Building a system, noob, critics welcome

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CynicX

n00b
Joined
Feb 3, 2005
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Hey guys I've been browsing and searching your forum for a while and I must say most of you guys really know your stuff so excuse my ignorance. I'd really appreciate little tips before I pull out the credit card, positive or negitive....Also keep in mind I'm a electronic guru so I like the latest and greatest and things I wont even need....like my 70" Sony Wega..heheh

Here is what I'm looking at and what I want. But since I dont know all the ins and outs some of this might be a bad idea.

AMD 64 FX-55

Gigabyte K8NSNXP-939.....is this a good mobo?, I'm really uncertain at this point

1 gig of Corsair DDR PC3200....again not really sure about this

And I'm clueless on the case, of course its gotta be ATX.....everything I find comes with a PSU, is a 500 watt PSU that comes with say an Aspire case any good?...Should I look for a empty case and buy a better PSU, if so what am I looking for in the PSU?

oh and last but not least water cooling, I KNOW its not gonna be required but I love the idea and the guru in me wont take no for an answer....this is something I'll need some pointing in the right direction it will probably be a future upgrade

Where is a good place to buy this stuff? newegg.com?...a friend of mine told me to avoid tigerdirect...I dunno if hes full of it or what....

Thanks for any help in advance

PS. I used the search but everything that came up only kinda applied to my situation and I want to be certain before I dish out the cash....
 
Avoid TigerDirect, there are many many many problems that people have with them...

Look in the FAQ topic in the PSU forum (down farther on the main [H]ardForums site) for a list of good name/ bad name PSU's. Generic PSU's, in addition to failing often, will usually bring down your entire system with a big bang when they go out. A lower wattage name-brand PSU is almost ALWAYS better than a higher wattage, "dirty power"-supplying generic PSU.

NewEgg, ZipZoomFly, Outpost/Fry's are a few good places to buy stuff.

The RAM looks OK, but if you say what your budget is, we can try to give you a better set-up.

(I have no idea about the mobo)

Oh, and where is/are your videocard?
 
Thanks a ton stoopid guy.

Well I dont really have a budget heheh, But I'd like to stay within reason...I dunno 2000+/- or so including monitor if possible....just enough to get it up and running then I can upgrade further....

I havent gotten the video card but I was leaning toward the NVidia 6800...but if something doesnt work with the mobo or processor I can just as easy swing too ATI. Only reason I was choosing NVidia is because I owned 3 NVidia cards and all have operated flawlessly....

I'm building the system from the ground up....I have a few other systems but I dont want to part anything out, besides they are kind of out of date.....

I was talking to another computer literate friend. He recommended Asus mobo. So I might look into that a little bit.....
 
personally i would reccomend getting an fx-55.. if you have the money great.. but even with a $2000 budget.. you would spend nearly half on that..

i am going off the top of my head.. you have to basically research everything..

case: lian li, silverstone, antec, coolermaster... there are more nice cases... i would start with those..

motherboard: socket 939 a64.. i don't know what is hot right now.. they all have such similar names.. good brands are; asus, abit, dfi, msi, gigabyte, chaintec, really everything except asrock, ecs, pc chips.. but there are people that have problems with every brand.. more people will reccomend an asus or abit i would think than anything else though..

cpu; i don't know really exactly what to look for.. but socket 939 a64.. probably like a 3500+ 90nm or something.. see what people are having success with.. get something that you can oc to 2.6 ghz or so.. or get an fx-55 which runs that stock i think.. but costs 3 times more.

memory: g-skill comes up a lot now.. corsair, kingston, crucial, mushkin, ocz.. i am sure i am missing some.. patriot, pqi both with TCCD chips.

psu: you need something beefy.. pc power and cooling, enermax, fortron, sparkle, ocz modstream, antec, probably a $100+ psu. .but not all $100 psus are good..

video.. 6800, sli 6600's.. i don't know much about this, but the video card section is the most active on here..

hard drives: get a raptor or 2.. maybe raid 0, maybe not.. and a big, 250 gig or so for storage..

watercooling: i know nothing about really.. i think swiftec, danger den, i don't know.. look it up..

that's about it for now.. just look through each section of the form basically.. see what people are getting. .
 
That's all good info above. Will you be overclocking? If you will, you can get a cheaper processor and OC it to where the much more expensive proc would be, especially with a WC system.

In terms of video card, I'd say get a 6800Ultra, if you want immediate power. SLI will be useful for upgrades down the road, but for now, you're better going with a single more powerful GPU, since current games often don't support SLI.

