Building a Computer: Comment! (Updated again)

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Eric.

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Ebiggs
These are the parts and prices that a friend of mine gave me. I intend on doing some gaming (mostly race sims on almost full settings) so I wanted to know how this will work out.

ASUS P5VDX-MX-UAYZ motherboard ($94.99)
Floppy drive ($19.99)
Blue X-Dreamer Case (steel with clear sides) ($80.99)
Geforce 6200 256MB graphics ($84.99)
Hitachi 80GB SATA 7200RPM HDD ($85.99)
Masscool 775 Socket HS/...(cut off receipt) fan ($24.99)
P4 Socket 775 2.8Ghz proc (109.99)
PQI 1GB DDR400 PC320 RAM ($122.99)

Total: $663.98 w/tax.

That'll be light years ahead of this current system, which is...

1.2Ghz AMD proc
512MB RAM
Radeon 9200XT
20GB original drive


Any suggestions of different parts?

Edit: Also, he gives a one year personal warranty on all of the parts on top of whatever manufacturer warranties there are. He's throwing in WinXP Pro for free too and no charge for building it.


Update: I've found some different parts on newegg to replace some of his stuff. He can get them for me for the same price, but I don't know if they are all compatible. I'm leaving the motherboard, power supply, and any extra fans up to him. Let me know if these will all work together!

Case1 $62.99: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811144176

Case2 $69.00: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811144152
(considering the second one because of the door, but one may be better than the other)

Geforce 7900GT $269.99: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814122244
(expensive, but great reviews and I've heard its a great card for high end gaming)

Intel P4 3.2Ghz CPU $175: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819116003

G.Skill 1GB RAM $89.99: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820231036
($30 cheaper, and the PQI had some sketchy reviews)

Seagate 160GB HDD $62.99: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822148105
($20 cheaper with twice the storage and 100 5-star reviews)


Another update:

Apevia X-Cruiser case - $69.00
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811144152

Intel Pentium D Dual-Core (3.2Ghz and very overclockable) - $208.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16819116239

Leadtek Geforce 7900GT (out of stock right now, but will be in by the 14th, not that I'll have the money by then :lol: ) - $289.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814122244

ASUS P5LD2 Deluxe Socket T (LGA 775) Intel 945P ATX Intel Motherboard - $149.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16813131539

WD 250GB SATA HDD (the Seagate is no longer available apparently) - $79.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16822144701


Please recommend fan(s), power supply, and maybe some better RAM (about $100 for the RAM please). My current RAM option was this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820231036

Thanks for the help.
 
GilesGuthrie
You need MUCH more hard drive space. At least 160GB.

Do you have a power supply?

Power supply is included in the case and I have a 200GB external drive for storage. I can get more space if and when I need it.

Edit: This machine is six years old with the original hard drive (20GB) and is just now getting to be full. Of course it has been formatted a couple of years ago though. I've tried to get most of my media and programs swapped over to the external HDD lately, which has resulted in 2.66GB of free space.
 
I don't know where he's getting the parts, but they can be had cheaper at newegg. Maybe the "free" Windows XP makes up for it. For example, the Hitachi 80 GB drive is around $48 w/ shipping. I bought a 320GB with a cable and bracket for $111 total. That stick of memory is $92.

For gaming, I would go the AMD path and at least an Nvidia 7300gt. The 6200 isn't much of a gaming card.
 
Ebiggs
Power supply is included in the case and I have a 200GB external drive for storage. I can get more space if and when I need it.

Edit: This machine is six years old with the original hard drive (20GB) and is just now getting to be full. Of course it has been formatted a couple of years ago though. I've tried to get most of my media and programs swapped over to the external HDD lately, which has resulted in 2.66GB of free space.

Well, an internal hard drive will kick an external's ass in terms of throughput and latency.
 
You can get a lot bigger capacity harddrive for the same amount of money. Around 100 dollars, even less, you can get a SATA II 250gb harddrive.

I agree with RobcioPL, get at least a 6600 GT. Since it's a couple of years old now, it should be cheap.

2 sticks of 512 MB Corsair Valueram should be about 80 bucks. I know that setup isn't as fast as one stick of 1GB RAM, but the former tends to be cheaper.

Also, read this article on Tom's Hardware Guide. The prices on the right says that this processor is just north of 95 dollars on both Newegg and ZipZoomFly.

http://www.tomshardware.com/2006/05/10/dual_41_ghz_cores/

Unless you still have floppy disks that you use, floppy drives are obsolete these days.

Oh and if you can, get an aluminum case, it is MUCH lighter than a steel one.
 
512 GB?! They make 512 GB?!

Or dyou mean MB? Cause I dont think 512 gb would be 40 bucks apiece.

Anyway good luck, Ebiggs!
 
Sakiale
512 GB?! They make 512 GB?!

Or dyou mean MB? Cause I dont think 512 gb would be 40 bucks apiece.

Anyway good luck, Ebiggs!

Yup, MB, my bad, sorry about that.



Someday, someday, they'll make 512 GB. :)
 
Crash852
Unless you still have floppy disks that you use, floppy drives are obsolete these days.

I had to go out and buy one for my build. Apparently Windows XP doesn't detect all SATA (Which I noticed you have) drives, so you need to make a driver disk for it, and you can only use a floppy drive.

It's the only time I used it and it almost cost me half as much as my DVD burner!
 
Hmmm, Windows don't detect all SATA? Odd, are you using SP2?

Since setting up your SATA drives is a one time thing, do you have a good friend who has a floppy drive willing to lend it to you for a short time? They are very easy to just plug in and use.
 
