Can someone build me a system? (specs)

[iLLWiLL]

It's getting about that time to build a new PC. But it's been 2 1/2 years so I haven't been keeping a close on eye on new hardware. So, can I get some recommendations on the best hardware for the money out there?

CPU: 3.0 GHz (Intel or AMD?)
Fan/Heatsink:
Motherboard:
RAM: brand?
Hard drive: brand? (40 GB is sufficient)
Power supply:
Case:
DVD ReWriter:


Any links you can provide to deals on the web is GREATLY appreciated :thumbup:

Thanks in advance! :D

[cheapchinese]

Originally posted by DarkFury
CPU:
Case: Antec Performance Plus AMG case w/ TruePower power supply included! (what a bargain!!!) or if that is outside your budget the Antec Performance II case is still nice w/ SmartPower power supply (Probably around $80 if bought locally... but could be more)



where do i get this?:confused:

[baggio248]

I believe the final cost on my system (listed below), and after rebates, with shipping, handling and tax was right around $1900. Without the LCD, and secondary Video card. It's almost what Dark Fury has suggested. Less a few options. I got all my stuff through googlegear. I suggest going with what Fury says, he knows his stuff. :)

[iLLWiLL]

Originally posted by DarkFury
CPU: Intel of course, but 2 choices. 1) buy a 2.4C and overclock it to 3.0 (cheap version, about $170) or 2) buy a legit Intel 3.0C and just run with it (about $400).
So, can the 2.4C be [easily] overclocked to 3GHz? Is this the CPU with the most bang for its buck, the one that can be o/c'd the most???
What about the 3.0GHz o/c potential? Can it be o/c'd way past 3.0, or is it greatly limited?



Hard Drive: For a main system drive I recommend a Western Digital. Personally I'd have a 200GB, but if you are on a budget, then the 80 or 120GB "Special Edition" 8MB buffer versions should hit ya off just fine. (find them on sale for around ($60 after rebate upwards to $120 after rebate)

Also the Maxtor 80s and 120s with the 8MB buffer are cool too... especially if you use rebates from Staples or Office Max.
Are these (WD and Maxtor) FAST drives?
More importantly, are these reliable drives? I am using a Maxtor 40GB right now, and this thing has bad clusters all over it -- it's gonna fail any day now. :shake:
I always told myself that my next HD would be an IBM. Are these still good drives?


Yo thanks alot for your detailed input, DarkFury. You always got the answers! Keep pimpin'! SOLID! :thumbup:
http://www.davechapelle.com/UndercoverBrother/images/UB-K2787-26.jpg

[bachviet]

Please do not use IBM drives (DeathStar). Go with WD if you have bad experience with Maxtor. I have two Maxtor drives died on me (60GB & 160GB). My WD 120GB never gives me any problem.

[mcs328]

Originally posted by DarkFury

RAM: DDR 400+ either Corsair PC3200 or PC3500 will do here or go with Kingston HyperX PC3200. You'll want at least 512MB upwards to 1GB of memory (which could cost anywhere from $170 - $350)

*snip*


They have that PC3500 Kingston memory at newegg.com right now for 123 bucks and free shipping. It's "blowout" sale. So if you want it hop to it then. How much does it regulary go for?

[iLLWiLL]

Thanks bachviet, I guess I'll be avoiding IBM drives. :wavey:
Looks like I'll be going with a Western Digital like you all suggested.

One question I forgot to ask because I was assuming...
- Should I go with a true Radeon 9800 Pro from ATi, or is there a better 9800 Pro from a 3rd-party? Oh, and is it safe going "OEM"?

[hang10wannabe]

well what i did is i bought an athlon xp 1700+ thoroughbred with an epox nforce 2 mobo and 512 kingston hyperx pc2700 ram for ~$260 w/ tax...

the proc = $47
mobo = ~$90
ram = ~$98

and the proc can be overclocked to 2 gighertz (2400+) as my shogun and my friend james have proven... im only running mine at 1900+ though atm...

amd is better if you are on a budget and dont have much to spend...

[LPMiller]

Don't be such a hater.

