My Future Gaming Machine (suggestions please)

[beam]

Here is what I have after my first run through:

http://secure.newegg.com/app/WishR.asp?ID=288515

If you have any suggestions, let me know. I want to stay under $1000 for everything (yes I need a new monitor)

Thanks!

[synreal]

get the 8mb cache version of that drive, well worth the extra few bucks.

any reason that you are going for a pentium rig as opposed to an AMD? you are still below the 2400 price break for Athlons, might be worth looking into.

also, for a few bucks more you can get a radeon 9500 pro which will eat that video card for lunch and is better suit for future technologies (DX9 for example)

overall, a nice rig though.

[beam]

Pentium mostly out of ignorance. I only know that the 2100 runs at 1.73 mhz. But I don't know how that compares.

I forgot about the HD cache! Thanks for that.

I also didn't know how the ATI cards stack up against the GeForce.

So does the AMD 2400 compare pretty much to a 2.53 P4?

[sneakyhacker420]

https://www.cgallery.com

i live down the street from that shop... we get all of our computers from there, he'll usually ship it to places, theres no stupid dell crap, and theres great customer service

he'll save you ALOT of money... he'll give you everything that you NEED and nothing you dont

[synreal]

athlons run at the p4 equivalent of their posted speed (ie a p4 2.4 and an athlon xp 2400 are about the same even though the ahtlon's clock is a good deal slower)

the benefit of the p4 is the quad pumped frontside bus, but while your ram is quick its not top of the line and i don't think you will see massive gains over the (much cheaper) amd alternative (not to mention that nForce 2 boards are wicked nice)

right now, for the cash, in the higher end card bracket you can do no better than a radeon 9500/9700 <b>pro</b>

the site above has prices that aren't too bad, but are a good deal more than you will pay at newegg

[jah871]

i just built a new computer and i got the new radeon video card. i love it, you cant go wrong with radeon. also you may want to keep an eye out in the circuit city and best buy ads for cheap parts with rebates. i got the same speed cd rom for 20 bucks at best buy.

[xmetal2001]

It looks good, BUT:

If it were me, I'd take out the second 512mb of ram, and buy a better video card.(9500pros are good for the money, but the 9600's just came out, they are a step back from the 9500pro, but they overclock nicely and are cheaper).

Also, If it were me, I would go for a more reliable power supply. You can take a chance with that one, but I'd buy an Antec or Enermax. If you have to, go with less watts, and buy a better quality.

330watts will do you just fine for you powersupply and trust me, you'll sleep better at night with a reliable PS.

[devildog]

i run a comp repair store, and build gaming rigs for people all the time, go with an amd board, something like a 2400+, put it on a mb with the nforce2 chipset, i have an abit nf7 and the board smokes all. you got an awesome price on that monitor.

also, the new 128meg geforce fx 5200 are better than the 9700, and costs about 97 bucks just came out, look into it, they are awesome.

the above was putting into consideration that you are building a gaming machine

[xmetal2001]

Originally posted by devildog

also, the new 128meg geforce fx 5200 are better than the 9700, and costs about 97 bucks just came out, look into it, they are awesome.

Was that winking sarcasm? Maybe I've been looking in the wrong places, but...thats not true...very not true...

[MantisMag]

Originally posted by xmetal2001
Also, If it were me, I would go for a more reliable power supply.

my dad has fixed three friends' computers in the past 2 years. all three times it was the power supply. you definitely want a reliable power supply. that's one of the reasons i don't buy from major brands like dell. you never know what they're pawning off on you if it isn't listed in the specs.

Originally posted by devildog
also, the new 128meg geforce fx 5200 are better than the 9700

how do you figure that? from the benchmarks i've seen the 5600 ultra was competitive with the 9700 pro. depending on what exactly they were doing they were jockeying for position. the 9700 actually performed better in more of the tests. how is it that the 5200 is better than the 9700?

[devildog]

because it costs a third of the price, and gives you almost the same performance, the 5600 costs about 200, so they get pretty even. im talking about bang for the buck here, remember, he has a 1000 dollar cap, 250 for a vid card is a little steep.

[bornl33t]

I am a big fan of the 8500 all in wonder... but it's all relative... it's a sweet system at a sweet price. you might wanna look into anotehr stick of 512ddr and loose the speakers for a set of creative insight 5.1 to be had for 70$ at wally world right now or a set of altec lansing 5.1 for 100$

my warning to you is to check ALL the audio jacks when you get it... I'm on my second asus a7v 333 r. the first couldn't recognize a AMD XP 2000 this one doesn't have a working mic/center channel. And I though ASUS was supposed to be good. Course it might have just been compUSA, nothing surprises me with them anymore.

[bornl33t]

Originally posted by MantisMag


my dad has fixed three friends' computers in the past 2 years. all three times it was the power supply. you definitely want a reliable power supply. that's one of the reasons i don't buy from major brands like dell. you never know what they're pawning off on you if it isn't listed in the specs.



how do you figure that? from the benchmarks i've seen the 5600 ultra was competitive with the 9700 pro. depending on what exactly they were doing they were jockeying for position. the 9700 actually performed better in more of the tests. how is it that the 5200 is better than the 9700?

in referance to the power supply thingy, I just had a friend that bought a cheapo 27$ case and it camme with a bad 350 PS I REALLY LIKE my case and supply it's VERY sturdy I stood on it
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...&category=3669

[bornl33t]

also since shipping is an issue you might wanna look at www.googlegear.com they have free second day shipping

http://www.googlegear.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=240300

http://www.googlegear.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=80065-K

http://www.googlegear.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=80171-R

http://www.googlegear.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=604614

http://www.googlegear.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=333207

also for games....GO OPTICAL on that mouse... this is a MUST

http://secure.newegg.com/app/specification.asp?item=14-102-195

[bornl33t]

case 400watt PS 49.90$
mobo asus 333fsb 85.50$
CPU AMD XP 2400+ 108.50$
Ram Kingston 2x512 64.50$
WIN XP OS 92.50$
cdr asus 53.99$
keyboard from newegg 33$
monitor from newegg 163$
speakers 5.1 creative from wally world 70$
ATI ALL-IN-WONDER RADEON 8500DV 64MB DDR AGP-RETAIL from newegg 178$

963.39$ that's pretty good.. I think I'll order it now