My New PC

Last edited by Strain on Tue Feb 14, 2006 5:31 am; edited 1 time in total

Okay, so I'm thinking of just saving my money and buying a new computer. But I was thinking all I really need wouldn't cost all that much I suppose. The things that need replacing on my PC is my video card, RAM, hard drive and monitor.

But I never know what would be \"good or bad\" really, i'll look on newegg and see a 250GB hard drive for $60.00, then i'll see a 130GB hard drive for $200.00. I guess I am just completely clueless :P I guess I just need time to figure it all out and get used to it.

My father has built my PC's for me in the past because it's sort of a hobby for him and I just wouldn't have the patience.

So, I was hoping any of you could suggest what parts I should go ahead and purchase, as i'd probably buy something that wouldn't even go with my PC. Or work properly I mean.

What I do on the computer: I would really like to start being a gamer, games like Battlefield 2 and F.E.A.R. BF2 BARELY runs on my PC, I have to close everything and disconnect from the net and still sometimes it lags insanely, which can get really annoying.

I also need Photoshop, I'm a semi-pro currently so I need my CS :wub:

I download a lot of things daily, videos, applications, games. The whole deal really.

Hope you guy's can help :)

-
Josh

---------

I forgot to add, these are my specs:

XP Service Pack 2

AMD Athlon XP 2500+

1.84 GHz, 256 MB of RAM

60GB Hard drive.

I'd upgrade your processor and motherboard as well. Currently they limit your choice of video card and the processor will end up being a bottleneck. How much are you looking to spend?

Last edited by ChrisMG on Tue Feb 14, 2006 12:05 pm; edited 1 time in total

For $1500 you could build a really decent system from the ground up.

I agree with Myrdaal though, you'll need to swap MoBo's before really seeing a huge increase in anything.

On the flipside of that, if you were to get say, a gig of ram in your current system, you'd see a dramatic performance increase.  That can be done for just over $100, sometimes less depending on what kind of ram your current system can accomodate. BF2 doesn't run well on your system for mainly two reasons: 1) Your amount of RAM for BF2 is radically inadequate, 2) Your processor could be a bit quicker. Without knowing what kind of video card you currently have, that could be a serious bottleneck as well in regards to BF2's playability.

BF2's Minimum System Requirements:
CPU: 1.7 Ghz
RAM: 512 Mb
Video Card: NVidia GeForce FX 5700, ATI Radeon 8500 or ATI Radeon 9500 with 128 Mb of RAM

Recommended Specs:
CPU: 2.4 Ghz
RAM: 1 Gb
Video Card with at least 256 Mb of RAM

Personally, my course of action would be to upgrade the ram in the first system and then start building a new system with the leftover funds (which will still be around $1400 if not more).  That way you'll have two rigs, one for everyday crap and the other for gaming or whatnot.  Then you can network them and be running two fairly decent systems.

That's just what I would do of course, you're really only limited to your available funds and what you'd like to do.  What kind of motherboard do you have anyway?  As for the monitor, I got a really nice NEC 19\" CRT off of Newegg for right at $200.  Probably not the cheapest, but I prefer NEC as I've never had a single problem with them.

No idea what my mother board is, lol. Where can I check that?

Again, my dad built my PCs :P

I completely agree with Myrdall. You could buy a new video card or w/e now, but you will be limited to AGP. Then you would have to upgrade to a new video card anyway when you upgrade the motherboard.

Due to that and the fact that you have $1,500 I would build a new system. That sort of budget will get you a very nice machine. Also, you could use some parts from your current computer to save some money to make even more room in your budget for better components. So, what exactly do you think you can use from your current computer? I am talking about stuff like speakers, mouse, keyboard, case, etc.

Also, 2GB of RAM is highly recommended for BF2. At high settings it doesn't run well with 1GB. I have also heard that F.E.A.R. benefits from more then 1GB.

For the monitor I would highly suggest this:
http://www.azatek.com/details.asp?iid=607

I am using that monitor right now. I bought it from the same place for the same price. A system with that monitor with a nice video card, CPU, and 2GB of RAM would aweosme for gaming. Best of all, the 22\" CRT I linked to is cheaper then brand new 19\" ones.

EDIT - I just realized that monitor is out of stock.

I think he knows what a motherboard _is_, he just doesn't know what kind he has.

Strain, you can run dxdiag and it may tell you what kind of board you have. Start --> Run --> Type in 'dxdiag' --> hit enter.

A window will open with a plethora of info. Mainly look at System Manufacturer and System Model. The manufacturer will be the maker of the board and the model will be whichever model it is. For example, mine is an ECS K7S5A (Really old board).

Last edited by Strain on Wed Feb 15, 2006 5:53 am; edited 1 time in total

System Mode: AWRDACPI
Bios: Phoenix AwardBIOS v6.00PG

What I'm assuming your referring to.

