need help building an SFF computer

[haldaruin]

I am going to build an SFF system for LAN gaming and need some help. I have spent most of the last nine months out of the technology loop because of college, so I'm not really sure what state the hardware scene is at and what hardware I need. I play a lot of BF1942, Rise of Nations, and Morrowind, and have little/no interest in Doom 3, Half-Life 2, and most of the new games aside from Far Cry and the next Splinter Cell. I also use Photoshop frequently and use my PC for listening to music and watching DVDs.
Any suggestions as to what to purchase would be appreciated. I have been an advocate of AMD for the last few years and would like to stick with a Socket A proc, and I like the Shuttle systems. I am looking for a computer which will hold up for a year or so, keeping the price under $1,000.
Thanks

 

[[H]ardYakka]

High Tech ATI RADEON 9800PRO Video Card, 128MB DDR, 256-bit, DVI/TV-Out, 8X AGP, Model "EXCALIBUR R9800PRO ICEQ " -RETAIL N82E16814161109 $239.99

AMD Athlon 64 3000+, 512KB L2 Cache 64-bit Processor - Retail N82E16819103486 $175.00

Geil Value Series 184 Pin 512MB DDR PC-3200 N82E16820144305 $84.00

Western Digital 80GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive, Model WD800JD, OEM Drive Only N82E16822135106 $71.00

Biostar iDEQ Barebone System for Socket 754 AMD Athlon 64 CPU, Model IDEQ200P
N82E16856115007 $219.00

This system takes into consideration that you already have working Monitor, Keyboard, Mouse, Speakers, DVD-Rom, etc. This thing will easily run any of the newest games with speed and quality. The number after each item starting with N is newegg.com part number and the price. They have the best price and service around. This totals up to under $900 and you have enough left over to upgrade some of the components if by chance someone has a suggestion on upgrading any of my recommendations.

 

[Woofer00]

I'd say drop the 9800 to a 9700, a64 to an axp-m, 80gb to 160gb, whatever case u please, and double ur ram. dual channel makes everything go happier.

 

[haldaruin]

I can afford either a 64-bit 3200+ or an AXP-M 2600+. Which one gives the best performance?

 

[Jozone]

I can afford either a 64-bit 3200+ or an AXP-M 2600+. Which one gives the best performance?

i'd deffinetly go 64 bit.

 

[Julian]

Second the 64-bit

Doubling the ram wont give you a performance increase greater than what your sacrificing in my opinion

 

[BrianTaylor]

I was considering a very similar setup, but really wanted something that I won't have to upgrade in 6 months. So I am waiting on the Shuttle SB95G5 (Socket 939). The lower end 939 chips should be out soon, and Shuttle says 95's will be available inside of a month.

I like the P4 box I have now, but I really don't want to have to deal with the Prescott heat bullshit. That and A64's just seem to perform better in gaming.

Brian Taylor

P.S. Just noticed the under-$1,000 comment. No way you will be able to do that with the SB95G5.

 

[ALYNCH75]

I have one and it runs great. I put it on a micor ATX board in and Antec Aria case. My question to you is you can get a similar setup most people who are really into gamming will add the Soundblaster Audigy platinum or a similar card. you can get a micro atx amd 64 board that has an AGP 8x slot and 3 pci slots and support for 3Gigs of memory with SATA and IDE on board. You can even get one with pci express slots althoug the pci express sloted boards are more expensive. I have 2 shuttle boxes and wouldn't trade them for the world but I;m now sticking with microatx form factor for now.

 

[haldaruin]

I may need to break the $1000 cap and get a better graphics card. Are there any cards in the price/performance range of the x800 pro and 6800gt that have problems fitting in the SN85G4v2 case or have trouble with the power supply?

 

[BrianTaylor]

All X800's series should be fine. And I did see at least one 6800GT that 2 slot, but most are single. So just look at it and make sure its single before you but it.

Brian Taylor

 

[ALYNCH75]

On this particular model that shuttle you mention if you purt one of those cards in you will not be able to use your pci slot. Just something you should take into consideration

 

[EnderW]

I was considering a very similar setup, but really wanted something that I won't have to upgrade in 6 months. So I am waiting on the Shuttle SB95G5 (Socket 939). The lower end 939 chips should be out soon, and Shuttle says 95's will be available inside of a month.

I like the P4 box I have now, but I really don't want to have to deal with the Prescott heat bullshit. That and A64's just seem to perform better in gaming.

Brian Taylor

P.S. Just noticed the under-$1,000 comment. No way you will be able to do that with the SB95G5.

hey do you know if they are going to make a socket 939 shuttle that holds 4 drives like the upcoming sb81p?

