Assembling A Gaming Pc

[steelie]

I would like to thank, in advance, anyone who can help get me started in my summer project.

 

 

I enjoy playing fps and role-playing games on my current pc but because I did not originally buy my computer for graphics oriented applications it is downright horrible at running these programs!

 

I recently ran 3DMark 2001 SE on my poor Dell Dimension 2100 and received a score of 498

 

Oh my! Talk about a dog!

 

This score really means nothing to my computer because it was not meant to be used for games but I am in the market for a serious upgrade and after looking at some of the pre-made gaming machines my wallet said,"ouch"

 

So I decided to jump in and make my own, which I have never done but I figured cannot be all that hard.

 

I have good computer knowledge in terms of knowing what everything does and how it works but after doing some initial research I am lost on what to buy that will give me the best bang for my buck.

 

I have decided that my budget will be $1000 give or take a couple of hundred depending on whether the additional money will really make a difference in the end result.

 

This is what I want to base my system on:

Gaming and multimedia(dvd burning and image copying)

 

I do not want to run an Intel processor but instead I want to go with an AMD.

 

Can someone put together a system based around an AMD 2-2.5 ghzt cpu with a mobo that can handle the needs and graphics demands of gaming and multimedia.

 

Future upgradeablity is also high on my list of a good computer.

I also need high memory capability.

 

Computers have come such a long way since my first Commodore 64!

 

While doing my research I found out that there are SO MANY mobo's and gpu's it ain't funny and I am not up to speed on which are the best to get the job done without spending the extra money on the very best.

 

I want to run Quake III at serious speed with no slowdown and when the new half-Life 2 comes out I want that game to come alive on my monitor.

 

Any suggestions or leads in the right direction will be greatly appreciated.

 

[battery]

ok here's the research I've got cause i was in the same situation u are and i'm about to do an upgrade myself. sence your budget is higher than mine u can ad some stuff on. Get an Epox EP-8RGA, it overclocks better than the asus a7n8x deluxe (gets in the 220's fsb) and an athlon 2500+ barton or if u got more money get the 2800+ barton. get 2 sticks of corsair 256 pc 2700 low latency or 3200 if u got more money get what ever case u want but i would get something from electroseller.com they have really good prices. get a 350w power supply or if u have more money get a 420w( u might wanna look at the enlight 420w at 55 bucks it a pretty sweet deal just ask PC Gamer. get a special edition western digital 80GB hardrive. and depending on your money get a Radeon 9700 pro or a 9500 nonpro(dl the the hacked drivers for the 9500 nonpro and it runs at 9700 pro speeds without the 8pipelines and updated smoothvision,... etc, oh and make sure the 9500 is the red board) i would reccomend a logitech MX500 mouse as well but thats just me=) this will all run u around 700- 900 bucks depending on the variances u have

[Gaijinchuugoku]

Are you still going to use the monitor that you have from the Dell? or are you going to buy a new monitor?

 

I asked because it would give you a lot more to work with (even though $1000 is plenty to build a decent AMD machine).

[Mercury]

ok here's the research I've got cause i was in the same situation u are and i'm about to do an upgrade myself. sence your budget is higher than mine u can ad some stuff on. Get an Epox EP-8RGA, it overclocks better than the asus a7n8x deluxe (gets in the 220's fsb) and an athlon 2500+ barton or if u got more money get the 2800+ barton. get 2 sticks of corsair 256 pc 2700 low latency or 3200 if u got more money get what ever case u want but i would get something from electroseller.com they have really good prices. get a 350w power supply or if u have more money get a 420w( u might wanna look at the enlight 420w at 55 bucks it a pretty sweet deal just ask PC Gamer. get a special edition western digital 80GB hardrive. and depending on your money get a Radeon 9700 pro or a 9500 nonpro(dl the the hacked drivers for the 9500 nonpro and it runs at 9700 pro speeds without the 8pipelines and updated smoothvision,... etc, oh and make sure the 9500 is the red board) i would reccomend a logitech MX500 mouse as well but thats just me=) this will all run u around 700- 900 bucks depending on the variances u have

hehe... actually ive goten 235+ with my mobo, but i decided to draw the line there and raise the multiplyer

