Help a Newb Buy

Luchman

Luchman

New Member
Hello everyone! I have some money saved up and I am in the market to buy or build a new computer. I would very much appreciate your advise on what to buy/build. My budget is $2000. I've read a little here and there, but I'm still quite lost. Pretty much the only I have really grasped is that the Intel Core 2 Duo is the way to go. Other then that, I have no clue what is good or bad. I have also read the "play machines" setup in the 'Computer Specs' sticky; is that a really good example what it should look like? Again, any info or tips is greatly appreciated.
Thanks
 
before anyone answers you should try to answer a few things,
-What do you want to do with the computer
-Games
-Video editing, etc...
-Do you need monitor/keyboard/mouse
-How much Harddrive space
 
I apologize, I thought I included that. Gaming. I would like it to be a some what nice gaming computer, if that is possible with that budget. A bit of a music storage too, but nothing extreme. I have a monitor, keyboard and mouse, but none of them are the best on the market. No clue on hard drive space; isn't that a 'the more, the merrier' kind a thing?
 
Sort of, but I have 520 GB of space, and I'm using about half of that right now..., so you can go overkill...

If you have an LCD monitor, that's good because most of the better graphics cards are going to only have a DVI out on them...

As for specific parts, I would recommend at least 2 GB of RAM. I'll do a little sample build, which I'm sure others are going to flog in one way or another... :) Post it in a few minutes...
 
Not to discourage you from building but I think it would be a smart move to wait for the R600 graphic cards to come out. Supposedly, they're supposed to be 20 - 30% better than the 8800GTX cards.
 
Sorry it took me a bit my computer crash and burned, also forgot about it for awhile... :( Anyway, here ya go, doesn't include a case, but I find that most people like one that's aesthetically pleasing to them... Plus, you might want to think about some water cooling or something else fun, there's enough left to spare :)

Processor
Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 Conroe 2.4GHz 4M sharing L2 Cache LGA 775 Processor - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819115003
$312.99

Motherboard
Intel BOXDG965RYCK Socket T (LGA 775) Intel G965 Express ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813121048
$109.99

Memory
CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820145034
$299.00

Hard Drive(s)
Main OS Drive
Western Digital Raptor WD1500ADFD 150GB 10,000 RPM 16MB Cache Serial ATA150 Hard Drive - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822136012
$224.99

Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD2500KS 250GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822144701
$74.99

Video Card
ASUS EAX1900 CrossFire /2DH/512M 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814121001
$309.99

Power Supply
Thermaltake toughpower W0105RU ATX12V/ EPS12V 700W Power Supply 100 - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817153035
$165.99

Total
$1497.61 (no s/h)
 
Adjustments Needed

The E6600 is a no brainer - definitely. That board is junk. Not really any settings options, and memory options are very limited. I just replaced one with an ABIT AW9D. I would highly recommend the ABIT AW9D or MAX. I would recommend the Sapphire version of that video card.
This system (Allendale 3) - INTEL C2D E6300@2233mhz set as default
ABIT AW9D mobo
2 GB CRUCIAL DDR2667@DDR2790 as default
250GB Seagate16mbPDR HD
160GB Seagate Barracuda
Sapphire X1600 Pro OCE
RWRP550s2 PSUw50A rail
viewing on 19" BenQ FP93GX
 
I agree the board is not necessarily an ideal purchase, but Newegg didn't seem to have many good options... Plus, I would hope those options would be looked at as a guide more than a buy this exact set...
 
Thanks everyone for the advice. Looks like my processor will be an E6600.

Motherboard: I still have no clue. This seems to be the hardest for me. Any other opinions on this?
GPU: The ATI 1900 looks good. How about those nvidia 8800? Worth it? Also, I have a Radeon X 850XT right now. How big is the performance difference between it and the 1900?
 
Luchman said:
Thanks everyone for the advice. Looks like my processor will be an E6600.

Motherboard: I still have no clue. This seems to be the hardest for me. Any other opinions on this?
GPU: The ATI 1900 looks good. How about those nvidia 8800? Worth it? Also, I have a Radeon X 850XT right now. How big is the performance difference between it and the 1900?
Click to expand...

Get this mobo the EVGA Nforce680i SLI: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813188009 as posted above.

I also recommend this monitor as it's a 22" widescreen and I own one. If you're going to drop $2K on a new rig a monitor is a MUST as it displays all that power you're paying for. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16824252006

Yes I'd get at LEAST a 8800GTS for a new build. DX10 makes it worth it. Yes you can wait for the R600 but you can always wait for something. I'd get those now and this system will be fine. The 8800GTS is like oh 4 of your cards combined at least. It will blow you away.
 
Last edited:
"Yes I'd get at LEAST a 8800GTS for a new build. DX10 makes it worth it. Yes you can wait for the R600 but you can always wait for something. I'd get those now and this system will be fine. The 8800GTS is like oh 4 of your cards combined at least. It will blow you away."

Wow Its that good lol? I wonder how long it will take ATI, if any time at all to come out with its rival card
 
GPU's

HumanMage said:
"Yes I'd get at LEAST a 8800GTS for a new build. DX10 makes it worth it. Yes you can wait for the R600 but you can always wait for something. I'd get those now and this system will be fine. The 8800GTS is like oh 4 of your cards combined at least. It will blow you away."

Wow Its that good lol? I wonder how long it will take ATI, if any time at all to come out with its rival card
Click to expand...

Well it's a next gen card. With new architechture. In some cases the 8800GTX is 92% faster than the X1950XTX. The GTS is about equal to the X1950XTX in some areas and in other it pulls ahead. But it has DX10 support which the X1950XTX does not. Which DX10 will be used with Windows Vista and in newer games. Check out some reviews with the cards at www.anandtech.com or www.tomshardware.com . There are a lot of other sites with reviews if you want more suggestions. But the X1950XTX also really stomps on the X850XT but it's also a much newer/better card. Just the way of technology progressing. Yes ATI is developing the R600 gpu but it's not out yet and it's up to you to wait but I probly wouldn't. :D
 
The ASUS P5B is good, as is the Gigabyte GA-965P-DS3. I would recommend these two boards over anything previously mentioned.

What I think:
Intel E6600
ASUS P5B (or Gigabyte board)
2GB Corsair XMS2 DDR2 800 (w/ CAS 4, not the CAS 5)
8800GTS
36-74GB Raptor
250GB+ Hard drive (make sure SATA2, 7200RPM, and 16MB Cache, same for the Raptor)
Sound card (if you want, the Creative X-Fi line is good, as is the Creative Audigy 2 ZS series)
Power supply around $100 (Hiper makes a good PSU @ $100)
Case
DVD Burner
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top