Need solid avice for first time build

[vaboz]

Hello everyone I have been browsing this site for a while now and I have finally decided to scrap my old system and do my first pc build ever!

From my old system and I plan on reusing my monitor, keyboard, mouse and OS.

I currently have 2gigs of this ram http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820145575

Ok I have about $1000 to spend on a new system and I wanted to know what you would recommend for the best amd/ati gaming system I can afford. I don’t care what the case looks like either.

Thank you everyone in advance!

[Alaron]

Welcome to PCMechanic.
Here are some guidelines to help you out.

Motherboard: Asus A8N5X: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131569
CPU: AMD Athlon64 3700+ San Diego Core: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103539
RAM: You have good stuff already.
Video Card: Radeon X1900XT : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814102003
Case and Power Supply: Antec Sonata II: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811129155
Hard Drive: WD SATA 16MB cache, any size: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822144701
Opticals: LiteOn DVD Burner: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827106014

That brings it to $980.

[vaboz]

Thanks for the awsome advice! I was wondering how long do you think this computer will beable to play games on max settings? I also have one last question. Does anyone know if there are any major advancements comming out in the next few months that i should either wait till they come out to drop the price of current products or would change the system i would buy?

Thanks in advance!

[EzyStvy]

New stuff comes out all the time. If you wait for the "perfect time," you'll Always be waiting & waiting and waiting. Get the best you can afford today knowing that as soon as you take it out of the box, it'll be obsolete

[vaboz]

Thanks again for the responce, but i just noticed on newegg it said that the motherboard that you suggested has one pci-express 4x slot? (sorry in advance if my question does not make sence, i dont know anything about pc-e yet)

The Radeon x1900xt that was suggested is a pc-express 16x... does it matter that the motherboard only has a 4x slot?

[Staren]

There are three types of PCI-E slots that have diffrent amounts of bandwidth (how much data that can forced down the line at once. PCI-E 16x is the slot used for graphics. There is also 4x and 1x. There arn't a lot of add-on cards like sound cards or tv tunner cards for the 4x or 1x slots yet.

[vaboz]

awsome! Thanks for the information. I missed where it said pci-e x16 on the motherboard specs, but now i see it! hehe i think i just got too excited/nervous about this build that i missed it. Thanks again for the info everyone!

[jayb1234]

If your old computer is a brand name that came with the os installed, you will need to get a new one.

[vaboz]

Thank jayb1234 for the hint. I have the cd for windows xp pro that was intalled on my old computer (it was a custom job). Thanks for the consern!

[vaboz]

I had another question. Will the powersuply on the case be adequte enough for the Radeon x1900xt?

[Davermonk]

Originally Posted by vaboz I had another question. Will the powersuply on the case be adequte enough for the Radeon x1900xt?

Good question. I used this tool to check the power requirements for the system that I just built, and it said I needed 450W (I went with a 550W just to be safe).

I have the same mobo and video card that you have listed, but I'm running an AMD X2 CPU and you have a single-core CPU listed. I don't know the difference in power requirements for single vs. dual core chips, but it would be worth checking out.

I think you'll like that video card. I just loaded FEAR and hit 47/105/249 fps (min/avg/max) on the system test at max resolution on my 19" LCD.

[gary_hendricks]

Hi Vaboz

I recently came up with this 'little guide' to building a gaming PC for under $1000. You can check it out:

7 Steps to Building a $1000 Gaming PC

Step 1: Choose a Processor
The first thing you need to do is to choose a CPU for your gaming PC. Now I reckon that one of the best value-for-money processors out there is the Athlon 64 3500+. This is available for $219 from Newegg.com.

Step 2: Choose a Graphics Card
Right, next we need to look for a graphics card. A list of good performance video cards can be found here. However, I personally choose the GeForce 7800 GT card to be our choice in building this rig. The card is available for about $383.

Step 3: Choose a Motherboard
Alrighty then, the motherboard is next. The MSI K8N Neo4 SLI motherboard, available for $123 from Newegg.com is a very good choice. It has all the features you need, including a nForce4 SLI chipset. This comes with an extra PCI Express slot should you want to upgrade in future.

Step 4: Choose Memory
For performance, a lot of memory is needed. I’d say that around 1GB of Corsair ValueSelect DDR400 would suffice for our system. This is selling at $89.75 from Newegg.com.

Step 5: Choose a Hard Drive
We need lots of hard drive space for storing our games, videos, photos and music files. One of the best deals I’ve found is the Maxtor DiamondMax 10 6L300S0 – it gives you a whopping 300 GB. What’s more, its SATA enabled too. This goes for $129.99 at Newegg.com. An unbelievable price.

Step 6: Choose a Case
We’re almost there. A good case and a associated power supply is needed. I tend to lean towards a RAIDMAX Cobra case from Newegg.com. This sells for about $45 and comes with a powerful 420W power supply unit.

Step 7: Choose a DVD Drive
Last step is to choose a DVD drive. I’d reckon that a good DVD drive is the NEC ND-3520A drive. It’s not a writer – only a DVD-ROM. This unit sells at around $42.

Hope it helps you out.

[vaboz]

Thanks everyone for helping me decide what to do for my first build!

I just recently got an extra $150-250 i can spend on the system and i was wondering what part i should change. Should i got for a duel core system? and/or a different case/power supply(i game around town quite a bit so this looked like a great light mobile case)? anything? Any adivice would be awsome!

From my old system and I plan on reusing my monitor, keyboard, mouse and OS.

I currently have 2gigs of this ram http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820145575

Motherboard: Asus A8N5X: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131569
CPU: AMD Athlon64 3700+ San Diego Core: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103539
RAM: You have good stuff already.
Video Card: Radeon X1900XT : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814102003
Case: Antec SUPER LANBOY
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811129145
Powersupply: Antec TruePower 2.0 TP2-550 EPS12V 550W
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Custra...82E16817103932

Hard Drive: WD SATA 16MB cache, any size: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822144701
Opticals: LiteOn DVD Burner: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827106014

Thanks again in advance! You guys have been VERY helpfull!

[Davermonk]

It looks like you have an awesome system there!

To tell you the truth, if I had an extra $150, I'd spend it on overnight shipping and a couple of top-end games to really test your new rig out.

Oh, wait... I did spend my extra $150 on those things. Yeah, it was worth it

Nice job!!

[Alaron]

I edited your links so they worked.

I agree with Davermonk, everything you have will make for an awesome gamer box. I would save that extra cash for something else.

[vaboz]

Awsome! Thank you everyone for all your imput! I have one last question though, is there anything else that you guys would recomend that i buy allong with the computer? thermal paste, any extra screws, extra cables or anything?

(Note: I am excited that i can save that $150 to buy a game or to and to celebrate when the system is up and running)

[Alaron]

The heatsink that comes with the CPU will have a thermal pad on it already. Your case will come with a bunch of screws and all the cables you need should come with your motherboard.