[Aleks_B]

Ok so lately i have been getting into computer games. I need a computer. I have about $900.00 to spend and i need to know what parts and such will be the best to get with my money. So anyway, i read a few topics before i posted, and figure you will be asking which games i would want to play on it. So i would like to be able to play Doom3, and Guild Wars on this computer. And it would be nice if this computer was updateable easily. This would be my first build and i'm kind of in the dark on this subject.

Thanks for your Help,

Aleks B.

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your best bet is to check out newegg.com or tigerdirect, 2 sites I see recommended often here. price some things out.
your first big decision will be whether to go intel or AMD. intel is easy to set up and solid, AMD is about the same, but slightly cheaper, and is more overclocking friendly. be careful if you want to do any overclocking, it can be easy to screw things up.
all modern boards will have 800Mhz FSB, so you will want PC3200 DDR RAM. best to go with 2 matched sticks (same size/speed/manufacturer), to allow you to run in dual channel mode, maximizing your buss speed. for gaming, get 2x 512 sticks of RAM.

most modern boards will support SATA hard drives. it is faster, costs about the same, and is the way of the future. it is slightly harder to set up at first, but there are many threads on how to do that here.

otherwise, you need a good case with proper cooling, a strong, name brand power supply (such as antec, 400W or more), CD and/or DVD drives. none of these are particulary expensive, but it adds up.
the biggest expense could be the video card, so you might want to consider that early, to help planning the rest of the components. you will have to decide if you want to go with AGP or PCIExpress. PCIExpress is newest, and the way of the future. make sure your mainboard will support that if you want it. it is fine to go with AGP as well. the newest video cards will cost around $500, but there are plenty of good options in the $250-$350 range.
for nvidia, many here recommend the 6600GT. for ATI, I would suggest at least the radeon X600 XT.
check out the web sites of those two, and do product comparisons.

all this is totally doable for you stated budget. if you have a CD drive on an older computer, you could put it in the new one, and save few bucks.
hope that helps.

[audioboy]

your best bet is to check out newegg.com or tigerdirect, 2 sites I see recommended often here. price some things out.
your first big decision will be whether to go intel or AMD. intel is easy to set up and solid, AMD is about the same, but slightly cheaper, and is more overclocking friendly. be careful if you want to do any overclocking, it can be easy to screw things up.
all modern boards will have 800Mhz FSB, so you will want PC3200 DDR RAM. best to go with 2 matched sticks (same size/speed/manufacturer), to allow you to run in dual channel mode, maximizing your buss speed. for gaming, get 2x 512 sticks of RAM.

most modern boards will support SATA hard drives. it is faster, costs about the same, and is the way of the future. it is slightly harder to set up at first, but there are many threads on how to do that here.

otherwise, you need a good case with proper cooling, a strong, name brand power supply (such as antec, 400W or more), CD and/or DVD drives. none of these are particulary expensive, but it adds up.
the biggest expense could be the video card, so you might want to consider that early, to help planning the rest of the components. you will have to decide if you want to go with AGP or PCIExpress. PCIExpress is newest, and the way of the future. make sure your mainboard will support that if you want it. it is fine to go with AGP as well. the newest video cards will cost around $500, but there are plenty of good options in the $250-$350 range.
for nvidia, many here recommend the 6600GT. for ATI, I would suggest at least the radeon X600 XT.
check out the web sites of those two, and do product comparisons.

all this is totally doable for you stated budget. if you have a CD drive on an older computer, you could put it in the new one, and save few bucks.
hope that helps.

[p_mii_nawy]

hey
you should also check out ibuypower.com they have some good gaming pc for under a grand. if you want to build your own newegg and tiger d are some good places to shop for the parts. also use froogle and ebay to get cheaper prices on some parts.
PMN

[Aleks_B]

So i got a few hundred extra dollars. And my friend said this setup would run Doom3 and Guild Wars easily.

AeroCool AEROENGINE C-class AEROENGINE-C BS Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail

SONY CRX320E Black IDE Combo Drive - OEM

ZALMAN CNPS7700-CU 120mm 2 Ball Cooling Fan - Retail

ABIT IC7-G MAXII Socket 478 Intel 875P ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

SAMSUNG SpinPoint P Series SP1213C 120GB 7200 RPM Serial ATA150 Hard Drive - OEM

Kingston ValueRAM 1GB (2 x 512MB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Dual Channel Kit System Memory Model KVR400X64C3AK2/1G - Retail

SCANPORT NB1701 Black 17" CRT Monitor D-Sub - Retail

Antec TRUE430 ATX 430W Power Supply - Retail

intel Pentium 4 3.0E Prescott 800MHz FSB Socket 478 Processor Model BX80546PG3000E - Retail

ATI RADEON 9800PRO 128M Radeon 9800PRO 128MB DDR AGP 4X/8X Video Card - Retail

With shipping its $1,107.41. Do you think thats a good deal? Thanks.

[tazz1964]

Hi
Just putting in my input on your chip pick Intel so ok but if you looking for a fast system I would go with the AMD 64 looking at newegg at the chip and MB you picked keeping close to the same cost this is what I would go with
CHIP
MB

[audioboy]

that seems around the right price for all that you listed. quality parts, which is good. includes a monitor...if you need it, great. is this a pre-built?
it will run doom3 no problem.

[Aleks_B]

Alright thanks for your help everyone. Oh by the way is that everything needed to build a computer from scratch? I have no other parts really. So if theres anything else i will need please tell me. I'm a computer nooby.

Edited by Aleks_B, 04 May 2005 - 04:57 PM.

[audioboy]

make sure the processor comes with the HSF (heatsink & fan). most likely will if its a boxed processor.
if you go with SATA hard drive, you will need a floppy drive to install the SATA drivers. cant load windows without it.
speaking of which, is windows included in that deal?

[Hemal]

I have to agree with tazz on the idea for amd- your configuration looks good but the amd will let you overclock and be cheaper too- 64 bit is the new thing and new programs including windows xp 64 will come out



p.s. let me know how guild wars is

[panterna]

well, that looks like a good build..
have you looked at nVidia 6600gt cards? i'm sure the price is around the 9800pro..
6600gt gives you a lot more than 9800pro can..
on building the new pc

[Technogeek8]

K

Go with the amd-64. If you want a p4 machine, make sure it's a pci-xpress mobo and supporting processor. I would go with a geforce fx 5200 256 mb card. It can handle all available games and it's extremely cheap

Buy a sata hd (120 gb or more) and a sound blaster audigy 2 card. That's the basics. Do your shopping using pricewatch. It's cheap and offers great parts from it's dealers. Also, don't rule out e-bay. You can pick up a amd 64 3200+ mobo and processor combo for about 150 bucks. That's dirt cheap for a new mobo/processor. You don't need a top notch 6600 gt right now, and I don't really think it's worth it unless you have the spare cash to blow. The 5200 does fine and handles very nicely. Stick to Nvidia (ATI Blows) K. That's my 2 cents

David