09-25-2004, 05:32 AM
I'm looking to assemble a new computer in the next month that will be quite solid at playing modern games, as well as having a relatively full feature set. I've done my reading and tried to come up with a solid computer, but I still feel a little shakey on some of the parts, especially the RAM. I'd really love some input on the components, as to be quite frank, I'm certain there are people out there who have more experience with computers than I do.
To note, if you have any thoughts on good retailers besides NewEgg, I'm Canadian, and while I am buying some of the parts from www.newegg.com , I am going to buy the heavier parts (as in, absurdly more to ship to the point of being more expensive) from places in Canada - So if you live in the GTA and know a good store, I'd really appreciate the address. (or website)
Processor
AMD Athlon 64 3200+
While the price on the 3000+ model looks really good on newegg, I imagine spending another $35 on the processor isn't so bad. I've had an AMD chip for years in my current computer, and it's always run fine. Past the point the fan died, in fact, it continued running, without a fan. It has a fan now, but it did go without one for a while.
I know that's anecdotal, but besides that, I'm a gamer and not an encoder, so I feel better about buying what I feel is more of a gaming chip.
link I am wondering however if the retail HSF is difficult to remove. I want to replace it with a Zalman model - Is this hard to do?
Cooling fan replacement
Zalman CNPS7000A-AlCu
It looks rather nice, and their website was really professional. Check out their flash videos on installation. Heh, I was shocked. I expected more engrish.
I don't really know much about coolers, though. This one just looks like it will do the job well. I plan on doing some overclocking once I'm sure the chip isn't bad, perhaps more towards the 90 day mark.
Motherboard
Not 100% on this one;
I'd like to get the DFI LanParty UT 250-GB. This I can only seem to pre-order from ncix.com, and comes to $159 CDN before taxes, which is $130 or so US dollars (round figure so as to account for market changes). That sounds pretty good to me, and the board got a great review from Anand. I'm looking for opinions on DFI in general.
I can also, if people think DFI is complete crap, go for the Asus or the MSI whichever you guys think is best. Personally, I'm thinking the DFI is first for my needs, then the Asus, and lastly the MSI.
Video card
Leadtek 6800 GT
Well, here's where I'm still not totally sure. A 6800 GT is about 380 to 420 to purchase, and then there's the different brands. There are also the ATi cards, of course. I personally had my eye on the Leadtek version of the 6800 GT, which has a really nice, big cooling device on it - Which leads to better overclocking or superior product life. It's not currently in stock at newegg, but it is $419, and I do have about a half month - month before I want to pick it up.
However if you gents have any other suggestions I'd be more than willing to listen to reason. I'm fine with buying a x800 XT, or any other brand of 6800 GT. Review sites really don't give me a good scope of information when it comes to brand quality. I do want to play Doom 3, and all, but I want the best card for the money I'm willing to spend. I am not entirely sure which one it is, since reviews seem to have been done over the maturing of the drivers, which has lead to some fragmented results.
Harddrives
I want to pair a WD Raptor 36.7 Gig drive listed here with this Seagate 200gb SATA listed here Simple configuration, just looking to pair a fast drive for OS / games with a slower but larger drive for other crap.
Memory
512x2 - Unsure
This is where I get really, well, confused. I honestly have no idea what to pick for RAM. I understand that the RAM bandwidth is important, and that the CAS timings seem to be a little less than important - I'd like to get something at CAS2.5 for overclocking, and not because I feel I need to scrape out 2% more performance for 200% the money. What brands are good? What goes well with the Athlon 64 boards? So on and so so forth.
At the moment I would just go with 2x512 Corsair Value Select, but I have no idea if that's good RAM or not. It's $150. Seems reasonably priced for a gig of RAM. Suggestions welcome!
