Planning on building a new gaming system, any suggestions?

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Posted: 04/03/04 - 12:13

Faerdal
Joined: 11 Oct 2002
Posts: 792

I'm not trying for an ultra high end $2k+ system, I can stay one step behind the tech curve and be happy. I already have a video card (radeon 9700) from my old system, so I don't need that. Any suggestions on this setup?

CPU: AMD Athlon 64 3200+
MB: ASUS VIA K8T800 for AMD Socket 754 CPU, Model "K8V SE Deluxe"
RAM: Mushkin 512MB (x2) DDR PC3200
HD: Western Digital 160GB 7200RPM SATA, 8MB, 8.9ms
Mon: ViewSonic 19" PerfectFlat CRT Monitor
Case: Thermaltake Black Gaming Tower XaserV Series WinGo Full-Tower w/ 420W PS
Snd: Creative Labs Sound Blaster Audigy 2
Misc: Logitech Cordless MX Duo USB/PS2 keyboard&mouse

Comes to $1280 with shipping right now. Looking for some decent (but not expensive) speakers as well, perhaps.

Also, do I need to get special cables for the SATA HD, or will regular IDE cables work? I'm ordering an OEM verison.

edit: forgot to include case and sound card. also decided to go with 19" flatscreen. gonna place my order tomorrow probably, mmmmm =)

Last edited by Faerdal on 04/04/04 - 13:23; edited 2 times in total

Posted: 04/03/04 - 12:39

Xarpolis
Joined: 15 Oct 2002
Posts: 2867

yes. Wait. What are you building this system for? Just to have it or for a perticular game?

I think that's what you need to take into account when you're building the system.

If it's a game that isn't out yet, wait for it to be closer to the time of release. That way you can get the "newer" hardware for less than you can get them right now. Plan accordingly.

Posted: 04/03/04 - 13:38

Faerdal
Joined: 11 Oct 2002
Posts: 792

i'm building it because all i have now is my laptop, and while it is decent (P4 2.8, 512DDR, radeon 9000), i freaking hate laptops for gaming, and i want to play UT2k4 (to name one title)

Posted: 04/03/04 - 15:56

hitachi
Joined: 11 Oct 2002
Posts: 1295

double your ram and you are pretty much good to go for anything. and yes you need special cables for the SATA drive.

Posted: 04/03/04 - 16:37

Tiluvas
Joined: 19 Oct 2002
Posts: 2317

Two gigs of RAM hitachi? He said he's buying two 512mb DIMMS, which should be plenty. Check with your motherboard manufacturer for SATA cables. My motherboard(MSI) came with two SATA cables and power cable converters too, since SATA drives require a different power connection.

Posted: 04/03/04 - 17:58

Nuldaan
Joined: 07 Nov 2002
Posts: 1177

Looks good, Faerdal.

Although the AMD 64 might be a bit overkill at the moment if you're planning on running XP. Last I heard, Microsoft isn't due to release a 64 bit version of XP until the latter part of this year.

Posted: 04/03/04 - 18:38

Faerdal
Joined: 11 Oct 2002
Posts: 792

this is going to be my system for awhile, i dont want to have to upgrade anything except the video card =)

Posted: 04/03/04 - 19:38

Jinu
Joined: 11 Oct 2002
Posts: 1882

It's cool, but remember there are a LOT of new incompatible technologies coming out this year.

You'll be replacing that mobo the next time you upgrade.

Posted: 04/03/04 - 19:52

Nuldaan
Joined: 07 Nov 2002
Posts: 1177

Faerdal wrote:

this is going to be my system for awhile, i dont want to have to upgrade anything except the video card =)

Fair enough. I just wanted to make sure you had all the information before putting down the cash for it.

Posted: 04/04/04 - 17:05

Faerdal
Joined: 11 Oct 2002
Posts: 792

order placed this morning, should have it in a few days =D

Posted: 04/05/04 - 00:09

Iegan
Joined: 11 Oct 2002
Posts: 214

I propose that since you'll be spending more time inside gaming, you kindly deliver your 350z to me so it can get used as much as it deserves.

