NationStates Jolt Archive

I know there have been several of these threads before, and I apologize, but I could use some help.

Okay, so I'm trying to build (or whatever the term is in English) my own computer, and I could use the opinion of people who know about these things. It's supposed to be a decent gaming computer which will last for a few years (even if only on minimum settings). Here's the machine I've conjured up so far:

Antec P180 case (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811129154)
Asus a8n SLI Motherboard (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131524)
Hiper Type-R Power Supply (http://www.hipergroup.com/English/products/hpu-4s480.html)
AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ Processor (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103562)
Club3d GeForce 7900GT Video Card (http://www.abuseit.co.uk/productView.asp?prodid=1211)
Twinmos DDR400/PC3200 1024mb RAM (no link, but shouldn't matter)
Seagate Barracuda 7200.8 200GB SATA-150 (again, shouldn't matter)

Judging from these, I suppose you'll be able to see in rough numbers how much I have to spend. Linking me to retailers is (most likely) unnecessary, as I live in Sweden. I just want to hear if you have any suggestions, if I've missed something etc. Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Looks like a great machine. I'm on a virtually identical one.

I'm not altogether up on prices, but when I bought my bits, Twinmos RAM was more expensive than Kingston. Also, one of the truely neat things about the case, is the gfx-card ventillation shaft. Only, it doesn't work with SLI. Also, since SLI only gives some 25-50% added performance, it really is rather useless. I'd save the money & spend it on a less noizy cooler for your gfx card.

Also.. It's almost a pitty only to have 1 GB RAM in a machine as fast as the one you're getting. If you multi-task a lot, you can easily use 2GB.


Remember to remove the case fans before you mount MB & CPU. Makes things a hell of a lot easier, trust me ;)

I've already got 1.5gb of RAM. Forgot to mention that :p
And the reason I'm getting one with SLI is because there aren't that many new motherboards around here without. I've been looking though...

I know there have been several of these threads before, and I apologize, but I could use some help.

Okay, so I'm trying to build (or whatever the term is in English) my own computer, and I could use the opinion of people who know about these things. It's supposed to be a decent gaming computer which will last for a few years (even if only on minimum settings). Here's the machine I've conjured up so far:

Antec P180 case (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811129154)
Asus a8n SLI Motherboard (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131524)
Hiper Type-R Power Supply (http://www.hipergroup.com/English/products/hpu-4s480.html)
AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ Processor (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103562)
Club3d GeForce 7900GT Video Card (couldn't find a link in English)
Twinmos DDR400/PC3200 1024mb RAM (again, no link)
Seagate Barracuda 7200.8 200GB SATA-150

Judging from these, I suppose you'll be able to see in rough numbers how much I have to spend. Linking me to retailers is (most likely) unnecessary, as I live in Sweden. I just want to hear if you have any suggestions, if I've missed something etc. Any help will be greatly appreciated.

It looks good, but I'm partial to Lian Li (I've got a PC-60). Have you checked out the PC-7B plus II? It's cheaper than the P-180, and it's nice and sleek (and easier to mod than the P-180, if that's your thing). IIRC, there were also issues with the P-180's cooling with the door closed. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811112099

Well, the Lian is a bit cheaper here... Thanks for the tip, I'll look into it.

Edit: Huh. Aparently, there's a Scandinavian edition which is more silent. :) But that one costs more than the p180...

Bump for the night.

Another bump I guess...

Oh, how much RAM on the video card - 256Mb or 512Mb (you can get 1Gb too)?

I'd like to know how much it ends up costing, maybe you could telegram me when you get the final price or something. I've been thinking about building one myself to save money.

AMD have just released Socket AM2 - successor to the 939 and 940. 939 and 940 can't use the DDR2 RAM (533 to 800 Mhz) while AM2 can. Good time to get a cheap Socket 939 system now!

Oh, how much RAM on the video card - 256Mb or 512Mb (you can get 1Gb too)?
256, the only one avilible here.

I'd like to know how much it ends up costing, maybe you could telegram me when you get the final price or something. I've been thinking about building one myself to save money.
Currently, the whole thing costs about 10,500-11,000 SEK, so about 1,460-1,540 US dollar (though it should be considerably cheaper in the US, hardware is expensive here).

