What to buy?

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eviljoker7075

New Member
Hey! I am gathering info on components for a custom built PC. Basically I don't want to pay a company to build it for me, but as I am rather new to this I need a little help getting started.

So I am asking for your help on recommendations for video cards. I will be using the system for gaming (new games) and music production. I have little idea about video cards so any input would be great.

When you make suggestions please let me know if it impacts other areas, such as I would need a higher power supply or something.

As far as budget goes, I am looking for a fairly high performance system so maybe if you can suggest a top level (expensive) option and a slightly cheaper one too that would be great!

Just as a side note I have seen some 'physics cards' around, are they part of most video/graphics cards or not?

Thanks for your help!
 
top level right now, id get an x1900xtx... or an x1950xtx
mid level id get a 7600gt.

but, i wouldnt buy a video card right now since directX 10 is coming out soon and it'll be using new GPU architecture including a "geometry shader" which will support new technologies and such, basically an older card (most afforadable cards right now) dont have geometry shaders right now.
NVidia launched their new 8800gtx lately though, it costs $650 or so i believe. too much to spend on a video card in my opinion.

right now, no games support DirectX10 graphics, nor do they support physics cards. however, when the games start supporting them more people will be buying them and the card designers will be able to make cards that will have enough processing power to support the games at a highest setting, rather than the 8800gtx which has probably a bit less than twice what the games will need.

also, ATI hasn't done anything about DirectX10 yet, only NVidia from what ive seen.

if i were you, id get a core 2 duo, a motherboard with integrated graphics, and 2-4gb of memory... and some western digital raptors in RAID 0... if not some regular hard drives in RAID 0... if you need any help setting it up i can help.
 
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Well I do have a little time to wait as I have to gather funds first, but I thought, get the prices on everything now, then check for updates when I have the money together!

So right now you'd suggest what, and again, in 6 months or so what would be your suggestion then (to your knowledge)?
 
well, what games do you play? for C&C you only need so much, for CS:S you may need a low grade video card, and for Quake 4 you may as well buy a card for $300 right?? lol

what games do you play and what quality settings do you want to play them at?
basically i suggest you get plenty of ram, a core 2 duo, choose a motherboard right before you buy it, and we'll help you choose a video card depending on the games you play.


a few basics though...
you know anything about socket numbers and all that?
do you know anything about ddr/ddr2? like 184-pin and 240-pin ram?
i assume you know what pci-express is?
do you know what RAID-0 is and do you want to use it?

basically the motherboard you'll be choosing, if you get a core 2 duo, ddr2 ram, and pci-express video card.. will have to have these three. they make core 2 duo motherboards with AGP and 184-pin ram slots, you dont want a motherboard if it has support for these.
 
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hmmm, little bit confusing that, I'm not really too sure on the 'basics' you mentioned there...

You're saying I should go for the motherboard first, and then build on that?
 
nahh, just get a core 2 duo, 240-pin ddr2 ram, any pci-express video card between $100-$200 (ask us beforehand) and any X-Fi chipset sound card.

also, your case will be a big decision as well.. for the two computers ive owned before, i threw two cases in the garbage. they were both around $30 and i ended up throwing them away and buying a $75-$85 case and was much happier afterward.
 
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