Ok. First let me describe the situation. I am 16, looking to build my first pc for quite some time (about 6 months) and now I have a job, I've got about $90 headed my way every two weeks (after expenses). At the moment I have $1109.00 USD saved up. I also have about $50 on its way to me, it just is not in my hands yet. Anyway, my planned budget was not a cent over $1200.00 USD. That price includes shipping, any little wires, ANYTHING except a monitor. Sorry for being so extensive but I'm tired of saying, for example, I can't spend more than $50. "Oh, well here's a part that I will recommend, it costs $60". No no. Anyway, the current pc I have is getting to the point where I dread even getting on it to check my e-mail. It takes over 10 minutes to start up, it's just utterly disgusting. I would clean it up but it's the family pc and blah blah blah. So I am in desperate need of a pc, I am a hardcore gamer and I have been stuck with this system for years and have been without games for a good 2-3 months, other than playing at friends' houses. I do plan on overclocking eventually, at first the system will be fast enough compared to my current one that I would not even notice an overclock, plus I don't know how to, I have been reading up on it though.
I was torn between these two systems:
Praetor's (very sexy machine) from Computer Specs 101
AMD Athlon64 X2 4200 [S939, Manchester, ADA4200DAA5BV] ($359.00)
NEC 3550A DVDRW ($39.75)
ASUS A8R-MVP [RX200CF] ($95.99)
A-DATA V-Series PC3200 2x1GB CL3 ($141.33)
Maxtor DiamondMax10 250GB 16MB SATA3.0 NCQ ($96.00)
Gigabyte GV-RX18T512V-B Radeon X1800XT 512MB ($394.99)
RaidMax xB ATX-528B ($22.50)
Xclio GOODPOWER 500W [12V@29A] ($48.00)
SUBTOTAL: $1197.56
I know that this would go over my budget with shipping and so forth so I would probably get a different burner and maybe drop down to 1 GB of ram (something in the $100-$120 range). I could upgrade these later fairly easily and both could be done within 1 month. Another issue is that this system does not include a mouse or keyboard.
The other system was put together with the help of many forum members, then I made a few adjustments to satisfy my wants as far as looks go.
AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ = $295.00 USD
MSI K8N Neo4 Platinum ATX AMD Motherboard = $112.00 USD
CORSAIR XMS 1GB 184-Pin DDR = $124.00 USD
ASPIRE ATX-AS520W BLACK 520W Power Supply = $59.99 USD
Western Digital Caviar SE16 250GB 3.5" SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive = $96.00 USD
NEC 16X DVD±R DVD Burner Black IDE/ATAPI Model ND-3550A = $38.99 USD
Logisys Optical Fan Mouse - Blue = $14.99 USD
Sunbeam Transformer Case - Black = $70.98 USD
Sunbeam Pro Series Illuminated Keyboard - Black = $21.99 USD
eVGA Geforce 7800GT 256-P2-N518 Video Card = $269.00 USD
Total: $1102.94 USD
With that one I was thinking, upgrade the video card and take down a GB of ram. However, if I were to register with eVGA I can get the 7900 for just the difference in price when it comes out. So I would definately like to go that route with the video card. However if someone can convince me not to then I won't.
The turmoil is mainly with the video card and then the processor. I want this pc to be future-proof at least a little bit. Here are my options as I see them.
1) Pros: Faster processor and more video card memory. More ram. Very balanced system
Cons: Case, PSU is not as good as other, overall looks, (not sure how Mobo overclocks)
I would definately endup upgrading the case, and I am not sure how long that Video card will last, as far as being the "best"
2) Pros: All of the looks are exactly how I want them, best case/keyboard/mouse combo in my opinion. Video card offers cheap upgrade in the future. More pixel pipelines. This video card almost appears superior other than the memory. Fairly balanced system. More fans, probably better cooling. Superior PSU.
Cons: Slower processor, one GB ram.
I would definately get another GB of ram on my next paycheck, if I felt it was needed even. My main problem with this pc is the processor. I could overclock it to the 4200+ speeds though, when I start to care/notice the overclocking speed differences. The ram would be the only upgrade I see fit in the near future of this pc.
So, while Praetor's pc is superior off the bat, I feel that the system that the forum members and I have designed is better in the long run. However I would greatly appreciate input from you guys, especially on the processor and video card of each system. Thank you to anyone who read all of this and extra thanks to anyone who read all of this and replied
I was torn between these two systems:
Praetor's (very sexy machine) from Computer Specs 101
AMD Athlon64 X2 4200 [S939, Manchester, ADA4200DAA5BV] ($359.00)
NEC 3550A DVDRW ($39.75)
ASUS A8R-MVP [RX200CF] ($95.99)
A-DATA V-Series PC3200 2x1GB CL3 ($141.33)
Maxtor DiamondMax10 250GB 16MB SATA3.0 NCQ ($96.00)
Gigabyte GV-RX18T512V-B Radeon X1800XT 512MB ($394.99)
RaidMax xB ATX-528B ($22.50)
Xclio GOODPOWER 500W [12V@29A] ($48.00)
SUBTOTAL: $1197.56
I know that this would go over my budget with shipping and so forth so I would probably get a different burner and maybe drop down to 1 GB of ram (something in the $100-$120 range). I could upgrade these later fairly easily and both could be done within 1 month. Another issue is that this system does not include a mouse or keyboard.
The other system was put together with the help of many forum members, then I made a few adjustments to satisfy my wants as far as looks go.
AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ = $295.00 USD
MSI K8N Neo4 Platinum ATX AMD Motherboard = $112.00 USD
CORSAIR XMS 1GB 184-Pin DDR = $124.00 USD
ASPIRE ATX-AS520W BLACK 520W Power Supply = $59.99 USD
Western Digital Caviar SE16 250GB 3.5" SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive = $96.00 USD
NEC 16X DVD±R DVD Burner Black IDE/ATAPI Model ND-3550A = $38.99 USD
Logisys Optical Fan Mouse - Blue = $14.99 USD
Sunbeam Transformer Case - Black = $70.98 USD
Sunbeam Pro Series Illuminated Keyboard - Black = $21.99 USD
eVGA Geforce 7800GT 256-P2-N518 Video Card = $269.00 USD
Total: $1102.94 USD
With that one I was thinking, upgrade the video card and take down a GB of ram. However, if I were to register with eVGA I can get the 7900 for just the difference in price when it comes out. So I would definately like to go that route with the video card. However if someone can convince me not to then I won't.
The turmoil is mainly with the video card and then the processor. I want this pc to be future-proof at least a little bit. Here are my options as I see them.
1) Pros: Faster processor and more video card memory. More ram. Very balanced system
Cons: Case, PSU is not as good as other, overall looks, (not sure how Mobo overclocks)
I would definately endup upgrading the case, and I am not sure how long that Video card will last, as far as being the "best"
2) Pros: All of the looks are exactly how I want them, best case/keyboard/mouse combo in my opinion. Video card offers cheap upgrade in the future. More pixel pipelines. This video card almost appears superior other than the memory. Fairly balanced system. More fans, probably better cooling. Superior PSU.
Cons: Slower processor, one GB ram.
I would definately get another GB of ram on my next paycheck, if I felt it was needed even. My main problem with this pc is the processor. I could overclock it to the 4200+ speeds though, when I start to care/notice the overclocking speed differences. The ram would be the only upgrade I see fit in the near future of this pc.
So, while Praetor's pc is superior off the bat, I feel that the system that the forum members and I have designed is better in the long run. However I would greatly appreciate input from you guys, especially on the processor and video card of each system. Thank you to anyone who read all of this and extra thanks to anyone who read all of this and replied
