New Build

TheAmazingYant · 06-29-2008, 10:40 AM

So my computer is, for all intents and purposes, dead - the symptoms are listed in this thread: PC crashed and won't boot..

I'd prefer to wait another year or so before building a new rig, but it seems my choices are limited, so I might as well move up to Vista/Direct X 10.

Also, I will be reusing most the non-essential stuff from my current build, so I will only be needing a Motherboard, processor, RAM, GPU, and PSU. Maybe a case, too, but I'll get to that.

__________

1. Budget: I have about $1000-1200 to burn.

2. Brands: Anything quality and reliable.

3. Multitasking: Nope.

4. Gaming: This is the primary purpose. I play a little bit of everything, so good performance is important. Something that can keep up with most games for the next two-to-three years would be good. Don't need to be able to run Crysis on the highest settings, though.

5. Calculations: Nada.

6. Overclocking: Not likely. I'm really afriad to do much with the hardware besides install it.

7. Storage: I have a couple of HDD that I will use, no new storage is necessary at this time.

8. Legacy Support: Nope, everything's on USB.

9. Operating System: Vista for DirectX 10. If there isn't a compelling reason to pay for Premium (Besides Aero and Flip 3D), I'd rather save a few bucks and get Home Basic.

10. Case: It would be nice, as my current case had some "complications" in shipping, and thus the front panel is held on with duct tape. Also, my current GPU, a GeForce 7800GT, barely fits, so a big board might need more room. Still, case is an afterthought. Doesn't need to be pretty as long as it works.

11. Accessories: None needed.

12. Recycled Components: Two HDD, Two optical drives, Sound Card. Don't have a floppy drive, haven't used one in years.

13. Monitor: Got one.

14. Stores: As long as they're cheap and reliable. I don't want to get ripped off. Newegg works.

15. Location: USA.

Here's what I built two years ago:

Antec Smartpower 500w PSU
ASUS A8N-SLI motherboard
Athlon 64 X2 3800+ dual-core CPU
EVGA GeForce 7800GT PCI-Express GPU
2GB Corsair RAM (Cannot recall any other pertinent details)
Sound Blaster X-Fi Extreme Gamer Sound Card
A pair of HDD and Optical Drives
Windows XP, probably SP2 (3? I really don't know).

Of course, the top five are what I'm looking at replacing, as well as picking up Vista.

So I'm pretty much looking for the best gaming performance for my budget (again, about 1K).

Thanks for the help.

TheAmazingYant · 07-03-2008, 06:12 PM

I went onto newegg and had a look around, and I was able to put this together. It seems like about what I'm looking for, about $960 with shipping and after $95 in mail-in rebates. Here's what I've got:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811103011

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814143131

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817341002

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820145197

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131142

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115038

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16832116204

I'm looking for any advice here. I went to 4GB of RAM instead of two, and I did so pretty much on a whim. I don't know if I need that much, or if that money would be better placed into a different CPU, Motherboard, or GPU.

**kodi** · 07-03-2008, 06:46 PM

Using 2 year old drives is a worry, I would buy at least one new drive for the data etc that you really don't want to lose

TheAmazingYant · 07-03-2008, 11:00 PM

Yeah, I was thinking about it, but the most critical files I keep are music. And not only are those backed onto my secondary HDD, but about 90% of it exist in my ever-growing CD collection. So I'm not all that concerned about data-loss. If I have some extra cash on me, I will probably pick one up.

06-29-2008, 10:40 AM	#1 (permalink)
TheAmazingYant Registered User Join Date: Jun 2008 Posts: 21 OS: XP	New Build So my computer is, for all intents and purposes, dead - the symptoms are listed in this thread: PC crashed and won't boot.. I'd prefer to wait another year or so before building a new rig, but it seems my choices are limited, so I might as well move up to Vista/Direct X 10. Also, I will be reusing most the non-essential stuff from my current build, so I will only be needing a Motherboard, processor, RAM, GPU, and PSU. Maybe a case, too, but I'll get to that. __________ 1. Budget: I have about $1000-1200 to burn. 2. Brands: Anything quality and reliable. 3. Multitasking: Nope. 4. Gaming: This is the primary purpose. I play a little bit of everything, so good performance is important. Something that can keep up with most games for the next two-to-three years would be good. Don't need to be able to run Crysis on the highest settings, though. 5. Calculations: Nada. 6. Overclocking: Not likely. I'm really afriad to do much with the hardware besides install it. 7. Storage: I have a couple of HDD that I will use, no new storage is necessary at this time. 8. Legacy Support: Nope, everything's on USB. 9. Operating System: Vista for DirectX 10. If there isn't a compelling reason to pay for Premium (Besides Aero and Flip 3D), I'd rather save a few bucks and get Home Basic. 10. Case: It would be nice, as my current case had some "complications" in shipping, and thus the front panel is held on with duct tape. Also, my current GPU, a GeForce 7800GT, barely fits, so a big board might need more room. Still, case is an afterthought. Doesn't need to be pretty as long as it works. 11. Accessories: None needed. 12. Recycled Components: Two HDD, Two optical drives, Sound Card. Don't have a floppy drive, haven't used one in years. 13. Monitor: Got one. 14. Stores: As long as they're cheap and reliable. I don't want to get ripped off. Newegg works. 15. Location: USA. Here's what I built two years ago: Antec Smartpower 500w PSU ASUS A8N-SLI motherboard Athlon 64 X2 3800+ dual-core CPU EVGA GeForce 7800GT PCI-Express GPU 2GB Corsair RAM (Cannot recall any other pertinent details) Sound Blaster X-Fi Extreme Gamer Sound Card A pair of HDD and Optical Drives Windows XP, probably SP2 (3? I really don't know). Of course, the top five are what I'm looking at replacing, as well as picking up Vista. So I'm pretty much looking for the best gaming performance for my budget (again, about 1K). Thanks for the help. Last edited by TheAmazingYant : 06-29-2008 at 10:46 AM.

07-03-2008, 06:12 PM	#2 (permalink)
TheAmazingYant Registered User Join Date: Jun 2008 Posts: 21 OS: XP	Re: New Build I went onto newegg and had a look around, and I was able to put this together. It seems like about what I'm looking for, about $960 with shipping and after $95 in mail-in rebates. Here's what I've got: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811103011 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814143131 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817341002 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820145197 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131142 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115038 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16832116204 I'm looking for any advice here. I went to 4GB of RAM instead of two, and I did so pretty much on a whim. I don't know if I need that much, or if that money would be better placed into a different CPU, Motherboard, or GPU.

07-03-2008, 06:46 PM	#3 (permalink)
kodi Moderator Hardware Team Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Sydney Australia Posts: 6,509 OS: Windows Vista Ultimate, XP Professional My System	Re: New Build Using 2 year old drives is a worry, I would buy at least one new drive for the data etc that you really don't want to lose __________________ Brian

07-03-2008, 11:00 PM	#4 (permalink)
TheAmazingYant Registered User Join Date: Jun 2008 Posts: 21 OS: XP	Re: New Build Yeah, I was thinking about it, but the most critical files I keep are music. And not only are those backed onto my secondary HDD, but about 90% of it exist in my ever-growing CD collection. So I'm not all that concerned about data-loss. If I have some extra cash on me, I will probably pick one up.