$900 Gaming Build- Please Help, again...

[jsawicki]

I personaly think that this exact system your looking for is not gona be exactly what you want with that budget. Its like saying "im looking for a brand new ferrarri enzo for 10,000 bucks lol

[Yuanji]

hey, im using a 1.7p4 and a RIVA TNT2 64 graphics card with 256 mb ram and just now wanting to update so i think you can stick awhile with a 2.8 especially if you decide to start overclocking it a bit.

[GForce64]

Go with something like this...I'm surprised this thread is still going.
Enlight ATX Mid-Tower Case with 360Watt PSU: 67.49$
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...116-152&depa=0

Intel LGA 775 Pentium 4 520 2.8 GHz: 173.99$
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...116-185&depa=1

GIGABYTE "GA-8I915P Duo-A" 915P Chipset Motherboard: 138$
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...128-248&depa=0

Kingston ValueRAM Dual Kits 512MB(256MBx2): 87.99$
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...141-413&depa=0

Western Digital 80GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive: 70.25$
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...135-106&depa=0

eVGA nVIDIA GeForce FX5700 Video Card: 127$
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...130-180&depa=1

Lite-On 52X32X52X16 Combo Drive: 43.99$
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...106-930&depa=0

SONY Beige 1.44MB 3.5Inch Floppy Disk Drive: 9.99$
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...103-109&depa=0

Windows XP OEM: 90$
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...102-141&depa=0

Total comes out to 808.70$. I didn't remember if you needed a monitor or input devices or not, so I left a little headroom. The GEAR slot on this mobo is for AGP graphics cards.

[longhorn]

with around 1000 dollars 1100$
u could build a pc with a 6800gt-(minus monitr)
and that will last u along time check out my thread

[Amirsan]

Well the game I realy wanna play on full settings, not an inch smaller then max settings is Rome: Total War. This game has a specific list of compatible cards which I am looking for now. I know PCI-E mobo and card would be needed, but just as long as its under the budget and good enough for me to play the above game.

I am planning to raise no more then $900 for the pc.

Here are the MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS for the upcoming game I want to play most:

Minimum System Requirements • English version of Microsoft® Windows® 98SE/ME/2000/XP • Pentium® III 1.0GHz (1000MHz) or Athlon™ 1.0GHz (1000MHz) processor or higher • 256MB RAM • 8x Speed CD-ROM drive (1200KB/sec sustained transfer rate) and latest drivers • 300MB of uncompressed free hard disk space • 100% DirectX® 9.0b compatible 16-bit sound card and latest drivers • 100% Windows® 98SE/ME/2000/XP compatible mouse, keyboard and latest drivers • DirectX® 9.0b • 3D hardware Accelerator Card Required - 100% DirectX® 9.0b compatible 64MB Hardware Accelerated video card and the latest drivers*. ATI® Radeon 7200 ATI® Radeon 8500 ATI® Radeon 9000 ATI® Radeon 9500 ATI® Radeon 9600 ATI® Radeon 9700 ATI® Radeon 9800 All Nvidia® GeForce 2 and higher Important Note: *Some 3D accelerator cards with the chipsets listed here may not be compatible with the 3D acceleration features utilized by Rome: Total War™. Please refer to your hardware manufacturer for 100% DirectX 9.0b compatibility.

And thank you guys soo soo soo much for keeping this thread going and helping me as much as you have, its very much appreciated.

[Amirsan]

problem geforce, like I had, your mobo is not compatible with your vid card...

[speeddude2000]

the x600 series will work, amirsan, because it is 100% direct x 9b compatable

[speeddude2000]

Originally Posted by Amirsan problem geforce, like I had, your mobo is not compatible with your vid card...

easily solved, buddy. they have a pcie version of that card, which ill find a link to in a sec.

[KoMoDo]

Amir, even a 9800 will let u play that game, its a freakin strategy, its not going to kill your computer, i was running all the latest strategy games with this 5200 smoothly, dont worry itll be alright, no need for pci-e cards or anything like that.

[speeddude2000]

found three pcie cards that will suit your needs in order from cheapest to most expensive:

Jaton nVIDIA GeForce PCX5750 Video Card, 256MB DDR, 128-Bit,
$119
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...139-163&depa=1
256mb, but not a very known brand

eVGA nVIDIA GeForce PCX5750 Video Card, 128MB DDR, 128-Bit, TV-Out/DVI, PCI-Express, Model "128-P2-N357-TX" -RETAIL
$119
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...130-206&depa=1
moderate brand...cheap cheap


http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...170-055&depa=1
albatron 5750, $129
better brand....