[bachviet]

Originally posted by DarkFury

Go back to the AMD forum... from whence you came... He wants a "GOOD" computer, not some lame AMD. :pfft:


/me sweeps Hang10 back to the pits of hell (fueled by HEAT from the AMD chip in his PC) in the AMD forum... :angry:


:hihi:
AMD wouldn't be around this long if it's such a lame chip maker. :angry:

[attgig]

Originally posted by iLLWiLL
I always told myself that my next HD would be an IBM. Are these still good drives?



actually IBM doesn't make hard drives anymore.

[attgig]

and intel's wouldn't be so cheap if AMD wasn't around!

[iLLWiLL]

Originally posted by iLLWiLL
One question I forgot to ask because I was assuming...
- Should I go with a true Radeon 9800 Pro from ATi, or is there a better 9800 Pro from a 3rd-party? Oh, and is it safe going "OEM"?

[pagemap]

I just built a computer and here is what I ended up with:

Monitor: Samsung 955DF 19" Flatscreen CRT
P4 2.6GHz 800MHz FSB
512MB PC3200 RAM
80 Western Digital SE with 8MB cache
Abit IS7 motherboard
Zalman 7000-AlCu heatsink+fan

[sbp]

Originally posted by iLLWiLL
One question I forgot to ask because I was assuming...
- Should I go with a true Radeon 9800 Pro from ATi, or is there a better 9800 Pro from a 3rd-party? Oh, and is it safe going "OEM"?Built by ATI cards are made by Sapphire.

http://www.rage3d.com/board/showthread.php?s=&threadid=33710979

[Cantacuzene]

ATI cards made by Hercules are the suped up models and offer better preformance/features. Thes rest are pretty much the same.

[iLLWiLL]

thought I'd renew this thread rather than start a new one...



Is the Intel 3.0GHz with 800 MHz FSB what the "3.0C GHz" is? I'm just wondering the difference between a "3.0GHz" chip and "3.0C GHz" chip

Also, is the chip with 1MB cache the way to go?

:)

[yippiekiyeh]

The lettering difference tells you 2 things. The letter C tells you what kind of core it is (Northwood), and what kind of process (.13micron process).

The newer "E" is the Prescott core with the .09micron process.

Heh with that said I'm running:

Epox Nforce2 Board with 1024gig ram
2400+ AMD OC'd to 2600+ Mini OC for easy air cooling.
I also use the 80 gig WD drives. Had to RMA a crappy maxstor drive bah.
ATI 9600XT vid card.

With my next upgraded computer I think I'm going to be looking into getting a P4 2.4 or 2.8 Depending on how large my Tax return is :D

[Showtime]

Just get in on one of the Dell deals.

Btw, AMD kicks inhels ass in gaming. Can you say 6 four? I knew you could....

-jel:halo:

[Showtime]

Originally posted by DarkFury
Umm... what game YOU playing?

None of them to date can utilize the full potential of the the Athlon 64... so pretty much you're ponying up MUCHO cash for nothing now.

I'm sure that when the time is right, Intel will strike. Just wait...it's coming. :D

:nono:

AMD 64 runs faster in 32 bit mode than inhell does in 32. Clockspeed is so 2002. Yeah, I'll wait for wimptels big brother to show up just like I've been waiting on Nsuckdia's to come and get payback on ATI.

The hirearchy:
AMD
Apple
Palm
etc.
Intel

-jel:)

[Showtime]

Originally posted by DarkFury
BTW... have you read the latest copy of MaximumPC?

Pretty much if you wanna throw the 2.2Ghz Athon 64 in the mix, the 3.4Ghz & 3.2Ghz Pentium 4 Extremes (other PRICEY CPUs that I ain't buying right now either...) smashed the "64" all over the place.

Yeah, Athlon gonna have to come harder next time, and Intel probably is gonna be waitin' on it...

:nono: :bonk:

You go too far DF. Should of quit while you had the chance. Your actually comparing the $1,000.00 Extreme BS to the $300 AMD 64 3200? What was the performance difference, 10%? :hmm:
10% for 3 times the money must be a deal.

Ding Ding Ding!
Todays unanimous winner by TKO is jel!
:heh:

-jel:P

[gear02]

At least we know that DF is an intel fanboy :D

and I guess that means Jel is an AMD fanboy :D

me? I like both, and even apples...so call me a whore :D

wait...that's not good... :hmm:

[gear02]

ok...to be serious, I've been building computers since I bought a gateway in 1998 and realized it was much cheaper to build and upgrade by myself.

