trvmcnevan

Alright, this is my first time building a computer, and I need some opinions from you experienced people. I don't exactly have the time to keep up with the newest technology and stuff, so don't laugh. What I had planned to put into the compy is below:

Case: Thermaltake Swing VB6000 ATX
Power Supply: 500w Aspire
Mobo: Gigabite GA-8I945P-G ATX Socket 775
Processor: P4 630, 3GHz, 800MHz FSB, LGA 775, w/HT Technology
Memory: Centon 2GB PC2-4200 240pin DDR2 DIMM
HD: Seagate 300 GB SATA, 7200rpm
Video: Radeon X1300, PCI Exp, 256MB, DDR2

That was my basic idea. Unfortunately, that was about a year ago and technologies change, and again like I said I am a noob in this area... I'd like to know what you believe should be changed and am very open to any suggestions for the changes. Thanks for any help you can give!

Edit:

That's my latest list. The total (with a few other things added) is around 1,253. It'll jump a little more with the os, but that's the way things go. I'm gonna have to wait a bit though cause some stuff is out of stock and I wanna get combo deals .

CDsDontBurn

what is the purpose of the system? overall it's a pretty decent system if you're not going to be doing any gaming. i would consider it a mid range machine by today's standards. if you want a mid range gaming machine, just upgrade the gfx card to an x800xt or better.

if you want a high end gaming machine, you'd need an x1900xtx, and one of them new conroe processors (the e6400 would be a good choice ), and of course, you would need a different MoBo that would support that processor as well.

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trvmcnevan

Well that's good cause I think the processor I wanted is discontinued and the mobo is all sold out. Sorry I forgot to mention its use... I am not a big pc gamer, but I do enjoy the occasional flight sim and the sims 2. Most of the comp's use will be word processing, web surfing, occasional programming (for fun), a little image editing, music listening, and some web design (sorta a freelance business). Thanks for the help!

hilfiger

whats your budget?

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trvmcnevan

Well that depends... I don't want to spend a mint, but at the same time I don't won't to get crummy parts trying to stay under. My budget's probably somewhere around 1500 for the parts I listed in the 1st post (i'd like to go under 1500 if possible).

CDsDontBurn

if you don't want to get crummy with parts, spend some money on good well known RAM, gfx card, and MoBo. CPU, you get, what you get (but don't skimp out on that either, lol).

everything else, is basically optional luxuries. like, do you really need to have two DVD burners

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PangingJr

once you know what you need the new computer for... it all comes down to your current budget and planned budget on each and every hardware components.
start looking around and then post all of the hardwares that you like to buy, then people may help checking them and tell you if it is (or is not) the right approach...

swimtech

For the sake of longevity and speed, I'd ditch the 630 processor and budget enough for a dual core processor of some sort - the best of which is the new Core 2, and it really won't cost much more at all...

And if you don't need all the older IDE connectors or a serial port, with not quite as nice an audio chip, this mainboard might be a good alternative for you - it has a Firewire port for Camcorder or external drive too...

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The_Neon_Cowboy

rough suggestions:

Case: Spend less money here, set a to self cap @ $50-60
Power Supply: 500w Aspire
Mobo: Get something based on P965
Processor:Get a core 2 duo, or at lest something duel core
Memory: Get a gig, Get PC6400 your not gameing don't need
2gb really unless you doing video editing or something
HD: Better off with 2 smaller drives and useing raid, or do
you really need that much storage? If not maybe look into a raptor
Video: I'd sugest at least X1600pro, but you say you don;t game
so the X1300 should be fine

whats your price limit???

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CDsDontBurn

he never said that he doesn't game. in fact he didn't state if he did or didn't.

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trvmcnevan

Okay, well still bit confused about all this (hopefully getting better though...). To clarify the use of it again:
Basically I don't play too many games... I do dig out The Sims 2 and Flight Simulator 2004 on occasion though. Basically what I'm looking for in the comp is getting the tasks I listed above done quickly and good capability to multi-task with some speed. Below are my most recent thoughts on the components:

Case: Thermaltake Swing VB6000
Power Supply: Nspire 550w
Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo E6400
Motherboard: Gigabite or Asus
Memory: Corsair
Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda
Video: x1800

That's the idea... Still open to making it better system and definately need a double check on compatability with these parts cause I'm no expert. Thanks for the comments. BTW: The components listed above just about blow my budget, so... any replacement parts would be nice if they are in the general price range of those above.

Randomletters

Cant lose with that PC at all very nice list. The ram might be a bit overkill but its still below your budget so id say get it

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H3X4D3C1M4L

Raptors are the worst price/gig values in the desktop hard drive market... so if he doesn't need the storage why wouldn't he just get smaller 7200 RPM drives and put the extra cash into the mobo/proc or something?

