Building a computer from scratch, looking for opinions
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Considering its your first build I'd have spent less money because things can and will go wrong. I'd rather not have to deal with $1800 worth of stuff conflicting but then again thats my opinion.
My current system which I am still working on whenever I have some money is:
Athlon XP 2100+ processor
Asus A7S333 motherboard
640MB DDR 2100 RAM
ATI Radeon 9000 128MB DDR video card
Sound Blaster sound card
3 COM Network card
Sony CDRW drive
Sony DVD drive
Western Digital 7200 RPM 8MB buffer hard drive
Floppy drive
Logitech Momo racing wheel
Dealsonic mid ATX case with cold cathodes
Total spent was under $600. Unless you are either an extreme gamer or you do a lot of multimedia programming and animation you don't need a system with that kind of bang. I play a lot of racing games and I am learning how to use Maya hence I need the bells and whistles.
But like I said thats only my opinion.
My current system which I am still working on whenever I have some money is:
Athlon XP 2100+ processor
Asus A7S333 motherboard
640MB DDR 2100 RAM
ATI Radeon 9000 128MB DDR video card
Sound Blaster sound card
3 COM Network card
Sony CDRW drive
Sony DVD drive
Western Digital 7200 RPM 8MB buffer hard drive
Floppy drive
Logitech Momo racing wheel
Dealsonic mid ATX case with cold cathodes
Total spent was under $600. Unless you are either an extreme gamer or you do a lot of multimedia programming and animation you don't need a system with that kind of bang. I play a lot of racing games and I am learning how to use Maya hence I need the bells and whistles.
But like I said thats only my opinion.
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From: Southwestern PA
Originally posted by axemansean
Suggestion:
Go for the AMD Athlon XP processors they are cheaper and better than the over rated Pentiums.
Get the Asus A7V8X-X motherboard, its got very good reviews and has a lot of potential.
Suggestion:
Go for the AMD Athlon XP processors they are cheaper and better than the over rated Pentiums.
Get the Asus A7V8X-X motherboard, its got very good reviews and has a lot of potential.
Originally posted by LX4CYL
don't skimp on teh graphics card...
don't skimp on teh graphics card...
Originally posted by Black2000GSR
the 9800Pro is the best one available right now, but I'd wait for the 256MB one (I am).
the 9800Pro is the best one available right now, but I'd wait for the 256MB one (I am).
http://www.tomshardware.com/graphic/20030604/index.html
If you can't tell, I've been reading a lot of toms hardware. I think I've been doing more reseach on this computer then I ever did in college.
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From: NoVA
Re: Building a computer from scratch, looking for opinions
Originally posted by Andy
I've got some money saved up and thinking of building myself a new computer. I've done upgrading to older systems, more memory, new PCI cards, new HD's and optical drives, even replaced a floppy and HD in a laptop, but never build one completely from scratch. I think I have all the basic ideas down, but the only way to learn is to try. Here's the parts list I've come up with so far.
Pentium 4 2.8Ghz, 800Mhz FSB HT
Asus P4P800 MB, 865PE chipset (HT), 800Mhz FSB, 2 SATA slots, 8X AGP, integrated AD audio, 10/100/1000 ethernet, 8 USB 2.0, 2 Firewire.
2 sticks of Corsair XMS extereme 512M PC3200 (400Mhz), 1Gig total
ATI Radeon 9800 Pro 128Meg
Western Digital Raptor, 36G 10,000 rpm SATA HD (planning to add a standard IDE ~100Gig for storage later)
Lite On DVD/CD reader, Lite On 52x CDRW
Cooler Master alumium case and Enermax 431W PS
NEC/Mitsu 19" CRT
WinXP Home
That's pretty much it. Ordering basically everything from New Egg, around $1800 for everything. I was wondering if anybody had any opinions or things they'd change. I'm basically building a strong gaming machine that can do pretty much anything without spending a fortune.
