Friend's Gaming Rig

[catacon]

My friend wants me to build him a computer for gaming (mainly WoW). He said his budget was max $800 including a monitor and periphials. So I put this together. For some reason I went with intel, though it doesn't matter, if AMD will end up being cheaper, than that's fine. I said it doesn't need to be great now, but he wants upgradability. I tried to get that, but what do you think? Does everything look OK?

Thanks!

CPU: Intel Pentium 4 531 Prescott 3.0GHz 1MB L2 Cache LGA 775 Processor (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819116230) - $95

Motherboard: ABIT IL8 Socket T (LGA 775) Intel 945P ATX Intel Motherboard - OEM (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813127231) - $90

RAM: A-DATA Vitesta 1GB (2 x 512MB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 667 (PC2 5300) Dual Channel Kit System Memory (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820211012) - $85

Video Card: PNY VCG7300SXPB Geforce 7300GS 256MB 64-bit GDDR2 PCI Express x16 Low Profile Video Card (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814133016) - $80

PSU: FSP Group (Fortron Source) FSP400-60THN-R ATX 400W Power Supply (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817104935) - $70

Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda 7200.9 ST3808110AS 80GB 7200 RPM 8MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822148107) - $50

Optical Drive: LITE-ON Black 16X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 16X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 24X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2M Cache ATAPI/E-IDE 16X DVD±R DVD Burner (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16827106013) - $35

Floppy: Use Old

OS: Microsoft Windows XP Home With SP2B 1 Pack (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16832116056) - $90

Total: $595

[Mr.Ferrari]

Intel is fine but I suggest you make a few changes..

I suggest this Cpu (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819116253) instead.

Skip that abit and get something like this:
Asus P5LD2 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131538)

This memory instead:
Corsair VS 2x512mb (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820145568)

That card isnt much of a gamer.
I highly suggest this one- X1600XT (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814102657)
OR if that one isnt absolutely possible. Then this one:
X1600Pro (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814102651)

That psu is great. But this one is way better for the price.
Enhance 500W (http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?name=PS-E5150GH)

If that still too much, I then suggest you look into a 939 system. You will get more bang for your buck for pure gaming.

[blue60007]

At the very least, don't get an OEM motherboard - you'll be missing a lot of essentials like the cables (SATA, IDE, etc).

[newbuilder14]

I have a Pentium 4 processor very similar to that one. It runs games fine. The only thing that I do not like is not being able to toggle games and other apps quickly.

[Chris_Rootes_Wizard]

"At the very least, don't get an OEM motherboard - you'll be missing a lot of essentials like the cables (SATA, IDE, etc)." Yes, DO NOT get an OEM mo/bo. Well, you can but it means no fancy package, and everything you would get with a retail, you have to get sepratly. OEM HDD is fine. Everything elce has been pritty much said :)

[Cricket]

At the very least, don't get an OEM motherboard - you'll be missing a lot of essentials like the cables (SATA, IDE, etc).I've used OEM motherboards in the past and the only thing missing was the box. All the other essentials were stuck in under the shrink wrap.

:) Cricket

[blue60007]

I've used OEM motherboards in the past and the only thing missing was the box. All the other essentials were stuck in under the shrink wrap.

:) Cricket
Hmm, really? Well, from what I've heard it's kind of a gamble...sometimes you get extras and sometimes not, or somewhere in between.

Did the OEM board come with the same warranty as a Retail board?

[Cricket]

Did the OEM board come with the same warranty as a Retail board?Hmmm...I don't remember. I stopped using OEM motherboards awhile ago because the people I build computers for usually want the motherboard box to keep all the manuals, installation CDs and other loose stuff from the build. When I used the OEM motherboards they were kind of bummed out they didn't get the motherboard box to keep all the junk in.

:) Cricket

[glc]

OEM motherboards often have a shorter warranty than retail. The last OEM board I bought was missing the I/O shield. Not worth the insignificant savings. OEM motherboards are designed for system builders who buy them in lots of 20 and they carry the warranty coverage themselves.

[catacon]

Sorry, I forgot about this! All right, so no OEM motherboard. That's fine, I didn't even realize it was OEM. All of Mr. Ferrari's suggestions work. I will go with the X1600PRO, which brings the total to about $700. That should leave room for a used CRT, case, and periphials.

Thanks for the help!


CPU: Intel Pentium D 915 Presler 2.8GHz 2 x 2MB L2 Cache LGA 775 Processor (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819116253) - $130

Motherboard: ASUS P5LD2 Socket T (LGA 775) Intel 945P ATX Intel Motherboard (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131538) - $110

RAM: CORSAIR VALUE SELECT 1GB (2 x 512MB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 667 (PC2 5300) System Memory (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820145568) - $120

Video Card: SAPPHIRE 100144L Radeon X1600PRO 256MB 128-bit GDDR2 PCI Express x16 Video Card (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814102651) - $90

PSU: Enhance ENP-5150GH 500W ATX12V Rev.2.2 (24/20+8/4+6), 80+ RoHS, Quiet PSU (http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?name=PS-E5150GH) - $70

Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda 7200.9 ST3808110AS 80GB 7200 RPM 8MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822148107) - $50

Optical Drive: LITE-ON Black 16X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 16X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 24X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2M Cache ATAPI/E-IDE 16X DVD±R DVD Burner (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16827106013) - $35

Floppy: Use Old

OS: Microsoft Windows XP Home With SP2B 1 Pack (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16832116056) - $90

Total $700 (no shipping)

[catacon]

My friend's got the money for this computer now and wants me to order the parts and build it. The motherboard I picked is out of stock now, so could I with with this one:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16813121289

and this graphics card (the one I picked is not there anymore):
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16814102688

I think everything else is the same.

