Help Me Build! Please

[Brandon]

Ok guys ive already posted about some ram qs, but i just dont know what to pick from. I need Mobo, Processor, Memmory and vga card. I looking at about spending 850 bucks. Amd, Nvidia preffered. This is what i had in mind!

1.AMD Athlon 64 3000+, 512KB L2 Cache 64-bit Processor $146
2. SOLTEK "SL-K8AN2E-GR" NVIDIA nForce3 250Gb Chipset Motherboard For AMD Socket 754 CPU $89
3.Kingston ValueRAM Dual Channel Kit 184 Pin 1G(512MBx2) DDR PC-3200 $143
4.eVGA nVIDIA GeForce 6800GT Video Card, 256MB GDDR3, 256-Bit, DVI/TV-Out, 8X AGP, Model "256-A8-N344-AX" $388 bucks

This is what i had in mind but, I dont know if i really need a card that expensive . All i play is cs, bf1942 and city of heros. If you guys can help or direct me in the right direction i would appreciate it.

[LA_MERC_Sabre]

I would think that you could get a good video card for less than $200 for what you are using it for.

[LA_MERC_LaTech]

Man...when do you think you're going to upgrade again? If it's any time next year...WAIT. I mean, why spend the money now for a small gain when you can spend it later for a bigger gain?

Um...that really depends on what you're running now, I guess. What ARE you running now?

[LA_MERC_Dirge]

I think you need something with more vacuum tubes.

[LA_MERC_LaTech]

Yeah, solid state is the way to go.

[LA_MERC_Sabre]

I don't know....hybrids are the thing of the future...

[Brandon]

these are my specs now
1. amd 1700
2. chaintech mobo
3. 512 pc 2100
4. geforce4 ti 4200
i was looking at like the 6600gt but there pci ex. and the cheapest mobo ive seen so far was 265 for amd~! boo. not too many choices right now.

[LA_MERC_LaTech]

Well, I have a Soltek board right now, and for overclocking and just really tweaking the system, it's a GREAT board...very nice.

I would suggest getting a board that is PCI-E capable so that you can upgrade later. DDR2 support would be nice as well. But, that's just me. Honestly, if you can run the games you're playing with your video card, I would hold out on that for a bit.

[LA_MERC_Drifter]

The 6600gt is not only in pci express I bought the AGP 6600gt about a month ago. This is where I got mine. OBTW I upgraded from the same card you have now and it made a very noticeable difference.


http://www.gameve.com/gve/Store/ProductDetails.aspx?sku=VC-XFX-035

[}{y|3ri|)]

I don't know....hybrids are the thing of the future...
yay new quote for my signature!!! \o/

[Brandon]

drifter, i think this card i s what im looking for. Great price. You said there is a big difference? what kind of frame rates you think i can get on cs with it? Anyways tech is right maybe i should hold out for pci e but money sure does get hot in your pocket!

[-=C.O.P.S=-KOrruptED]

Well I just built a new box:
P4 3.4, Asus P5GDC-V Deluxe, 1 Gig Crucial 533 DDR2 RAM, Leadtek 6600GT, Toshiba OEM DVD-ROM, A-Top XBlade Case - All this came out to about $1,000. The most expensive part of my upgrade was my Dell 2001FP 20.1" LCD Monitor -$600.

BTW at work i have a P4 2.0ghz, 512RAM MX440, and I get a constant 100 fps.

[LA_MERC_Sabre]

I thought about changing to a P4 3.4ghz system from an AMD 2400xp......Fry's had a mobo combo for 179 bucs the other day.....

then I was looking at the AMD 64 3000, but it's only a 2 ghz machine....made me wonder which was better.

[-=C.O.P.S=-KOrruptED]

I don't update my box frequently, my last box was a P3 733 with 384 mhz. At the time I built that it was pretty top of the line.
But since 1.6 i haven't been getting good fps etc... so I decided to upgrade to a box which I know I won't need to upgrade anytime in the near future.

