Posted November 29, 200519 yr Aight guys, even though I'm not exactly a hacker or even an exploiter, I know you guys have GOT to be decent with PC's to pull some of the stunts you do, so here goes. I'm looking to build a new gaming rig. I dont' have a lot of cash to blow, so I'd like to keep it below $1250 if possible, MAYBE $1500 max. I have a somewhat decent system set out, but I want others opinions... and so far I've just gotten BS feedback from other sources from dudes that don't seem to know what they are talking about. Case: - $58.00 / $15.99 -http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811144103 -ASPIRE X-Plorer ATXB8KLW-AL Black/Silver Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case Power Supply: - $89.99 / $6.99 -http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817103931 -Antec TRUEPOWERII TPII-550 ATX12V 550W Power Supply 115/230 V UL, TUV, CB, FCC CLASS B, CUL CPU: - $235.80 / $3.99 -http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103596 -AMD Opteron 148 Venus 1GHz FSB 1MB L2 Cache Socket 939 Processor Thermal Compound: - $5.89 / $4.99 -http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16835100007 -Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound Motherboard: - $68.00 / $2.99 -http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813157081 -ASRock 939Dual-SATA2 Socket 939 ULi M1695 ATX AMD Motherboard Ethernet: - -Built Into MoBo (I hope) Memory: $130.44 x 2 / $3.83 x2 -http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820227209 - (2) OCZ Platinum Series 1GB 184-Pin DDR SDRAM Unbuffered DDR 400 (PC 3200) System Memory Video Card: - $329.00 / $0.00 - COVERED BY MY DAD -http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814130256 -eVGA 256-P2-N516 Geforce 7800GT 256MB 256-bit GDDR3 VIVO PCI Express x16 Video Card Audio: - $70.00 / $4.99 -http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16829102178 -Creative Sound Blaster Audigy2 ZS SB0350 8 (7.1) Channels 24-bit 192KHz PCI Interface Sound Card Optical Drive: - $39.75 / $0.00 -http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16827152047 -NEC Black 16X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 16X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2M Cache IDE DVD Burner those are my current specs as of this time- any advice? PS- I'm not too big into hacking, but I think it's damned funny the mayhem you guys can cause! Cruel, harsh, and downright evil! awsome!
November 29, 200519 yr whats wrong with your system now? it looks pretty good those are my current specs as of this time- any advice? He probably meant "this is what I'm looking at so far". According to their site, the mobo has a NIC built in (standard 10/100). Looking pretty good so far, what monitor size are you packing?
November 29, 200519 yr Author Well, I'm heading off to college in about 6 months, so I'm just going to keep the 17 inch standard GEM monitor I have now- it's nothing special, but anything bigger might not fit into the apartment. I was going to go plasma, but I've heard there's been issues with ghosting and other crud like that except in high end models- which I can't afford just yet :( And yeah, those are the specs I'm lookin at for the new one :D sry if I was a bit obscure- it's almost midnight and I was up at like, 5 today to go hunting AND I'm out of Mtn Dew
November 30, 200519 yr Have you worked with computers before? Like, installing addon cards, new procs, ect? If you haven't, you'll probably fuck up the equipment you buy. Opteron is pretty gay for gaming unless you're getting two. If you're going cheap, you'll want at least a 3700+. If you want dual core you'll want to go for the cheaper X2 proc. It's around $400 I think. The only bottleneck I see is the processor, you're processor is going to have a hard time keeping up with your video card unless you get one of the more expensive X2's or a 4000+. For ram, you want to go with Corsair. Other than those, it looks fine. If you want some help PM me and I'll send you my AIM or something.
November 30, 200519 yr I would get a better PSU if I were you, it's not really a good idea to spend less than $100 on a PSU. The cheaper ones tend to crap out very fast.
November 30, 200519 yr Author Nah, dual core doesn't seem to work well with BF2 at all :( I've had some experience upgrading and modifying PC's... I've also got an article from PC gamer to help me with stuff I'm not sure of. Never built one myself, but I figure as long as I keep myself grounded, take my time, and be careful, I should be fine :) Right? As for the PSU- I'll look into getting a better one :)
November 30, 200519 yr Don't get an opteron if you're going to be gaming. I agree with ^^^ Get a 3500 or 3700
November 30, 200519 yr Nah, dual core doesn't seem to work well with BF2 at all :( I've had some experience upgrading and modifying PC's... I've also got an article from PC gamer to help me with stuff I'm not sure of. Never built one myself, but I figure as long as I keep myself grounded, take my time, and be careful, I should be fine :) Right? As for the PSU- I'll look into getting a better one :) Yeah, considering you're not all defensive it's obvious that you're confident. Go for it man, if you need any more help, just ask.
November 30, 200519 yr Never built one myself, but I figure as long as I keep myself grounded Putting together a PC yourself is NOT difficult at all... the only thing to remember is that if the "arm" won't go down (to lock in the CPU), don't force it. ;p And being grounded isn't really a big deal, just don't have any bodyparts touching a "hot" device while you're working inside your new comp.
November 30, 200519 yr Author I try to be open to all ideas I'm going for the opteron cause of the low price- it's an easy CPU to overclock, my buddy has one he's OC'ed by almost 15% and it still runs cool with just standard cooling system (1 intake, 3 exhaust, 1 CPU heatsink/fan combo with arctic silver thermal compound)
November 30, 200519 yr I would say your PSU selection is fine. Antec is a great brand, and 550W is adequate. The price the pay for it should not be a factor, its still a great product. I have no experience with ASRock brand hardware, so I cannot make a recommendation. The OCZ stuff is great memory, I have some of the gold series in my machine. Go for the newer Audigy X-Fi Xtreme Music. It's a little more $$, but Maximum PC says its worth it. Where's the HD? (maybe i missed that in the above replies)
December 1, 200519 yr Author keeping my current HD- a 7200 RPM 160 gig hard drive. It's served me well and it's free :D
December 1, 200519 yr I try to be open to all ideas I'm going for the opteron cause of the low price- it's an easy CPU to overclock, my buddy has one he's OC'ed by almost 15% and it still runs cool with just standard cooling system (1 intake, 3 exhaust, 1 CPU heatsink/fan combo with arctic silver thermal compound) It's still going to suck compared to a 3700+ in gaming. Dual Core isin't in, yet.
December 1, 200519 yr Author yeah, but how much more does the 3700 cost? I'm getting that 2.1 Opteron for $235 then going to OC it to 2.5 if I can. What would be the comparison for the 3700+
