Well I have about $1500 to spend on putting together a new computer. I could use all of your suggestions and help in piecing together a new rig. I will be building it myself, and need to buy everything new, except for a new monitor, joystick ect.

I need new case, cpu, motherboard, memory, vid card, hard drive, dvd rom and cdr drive, case basicly everything. Things that I could use your help on are, I would like to get the most power out of processor, motherboard and vid card for gaming.

Any and all help is appreciated. I cant wait till I build this beast So I can actually run bf2 Company of Hereos, battlestations and all the other goodies I have been missing out on.

Thanks in advance.

Sorry I've been busy so I haven't gotten around to it. 1500 will get you a darn good computer. If you want the tops I'd go for something like:

AMD X2 (64 bit) - 4000+ or better, AM2 chipset if possible
2 Gigs CAS 2 ish RAM (i think 2.5 is the best out there I forget), I like mushkin personally.
Nicest Video card you can get, 7600 GT PCIE is pretty good for the money definetly can get better if you want to spend the $$$
Motherboards vary greatly, I dunno much about which one to get but get an AM2 based chipset if possible, it is a newer socket and will have better features, personally I like the nforce line of motherboards if you can find one.

Drives, I like EIDE drives still, vs SATA due to the fact that I have headaches setting up SATA but SATA's are faster.

Case, get what looks good lol. Power get atleast 500 watt since it's a gaming machien.

DVD drive, buy whatever matches the color, unless you plan on doing dual layer or lightscribe, just get a basic drive that writes + or -.

The bottom line here is most of your money will be spent on your CPU, RAM, and half on your video card. Yes your video card could easily be half your budget if you're wanting something top of the line go with the 8800 GTX lol, only 550 otherwise 8800 GTS is 390 ish I think.

If you want more specifict parts lemme know, I can look more. But pricewatcher is a decent place to check general pricing. I like zipzoomfly.com for most of my parts and newegg.com if necessary, I dun like them as much sometimes cuz it feels wierd there.

Remember to save money for windows and office if yer into that sorta thing.

SFF case and mobo
CPU
Memory with a 50 dollar rebate!
Vid Card
Hard drive
DVD drive

Grand total? 1352.97
And that rig is gonna be FAST.
Sata is the way to go with hard drives.
As far as a small form factor? I dunno, honestly I've never had one but if your not a tinkerer and just need a fast box for gaming and such I like the idea. Specially since I have been through a mobo, CPU, and powersupply because my honkin mid-tower broke the shelf it sits on.
Bad stuff? Drives kinda small for my tastes but I also store DVD .iso's on my drive Plus that drive is a rocket!
No sound card. unless your spending 500+ on 5.1 or more speakers, onboard sound is good enough to satisfy most gamers.

and i left you some money for an OS. I would go steal a copy of XP myself but to each their own

I would also do whatever it takes to upgrade the vid card to a 8800gtx because they are so fast you will pee yourself, and if you buy vista your gonna want dx10.

/my 2 cents

Case = Antec P180 (or182, we got a bunch of 182s in 180 boxes and they are SO badass, I'll explain in another post)

Mobo = P5n32-e SLI is a great gamers choice but I'm going with a Striker

CPU = Gotta go with a Core2 Duo, I'm getting a E6600 MUST have a zalman 9500 or 9700. I'm going w/ 9700.

The XFX 7950 fanless gfx card seems to be a great deal right now. I'm getting one and I'll add an 8800 or better in about a year when games use DX10. At that point, I'll just drop the 7950 down to the 2nd PCIe slot for uber gfx performance.

get a good PSU. I recommend Seasonic. I'm getting a 600 watt M12 (modular cables, 85% efficiency, cool and quiet with plenty of head room so it doesn't have to work hard to power everything that is going to be running in the next few years.

I'll have a beefy system up in about 3 weeks and will post some schweet pics and benchmark results.

I already have a pair of 1 gb corsair pc6400 sticks (4-4-4-12) ready to go and I already got one of the 4 HDDs from Western Digital. Going to stripe and mirror the little bastards. I'm planning on getting a Vista performance rating
of around 5.6 or so. It will all depend on just how well my ram actually performs as most of the other stuff should rate at 5.9.

anyway, here is my list. I update it every few days to see what prices are moving:

ASUS P5N32-E SLI LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 680i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard $254.99

Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 2.4GHz LGA 775 Processor $315.00

SeaSonic M12 SS-600HM ATX12V / EPS12V 600W Power Supply $154.99

Western Digital Caviar SE16 250GB 3.5" SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive $74.99

Open Box: XFX PVT71JYHE9 GeForce 7950GT 512MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP ExTreme Edition Video Card $219.99

Antec P180B Black ATX Mid Tower Computer Case $124.99

ZALMAN CNPS 9700 NT 110mm 2 Ball Ultra Quiet CPU Cooler $79.99

Total: $1224.94


This system would cost about $3K if I built it at work.