Sound card
Creative Audigy 2 LE Gamer whatever
or
Creative Audigy 2 OEM
I am thinking of picking up one of these before the rebate runs out, since I desire to play a couple of those games and it's only a touch more expensive than this with the rebate offer. I know that Creative's cards are nothing special, but the feeling I'm getting is I don't have much choice if I want to play games :(
Halo and Splinter Cell are good on the PC, right? I've only played a little Halo.
(I'm probably going to buy this, this week, so if the gamer's edition lights on fire, please let me know immediately!)
Optical drive
NEC 3500A
This was recommended to me by someone on SH/SC
Phillips 108
This one is recommended (I think?) by Anandtech. Who I'm told are reliable.
I have no preference. I'd also like to pick up a simple, normal DVD drive, and I'm wondering what you gentlemen would profess as a "basic" model for that. Doesn't need to do anything special, just play DVDs and CDs.
Keyboard
Logitech MX700 Duo. Can be had in Canada for a stupidly overpriced amount of about a hundred CDN. I assume this is well regarded as a good keyboard set to pick up?
Monitor
I don't know. I'm thinking I'll have to go and look at monitors somewhere, but does anyone have any suggestions on a large CRT. I mean 19 inchs or more. I was really hoping to get a 21 inch, just to have something TRULY huge on my desk! And not a LCD, since I can just make space one way or the other. And I'm not a little kid, I can lift a big monitor.
I was thinking about getting the Viewsonic 220fb or something close to that. Anyone know anything about monitors? It's hard to just look at specs when it comes to monitors and obviously they can't be benchmarked :)
Case / PSU
Currently I have my heart set on the Thermaltake Xaser III Skull case, which is shown here with PSU, the stats for which are shown [urlhttp://www.thermaltake.com/purepower/w00089.htm]hereabouts[/url]. I've tried looking up the information for the power draw on the individual rails, but I'm not having much luck on that. If anyone can explain to me how I can calculate it out, well, I'd be grateful. I can buy the supply separately, if you guys want to suggest a better supply for my needs. I plan on adding another pair of harddrives over time, so give an idea of peak power draw expected.
That's about everything. I hope to get speakers as well, but I'm not going to trouble people with that sort of nonsense. Thanks for any help you can offer, any opinions would be nice as well :)
To note, if you have any thoughts on good retailers besides NewEgg, I'm Canadian, and while I am buying some of the parts from www.newegg.com , I am going to buy the heavier parts (as in, absurdly more to ship to the point of being more expensive) from places in Canada - So if you live in the GTA and know a good store, I'd really appreciate the address. (or website)
Processor
AMD Athlon 64 3200+
While the price on the 3000+ model looks really good on newegg, I imagine spending another $35 on the processor isn't so bad. I've had an AMD chip for years in my current computer, and it's always run fine. Past the point the fan died, in fact, it continued running, without a fan. It has a fan now, but it did go without one for a while.
I know that's anecdotal, but besides that, I'm a gamer and not an encoder, so I feel better about buying what I feel is more of a gaming chip.
link I am wondering however if the retail HSF is difficult to remove. I want to replace it with a Zalman model - Is this hard to do?
Cooling fan replacement
Zalman CNPS7000A-AlCu
It looks rather nice, and their website was really professional. Check out their flash videos on installation. Heh, I was shocked. I expected more engrish.
I don't really know much about coolers, though. This one just looks like it will do the job well. I plan on doing some overclocking once I'm sure the chip isn't bad, perhaps more towards the 90 day mark.
Motherboard
Not 100% on this one;
I'd like to get the DFI LanParty UT 250-GB. This I can only seem to pre-order from ncix.com, and comes to $159 CDN before taxes, which is $130 or so US dollars (round figure so as to account for market changes). That sounds pretty good to me, and the board got a great review from Anand. I'm looking for opinions on DFI in general.
I can also, if people think DFI is complete crap, go for the Asus or the MSI whichever you guys think is best. Personally, I'm thinking the DFI is first for my needs, then the Asus, and lastly the MSI.