These days, however, I find that my biggest problem is cooling and noise. My computer is pretty loud and my temps are rarely below 55, even with a good cooling fan...my next computer (other than being a laptop) might be a purchased one since I can't get it quiet and cool enough for my liking.

[Showtime]

Originally posted by DarkFury
WHORE!!! :hihi:


BTW... being a fanboy, well... AMDs usually need em to keep their chipset cool. :D

<DING> FRIED CHICKEN!!! Order up! :lick:

<scuses, etc.>

All jel wins... is a sock for the foot he stuck in his mouth.

A W' is a W'!
When do I get my sock?

-jel:halo:

[BobyJo]

I would make a suggestion, I went with the 3.0Cx800fsb Intel cpu and then the ALCU7000a-AlCu hs fan from Zalman.
Great combo and heat is not a factor even up to 3.7ghz.
As far as the mobo, I went with the Abit IC7-Max3 mobo, this baby is great.
OC's like a champ and easy to get there.
I have never been a maximum OC'er so I have not done any MOD's to the mobo.
I think it is great just like it is.

If you are actually wanting someone to build the system and ship it to you, we would be happy to do so.
Just PM me and let me know exactly what you are wanting to do and about your budget on this.
We build Intel and AMD systems, and they are about the same price if we go with the AMD64 cpu along with a nF3 mobo and great memory.
Actually the AMD system may be a bit more expensive than the Intel.

[Showtime]

What are your voltage/temps? 3.7 is an above average oc on that core. Whats your memory running at?

-jel:halo:

[iLLWiLL]

Where did all of DarkFury's responses go from this thread?? He provided some good suggestions on what to buy. I can't even find what motherboard he recommended to buy...

[slaus]

Gotapex got hacked a few months ago and as a result someone deleted all his posts prior to that date.

[DarkFury]

Where did all of DarkFury's responses go from this thread?? He provided some good suggestions on what to buy. I can't even find what motherboard he recommended to buy...
Well if you were buying an "Intel" system, I always recommend the Asus brand of mobos...

Most likely we were talkin' about an ASUS P4C 800 Deluxe or the P4P 800 Deluxe... Those are the ones I trust. :thumb:

And yeah... it sucks that everything I wrote prior to a month ago got completely deleted. Dayuuum bastid hackers. :pfft:

[Showtime]

Yeah, I really like myself.... At least we have a couple of quotes for some sort of confirmation. :hmm: I can probably change the quote to anything I want now.... bwaahhahhaahaa!

-jel:halo:

[Kevster]

I am currently reconstructing my system - before my car accident I purchased the following:

AMD Athlon XP 2800/333

Gigabyte GA-7NNXP Motherboard
1 Seagate 200GB HD,
ATI Radeon 9800 Pro 128MB
Chieftec Aluminum 10-Bay Case
and I got a newer radiator, 5 1/4" Bay reservoir, a chipset waterblock and a couple HD coolers to go with my existing watercooling setup too so it should work nicely when it's done completed.

EDIT: I already had this: 512MB PC3200 Crucial DDR

All of this cost me just under $500 thanks to getting the case and extra watercooling stuff off Ebay.

[Showtime]

$500 for all that stuff? How?

Prices in my head for the stuff on your list:
$100
$100
$50?
$100
$200
$50+

Also if you were going to water cool, why not grab a 2500 or 2500mobile and oc it to 3200+ speeds?

-jel:halo:

[Kevster]

$500 for all that stuff? How?

Prices in my head for the stuff on your list:
$100
$100
$50?
$100
$200
$50+

Also if you were going to water cool, why not grab a 2500 or 2500mobile and oc it to 3200+ speeds?

-jel:halo:

Oops! I already had the memory. The processor is a typo too - it's a 2800+. Everything else is roughly accurate. The reason I went with a faster processor is because there was only a ~$22 price difference between a 2600 and a 2800. The 3000 barrier is where it goes up a bit more so I settled with a 2800. And yes, I'll be seeing how well I can push it. :)