Gaming PC Build - Suggestions?

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Hactar

Weaksauce
Joined
Jun 18, 2004
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Alright, so, just like everyone else I'm building a PC for college in the fall and I want to hear everyone's suggestions on what I'm getting.

Case: Basic Chenming Case or Cooler Master Centurion 5

PSU: Enermax Whisper 2 from the $1000 Upgrade Guide

Mobo: Asus A8N-SLI Deluxe

CPU: Athlon 3700 San Diego Core I chose the San Diego over the Venice 3500 because it had 1mb of cache instead of 512k. Is that worth the extra money?

Hard Drive: Maxtor 250gb with 16mb buffer - Is it worth the extra money for a 16mb buffer?

RAM: Corsair XMS 1Gb

Video Card: MSI 6800GT

Optical Drive: Asus 16x + CD-RW 52x32x52 Combo Drive

Monitor: ViewSonic 19" CRT - Not well versed in the area of monitors. Is this a decent choice?

Mouse: Logitech MX500

Speakers: I'm not going to buy speakers because I'll be living in a dorm, so can anyone suggest a decent pair of headphones that aren't retartedly expensive?

Also, I'm trying to cut the cost of this a little bit. The total is about 1500 so far, but If anyone has any suggestions for decent performance that cost a little bit less, please help me out.
 
I just checked Mwave.com and they have the 3800 AMD 64 X2, only thing is it has 512 cache. But Dual Core it's 388$
 
Do you plan on OC'ing? If yes, consider getting an aftermarket HSF.
I would get this case. The PSU in it isnt worth keeping, but the case itself is awesome. It has great air flow - room for 5 (The specs say 4, but they dont count the fan in the side) 80mm fans, and it looks very nice.
Also, depending on the games you're going to be playing, you might want to consider 1.5 or 2gb or ram.
 
The 16MB buffer is worth it. The 16MB buffer drives enjoy a performance advantage of at least 10% in most tasks, and are priced comparably to 8MB drives The only reason not to get one of the 16MB Maxtor drives is if you want a quiet drive, then you need to look at Samsung's drives.
 
WOW - I just took 15mins to type out exactley what and where i purchsed my 1300$ gaming setup. I messed up and it all got erased. I'll do it again half ass.

HD - looks good

cpu-
I got the venice 3200+, only 190bucks and you said you needed to save $
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16819103535

LCD -
Check out the fuji 19" LCD at the egg, it's $250 after MIR

Memory
I got a 1gig stick of crucial value. I plan to throw another in in a few months. your ram is too expensive there isnt really a point.
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16820146545

Case/psu- Your choices are good, this is just personally what i got.
I got the antec sonata II, looks great and comes with a nice psu. It's at the egg for 115shipped this week. I got mine from ebuyer.com for $111shipped.

Extra cooling-
http://www.jab-tech.com/customer/product.php?productid=3009&cat=81&page=1

Video card- x800xl
Just look around for a cheaper x800xl. I saw both the ATI x800xl and the connect3d x800xl for 260 and 250 shipped.
Heres what i got
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814161141

optical - Check out the NEC. Awesome reviews, you could save another 10bucks if you got the OEM but i wanted the software.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16827152052

mobo- Saves you some $ and it's a good mobo
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16813123236

Floppy- always good to have a cheap floppy
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16821103203

Id' really get speakers if I were you, speakers are fun for parties in college :p . I got the logitech x-530's for 40buckshipped from buy.com. You cant beat that.(check out hotdeals forum for more info.) I also got the SENNHEISER PC150 from buy.com for 42shipped. GREAT headset, you said you were gaming so i figured you'd want a mic instead of just a regular headphone set. I also got the logitech mx-518 for 36shipped from buy.com(great gaming mouse)

Thats basically a run down of what i'd suggest getting right now. I'm a noob but i think thats a pretty decent setup. I dont know if you need a keyboard too but i know many who use the lite-on $5 keyboard from newegg and it works great.
 
Addict, how well does the x800xl perform? The reason I went for an nvidia card was so that i could take advantage of SLI down the road. Is there a less expensive version of the 6800GT?
 
Down the raod being how long? a year? By then a whole new bread of vid card will be out by then.

The X800XL is a strong card that will play most any game.
 
spend 5 extra bucks and get a 510 or if you really want precision get a 518 for 40
 
That looks like a nice CRT. I dont like refurbs though.

I havent tested out the x800xl. I'm waiting for the rest of my stuff to get here then i'll be putting it together in about a week.

Like I said remedy I got the mx518 for 36shipped at buy.com

It seems to me like SLI is just for someone who wants to buy two 7800GTX's and have the best you can have. I could be wrong though.
 
CRT's: Smaller the dot pitch the better. The higher the refresh rate the better ( basically anything that will do 1600x1200 at 75hz or higher will cover it pretty well ), otherwise you might want to make sure the input on the monitor jives with the output on the video card or you might need a converter



I have a viewsonic p220f and its big, black, and could kill someone if you dropped it on them.
 
I also forgot to ask, does the A8N-SLI Deluxe come with decent onboard sound?
 
Hactar said:
How do I make sure that "the input on the monitor jives with the output on the video card "? lol

Oh, also, I saw this deal on newegg:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814133140

I get that video card, and I can get the 3500 for $218...Thats not too bad, I think i might go with that.
Click to expand...

well i've noticed alot of cards are coming with 2 dvi connections instead of one traditional type connector (what thats called escapes me at the moment) and 1 dvi. Just check the specs on the monitor as it relates to input, and then make sure you've got one of those on the back of whatever video card you get.

More than likely it wont be a problem, sorry if I confused you.
 
If this computer is for college and you're living in a dorm, you're gonna want to get an LCD. You dont have much room at all on your desk with a CRT.
 
Ruffian998 said:
If this computer is for college and you're living in a dorm, you're gonna want to get an LCD. You dont have much room at all on your desk with a CRT.
Click to expand...

I've visited my room already, and I do have enough room for a CRT. Good suggestion, though
 
This is what it says on newegg, on the monitor specs.

Connectivity
Input Video Compatibility : RGB analog (75 ohms, 0.7/1.0 Vp-p)
Input Connectors : D-Sub

For the videocard it says:

Ports
D-SUB 1
DVI 1


I have no idea what that means, and if it would work with that video card.
 
Hactar said:
This is what it says on newegg, on the monitor specs.

Connectivity
Input Video Compatibility : RGB analog (75 ohms, 0.7/1.0 Vp-p)
Input Connectors : D-Sub

For the videocard it says:

Ports
D-SUB 1
DVI 1


I have no idea what that means, and if it would work with that video card.
Click to expand...

Yeah it'll work. "D-Sub"
 
Really? I never heard anything about that happening. Has anyone else had that problem?
 
Hactar said:
Cool, thanks. On a side note, what is DVI?
Click to expand...

Digital video input

It's digital rather than analog. Your picture will be more crisp. If you can get an LCD with it then go for it. I got a 19" LCD with DVI input for 230bucks after MIR.

If your getting a CRT, prolly shouldnt really worry about it. ;)
 
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