Another noob asks about what to get to make a new comp.

[kragt]

Ok, I am glad for the help I got in the last topic so thanks to the both of you who helped me.

Ok what I need is a decent gaming computer. I need it to be not much more than $1300 (monitor can be excluded from this cost but suggestions on which one to get still welcome).
A couple of games I want to get to play when they come out or if they already came out I cant play them on my current comp.
Spore - Pc sims like game coing out 2007
Civ and Ceaser 4 - Both are out but my comp cannot run them.
Sonic the headgehog - (not sure its coming out on PC but i heard about it somewhere)

This should give the general idea of the level of graphics i need as I wanted to get a comp I wouldnt need to replace for another 5-6 years. (got this one march 2001) (Note: When I say replace in another 5-6 years I mean it probly wont be able to do much of the newer stuff after about 4 years and I will put up with it til I decide to get a new computer.)

Ok now I know basics about computers but im not entirely sure about compability for certian motherboards and RAM. Along with what power supply to use.

So far the only thing I that is decided is the case. http://www.xoxide.com/aspire-x-navig...ack-black.html <-- this one.
First thing I need to know is where would I get a plate to replace the motherboard form factor in the back to make it compatible with a newer motherboard.
Thats the plate im talking about as I still dont know its name.

I was origionally going to get this computer. http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...Tab=0&NoMapp=0 and move everything into my disered case but I was told this was not that good a deal.

From what I know about the specifics of the games heres a few of the miniums I need.
2gig RAM, 3.0 Ghz CPU *wants to try and spiing for a 2 Ghz Dual core* (>_> that counts as 4 right?)
A graphics card (a good one but not a $400 or $1k one. if possible)

That covers most of the specifics. The last few notes are.
I plan to put everything together myself and order it all online.
Everything needs to be bought (including mouse and keyboard and possibly cables)
Do the blue LED fans come with that case? *thinks so but not entirely sure*
I plan on buying this in febuary '07 so anything thats a limited time sale that ends in this month isint going to help all that much.

Ok... >_> Thats everything.. I think. ^_^;; If there are any questions just ask and I will anwser to the best I can.

Edit1: OH! Before I forget, I wanted to get Vista OS for this computer since It should be out by the time I buy the stuff.

Edit2: On anohter note, I dont think I need a sound card >_> As a motherboard intergrated sound chip usually is enough for me to enjoy. Just adding this to try and help get more stuff stright.

Edit3(im making a lot of these arent I?): Ive been doing some searching and with a really rough estimation for the computer to last me as long as I want it. (meaning in a year or two I upgrade it some more and add in more ram or another HD) Im going to need between a 450-550 Watt powersupply. Thanks again in advance for anyone who helps.

[buhweet]

Re: Another noob asks about what to get to make a new comp.

Ok, I am glad for the help I got in the last topic so thanks to the both of you who helped me.

Ok what I need is a decent gaming computer. I need it to be not much more than $1300 (monitor can be excluded from this cost but suggestions on which one to get still welcome).
A couple of games I want to get to play when they come out or if they already came out I cant play them on my current comp.
Spore - Pc sims like game coing out 2007
Civ and Ceaser 4 - Both are out but my comp cannot run them.
Sonic the headgehog - (not sure its coming out on PC but i heard about it somewhere)

This should give the general idea of the level of graphics i need as I wanted to get a comp I wouldnt need to replace for another 5-6 years. (got this one march 2001) (Note: When I say replace in another 5-6 years I mean it probly wont be able to do much of the newer stuff after about 4 years and I will put up with it til I decide to get a new computer.)


Ok now I know basics about computers but im not entirely sure about compability for certian motherboards and RAM. Along with what power supply to use.

So far the only thing I that is decided is the case. http://www.xoxide.com/aspire-x-navig...ack-black.html <-- this one.
First thing I need to know is where would I get a plate to replace the motherboard form factor in the back to make it compatible with a newer motherboard.
Thats the plate im talking about as I still dont know its name.

I was origionally going to get this computer. http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...Tab=0&NoMapp=0 and move everything into my disered case but I was told this was not that good a deal.

