Help me build a nice computer

[Helmut]

Hi

Sorry if these threads have been done to death, but I figured it best to ask the masters when it came to building a new rig.

My plan is to buy a new component each pay day and ultimately end up with a nice computer that looks good and performs well. I am open to any suggestions / criticism to my choices.

I want a gaming machine, mainly for games like Battlefield Vietnam, UT2K4, Doom 3, Far Cry and obviously HL2. I want a computer that will allow me to enjoy these games the way they were meant to be played.

Here are my ideas so far:

CPU: something in the 3.0ghz range (or equivalent in AMD terms) - I'm not biased towards either, just looking for a good balance between cost and grunt. The 64's are doable, but seem to be limited by XP's 32-bit nature...

Mobo: Nothing too fancy, doesn't have to have RAID or firewire. Onboard graphics and sound are a thing I'd rather avoid paying for. Had a good run with Asus and Gigabyte in the past.

RAM: 1 gig minimum, dual channel yes yes?

GFX Card: 9800XT seems to be the market fav. although if someone can provide me with a reason to take the Nvidia road I'm all ears.

Sound: the audigy2 zs platinum pro sounds nice but is it the best? how about santa cruz and the others? maybe a genius soundmaker32 would suffice?

HDD: is it worth the jump to SATA? I'd like a 200gig drive as a minimum.

Keyboard and Mouse: I used a microsoft wireless combo which seemed nice and comfy, but is it the best for games? - should i be looking at a logitech solution - that bluetooth combo looks good....

Monitor: 18 - 19 LCD, needs to have good response time for games.

Case: I have been eyeing up the Lian-Li PC-6070 - mainly cos of the more quiet nature of it, but anything can go in this area.

Speakers: 5.1+ 680's look nice but is the bass too much? how about that creative 7.1 setup?

Thanks for any help you guys/gals can chuck my way - I'm eager to kick off the whole upgrade path!

[Ragnor]

Sounds to me like you already have an idea of what you want for each part. You just need to make the AMD or Intel choice and the which brand of ram/hd etc type choices....

What's your budget, how much do you want to spend total? Might pay to work out how you want to spend on each part/area aswell..

[Helmut]

Looking at spending about $3000 - 4000. Not to worried about cost as I will be spreading it over time. And dont mind paying more for quality as I think things like the sound card / case / keyboard / speakers can be recycled to a degree for any new machine I purchase in the future.

[Billys Cigar]

My advice would be if you are going to buy a component each payday ....

Don't ....

Save your money up and get it all in one go .... why??

1) You will get a little interest on your money while you save = more money to spend (may only be a $1, but a $1 is a $1).

2) PC parts constantly drop in price over time, especially as new models come out ....

3) You may get a discount by buying it all at one time ...

[Agent666]

sounds like you are onto a winning combo ...

my only suggestion would be to chose several smaller hard drives 2x80Gb or 2x120GB) rather than one large one (200GB).... kinda like the idea of not putting all your eggs in the same basket, plus depending on how you organise your data it will actually give you a bit more performance as your system is able to access multiple drives at once.

By all means go with SATA..... as most motherboards in a few years will only support this standard no doubt.


As far as monitors if you are looking at buying a 19 inch LCD you should look into a 21" CRT..... I personally believe that LCDs are not quite there yet as far as being an all round gamers monitor. I think a 21" CRT will serve you better if you have the desk real-estate to use it.

[Helmut]

Originally posted by Billys Cigar
2) PC parts constantly drop in price over time, especially as new models come out ....


I think that would work to my advantage. I'm planning on leaving cpu/mobo/gpu til last as Im hoping for some price drop (even slight) when I buy these items.

Your last point is a good one, but I can't wait til I have all the money, i want to get this show on the road

Thanks for the advice though :)

[MuNTa]

Dewd it makes no difference to have win32 on the A64 as there are no games that run in 64bit anyways. The full version of win64 will be out by about Aug and from there we will see win64 go more mainstream, so all in all it is worth ur while to invest in one.

[dustyslapper]

He's upgrading! Nice one bruvva.

I think the thing to remember is that the graphics card is the one component that will depreciate the fastest - ie buy it last. The monitor, case, mobo, cpu, hd will hold their value a little more.

but you already posted that and I'm a frucktard

Personally I wouldn't buy an XT - I'd get a 128mb 9800pro to tide you over till the next generation hit. Nothing is worse than dropping a wad on tech that'll be surpassed in less than 6 months. The next gen will be a bit more than the facelift we saw for the 9700/9800/9800XT. Then again - if the price is right and you really do want it - who am I to tell someone to not buy the fastest graphics card that money can buy?

:p

[Helmut]

Nice suggestion, I just checked out this site with a comparison of 28 gfx cards - there is bugger all between the 9800pro and XT, not enough to warrant an extra $300+ for...

Whats a good brand? what should I look for?

[Mack 10]

All 9800 pro's are basically the same except for the heat sinks and extra's bundles. They all OC the same etc.