 

[ALYNCH75]

Shuttle needs to make a case that has better cooling something like the Antec Aria maybe a little less wide will do. Its a great idea for the case and shuttle would have the upper hand since they have cable management and sell them as kits. I would love to see em. As for the 939 who cares about the PINS there will always be something newer something better comming out and just when the price comes down low enuff for you to get one you will be waiting for the next. Why play catch up. Lets get real here most users with a P4 or AMD Athon XP at least a 2500 xp don't really need to buy a new CPU the software we use doesn't even use all that CPU power unless you are doing Audio/Video production and CAD...... Even with gamming we don't need to get the latest and greatest. Its all in your mind that ohhhh I get the latest graphics card and this will speed up. There is but so much the human eye can see,, the human ear can hear..... We are all fooling ourselves into wasting money. Some of us upgrade when new things come available but never even use them. My neghbor has a dual processor amd Opteron system,,,, now get this all he does is surf the web..... and do word processing what a waste you can do that with a 386, 486, you can even do it with a 286 my point is everyone should not be in a hurry to upgrade.... especially using operating sytems with bloated code,,,, and code that has so many holes in it, that its like saying here is my computer its open let me in...... We all stay stuck on Windows because everyone says well its the most that's out there... developers do the same so we get stuck using bloated software,,, paying outrageous prices,,, getting no support.... but giving away our hard earned money...... Maybe I will make a program .... market it and sell it..... give you no support...... and release updates to the already buggy OS that is here and change the name to fool you into thinking you are getting something better just for me to do the same again........ LINUX lives.........FREE BSD LIVES.... SCO UNIX lives somewhat.... Down with MS and all that support them. except for the few of us who need to dual boot because our trustly developers won't port Cakewalk Sonar or Adobee Audition over to LINUX.

 

[BrianTaylor]

To quote one of the finest movies of our time:

"No where in your rambling incoherent response did you come close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. We are all dumber for having listened to it. I award you no points and may God have mercy on your soul."

As for EnderW's original question. I have not heard of such product at this time, but since the P series are supposed to be the next design generation, it stands to reason that we would see one. However, considering the G5 one isn't even available yet, I wouldn't be counting on a socket 939 P series anytime soon. The advances in the P series are enough that most people would wait a few months to buy them, and that would cannibalize all the SB95G5 sales.

Brian Taylor

 

[ALYNCH75]

Not rambling my friend just making a point. Its my opinon not necessarily fact. Yes there is some factual information within my comments but its my opinion. To each his/her own. Your reply was quite assinine as to this is a forum at which we gather to hear ideas and opinions and gather information. So seeing how you know so much here is a quote for you "He who claims to know all really knows nothing" I thank you for your prayer I know you meant it as an insult but I take all prayers and receive it with gladness. Have a blessed day.

 

[EnderW]

As for EnderW's original question. I have not heard of such product at this time, but since the P series are supposed to be the next design generation, it stands to reason that we would see one. However, considering the G5 one isn't even available yet, I wouldn't be counting on a socket 939 P series anytime soon. The advances in the P series are enough that most people would wait a few months to buy them, and that would cannibalize all the SB95G5 sales.

yeah that's kinda what I was thinking

oh well, I probably won't upgrade until next year anyway, so maybe it will be out then

 

[Localan]

Shuttle needs to make a case that has better cooling something like the Antec Aria maybe a little less wide will do. Its a great idea for the case and shuttle would have the upper hand since they have cable management and sell them as kits. I would love to see em. As for the 939 who cares about the PINS there will always be something newer something better comming out and just when the price comes down low enuff for you to get one you will be waiting for the next. Why play catch up. Lets get real here most users with a P4 or AMD Athon XP at least a 2500 xp don't really need to buy a new CPU the software we use doesn't even use all that CPU power unless you are doing Audio/Video production and CAD...... Even with gamming we don't need to get the latest and greatest. Its all in your mind that ohhhh I get the latest graphics card and this will speed up. There is but so much the human eye can see,, the human ear can hear..... We are all fooling ourselves into wasting money. Some of us upgrade when new things come available but never even use them. My neghbor has a dual processor amd Opteron system,,,, now get this all he does is surf the web..... and do word processing what a waste you can do that with a 386, 486, you can even do it with a 286 my point is everyone should not be in a hurry to upgrade.... especially using operating sytems with bloated code,,,, and code that has so many holes in it, that its like saying here is my computer its open let me in...... We all stay stuck on Windows because everyone says well its the most that's out there... developers do the same so we get stuck using bloated software,,, paying outrageous prices,,, getting no support.... but giving away our hard earned money...... Maybe I will make a program .... market it and sell it..... give you no support...... and release updates to the already buggy OS that is here and change the name to fool you into thinking you are getting something better just for me to do the same again........ LINUX lives.........FREE BSD LIVES.... SCO UNIX lives somewhat.... Down with MS and all that support them. except for the few of us who need to dual boot because our trustly developers won't port Cakewalk Sonar or Adobee Audition over to LINUX.

Good point: You are going to need an OS (I got lost in the middle there, but I think he might prefer Windows or something? ) Don't forget to factor that into your costs.

As for the platform. Based on what you asked, you could also get one of the SN41G2 or similar (nVidia nForce2 chipset) Shuttles which would allow the use of a socket A processor which would save you some cash over that listed A64. I would in turn use that cash to upgrade to 1 Gig of RAM / upgrade the hard drive/ upgrade the video card.. A side effect here would be that the Shuttle would run cooler, yet still be plenty fast to play the games you listed.

Newegg refurbs can be your best friend here too if you are willing to risk the chance that a cable or something might be missing. My wife's Shuttle SN41G2 Black cost $170 through refurbs and came new-in-box as far as I could tell. Good luck. It is definitley do-able to do.


<----- thanks xENo!