Video card
Leadtek 6800 GT
Well, here's where I'm still not totally sure. A 6800 GT is about 380 to 420 to purchase, and then there's the different brands. There are also the ATi cards, of course. I personally had my eye on the Leadtek version of the 6800 GT, which has a really nice, big cooling device on it - Which leads to better overclocking or superior product life. It's not currently in stock at newegg, but it is $419, and I do have about a half month - month before I want to pick it up.
However if you gents have any other suggestions I'd be more than willing to listen to reason. I'm fine with buying a x800 XT, or any other brand of 6800 GT. Review sites really don't give me a good scope of information when it comes to brand quality. I do want to play Doom 3, and all, but I want the best card for the money I'm willing to spend. I am not entirely sure which one it is, since reviews seem to have been done over the maturing of the drivers, which has lead to some fragmented results.
Harddrives
I want to pair a WD Raptor 36.7 Gig drive listed here with this Seagate 200gb SATA listed here Simple configuration, just looking to pair a fast drive for OS / games with a slower but larger drive for other crap.
Memory
512x2 - Unsure
This is where I get really, well, confused. I honestly have no idea what to pick for RAM. I understand that the RAM bandwidth is important, and that the CAS timings seem to be a little less than important - I'd like to get something at CAS2.5 for overclocking, and not because I feel I need to scrape out 2% more performance for 200% the money. What brands are good? What goes well with the Athlon 64 boards? So on and so so forth.
At the moment I would just go with 2x512 Corsair Value Select, but I have no idea if that's good RAM or not. It's $150. Seems reasonably priced for a gig of RAM. Suggestions welcome!
Sound card
Creative Audigy 2 LE Gamer whatever
or
Creative Audigy 2 OEM
I am thinking of picking up one of these before the rebate runs out, since I desire to play a couple of those games and it's only a touch more expensive than this with the rebate offer. I know that Creative's cards are nothing special, but the feeling I'm getting is I don't have much choice if I want to play games :(
Halo and Splinter Cell are good on the PC, right? I've only played a little Halo.
(I'm probably going to buy this, this week, so if the gamer's edition lights on fire, please let me know immediately!)
Optical drive
NEC 3500A
This was recommended to me by someone on SH/SC
Phillips 108
This one is recommended (I think?) by Anandtech. Who I'm told are reliable.
I have no preference. I'd also like to pick up a simple, normal DVD drive, and I'm wondering what you gentlemen would profess as a "basic" model for that. Doesn't need to do anything special, just play DVDs and CDs.
Keyboard
Logitech MX700 Duo. Can be had in Canada for a stupidly overpriced amount of about a hundred CDN. I assume this is well regarded as a good keyboard set to pick up?
Monitor
I don't know. I'm thinking I'll have to go and look at monitors somewhere, but does anyone have any suggestions on a large CRT. I mean 19 inchs or more. I was really hoping to get a 21 inch, just to have something TRULY huge on my desk! And not a LCD, since I can just make space one way or the other. And I'm not a little kid, I can lift a big monitor.
I was thinking about getting the Viewsonic 220fb or something close to that. Anyone know anything about monitors? It's hard to just look at specs when it comes to monitors and obviously they can't be benchmarked :)
Case / PSU
Currently I have my heart set on the Thermaltake Xaser III Skull case, which is shown here with PSU, the stats for which are shown [urlhttp://www.thermaltake.com/purepower/w00089.htm]hereabouts[/url]. I've tried looking up the information for the power draw on the individual rails, but I'm not having much luck on that. If anyone can explain to me how I can calculate it out, well, I'd be grateful. I can buy the supply separately, if you guys want to suggest a better supply for my needs. I plan on adding another pair of harddrives over time, so give an idea of peak power draw expected.
That's about everything. I hope to get speakers as well, but I'm not going to trouble people with that sort of nonsense. Thanks for any help you can offer, any opinions would be nice as well :)
My other mount is a Spiderdrake