[gritbox]

went to tigerdirect.com and ive seen this "barebones" idea. that sounds good. i take it that gives me a case a mobo and processor and hard drive and leaves the rest up to me? the problem is have no idea what is compatible with what!! id basically be wanting maybe an AMD pro (best for gaming yeah) over 3ghz, at least a gig of pc3200 ddr ram and a graphics card at least 256mb. also as cheap as possible!! is this possible? under the "most popular" it lists a "Chaintech SK8T800 Barbone Kit / AMD Sempron 3100+/ 128MB Video Card / 160GB HDD / 512MB DDR / CPU Fan / Diablo X-Man Gamer Case with 480 Watt PS / Wireless Keyboard & Mouse" is that any good? id not want the 128mb vid card right enuff so maybe i could order it without that? that only costs 329.99 dollars, is that not amazing!?!? or is it because the processor is not too good? says cache is only 256 also, is that pretty bad? thanks guys

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That Will Be Cool. When u get it done post some pics

[-:Dj-Kevin:-]

That Will Be Cool. When u get it done post some pics

[warriorscot]

That depends on how much you get with the case most just come with a mobo and powersupply. Only gat a barebones if you need a barebones they have significant disadvanteges that arent worth the novelty factor of a tiny case.

[gritbox]

ah what are the disadvantages???? i like the look of that one, just not too sure about the processor, is that any good? im wanting to build a pc suitable for the next lot of games coming out ie fear

[warriorscot]

Micro atx boards are cut down atx boards they lose some of there features and funcionality they are much hotter than normal pcs usually. The expansion is generally limited as there is room for one cd drive and a HD or two usually. There arent as many pci slots either so like i said they are not something to buld your next gaming rig. The ram will be generic and probably not dual channel the gfx card will be pap and the cpu is not a good gaming chip at all.

[gritbox]

ok, so if im wanting to build a pc from scratch on say, tigers website, how do i know what ic compatible with what? like what mobo for what processor.... should i always aim for more than 3ghz? cheers

[warriorscot]

Clockspeed is a poor indicator of performance as AMD cpus have a lower clock speed but similar perormance to intel processors a full ghz faster.
Aim for what you are going to use it for, eg gaming would be a nf4 board with a venice or san diego cpu and a gig of dual channel ram. Or if you were going to do video editing you would get a dual core intel with two gigi of ram. Just an example.

For compatibility for cpus once you have oicked the motherboard you check the socket it on it and look at compatible cpus eg for amd you will be looking at socket 939. For ram its DDR for amd and DDR2 for intel more or less.

[gritbox]

ok well ive got an intel p4 pc the now with 1.5gb ram in it. if i build an amd then i wont be able to use this ram?

[gritbox]

how much are you looking at for building a good solid gaming pc? i want a nice case, good 3ghz+ processor, a gig of ram, good sound card and good graphics card. all the do it urself websites r too confusing

[warriorscot]

If the ram is ddr then you can use it again. ddr2 is for the newer p4s.

If you are in the UK then my system bumped me 960 quid including a 19" samsung tft with an 8ms response, unless you do dound editing unboard sound is pretty good. If you do audigy cards range from 30 pounds to well over 100. Intel cpus are a little more expensive than amd and you might want to throw in a good hsf cause they are quite hot.

What is it you want to do with it, a pc has to be designed around A. Its intended purpose and B. your proposed budget.

Edited by warriorscot, 28 July 2005 - 07:08 AM.

[gritbox]

ok. by the way thanks for your responses, ur a busy man on this forum!! i want to be able to play upcoming games like FEAR with max settings and no lag or anything. i want good sound too so it adds to the experience. so, whatever kinda system i need for that i want to go for. as u prob already know cos iver posted it 4567 times, lol, ive got dell 4600 p4 3.2ghz, with 1.5gbs ddr ram but only a 128mb geforce 5600 i think, card. if i upgraded my graphics card id probably be ok to play the new games but i apparently can not do that bcos my system will only take 128 at most...