Idea for a new build

HumanMage

HumanMage

New Member
I've seen many threads about different peoples builds and such, but I didn't want to steal any of their thunder so I decided to make my own, hope no one minds :)

First off I found this build from a magazine and decided to try it out since I'm eventually going to need a new computer as I go off to college. Anyway the build seems solid from what I know, and since it would be my first attempt at constructing a computer, I thought I might try that one out. The build gos as follows.

Power Supply: Enermax EG701 AX-VE SFMA (600W I'm pretty sure)
CPU: AMD Athlon 64 3500+ (Socket 939)
RAM 4 GB
Video Card(S): eVGA Geforce 7950GT x2 (512MB)
Optical Drive: Plextor PX - 740A
Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar SE 320gb Serial ATA 150
Sound Card: Creative Labs Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Music
OS: Windows XP Home w/ SP2
And I'll give the link for the case here:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811144089

As far as I know that is it, I can subsitute the sound card I would imagine due to the onboard audio with the MOBO. So that will make it cheaper

Now for another question. With this current build, will it still be a "good" build 4-5 months from now? or will these parts be out dated, I know PC parts, especially video cards come out like babies through a mouse, but I just want to know. Thanks for any input, its greatly appreciated.
 
Yep, the 2 7950GT's would literally rape the 3500 to the ground, and 4GB...you probably wont need that much... what are you using this system for?
 
^I'm with him.

That is relatively unbalanced. You basically (almost) have the best sound card, graphics card, and amount of ram possible there, but have no motherboard selected in particular (which is like the bones and nerves of the body, it connects everything physically and communication-wise, and you're using an older processor. What do you want from your build? The PC landscape is going to change ALOT in the next 6 months, as DX10 cards will be released from both major vendors, consumer-level quad-core cpu's should be out, or close to it, etc etc.

As said, your best option today is the Core 2 Duo. For an ultra cheap computer, the Athlon X2 3800 offers a good option, but really the Core 2 Duo owns it. What is your budget? Many people here can throw together a build for you, its just a matter how how much you can spend. I'll give you an example of a typical budget build here though, based on the Core 2 Duo E6300.

CPU: E6300 C2D. 1.8Ghz, dual core, highly overclockable should you desire. (180)
Mobo: Gigabyte S3. P965 chipset, lots of overclocking options, stable, and so far pretty good! (115)
RAM: Corsair 1GB DDR2 800Mhz RAM. High speed, you could spend more for the CAS4 over the CAS5 if you wanted. Really, I don't think you need to spend the money on 4GB of ram. Yet. You can go with the 1GB stick as indicated and later add another when money permits for a boost in performance as well as dual channel, but you could also go with a 2x512MB kit to run dual channel right from the start. (~140)
Vid: 7600GT 256MB. Mainstream card, pretty powerful, has the musle to produce eye candy and frame rates. eVGA, BFG, and XFX are all big names here. (~110-140)

From there, the rest of the components are really personal preference and what you get on sale at the time. Hard drive, case, sound card (if desired), etc. Now if you wanted to spend more, you can. You can go up to an E6400, or E660, as desired. You could go with the solid-capacitor DS3 for 145, or move up to ASUS boards in the 150-170 range. For ram, you could go ahead and spring for the 800Mhz CAS4 ram, and even splurge on a 2x1GB kit. And video, obviously you could go with a 7950 if you desired, or whatever else floats your boat. That was a budget build which is easily modified for any budget. You can look and lookk, and when you're ready you can come back here, post your next revision,a nd have it proofed to make sure that everything is compatible.
 
Oh I forgot a couple of things didn't I?

MoBo: ASUS A8N - SLI ATX
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131517

my price range I would say is anything from 2,000 to 2,500 (2,500 is pushing it. USD)

Also I was told that the processor was perfectly fine for what I wanted to do? what makes that one "obscelete" (SP?)

Also I would like to use this computer for gaming primarily. Although every day useage such as Internet surfing, Word processing etc etc is a must also.
 
TRUST us in saying the Core 2 Duo is the shit. You at least owe it to yourself to check it out. If nothing else go around this entire forum and see how many gaming rigs have it. It's affordable and mindblowing. It is worth every cent in todays market.
 
Yea with a ton of new cards inevitably flooding the market shortly witht he release of DX10 SLI or Crossfire hasn't even crossed my mind. Well for other reasons also. ;)
 
HumanMage said:
my price range I would say is anything from 2,000 to 2,500 (2,500 is pushing it. USD)

Also I was told that the processor was perfectly fine for what I wanted to do? what makes that one "obscelete" (SP?)

