Building a new computer.

[Deus Ex Machina]

Well.. I'm going to be going to college soon, and I need to get a new computer to replace the hunk of junk I'm using to post this thread with. I'm personally not too good at building computers and such, but I have a friend who will build it for me pro bono once I have the parts. The only question is.. what parts do I want?

So, I'm flinging myself upon you, the people.. If you are a fanatic who just loves building those hypothetical machines, it's your chance to build a nice machine to be used by me.

I want something that looks nice, but I don't want any of that fancy windows with rave rooms in the computer crap, just a nice (silver?) simple case, and all the internal parts for a speedy machine used for work and gaming, hopefully good enough for the newest generation of games. I'm going to need a Floppy drive, a good amount of space on a Hard Drive, a drive that plays CDs and DVDs (I don't need a DVD burner, nor do I even need a CD burner since I use an iPod), I guess I need a good sound card for gaming, but I use headphones always, so no worries about speakers. I don't need a mouse or keyboard or monitor, but if anyone has any suggestions for them that are good for gaming and work I'll take ideas. I'd prefer Intel parts as I've had much better history with them over other brands. Keep in mind I want yhis machine to last at least 4-5 years, so reliable parts is key. I have a $3000 budget, maybe over a couple hundred, but no more!

Thanks in advance!

 

[kof2000]

you might not need even to spend over the 1000 mark.

 

[Ace1627]

Liek kof2000 said, you probobly won't even need to spend over $1000 listening to the things you want. If you want a simple silver case, doesn't even really matter what brand you get. You can look to see if it comes with a power supply but other then that nothing real important. Cd/dvd drive, anything you get will be just fine. Since they are just readers, also nothing to worry about. You pay for faster read speeds. RAM, you said gaming so maybe 512mb-1gb. you have $3000 budget so why not get 1gb. floppy drive also no biggie, 10-15 bucks maybe cheeper. p4 3.0-3.4 with HT. Depends on how much you want to pay. You really won't see the difference between 3.0-3.4. Go to the Intel website and it will tell you which motherboards are compatable. Doesn't look like you will overclock or hack so any will be fine. HD any with do, more space = more money so up to you. And fiinally soundcard. I am a fan of Audigy ZS Platinum and Platinum pro. Up to you. Any other questions or if you want specifics feel free to ask. Hope this helps.

 

[Deus Ex Machina]

Well, here's a possible list. I'm thinking I'll give AMD a shot.

-Some kind of case, Simple, practical, small, and good looking,
-Athlon 64 FX-55
-Asus A8V Deluxe
-1-2 Gigs of RAM (Unsure of who to buy from.. Any reccomendations?)
-ATI Radeon X800
-Hard Drive(s?) (Again, unsure as to who to buy from.. any specific reccomendations would be awesome.)
-Basic Sound Card (Something that will give me great sound, but doesn't have to support surround sound as I prefer headphones).

Also, I wasn't planning on getting a Monitor, but I might. For gaming what would anybody reccomend? Keyboards? Mice?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Praetor]

Keep in mind I want yhis machine to last at least 4-5 years, so reliable parts is key

The machine will WORK 4-5 years from now (provided you take care of it) hwoever it will be horribly obsolete within 2.5years

-Some kind of case, Simple, practical, small, and good looking,
-Athlon 64 FX-55
-Asus A8V Deluxe
-1-2 Gigs of RAM (Unsure of who to buy from.. Any reccomendations?)
-ATI Radeon X800
-Hard Drive(s?) (Again, unsure as to who to buy from.. any specific reccomendations would be awesome.)
-Basic Sound Card (Something that will give me great sound, but doesn't have to support surround sound as I prefer headphones).

Whoa! Excessive ... and mixing the FX55 with the K8T800 and the X800??? Bad choice Unless you plan on doing some serious overclocking (at which point you wouldnt be asking us for parts reccomendations ) then thats a semi-overkilled system (semi because of the mobo and VC). A more financially sound system would be something like:

- AMD Athlon64-3800/Athlon64-4000/Athlon64-FX53
- ASUS A8V Deluxe (base), MSI Neo2 Platinum (best OC board) or best off to wait for the NF4 boards
- 2GB of brandname memory (at least PC3200 but you might consider pushing PC4000 or something). Although its a bit more expenasive, try and get 2x1024 rather than 4x512 because using two sticks will make use of command rate 1T rather than 2T (translation: faster)
- GeForce6800GT ... hands down best VC for its price bracket (now if you're into softmodding thats a whole different ballgame, even then the ASUS V9999GE would prolly be the best bet but since its not that much cheaper than the 6800GT...)
- One WD Raptor 36.7GB for your boot drive (SATA)
- Two Maxtor 250/300GB 16MB cache drives for your main storage (SATA)
- As for sound, the mobo has onboatd 8ch sound but if you want a sound card, the Audigy2 ZS is your card

Also, I wasn't planning on getting a Monitor, but I might. For gaming what would anybody reccomend? Keyboards? Mice?

Whatever you like .... when you start getting into nitty gritty (and mostly inconsequential) devices like that, almost all are somewhat the same

 

[Deus Ex Machina]

Well, I'm a computer enthusiast, but I am pretty ignorant to how a computer really works.

The reason I was picking such high end parts is that I don't want the machine to be obsolete in 2.5 years. I want something that will last.. if that's possible. I'm willing to drop the cash if the system will last. But at the same time, my parents wont be helping at all, so if it's just a waste of money, I'd be more than willing to tone it down.

I've had good experience with ATI cards and wouldn'y mind giving them my business again, any reccomendations there?

A couple things: What is SATA? And is there any reason I need 600GB of Hard Drive? I mean, I only have 55 total GB right now, and have room to spare with excessive programs.

Thanks for the reply, I really appreciate it!

 

[Praetor]

The reason I was picking such high end parts is that I don't want the machine to be obsolete in 2.5 years

Fair enough. Just a small anecdote: I had someone ask me to spec them (hypothetically of course) a machine that could be "very competitive" after 3 years and how much it would cost. [1] its already obsolete (thanks to the 6800s/X800s), [2] the budget was close to $6000 for the system and $4000 allocated to keep it up to date

I'm willing to drop the cash if the system will last. But at the same time, my parents wont be helping at all, so if it's just a waste of money, I'd be more than willing to tone it down

.
Its not a "waste of money" per se but you could more effectively use it There's no way your machine will be "uber" at the end of 2.5 years anyways so save the extra money now and upgrade her as it goes

I've had good experience with ATI cards and wouldn'y mind giving them my business again, any reccomendations there?

Well then its X800XT ... the X800XTPE is too damn overcharged; the X800Pro is too damn underperforming. You should really reconsider (6800GT is comparable performance and $100 cheaper -- at least) but then again its your money

A couple things: What is SATA?

A newer harddrive spec (Serial-ATA), uses smaller cables (usually red or black) and in general, performs better than the older PATA (Parallel-ATA) spec.

And is there any reason I need 600GB of Hard Drive?

No ... you didnt quite give me a very much to work with in terms of use.

I mean, I only have 55 total GB right now, and have room to spare with excessive programs.

I said that once. Twice. Thre times. Four...five...six... yah well

Thanks for the reply, I really appreciate it!

No worries, glad to help