Building a computer... Need opinions

G

genocide

Limp Gawd
Joined
Jan 1, 2007
Messages
295
I'm building a computer for gaming, but I'm on a 650 budget..

How does this sound?

Case: <a href="http://www.msplinks.com/MDFodHRwOi8vd3d3Lm5ld2VnZy5jb20vcHJvZHVjdC9wcm9kdWN0LmFzcD9pdGVtPU44MkUxNjgxMTE0NDE1Mg==">Click</a><br><br>Mobo: <a href="http://www.msplinks.com/MDFodHRwOi8vd3d3Lm5ld2VnZy5jb20vcHJvZHVjdC9wcm9kdWN0LmFzcD9pdGVtPU44MkUxNjgxMzEyODAzNA==">Click</a><br><br>Video Card: <a href="http://www.msplinks.com/MDFodHRwOi8vd3d3Lm5ld2VnZy5jb20vcHJvZHVjdC9wcm9kdWN0LmFzcD9pdGVtPU44MkUxNjgxNDE4NjAyMg==">click</a><br><br>PSU: <a href="http://www.msplinks.com/MDFodHRwOi8vd3d3Lm5ld2VnZy5jb20vcHJvZHVjdC9wcm9kdWN0LmFzcD9pdGVtPU44MkUxNjgxNzE4MjAxNg==">click</a><br><br>CPU: <a href="http://www.msplinks.com/MDFodHRwOi8vd3d3Lm5ld2VnZy5jb20vcHJvZHVjdC9wcm9kdWN0LmFzcD9pdGVtPU44MkUxNjgxOTEwMzc4MA==">Click</a><br><br>RAM: <a href="http://www.msplinks.com/MDFodHRwOi8vd3d3Lm5ld2VnZy5jb20vcHJvZHVjdC9wcm9kdWN0LmFzcD9pdGVtPU44MkUxNjgyMDE0NTAzNA==">Click</a><br><br>HD: <a href="http://www.msplinks.com/MDFodHRwOi8vd3d3Lm5ld2VnZy5jb20vcHJvZHVjdC9wcm9kdWN0LmFzcD9pdGVtPU44MkUxNjgyMjE0NDcwMQ==">click</a>
 
Maybe you could list the parts the old fashioned way.

Myspace links don't work well with all sites, apparently newegg being one of them.
 
Yeah, I kinda found that out... Haha.


Um, I'd rather just chat on AIM.... So if anyone has it.. IM me (DanielLovesDerby)
 
ur Radeon X1950XT performs better than that 8600GTS, if ur gonna go for DX10 get atleast a 8800GTS
 
definitely ditch the 8600 video card, I have the same videocard you do (X1950XT) and I havent had any problems with dx9 games, like WIC, CS:Source, ect... @ 1680x1050
 
That case, IMO *blows* - hard. For a similar price range, there's the far better looking, feature packed, and all around better case, there's the Coolermaster RC690 (review).If my memory serves, it comes w/ 3x120's (1 or 2 of which are blue lit if you go for that stuff), with a possibility of 7 total fans, most if not all which are capable of holding 140mm fans. For that fact alone (fan size), I'd take the CM over the Apevia/Aspire (or any other 80mm equipped case). If you want to try and bring down the price a bit on the case, you can trying searching (ie: froogle/google) - there was a $20 MIR going on the case within the last week or two.

The PSU, while [probably] not a total pile (I *think* it's an ATNG, like their top end Extreme's, but a lesser model), could be better. I'd go for the Corsair 450VX, @ $75 ($55AR)/free ship @ ZZF...Known quality (check for the [H] review and others), and 5 year warranty (Rosewill/Newegg has 2 maybe 3 tops).

I had/have the same HD in my Opteron rig, and it was a good choice... Quiet (NEVER heard it, where as my new 7200.10 Seagate/500GB drive has some comparatively LOUD seek noises. The rest of the choices, not bad I guess, but I've been kind of out of the AMD loop since S939, and in the last 2 weeks went Intel (for the first time). Anyway, since you didn't post any specifics (usage: games/other software, monitor res, etc), it's kind of hard to really make a definitive suggestion on mobo/cpu/gfx for example..

But IMO, I'd go for an Intel e4xx0/P35 based setup. You can grab a 4300 for ~$105-110, 4400 for ~$120-125, and an Abit IP35-e for ~$70-80 (AR). Easily keeps pace w/ an equivalent AMD, and can overclock the piss out of them, even on stock air. Or to trim the CPU budget even further, you can grab an e2140/e2160 for under $70-80 (retail, OEM @ ~$5 less), they're little more than even further castrated e4xx0's (1MB cache vs 4000 series @ 2MB (?)). I really doubt you'd notice the difference from the cache size, and they overclock just as well. My e2140 (retail from eWiz/$66) hit nearly 3GHz (~85% o/c), no problem w/ little>no tweaking (may be more left in it yet, running 1.35v), with an e2160, 3.2 or more should be possible.
 
Unlike enginurd here, I had some time to click through all your links.

First thing first, if you like that Apevia case, then go for it. It's your choice. With that said, I agree with Kush, the RC690 is a better case for that price.

Second, ditch the 8600GTS. The x1950Pro out performs it by quite a margin. And it's only $135:
Sapphire 100176L Radeon X1950PRO 256MB PCI-E Video Card - $137

Third, ditch the PSU. I'd get the XClio Goodpower 500W instead since it's CWT built PSU, meaning its of better quality than that Rosewill.

Fourth, ditch the RAM. That Corsair RAM isn't worth the price. I'd get this set of RAM instead:
G.SKILL F2-6400CL5D-2GBNQ 2 x 1GB DDR2 800 RAM - $66

Fifth, for about $10 to $15 more, you can get an extra 70GB of storage:
Western Digital 320GB SATA Hard Drive - $80
Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 320GB 7200RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - $85

The WD drive comes with a 3 year warranty and, as already noted, a pretty quiet drive. However the Seagate drive comes with a 5 year warranty, is slightly loud compared to the WD, and is faster drive I believe. You decide.

Sixth, if you're not planning on overclocking and keeping things at stock speeds, then stay with the AMD build. However, go with this AMD mobo since it has better features (better integrated graphics, onboard HDMI port, etc) for only $5 more:
Gigabyte GA-MA69GM-S2H AMD 690G mATX Motherboard - $80

And lastly, you may want to check out this article and decide whether or not you want to go with an AMD build:
http://anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/showdoc.aspx?i=3112
 
I agree with Danny... yes, blindly, since I don't know what your original parts are, hehe (But Danny's recommendations are good).
 
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