256, the only one avilible here.


Found a link
http://www.abuseit.co.uk/productView.asp?prodid=1211
(English site - prices in pounds)

Found a link
http://www.abuseit.co.uk/productView.asp?prodid=1211
(English site - prices in pounds)
I've already found it in Sweden, I'm basing all of my parts on that... I only linked to newegg to have something in English :) I'll change the OP though...

For a good forum about building computers got to www.daniweb.com then click on "Tech Talk"

Thanks, I'll look around when I get some free time (which should be in a week or so :p)

Thanks, I'll look around when I get some free time (which should be in a week or so :p)

Just noticed you didn't mention your monitor - I assume it's recycled from the previous system.

Just noticed you didn't mention your monitor - I assume it's recycled from the previous system.
Yeah, I'm gonna wait with that for a while, just like my mouse and keyboard (though I am probably getting the logitech G5 and G15).

Yeah, I'm gonna wait with that for a while, just like my mouse and keyboard (though I am probably getting the logitech G5 and G15).

I've got Logitech MX510. Best mouse I've every used apart from those dicky little rubber feet which fall off.

AMD have just released Socket AM2 - successor to the 939 and 940. 939 and 940 can't use the DDR2 RAM (533 to 800 Mhz) while AM2 can. Good time to get a cheap Socket 939 system now!

Depends how long you want it for though! I got one in january an its gonna be hard to upgrade it much, so il end up buying a whole new computer when the time comes.

If you want to use socket AM2 then the 3800 dual core is the best bet, but if your sticking with socket 939 then I'd go with an opteron 165. it overclocks better (im running one at 2.5Ghz all the time) and costs about the same, and has more L2 cache.

As for the rest, it sounds good, for the video card Id go with whatever is cheapest out of the 7900GT and the X1800XT. When DX10 comes out all the cards now will need replacing anyway so theres no point going over £200 at the moment.

I've got Logitech MX510. Best mouse I've every used apart from those dicky little rubber feet which fall off.

Yeah what the hell did they include them for? the mouse was fine as it was but I couldnt resist sticking them on, and now its worse.

Yeah what the hell did they include them for? the mouse was fine as it was but I couldnt resist sticking them on, and now its worse.

The feet on Microsoft mice are much better, they are solid - part of the mouse and can be cleaned easily.

Depends how long you want it for though! I got one in january an its gonna be hard to upgrade it much, so il end up buying a whole new computer when the time comes.

If you want to use socket AM2 then the 3800 dual core is the best bet, but if your sticking with socket 939 then I'd go with an opteron 165. it overclocks better (im running one at 2.5Ghz all the time) and costs about the same, and has more L2 cache.

As for the rest, it sounds good, for the video card Id go with whatever is cheapest out of the 7900GT and the X1800XT. When DX10 comes out all the cards now will need replacing anyway so theres no point going over £200 at the moment.

With Socket 939, you still have the option of the Dual Core X2 series and FX series. Socket 754 is effectively dead though. AM2 is really Socket 940 with faster memory.

Depends how long you want it for though! I got one in january an its gonna be hard to upgrade it much, so il end up buying a whole new computer when the time comes.

If you want to use socket AM2 then the 3800 dual core is the best bet, but if your sticking with socket 939 then I'd go with an opteron 165. it overclocks better (im running one at 2.5Ghz all the time) and costs about the same, and has more L2 cache.
The Opteron 1.8 costs about 1,000 SEK more than the X2 2.0, and I need it to be as cheap as possible (though still not utter crap).

As for the rest, it sounds good, for the video card Id go with whatever is cheapest out of the 7900GT and the X1800XT. When DX10 comes out all the cards now will need replacing anyway so theres no point going over £200 at the moment.
The 7900GT is about 2,900 SEK and the X1800XT is 3,600 SEK, so there's no real competition there... And weren't they talking about DX10 being Vista only? 'Cause I probably won't get Vista (or quite some time, anyways).

AM2 is out, Id go for in instead.

Tho if you want to wait a month, I'd go for Intels Conroe, which thrash's AMDs FX line in every last benchmark,

I won't be able to buy very much in the next two-three months (I don't want a half-functioning computer in my room, it's crowded as it is), I'm just trying to find good stuff which might fall a bit in price until I buy it... And the Conroe should be expensive then, no?

