First Time Builder

[Smartiepants]

Well I make no claims at being a computer expert hence the help plea. I am looking at replacing my Dell Dimension 8100 after a few years of use. Its now just not cutting it. So I know enough about computers to know that I know barely anything at all (If that made any sense) So I thought I'd toss out my situation to you guys and let you guys fire away. I'm looking to build a PC which is used primarily for gaming, but I have to sleep/live in the same room as this thing and a loud one might just drive me insane. I already have a monitor and other peripherals so those don't need to be bought, and I have software as well. I'm looking at spending like 2000 CAD so like 1600 USD, and basically I want it all. I'm not planning on any overclocking or anything (yet) so I'd want one that would be fine on its own.

Any help would be much appreciated.

--Nick

[dorimon81]

If you live in Canada, I suggest you go to http://www.tigerdirect.ca. It's where I get all my stuff from.

What CPU are you planning to build the system on? AMD or Intel?

[Smartiepants]

Well so far I've had good luck with intel processors but I've never had an AMD either, so I'm somewhat indifferent. I have been looking at a 3200+ a bit as well as a pentium 4 3.0, and from what I know, the pentium has a bit of an edge, but I'm still basically indifferent.

The video cards that I have looked at are the ATI all-in-wonder 9600 so far, and that seems to be preferred, because I could get rid of my crappy TV as well.

Most of the stuff I have looked at has been at www.memoryexpress.com which is local for me (in Calgary) and that is always an added benefit and the prices seem to be competitive as far as I have looked.

[dorimon81]

For me, I like AMD, but I find that they get really hot. If you decide to go with AMD, make sure you get a fair amount of case fans and a high end CPU cooler. My cooler for my Athlon XP is so loud and at first, it was getting so hot(About 55C for the CPU and 40C for the case), but I added 2 case fans and it has cooled quite a bit(About 48C for CPU and 37C for the case). Another cooling option is to go with water cooling. I hear that the temperatures for systems with water cooling are quite low. I wish I had enough $$ to buy a kit.

[jhl3]

If noise is a concern get a water cooling setup! Good complete setups can be purchased for about $200US. You won't get the max performance from them that you will from a custom build but you aren't OC'ing either.

[Steve978]

The ATI-All-In-wonders are a great idea if you plan to use your Computer to watch TV. If you go AMD which I recommend you do get the 2500XP as opposed to the 3200XP as it can be easily overclocked to a 3200. Motherboard's go with either Epox or Abit as i believe most will agree are the best, especially if you ever want to overclock. For your Ram there are plenty of very good brands depending on your price range, but try to get PC3200. If you decide to go with Intel your best bet is probably the 2.6C for the same reasons as i recommended the 2500XP, I'm sure an Intel Fanboy can give some more info on the Pentium 4's.

Welcome to the Forums!

[CrashOveride]

First off:
Welcome to the Forums!

I would suggest AMD with an Abit NF7-S motherboard (has great onboard sound and a good SATA controller too along with USB 2.0 and Firewire), 512mb or more of Corsair, Mushkin or Buffalo memory (probably 3200 or greater if you get a 3200+ processor), Lite on CD/DVD drives of your choice (you could probably also take the one's out of your old comptuer if you wanna save a lil money), Maxtor or WD harddrives (IDE or SATA but SATA is a little harder to set up at the moment) 80Gb or more - any less is a waste of money, Thermalright SLK-900/800 or SP-97 Heatsink with a quite fan of your chioce (sidewindercomputers.com has a "listening room" where you can download mp3's of fans and listen to them to get an idea of the noise as well as Dba and CFM ratings for all their fans so you can pick which is good for you) a 92mm or 80mm is what you want for one of those HSs, a case that has the features you like (check out directron.com and newegg.com for ideas - the Matrix ones and Dragon ones are great IMO), Forton 350w or greater or an Antec True power are both great PSU's (Forton is cheaper in most cases but still great), ATI video cards are looking best right now 9800 np/pro/XT is top of the line 9600/9800SE is the best budget card right now I think. And I think that bout covers it...

That stuff would kinda set you up to be able to overclock should you plan to in the future and is good stuff that isn't to incredibly expensive.:D

[Smartiepants]

Okay well, I've been looking into everything a bit more and this is what I have come up with so far, any feedback would be much appreciated.

