Help a newbie build his first computer

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[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Jun 14, 2004
Messages
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i've been planning on building a new desktop computer for a while and i've decided to do it this summer. I'm not planning on using it for heavy gaming but i plan on playing games like half-life2, doom3, counter-strike, halo, and other games. having perfect graphics isnt a major concern for me but i do want the games to run smoothly a look pretty good. The parts i've picked are:

Mobo: ASUS "P4S800D-E Deluxe" SiS655TX Chipset
CPU: P4 2.8E GHz 800MHz FSB, 1MB L2 Cache, Hyper Threading
RAM: Kingston Value Series 184 Pin 512MB DDR PC-3200
HDD: Maxtor 80GB 7200RPM
Video: ATI Radeon 9600Pro 128mb
Case: ASPIRE Turbo Case X-Dreamer

i've been looking on this forum, other forums and at newegg reviews and i've seen a lot of people say the powersupply for the case isnt very good so i wanted to know what kind of psu i should get or if this one will be fine. also since i'm a newbie when it comes to this stuff i'm not sure if all the hardware is compatible with eachother and if all the hardware will be good enough to do some mild gamming.
 
For games, I'd recommend an Athlon64 based system. It'd probably cost the same for an AMD64 3200+ with nforce3 250gbE motherboard.

Also, if you'll be wanting to play games like doom3 and stuff, get a Radeon 9800 Pro for around $200. They are the best deal in video cards right now, and are still good. They walk all over the Radeon 9600 series.

As for RAM, you might eventually need a GB of it sooner or later.

Case: not familiar with the PSU myself, but I always recommend an Antec TruePower 430 watt.
 
I'd definitely upgrade to a 9800pro. The 9600 just isn't cut it for decent gaming, especially for games like hl2 and doom3. There was a deal on here the other day where some retailer was selling them for $179, and you can expect to see prices only go down from here on out.
 
i guess i should have mentioned that i'm on a bit of a budget right now and the 9600pro is a cheaper version that i plan on upgrading by the end of the year and i'll def. be adding another 512mb of ram.

also i wont be buying for another 4-5 weeks so i'm sure there will be deals and price drops between then and now.
 
right now i only want to spend around $750

edit: thats with os too

right now i'm pretty set on the mobo, cpu, ram, and harddrive but i cant figure out which videocard and which case to get.
 
BillLeeLee said:
As for RAM, you might eventually need a GB of it sooner or later.
Click to expand...
he can stick with 512 for now and then upgrade later on when he needs to
 
i'm not too worried about graphics anyways because the main games i play are RTSs and the occasional FPS but i play most of those on xbox.
 
The X-Dreamer comes with the Turbolink 350W. I have had 6 X-Dreamers (Builds) and the Turbolink works fine.

looks like a good setup you have.
If you want to go intel thats fine.

I would buy the Gigabyte 9600XT from NewEgg 150.00 shipped, great card and has plenty of room for alittle overclocking.

Also the Adata PC4000 512 stick @ NewEgg is only 108.00 shipped, that would scale good with that Intel chip.

For 750.00 you have Plenty of Options , but what you have Looks fine.
 
bypolar said:
The X-Dreamer comes with the Turbolink 350W. I have had 6 X-Dreamers (Builds) and the Turbolink works fine.

I would buy the Gigabyte 9600XT from NewEgg 150.00 shipped, great card and has plenty of room for alittle overclocking.
Click to expand...

thanks for the comments and thinks for telling me about the case and psu... that was the main thing bothering me. and about the vid card... one step ahead of you. i saw it when i was looking on newegg ealier and added it to my wish list ;)
 
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