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Ultimate Doom3 Ready System [Help]

M

Magicn00b

n00b
Joined
Jul 18, 2004
Messages
11
Hey everyone. As you can see I'm brand new here. :)

Don't burn me at the stake for asking this, but I need help. I’m not extremely experienced with computers; in fact I’m lucky I even found this forum. But hey, that’s why I’m asking. Here's my issue. My son’s birthday is coming up, ironically the day after Doom3 is set to launch, August 5th from what I hear. He has a handed down computer that has no chance of playing Doom3 since it's only 1.0 GHZ and he has been talking about this game for well over a year now.

In getting this system money isn't really a concern so feel free to go extreme and say a dream system. The only rule being that I want to buy the parts and not a prefabricated system since he likes to build these sorts of things himself. The idea being that I could give him a box of parts from the store and he could dig into it himself and build it. We already have Windows XP Professional. If someone could give me an A+ list of parts that will fly through this game like its yesterdays big thing that would be great.

Thank you ahead of time. :)
 
a nerd/geek to the rescue huh...
you need a budget before u get going
more expensive setup
1.cpu - amd64 939 - $600
2.mobo - any board will do check out Abit/Asus/Gigabyte - $120
3.antec sonata or comparable case w/ antec psu that does over 350w <-this is your choosing just watch the power supply. $100
4. lite-on combo drive, 52x writer with dvd reader $60
5. hard drive - something simple like a 7200rpm 8mb cache 120gig should do go with seagate, hp or maxtor, u can check newegg.com for reviews on that - 80
6. ram is about 200 for a gig which is what doom 3 is probably gonna need
7. cpu fan/heatsink. slk900a-and a 80mm fan for the top of it. 45
8. video card, BFG 6800GT OC - 400 or 6800 non GT or Ultra for 280 at newegg.
9. just recycle everything else, a new monitor will help greatly if u need one. CRT at 19" cost about 250 and 19" is about 700.
If u want a cheaper solution give me a price. thats just the basics but should suit nicely for doom3.
Welcome to the Forums as well, hope that helps.
 
Qwertyman, thank you for your prompt reply. There is no budget.

I want to get the parts for the absolute best system that can be built.
 
I'd spend like ~900 on a system and then use my unlimted budget for a computer and buy a pool table or something.
 
Pretty much what Qwerty said should suit your needs pretty well. I'd suggest a Power supply larger than 350w as well, brand name, Antec True480w etc., or if you want to get into the big bucks You can go with PC Power & Cooling, their 510w Deluxe model is about $220, but from what people say, it is worth every penny in reliability and performance, plus they come with a 5-year warranty. If money isn't a concern, I'd definitely go with one, I'll probably be getting one in my next system. Mainly I'd go with a bigger PSU just because, everything is consuming more power lately and I definitely wouldn't skimp on the power supply, especially on a high-end system. It is also good to have around so hopefully you can throw it in your next system and not have to worry about the power requirements on your new hardware as much.

For your motherboard like qwerty said, find one that supports your CPU (of course) and get one of the more reputable brands, such as Abit, Asus, etc. as he listed, as always do a little research on the board prior to purchase so that you can prepare yourself with any possible issues, etc. if any exist.

For the 1GB of RAM get a decent brand name(Corsair, Kingston Hyper-X, etc.), don't buy those cheap specials that you see in the paper like Fry's or the ones with all those mail in rebates. The cheap stuff (or as I like to call it, ECD, El Cheapo Deluxe) will most likely just give you problems. Depending on what you get you can be looking at $200-$300+.

Pretty much what qwerty said covered it, I just thought I'd throw in a couple words just to give you some more input. Good luck.
 
Here's my opinion (using Qwertyman's post as a base):
AMD Athlon64 by far - maybe 3200+ or 3400+.
mobo - I have to recomend ASUS, they make great mobos and have great features. Maybe go for a dual channel motherboard, that will have better perfromance.
vid card: X800XT, again ASUS make great cards but so do other brands. I would suggest the 256MB variants but I have heard a lot of bad things due to bad RAM on them.
RAM: Kingston, Corsair, at least a gig of it to play Doom3.
At least 120 - 160 gig hard drive, 80 is too little now days.
Case: well any case that looks good, really ;).
PSU: Antec, at least 350 watts.
CD burner combo drive, Lite-On definatly.
Sound card: Hercules or Creative cards, it doesn't really matter, they have similat features and support, although you may wish to go with the Creative Audigy2 (have heard a lot of good reviews).
Monitor: 19 inch at least for the best experience.

Hope this helps.
 