That's correct. I only had a pre-serviced pack disk. Apparently SP2 does have SATA support, but you need to buy a windows with SP2 on it., as you can't install windows to put SP2 on. If you have an older copy lying around pre-SP2 then it might not work.
 
Would you still have the pre-SP2 installation problem if your friend is throwing in Windows XP Pro free? I assume that he would throw in a new, SP2ed installation with a valid CD key rather than recycling old Window XP discs?
 
The gamer case is useless and cost way too much.

The rest is fine, I'm personally thinking about a ASUS GeForce N6200 but it's a 128, not a 256.
 
Crash852
Would you still have the pre-SP2 installation problem if your friend is throwing in Windows XP Pro free? I assume that he would throw in a new, SP2ed installation with a valid CD key rather than recycling old Window XP discs?

Who's going to throw in a brand new XP Pro for free? XP Pro is about 180$ AUD (~140USD).
 
Casio
Who's going to throw in a brand new XP Pro for free? XP Pro is about 180$ AUD (~140USD).

Ebiggs
Edit: Also, he gives a one year personal warranty on all of the parts on top of whatever manufacturer warranties there are. He's throwing in WinXP Pro for free too and no charge for building it.

Wait, I just realized that Ebiggs is getting XP Pro free, not you, Casio. Oops, we kinda hijacked this thread.

Continuing on off topic... if you're not getting WinXP free, then find a friend with a floppy drive and borrow it until you got WinXP installed? You can also create your own WinXP SP1 CD slipstreamed with SP2, but I'm not sure how to do that though.
 
Crash852
Continuing on off topic... if you're not getting WinXP free, then find a friend with a floppy drive and borrow it until you got WinXP installed? You can also create your own WinXP SP1 CD slipstreamed with SP2, but I'm not sure how to do that though.

It's actually a really complicated process. But really good if you know what you're doing. You can create a disk that automatically installs applications or plugins/drivers that you might use all the time, and not install stuff you don't want like Internet Explorer.

I read a better guide somewhere. But this gives an idea of how tricky it is.

EDIT: Found it
 
I've looked around on Newegg and saved some money on several parts, then blew away plenty on a better CPU and graphics card. New parts and links are in the first post, please let me know if they are gonna work together or not.
 
Unless you don't have much multimedia files, I would recommand going for a even larger harddrive, since those types of files can be quite space consuming.

I have never heard of G.Skill RAM (I've heard of Geil though), so I don't know how it's like. But Corsair RAM should cost about the same for their "Valueram" line.

The Geforce 7900 GT is an excellent card, light years ahead of the 6200 that you were originally considering. 👍
 
I've addressed the hard drive issues. I have the 200GB for multimedia. This computer's HDD is 20GB (18 or so formatted). The RAM is very highly rated over at Newegg.
 
Just curious dude but you think you can expand the wallet a bit....maybe around 200 more and get dual core processor and an asus mobo? It will be worth it considering you are gonna be gaming and also its fairly up to date technology wise so you dont have to switch to a new computer every few years. Just my two Lincoln's. :D
 
^^ Thats what I did .. I was originally working with an $800 budget but decided to just completely build a new one (saving both of my old hdds) and spent $1300 on a brand new system build that will last atleast a good four years with simple upgrades along the way.

If you do get the 7900GT you are going to have to also get atleast a 400w power supply.

I have a 7900GT and can attest to it being a BEAST of a card.
 
I think for the processor you should go with either an X2 3800+ or X2 4200+, seeing as now they are $150 and $183 on newegg. They are better for gaming than Pentium 4s.
 
That pisses me off. I paid $300 for my X2 3800+ two months ago :(
 
The 7900GT is overkill. I would stick with a 7600GT if you don't want to spend a ridiculous amount of cash and still be able to game. I would even more-so recommend This Card. Best 16 pipe, 256MB card for your money. Very cheap, PCIE x16, 256MB and 16 pipes. Runs cool, performs GREAT, and is the best bang for your buck. Can't go wrong with it (plus it gives you some breathing room for a better motherboard that has a DDR standard of DDR2 800, or a better processor. You do not need a 7900GT for good frames in games. That 800XL I linked to will run any of todays game on high settings without problems (as long as you have 1GB of memory and a good processor to take the load off of it's shoulders).
 
MachOne: Yeah, the 7900GT may be overkill, but who knows how long I'm gonna be stuck with it. I've had this PC for six years.

Pimp racer: Most likely will have an ASUS mobo.

Alright, for less than $250, what would the best processor for gaming be?
 
The 4400+ linked above will be worth it in the long run. The 2x1mb L2 will help programs and everything run faster as the processor has more on-chip memory, thereby eliminating some of the time needed to send instructions to the RAM and back.

MachOne
The 7900GT is overkill.
Me likey teh overkillz!
 
Ebiggs: Regardless, an 800XL is plenty future proof if you don't plan on completely redoing your PC for another 2 or so years. Do you really want to spend over $250 on something that you really don't need?

Also, for gaming, Dual Core isn't much use. It's really only good for running multiple applications at the same time (i.e: Firefox, Photoshop, CAD, etc. all at the same time).

This: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103529 is what I would reccomend for the best bang for your buck (non-$500 FX chip-wise) AMD chip for gaming (speaking in a single core mindset here).

I'm not big on Intel, so I can't reccomend any of their chips. But really, I would save money and buy a single core 2.4GHz and the 800XL so you can upgrade to this motherboard:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813136152

Which has some awesome combo deals on a new power supply (NEVER use a case power supply in a gaming rig. They don't hold up, especially in a $60 case).
 

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