MSI nVIDIA GeForce PCX 5750 Video Card, 128MB DDR, DVI/TV-out PCI-Express x16, Model "PCX5750-TD128" -RETAIL
$135
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...127-133&depa=1
great thing about this one is that it includes 13 cds, and a lot of games.

higher end cards(by a little bit)
GIGABYTE ATI RADEON X600 PRO Video Card, 128MB DDR, 128-Bit, DVI/TV-Out, PCI Express, Model "GV-RX60P128D" -RETAIL
$143
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...125-147&depa=1
higher memory frequency, better performance

if you can spend more than that, then ill keep on going, but for now, that should do.

[speeddude2000]

Originally Posted by KoMoDo Amir, even a 9800 will let u play that game, its a freakin strategy, its not going to kill your computer, i was running all the latest strategy games with this 5200 smoothly, dont worry itll be alright, no need for pci-e cards or anything like that.

what do u mean "even a 9800" ?? a 9800 is very very good. better than a geforce5200

[speeddude2000]

Originally Posted by Amirsan This game has a specific list of compatible cards which I am looking for now. I know PCI-E mobo and card would be needed, but just as long as its under the budget and good enough for me to play the above game.

no game existing REQUIRES a pcie card to play at max settings. in fact, a good agp card will play at max settings.pcie bandwidth is 2x faster than AGP, but video cards dont even make use of the full bandwidth of AGP so there is no difference basically. in the future, when they are faster, pcie will make a difference.

[GForce64]

Originally Posted by Amirsan problem geforce, like I had, your mobo is not compatible with your vid card...

Actullay, the GEAR slot on that mobo allows you to use AGP gfx cards on a PCI Express chipset.

[KoMoDo]

Originally Posted by speeddude2000 what do u mean "even a 9800" ?? a 9800 is very very good. better than a geforce5200

no, im just saying that because he wants all the things u dream about, and i say a 9800 is good enuff till he gets the money for a whole new upgrade, im not a favorite of getting stuff that u will only upgrade the gfx card and RAM in 4 years, because, by then, itll all change.. :-P
also, if u do choose a pci-e card, get the evga one, albatron is DEFINETELY not better than evga, it might be a bit higher end than the evga one, but evga is supposed to be better.

hope that helps,

KoMoDo

[Amirsan]

Originally Posted by KoMoDo Amir, even a 9800 will let u play that game, its a freakin strategy, its not going to kill your computer, i was running all the latest strategy games with this 5200 smoothly, dont worry itll be alright, no need for pci-e cards or anything like that.

JUST a strategy game? You can realy tell you know nothing about that game...

That game is more extreme then doom3 and will need a good system, its nothing like the strategy games you heard of before. Take the time to research it... www.totalwar.com or to my site, www.stratcommandcenter.com

@speeddude, those geforce cards... are they geforce 2 as noted?

also, we must most importantly settle on the mobo and cpu BEFORE starting to chose any other parts...

[Yuanji]

Originally Posted by Amirsan JUST a strategy game? You can realy tell you know nothing about that game... That game is more extreme then doom3 and will need a good system, its nothing like the strategy games you heard of before. Take the time to research it... www.totalwar.com or to my site, www.stratcommandcenter.com

Q. What spec machine will it need?

A. The minimum spec is a 1Ghz processor, plus a sensible graphics card and 256Mb of RAM. We think this is a reasonable machine these days for a game of this depth and quality.

from the site you mentioned. i highly doubt you need that great of a system. as said before, the 9800 will handle your stuff. No it isnt more extreme then Doom3. Doom3 can still be played on last year vid cards which show you you don't necessarily have to fork out 400-600 to play a recent game

[speeddude2000]

amirsan, RTW isnt that extreme....your overestimating it. doom3 and halflife 2 will require a much better system.

hmm, i just rethought about it and because there are many soldiers in RTW that require separate rendering, it might be similar to this:

http://www.ati.com/developer/demos/rx800.html

download and view the crowd demo of 1400 soldiers...

[timbit]

while rome: tw is certainly one of the nicest looking rts i have seen, you don't need to spend a ton of money to play it. it certainly is not as demanding as doom3. the recomended specs on the game site will play the game fine. a 9800 pro should support all of the directx stuff they use. the game will probably benefit from a higher end cpu then they recommend because of the ai and such... too many units running around may cause stuttering with a lower end cpu. i remember playing some mods for one of my rts and it would stutter when too many ships were on the map.... even if they weren't being displayed. it was a cpu limitation....

[speeddude2000]

download the exe and try to play that 1400 soldiers thing on your computer...

[Amirsan]

I never said RTW will need a monster pc, many have said they have played it well with 9600XT, which I am fine with going that direction. But the game is extreme, 1400 soldiers is nothing compared to what is claimed to be shown,... speeddude, I can tell you havent done your homework either. Try 10,000 soldiers in one screen all at once fighting in 3d polygons.

[Amirsan]

anyways, so there are no affordable 9600xt pci-e cards out there?

[kram 2.0]

Originally Posted by Amirsan anyways, so there are no affordable 9600xt pci-e cards out there?