Ok, with Qwerties help, he's helped me narrow down to:

Already have bought the following on my own:
(x2) 23-inch Apple Cinema HD Display [M9178LL/A] (x2) with the PC cable adapter thingy.
Klipsh ProMedia 5.1 speakers (I was told by store clerk they were still better than 7.1's?)
http://www.antec.com/us/pro_details_enclosure.php?ProdID=81046
Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS

Qwerties help:
AMD Athlon 64 FX-53 (With Fan)
ATI RADEON X800 PRO Video Card
Western Digital Raptor 74gig (x2)


What else do I need?
 
well in talking to him, here's what he has so far:
Klipsch 5.1
2! Apple 23" LCD's!
Antec Server case with 400w psu
i said he should upgrade the psu, which the rest of you recommended.
how about an fx53, and i have no idea what heatsink.
Also what ram, i'm thinking Corsair 3200 Extreme stuff, or Kingston HyperX 3500 or 4000.
What else X800XT PE? because it seems money is no object.
 
Ok, building upon:
http://www.hardforum.com/showpost.php?p=1026324655&postcount=10

Someone above stated that 74gigs isnt enough thees days? What should I get then? I just want the parts to go together and work after he plugs it all in. Does anyone have links to these motherboards that will work with the AMD Athlon 64 FX-53 (boxed). I think I decided on that becuase from what I've heard frm Qwerty, it "kicks major ass." So what motherboard do I need for that processor. In my incredible lack of experience with computers I'm asking you guys to guide me. The folks at the store have told me to stick with registered Corsair XMS ram(I googled for its proper spelling, haha). Is that a good decision over here or am I going wrong way?

Should I preorder this ATI card that Qwerty told me about, the Platinum Edition of the X800?
 
Here's the computer I'm getting from Monarchcomputer.com for Doom 3 and beyond:

Custom Modified Athlon 64/FX 939 PC - built by Monarch $100.00 $100.00
Cases: 100073 - NO PS - Lian-Li PC-V1000 Aluminum Ultra Q $199.00 $199.00
Power Supply: 100925 - PS 550W - Enermax EG651P-VE (FMA) 550 Wat $119.00 $119.00
Case Fan: None
Clear Side Panel: None
Motherboard: 110723 - Asus A8V Deluxe K8T890 Audio/GB-LAN/IEEE/ $215.00 $215.00
Processor: 120461 - AMD Athlon 64 FX-53 (939) $833.00 $833.00 $833.00
Thermal Grease: 800018 - Shin-Etsu G675 Thermal Grease (Cools CPU $13.00 $13.00
Heat Sink Fan: 130956 - Thermaltake A1770 AMD Opteron Heasink w/F $32.47 $32.47
Memory: 140308 - DDR (400) 3200 - 2 GB (2 pcs 1GB) Corsair $559.00 $559.00
Second Memory: None
Hard Drive: 150239 - SATA - Western Digital (WD740GD) 74 GB/10 $197.00 $197.00
2nd Hard Drive: 152239 - SATA - Western Digital (WD740GD) 74 GB/10 $197.00 $197.00
3rd Hard Drive: None
4th Hard Drive: None
Add On Card: None
RAID Setup: RAID-0
CD Drive: 160521 - DVD-ROM - Sony DDU1621/SV 16X DVD 40X CD- $39.00 $39.00
CD-RW Drive: 160807 - CD-RW - Plextor PX-Premium/SW 52X32X52 CD $82.00 $82.00
DVD/DVD-RW: None
Floppy Drive: 170101 - Mitsumi 1.44 MB 3.5" Floppy Drive $15.25 $15.25
Sounds Card: 180329 - Creative Audigy 2 ZS 24BIT/5.1/IEEE/MIDI/ $96.00 $96.00
Video Card: 190436 - BFG 6800Ultra-DVD256 nVIDIA GeForce 6800- $580.00 $580.00
Network Card: None
Mod Kits: None
Round Cable: None
Case Light: None
Case Function Add On: None
Noise Killer: None
Operating System: 210112 - Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition (2002 V $89.00 $89.00
Additional Software: None
T-shirt: None
Warranty: 800072 - 24/7 Tech Support + Plus 3 Year Onsite Wa
Hot Rush: None - Standard Order ( ships within 8-13 business
Far Cry Promotion: 270846 - FREE Full DVD Version of Far Cry - $39.95
Subtotal for 800065 with your selected options: $3,365.72

I will get the NEC FP2141SB 22 inch monitor and Klipsch Ultra 5.1 from Newegg. Unless you go liquid cooled and get an NVIDIA Ultra Extreme video card, I don't think you can get much faster for Doom 3.
 
