I need some expertise on building a comp...

[Craig.Engbrecht]

I am using NCIX.COM as my reference and Place of purchace...

Here is a list of My computers parts...

Item Description In Stock Part # QTY Price Ext. Price
CHAINTECH SE6600 GEFORCE 6600 256MB DDR PCI EXPRESS VGA DVI TV OUT VIDEO CARD RETAIL BOX In Stock 12916 $219.24 $219.24
ATX POWER SUPPLY ADAPTER CABLE CONVERT 20PIN PSU TO 24PIN ATX POWER CONNECTOR MOTHERBOARDS In Stock 13173 $9.98 $9.98
This product can only be exchanged or replaced with the exact same item only.
ASUS P5GD1 LGA775 915P ATX DUAL DDR PCI-EXPRESS 1 16X 2 1X 3PCI SATA RAID SOUND 1000LAN MOTHERBOARD In Stock 12329 $143.75 $143.75
INTEL PENTIUM 4 630 3.0GHZ LGA775 800FSB PRESCOTT 2MB CACHE 90NM EM64T HT PROCESSOR RETAIL *IR-$20* In Stock 14036 $293.20 $293.20
THERMALTAKE SILENTTOWER HEATSINK LGA775 S478 S754 S940 S939 SOCKETA 92MM In Stock 12300 $56.76 $56.76
This product can only be exchanged or replaced with the exact same item only.
KINGSTON VALUERAM PC3200 512MB 400MHZ DDR 184PIN DIMM MEMORY CAS3 In Stock 13212 $65.79 $131.58
SEAGATE BARRACUDA 7200.7 120GB HARD DRIVE 7200RPM SATA W/NCQ 8MB 8.5MS 3.5IN OEM In Stock 13398 $115.00 $115.00
NEXUS NX-4090 REAL SILENT ATX POWER SUPPLY 400 WATT 16.2DBA 120MM FAN In Stock 13853 $147.20 $147.20
BENQ FP737 17IN LCD MONITOR BLACK/SILVER 1280X1024 16MS 450:1 0.264MM ANALOG&DIGITAL *IR-$23*
Check this box for EXPRESS COVERAGE for this item. ($14.97)
In Stock 11837 $299.30 $299.30
NCIX HEAVY DUTY SHIPPING BOX
In Stock 11843 $5.99 $5.99
1 YEAR EXPRESS COVERAGE FOR LCD MONITORS - WITH 30 DAY "ZERO DEAD PIXEL" EXCHANGE WARRANTY(11837)
In Stock 13783 $14.97 $14.97


I am hoping that it will all work together...
I need it for gaming and 3D Design and other such stuff...

 

[Guden Oden]

I'm sure you're going to get suggestions to replace your P4 with an athlon64 instead. Chances are you will find an athlon that gives you better price/performance, you are spending 300 greenbacks on the CPU after all, a sizeable sum.

The heatsink is quite alright, though I would probably opt for the Thermalright P90 or P90c instead. Doesn't require mounting through the mobo afaik, but uses the standard retention frame, and is lighter too - particulary the alu version.

The harddrive you picked is slow as f**k. Go Hitachi.

Power supply. I'd suggest you choose one that is as future-proof as you can make it. Ie, have sufficient SATA power connectors, PCIe power plug etc. Not sure of the specifics of the model you've chosen, it might well fulfil these criterias.

Monitor: make sure it handles 8 bits per color channel (16.8 million colors total) as opposed to 6 bits per color channel interpolated (often called 16.3 million, though it in reality is much much less). 6-bit panels tend to have fast reaction times, but poor color reproduction/accuracy, and comparatively bad contrast too.

 

[hey69]

SEAGATE BARRACUDA 7200.7 120GB HARD DRIVE 7200RPM SATA W/NCQ 8MB 8.5MS 3.5IN OEM In Stock 13398 $115.00 $115.00

for just a litle bit more you can have a 250GB drive
+ what Guden Oden said

 

[digitalwanderer]

Can't you get better than a 6600 for $225 now a days? :|

 

[Guden Oden]

In regards to the P4/A64 debate: I have a 3G P4, and it's damn fast I have to say. No idea what a 3000+ or thereabouts A64 feels like, but this one IS damn fast. And if you multitask a lot (like I do), hyperthreading does give an edge in the prescott (as opposed to northwood where it was a net loss as often as not). So even if you go P4, it sure won't be a slow system that's for sure.

 

[Craig.Engbrecht]

Thanks for all the info

I hope more help comes in and that somone could explain some of the other stuff in there...

 

[Moffell]

My advice would be to get a cheaper boxed A64 3200 instead and use the money from the heatsink and the cheaper cpu to buy a bigger lcd. The 19" have come down greatly in price and they are well worth it.

Seagate makes nice, quiet and solid harddrives, you can't go wrong with one. Bigger is better though.