Thanks!

[newbuilder14]

I suggest these instead:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131048
That video card is fine but how about this instead: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814143049

[catacon]

Does that motherboard support Pentium D processors?

The graphics card is too expensive, he wanted to keep this under $800.

[Cricket]

Does that motherboard support Pentium D processors?Yes, it supports the Pentium D 915 Presler with BIOS version 1302.

:) Cricket

[786ARS]

catcon, after the MIR,the 7600GT is actually $13 cheaper than the x850 you had suggested, granted, you have to deal with a rebate.

[newbuilder14]

7600gt is the best choice in my opinion.

[catacon]

I'll have to talk to my friend. He may not want to deal with the rebate. I will go with the Asus motherboard, though.

[newbuilder14]

How about downgrading to a Pentium D 805 processor and spending more on the video card? That's what I would do. I used a Pentium D 805 and it is very fast.

[catacon]

I order the parts and went with the 7600GT. So I should get them this week sometime.

Thanks for the help!

[newbuilder14]

Did you get the Pentium D 805?

[catacon]

No, I kept the 915, it was still in his budget.

[catacon]

I got all the parts today except the PSU (UPS left it at the warehouse...). I guess I can start some work on it though. So I have a few questions:

1) Does this mobo need a BIOS flash to support the Pentium D?
2) For dual channel memory, do I put one stick in both off the colored slots (in this case one stick in each yellow slot)? Or do I put one in the yellow one and one in the black one?

Thanks!

[newbuilder14]

Depends on which bios revision it came with.

Yes yellow with yellow, or whatever your motherboard manual says. Read the manual.

[catacon]

The manual just says "For dual-channel configuration, the total size of memory module(s) instelled per channel must be the same (DIMM_A1 + DIMM_A2 = B1 + B2)" And the yellow ones are A1 and B1 and the black ones are B1 and B2.

[newbuilder14]

Well try the same colors at first and then at post make sure it says dual channel.

[blue60007]

If you're not sure, I suppose it won't hurt to try different combinations to see what works.

Is this (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131048) the motherboard you ended up with? I checked ASUS' support page. It says this:

Pentium D 915(2.8GHz, 800 FSB, L2 4MB, revC1, without VT function) ALL 1103
Pentium D 915(2.8GHz, 800 FSB, L2 4MB, revD0,without VT function) ALL 1302

There's probably a sticker on the BIOS chip (on the board) that tells you the version. If you got the revision 2 version, it supports C2D out of the box, so I have to assume it supports all the older CPU's as well out of the box.

[catacon]

Yeah, on the box it says supports C2D and revision two, so I guess it'll work.

[catacon]

Well I got everything installed, but there are a fwe issues.

1) I always get a warning that says a Ultra ATA 66 (or faster) drive has been installed and has been slowed down to Ultra33. I guess because of the connection. I'm not sure where else I can connect this, though. The DVD drive still works, but I guess it runs slower. Any ideas?

2) When I try to install Windows, right after it loads all the files and starts Windows, it crashes and says an error occured. It tells me to check my hard drive for viruses and to unistall it and restart. I tried install the RAID drivers but that didn't do anything. BIOS detects the drive and I have it set to run as a Standard IDE drive. The other two options are RAID and AHCI. Any ideas there?

Thanks!

[catacon]

I tired tried lots of different combinations of settings and none seem to work so far. I have tried a different SATA port and cable and nothing. I really stumped....

EDIT: This is the error STOP 0x0000007B (0xF7C7A524, 0xC00000034, 0x0000000, 0x00000000)

[glc]

I always get a warning that says a Ultra ATA 66 (or faster) drive has been installed and has been slowed down to Ultra33. I guess because of the connection. I'm not sure where else I can connect this, though. The DVD drive still works, but I guess it runs slower. Any ideas?

You need an 80 wire cable.

This is the error STOP 0x0000007B

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/324103

[catacon]

OK, I'm not sure what to do about the Windows thing. I can't find any drivers to install.

[catacon]

OK, I installed the IDE Driver at the F6 and it worked. I got that driver from the motherboard CD. I guess I should have checked there first, but I though it would have been a SATA driver. I also used and 80 wire cable and that problem cleared up. I am installing right now, so I hope everything goes as planned.

I am having to RMA the memory as one stick is bad. I will do that after I install Windows.

Thanks for the help!

[catacon]

Well, I finished everything and gave it to him. He loves it. He said he was playing WoW with all the settings on high and it was seamless. So thanks for the help!

[newbuilder14]

Glad to hear yet another success story! I'm full... (food) :D

[Kimochi]

Sorry but building a "gaming rig" is near impossible with that sort of budget. Of course, you could build yourself a pretty good PC, but not up to the standards of a "gaming rig".

[newbuilder14]

Kimochi, did you read any of the posts? :) He already finished building a gaming computer.