Also I would like to use this computer for gaming primarily. Although every day useage such as Internet surfing, Word processing etc etc is a must also.
Click to expand...

Well, seeing that socket 939 is being phased out. I don't think it'll be wise to invest a 2k build to it. Soo..C2D is definetly the way to go right now.
 
Well I do have a few months to "edit" this build. I will look into the dual core processor form Intel, even though I have heard that AMD is the choice of gamers (doesnt AMD have a dual core proc. also?) Also why not SLI? Isnt that the new technology now a days? Also when will these DX10 cards come out? Jan. - March 2007 timezone? Also I planned on going SLI with my two 7950 GT cards. Thats why I chose the mobo :)


Also thanks so much for the rapid responses you all. very very much appreciated.
 
HumanMage said:
Well I do have a few months to "edit" this build. I will look into the dual core processor form Intel, even though I have heard that AMD is the choice of gamers (doesnt AMD have a dual core proc. also?) Also why not SLI? Isnt that the new technology now a days? Also when will these DX10 cards come out? Jan. - March 2007 timezone? Also I planned on going SLI with my two 7950 GT cards. Thats why I chose the mobo :)


Also thanks so much for the rapid responses you all. very very much appreciated.
Click to expand...

Before the Core architecture hit the mainstream desktops (the Pentium 4/D time), AMD was the way to go for gamers. However the Core 2 Duo outperforms the AMD X2 and FX series by a landslide, so it's deffinetly the way to go.

You say you have a few months, and in the computer world, a few months is a long time. From what I hear so far, by the end of this year or early next year, Intel's Core 2 Extreme Quad (quad core) will be out, as well as the G80 and R600 DX10 cards.
 
HumanMage said:
I will look into the dual core processor form Intel, even though I have heard that AMD is the choice of gamers (doesnt AMD have a dual core proc. also?)
Click to expand...

That was the case in the days of the Athlon 64 vs P4. But now the C2D is the putting AMD to shame.

Also why not SLI? Isnt that the new technology now a days? Also when will these DX10 cards come out? Jan. - March 2007 timezone? Also I planned on going SLI with my two 7950 GT cards. Thats why I chose the mobo :)
Click to expand...

Don't get the 7950GT, it's not DX10 compatible. Wait for the 8800gt/X or the R600.


edit: well...Omega and I just said about the exact same thing :) But he was 4 minutes faster..
 
And will all the parts etc etc. that I listed earlier, will they still be "Adequate" at taht time? I don't want to drop 2.5 grand on a new computer and have it immediatly outdated, know what I mean?
 
No matter what you do, you're gonna get outpaced by technology. However, let me share my way of thinking with you, it may help you a *little* bit.

I am currently getting ready to buy a computer relatively similar to the "budget build" I posted above. It's all "today's" components, but not the top of the line. Mainstream components. However, once DX10 cards become available all I will really need to do is drop an extra gigabyte of ram into the board, and buy the graphics card and I'll be back up to speed again. Now is a dangerous time to be buying powerful cards from either ATI or Nvidia. You have the G80 being released for sale in mid November, with ATI's R600 coming later on in like Jan-March. So, I will buy a card which is relatively inexpensive today (110-140) but will still have value as a backup and/or second computer graphics, and pay the money to get the high performance G80 card.

Does that make sense? You can buy top of the line today, and yes its going ot be outclassed later but its still going to be no weakling for at least a couple years. However, with graphics you'll really be crying if you can't play the first few awesome DX10 games that come out. Which...I'm ready to game hard. :)
 
That does make sense, and thank you very much. I have learned alot in the 2 1/2 hours I've been here. Another thing, sort of a "noob" question but are the Intel CPU's "read" the same as AMD? I'm thinking of cache, MHZ socket ect etc?
 
HumanMage said:
That does make sense, and thank you very much. I have learned alot in the 2 1/2 hours I've been here. Another thing, sort of a "noob" question but are the Intel CPU's "read" the same as AMD? I'm thinking of cache, MHZ socket ect etc?
Click to expand...

I'm not sure what you mean. But yes, the cache, MHz, socket, ect, all refer to the same thing on both AMD and Intel, although they may have different ways of determing them.
 
yes, i agree with their ideas. This computer is highly unbalanced; there is no need for such components 4GB of ram? xD r u running 20 games at a time?
 
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