From what I know about the specifics of the games heres a few of the miniums I need.
2gig RAM, 3.0 Ghz CPU *wants to try and spiing for a 2 Ghz Dual core* (>_> that counts as 4 right?)
A graphics card (a good one but not a $400 or $1k one. if possible)

That covers most of the specifics. The last few notes are.
I plan to put everything together myself and order it all online.
Everything needs to be bought (including mouse and keyboard and possibly cables)
Do the blue LED fans come with that case? *thinks so but not entirely sure*
I plan on buying this in febuary '07 so anything thats a limited time sale that ends in this month isint going to help all that much.

Ok... >_> Thats everything.. I think. ^_^;; If there are any questions just ask and I will anwser to the best I can.

Edit1: OH! Before I forget, I wanted to get Vista OS for this computer since It should be out by the time I buy the stuff.

Edit2: On anohter note, I dont think I need a sound card >_> As a motherboard intergrated sound chip usually is enough for me to enjoy. Just adding this to try and help get more stuff stright.

Edit3(im making a lot of these arent I?): Ive been doing some searching and with a really rough estimation for the computer to last me as long as I want it. (meaning in a year or two I upgrade it some more and add in more ram or another HD) Im going to need between a 450-550 Watt powersupply. Thanks again in advance for anyone who helps.

A dual core proc sure as hell doesnt count as a single core 4GHz @ 2GHz
duallies are ment for multi tasking but some programs are designed for dual core.
I recommend coming back in a couple months when you have the $$ and are ready to buy b/c there will be a lot of new stuff out, but dont be embarrassed or anything, I did the exact same thing once, setting up a thread for a comp to be built in 3 months.
and yes the LED fans are included in the case (it says so in your link.)
I would reccommend a 550W or higher PSU so you can add and not worry about cutting your PSU short.

[kragt]

Re: Another noob asks about what to get to make a new comp.

Oh.. >_> OK.. ^^;; well thanks anyway and ill try and figure out more about this stuff then ask again in a few months probly near the end of january

EDIT: also where would i get the plate i need for that anyway?

[buhweet]

Re: Another noob asks about what to get to make a new comp.

It would come with the motherboard also you should try to get a basic outline of what you want for your comp.

[kragt]

Re: Another noob asks about what to get to make a new comp.

OK then the new question is what do I need and what can I afford.
>_> What kind of graphics cards work well for playing games and would probly be able to handle the games that would come out next year on PC.

I also need to figure out what kind of processor to get since I had misconceived ideas about the Due core. >_> The motherboard will be picked to fit the processor i guess.

[buhweet]

Re: Another noob asks about what to get to make a new comp.

I strongly recommend the core 2 duo proc family, they are incredible! I have one and it can handle anything I throw at it at only 2.1 GHz. I recommend an ATi X1950 x-- or something like it to handle games but they require a lot of power campared to I recommend Nvidia cards b/c they are usually better.
You might get a Dx10 card for the newest games but not an 8800 --(-), better ones will come out soon, ATi might make a great one like the 9700. you also might get DX9.0c cards in SLI or Crossfire (nVidia's and Ati's dual GPU solutions respectively.) You have to get an SLI mobo to get SLI just so you know. I might sell you my 7900GTO if I dont win the GPU giveaway (I probably wont) if you want it, its a fine card, only overclocked a little for about an hour total, but I dont need all the speed. I could set up an ebay auction for you through my dads account. you could get another and run em in SLI, I think that could handle a lot of the new games for about a year but you still might concider Dx10, please dont feel pressures at all to buy one from me as it might not be the most effective or timely buy.

[amd_man2005]

Re: Another noob asks about what to get to make a new comp.

C2D is great, the but the new AMD's aren't far behind and are much more efficient.

[buhweet]

Re: Another noob asks about what to get to make a new comp.

C2D is great, the but the new AMD's aren't far behind and are much more efficient.

what do you mean by "efficient?" also, the C2D e6300 is awesome bang for the buck at ~180$

[zaqwsx]

Re: Another noob asks about what to get to make a new comp.