[Brandon]

ive been looking at some more mobos tech, I found an asus 754 for under a hundred but looks crappy then i went to the soltek website and found some new products, one being SL-K890Pro-754 but couldnt find any release dates or anything else! bah. If i cant find anything in the next two weeks im gonna go without the pci express and just get the 6600 or say to hell with and get the 6800gt either way im still under 400$<-not including vga!

[LA_MERC_Drifter]

drifter, i think this card i s what im looking for. Great price. You said there is a big difference? what kind of frame rates you think i can get on cs with it? Anyways tech is right maybe i should hold out for pci e but money sure does get hot in your pocket!


I am not so sure about frame rates. I was getting 100 fps with the old card on CS 1.6. I do know that all my settings on HL2 went from medium at best to high on everything but reflections in the water and it jumped up from being off to the next to highest setting. So if you are looking for a reasonably priced card this one is a great deal. There where some very good reviews on this card just can't remember where I read them at, but for running the newest games it ranked up there with the 6800 on everything up to 1024 x 768 best I can remember. Search the web and you can find the reviews then decide whether that extra $200 for the 6800 would be worth it to you.

[LA_MERC_eX1|eS' ch1|d]

Personally I usually go with a middle of the road computer because that's where I find the sweet spot for price versus performance. We all know that new chips and video cards come out every year, and when those new chips come out they drastically reduce the price of the "old" newest chip. If I had a lot of loose cash laying around I would probably build a supa l33tn3ss computer, but in reality it's only going to be the best for a year or so. So I go with a middle processor and video card, get a solid mobo, 1 gig of RAM. I think I've read that 60 fps is what you don't want to go below when you are gaming. Based on the games you said you play Brandon you don't need the best card on the market. I'm not positive about City of Heros but it's been out for a little while and I know BF1942 has been out over a year. So my question is are you playing CS: Source or just CS 1.6? Either way I think you will be fine with the 6600GT because my 9600XT runs Source fine, but with my connection speeds I haven't run Source that much to really check out everything about it at every resolution.

I'd get the 6600GT and keep the extra l00t for a nice headset, or some other thingy that I wanted.

[Brandon]

Um i was at reaps 's house on his road runner and i was getting 40 fps on source with my computerand then i see the default settingsare set at 300"WOW", compared to the 60-100fps i was getting on 1.6. Im seriously thing about going with 6600gt, but when i build this computer i dont plan on upgrading for a while you know what i mean. Ive been scrounging as is just for the spare 800 bucks. But i hear great thing about this card. The mobo is pretty cheap its self but tech has a soltek mobo and hes said it was fine. Ram? i have people telling me that you have to go with the expensive stuff but then i hear people say offbrand is just as good, its a hell of lot cheaper so i think ill go with the cheap stuff. Thanks chuck

[npor]

If I were you, I would save up for a future proof video card, something like a 6800GT if you are going the NVidia route. It all depends on how long you can wait for the prices to drop though.

On to the RAM. Unless you will be doing some overclocking, Kingston/Corsair value ram will be just fine.

[LA_MERC_eX1|eS' ch1|d]

Future proof? Is that a joke? There simply IS no future proof, sure it may get you by longer but it will never be future proof. Just ask my friend who thought he would never need a better video card than his 4mg Voodoo. Technology is moving way to fast right now. The most expensive card out there will get you by longer, but what it really comes down to is, is it worth the money? Everyone has there own answer for that question. Mine is an emphatic no it's not worth $500 for an extra 20 fps.

Oh yeah check your monitor out because it may not run flicker free at the higher resolutions anyway.

What you get in the RAM department is your own choice as I think most of them have warranties of 1 year or longer. I would still stick to something that at least 1 of your friends uses and has worked reliably for a year or 2. You don't want your RAM to die and have to go buy more a year from now.

[npor]

Future proof as in if he gets a good video card now, later down the road he can get a new build, CPU and mobo, whatever, and use his current video card.

Or, he could go ahead and get a cheap pci-e cpu/mobo and get a nice pci-e video card, to upgrade his cpu/mobo later down the road.

