New pc for chrismass, need help

[Evangelion-01]

Hi, i want to build a new pc for chrismas because the pc i am using right now is 2 years old and i cant play anything... so... what i have is

radeon 9800 pro 128
sound blaster 5.1 live

and i am thinking of getting an athlon 64 3500+, what i am not sure is the mobo and ram "i think i'll get 2 512 stikcs" i already have a nice dvd burner, i think i will also need a psu and a nice case :D. so this is what i think i need

• nice mobo for a 3500+
  nice psu "i plan on using like 5 hd, 2 optical drives and maybe more stuff"
  some nice ram
  a nice case
  and some stuff to make my pc run cold :D

TIA :happyhap: this is going to be the first pc i build so if you have any recomendations please tell me :funkinmu:

[Calpis]

Get a Gigabyte motherboard, and advice: don't f-up ^_~v

[Alchy]

Can't stress enough the need for a really decent PSU. Seen way too many PCs that act bitchy and crash all the time due to crappy PSUs. Spend decent cash and get a good model.

[einbebop44]

I second the PSU.

Get 2x 512 Sticks, from someone like Cosair or Kingston.

Or, if you have a lot of money, get 2 1GB sticks. :smt023

5 HD? Damn, that's a lot. May I suggest a simple 2 200 GB Raid config? Western digital makes excellent drives. :smt023

Cases depend on preference, style, etc. Of course, if you want a custom case, it'll cost you, but the results can be cool.

Oh, and make sure your mobo is PCI Express compatible. That's the GFX card standard of the future, so it's best to be on top of that. Good luck. :smt023

[Evangelion-01]

I second the PSU.

Get 2x 512 Sticks, from someone like Cosair or Kingston.

Or, if you have a lot of money, get 2 1GB sticks. :smt023

5 HD? Damn, that's a lot. May I suggest a simple 2 200 GB Raid config? Western digital makes excellent drives. :smt023

Cases depend on preference, style, etc. Of course, if you want a custom case, it'll cost you, but the results can be cool.

Oh, and make sure your mobo is PCI Express compatible. That's the GFX card standard of the future, so it's best to be on top of that. Good luck. :smt023

i am getting a 10,000rpm raptor for windows and several 300 gigs for stuff... and about pci express... i dont think i'll be getting one since the video card i just bought is agp...but thx anyway, and about the fans? and heat sink , any recomendations with those? "i like blue" @___@

[TheDeathcoaster]

Get a Gigabyte motherboard, and advice: don't f-up ^_~v

I second that. My Mobo is a Gigabyte board and its absolutley fantastic :)

Oh yeah, and for a heatsink I'd just recommend the ones that come boxed in teh retail versions of the AMD CPUs. People claim they are inferior and need to be replaced....but I've had no trouble with mine so far (I run at about 30 degrees all the time).

[LeGIt]

I used to Have 10k rpm raptors :P doesn't beak 15k scsi i also had though :P For psu I strongly reccomend a 550watt enermax psu = they're a lot pricier than cheap shit - but that's because they are the real deal built to last etc etc - enermax won't let you down like other psu's may do :smt023

[madhatter256]

For what you want to do Chavo, just take a look at my PC:

Here are the specs:
AMD 2500XP Overclocked to 3200XP spec
512mb RAM PC 3200 Corsair Value Select(will get a second stick of 512mb RAM and run dual-channel)
80gig WD HDD
120gig Seagate HDD
Sound Blaster Live 5.1!
ATI 9600 Pro All In Wonder
Motherboard: Epox 8RDA3+ nForce2 Ultra 400
Case: Ahanix Black Knight comes with 2x 120mm fans with a fan controller for them built into the case's front panel, and it comes with 3 temperature sensors. (paid $50 for this, great case)
PSU: ThermalTake Silent PurePower 420watt

http://img111.exs.cx/my.php?loc=img1...e=000_0068.jpg
http://img111.exs.cx/my.php?loc=img1...e=000_0069.jpg

\/\/After doing some cable management\/\/
http://img41.exs.cx/my.php?loc=img41&image=000_0065.jpg

My PC is silent, especially because of the 120mm fans and I'll soon add the panaflo which will cool it more but not make it louder.

