Assembling a new pc

[shought]

Hey guys, i think some of you will be able to help me with this. I want to buy a new desktop and found a site where i can assemble my own, it's even cheap.

I've got a few needs, and i have some questions.

Here's a description of what i want to do with the pc, that probably helps:

Most of the time it's just a home pc(Messaging, Email, Word, Internet), but i do want to be able to play a decent shooter on medium settings. So not everything has to look real crisp and stuff, just OK is fine for me. The pc will have to do for +/- 5 years or more and vista is something i don't want/need.

Now i've got a few things i want:

- 2GB DDR2 RAM(800 MHz, CL4)

- +/- 200GB Hard drive

- A video card that is able to do the things i just stated, play a decent shooter at medium setting(so i guess a 256MB one will do, but 512MB is fine too).

- DVD Burner

- Card Reader

- A cheap pc

Of course i need some more basic things like LAN and sound but that's kind of normal for a desktop.

So i hope you guys have some advice for me!

One more thing: I don't know shit about motherboards and what is the difference between one or another, i guess it's just the connections but i'm not sure...

The system i came up with so far(Suggestions/comments are welcome!):

Case (Midi Tower)
•	Sharkoon Revenge Value
•	 4x 5,25 inch extern, 1x 3,5 inch extern, 6x 3,5 inch intern	 
•	€ 45,-
•	Built in casefans: 140mm front, 250mm side
•	Optional casefan 120mm(I didn't select one, I've got enough fans already)

Feed
•	Cooler Master ExtremePower
•	400 Watt, 5x 5,25 inch, 1x 3,5 inch, 4 x Serial-ATA
•	€ 39,-

Motherboard (Socket AM2)
•	MSI K9N Neo-F V3
•	NVIDIA nForce 560, 1.600-2.000 MT/s
•	€ 55,-

•	4x PCI
•	2x PCIe x1
•	1x PCIe x16

•	SDRAM-DDR2
•	4x DDR2(Up to 8192 MB)
•	DDR2-400/533/667/800

•	1x 40-pin IDE Connection
•	Ultra DMA/133 Controller
•	Max. 2 devices, 133 MB/s

•	NVIDIA nForce4
•	4x Serial-ATA(II) Connection
•	Max. 4 devices, 300 MB/s

•	USB 2.0 Controller
•	4x USB 2.0 Connection
•	60 MB/s, Max 127 devices

•	1x 6-pin FireWire Connection
•	Max. devices 63(50 MB/s)

•	Onboard Sound: Realtek ALC883
•	1 x Line-in, 1x Mic, 4x Line-Out, 8x Analog, HD Audio

•	Gigabit
•	10/100/1000 Mbps
•	1 x RJ-45 (LAN)

CPUs (Socket AM2)
•	AMD Athlon64 X2 4800+
•	2x 2500 MHz, L1 Cache 2x 128 kB, L2 Cache 2x 512 kB, 2000 MT/s, Brisbane
•	€ 69,-
•	Boxed Cooler (ATX Layout)

Graphics Card (ATI, PCIe)
•	Club3D HD2600 XT , DDR3 256 MB 2200 Mhz, 128 bit
•	GPU Speed: 800 Mhz
•	Shader model: 4.0, DirectX 10, OpenGL 2.0
•	Active cooling
•	€ 79,-

Memory DDR2 (800 Mhz)
•	OCZ 2 GB DDR2-800 Kit
•	2048 MB, CL4 4-4-15, 2x 1024 MB, PC2 6400
•	€ 45,-

Harddisk 3,5 inch(SATA)
•	Samsung SpinPoint S250
•	200 GB, 8,9 ms access time, 8 MB cache, 7200 RPM
•	€ 39,90

DVD-ReWriter (S-ATA)
•	Sony NEC Optiarc AD-7200S
•	20 / 8 / 12 speed, 20 / 6 / 12 speed, 16 / 48 speed
•	€ 22,-

Cardreader
•	CardReader intern 54-in-1
•	CF I, CF II, MD, SD, MMC, SM, xD, MS, MS Duo, MS PRO
•	€ 9,-

Mouse
•	Sweex Optical Mouse
•	PS/2
•	800 dpi
•	1,52 m cable
•	€ 4,90

Keyboard
•	Sweex Multimedia Keyboard
•	PS/2
•	€ 5,-

Subtotal: € 412,80,-
Building costs: € 55,-
Sending costs: € 17,50(€ 5,- if I order it in March. I hope that I will be able to do so)
Total: € 472,80 (+/- $ 730,-)(Counting € 5,- sending costs)

[Anteus]

First of all I would like to say that you can a PC better/cheaper if you buy and put it together yourself, but as you doesn't seem to know so much about that the site you found sounds good.