[Brandon]

wow is ram realy that unreliable. A year! pfff im hoping for at least 2 years. But anyways you know this topic comes up often and it gets a little tiresome hearing baout what car dis best but thers never a straight answer but i was reading in pc mag last night and bang for the buck wise, the 6600gt was it! Then they were talking about pci x, and they said right now theres not much difference, but later down the road pci will dominate, so here my other question? pci or stick with agp for now, because im not going pentium, no way no how. Amd will have ther shiznit out this year but the prices are gonna be high im sure, im not waiting 4 months for prices to get reasonable, f that my rig is so outdated now is holding together with bawcomville style engineering! lol. Oh yea and pc magazine is giving away this hot voodoo pc its worth lik 5000 gs. maybe ill just when this a say to hell with it all!

[npor]

Brandon, if you get a comp now, when will your next upgrade be?

[Brandon]

maybe 2 years down the road unless something taotaly badass comes out then i have to shell out the dough! Why?

[npor]

PCI-E will probably be mainstream by then, just something you might want to think about.

[LA_MERC_eX1|eS' ch1|d]

Npor has it right, it depends on how often you are planning on upgrading. If your upgrading every 2 years, which is about the schedule I'm on, then you can middle of the road your computer. About the time you are getting crappy fps on the newest games out you are due for a new computer.

I don't think their are any mobo's out for AMD with PCI-X on it, I've been wrong many times in the past though, so just get an AGP card if your hardcore AMD.

About the RAM I was saying if you buy the generic cheap stuff make sure it's not going to crap out on you. It should last you for years to come, but as with many things you get what you pay for.

[Brandon]

theres a few but there like 250 to 300 bucks! sucks!

[Brandon]

so if get the 6600gt i can still afford some good ram so iam under budget still so i think im gonna do that! and maybe get a new sound card

[-=C.O.P.S=-KOrruptED]

My Leadtek 6600GT is very good, again there is no real point to paying $400+ for a video card, just to play games. Also you can stably OC the Leadtek to get 100fps or close (depending on ur setup) in HL2.

[Brandon]

yea i just read a review and looked the benchmarks for the geforce 6600gt they were good, im sold. Oh yea npor i found a mother board at nerds.com this was the cheapest i found it (ASUS A8N-SLI DELUXE Motherboard
ATX - NVIDIA nForce 4 SLI - Athlon 64 FX - DDR SDRAM - 4 GB RAM Supported - 7 PCI Slots). This mother board is badass, just a little expensive. Oh and i found 2x512(1)g kingston hyperx memory for 229$ not bad for good quality gaming ram!

[-=C.O.P.S=-KOrruptED]

Yea and my Leadtek came with 3 games, Doom3, Prince of Persia and some other game. I haven't loaded them yet since my bro took them and haven't returned them yet.

[Brandon]

haha i just totaled it all up and if i get the 6600gt i can afford a new ps, cd-rom-dvd combo and a sound card (audigy gamer) and still be at budget. hahah woot!! Oh yea does anyone know if thers a product for your sound card that allows you to plug in your head phones without having to reach beehind the tower and unplug the speakers. I was looking but i couldnt find anything. Just the real expensive card come with front panel plugins. Thanks!!

[LA_MERC_Sabre]

get some speakers with the appropriate jacks on them (mic and sound)...that's what I have it works great.

[LA_MERC_LaTech]

that, or get a case that has audio port on the front (they're out there)

[-=C.O.P.S=-KOrruptED]

lol, i bought a case with the audio in the front, 2 usb ports and 1 firewire, i found all the wires except for the firewire :shootme: I think they put it there just for looks :dunno

[SnAkEbItE]

No, they make mB with built in Fire Wire and some have the onboard connection for more ports.

[-=C.O.P.S=-KOrruptED]

I have all the onboard connectors, but the case did not have the firewire wires.

[npor]

http://www.radioshack.com/product.asp?catalog%5Fname=CTLG&product%5Fid=26-204

[Brandon]

i have front mounted ports on my case, but i have a sound card im not using onboard sound see what im saying. need something that will run from my sound card up on top of my desk. Or something that will connect my card to my front panel jacks or just a control panel that i can put in bay.

[Brandon]

npor that is what i need. I wonder if it will distort my speakers any when i plug those. shouldnt though.

[npor]

Nah, I know tons of people that use them.