[oddnerd]

I have saved up a good deal of money and plan on buying a nice gaming PC with it. The problem is I am not overly experienced when it comes to this stuff. What I need help with is choosing a CPU/Motherboard/CPU cooling unit combo because people keep telling me the combos i make do not work together or one of the parts is low grade... stuff like that. My basic plans for the computer are

-1 or 2 Gigs of DDR2 Ram

-A fairly high end NVIDIA or ATI graphics card(Geforce 7900 or Radeon X1600)

- I have a 250 Gig hardrive already
http://www.tigerdire...p;sku=THD-250A2

-A 500-600 watt power supply

- My sound card is fine as it is (generic sound blaster)

- A 3.0 Ghz processor that can run 64 bit operating systems(vista)

-A mother board with PCI-E and PCI and one that can accommodate the above CPU

That is about as specific as i can get before all the terms and stuff get me confused. I dont want to spend a huge amount of money but a little bit of splurging is fine.

Thank you for any advice and help.

Edited by oddnerd, 28 December 2006 - 11:47 AM.

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Hi oddnerd.
Do you have a budget? It'll make it easier for people to choose parts for you.

[mozzer11]

Hi oddnerd.
Do you have a budget? It'll make it easier for people to choose parts for you.

[oddnerd]

Well im thinking no more than $1500. And even then i would prefer to go below it if i could.

Also, the only stores near me are tiger direct, best buy and future shop so I can only get products they would have.

Edited by oddnerd, 28 December 2006 - 01:19 PM.

[mozzer11]

Why not order online from newegg.com? They have pretty good prices.

[oddnerd]

I could do that i guess but i still need help with compatibility and stuff because all i see is random numbers and letters on the labels and the names of different socket types and it just doesnt make sense. I will look over newegg for sure though, they are a lot more organized than TD.

EDIT

I think if i had a good CPU/Mobo/cooler combo i could handle the rest. It is really just those that are hard for me.

Edited by oddnerd, 28 December 2006 - 02:11 PM.

[mozzer11]

Here's something I put together just quick. I'm not an expert at this but i'm sure they are all compatible parts:

Processor - Intel Core2Duo E6600 = $322
Motherboard - Biostar 945P-A7A = $78.99
Memory - G-Skill 2GB (2x1GB) DDR2-533 = $209.99
Video Card - BFG 7900gs 256mb DDR3 = $184.99
Power Supply - Enermax Liberty 500w = $104.99
Case - Thermaltake Armor = $154.99
TOTAL = $1055.95

This was from newegg.

[oddnerd]

Are the prices on that site in US dollars?

[Serrik]

Yes, Newegg is a US company and I don't think they sell to Canada.

I have ordered from both Tigerdirect.ca and NCIX.com in the past with good service from both (In Canada)

[oddnerd]

I think i will get it from TD then, their site may not be the greatest but that is fine.

[Serrik]

When buying from TigerDirect.ca there are many products that come with a "30 day ironclad guarantee"

It is worth sticking to those products if possible.

And for memory, I really recommend you get a name brand. I like Kingston for value, price and reliability. And TD sells it. But, I have found if a new computer is at all flaky or unstable it is usually due to cheap/substandard memory. So make sure any memory you buy has that 30 day ironclad guarantee just to protect yourself.

If you like, build a computer with parts from Tiger Direct using the above computer from New Egg as a guide, and we can all check out your new choices.

[oddnerd]

I have been working on an intel machine, here is what i have so far

Mother Board - http://www.tigerdire...p?EdpNo=2366120

MPU - http://www.tigerdire...a...&CatId=2396

Memory - http://www.tigerdire...a...&CatId=1649

Power Supply - http://www.tigerdire...a...4&CatId=106

I still have the video card to go but that is it so far. Let me know if this is a good build.

EDIT - I think i found my new card
http://www.tigerdire...a...4&CatId=935

Edited by oddnerd, 28 December 2006 - 07:05 PM.

[oddnerd]

I have decided to up my budget to $1600 so the new comp is

MotherBoard - $178
http://www.tigerdire...p?EdpNo=2366120

MPU - 400$
http://www.tigerdire...p?EdpNo=2280512

RAM - $398(2) or $199(1)
http://www.tigerdire...a...&CatId=1649

Video Card - $280
http://www.tigerdire...p;Sku=E145-7926

Power supply - $167
http://www.tigerdire...a...4&CatId=106

Cooling system - Purchased
http://www.tigerdire...a...1&CatId=493

Total with tax(not including assembly and case) = $1395.36(1 gig Ram) or $1622.22(2 gigs Ram)

[stettybet0]

i wouldn't call a cpu fan a "cooling system"...

and your mobo doesn't have a great track record, especially when it comes to RAID. (and it can't do SLI.) Don't plan on doing either of those with this mobo.

and since you won't be using SLI or RAID, the PSU might be overkill. It is a nice one, but see if you can't find a less powerful one for less price.

other than that, it looks alright, though you may want to spend more on quality RAM (Value RAM, even Corsair, is not meant for gaming).

also, if you can wait you might want to save up for a DX10 card, considering how most future games will use DX10.

Edited by stettybet0, 28 December 2006 - 08:02 PM.

[Serrik]

It all looks good to me. I know some people on these forums have had bad experience with ASUS motherboards, but I am not one of them. I get along fine with ASUS.

I know you mentioned you had a hard drive already but just a reminder you may want to include a DVD burner as they are dirt cheap now.

If you decide to get only one gig of ram I recommend 2 x 512mb sticks instead of one 1 gig. This way you get the benefit of dual channel memory access and your memory bandwidth is pretty much doubled.

So if you only go 1 gig of ram consider a kit like this one:
http://www.tigerdire...a...814&CatId=0

For a 2 gig kit I would consider this one at $275 after rebate ($306 before rebate)

http://www.tigerdire...a...730&CatId=0

Edited by Serrik, 28 December 2006 - 08:17 PM.

[oddnerd]

Here is the revised list, i am still deciding on how powerful and how much Ram i want

MotherBoard - $178
http://www.tigerdire...p?EdpNo=2366120

MPU - 400$
http://www.tigerdire...p?EdpNo=2280512

RAM - $300 or $150 or $400
http://www.tigerdire...p;CatId=0(2gigs - 677 mhz)
http://www.tigerdire...;CatId=0(1gigs)
http://www.tigerdire...tId=23689(2gigs - 800mhz)

Video Card - $280
http://www.tigerdire...p;Sku=E145-7926

Power supply - $167
http://www.tigerdire...a...4&CatId=106

Cooling system - Purchased
http://www.tigerdire...a...1&CatId=493


Total with tax(not including assembly and case) = $1340(1 gig Ram) or $1500 (2 gigs ram 677mhz) or$1620(2 gigs Ram 800mhz)