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Building a PC. Kindly asking for opinions.


XenoZohar
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I'm planning to get parts and build a custom PC centered on gaming (what else? ). If the denizens of this board who have dabbled into this kind of thing would be willing to make some suggestions on what to get (all parts, from mobo to modem, and yes, I need a modem AND NIC), it would be greatly appreciated. I know some of the basics like a GeForce 2 Ultra/MX or even a GF 3, and a AMD T-bird, but I'm wondering about things like the monitor, speakers, sound card, etc. Also a vidcard that includes Video-in/Video-out would be a plus, but not necessary.

I'm willing to accept a link to a guide, but if you say PlanetHardware, I'm going to toss ya out the nearest airlock!

If anyone even responds, thanks in advance!

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Hi, here's a link to a site that can take you step by step on how to build your own system from scratch --> http://www.tomshardware.com/

Also, there's quite a controversy here about building your own system, the majority will tell you to go for AMD, I would still say go for P4, I think that in the end intell will still come out on the top. Also I like the RDram that comes with P4 motherboards. Anyways, read some stuff on that site, it's quite informative.

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For the short term I'd say go for AMD first as it is cheaper. It's fast and its cheap.

But if unlike me you have cash to burn and want the best there is get a P4.

On the other hand if you are broke I can sell you a state of the art Cyrix-333 (lol).

Nah seriously get the P-4.

Why get an Imprezza when you can get an EVO-6(not 7)

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Oh yeah also get a fast internet connection like ADSL or cable. You'll never know when Derek decides to give us something to download like a new demo or mission (hint hint). Last time I tried to download a demo (ep2) it took overnight and I missed a few calls from my in-laws (which is not such a bad thing really )

Once I move house I'll also be getting cable modem but not now. In England you have to have a years contract and if you were to move, it means you've breached your contract and you have to pay for the whole year before they reconect you.

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Yeah, I have highspeed access covered (going to college in a few weeks). I have cable access right now, though when the EP1 and EP2 demos were released, I still had to use a dial-up. I feel your pain.

I don't think I could stand to sign that kind of a contract...

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As far as Video cards, GeForce III based cards I have heard really good things about, specifically that they take pretty much all the load off of your cpu. Instead of drawing what is described by the cpu they describe it themselves. From vertices to polygon attributes, everything. Should be really useful for developers in the long run.

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One more question, this one about OS, though not like Silk's post about OS.

I'm planning to get WinXP when it's released in October, and my plan is to split the new drive into two partitions: One for Win2k Pro, and one for Win XP. Now, since these are so similar(the kernels are both based on NT stuff, though XP is more based on 2000), is this a dumb idea? My main reason for having both is the fact that XP is supposed to have MUCH better DOS support than WinME, plus it can run 95/98 programs a lot better than WinME supposedly does. Gotta have my BC3k support, ya know?

[edit] I'm also thinking of a third partition for Linux, but that might be overkill...any opinion on that? [/edit]

Well, any reply is appreciated. It'll be a while before I start assembling parts and software, so i'm recording any suggestions for later use.

[ 07-27-2001: Message edited by: XenoZohar ]

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Hmm, Sharky Extreme has extensive guides on good parts for Gaming Performance-Based systems, and systems for gamers with a budget. They give you the ground up on every part from the case, and motherboard, to the speakers, monitor, keyboard, mouse, and OS. Of course, they don't exactly show you where to buy them, but you can search Price Watch for the cheapest places on the web to buy those components.

Also, if you're new to building PC's, then they have a great guide on how to actually put the thing together, and the whatnot.

Finally they also have weekly-updated price guides for memory, and CPU's, they have an extensive Forum system, and it's an overall great site.

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Oh, man you just had to open the proverbial can-o-worms. Well, heres goes. The Scrive-man's hardware list. And remember, if you pay more than the prices I quote, you're paying way too much:

Mobo: Under ideal circumstances, I would recommend a DDR mobo; but since the only brands I trust (Asus, Abit, Iwill) only make DDR mobos w/ built-in audio, I can't recommend a decent DDR Mainboard. I is VERY, VERY bad to get a mobo with built-in audio or video. They waste resources and you will almost always end up with some kind of obscure conflict whenever you decide to upgrade. Trust me, I speak from experience. To date, the mobo I have used the most (I build computers on commission as a hobby) is the Abit KT7A-RAID ($130). It's a stable, feature-rich, and easy to configure board that supports Thunderbird 1.4Ghz processors, which brings me to the next component.

CPU: So far, the AMD 1.3Ghz Thunderbirds have beat the Intel 1.7Ghz P4s in ALMOST every test run between the two. The exception was Quake 3, which is optimized for the P4. Even then, the margin wasn't much. Intel just cut P4 prices by 55% to compete with AMD, but its too little too late. AMD is just more affordable and offers more raw power. Theres a lot of people who claim that the P4 can grossly outpace the AMD "when developers start optimizing for it." The counter-argument is easy, "remember when they said that about MMX?" Your best bet is an AMD Thunderbird 1.4Ghz (266Mhz), which you should be able to get for about $200.