BTW the 20 --> 24 pin adaptor is priced almost double to what you should pay, in fact skip the adaptor and get a PSU with a 24 pin connector right away. The one you're paying for is so pricey it should come with it anyway.

As for P4 vs A64... MEh! It's mostly BS half the things you hear. Run Norton virus scan on a P4 and you'll curse the day you bought into the multitasking myth and wish you saved the money on a faster hdd.

 

[digitalwanderer]

Re: Thanks for all the info

I hope more help comes in and that somone could explain some of the other stuff in there...

Ok, the quick skinny? Get yourself a 939 AMD64 motherboard paired up with either a 3000 or 3200 Venice AMD64 CPU. Get some good memory so you can overclock the CPU since they overclock so sweetly and pick up a decent cooler for it.

With the money you save pick up either a 6800GT or X800 XL and you'll have a hell of a better gaming unit than the one you listed for a whole lot less money.

 

[Guden Oden]

Digi, no dissing your skinnying skillz or anything, but your description doesn't really seem suitable for a person of perhaps lesser skillz than yours...

'A S939 mobo' isn't the best of descriptions perhaps - they're not all created equal. Some don't overclock very well or even at all really, and does everybody really know what a "venice core" is? Don't think so. Likewise, knowing what "good memory" is is just as big a puzzle, if not even bigger.

Besides, I wouldn't ever recommend a beginner to be messing around with overclocking anyway as it's terribly easy to end up with a system that simply behaves plain batty and either crashes left and right, or crashes left and right whilst taking the filesystem on the harddrive with it, and if one has one's thumb in the middle of the hand, things might actually break too. Expensive things even.

Mobo reviews aren't that popular anymore, but there's still a couple around here or there. I'd look at a couple from the big name manufacturers like Asus, Abit etc, and register at some big hardware review site like Anand or [H] and start a thread there also, asking for specific tips. There's smart people here, but not as many as at those places. Despite the lower signal/noise ratio at the big sites, the signal still offers higher bandwidth than here.

And I'd like to repeat that seagate harddrives are still slow as hell, they have CRAPPY seek times (and if you think a few ms here or there won't make a diff - it WILL, considering how many seeks a computer does on a daily basis). Hitachi makes quiet, solid harddrives too, and they're generally a helluva faster than Slowgate's stuff.

Craig, if you still need assistance with your purchases, why not ask specific questions, and we'll try to answer them to the best of our abilities, mmkay? Good luck mate!

 

[Craig.Engbrecht]

Ok so Starting out on a new foot then...

I need a good solid fast motherboard, I do not want to over clock so somthing that can handle alot of stress would be nice... I do work my computers hard though...

I am looking to have a PCI express Video card and Sound card so whatever you can do with that would be cool...

I am looking to have 2 250 gb hard drives and maybe even 1 TB... 8) Wishfull thinking 8)

I need 1 gb ram or more, and a video card with 256 ram or if availible more...

I need a large power center and a good heatsink for the CPU... even if I am not overcloking it may be open to discussion...

I want to have a min of 2 to a max of three screens... all 19" LCD with fast refresh rates...

that should sum it up...??? I already havea LG DVD +- RW DL drive and its a sweet one... I am looking to have win 64 eventualy... and I am looking to run HALO and UT 2K4 and the new one when it comes out...[/b]

 

[Guden Oden]

Well, if you want stable mobos, Intel original boards are feckin' hard to beat. Very high quality! Get one with built-in Intel HD audio and gigabit ethernet to cover your bases.

Harddrive: Hitachi has 400GB units on sale today. 2 of those and you have very close to 1TB in your box...

Monitor: Dell 1905FP. Veryvery muchos nice! While 20ms reaction time (black to white to black, I believe) may seem high, I game just fine on it (including "twitch" style FPS games, and watching movies is no problem at all. It's very bright, good colors (true 24-bit panel), built-in USB2 hub, height and pan adjustable, 90 degree tiltable, good-looking, and has built-in powersupply and a cable holder on the back.

 

[Blitzkrieg]

If you go intel, as Guden said intel motherboards are top notch.
If you go AMD I would recommend Gigabyte. I prolly go with a AMD athlon64 3200+ or 3000+
If you are going to be mostly gaming, go the athlon64 and buy a better graphics card as said above.
Go for the better Hard drive its only a little more if you can afford.
I have never heard of Nexus hard drives before, but if you want a stable system DO NOT skimp on the PSU, go quality. Antec or Enermax I would recommend.
I dont know how hard core of a gamer you are, but 20ms monitors might be a tad annoying if you like gaming alot. Its okish if you are casual.
16ms response time would be much nicer for agames, 12 or even 8 would be great if you could get it.
1gig of Ram if you could afford it would probably be better too. 512 is enough for now, just. But many new gamers will want more, and if you play multiplayer games, you really need more than 512megs.
What is your budget?

