Building new computer - Need Suggestions...

Captain EBD · Nov 25, 2004, 07:38 AM

I'm looking to buy a new computer - mainly for Gaming and other basic computer operations...

Looking to spend $1500 - $2000max...

Wanting a AMD 64 system, 1Gig of DDRAM, 2 Good sized HDD's to do raid-0 (maybe 10k rpm raptors), ATI graphics card, nice sound card (a 5.1 card or something that goes good with a 2.1 speakers or 5.1 set), 19'+ monitor CRT, good gaming mouse/keyboard/mousepad...

...and maybe a dual layer dvd burner/cd-rw/etc...anything else...

Any suggestions are appreciated...thanks!

TJ- · Nov 25, 2004, 02:39 PM

check out my specs.... alll that plus a dvd +/- burner, win xp home and much more... 2000 australian... its a awesome system...

for what you want you might have to spend more unless its american dollars

krips · Nov 25, 2004, 03:01 PM

Are you buying a computer or building one?

TJ- · Nov 25, 2004, 04:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by krips

Are you buying a computer or building one?

i built mine in case you were wondering captain ebd...thats the only way to go...save heaps of cash

tastyweat · Nov 25, 2004, 05:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by battleaxe187

check out my specs.... alll that plus a dvd +/- burner, win xp home and much more... 2000 australian... its a awesome system...

for what you want you might have to spend more unless its american dollars

not getting atcha... but just take a looky at his location mate... he's in Sacramento, CA... just pointing it out for future reference

Ubergrendle · Nov 25, 2004, 06:01 PM

Tomshardware has a review of dual-layer burners posted recently. I bought a OEM Pioneer 108 internal based on its better-than-average performance. In Toronto we can get dual layer burners here from $85-95 canadian, so @ ~1.20 exchange you should be able to find something for $70-75 USD in Sacramento (hopefully).

I got a refurbished ATI 9700 Pro on eBay for $120 USD two weeks ago. It works perfectly...benchmarks are standard for its make, survived stress testing/burn in.

My motherboard is EIDE so I haven't been able to enjoy SATA yet.

I got an OEM WD 160gb 7200rpm 8mb cache drive for $106 canadian two weeks ago as well. SATA is a bit more expensive, but not much, like $10 or so.

/end of my recent experience

Captain EBD · Nov 25, 2004, 06:42 PM

Yes - im building it, goning to get most parts on pricewatch.com and newegg.com - what other sites should i look at?

krips · Nov 25, 2004, 06:52 PM

Monarch Computers, GameVe, and Directron are great.

pr0digal jenius · Nov 25, 2004, 07:49 PM

newegg.com is where to order parts from if you live in the US, as well as frozencpu.com and xoxide.com for cooling/cases/mods

as far as what parts to buy.....unless this is a l33t gaming rig, I'd look at the LGA socket pentium 4s, some DDR2 RAM, and a radeon x700 for your pci-Ex graphics

if it is a l33t gamign rig(used for nothign but gaming, email, typing, etc) I'd go with AMD64 and look into the new Xpress 200 chipset from ATi and perhaps a 3500+ or 4000+ CPU

Vampyromaniac · Nov 25, 2004, 08:21 PM

edited title to avoid confusion

CDsDontBurn · Nov 25, 2004, 08:39 PM

ummm. go A64. Take a look at my sig, i got everything for about $1,300 (US) at the time. AMD is better for games, and usually cheaper. By now, all the parts your looking have dropped in price and more readily available; so you should be able to get away w/a good gaming rig for under $2,000 pretty easily.

Captain EBD · Nov 25, 2004, 11:51 PM

Cool, thanks everyone for all the info...!

Im kinda set on a AMD 64, been wanting a 64bit cpu for long time now

+ for the most part the computer is going to be used for gaming, some webpage building later on, photoshoping, etc...which AMD is best for - for the most part.

Nov 25, 2004, 07:38 AM	#1
Captain EBD i like computers. Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Sacramento, CA Posts: 296 Rep Power: 0	Building new computer - Need Suggestions... I'm looking to buy a new computer - mainly for Gaming and other basic computer operations... Looking to spend $1500 - $2000max... Wanting a AMD 64 system, 1Gig of DDRAM, 2 Good sized HDD's to do raid-0 (maybe 10k rpm raptors), ATI graphics card, nice sound card (a 5.1 card or something that goes good with a 2.1 speakers or 5.1 set), 19'+ monitor CRT, good gaming mouse/keyboard/mousepad... ...and maybe a dual layer dvd burner/cd-rw/etc...anything else... Any suggestions are appreciated...thanks! __________________ .......

