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Thread: Advice for building a computer

  1. #1
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    Default Advice for building a computer

    I've been looking for a computer to start some gaming (nothing hardcore, just like counterstrike, half-life 2, and battlefield 2 at medium-high settings) no windows vista, probably just xp and ubuntu (hopefully with beryl)

    I've heard that building your own computer was the way to go for this type of stuff, so i spent a couple of hours poking around newegg and doing some research

    heh, i was hoping to get something decent for about $600.... we'll see how that goes

    anyway, heres what i came up with:

    cpu: AMD Athlon 64 X2 4600+ Windsor 2.4GHz 2 x 512KB L2 Cache Socket AM2 Processor $113.00

    hard drive: the 500gb drive combo with the processor is probably too big, i might just get a 120 gb for like $50

    motherboard: ASUS M2N-SLI Deluxe Socket AM2 NVIDIA nForce 570 SLI MCP ATX $139.99

    ram: Crucial Ballistix 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) $69.99

    video card: EVGA 256-P2-N615-TX GeForce 7600GT 256MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 $74.99

    case: XCLIO A380 Silver SECC 1.0mm thickness ATX Full Tower$96.99 + $17.99 shipping

    power supply: Rosewill Stallion Series RD500-2-DB ATX V2.2 500W $32.99

    dvd drives: i'll probably just find some lying around my house

    rough total: $596

    anyway, the questions are as follows:

    will something break when i put this together?
    am i missing something? (cables, fans, whatever)
    is anybody familiar with SLI? is it worth it?
    is this a good enough system to run most current games?
    am i spending too much/too little on one component?
    have you had any bad experiences with any of this stuff?

    thanks for your time

    masq

  2. #2
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    I feel your pain!

    I also need a new computer and I'm willing to pay about the same amount you are for one, so I'll be very interested to see what you come up with.

  3. #3
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    kk, i just made the order today


    heres my final list, find them yourself on newegg
    AMD Athlon 64 X2 5200+ =$129.99 -got because of 1 MB cache
    ASUS M2N-SLI Deluxe =$139.99 -fanless, loads of features
    Patriot eXtreme performance 2x 1GB ddr2 pc6400 =$119.99-$45 mail in rebate-name brand, cas latency 4
    EVGA GeForce 7600GT 256MB, DDR3 = $89.99 - $15 mail in
    Western Digital 250GB HD =$64.99 - cheapest hard drive with 16MB cache

    didnt spend too much time finding these:
    Rosewill case -$54.99 - free shipping, hehe
    Rosewill PS - $47.99-$15 mail in
    dvd burner -$27.99

    total: $675.92 + $12.94 S&H - $75 mail in rebates = $613.86

    should come middle of next week

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    Don't overlook the psu!

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    Come on people, you have to get at least geforce 8600, directx 10 rocks!! I was playing lost planet before and the graphics are so good and it's not even good for directx 10. series 7 can't do directx 10 and it's worth the extra money

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    Quote Originally Posted by Boreas View Post
    Don't overlook the psu!
    hehe, i know people that have fried things
    i did make sure to get one with only positive reviews

    as for the 7600 vs the 8600...
    i dont care about directx 10, i dont plan on using vista

    the 8600 costs almost twice as much, and if you look at the benchmarks
    its not that much of an improvement
    the 7600 actually beat the 8600 in a lot of the tests

  7. #7
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    Try this...
    LITE-ON Black CD/DVD Burner - OEM
    http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827106070

    COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 CAC-T05-UB Black /Blue Aluminum Bezel , SECC Chassis ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
    http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811119047

    EVGA 256-P2-N624-AR GeForce 7900GS 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 KO Video Card - Retail
    http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130056

    Rosewill Stallion Series RD400-2-DB ATX V2.2 400W Dual 8cm Ball Bearing Fan Power Supply 115/230 V UL, CSA, TUV, FCC - Retail
    http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16817182021

    SUPER TALENT 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model T8UX2GC5 - Retail
    http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820609226

    EVGA 122-CK-NF66-T1 LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 650i Ultra ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
    http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813188017

    Intel Core 2 Duo E4300 Allendale 1.8GHz 2M shared L2 Cache LGA 775 Processor - Retail
    http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115013

    EXCELSTOR Jupiter Series ESJ8080S 80GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
    http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822210003

    Total before shipping: $583.92
    I made this for a $600 build on July 1st...the prices should be a couple bucks lower now
    I sacrificed CPU speed for 2GB of RAM and a 7900...but you can make up for that by overclocking the E4300 which OC's very well.