I won't be able to buy very much in the next two-three months (I don't want a half-functioning computer in my room, it's crowded as it is), I'm just trying to find good stuff which might fall a bit in price until I buy it... And the Conroe should be expensive then, no?

Surprisingly not.

The midrange 2.4 Ghz version will cost about 320 USD which is significantly cheaper than it's AMD performance equivalent. Of course the Extreme Edition will still cost $1000 as ever but the mainstream products will be priced to kick AMD in the teeth. Intel are going to be bitter over AMD64 kicking the Pentium 4's ass for a while :D

If you can't buy for a couple of months then Intel Core2Duo (they're dropping the Pentium name for the Conroe processors) will be where it's at. You would need to change your memory and motherboard but DDR2 prices are dropping with AM2's arrival *glares at DDR as it goes through the roof, I need to get some extra DDR soon...*

Okay, so now I have to find a new motherboard. Off to pricerunner again I guess...

Edit: :eek: They're real cheap! Not a single one over 2,000 SEK.

snippity

personally, i just go to local mom-and-pop looking computer shops. the little small ones that hide in strip malls and such. go there with a little bit of cash and you can get some great deals on great stuff. i've built so many computers, just because. you can sell them to.. less then knowledgeable people for a decent amount of scratch, and usually come out richer for it.

you apparently know enough stuff to know what to buy, and if you go ask the guys who work there, they'd probably be happy to help.

personally, i just go to local mom-and-pop looking computer shops. the little small ones that hide in strip malls and such. go there with a little bit of cash and you can get some great deals on great stuff. i've built so many computers, just because. you can sell them to.. less then knowledgeable people for a decent amount of scratch, and usually come out richer for it.

you apparently know enough stuff to know what to buy, and if you go ask the guys who work there, they'd probably be happy to help.
Those kinds of shops are hard to come by around home (we have a total of one (1) shop which sells hardware), so I'd have to go hunting in Stockholm which I'm not too keen on doing... Also, since I've never built a computer before, who knows if it will work? :p

Those kinds of shops are hard to come by around home (we have a total of one (1) shop which sells hardware), so I'd have to go hunting in Stockholm which I'm not too keen on doing... Also, since I've never built a computer before, who knows if it will work? :p

ah, well that would make things a tad difficult. in that case, the kind ol' fellas (including women) here will be much better help then i could ever be.

Those kinds of shops are hard to come by around home (we have a total of one (1) shop which sells hardware), so I'd have to go hunting in Stockholm which I'm not too keen on doing... Also, since I've never built a computer before, who knows if it will work? :p
It's like Lego. Follow the instructions, earth yourself, and most stuff can only go in one way. I have no idea why people buy Dells, Hewlett Packards and similar piles of donkey droppings when it's so easy to do it yourself properly...
Installing the software's a bit more fun, but nowadays you just have to not forget any drivers.

Oh, and I would also recommend at least waiting to find out what Conroe can do when it's released, or - absolute worst case - Socket AM2. You'll be able to upgrade those far more easily in future.

I notice you've specced a decent PSU. Good :)

I've got Logitech MX510. Best mouse I've every used apart from those dicky little rubber feet which fall off.
Yeah for the little rubber feet that fall off of stuff, get some ployurethane glue. Fix ya right up.

I only know about the availability of parts prices in the US, hell web and Greater Seattle area really. But if you're looking for a mid-high rig, particularly game wise, I'd wait if I could. Generally, for any consumer electronics I recommend waiting as long as possible. There will almost always be newer models, lower prices (excluding random earth quakes razing critical fascilities and price fixing). In case one needed a computer now, something like $200 on a POS running a linux distro to get a person by, but providing a space where one could wait until DX10, Vista, attendant new chipsets, chips and price drops, it might be worth it (depending on what OEM pricing on the various flavors of Vista is going to look like). But yeah, I could do that here, probably even beat $200, doing it there? Entirely speculative. Just my random thought though.

Only thing with waiting for full-on DX10 stuff is that they're looking at anything up to 300 watts per card. I'd get the 7900GT and wait until ATi/nVidia haul their wattages down again.

