Building my First PC

N

NunchakuKing

n00b
Joined
Jun 1, 2006
Messages
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First time putting together a "From Scratch" PC, I would really appreciate any advice, comments, tips anyone would like to contribute. I haven't ordered anything yet, but this is what I'm looking at right now. I'm aiming solely for a gaming machine. Looking to spend just over a grand. Coming from a Pent 4 2.8 ghz rig with a x850 Radeon vid Card so anything dual core with a decent card is going to smoke my current pc no doubt. :D But I'd like this to last me through my next few years of college I have left so I'd like a strong processor. I know very little about pcs so feel free to give me the brutal truth if I am way off:

Hard Drive Western Digital Raptor 10,000 RPM

Processor chip AMD Athlon 64 X2 5200+

Video card x1950pro

Mother Board CFX3200-DR

OCZ Platinum 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory

Thermatake Case
 
Id get my self a intel E6600 and a 680i mobo, high qualaty g-skill mem, and a nvidia Gpu other than that id rather reccomend the CM Stacker case than that.

Still if ur on a budget i would wait till summer after vista is out, there will be real DX10 cards at that time.
 
I see. So for a gaming machine You'd recommand Intel over AMD? Is there a real significance to processor speeds or are vid cards more important when it comes to performance in game?
 
everything looks good so far, you're going to need a power supply though. Use this to calculate your needs.
 
ahh thanks. The motherboard I have there.. I dont believe it supports DDR2 Memory sticks. I hear DDR2 is a lot faster that just DDR RAM, Any suggestions on a good motherboard that would fit my PC set-up?
 
NunchakuKing said:
I see. So for a gaming machine You'd recommand Intel over AMD? Is there a real significance to processor speeds or are vid cards more important when it comes to performance in game?
Click to expand...


Both are important and both can be limiting factors. Obviously you always want the fastest computer you can get within your budget (all other things equal, stability etc.) so if a 300 dollar intel processor performs better than a 300 dollar AMD then it's a no brainer. If you were deciding between getting a faster processor or getting a faster video card it'd be a tough call. I'd personally get the faster processor simply because it's a more difficult upgrade to make than a video card and video cards are one of the fastest depreciating computer parts, but that's just a personal preference.

edit: Oh and ESPECIALLY (not that you should do it for any build) if this is your first build, DO NOT skimp on the PSU or you may open yourself up to a lot of frustration and discouragement.
 
I see. I appreciate the input. Yeah I agree with the processor vs vid card comment. I was leaning that way myself. I'd rather get a top notch processor because I can upgrade my vid card more easily I think. Right now I'm real torn between 2 cards, the XFX Geforce 7900GT ($239), and the Radeon X1950pro($199).
 
NunchakuKing said:
I see. I appreciate the input. Yeah I agree with the processor vs vid card comment. I was leaning that way myself. I'd rather get a top notch processor because I can upgrade my vid card more easily I think. Right now I'm real torn between 2 cards, the XFX Geforce 7900GT ($239), and the Radeon X1950pro($199).
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go with the x1950pro as it will beat the 7900gt and I'd be going with e6600 intel c2d setup.
 
So I keep hearing e6600 over the AMD 5200+... Are e6600 processors just better straight out of the box? And if I did go with the e6600, Any suggestions on a good Motherboard to go with? I'm looking mainly for speed as this is definantly going to be my gaming machine. Thank you tisb0b for the input, I really appreciate the help.
 
That motherboard is Socket 939, the 5200+ is AM2 only.

If you're building a system from scratch a Core 2 Duo system will give you the most raw performance. If you prefer to stick with AMD then the 5200+ is no slouch, but I'd rather save some cash and buy the 5000+ and overclock it.

And don't skimp on the power supply.
 
So why exactly would you recommend the intel processor over the AMD Athlon? And any ideas on a good motherboard to use? Thats the one piece where I am totally in the dark. All I know is I need it to support dual chips, and DDR2 memory. Other than that I cant seem to syphon out the good cards from the ones I should avoid.
 
Rabid Badger said:
That motherboard is Socket 939, the 5200+ is AM2 only.

If you're building a system from scratch a Core 2 Duo system will give you the most raw performance. If you prefer to stick with AMD then the 5200+ is no slouch, but I'd rather save some cash and buy the 5000+ and overclock it.

And don't skimp on the power supply.
Click to expand...

Ahh. I see. I'm checking out the 5000+ processors now and price comparing. *EDIT* I also notice the 5000+ AMD processor is actually just about equal in price to the Intel e6600 that someone else on this thread was recommending. So is that a toss up or any opinions on which runs quicker? As far as the power supply goes I was looking at the FSP Group (Fortron Source) PCI Express, 450W Power Supply. Or the Thermaltake TR2
 
the e6600 will beat an fx-62 in practically every benchmark so its your best bet. For the motherboard how much do you intend on spending because any gigabyte or asus p5b would be good choices. For the psu I recommend this seasonic psu: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817151029 it should last you for numerous upgrades. Anyways don't waste money on a raptor get this 400gb samsung hdd: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822152046 as its got plenty of space and speed :)
 
NunchakuKing said:
Ahhh I see. Thank you. Hmm 500w is going to be the minimum I have to have then huh?
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well if your gonna be running an 8800 gts its nice to have that lee-way if you wanted to add more hdd's or anything else in the future :) and seasonic produces v.good quality psu that are also quiet.
 
That Seasonic is a solid PSU. Don't buy any Thermaltake that doesn't have Toughpower in the name.
 
Rabid Badger said:
That Seasonic is a solid PSU. Don't buy any Thermaltake that doesn't have Toughpower in the name.
Click to expand...

Sounds good. Any reason why the reviews are sort of mixed on Newegg? Does it run hot?
 
well not such mixed reviews. It's hard to get an accurate idea from a small sample pool (5 reviews total). The nature of computer parts is that sometimes they simply fail. It doesn't always mean the brand is shit, but that's where you get all the "I'll never buy an asus again" people when it's a great brand for example. Granted some brands are obviously higher quality than others, but sometimes it can be very luck of the draw. I can't personally vouch for the seasonic but it gets recommended a lot over here.

As far as processors, the Core Duo is a bit better. I'm not quite sure how much the quality AM2 motherboards cost vs. the good Core Duo ones so if you're on a budget maybe something to consider. And as far as power supply, 500W is a good number. You should be well under that number but spending a bit extra on a good high wattage PSU means u won't need to spend a lot extra when your system's PSU won't cut it.

As for the hard drive, once again if you're on a budget don't get the raptor, and if you do don't get a high storage one. It's good to run programs/your OS off of but for storage you'll want to just use any regular ol' hard drive.
 
This is why you should go with a Core2Duo:
http://anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/showdoc.aspx?i=2795&p=14
As stated earlier, the E6600 will probably be the best choice for a system that you want to last a few years+. Its $315 (or less) and outperforms an FX-62, which is at least double that price.

For more info on which PSUs are good, check out the PSU buying guide over at the psu subforum. They have a list of all the recommended PSUs, and also which ones to avoid.

What's your budget, and what does that budget include?

[EDIT]
Heh, I knew I saw another post from you that was different than this one, lol.
 
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