 

[Guden Oden]

I dont know how hard core of a gamer you are, but 20ms monitors might be a tad annoying if you like gaming alot. Its okish if you are casual.

I'm not a casual player. It works just fine anyway, IMO. Price/performance-wise, can't really beat the 1905.

16ms response time would be much nicer for agames

Very slight difference, doubt it does much in actual reality. OTOH, the Dell 2105FPW is 16ms...

12 or even 8 would be great if you could get it.

12ms or less are the domains of the 18-bit color panels, who have inferior picture quality.

 

[Blitzkrieg]

Well to be blunt Guden, I have played on a 20ms monitor myself and consider it totally unacceptable for playing anything but strategy games. The ghosting is awful.
My friend has an 8ms monitor and I can still notice the ghosting in that.
If you are a hardcore FPS player there is no way in hell I would play on 20ms or even 16ms.

 

[Craig.Engbrecht]

Well... I may...

I may switch the monitors to CRT and still run a large amount of harddrive space...

But I need some fast... LARGE hard drives... and I would like some suggestions...

 

[Guden Oden]

Well to be blunt Guden, I have played on a 20ms monitor myself and consider it totally unacceptable for playing anything but strategy games.

I'm not sure one flatpanel's 20ms is completely comparable with another's, but like I said, I play fast games on mine, no problem. When my ping is good, I can pretty easily sit at the top point-scorers for soldiers on Happy Penguin RtCW server.

Those who say they can't play on 20ms panels are typically the same kind of people who say they need 120fps updates too, so I really don't put too much stock in that kind of talk.

It's to some extent a getting-used-to issue. I noticed the ghosting a lot more in the beginning. I still say the 1905 is pretty much unbeatable right now unless one is willing to pay a lot more.

*Edit: Oh and Craig... Regarding harddrives, you've had enough advice already. HITACHI!

 

[wireframe]

Re: Well... I may...

I may switch the monitors to CRT and still run a large amount of harddrive space...

But I need some fast... LARGE hard drives... and I would like some suggestions...

The Maxtor DiamondMax10/MaxLine III* are quite good at 250/300GB w/NCQ and 16MB buffers (SATA).

* These are essentially the same drives with two different labels for two different markets.

 

[Guden Oden]

NCQ is completely irrelevant for a desktop system, the I/O queue depth isn't big enough for the feature to make an impact, and will rather increase load times instead (probably due to extra protocol overhead I suppose).

 

[poopypoo]

hey, one thing i will say is that if you're going to post a list like that, maybe you could clean it up a little XD i only skimmed it as a result of the mess.

i just bought the following from newegg.com, but it's obviously for an htpc setup, not for gaming. But, i'm mkaing two things clear i hope: 1) i put my money where my mouth is and 2) your nicx.com or whatever seems like a ripoff! >_<


case ANTEC Overture2 $115.00 comes with 400W antec PSU

mobo JETWAY A210GDMS-Pro AMD $95.00 micro-ATX; comes with integrated radeon x300 with own ram

tuner MSI Theater 550Pro ENCDR $76.00 mmm, remote control

cpu AMD 64 3000+ ATHLON 64 939P $146.00 look at the numbers; as fast as your p4 and overclockable to boot

ram 1GB PC3200 991145 MUSHKIN $79.99 cheap but CL2.5; respected manufacturer

hdd 250G ST 7200 8M SATA150 OEM $123.00 i'm a seagate man mself. anand's recent numbers prove that in some (but not most) scenarios NCQ is a significant benefit. also, notice the barracudas whoop ass on these tests.

Subtotal: $634.99
Tax: $0.00
Shipping: $29.30
Rush Order Fee: $2.99 not usually necessary w/newegg, but i need to be safe
Grand Total: $667.28

i think crts are finally dead, myself. you can save a lot on them and they still look great, and have good uses in art, but lcd is pretty solid and looking sharp. i scarcely notice the ghosting on my 12ms lcd. also, you'll pay up to $50 to have a CRT shipped to you. better to buy those at BB/CC.

finally, for silent parts, have you looked at zalman? they're a little pricey, but the parts you chose are too. specifically CNPS7000B-Cu heatsink, and their silent PSUs. for the record, i've yet to have a problem with a heatsink being too heavy, personally, even in LAN rigs, and i've used several thermalright SLK behemoths.

recent numbers show very little significance to added ram over horsepower (in current titles, of course) -- a $130 gf 6600gt seems like a much better deal, unless you lust for the sharpness of ati.

finally, good luck and enjoy! it's a good time to buy pc's. everyone says RAM is going to go up in price soon.

 

[Craig.Engbrecht]

Thats all well and great for the pricve and stuff...

BUT COULD SOMEONE EXPLAIN ALL THE ACRONYMS AND WHAT SOME OF THAT STUFF IS???[/b]