CPU Fan: DO NOT NEGLECT THE CPU FAN. AMD processors run hot. And when I say hot, I mean friggin Intel-killer hot. Its normal, but the better the cooling, the longer your CPU life and the more overclocking possibilities you'll have later on. I, personally would recommend the Alpha PAL6035 kit with a 38cfm fan (Use a 25cfm fan if you're not privy to the noize that the 38cfm fan makes). I've also heard that the new Dragon Orb 3 is a great heatsink/fan combo, but I've haven't yet used it myself. I would also recommend purchasing some Arctic Silver II thermal compound. The stuff makes a world of difference. I purchase most of my heatsinks/fans from www.2cooltek.com.

Memory: The price of PC133 is so low that you could buy a Gig of memory for the same price as most EBGames.com pre-orders. However, it is very, very important that you buy quality, warrantied, chips with ECC. I would warn you against purchasing memory over the internet. In the event that you need to exchange chips, its much more convenient to run down to your local Fried Electronics or CrapUSA. I can't count the times I've had odd inexplicable problems because of screwy memory chips. At least 512MB PC133 should suffice.

Video: Leadtek Winfast GeForce 3 ($350). You don't have too many GeForce 3 options and this is most available.

DVD: DVD is must. Period. End of discussion. Creative Labs DVD Encore 12X ($130) is the way to go. The Included Dxr3 Decoder card makes WORLDS of difference when watching your DVD movies.

CDRW: Another necessity. The Creative Labs MK4216 32x/12x/10x ($100) is most reliable CDRW you can buy, based on my own experience. I can also warn you AGAINST buying any Hewlett Packard CDRWs. The CDRWs themselves are very efficient and reliable, but don't expect any support or customer service from HP when you need a software update or if something goes wrong. HP will likely expect you to pay upwards of $50.00 for new software. Adaptec CD Creator 5 ($70) in conjunction with CloneCD3 ($40) makes for a very powerful suite of CD-writing software.

Sound: Creative Labs Sound Blaster Live! X-Gamer 5.1. Like you have any other options.

Modem: Get a cheap $20 Netgear ethernet card and sign up for DSL. Telocity comes as my currently highest recommended DSL provider. Installing the Telocity modem is as simple as plugging it into your ethernet card. No extra software or tinkering required.

Monitor: ViewSonic makes the best monitors out there. I absolutely LOVE my 19" Viewsonic G90F (.21 Horiz Dot Pitch, .14 Vert Dot Pitch, .25 Diag Dot Pitch, True flat screen, 1600x1200 max res).

Mouse: "Mouse?" You say? Yes, there are awesome mice. And the Microsoft Optical Mouse is not among them. You basically have two options. Your first option is "good mouse" (MS Intellimouse Explorer), your second option is "the friggin allmighty god of mice." I refer to none other than the legendary Karna Razer Boomslang 2000. At $100 its a bit pricey, and it has a bit of a breaking-in period, but you cannot buy a better mouse. For the first two weeks, you will absolutely HATE it. Once you acquire the taste, though, comparing it to any other mouse would be like comparing a Yugo to a Porche. Karna Razer Boomslang 2000 is the mouse to buy.

Speakers: You can't beat a good set of headphones for complete immersion. But when you have some friends over and want to watch a movie (Or want to be able to tell EXACTLY where that sound is comming from), the Camridge Soundworks Desktop Theatre 3500 Digital $250) is the way to go. Putting the thing together and finding a "sweet spot" is a task, be sure of it, but nothing is as cool as hearing actually bullets whiz right by your head.

Hard Disk Drive: Maxtor 100Gb k014100GH Ultra-DMA/100 ($270). 9ms seek time and 5400 RPM. You wont find anything bigger or faster without using a SCSI HDD. Trust me, SCSI just isnt worth the exponential cost increase.

Case: This is where you are on your own. The handsomeness of a case means nothing. A pretty case that's impossible to work inside usually comes with the hidden cost of several bottles of Advil. When picking out a case, ensure that the inside is roomy, that everything is easily accessable, and most importantly, that you have a top horizontal-mounted power supply (You may need to buy a new 300W power supply depending on how many goodies you decide load your box with).

Add a Diskette drive, an OS (WinME is you're buying all your hardware new), and a Microsoft Natural Keyboard Pro to top it all off. Bake till golden brown. Let chill for 30min. And you have one hell of an awesome computer.

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One last note. I shop www.mwave.com for most of my parts. They're cheap, have a good return policy, and their warehouse is about 30min from my home, so I can will-call everything to avoid shipping charges *grins*. Cases I only buy when I can personally inspect them. Its not unheard-of to spend $300 for some super-case loaded full of fans and a 600W power-supply.

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I have to say that AMD is the better CPU maker, it doesn't matter whos chips is faster than the other (10% doesn't make that much of a difference when a have 4 times the recommend processor speed). AMD produces (in general) faster chips at a lower cost than intel so they are the better chip maker at the moment. Also AMD chips don't need expensive and not worth it RAM (DDR/T-Bird systems run faster than P4/RDRAM systems at a lower cost.) By the time games are optimized for Pentium 4s, AMD's T-bird with Palmino will be running as fast or fast than P4s. So the little advantage the P4 would have is gone.

In short AMD is better and you have to have lots of cash AND be stupid if you bought pentium 4.

On another note, Nvidia is going to making Mobos (for AMD chips). They will have a intergrated Gefroce 2MX, Sound card, and support DDR RAM. If that mother board doesn't have any probelms it will be the board the to get. The intergrated components add only about $10-$20 to the price.

PS - Please don't take this personally both AMD and Intell need to be around becuase they drive each others prices down .

[ 08-04-2001: Message edited by: Game_Ender ]

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