Building kids' computer

[drs]

I'm building a gaming computer for my kids for Christmas. First time builder, only experience is adding RAM and don't know a thing about BIOS, overclocking, etc, but want to build a decent system that we can upgrade.

https://secure.newegg.com/NewVersio...istNumber=7700568&WishListTitle=drs+christmas

Really confused by all the mobo's on the market. Please take a look at my wishlist and send your recommendations. Especially if something is not compatible.

Will be adding the 8800GT to the shopping list but newegg is sold out. Other than a mouse/keyboard/monitor is there anything else that I have left out?

Thanks for any and all comments.
drs

 

[pc-tech]

what about viedo/ethernet cards, etc...?

 

[spanky]

It looks good. You won't need an ethernet card. The 8800GT will be a nice card to compliment that system. You could save money with a different HDD, non SLI mobo, DVD-rom, and ram.

May I recommend the GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3L, A-DATA Extreme Edition 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800, LG Electronics Black LG Super Multi 18x SATA DVD Burner, Western Digital Caviar SE 500GB SATA Hard Drive. All together the total excluding the vid card would be 862.92 instead of 999.92.

 

[drs]

Nvidia 8800GT video card will be added.

Do I need ethernet? Mobo comes with:
Onboard LAN
LAN Chipset NVIDIA nForce 680i SLI built-in dual Gigabit MAC with external Marvell PHY
Support NVIDIA DualNet technology
Max LAN Speed Dual 10/100/1000Mbps

 

[pc-tech]

Nvidia 8800GT video card will be added.

Do I need ethernet? Mobo comes with:
Onboard LAN
LAN Chipset NVIDIA nForce 680i SLI built-in dual Gigabit MAC with external Marvell PHY
Support NVIDIA DualNet technology
Max LAN Speed Dual 10/100/1000Mbps

no, i was throughing out ideas

 

[drs]

theresthatguy -
I'm aiming for $1500 budget, max, not including the monitor so I'm still several hundred under
Would you recommend upgrading anything?

Reading the comments on newegg for mobo's has me a bit concerned. I'm hoping the problems with stability and BIOS are not very common (and only the disgruntled are bothering to comment in large numbers).
Any advice for starting the system up?

 

[spanky]

theresthatguy -
I'm aiming for $1500 budget, max, not including the monitor so I'm still several hundred under
Would you recommend upgrading anything?

Reading the comments on newegg for mobo's has me a bit concerned. I'm hoping the problems with stability and BIOS are not very common (and only the disgruntled are bothering to comment in large numbers).
Any advice for starting the system up?

All those things I recommended are really just as good and will keep you even lower under budget. I advise a non SLI mobo like the one I suggested above. You could always up the ram to 4 GB and switch to a 64 bit OS. Lemme play around with newegg and see what I can't do.

 

[paratwa]

Theres not much there I would want.

Id get the Antec 900 case, the Q6000 G0 cpu, a Western Digital 500 gig Hard drive, a Liteon dvd drive and a non SLI motherboard.

 

[spanky]

Theres not much there I would want.

Id get the Antec 900 case, the Q6000 G0 cpu, a Western Digital 500 gig Hard drive, a Liteon dvd drive and a non SLI motherboard.

Pretty much what I suggested also except the case; I would stick with the Cosmos. I was about to say for 1000 bucks you can have all those parts I previously mentioned PLUS 2GB more of ram and a Q6600 for 1000 bucks on newegg. If your kids are into computers and know about overclocking I would suggest and aftermarket heatsink&fan otherwise I think that's about it.

 

[drs]

Why the preference for a non-SLI mobo? Also, why do you prefer quad core over dual core? (the only thing I am pretty sure about so far is the Cosmos case -- $90 rebate!)

 

[spanky]

Why the preference for a non-SLI mobo? Also, why do you prefer quad core over dual core? (the only thing I am pretty sure about so far is the Cosmos case -- $90 rebate!)

Because you're wasting money unless you plan to buy another 8800GT in the future and probably by the time you do it will be outdated; plus the performance increase vs cost isn't worth the money. It's only like a 10-30% increase. Plus the P35 chipset is much better suited to Intels new line of CPU's coming out in January. The Q6600 has shown to be a better overall cpu; many many more programs are written to utilize 4 cores. Quad cores are the future of gaming and this is a gaming computer. I will post a complete list for you if you like.