I plan on getting SATA HDDs, not WD Raptors which are loud as hell and don't have a lot of storage, I plan on getting at least two 120gig HDDs. Right now I cut a hole on the side of the case, right over the CPU so that it gets cooler air, not that the case wasn't bringing in enough cool air already, its just that I wanted my temps to be below 40C when idle. Here's a picture of the mod, the fan there is a Vantec Tornado and it did bring down the temps to 33C idle and 41C load but the fan is LOUD, so I plan on getting Panaflo fans since they are just as good but quiter.

http://img125.exs.cx/my.php?loc=img1...1-000_0089.jpg

[madhatter256]

I second the PSU.

Get 2x 512 Sticks, from someone like Cosair or Kingston.

Or, if you have a lot of money, get 2 1GB sticks. :smt023

5 HD? Damn, that's a lot. May I suggest a simple 2 200 GB Raid config? Western digital makes excellent drives. :smt023

Cases depend on preference, style, etc. Of course, if you want a custom case, it'll cost you, but the results can be cool.

Oh, and make sure your mobo is PCI Express compatible. That's the GFX card standard of the future, so it's best to be on top of that. Good luck. :smt023

i am getting a 10,000rpm raptor for windows and several 300 gigs for stuff... and about pci express... i dont think i'll be getting one since the video card i just bought is agp...but thx anyway, and about the fans? and heat sink , any recomendations with those? "i like blue" @___@

The raptor, is imo, an overkill. Those hard drives are loud and you have to make sure that the case you get has a sturdy design so that the drives don't vibrate and thus you end up with tons of bad sectors in no time.

Also, what do you plan on doing with all those hard drives? I plan on getting some high capacity SATA hdds mainly for video files and extra storage/back-up. I have about 23 PC games fully installed on my 120gig HDD, most of them are games that take up at least 2gigs of space. I also have some PSX ISOs (from my collection so that I don't have to hook up my PSX to the PC anymore), I think I have about 9 PSX games on the hDD, on top of that 4gigs worth of roms, 12gigs of "stuff", and 40gigs of anime. Add that all up and I have about 13gigs of free space. As you can see, at least a 120gig HDD just for your games and non-essential programs with at least an 80gig HDD for windows and essential programs is adequate for most people.

If you're interested, I have a Chaintech 7NJL3 nForce2 Ultra 400 mobo for sale, will come with a copper heatsink/fan. Its a Socket A mobo, not A64. The whole set is just for $50 plus shipping.

[asnozz]

i currently own a pretty high end PC 1gb DDR ram, 2.8ghz, 128mb graphics etc.................. but recently iv come to the conclusion that for my next computer im going to turn to a Apple, like a G5 or something. I sick of all the conflicts, incompatability, crashes etc..... its not the concept of a pc that i hate, its that the software isnt specifically built for the hardware (unlike apples), it means that there are many more conflicts etc. Dont know how this helps you build your PC, Im just kind of piss off with my pc at the moment (after it just crashed again).... so please excuse me :smt030

[Alchy]

The tradeoff with compatibility, for most people, is worth it for the variety of software available. As a gaming platform Macs can't compare to PCs. If you have a niche market that Apple or their licensees provide for, then the Mac is a decent enough platform (although I've experienced worse stability and certainly a much nastier GUI with OS9, although I'm told this is due to the OS rather than Macs in general).

Enermax are a decent brand, I'm running one right now and it's rock solid. WD for HDD though, I've not had good experiences with, one died on me pretty quickly - and several people I know are sworn off them from past experience, too. Stock heatsinks are crap - even if your mobo reports 30'C, it's possible that the thermistor under the CPU isn't making a clean contact and reporting the real temperature. Bear in mind that stock heatsinks are manufactured to be the absolute minimum AMD/Intel can provide without getting a ton of returns down to burnt out CPUs.

[madhatter256]

I remember reading somewhere someone used a stock AMD heatsink to OC their CPU from 2400XP mobile to about 2.4ghz. So stock heatsinks, aren't "crap" like what most people say. Just make sure you have at least 2 case fans, one in front and one in back and you should be fine.

[Evangelion-01]

about those HD, i have over 200 gigs of anime "still getting more" over 300 on dvds, getting more... like 100 gigs of roms.... and pr0n takes alot of space too... i think koolkid knows about the pr0n thing :smt043

[Evangelion-01]

so i have some good recomendations , thx guys, mind ya help me with some links :S? especially for heat sink, fans and mobo :S maybe ram too :D

btw, where is the hot air located? the cold air goes up and the hot air stays at the buttom? so a fan to suck out the air should be placed at the buttom of the case?

