New Multimedia/Gaming

[BJDwrk]

I'm a highschooler looking at my first build. Here is what I am looking at using, give me your feedback por favor-

Case-http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811144125
OR
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811144089
CPU-http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819116198
OR
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819116001
MOBO-http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813127216
Memory-http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820146580
Optical-http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827152058
Floppy-http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16821152005
Hard Drive-http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822144417
Video Card-http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814102015

I am also looking to do this build on a budget so comprable parts that are cheaper would be highly appreciated. Also-a little off topic, I don't have an lcd because I have a laptop now but are the 0.01 ones on EBAY good or do the prices spike at the last minute.

[Alaron]

Welcome to PCMech.

Either case will work, but what's important is that you buy a quality Power supply. The one inside the Aspire case is low quality. You can easily toss the power supply in the Aspire and replace it with an Antec TruePower 550w.

I would choose the Pentium 630. The dual-core is a nice feature, but you're limited with the slower FSB.

No need for the DDR2667, stick with DDR2533. Also, two sticks will give you a Dual channel boost: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820145526

Good choice of hard drive, but switch to the one with the 16MB cache instead of just 8.

Don't forget Windows XP.

[kram 2.0]

Prices on ebay always spike in the last few hours. You can get nice LCD Monitors for a decent price at Newegg - there are a lot of reliable manufacturers out there: LG, Samsung, Viewsonic to list a few. As for graphics card, I would suggest a look at the Sapphire Radeon X800 GTO as well. It was produced as a mid-high end card. It should give you more for the money than a Radeon X1600 Pro.

kram

[BJDwrk]

Thanks guys. In terms of the cases, isn't the more expensive of the cases I put have a good name brand powersupply, that's what I read on newegg. As for XP, I have 5 or 6 copies of it-my dad's tight with mircrosoft.

[Deano3]

I have the more expensive of those two cases (The $154 one). It's great, but the only thing is that there are complaints of the power supply. I didn't think it was too big of a deal, but people here have me convinced that once I get this thing running, thats next on my buy list, and not a new LCD monitor

[kram 2.0]

Originally Posted by Deano3 I have the more expensive of those two cases (The $154 one). It's great, but the only thing is that there are complaints of the power supply. I didn't think it was too big of a deal, but people here have me convinced that once I get this thing running, thats next on my buy list, and not a new LCD monitor

Turbolink/Aspire, the unit that comes with the Aspire cases, isn't exactly the most reliable and the most powerful unit out there.

kram

[kstatefan40]

I have to agree - I've seen those power supplies take out motherboards, ram, hard drives, and more when they blow. You don't want that to happen to your system. It sucks.

It is really worth the extra $50-$75 long term to go with a quality power supply, so it doesn't come back to bite you. I wouldn't chance it after my experience lately with power supplies....

[Toast06]

If your main focus is Multimedia/gaming, an AMD cpu would probably suit you better for now.

Currently, AMD's are better when it comes to multimedia and gaming, also their are many different options you can get (i have the AMD X2 4400+ which may be too much for you)

[BJDwrk]

Could you guys recommend some cheap, alternative PSU. Also, could I get off ok with a cheap case then? Also, regarding the AMD, Intel thing-what is the equivalent AMD to the Intel I listed above? I know the clock speeds are different even with similar processors?

[BJDwrk]

Sry, one other ?...

Are the Thermaltake cases with powersupplies good?-at least better than the Aspires?

[Alaron]

Thermaltakes are alright, but you could look at the Antec Sonata II. Less flashy but it is a solid case and it comes with a great Antec power supply. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811129155

Power supplies are not something to buy "cheap". You want quality, and it can cost a few extra dollars. You can use any case you like really, as long as you put in a good PSU.

If you want to leave the door open for more ugprades, its best to get a powerful psu now. This is a great choice: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817103931

I don't want this to turn into an AMD vs. Intel thread. If you are happy with Intel, rest assured it is perfectly suitable for gaming.

[BJDwrk]

How about this case:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811133156
Will 430 W give me enough power for all my components-what if I added an additional HD? Is the PSU high quality-it's only 20-pin, should this be a large issue?

Is there any way to add LED's to a case?

[Alaron]

20pin is no good. Newer motherboards, including yours need 24pin. They won't boot without it.

You can mod any case you'd like with LEDs, cathodes, fans the works. Check out www.svc.com

[BJDwrk]

i thought there was some way to do it so that 4 pins were left vacant and it would still work or you use the 20 pin in conjunction with another 4 pin connector. Also are there any other mobos that you guys would suggest that work with Pentium 4 Prescott?-prefferably with DDR2-I want to see some alternatives before I make a purchase? One other thing I am thinking of is RAID capabilities

[BJDwrk]

Once again, sry for all the posts but I am new to this game and want to get this project underway. I think I am going to go with the seperate case, PSU path and found these things.
Case:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811144103
PSU:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817103931

Also-will this PSU be OK if I eventually upgraded from the P4 to a dual core?

[Alaron]

That combination is a good choice. The PSU will be fine for any kind of Pentium.

There are some power supplies that have 24pin power connections with a detachable 4pin for backwards compatibility. But if you only have 20pins to start with, it won't work. But with that Antec you're all set.

[BJDwrk]

Thanks a lot, I think I am pretty good now, but I am bound to have more questions. However, will this setup be good enough to plat games like Call of Duty 2, Half Life 2, Battle Field 2, etc.

[Alaron]

Yeah, you can play those games easily. I agree with kram's suggestion though, take a look at the X800GTO: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814131007 It is an excellent budget video card and more powerful then the X1600Pro.

[BJDwrk]

Yeah but it has a quarter of the memory-what's better

[kram 2.0]

Originally Posted by BJDwrk Yeah but it has a quarter of the memory-what's better

Chosing the "better" graphics card is very tricky - while the X800 GTO has a quarter of the memory (or half, if you chose the one Alaron linked to), in most situtations, it would be a superior card to the Radeon X1600 Pro. As of now, you rarely need 512MB of video RAM - 256MB and 128MB are generally sufficient. Exceptions are, for example, using "Ultra" quality on Doom 3. However, if you need an extra boost on plain image quality/movie viewing, the Radeon X1600 Pro should have the upper hand as a result of AVIVO.

kram

[BJDwrk]

Would this mobo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813121291
be better than the abit I had said before?

Also will the ATI chipset Video Cards work on Asus mobos? I'd really like an Asus , but I am worried about VC problems-should I just switch to a Nvida VC?

[Alaron]

That Intel board is a great choice. An Intel chip on an Intel board is the most stable combination you can get. Keep in mind though that Intel boards don't allow any tweaks or overclocking.

There is no problem using ATI cards in Asus mobos. As long as the slots are the same, you can put any brand of card into any brand of board.

[BJDwrk]

I heard about something though, like there are only a limited number of Asus compatible VCs.

[kram 2.0]

Originally Posted by BJDwrk I heard about something though, like there are only a limited number of Asus compatible VCs.

The only limitation you will face will most likely come from slot compatibility (PCI-E with PCI-E, or AGP with AGP) and your power supply unit. If you do use an Antec TruePower II 550W, you are clear to run almost any graphics card out there that use a PCI-Express slot.

kram