About Video card it's not all about the size of it, it's both speed and size.

RAM DDR2 doesn't specify the speed so look at Hz and the "PCX-XXXX" where X is numbers the higher the faster :frusty:

And last, floppy (>_< isn't standard anymore please get a cheap USB-memory or something.

[Samurai]

I posted a Building A Custom PC Guide somewhere in this thread, if you haven't seen it.

>> Here <<

It also explains most of the components to a good level of understanding. It's 12MB in size, and 410 pages long. Should be something in there that might help you understand a bit more :frusty:

[shought]

I posted a Building A Custom PC Guide somewhere in this thread, if you haven't seen it.

>> Here <<

It also explains most of the components to a good level of understanding. It's 12MB in size, and 410 pages long. Should be something in there that might help you understand a bit more :frusty:

I see now, i'll look into that. But don't expect me to read it all! :P However i think you might've misunderstood me, because i'm not putting it together myself, it's just the problem of selecting the appropriate parts.

[eBait]

I just ordered a 9600gt vid card here, you can buy my 7600gs for a friendly price if you want (talk to me on msn/pm) - it runs COD4 but on low detail.

[Samurai]

No no, I understood... but there are parts in the guide that do explain what parts are needed with other parts (if that makes sense).

Another good source would be Wikipedia. You should be able to determine what motherboard is within your budget from stores online, what socket it uses, and from there what processor would be best value for money.

There is normally a "sweet spot" where you could get a powerful processor for the budget you have set aside before it jumps up to astronomical figures for one that hasn't been out that long. You just need to justify the expense, should you wish to go the whole way.

There is a processor I have in mind that would be ideal for what you need but I can't think of the number off the top of my head, so I'll get back to you when I find it.

Do you have an online store that you're planning to use? I'll use that to send you links if that's ok.

[shought]

First of all I would like to say that you can a PC better/cheaper if you buy and put it together yourself, but as you doesn't seem to know so much about that the site you found sounds good.

About Video card it's not all about the size of it, it's both speed and size.

RAM DDR2 doesn't specify the speed so look at Hz and the "PCX-XXXX" where X is numbers the higher the faster :frusty:

And last, floppy (>_< isn't standard anymore please get a cheap USB-memory or something.

Whoops, missed you posts.

I myself would want to put it together, but it's a pc we all use at our home and because of that my dad probably doesn't want me doing so... I can just let them put it together. That'll spare me like what, 10 hours of reading and putting together and it will spare me the risk of messing it up :P So i'm not going to put it together myself.

If anyone is interested you can check out the site yourself(it's in dutch though but i think english people will understand too) just click 'Pc-builder' in the top menu at this site: http://www.alternate.nl

I could also post the pc i put together there and see what you think of it... Would that be a good idea? Well i don't care i'll do it anyway :P

(It's in the attachment, some dutch but all component names and stuff is in english)

Comments on the configuration are welcome!

Configuration posted in first post.

[shought]

No no, I understood... but there are parts in the guide that do explain what parts are needed with other parts (if that makes sense).Another good source would be Wikipedia. You should be able to determine what motherboard is within your budget from stores online, what socket it uses, and from there what processor would be best value for money.There is normally a "sweet spot" where you could get a powerful processor for the budget you have set aside before it jumps up to astronomical figures for one that hasn't been out that long. You just need to justify the expense, should you wish to go the whole way.There is a processor I have in mind that would be ideal for what you need but I can't think of the number off the top of my head, so I'll get back to you when I find it.Do you have an online store that you're planning to use? I'll use that to send you links if that's ok.

Well then i misunderstood :PThe site is pretty cheap(imo) so i think i found my sweet spot...The site itself makes it impossible(i think it does) to select a CPU that doesn't match the motherboard. I think so because when i select a certain CPU the number of available motherboards shrinks.(The other way around too)Yep, the store i just mentioned, but if you guys have a good one please do post it! I don't mind US stores or something, they're probably even cheaper...