Thanks Cannon, Go-Go and Face for your replies. I am so stoked to piece toghether a new rig!!! Oh one other question, Should I look into getting vista? Does vista better utilize the duel processors? I know it will come standard with dx10 but what will xp be just fine? THoughts. And thanks again all!



P.S. Thanks Markus for your Smart ass reponse.

I really like Vista and since I needed a legit copy of XP anyways, I bought an OEM XP that came with a Vista upgrade coupon so I get two for one.

Vista has some really cool features and, for the most part, things are better organized but it's a revolution or anything. If XP is working for you, stick with it and give vista a shot in about a year. Vista does run faster with almost everything (that works with it) as I work with systems that are the exact same and running side by side doing the same shit and Vista will load up and run some of our software faster than XP can put up the 1st splash screen BUT there are still a lot of things (Hardware and Software) that don't work with Vista or are never going to.
\
In the end, Vista is where everything is headed as far as windows goes and that is where the support is directed.

Scratch that 9750 on my system list. Its hard to turn down an 8800gtx when you are getting hooked up LIKE A MOTHERFUCKER!!!!! so I'll be putting one in my impending build.

I'll post pics when I do it....

Face wrote:

Scratch that 9750 on my system list. Its hard to turn down an 8800gtx when you are getting hooked up LIKE A MOTHERFUCKER!!!!! so I'll be putting one in my impending build. I'll post pics when I do it....

you mean scratch the 7950 right???

yes, I do mean that.

Done. 5-7 business days is my day of rekoning. Let me know if I screwed up somewhere. Heres the parts I ordered

case
Motherboard
Power Supply
Hard Drive
DVD Rom
vid card
processor
memorycooler ( I think I might not need this though)
key and mouse

All and all it ended up being 1354.74, I tried to work it so I could get the 8800 but I will just wait 6 months or so and SLI those bitches!

I almost bought that cube you told me about go-go, but I read on a few sites that you are limited in what components you can stick in there, So I figure I have enough room, might as well go mid-size. Once again thank you guys for your help.

Looks uber-sexay bro!
Can't wait to see it in action

You aren't gonna know what the hell to do with that thing, no shit.

Lookin' good, Weepy. Looks like she'll have some balls.

Kicks ass!

Looks like you have the AMD version of what I';m building. LMK when it gets to you if you want me to give you tips/secrets about putting it together .

I don't mind at all to get on the phone w/ you for some building.

I hope you get lucky and actually get a P182B. We got a whole shipment of them in P180 boxes and they kick so much ass. The mobo is raised so you can run all your power under it and keepo the top nice and clean for better airflow. You'll NEED it w/ that fanless 7950 even without your next card going.

I go ahead and tell you turn the zalman cooler to where it exhausts to the TOP of the case and put a 120mm fan up there blowing out. You also want to use the two little clips to put a fan on the 3.5 bay (the top one, removing the trays for HDDs) blowing right at your 7950. If you use the antecfans, just pop out the one in thge bottom of the case that is in front of where your PSU goes.

Face wrote:

Kicks ass! Looks like you have the AMD version of what I';m building. LMK when it gets to you if you want me to give you tips/secrets about putting it together . I don't mind at all to get on the phone w/ you for some building. I hope you get lucky and actually get a P182B. We got a whole shipment of them in P180 boxes and they kick so much ass. The mobo is raised so you can run all your power under it and keepo the top nice and clean for better airflow. You'll NEED it w/ that fanless 7950 even without your next card going. I go ahead and tell you turn the zalman cooler to where it exhausts to the TOP of the case and put a 120mm fan up there blowing out. You also want to use the two little clips to put a fan on the 3.5 bay (the top one, removing the trays for HDDs) blowing right at your 7950. If you use the antecfans, just pop out the one in thge bottom of the case that is in front of where your PSU goes.

Recieved all but the power supply today. It didnt say backordered when I place my order. Any way I have installed mobo, processpr, hard drive, dvdrom, ram, about everything except the power supply andd all its componenets. If I understand correctly I think I recieved the p182 b, looks like I can run power supply wives and what have you in betweent the chassis and the backside of the case. Is this what you mean?? Also I installed the hd in the lower bay. Which antec fan are you saying to remove to mount on the upper 3.5 (middle) fan area? If its easier I might give you a call Face.

I will be happy when I find the details on my ps. Wife has been pissed tonight because I have paid all my attention to the new rig Oh well her b-day gift. lol



EDIT UPDATE: Just got off the phone with zipzoomfly and they said there is no eta for my ps, So i canceled and orders this one from new egg. Almost same but modular

Power Supply