I'm going with the 2.8G P4 and 865 chipset rather than a 3.2 or 3.0 and 875 becuase I figure by the time it becomes an issue, the Pentium 5 and Athalon 64's will be out so save the money now. Same with the 128Meg 9800. They have a 256Meg but it's $120 more and by the time I need 256, a much faster/better chipset will be out. I don't plan to move this thing much so I'm sticking witha cheaper CRT rather than an LCD for now. I've also used Lite on stuff before and liked it, so I wanted use that. I decided not to go with a DVD-R for now because I'll never use it and by the time I need one, they'll probably be $100. Almost everything is retail, except the HD which is OEM only right now. Probably going to order this week (still doing some research) but I wanted some opinions. Thanks, seeya.
I've got some money saved up and thinking of building myself a new computer. I've done upgrading to older systems, more memory, new PCI cards, new HD's and optical drives, even replaced a floppy and HD in a laptop, but never build one completely from scratch. I think I have all the basic ideas down, but the only way to learn is to try. Here's the parts list I've come up with so far.
Pentium 4 2.8Ghz, 800Mhz FSB HT
Asus P4P800 MB, 865PE chipset (HT), 800Mhz FSB, 2 SATA slots, 8X AGP, integrated AD audio, 10/100/1000 ethernet, 8 USB 2.0, 2 Firewire.
2 sticks of Corsair XMS extereme 512M PC3200 (400Mhz), 1Gig total
ATI Radeon 9800 Pro 128Meg
Western Digital Raptor, 36G 10,000 rpm SATA HD (planning to add a standard IDE ~100Gig for storage later)
Lite On DVD/CD reader, Lite On 52x CDRW
Cooler Master alumium case and Enermax 431W PS
NEC/Mitsu 19" CRT
WinXP Home
That's pretty much it. Ordering basically everything from New Egg, around $1800 for everything. I was wondering if anybody had any opinions or things they'd change. I'm basically building a strong gaming machine that can do pretty much anything without spending a fortune.
I'm going with the 2.8G P4 and 865 chipset rather than a 3.2 or 3.0 and 875 becuase I figure by the time it becomes an issue, the Pentium 5 and Athalon 64's will be out so save the money now. Same with the 128Meg 9800. They have a 256Meg but it's $120 more and by the time I need 256, a much faster/better chipset will be out. I don't plan to move this thing much so I'm sticking witha cheaper CRT rather than an LCD for now. I've also used Lite on stuff before and liked it, so I wanted use that. I decided not to go with a DVD-R for now because I'll never use it and by the time I need one, they'll probably be $100. Almost everything is retail, except the HD which is OEM only right now. Probably going to order this week (still doing some research) but I wanted some opinions. Thanks, seeya.
so, IMO you need to shop around a little more.
Don't touch me I'm tender
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Posts: 4,015
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From: Va beach/Blacksburg, VA
Re: Re: Building a computer from scratch, looking for opinions
Originally posted by /^Blackmagik^\
ya know the funny thing. i just got almost that exact same setup for with a p4 3Ghz processor and a 17" flat panel monitor for $1400 from dell.
so, IMO you need to shop around a little more.
ya know the funny thing. i just got almost that exact same setup for with a p4 3Ghz processor and a 17" flat panel monitor for $1400 from dell.
so, IMO you need to shop around a little more.
you cant even think about overclocking your processor...no higher speed ram
....do you have the 9800 or 9800 pro...dells are great for work or school....
Don't touch me I'm tender
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From: Va beach/Blacksburg, VA
Originally posted by Black2000GSR
:dunno:
I read that Doom III actually pushes 128MB to it's limits. But eh...I dunno.
:dunno:
I read that Doom III actually pushes 128MB to it's limits. But eh...I dunno.
Thread Starter
Hybrid Forum Moderator
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 2,363
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From: Southwestern PA
Re: Re: Building a computer from scratch, looking for opinions
Originally posted by axemansean
Considering its your first build I'd have spent less money because things can and will go wrong. I'd rather not have to deal with $1800 worth of stuff conflicting but then again thats my opinion.