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    Masq, you made some great component choices.

    I have a little advice for you (mainly common sense, but seeing as I've made most of these mistakes before, it might help to know before you do too):

    -When you're putting your computer together, try to find as static-free an area as possible. NO CARPETS!
    It's also a good idea to ground yourself during the entire build. This can easily be accomplished by wearing a Ground Bracelet, which can be easily made with two pieces of wire. Take one piece that's big enough to fit around your arm, remove all insulation, and tie (or bend, or whatever it takes to secure it to your arm). Take the second piece (which should be a few feet long) and connect it to the wire on your arm. Then take the free end and connect it to either a wall outlet (The ground hole, not the electrical ones ) , or your case (if it's metal). Finish up by making sure that everything is secured well.

    -When your order arrives, remove each component from it's box (in the aforementioned static free area; you should leave the processor in it's box until you're ready to install it! Keep in mind that many times (actually, almost all the time) processors come pre-coated with thermal paste of some sort. Be careful not to let anything touch this, as it will impair your cooling efficiency) and read any necessary manuals (motherboard, ram, and video card can be pretty important) before starting to build. [It's also a good idea to get all your tools ready ] This way you will be fully prepared when you begin building.


    <3 EVGA & Patriot
    Interested in C# and Electrical Engineering? This might interest you.

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    If you don't have a grounding bracelet, you can also touch a metal part of the case because that will dissipate any static as well.
    Hey lady, I need a yank! Ha ha, dislocation.

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    parts come tommorow

    hehe, im not too worried about static.. the humidity is like 90% and i'll probably just touch the case, thanks for the tips though

    as for what os's im going to put on it, im still not quite sure
    32 bit xp and 64 bit ubuntu for sure
    i want to try to integrate those as much as i can, sharing the firefox/thunderbird/songbird profiles, documents, music, desktop contents, etc with a fat32 or ext partition

    i have a few questions though, if i was to obtain a copy of vista ultimate somehow

    • is the 64bit vista better than 64bit xp was? i read that it sucked balls
    • complicated question: i know that i would have to install programs on xp and vista separately for registry stuff, etc, but could 32bit xp and 64bit vista use the same programs folder? it would kinda suck to have two copies of every program taking up space
    • should i bother installing vista at all? i kinda just want to see the new interface, but i wouldnt bother if it doesnt compare to linux's xgl/beryl

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    I recently built a sweet computer and it took me one day, its simple, like big legos. Make sure you set up your BIOS correctly, and that your temperatures are ok. I would get Speed Fan to monitor you temperatures and fan speeds, its great.

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    Quote Originally Posted by masquerader View Post
    parts come tommorow

    hehe, im not too worried about static.. the humidity is like 90% and i'll probably just touch the case, thanks for the tips though

    as for what os's im going to put on it, im still not quite sure
    32 bit xp and 64 bit ubuntu for sure
    i want to try to integrate those as much as i can, sharing the firefox/thunderbird/songbird profiles, documents, music, desktop contents, etc with a fat32 or ext partition

    i have a few questions though, if i was to obtain a copy of vista ultimate somehow

    • is the 64bit vista better than 64bit xp was? i read that it sucked balls
    • complicated question: i know that i would have to install programs on xp and vista separately for registry stuff, etc, but could 32bit xp and 64bit vista use the same programs folder? it would kinda suck to have two copies of every program taking up space
    • should i bother installing vista at all? i kinda just want to see the new interface, but i wouldnt bother if it doesnt compare to linux's xgl/beryl
    For the last one: Just install XP Pro, then download the Vista theme pack (google)
    Hey lady, I need a yank! Ha ha, dislocation.

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