Radeon 9600 XT is an AGP 8X card. Radeon X600XT is the rough PCI-E Equivelant. It costs somehwere around 180 USD,

kram

[quiksilverx181]

Let me say one thing. It is quite impossible to do what you are asking. Heres the reasons. First of all, 900 bux will NOT get you good stuff so you can continue upgrading for a long time, its a tight budget. Second, there is a HUGE new generation coming within the next 2 years, prolly one of the biggest shifts ever. They will change to BTX case format god knows when, they will also shift to 64 bit computing as well as PCI-X and E. So to want a highly upgradable/overclockable for 900 bux is stupid. It just wont work. If you want both, you gotta be willing to fork out the money.
EDIT: Also, if i repeated anything here, please forgive me, i didnt want to read 5 pages. (and when i say all this, im just being blunt, so dont take offense)

[speeddude2000]

hes got a point, but you dont have to be so negative.

besides, that 1400 soldier demo was played at very high resolution on a x800xt with high aa and anistropic filtering so 10000 should be fine....i still dont see a point in spending $900 for a $50 game. get a 5750pcx or x600 or x600 pro(in order from worst to best, cheapest to most expensive)

[speeddude2000]

ok final build....

first the parts that you will buy for sure


monitor: $90 - $140

xp: 90

cpu: $170-180
mobo: $120-130
video card:120-140
hd: 70-80
case: 40
ram:80
cdrw dvd drive: 40
mouse/keyboard=20

total of 840-940

[speeddude2000]

ok so i just looked at my old build and thought it was a lot better....

i changed the mobo for one that has a gear slot...im pretty sure a GEAR slot is an AGP slot...can i get confirmation here from someone who knows what theyre talking about?? thanks. BTW, i just changed a few parts here and there, and some prices may not be exact, but close enough.

CPU: Intel LGA 775 Pentium 4 520 2.8 GHz, 800MHz FSB, 1MB L2 Cache, Hyper Threading Technology - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProdu...-116-185&depa=1
==need this socket type to upgrade, cheapest proccessor==

$172?

mobo:GIGABYTE "GA-8I915P Duo-A" 915P Chipset Motherboard for Intel LGA775 CPU -RETAIL
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...128-248&depa=0
==has 2 ddr slots and 2 ddrII slots so when you have $, then upgrade, and has a GEAR slot, which i think is AGP, anyone know for sure?==

$133

OS: xp home...$90

HD: Western Digital 80GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive, Model WD800JD, OEM Drive Only
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProdu...-135-106&depa=1
==nothin to say here...just a HD.==
$69.25

memory: Corsair Value Select 184 Pin 512MB DDR PC-3200 - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProdu...-145-479&depa=1
==cheap, upgrade later==
$77

dvd/cdrw: Rosewill 52x32x52x16 CD-RW Black Combo Drive, Model C523216B, Retail
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProdu...-190-003&depa=1
==cheap==
$39

speakers: Logitech Z640 5.1 Speakers -RETAIL
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewprodu...-121-104&DEPA=0
==cheap and good, $9 shipping though and my prices dont include shipping==
$43
monitor: ESA monitor from circuit city
$89 after rebates

get a sapphire 9550(i think $75) until you can get the x800 for christmas.

i left out a few parts...ill add them later.

total: ABOUT $777(shipping not included)cause i rounded a few prices


pick out a case, you can spend around $50 if you want it to be around $850

($25 reserved for taxes and shipping)

[GForce64]

Yeah, GEAR=AGP. I read the manual for the mobo your looking at, and thats what it says.

[Amirsan]

Ok, well sinse we have a bunch of money left.... maybe we dont have to get a such low end card, and instead get a 9600XT....

That would be all then, any suggestions on his build? I plan to upgrade my ram in a bit, maybe not in Christmas, maybe before when I get the $70 or so.

Maybe I should keep the vid card he chose and get better ram? They are both options,...

[timbit]

ok, hate to be the bearer of bad news, but forewarned is forearmed, right? anyways, the grantsdale chipset (the one on that gigabyte mobo) does not support agp... it does support normal vanilla flavour pci though. so what some (very inventive) mobo manufacturers are doing making an agp slot that is actually running on the pci bus... Not the pci extreme bus, but plain old pci. now, there's a reason that we don't use pci graphics cards for gaming anymore, that's cause the bandwidth sucks. that's why the agp bus even existed, was to get rid of the bandwidth limits of pci. i believe that throwing an agp card in one of these slots results in a performance hit. anandtech first reported on this way back when the first pci-e boards were being shown off... i'll try to find the link.

EDIT: link.
heh, there's actually a picture of the gigabyte board on the anandtech article... amazing how similar it looks... changed the colour of the "G.E.A.R." slot, got a new socket, popped a heatsink in, and away they go...

[GForce64]

Ah...I figured there was a drawback. I think thats what RJ said. OK...just go with a Radeon X600.