Computer died last night - Need your experienced advice!

W

Wilken

Limp Gawd
Joined
Feb 17, 2002
Messages
151
Hey all - I've built 2 sytems before. The one I was using died last night (built it about 5 years ago - Athlon Thunderbird).

Could you please review and ensure that all of these parts are compatible and a good bang for the buck? I've been pretty out of the loop.


1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Gaming - Modern Warfare 2
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
~$600
3) Where do you live?
New Jersey
4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. Please be very specific.
CPU, GPU, PSU, MOBO, HDD, RAM, Windows 7
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
DVD and CDRW drives (assuming IDE works with this system?). Also Lian Li ATX Case.
6) Will you be overclocking?
No
7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
22 inch LCD
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
Tonight/tomorrow
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? etc.
Onboard sound. Nothing else fancy - standard features
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license?
No - I want to upgrade to Windows 7.


TOTAL = $561

psu gpu combo OCZ 700w PSU PNY Geforce 9800 GT $172
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.308260

cpu amd phenom II 3.1ghz $99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103680

ram g skill 2gb $49
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231098


mobo gigabyte GA-MA770T-UD3P $80
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128392

HDD WD 500gb Caviar $56
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136073


OS Windows 7 $105
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116754



cables - do I need new cables for the HDD connection? I have IDE cables.

thermal paste - do the AMD CPUs come with thermal paste now or do I need arctic silver?
dvd drive - I have a dvd player that runs on IDE cable. Do I need something with SATA connections or is IDE ok with this set up?


Lastly - do you have a link for a contemporary system builders guide?


Thanks a ton for helping for a novice.
 
honestly if you have a copy of Windows XP, I would keep that and use the 105 for windows 7 to upgrade your GPU and CPU especially if you want to go with 2GB of ram, to have a nice gaming experience with 7 you need 4GB.

You could probably get an X3 720 and an ATI 4870/4890 with the difference

also, for a power supply look at the Antec Truepower New instead of OCZ.

You have one IDE port so use that for the DVD and the board will come with two SATA cables so your HD is covered.

and yes Thermal interface material is on the stock fan, but I would get a tube of artic silver and a freezer 64 pro, and do a little OCing myself, its too easy with the phenom black editions.
 
Last edited:
Im too clueless to OC at this point. Alright - so let' say I spent an additional $100.00 on this build. You'd recommend that I prioritize 4gb first then better GPU, then maybe a little bump in CPU power? I really want to get Windows 7...

Thanks
 
cables - do I need new cables for the HDD connection? I have IDE cables.
Click to expand...

No, the GA-MA770T-UD3P will come with SATA cables.

thermal paste - do the AMD CPUs come with thermal paste now or do I need arctic silver?
Click to expand...

The HSF's that come with AMD's have the thermal pad on them.

dvd drive - I have a dvd player that runs on IDE cable. Do I need something with SATA connections or is IDE ok with this set up?
Click to expand...

Really it's not a huge benefit to have SATA on your Optical drives, it's just much easier for cable management... but yea they are faster. I wouldn't say you would notice a difference.

I would stick with that GA-MA770T-UD3P mobo, but go with a DDR3 build with it. Consider pairing up AMD Athlon II X3 425 Rana 2.7GHz for $76 with FS, along with 2x2GB (4GB) G Skill DDR Memory for $95 with FS.

I would spring and get the ATI 5770, you can fit it in your budget: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161310 $165. If you want to not use your Windows XP then I would say save the cash, and get the ATI 4830 instead. That should run CoD4 quite well.

If you can find the Spinpoint F3 500GB hard drive on sale, grab that. For this I just grabbed the 500GB 7200.12 Seagate drive and had great luck with that with a build i just did a week ago.

This is on sale right now with a nice PSU: 500GB 7200.12 with 550VX PSU from Corsair $134.


$550 before shipping.

EDIT: Since you're adding $100 to this build, I would get the 5770 from ATI along with your new copy of WIndows 7.

Updated with a pic of shopping cart for reference:
captureuvs.jpg
 
Go with Cmustang87's build, especially if you're working with a $700 budget.

There are plenty of guides in the GenHard FAQ sticky on how to build a system.
 
Did you change the CPU from the Rana to the Phenom just to save cost or is there a technological advantage? I could potentially extend myself further to get the phenom if it's worth it? Will both CPUs work on that Mobo?

Thanks again for advice - im going to order later tonight.
 
With that processor you can unlock the other 2 cores and turn it into a quad core

my friend has that same chip and did the core unlocking procedure in the BIOS, you can do the same thing if you're willing to tinker around in the BIOS and read some guides on it, it isn't very hard.
 
Ok - so I went with this. A little over budget, but I figure it'll hold out longer:

 
just make sure you take my advice and learn how to unlock those extra 2 cores

that way instead of a dual core you'll have a quad core
 
Thanks, all. I am really looking forward to it. My computer that died was an Athlon Thunderbird 1.4ghz - this is a bit of an upgrade, haha.

Fail, I don't mean to be lazy but do you happen to have a link to a guide? If it's easy enough i'll definitely unlock the cores.

Cheers and Merry Christmas!
 
i think you can download win7 and run it without a key for 120 days. that will give you time to build your system and save money for a win7 key.
 
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