 

heres a gaming/multimedia system to your specs (all parts from newegg.com of course):

 

case - $30 - CHIEFTEC Chasis (Mini-Mid Tower) BLACK Model DH-01B 0W

PSU - $47 - ENERMAX EG365P-VE(FM). 350W Power supply for AMD K7 & Pentium4

mobo - $131 - Asus A7n8X deluxe

cpu - $146 - AMD ATHLON XP 2600 /333 FSB PROCESSOR CPU- OEM

memory - $149 - Mushkin DDR 512MB LVL2 PC-2700 - OEM

video - $189 - ATI RADEON 9600 PRO 128MB 8X AGP DVI/TV RETAIL

sound - $87 - Creative Labs Sound Blaster Audigy Gamer

hard-drive - $93 - WD WESTERN DIGITAL "SPECIAL EDITION" 80GB 7200RPM EIDE HARD DRIVE MODEL # WD800JB

dvd - $33 - LITE-ON XJ-HD166 16X DVD ROM Drive BLACK

cd-rw - $47 - Lite On 52x24x52 Black CDRW Model LTR-52246

 

comes out to $952, plus shipping and odds and ends (floppy, fans, cables, mouse, keyboard, monitor, etc etc but im assuming you already have those parts from your old computer)... plus about an extra $200 bucks if you want to change the cdrw out with a nice dvd burner

 

that system there will be able to run games for another year or so, which is a LONG time considering how fast the industry is moving.. many of these parts i have personally tested to be the best on the market, quake3 is a older game, so this system will be able to run it at top possible frames without a cough, same thing for even todays games... good luck

[justinal]

are those the best deals you could find mercury thats a good setup their but i checked around on googlegear and newegg and you can get that stuff a little cheaper

[Propane]

what are the best 3 or 4 sites for low prices - I was thinking about a setup close to his and came out with around 1200 dollars

[justinal]

i usually dont use 1 or 2 sites for my stuff because most of the time certain sites have specials on certain things but you can check the mods section for a lot of them my fav are newegg and googlegear and frozencpu but its a little expensive.

[Dgephri]

These guys all know their stuff, but I think you are, in general, going soft on a couple items:

 

1.) Power Supply- I know you have all picked out good brands, but don't you guys think that with that video card you picked (high needs), the Motherboard (12V and standard needs right?), and the CPU/cooling needs (fans, Heatsink, etc.), he should pick up a higher capacity PSU?

 

I have to say I would recommend at least a 420Watt version, of any of the top lines (Enermax, Vantec, etc.).

 

2.) Heatsink-minimum $25 for the Thermaltake V11 or equivalent-My volcano 7+ was $60-I don't think anybody would suggest he run the stock cooler if the CPU ships with one (it's a junker fan we all know).

 

3.) Cables-What's the point of all this good equipment if it cooks itself? Would any of you really put ribbon cables into that setup? I don't think so...at least some rounded IDE and floppy ($10+ each) and for a premium sys I would say the Vantec Cobras (shielded, better throughput, I tested mine).

 

4.) ummmm, OS? Maybe he's got 98SE lying around, maybe he likes XP, etc. $100+/- there unless he's already got license?

 

5.) If he's going to buy the Asus deluxe, then why the SoundBlaster Audigy too? Kind of a waste to spend money on that motherboard with audio and video onboard (that audio is good right, video is pretty lame right?)? Next I suppose he should buy a Gigabit NIC too? That board has two onboard LANs right?

 

just some pointers....$50 more here, $50 less there, you need cables, you need fans, you need some other miscellaneous stuff to take into account. Maybe a fan controller? Nexus or something? Fanbus? Plenty of other bits that can make it a quiet, stable, fast system.

[battery]

i wouldn't get a sound card and the 2500+ barton will be better than 2600+ tbred after overclocking because of the 512 cache. trust me u want barton i think u should go with the 420w enlight that i said above and if u don't care about noise get a slk 800 or 900 and a 92mm vantec tornado best way to go there.