Nov 25, 2004, 02:39 PM	#2
TJ- DriverHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Infinity Posts: 3,679 Rep Power: 0	check out my specs.... alll that plus a dvd +/- burner, win xp home and much more... 2000 australian... its a awesome system... for what you want you might have to spend more unless its american dollars __________________ new sig comming soon

Nov 25, 2004, 03:01 PM	#3
krips UD Cruncher Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Alberta, Canada. Posts: 144 Rep Power: 0	Are you buying a computer or building one? __________________ [color=navy]3200+ Winchester \| XP-90 \| LANParty UT nF4 Ultra-D \| Enermax 535W \| BBA X800XL \| 1GB OCZ PC4000 \| 2x80GB RAID1 \| Audigy 2 ZS \| Logitech Z5300E[/color]

Nov 25, 2004, 06:01 PM	#6
Ubergrendle Semper ubi sub ubi Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Toronto Posts: 702 Rep Power: 51	Tomshardware has a review of dual-layer burners posted recently. I bought a OEM Pioneer 108 internal based on its better-than-average performance. In Toronto we can get dual layer burners here from $85-95 canadian, so @ ~1.20 exchange you should be able to find something for $70-75 USD in Sacramento (hopefully). I got a refurbished ATI 9700 Pro on eBay for $120 USD two weeks ago. It works perfectly...benchmarks are standard for its make, survived stress testing/burn in. My motherboard is EIDE so I haven't been able to enjoy SATA yet. I got an OEM WD 160gb 7200rpm 8mb cache drive for $106 canadian two weeks ago as well. SATA is a bit more expensive, but not much, like $10 or so. /end of my recent experience __________________ Veteran of the PC Microchannel / EISA wars of the late 1980s.

Nov 25, 2004, 06:42 PM	Thread Starter #7
Captain EBD i like computers. Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Sacramento, CA Posts: 296 Rep Power: 0	Yes - im building it, goning to get most parts on pricewatch.com and newegg.com - what other sites should i look at? __________________ .......

Nov 25, 2004, 06:52 PM	#8
krips UD Cruncher Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Alberta, Canada. Posts: 144 Rep Power: 0	Monarch Computers, GameVe, and Directron are great. __________________ [color=navy]3200+ Winchester \| XP-90 \| LANParty UT nF4 Ultra-D \| Enermax 535W \| BBA X800XL \| 1GB OCZ PC4000 \| 2x80GB RAID1 \| Audigy 2 ZS \| Logitech Z5300E[/color]

Nov 25, 2004, 07:49 PM	#9
pr0digal jenius Delete Me Join Date: Mar 2004 Posts: 14,648 Rep Power: 0	newegg.com is where to order parts from if you live in the US, as well as frozencpu.com and xoxide.com for cooling/cases/mods as far as what parts to buy.....unless this is a l33t gaming rig, I'd look at the LGA socket pentium 4s, some DDR2 RAM, and a radeon x700 for your pci-Ex graphics if it is a l33t gamign rig(used for nothign but gaming, email, typing, etc) I'd go with AMD64 and look into the new Xpress 200 chipset from ATi and perhaps a 3500+ or 4000+ CPU

Nov 25, 2004, 08:21 PM	#10
Vampyromaniac confutatis maledictis Join Date: May 2002 Location: somewhere dark Posts: 5,974 Rep Power: 77 System Specs	edited title to avoid confusion __________________ *Digitalis 3.3* Athlon 64 3000 // ASUS K8V SE Deluxe // 1024MB PC3200 (2-2-2-10 1T) ATI All-In-Wonder 9700 Pro // 20" Dell 2005FPW (DVI) M-Audio Revo 7.1 + Philips Acoustic Edge // Klipsch ProMedia 2.1 320/16 Western Digital WD3200KS + 120/8 Seagate 7200.7 NEC ND-3550A 16x DVD±RW + Lite-On 52x24x CD-RW Antec Sonata case // 480W Antec TruePower personal bests \|\| Aq'3: 46796 \| 3D'01: 20461 \| 3D'03: 6336 \| 3D'05: 2677 \| PC'04: 4605 \| PC'02: 7691,9092,1250

Nov 25, 2004, 08:39 PM	#11
CDsDontBurn Lurking DriverHeaven Join Date: May 2003 Location: Southern California Posts: 22,779 Rep Power: 235 System Specs	ummm. go A64. Take a look at my sig, i got everything for about $1,300 (US) at the time. AMD is better for games, and usually cheaper. By now, all the parts your looking have dropped in price and more readily available; so you should be able to get away w/a good gaming rig for under $2,000 pretty easily. __________________ Her First Day \| A year later

Nov 25, 2004, 11:51 PM	Thread Starter #12
Captain EBD i like computers. Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Sacramento, CA Posts: 296 Rep Power: 0	Cool, thanks everyone for all the info...! Im kinda set on a AMD 64, been wanting a 64bit cpu for long time now + for the most part the computer is going to be used for gaming, some webpage building later on, photoshoping, etc...which AMD is best for - for the most part. __________________ .......