Thanks for the link KoolDrew, I don't think it's LCD (Or whatever the whole \"Liquid\" thing is). Whatever it is that doesn't make you go blind :P

Thanks for the help and recomendations guy's, really helpful :D

Whats useful on my current PC would be my Yamaha surround sound speakers. That's about it really. The case is a little dinged up and i've had it for years.

cpuZ will tell you every thing you need to know about your computer.

With your buget I would suggest something like this:

AMD Opteron 165 - $325
DFI LANPartyY UT nF4 Ultra-D - $129.99
G.SKILL Extreme Series 2GB (2 x 1GB) - $197
HIS Radeon X1800XT - $409.99
Western Digital Caviar 250GB 16MB Cache - $100
NEC ND-3550A - $37.99
Lian Li PC-65B - $125
OCZ Powerstream 520w - $127.99
Mitsubishi Diamond Plus 22\" CRT - $150

Total w/o shipping - ~$1,600

The list above is more geared towards a serious overclocker though. If you have no intentions on overclocking I would change a few parts. However, I would highly suggest overclocking. It may seem dificult at first, but it isn't at all. We would also be glad to help you out when you get started overclocking. Also, while the DFI is considered the best overclocking board, it may take a little tweaking to get it to work properly. However, the DFI is extremely popular. This makes it much easier for you to get help if you are having problems. There are some guides at dfi-street.com too. You could also ask for help there or plenty of other forums in addition to CITF.

You may not benefit from the dual-core CPU much right now, but it will help in the future. The Opteron will also overclock very well. That RAM is probably the best in terms of price/performance when it comes to overclocking. The video card will give you incredible performance. It will play all new games great at high settings. There are better cards, but I don't think any of them offer a significant enough performance increase to justify to extra cost. I only went with a 250GB drive, but if you need more space, go for it. If you do get a larger one I would get the same model I linked to. They are the best all-around when it comes to drives this size. I have the same optical drive and it is great. I only linked to a case that I like. I suggest looking around Newegg for cases that you like as it all comes down to personal preference and the type of features you are looking for. However, I will give you some recommendations. Look at some cases from Antec, Cooler Master and Lian-Li. There are plenty of other manufacturers, but I like cases by those ones the most. The PSU is considered to be the best for the DFI NF4 motherboard. You could also go cheaper though. The Fortron AX500-A is more then capable and is much cheaper. I am using the same CRT right now and it is great. However, it is out of stock so you may have to pick a different one. I suggest going with a high-end CRT as opposed to an LCD for gaming. LCD's would be much more expensive and would still not be as good for gaming. You could add a sound card, but I don't think you're a big sound guy so I think you'll be fine with onboard sound. I didn't include keyboard or mouse so if you need that, add them in. Look at Logitech for them. I also did not include a floppy. If you really need one you could use one from your old computer (if it has one) or pick one up locally).

I suggest looking at all the parts i linked you to and decide for yourself if you want them. Don't just buy what I recommend without doing some research of your own. There are a number of ways to cut costs without hurting performance.

I linked them all to Newegg, but you don't have to buy them all from there. I would actually recommend not doing so. Newegg is great, but the shipping costs of all the parts would be rather large. So I recommend also looking at ZipZoomFly. They don't have as good of a selection as Newegg, but they offer free shipping on most of their items. So I would check ZZF first for items and any that you can't get from their buy from Newegg or shop around for even better prices.

Also, this time when your dad builds the PC, pay attention. Ask him to tell you what everything is and stuff. This way you have an understanding of it.

Wow, thanks man... I really appreciate it. Means a lot.

I will definately shop around for a case of my own personal preference. First and for most, I have to raise all the money :P

That will take me a good while. Opening my own small business, etc. Make some money that way, then at the same time have a part time job in town. Then I will do other things for money on websites, probably sell a few things I no longer need on eBay.

I'm also definately going to ask my dad everything. This machine will probably be as good as his, I just hope he doesn't screw me over and take the goods from mine and give me his or other parts he has lying around.

Unfortunately for me, he tends to do that. :(

Anyways, I'm sure it will all work out for the best.

Glad I found this place, great community :D

I'd switch that video card with this one
It's a couple bucks more, but much better performance.

As you can see from this when you turn up AF and AA the X1800XT performs better and with a card like that he better be turining up AF and AA. :P

this and tons of other reviews show the same thing. I'll even quote:

Very good choice of processor, KoolDrew. Opterons are amazingly cheap, yet they perform as well as some of the dual core Athlon64s which cost a hell of a lot more.

I question your case choice, though.. I myself do not believe in spending big money on the housing for your computer. If you want to look flashy and have bragging rights - sure, but its not really my thing to spend more on a case than you do on your hard disk.

Very nice RAM selection. With 1500 USD to spend, you can build a very quick system. If its gaming you're into, I reccomend switching the x1800 with the card Josh suggested. This way, you pay slightly more, gain some performance in-game, and open up your options of taking the SLi plunge in the future.

Good luck with your first build - it always is the most fun,

-t1mm