 

[xxxalpinexxx80]

ya like a 8800gt is probably better then 2 8800gts in sli

 

[dave_w]

My only reservation is about the OS. The System Builders versions are all non-transferrable--meaning that if you ever decide to get a new motherboard, you have to shell out for a new copy of Windows.

Hmm...after checking Newegg, it appears there are not OEM-type copies of Vista for sale. How important is Vista to this build? Are you sure it's worth it? And as a counter to my previous point, can you ever see yourself wanting to replace the motherboard?

 

[spanky]

My only reservation is about the OS. The System Builders versions are all non-transferrable--meaning that if you ever decide to get a new motherboard, you have to shell out for a new copy of Windows.

Hmm...after checking Newegg, it appears there are not OEM-type copies of Vista for sale. How important is Vista to this build? Are you sure it's worth it? And as a counter to my previous point, can you ever see yourself wanting to replace the motherboard?

Uh, I don't know what you're on about but I installed a new mobo into my current rig and all I had to do was call MS and explain and they gave me a new thingy.

 

[dave_w]

Really? Direct quote from the Newegg website:

"This OEM software is intended for system builders only and cannot be transferred to another PC once it is installed."

Not to say you're wrong, just to see if my reading of the spec thing is.

 

[spanky]

I'm just speaking from personal experience. I ordered an open box mobo from newegg and used it for a week and switched back but I had to call MS and explain and they let everything fly.

 

[BluePlum]

How old are the kids? cause if they dont go near the computer much " if there not geeks " then u shoudnt spend to much

 

[dave_w]

Yeah, because I thought that they sold For System Builders cheaper because it was sans annoying manual and a limited license. OEM--as seen here--had the regular license, still without the manual, and was priced in between the System Builders and the Retail.

I still blame Microsoft. They should be called "One-Time License", "OEM" (since OEM generally denotes products sold by themselves with no additional crap), and "Full Retail".

Just to be clear, not trying to flame anybody, just want to figure this god-forsaken problem out.

 

[drs]

Kids are 14 and 12 and spend way too much time playing WoW. I want to get them a decent system that I can upgrade in the future. Right now they are playing on a 4 year old system with a whopping 7 fps!
Read some more on the quad vs dual core issue... appears that dual core works better for most of the current games but that will change with the new games so will go with the Q8600, with a 8800GT card.
What's the best mobo for this setup with a $300 limit for the mobo??

BTW - thanks for spotting the issue of loading Vista on one machine only...would hate to have to buy a new copy if the mobo dies in a year or two!

GIGABYTE GA-X38T-DQ6 LGA 775 Intel X38 ATX Intel Motherboard -- on newegg for $299 .. ??

As long as I'm asking, what are the pros/cons of 64 bit vs 32 bit?

Thanks again for all the advice!

 

[dave_w]

lol Hold on about the Vista issue, we're trying to get a definative answer on that. I may or may not have been talking based on bad data (i.e.--I was wrong and talking out my ass). If you're working on this for Christmas, though, we'll have an answer for you in time. On our side, we appreciate you providing us with all the relevent info, and taking the time to ask about things before you start, instead of asking us in January after you ran into problems. I hope you enjoy working with the community here, I think we've got some pretty good people. That's certainly been my experience.

Oh, and your kids are lucky. My mom couldn't get why I went and built a new rig this past September to replace my 3-year-old system, and I like to play games that are a lot more demanding than WoW.

As for the mobo, if you're going with a quad core, the X38 chipset would be the choice. Make sure the 8800GT you go with is one of the new G92 cores. Post a link and ask if you're not sure. I recommend EVGA because of the Step-Up program (buy a video card, register, and if you want a higher-end model within 90 days from purchase, just mail in your current one and get the new one for the difference), and because they're a solid manufacturer. Alternatively, the G92'd 8800GTS cards should hit sometime in early to mid December. I'm waiting for one, and they'd better have it.

As for 64-bit vs. 32-bit, the main difference is that 32-bit can only support 3GB of RAM, while 64 can do more. The main cons of 64-bit are: lack of driver support, some games/programs may not run, and driver support for peripherals is somewhat spotty. Furthermore, I have heard that since most games are designed to run natively in a 32-bit environment, running them with 4GB of RAM in 64-bit yields about equal performance to 2GB in a 32-bit (meaning the advantages of more RAM are cancelled out by the non-native environment). I'm sure someone around here had mentioned that, can anyone confirm?

Oh, and if you're only worried about a dead mobo, a direct replacement (same make and model) will work fine, even with the most restrictive license, the kind you'd get if you bought a Dell. They do that so the motherboard can be replaced if it fries.