Do you want an LCD monitor or a CRT? LCD's will take less space, but cost wayyyy more, and aren't yet as good for gaming (and if some recent stories on SlashDot are to be believed, don't offer a better video quality).
 
Thanks alot for the info....

I'd like to get the FX-55 so it last me awhile...thats the problem I'm having now, I basically cant upgrade anymore....My BEST desktop is a p4 2.0 512 ram, 2 western digital special edition, geforce 3.....

I cant really upgrade anything without upgrading the motherboard, then I can start modding it but the only thing I'll have left is 2 hard drives that I'll want to upgrade anyway....

I'll have to take a couple hours and start reading, thanks for the advice on the cases....I'm broadening my horizons with all these new sites and brand names....

Much appreciated
 
Stoopid Guy said:
That's all good info above. Will you be overclocking? If you will, you can get a cheaper processor and OC it to where the much more expensive proc would be, especially with a WC system.

In terms of video card, I'd say get a 6800Ultra, if you want immediate power. SLI will be useful for upgrades down the road, but for now, you're better going with a single more powerful GPU, since current games often don't support SLI.

Do you want an LCD monitor or a CRT? LCD's will take less space, but cost wayyyy more, and aren't yet as good for gaming (and if some recent stories on SlashDot are to be believed, don't offer a better video quality).
Click to expand...

Well I dont know anything about overclocking really. I know the basics I guess. So I don't really have any plans to overclock, unless its required to run an app of some sort. But if I can safely overclock and the WC will keep everything running properly then I might just for the heck of it....

I'd REALLY like to get an LCD. I've read some of the new 19" LCD's are a lot better but I still have a lot of research to do on that.
 
If money is no object, FX-55 is nice, but realize it will be about 1/2 the cost of your $2000 system. A 4000+ or 3800+ would be nearly as nice in reality. Of course, it all hinges on what you want to spend. You could spend another $2k putting in a RAID-5 hot-swappable Terabyte storage system, but woud it make sense?

I'm partial to MSI motherboards myself, but Abit, Asus, DFI are also well-known boards.

One thing I do suggest is that you get a Zalman CNPS7000B or CNPS 7700B to cool your processor. It's giant, it's heavy, but it is dead silent and effective, even running top speed. IMHO it is worth every penny.

If you're not looking for anything flashy in a case, I would also recommend looking at Antec. They are good, solid cases, and have many noise-supressing features.
 
Buckus said:
If money is no object, FX-55 is nice, but realize it will be about 1/2 the cost of your $2000 system. A 4000+ or 3800+ would be nearly as nice in reality. Of course, it all hinges on what you want to spend. You could spend another $2k putting in a RAID-5 hot-swappable Terabyte storage system, but woud it make sense?

I'm partial to MSI motherboards myself, but Abit, Asus, DFI are also well-known boards.

One thing I do suggest is that you get a Zalman CNPS7000B or CNPS 7700B to cool your processor. It's giant, it's heavy, but it is dead silent and effective, even running top speed. IMHO it is worth every penny.

If you're not looking for anything flashy in a case, I would also recommend looking at Antec. They are good, solid cases, and have many noise-supressing features.
Click to expand...

Yeah you guys are probably right...I'll probably look into a 4000...The benchmarks I've been reviewing seem to put the FX-55 barely above it. One even the 4000+ did better, I might be mistaken though I just skimmed the benchmarks....

After comparing prices it seems like the FX-55 is overpriced. Probably being the lastest and greatest has alot to do with that. If I get the 4000, OC it, WC it...I think the guru in me will be more the satisfied.

I was looking at the Zalman setup and it seems very nice, good looking, and effective. So I'll probably go with that.

I have alot of reading to do on motherboards, what to look for, what to avoid. As of right now I'm leaning toward an Asus. But we'll see.

I'm not looking for a spectacular case. But I do want something with plexi, you know, show that WC off a little.

Thanks for you help man, I really appreciate all the help you guys have given me and not bashing a noob :) ..... By the end of this weekend I plan to have some of this stuff ordered if possible....
 
My thoughts ...

Since you are looking for the AMD 939 FX-55

Look at the Ause SLI Mobo newegg
you can get it with the proc cheaper at mwave.com.

PSU I would say Antec or Enermax (My Choice would be Antec NeoPower 480)

The ram you picked or Kingston HyperX Low Lac Ram.

before you buy also check the rating

Then all you need is a couple of Nvidia 6800GT SLI Video cards...
 
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