My current system which I am still working on whenever I have some money is:
Athlon XP 2100+ processor
Asus A7S333 motherboard
640MB DDR 2100 RAM
ATI Radeon 9000 128MB DDR video card
Sound Blaster sound card
3 COM Network card
Sony CDRW drive
Sony DVD drive
Western Digital 7200 RPM 8MB buffer hard drive
Floppy drive
Logitech Momo racing wheel
Dealsonic mid ATX case with cold cathodes
Total spent was under $600. Unless you are either an extreme gamer or you do a lot of multimedia programming and animation you don't need a system with that kind of bang. I play a lot of racing games and I am learning how to use Maya hence I need the bells and whistles.
But like I said thats only my opinion.
Considering its your first build I'd have spent less money because things can and will go wrong. I'd rather not have to deal with $1800 worth of stuff conflicting but then again thats my opinion.
My current system which I am still working on whenever I have some money is:
Athlon XP 2100+ processor
Asus A7S333 motherboard
640MB DDR 2100 RAM
ATI Radeon 9000 128MB DDR video card
Sound Blaster sound card
3 COM Network card
Sony CDRW drive
Sony DVD drive
Western Digital 7200 RPM 8MB buffer hard drive
Floppy drive
Logitech Momo racing wheel
Dealsonic mid ATX case with cold cathodes
Total spent was under $600. Unless you are either an extreme gamer or you do a lot of multimedia programming and animation you don't need a system with that kind of bang. I play a lot of racing games and I am learning how to use Maya hence I need the bells and whistles.
But like I said thats only my opinion.
Originally posted by /^Blackmagik^\
ya know the funny thing. i just got almost that exact same setup for with a p4 3Ghz processor and a 17" flat panel monitor for $1400 from dell.
so, IMO you need to shop around a little more.
ya know the funny thing. i just got almost that exact same setup for with a p4 3Ghz processor and a 17" flat panel monitor for $1400 from dell.
so, IMO you need to shop around a little more.
__________________
Andy - Reinstated Hybrid Forum Moderator
'06 Subaru Legacy Spec B - Stock, for now
'98 Civic EX - CTR headlights and grill, Kosei K1's, for sale
'90 240SX - SR20DET that will never get installed, project car.
Andy - Reinstated Hybrid Forum Moderator
'06 Subaru Legacy Spec B - Stock, for now
'98 Civic EX - CTR headlights and grill, Kosei K1's, for sale
'90 240SX - SR20DET that will never get installed, project car.
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Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 21,463
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From: Charlotte, NC
Originally posted by sman789
the only thing i heard that doom3 will push is the agp 4x cards....256mb is sweet to have but its overkill
the only thing i heard that doom3 will push is the agp 4x cards....256mb is sweet to have but its overkill
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From: NoVA
Re: Re: Re: Building a computer from scratch, looking for opinions
Originally posted by Andy
I just went on Dell's site and an 8300 with similar specs, smaller PS and 1 year warrenty is $2038 without tax and shipping and the XPS is $2373 for the same thing. I'm not getting a super bargin cause I'm buying pretty much all top of the line components. Dell's also use propritary hardware so upgrading is limited and I hate their new cases (PCI cards are held with a plastic clip rather than screws, they fall out every time you open the case, at least my friends firewire card does). I've owned 3 Dell desktops and I'm posting from an Insprion 8200 laptop right now, I like their stuff and recommend them when people ask, but I want to build my own.
I just went on Dell's site and an 8300 with similar specs, smaller PS and 1 year warrenty is $2038 without tax and shipping and the XPS is $2373 for the same thing. I'm not getting a super bargin cause I'm buying pretty much all top of the line components. Dell's also use propritary hardware so upgrading is limited and I hate their new cases (PCI cards are held with a plastic clip rather than screws, they fall out every time you open the case, at least my friends firewire card does). I've owned 3 Dell desktops and I'm posting from an Insprion 8200 laptop right now, I like their stuff and recommend them when people ask, but I want to build my own.