I just ordered a 9600gt vid card here, you can buy my 7600gs for a friendly price if you want (talk to me on msn/pm) - it runs COD4 but on low detail.

That's a nice offer. I'll look up the specs about the 7600gs later, have to go work now :frusty:

Btw: Funny you mentioned COD4, that was exactly the game i tried to install on the old pc and it gave me an error about pixel shading version and some other version that should be 2, and our pc had 1.1 pixel shading and 1.4 the other.

[devon]

anyway, before your decide which graphics card to buy.... you may want to check your system if it comply to some game requirements here

http://www.systemrequirementslab.com/referrer/srtest

[shought]

anyway, before your decide which graphics card to buy.... you may want to check your system if it comply to some game requirements here

http://www.systemrequirementslab.com/referrer/srtest

Coincidence, i used exactly that site to check if my system was fit for COD4 :dance2: Anyway, how can this site help me decide which graphic card to use? Because i don't have the others parts/computer without graphic card yet. I want to buy a whole new system.

[shought]

Updated my configuration, got a few tips from a friend and applied them. Please look at it and give me comments!

(Configuration can be found in my first post)

[eBait]

Seems like a fair setup to me :(

[shought]

Seems like a fair setup to me :)

Thanks ebait, about the video card, a nice offer, but i think i'll just buy a new one which they put in it. :)

I've put the configuration in the first post so you don't have to download it.

[eBait]

Prolly cheaper then sending it over to you + like 10-20 euro :)

[shought]

Prolly cheaper then sending it over to you + like 10-20 euro :)

Yep... Might not be that expensive... I live in the netherlands too :) So I might've been able to just come pick it up.

Btw: I changed my motherboard guys. I went from the Asus M2N-X Plus to the GigaByte M56S-S3 because i found some bad reviews about the Asus board. I updated the first post, if anyone has experiences with any of my parts please do share them.

[Atasas]

Neat and sensible setUp!

Like it!

[shought]

Neat and sensible setUp!

Like it!

Thanks very much! Had some help though, but i did most on my own :)

[eBait]

You can come n get my PSU now cheaper if ya want, just found out it hadnt have the PCI-e feed I needed for my vid card, I'm grabbing a new one :P

[shought]

You can come n get my PSU now cheaper if ya want, just found out it hadnt have the PCI-e feed I needed for my vid card, I'm grabbing a new one :P

What's cheap to you? I've got a video card for €45,- selected now.

[shought]

I changed my video card(see first post) and picked another case since there were some comments about the other case(the fans) being noisy. They both have 2 fans(120mm front and 250mm side). This one has a few reviews and they tell me the fans are quite...

[shought]

Guys, i need your thought about the motherboard. I just randomly picked one that seemed good to me, but what brand would you suggest?

And when i'm assembling my pc the site gives me a tip: to take a floppy drive because this might be needed to install drivers for Windows XP to work on a SATA/SCSI drive. I've got a SATA drive, do i really need this?

[zombiegod]

ASUS Motherboards are pretty popular!

[shought]

ASUS Motherboards are pretty popular!

Thanks i'll look out for those! But what about the GigaByte one i selected? Any comments?

I changed video card, a friend suggested i should take one with a 128bit interface rather than a 64bit interface, the price went up € 14,- but this one is a better card and i read some reviews about the MSI Radeon X2600 Pro(Based on the Radeon HD2600 PRO, with 256 MB DDR2 RAM at 1400 Mhz, clock speed 600 Mhz, they say it's pretty good. It's also listed in the top 100 video cards(not high though, like 70th) but i don't need a very good card. I think this one will do.

I changed my motherboard too, first i had the GigaByte one, now i've got an MSI one selected. I found an excellent review about that board. It's even cheaper and doesn't have FireWire which i don't use anyway. See first post for details.

Sooooo, how about MSI boards? A respected name? I've found this site with a lot of good reviews(and a bad one...) about the board:

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/131187/show_product_reviews

[zombiegod]

You found a good site with ebuyer. It's a good site for gleaning info from. Have a browse through the category's and see which ones get goods press.

[shought]

You found a good site with ebuyer. It's a good site for gleaning info from. Have a browse through the category's and see which ones get goods press.

Ok thanks, i'll check the comments on that site out.