CDsDontBurn

you mean to say that it's over your budget right? if so, for what you want your computer to do, out of those components you've listed; go with a lower priced MoBo. maybe you can find something around $150, instead of the ones you listed pushing $300. it would probably be an intel based MoBo though, so no OCing available on it if you ever did want to OC it .

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swimtech

...sounds like he's right at his limit - not necessarily over, and still needs optical drive (s). BTW - if you're looking at an X1800 (also, Sims 2 runs ok on my desktop rig below, but Flight Sim sucks a lot more juice - needs a strong card to shine, and a strong CPU - all that geometry and tracking...) - take a look at the X1900 series - major price drops just in the past few days... More of those P965 chipset boards coming out every week - keep your eyes open - we will too. You've got a much better overall system the second time through...

I happen to like your choice of hard drive - it's fast, quiet, great warranty and reliability, lots of room for your music and videos, and less than $100.00 - nice... those mobos are expensive (and nice...) though...

What's all your stuff add up to? Fine tuning time (but no rush of course...) both for your budget and your expected uses of the unit.

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trvmcnevan

Well, I'm pretty sure what I've listed is basically what I want. I'm still deciding between the two mobos I listed (any opinions? - the Asus v. Gigabite). I think I'll stick with the x1800 video card for the budget's sake... it's gotta be better than the standard card I've got now, so I think the flight sim will be fine. Price wise it's gonna come out to about $1165 with the gigabite board and $1135 with the Asus... pretty close price wise. Open on opinions. Oh about the budget - I already have the case and psu so that's not in those prices I listed, and the budget I listed before was a bit high for me so the budget about tops off at the price up above. -- Almost forgot to mention the other drives. I'm looking at wanting cd, dvd, and floppy (I'm partial to floppies...). I'll probably get generic old drives, but if you guys have some suggested drives or brands to go with - lay them on me.

H3X4D3C1M4L

Gigabyte bought Asus so I don't know that you need to choose

CDsDontBurn

transfer your old opticals from your current machine, and later on get new ones. opticals are needed just to install stuff basically. might need a DVD rom at the minimum though.

@ H3X: when did G buy out A?

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H3X4D3C1M4L

http://www.rage3d.com/index.php?cat=85#newsid33863759

At that point in time. I don't know if its a merger or buyout...cause who would be buying who?

CDsDontBurn

wow.....it's recent

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swimtech

Just a suggestion...

For about the same money as a X1800XT you can get a X1900GT or 7900GT - they should run somewhat better overall...

The second system is very nice overall too. Hard to find the Core 2 mainboards in stock right now though - I know...

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trvmcnevan

It's about a hundred difference at newegg.... I might be able to afford it if I saved for a while longer, if it's really worth it?

swimtech

It is?

X1900GT

7900GTs

No, I don't think a X1900GT or a 7900GT is worth a hundred more, but for the same money I'd go with one of those...

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trvmcnevan

ok, my bad. I was looking at a different card.... I think I'm gonna hold off on getting the card immediatly. It's not essential to get the thing going, and I need more time to save and weigh my options...

swimtech

Yeah, the price for the relative performance in that price range has decreased dramatically just within the past couple weeks...

Either of those cards should run your games and everything else very well until after Vista comes out next year - and beyond. If you get the bug for HDTV and/or DX10 stuff next year, the rest of your chosen system should be fine and you'll only need to consider upgrading your video card and maybe the audio - but that's a ways off yet...

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trvmcnevan

Ok, I realize this is probably the wrong forum for this, and I'm gonna sound like a complete idiot, but I'll ask anyway. What version of windows is best to go with? Right now I've got xp home on my laptop and a very old desktop that was upgraded to 98 a while back. I wasn't aware of all the different releases till I actully looked at em on newegg... and what is the big difference between oem and retail?

Necrosis

OEM is cheaper but you can only are supposed to install it on one system. However, I've gotten away with this before. Retail you can install as many times as you like on different systems, just not all at once.

The best bang for your buck I think is Media Center.

I really do think you should get a MB that supports Conroe. It will allow you to upgrade later on when the Kentsfield comes out which will lower the Core 2 Duo prices. However, you will need to upgrade your ram to PC5300 to support the 266MHz FSB.

CDsDontBurn

AFAIK, you can do this to the OEM version as well. just tell MSFT something along the lines of "i had to reformat my pc" or "i upgraded my MoBo/system and had to reformat."

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trvmcnevan

I was under the assumption that the GA-965P-DQ6 did support conroe... Maybe you didn't see the later post when I updated my system... I'll edit the first post.

Necrosis

Doh, that is what I get for reading too fast.