[einbebop44]

Trust me, get PCI Express on that. Don't worry, it'll have an AGP slot too, just like mobos with AGP on them have regular PCI slots. It shouldn't cost much more if you're getting a decent mobo anyway.

You could set up 2 400 GB drives....but having a ton of drives would not be good. Windows would probably shit itself in confusion, and the more drives you have = more potential problems.

Don't forget good speakers. Some may argue on this, and go with Klipsch or something, but Logitech makes excellent speakers at an excellent value. These can be the key to a good gaming/multimedia experience.

WD is a fine brand. Seagate is probably better, but WD is good.

In terms of PSU, if I have, say (sorry for going a bit O/T here) a 250 Watt PSU (laugh it up guys) that came with my Dell PC, can I swap that with a 500 Watt PSU? Will that char my system?

[madhatter256]

Trust me, get PCI Express on that. Don't worry, it'll have an AGP slot too, just like mobos with AGP on them have regular PCI slots. It shouldn't cost much more if you're getting a decent mobo anyway.

You could set up 2 400 GB drives....but having a ton of drives would not be good. Windows would probably shit itself in confusion, and the more drives you have = more potential problems.

Don't forget good speakers. Some may argue on this, and go with Klipsch or something, but Logitech makes excellent speakers at an excellent value. These can be the key to a good gaming/multimedia experience.

WD is a fine brand. Seagate is probably better, but WD is good.

In terms of PSU, if I have, say (sorry for going a bit O/T here) a 250 Watt PSU (laugh it up guys) that came with my Dell PC, can I swap that with a 500 Watt PSU? Will that char my system?

Um all PCI Express mobos I see don't have an AGP slot. BUt if money wasn't an issue I'd say get a PCI E mobo and a nVidia 6600 since those are quite cheap and faster than the 9800 Pro. Having too many HDDs also makes windows more stupid than it already is. Also, the price of 400gb HDDs is about the same price for a nice AMD FX CPU, especially if thats all you get. Trust me, at least 200gig HDDs will do just fine, but always have a small HDD as the boot HDD. As for speakers. I've been using Sony headphones for the past year, great sound etc and cost me only $10. They are great, especially if you don't want to wake up your neighbors in the middle of the night while you're fragging aliens at full volume.

As for the PSU question. You might be able to swap the PSU so as long as the Dell PC takes a regular sized ATX PSU. Some Dell cases have a small/custom designed ATX PSU to limit upgradability. Getting a 500watt PSU won't charge your system. The only time you SHOULD worry about PSU and its qualities is if you ever plan on overclocking, having a good PSU will keep your Overclocked system alive whereas a cheaply made one might burn out quicker.

[einbebop44]

Yeah 400 GBs are really, really expensive--just pointing out another option. Having 5 200 GB HDs (theoretically) would be much worse though. If you're going to do that, at least make them external, that way, you can remove them when not in use.

I'll have to check on PCI Express mobos--from what I'd heard many do have AGP slots, but I can't really check since my internet is not complying atm. :smt022

[Evangelion-01]

thx alot people, this is what i have:

Processor
Mobo
Ram
Case
DVD burner

Extra:
artic silver for the processor*errr typo
Heatsink
For the GFX card @___@

Stuff i have:

-Radeon 9800 pro 128
-Sounblaster live 5.1
-2x 250gig western digital 7200rpm, 1x 80gig maxtor 7200rpm "Will get an 80 gig raptor when i get more money"

Please tell me if i am doing something wrong, such as wrong socket, ram, etc. :boobies2

[madhatter256]

thx alot people, this is what i have:

Processor
Mobo
Ram
Case
DVD burner

Extra:
artic silver for the hd?_?
Heatsink For the GFX card @___@


please tell me if i am doind something wrong such as bad sucket.ram etc :( , i'll be getting better hd and psu when i get more money >_> also speakers, right now my 2 crappy stereo speakers are ok i guess... :smt08

The PSU in that raidmax case is alright. You need a Heatsink like this one I recommend: http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...109-114&depa=0 and a nice 92mm Panaflo Fan for that heatsink. Get the Artic Silver you mentioned and its used for the CPU!! You put it on the CPU then put the heatsink on top of it. Check their website for proper instructions on applying it correctly. You don't need that fan for your graphics card, its really unneccessary since the case will have a fan in the area your graphics card will be. Other than that you made the right choices.

[madhatter256]

Also keep using that sound card because the onboard audio tends to suck ass and eats up CPU resources. Keep using your SB Live!