Help me help my cousin

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KingNurple

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Oct 28, 2005
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My cousin is looking to build a new computer and I need your help. He works in the computer industry doing web design, but he wants to start playing some games and he doesn't know much about what makes a good gaming computer. If you could recommend some stuff for him I would appreciate it. BTW, he is looking to keep it around $900-1000.

He needs: a new case, a new motherboard, a new processor, a new power supply, new cooling, a new graphics card, a new soundcard, new memory, and a new harddrive. He has looked at an ABIT KN8 SLI Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 SLI ATX AMD Motherboard and a AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ 1GHz FSB Socket 939 Dual Core Processor Model ADA3800BVBOX, but if you have other recommendations, they are appreciated. He would also like to keep his harddrive Maxtor. Thanks.
 
That is really good, however I have not seen you post a video card he is getting. I would recommend going with an x1800xl.
 
Viper16 said:
Third the Seagate HD's

Is dual core really good for gaming?
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Dual core helps, I hear that upcoming will take advantage of dual core making gmaeplay alot smoother. As for getting a 7800gt over x1800xl I do not think it is a good idea. They cost about the same, x1800xl has better features.
 
air2k5 said:
That is really good, however I have not seen you post a video card he is getting. I would recommend going with an x1800xl.
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I've told him that he wants to get the best performance he can out of his video card, but he wants to try to save some money. I found an eVGA e-GeForce 6800, 128MB DDR, DVI/TV-Out, AGP 8x (128-A8-N343-AX) online for $190 and a eVGA NVIDIA e-GeForce FX 5500 256 MB, 128 bit DDR AGP 8X VGA/DVI/TV Video Card (256-A8-N313-LX) for $64. Both are from amazon.com. What do you think?
 
KingNurple said:
I've told him that he wants to get the best performance he can out of his video card, but he wants to try to save some money. I found an eVGA e-GeForce 6800, 128MB DDR, DVI/TV-Out, AGP 8x (128-A8-N343-AX) online for $190 and a eVGA NVIDIA e-GeForce FX 5500 256 MB, 128 bit DDR AGP 8X VGA/DVI/TV Video Card (256-A8-N313-LX) for $64. Both are from amazon.com. What do you think?
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Not a good idea. He will get a better performance and his rig will last him longer if e gets an 7800gt or x1800xl. get an s939 athlon 64 3500 venice or something that will save you some money that you can invest in getting a nicer card, hell you can even go with x1800xt!
 
DO NOT GET AN ABIT MOTHERBOARD.

While they made agruably the best Athlon XP board their ability to build a good motherboard and compile stable BIOS' has been lost. Most of Abit's top engineers went to DFI, and now they make arguably the best Athlon 64 motherboard.

Dual core is slightly better for gaming but most games only utilize one core. So if you buy a X2 3800+ that runs at 2.0Ghz you are basically gaming with the equivalent of a single core Athlon 64 3200+.

Suggestions:
Case = Cooler Master Centurion $58.99
CPU = Opteron 165 $298.99
Motherboard = EPoX EP-9NPA $107.99
Optical Drive = NEC 3550A DVD Burner $40.99
RAM = 1GB G.Skill $105.83
HDD = Seagate 200GB $108.49
Power Supply = Cooler Master Real Power 450W $66.98
Video Card = eVGA 6800GS $199.00

Total = $987.26

Alternatively you could just buy a single core Opteron 146 or 148 and use the money saved toward a better video card. But you still wouldn't have enough to even get a 7800GT.
 
air2k5 said:
Dual core helps, I hear that upcoming will take advantage of dual core making gmaeplay alot smoother. As for getting a 7800gt over x1800xl I do not think it is a good idea. They cost about the same, x1800xl has better features.
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As far as I know 7800gt is cheaper. I would go with a 7800gt
 
sabrewolf732 said:
As far as I know 7800gt is cheaper. I would go with a 7800gt
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its $20 cheaper, x1800xl is better, why not spend $20 more and buy a better card?
 
air2k5 said:
its $20 cheaper, x1800xl is better, why not spend $20 more and buy a better card?
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the XL is better in what? It is slower then the GT, and if you are talking about HQ AF, when you turn that on it is even slower.
 
Major_A said:
DO NOT GET AN ABIT MOTHERBOARD.

While they made agruably the best Athlon XP board their ability to build a good motherboard and compile stable BIOS' has been lost. Most of Abit's top engineers went to DFI, and now they make arguably the best Athlon 64 motherboard.
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Oh, please. I'd much prefer any Abit motherboard over a DFI, especially lately. Sure, on the NF3 front, DFI was great, I still use a few of the, actually. On the NF4 front, it was great for overclocking and smashing world records, but forget about easy setup and probably even stock stability. The sheer amount of effort involved in sorting through BIOSes was also a PITA. And don't even mention quality control on the NF4 lately.
As far as I concerned, the NF4 line was the last of DFIs greats. The NF3 Ultra-D is still causing headaches to anyone who cares to use it, and the RDX200 makes people scream.
I'd much prefer to take an AN8/KN8 board from Abit, and know that, although my overclock might not be stratospherically amazing, it will be so close so as not to matter. That, and stability is a term that can actually be used with an Abit. FTW!
That said...yeah, you had a great spec out for him there.
 
I guess I'm just a little, okay a lot, jaded by my Abit AV8. It is a big POS. I personally wouldn't buy a DFI board either. I've read too many problems on various forums, I was just pointing out that a lot of Abit's talent went to DFI.
 
KingNurple said:
I've told him that he wants to get the best performance he can out of his video card, but he wants to try to save some money. I found an eVGA e-GeForce 6800, 128MB DDR, DVI/TV-Out, AGP 8x (128-A8-N343-AX) online for $190 and a eVGA NVIDIA e-GeForce FX 5500 256 MB, 128 bit DDR AGP 8X VGA/DVI/TV Video Card (256-A8-N313-LX) for $64. Both are from amazon.com. What do you think?
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At this point, stay away from any FX series card. All but two were garbage, especially with Nvidia's new line.
 
IceWind said:
Uhhh cause a 7800GT will run circles and bitch slap a X1800xl.
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How is 7800GT better than x1800xl, AVIVO is awesome, then x1800xl having a better memoy controller plus it having HDR+AA. Then more features.
P.S: Go ahead and prove me wrong, it wil lactually help when time comes choosing a new card for my rig in a month.
 
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