Efficiant as in less power cunsumpsion. If you read any articls about the new 65nm Amd's you would see that they are less power consumers

[buhweet]

Re: Another noob asks about what to get to make a new comp.

I don't really care about power efficient, only in a notebook.

[Munkul]

Re: Another noob asks about what to get to make a new comp.

C2D is great, the but the new AMD's aren't far behind and are much more efficient.

coming from "amdman2005"

seriously, i wish people would all agree and acknowlege that untill AMD pulls out a new ARCHITECTURE, not just a die shrink, that Intel' C2D will win, speed wise, and probably value-wise

[Yawgm0th]

Re: Another noob asks about what to get to make a new comp.

Not value-wise. The cost of a decent Core 2 Duo-compatible LGA775 board is much higher than that of an AM2 counterpart, and AM2 currently leads in power consumption and performance per-watt. AM2 also has partial forwards compatibility with the next couple processor refreshes, while Intel will likely need a new chipset past Core 2 Quad.

Kragt, you'll want something closer to 600W-650W if you want to avoid upgrading that particular component in the near future. A 500W would handle almost anything now, but you'll want to upgrade as you go along (you'll need to if you want this to last two years).

Both AM2 and LGA775 are good options. I can't think of a good reason not to go with Core 2 Duo, though. AM2 might end up having better upgradability, but Core 2 Duo will upgrade to Core 2 Quad once that comes down in price enough for you, and that will hold you until at least 2009.

The real problem is with the video card. If you get anything under $400, you'll be upgrading within 8-16 months. If you get a $400 card (specifically, an 8800GTS), you'll 3-9 months from now that you spent an extra $200 to be an early adopter of a mid-range card. If you actually plan on using Vista and getting DirectX 10 games when they come out, you'll want an 8800GTS, regardless of the huge premium.

Get 2x1GB DDR2 RAM. DDR2 800 would be plenty.

I'd recommend you grab a single, smallish (120-200GB) hard drive to start with. Upgrade as necessary.

[xaglx]

Re: Another noob asks about what to get to make a new comp.

Hi Kragt, I'm also getting parts for a computer, and believe me, it's not cheap.. especially if you're a first time buyer and you're wondering why these little pieces of metal and silicon cost hundreds of dollars..

But I think that if you spend some time searching online for good prices and salvage some parts from older computers such as your case, peripherals, hard drive, cd/dvd roms and writers, and maybe even a psu (if it's at least 450W), you'd be able to get it well under your budget of 1300. Granted, if you use those parts, you'd want to upgrade those later, but at least you'd have a functioning and nearly up-to-par gaming machine without having to buy everything from scratch.

This is a list of what I will be building.. feel free to copy!

CPU: Intel e6300.. $150 on craigslist ($180 on newegg)
MB: Gigabyte GA-965P-DS3.. $100 on craigslist ($146 on newegg)
Memory: 1GB G. Skill DDR2 800 Dual-channel.. $110 on newegg
GPU: I'm not sure yet.. but anything pci express costing about a $125
PSU: Ultra V-Series 500w at Fry's electronics w/MIR= 40-40=FREE

I have everything else.. I'm using an old case, old monitor, old hard drive, old speakers, keyboard, mouse, and cd/dvd writer.

So far my cost is under $500. If you want to go with a new hard drive, more expensive gpu, nice case, psu, and cd/dvd writer, I'd say that's about another 3 or 400... so you'd still end up with around 8 or 900.

Unless I'm totally wrong, you could build one hell of a computer with 1300..
You wouldn't even have to skip out on getting a new monitor! With the extra 400 you could pick up a nice "22 inch LCD!

Don't get me wrong.. I'm completely new at this, but I've been reading quite a bit on forums and tech articles, and it seems that if you're willing to build your own computer, you'll save quite a bit.. no need to fly into the thousands' range unless you absolutely have to have that 8800gtx, that quad-core processor, or that (fill in next-gen, cutting-edge component here)..

Oh yeah! BTW, that 'plate thing' that you keep referring to is called an I/O plate.. haha I learned that just recently when I was installing my motherboard! heehee! :D

well, happy building!