AMD Athlon XP 3200+ 512K Barton
Asus A7N8X-UAY
Corsair 512MB PC3700 CAS 3 DDR
Antec Sonata
Seagate 120MB Barracuda 7200.7 ATA Fluid Dynamic Bearing
ATI All-in-Wonder 9600 Pro 128 MB

[CrashOveride]

AMD Athlon XP 3200+ 512K Barton
Asus A7N8X-UAY- NF7 -S is better unless you really want those extra options (NF7-S is #1 OCer pretty much)
Corsair 512MB PC3700 CAS 3 DDR - Cas 2 would be a bit better if you have the money (XMS stuff)
Antec Sonata
Seagate 120MB Barracuda 7200.7 ATA Fluid Dynamic Bearing - I personaly don't like Seagate but there are some people I know who really do... meh
ATI All-in-Wonder 9600 Pro 128 MB

It does look pretty good though:D
Make sure you don't forget the case and PSU and stuff:D
EDIT: ^^^ Lol I just NOW noticed that he had a case in there that probably has a good PSU in it... heh :rolleyes:

[Steve978]

The sonata is a very nice case :D instead of goig with that asus either go with a Abit NF7-S like crash suggested or go with an Epox EP-8RDA3+ which is personally my favorite board, even if you don't overclock these boards are quality.

[Smartiepants]

Would the CAS 2 3500 be better? And would it be worth springing for 2x512 or should I stick with 2x256 and upgrade later?

[CrashOveride]

Originally posted by Smartiepants
Would the CAS 3 3500 be better? And would it be worth springing for 2x512 or should I stick with 2x256 and upgrade later?

No, but CAS 2 3700 (or maybe 3500) would be better... This stuff (http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduct.asp?submit=manufactory&catalog=147&manufactory=1666&DEPA=1&sortby=14&order=1), just pick your speed and size, it isn't necissarly the best OCing but it is good (even for OCing).
If you play MMORPG's or large FPS games or do lots of photo editing or 3d work it might be worth it to get 1Gig but if you just play the normal games and don't do a whole lot of photo editing 1 stick of 512 or 2 of 256 is probably what you want.

[Smartiepants]

Ooops I meant the CAS 2 3500, yeah but I could always add it later, even I can add memory to my cpu.

[Aslan]

Also, for other vendor options, check out the Canadian Online Vendor Listings (http://www.ocforums.com/vb/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=61148) at the OC-Forums. Personally, I recommend NCIX (www.ncix.com) as they have always given me good service and prices in the past.

Edit: Made mistake on the first link.

[9mmCensor]

check out Bigfoot Computers (http://www.bigfootcomputers.com/)
I get my junk from them, and they are fast, friendly and ship anywhere.

[CrashOveride]

Originally posted by Smartiepants
Ooops I meant the CAS 2 3500, yeah but I could always add it later, even I can add memory to my cpu.

You mean add more memory later right (not add more, faster memory - thats differnt)? If so then I would get 1 512 stick so you can just add 1 more stick later (too many sticks makes it harder to get a good OC usually).

What do you mean about add memory to your CPU?

[webfreak]

Originally posted by CrashOveride


You mean add more memory later right (not add more, faster memory - thats differnt)? If so then I would get 1 512 stick so you can just add 1 more stick later (too many sticks makes it harder to get a good OC usually).

What do you mean about add memory to your CPU?

Some people refer to their tower as their CPU.

Edit:
Seems like you have a good start on component selection. I'll recommend the NF7-S along with everyone else here, and the athlon xp 2500+. There's my 2 cents. :)

[9mmCensor]

AMD Barton 2500 (http://www.bigfootcomputers.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=9271PRAM&Category_Code=920)
Abit nf7-s (http://www.bigfootcomputers.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=8429MOBO&Category_Code=910)
A fat Gig of OCZ pc 3500 ram (http://www.bigfootcomputers.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=9594&Category_Code=940.15)
ATI 9800XT (http://www.bigfootcomputers.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=9605VIDO&Category_Code=950)
TR sp 97 (http://www.bigfootcomputers.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=1559&Category_Code=0005.60)
panaflo 92mm fan (http://www.bigfootcomputers.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=2966CFPA&Category_Code=100.3)
antec sonata (http://www.bigfootcomputers.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=7219CSAN&Category_Code=299)
120 Gig WD SE hard drive

[Smartiepants]

I dunno, the 9800XT has quite the price tag lol, I think I might have to stick with the 9600

[CrashOveride]

Originally posted by webfreak


Some people refer to their tower as their CPU.


:p I thought that was just my mom.

[9mmCensor]

Originally posted by Smartiepants
I dunno, the 9800XT has quite the price tag lol, I think I might have to stick with the 9600
yeah or for half the of the 9800XT you can get the 9600XT.

[webfreak]

Originally posted by CrashOveride


:p I thought that was just my mom.

My dad does it too, haha. :D

[donny_paycheck]

This is an excellent thread, that pretty much embodies what these forums pride themselves in. Good work everyone, and welcome to the forums, Smartiepants. Hope to see you around once you get your rig together.

[Smartiepants]

Yeah, this has been very useful to me, should be getting alot of this stuff hopefully going boxing day shopping.