accessible?
 
Are you going to want to run Vista 64? If so then you can use the 4 gigs of ram, but if you run Vista 32 then you really don't need more than 3 gigs, and you won't see all of that 3 gigs.
 
So of course I'm going to need quite a bit of RAM (I was thinking around 4GB)
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No you wont need to much if you think about it design programs are relatively small like 250mb each. i got 2 gigs and can run all the major adobe(macromedia) products at once just fine with an extra 40% of rm.

The monitors I was thinking about is a 22" CRT
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CRT's are out. Also a 22"crt will way about 100lbs and take up half your room. Get one or two 22" lcd screens because they are currently in the good deal price range. I have a 19" lcd and 22"lcd and it works great, i do some gamming and design of various types i also want to get another 19" but i am desktop space greedy.

As of now, my price range is $2,500-$3,000
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Hell NO. if this is the first rig you are going to build or even if you have built one before, don't spend this much unless you really really know what you are doing otherwise you will most likely end up wasting money on overpriced and unstreamlined parts. I would set a range at least under $2000.

Apple Monitors
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im quite sure they work with pc's but unless you already own one they are the biggest rip off you can find just like the rest of macs products, you just paying for a crappy label.
 
thedarksun said:
No you wont need to much if you think about it design programs are relatively small like 250mb each. i got 2 gigs and can run all the major adobe(macromedia) products at once just fine with an extra 40% of rm.


CRT's are out. Also a 22"crt will way about 100lbs and take up half your room. Get one or two 22" lcd screens because they are currently in the good deal price range. I have a 19" lcd and 22"lcd and it works great, i do some gamming and design of various types i also want to get another 19" but i am desktop space greedy.


Hell NO. if this is the first rig you are going to build or even if you have built one before, don't spend this much unless you really really know what you are doing otherwise you will most likely end up wasting money on overpriced and unstreamlined parts. I would set a range at least under $2000.


im quite sure they work with pc's but unless you already own one they are the biggest rip off you can find just like the rest of macs products, you just paying for a crappy label.
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I agree with everything above. If you're convinced you need 4 gig's of RAM, you MUST have a 64 bit OS.

Mainboard. I own it. It's awesome. Fits all your specifications.

CPU. Obvious choice. It's the most affordable QC. There are advantages to owning the Extreme editions, however. Unless you plan on OC'ing, the cost (of the Extreme editions) doesn't justify the benefits.

Monitor. This is a Samsung. From what I've read, the Dell 24" is good as well.

Graphics Card. Expensive, but worth it. If you want something more affordable, look at this list.

Sound Card. From what I understand, this card has the best reputation.

Operating System: Vista Home Premium x64 OEM

The OEM version is cheaper than retail, but, according to Microsoft, the product key/license is limited. Significant hardware changes, after installing the OS, could void your product key. If you want more info about OEM OS's, read the following articles: 1, 2, 3, OEM License Agreement

In addition, obtaining a Retail 64 bit edition of Home Premium is difficult. The process is laid out here.

Good Luck! :)
 
Just a heads up, you cannot use over 3gb with a 32bit operating system. If you want to put in 4gb then use a 64bit operating system.
As of now the performance gap between a $1,500 computer and a $3,000 computer is small.

Also, are you going to be doing a lot of rendering? Rendering and gaming are totally seperate when it comes to video games. You could get a mother board with two pci-e slots and have on monitor for rendering and the other for gaming. Here is a really good card for CAD and rendering programs: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814195004While it costs $1,000 alone you will see tremendous speed differences in CAD, hammer, etc.

This is the sound card i put in all my builds and am happy with the quality of it. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829156003

Video card. The ati 2900xt is a very nice gaming card and also has some built in HD capabilities which handle the HD processing so your cpu doesnt have to.

For the processor i would stick with intel's quad cores. The core 2 quad 6600 and 6700 are both very nice processors. Stay away from xeon quad cores and opterons because they are more geared for servers and such.

Hopes this helps!
 
Thanks a lot so far. You guys have been a great help, and no I don't plan on building this PC by myself, considering I'm dumbfounded at this talk of 32bit and 64bit.


@littleblackxj:
That is why I feel I'll be needing quite a bit of RAM. I render a lot. I also run it in and out of illustrator to vectorize it and thats where I feel hit hardest by the length of time it takes. Especially at the magnitude of materials used, size, etc.

The question I have now, what is the difference between 32bit and 64bit? I now understand more then 3gb of RAM won't run with a 32bit OS, but what are the disadvantages and advantages of a 64bit OS? I wasn't quite sure if I should jump in and embrace Vista to tell you the truth.


Thanks alot so far guys, been a great help, keep it coming :)
 
Well a 32 bit OS runs of 32bit Data files (DLL's), which have less encryption. 64bit OS run off of 64bit DLL's. Neither are compatible with each other. The thing with 64bit is you get a nice smooth running performance because you have more encryption lines. Make since. It's good for DX10 gaming on Vista. But you are not compatible with older programs that run of 32bit DLL's. So it really comes down to what you want, Compatiblitiy or Performance.
That's 32bit and 64bit in a nutshell, but I could dig deeper.
But for what your doing, I would go 64bit because you are going to need the 4gb of Ram
 
Thanks alot, I guess I will be going with a 64 bit, but I'm still skeptical with Vista, seeing as I hear nothing but shit.

Again guys, thanks a lot, you really broke things down to me on a level I can understand. If you got info you can spare on Vista, that would be great, but I feel I already asked a lot. Again, thanks.
 
nomhak said:
If you got info you can spare on Vista, that would be great
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In your situation, XP Professional x64 would be fine. Why? Well, many of us that run Vista are playing DirectX 10 games. If gaming is not a priority, then XP is fine for you. In fact, many people say that they do not notice a difference between XP and Vista when playing DirectX 10 games. I'm not speaking for myself, I do see a difference. This is just one example.

nomhak said:
but I feel I already asked a lot. Again, thanks
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No problem. That's what we're here for. :)
 
In my opinion, if I were you, I would just stick with 3 gigs of RAM, and use XP or Vista 32 Bit, you're gonna find many compatibility issues with Vista 64 bit
 
Vista really isn't that bad. This is coming from a guy who uses linux 24/7. It's not the greatest (but what else is comapared to linux :P) but it's fairly decent. The only thing is that you need a little extra ram but doesnt seem to be a problem for you since you will be getting at least 2gb.
 
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