Splooger, will it be easy to go liquid cooling in future with the case I got for him? We live in Arizona so the temperature here is in the extremes, but this isnt going to be leaving the house and we keep the house at around 75F in the summer. Will that work out fine?
 
Magicn00b said:
Splooger, will it be easy to go liquid cooling in future with the case I got for him? We live in Arizona so the temperature here is in the extremes, but this isnt going to be leaving the house and we keep the house at around 75F in the summer. Will that work out fine?
Click to expand...

I don't know how to overclock and I don't know how to set up water cooling so I can't help you in that area. The components I chose are the fastest I could get without getting into water cooling and overclocking. The fastest video card for Doom 3 will probably be a water cooled 6800 Ultra Extreme.
 
splooger said:
I don't know how to overclock and I don't know how to set up water cooling so I can't help you in that area. The components I chose are the fastest I could get without getting into water cooling and overclocking. The fastest video card for Doom 3 will probably be a water cooled 6800 Ultra Extreme.
Click to expand...
Then I guess I'll have to go one level down from that. Water cooling sounds like you have to rip the hardware apart and do crap to it. it sounds sinister. So Ill stik with plain ol fans for him.
 
gotta say...OMG...what a lucky kid! :p

neway, me being a noob also, has a question, what's the difference between Wd 120GB Sata HD and WD 74GB Raptor? (Not talking about GB's) if the 74 is better...then does the price justify for it if i'm not ocing?
 
Overclocking has nothing to do with hard drives but for RAM and CPU, etc. For your everyday use (non-gaming/application-use) a the 10,000 RPM won't really serve much for you. But if you do process heavy memory applications (anything that *loads* stuff such as game maps, models, etc.), that 10K RPM hard drive will help. Is it worth it? If the price is the same-- sure, why not. If you save a lot more money with the 120 GB, go for that. You pretty much won't find the difference in everyday use.

-J.
 
Building Upon:
http://www.hardforum.com/showpost.php?p=1026324655&postcount=10


Components I'm now going to get going on your advice:
Motherboard --- http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc.asp?description=13-131-499&depa=1 (Thanks GeForceX)

RAM (x2) - http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=20-145-524&depa=1 (Thanks GeForceX)

AMD Athlon 64 FX-53 (boxed) --- http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=19-103-459&depa=1+ (Thanks GeForceX)

http://www.monarchcomputer.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=M&Product_Code=190436&Category_Code=NA_4 since GeForceX says it will work with Apple cinima displays and is actually listed in his PC Gamer magazine as a card that will work awesomely with Doom3.

http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproductdesc.asp?description=22-144-160&DEPA=1 (x2 for boot drives --- Thanks GeForceX.)

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=22-144-309&depa=1 (x2 for onboard RAID --- Thanks GeForceX.)

Power Supply --- I'll get the 510ATX-Deluxe from PC Power & Computing per everyones suggestions. http://www.pcpowerandcooling.com/products/power_supplies/highperformance/turbocools/510/index.htm

CD Writer/CDRom --- Ill just pick up at CompUSA or Frys electronics.


Anything else I need????
 
make sure to send him here while he's building it / once he's done. (the forum, not necessarily this post)
 
The site for the 6800 Ultra is very expensive however (Ultra Extreme perhaps?). And even the Ultra isn't available anywhere. So, that would have to be held off.

As for the power supply, upgrade to the PC Power and Cooling (500+ Watts) as they make fine power supplies.

-J.
 
GeForceX said:
The site for the 6800 Ultra is very expensive however (Ultra Extreme perhaps?). And even the Ultra isn't available anywhere. So, that would have to be held off.

As for the power supply, upgrade to the PC Power and Cooling (500+ Watts) as they make fine power supplies.

-J.
Click to expand...
http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?p=1026325324#post1026325324
Thanks. I did list the pc power and cooling there. in an edit. after you said it on AIM.
 
I forgot to mention one thing-- if you want to prolong your CPU's life (or hell-- overclock it), you might as well invest in a pretty good heatsink/fan to replace the one included in the pack. I wouldn't know which ones to get, ask someone else.

-J.
 
GeForceX said:
I forgot to mention one thing-- if you want to prolong your CPU's life (or hell-- overclock it), you might as well invest in a pretty good heatsink/fan to replace the one included in the pack. I wouldn't know which ones to get, ask someone else.

-J.
Click to expand...
Well, I actually did that myself. I searched google just now and came up with ths: http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc.asp?description=35-118-109&depa=9 It's for an AMD Athlon 64 FX-53 (boxed). Is that a good cooler for that processor? Is there one by another company thats better? Or by same company?
 
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