Posted: 04/05/04 - 02:10

Overon
Joined: 14 Oct 2002
Posts: 3315

ughhh i hate amd

ive had bad experiences with AMD multiple times

same thing with asus ... i dont know about their AMD boards so much but their intel ones are terrible and they have manufacturer defects a lot .. i found a message board that basically everyone had a problem with asus .. even distributors said how horrible their boards were ..

but whatever floats your boat

Posted: 04/05/04 - 02:13

Goraz
Joined: 11 Oct 2002
Posts: 3411

Overon wrote:

I have an asus P4P800 and i have no complaints here.

If anything, its the most reliable board I've had. You sure you didn't have an SiS chipset on your asus? SiS stands for Shit Integrated Shit.

Posted: 04/05/04 - 02:16

GruntingCod
Joined: 11 Oct 2002
Posts: 5055

Jinu wrote:

It's cool, but remember there are a LOT of new incompatible technologies coming out this year.

You'll be replacing that mobo the next time you upgrade.

They are going to cost an arm and a leg though 8o\

All of the computer companies (Alienwear, Dell, etc) seem to be pricing down their prebuilt systems to sell out alot of their older hardware to make room for the newer stuff it seems.

Posted: 04/05/04 - 02:19

Overon
Joined: 14 Oct 2002
Posts: 3315

it was the p4c800-e deluxe (their prime motherboard)

the message board i went to everyone was having all kinds of problems with their asus boards, and these were people who knew what they were talking about

one of the threads was "POST HERE IF YOU ACTUALLY HAVE A WORKING ASUS MOBO COMPUTER"

one of the guys worked for a distributor and said that they have to replace all the batteries on the asus motherboards they get because they usually ship dead

mine had a manufacturer defect, i sent it in for RMA and sold it on ebay

after all the shit ive seen about asus i wouldnt buy from them again .. i have a nice abit motherboard now and im working great

i think you can judge how s****y a board is by putting "tech support BRAND NAME BOARD NAME" in google and finding how many links there are .. in fact thats how i found the message board

Posted: 04/05/04 - 02:30

r00typooh
Joined: 11 Oct 2002
Posts: 5180

we're using the p4c800-e deluxe at Alienware to replace the Intel D875PBZ motherboards

from what i've seen, they're very nice and to my knowledge, we're not having any problems with them.

i work in RMA so if there were any issues worth noteing, i'd hear about it.

*shrug*

Posted: 04/05/04 - 02:33

Overon
Joined: 14 Oct 2002
Posts: 3315

i heard they made a revision to the board .. maybe they fixed some of the hardcore problems with it

personally i still wouldnt trust asus for anything though

Posted: 04/05/04 - 02:47

Venkmen
Joined: 12 Oct 2002
Posts: 1894

Setup looks pretty good to me.

Chip set is good, but I personally like the nVidia MB chipsets. Been using them ever since they came out nad have had nothing but a positive experience.

And well i been using AMD ever since the days of the K6 procs.

Am just about to build a new machine myself. will prolly be fairly similiar to what you got going there.

Posted: 04/05/04 - 04:40

Xion
Joined: 11 Oct 2002
Posts: 1588

I overclocked a P4 2.6C to 3.2 ghz over the summer.

works great.

Posted: 04/05/04 - 10:17

Tamrissa
Joined: 29 Nov 2002
Posts: 7068

hmm i love asus, have had no problems with either comp.

a7v333 in the one and a7n8x deluxe in other, not a problem with either or the old one that used to be in my comp thats now in the kids *cant recall and cant be bothered to look*.

sounds like an alright set up, wouldnt be my first choice for vid card nor would i go cordless keyboard/mouse but thats all personal preferance kinda stuff i guess Very Happy

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