You have to buy at some point but now is the time to wait. Rumour has it AM2 prices are going to go through the floor to counter Conroe so it's likely to be well worth the wait.

It's like Lego. Follow the instructions, earth yourself, and most stuff can only go in one way.
Yeah, sure, but I don't have alot of patience, I'm kinda worried parts will go flying :p

I notice you've specced a decent PSU. Good :)
Yeah, my current one is close to burning (closer than I'd like it, anyways) so getting fairly high watts on the PSU was a top-priority.

Generally, for any consumer electronics I recommend waiting as long as possible.
I know, the problem is that my current comp can't run any new games (my graphics card was half-decent in 2001), I'm almost out of disk space (50gb), my PSU is speeding towards burning (not sure how many watts, I think it's like 250) and the case is litterary falling apart, so I've waited as long as I've been able to :p

Yeah, my current one is close to burning (closer than I'd like it, anyways) so getting fairly high watts on the PSU was a top-priority.
Not just the wattage; who makes it is also important. Enermax, Seasonic S12 and Hiper PSUs I've heard good things about (I've an Enermax Liberty 620W in my new machine and an Enermax 365W in my old one; both standing up well) and they'll be more stable and much less likely to die than a generic, Q-Tec or similar box o' tat.

It's like Lego. Follow the instructions, earth yourself, and most stuff can only go in one way. I have no idea why people buy Dells, Hewlett Packards and similar piles of donkey droppings when it's so easy to do it yourself properly...
Installing the software's a bit more fun, but nowadays you just have to not forget any drivers.

Oh, and I would also recommend at least waiting to find out what Conroe can do when it's released, or - absolute worst case - Socket AM2. You'll be able to upgrade those far more easily in future.

I notice you've specced a decent PSU. Good :)
Nowadays you can get a Helwett-Packard/Compaq with a good amount of RAM, harddrive size, cpu, and case for less than the pieces separately. Not to mention software packages. Dell is still overpriced even on the low end. But unless you want some uber god-like computer to start off with, a $300-500 HP base + a vid card is a good place to start.

Nowadays you can get a Helwett-Packard/Compaq with a good amount of RAM, harddrive size, cpu, and case for less than the pieces separately. Not to mention software packages. Dell is still overpriced even on the low end. But unless you want some uber god-like computer to start off with, a $300-500 HP base + a vid card is a good place to start.
The problem being they come with cheapo mainboards, cases, HDDs and PSUs to keep the cost down, and if you're really unlucky no AGP/PCI-E slot for a graphics card.

Example: For speed/easiness/cheapness we bought a couple of cheapo HP A64-3400+, 1gig RAM, 160ish gig disk machines here at work. One of them died from PSU failure after a couple of months, and guess what I pulled out? A Sparkle 250W. Haven't AMD been recommending 300W as a minimum for about five years now?
Oh well, at least it wasn't MicroATX...

Edit: Oh, and a couple of Packard Bell machines bought last year (just before I joined) have 5200rpm disks. Welcome to 1997 :s (also had crap-all memory and onboard video; considering that memory capacity and disk speed are going to make the most noticable performance difference for officy-type things...)

The problem being they come with cheapo mainboards, cases, HDDs and PSUs to keep the cost down, and if you're really unlucky no AGP/PCI-E slot for a graphics card.
All newer ones come with PCI-e, the ones in a 5 year timeframe before PCI-e come with AGP. If you look at the progression of the standard HP PC, you can see they are trying to have their machines at a standard with the market, which keeps them easily upgradable too.

Example: For speed/easiness/cheapness we bought a couple of cheapo HP A64-3400+, 1gig RAM, 160ish gig disk machines here at work. One of them died from PSU failure after a couple of months,
My family has only owned HP computers. Only one has died and it was because my brothers crashed it with so much spyware and viruses. At least they are no longer using 3300s...

I know, the problem is that my current comp can't run any new games (my graphics card was half-decent in 2001), I'm almost out of disk space (50gb), my PSU is speeding towards burning (not sure how many watts, I think it's like 250) and the case is litterary falling apart, so I've waited as long as I've been able to :p

Well, dedicated to such a course of action, I would try to plan for the overspending I would do. Cutting back on somethings and putting that money in an account for later so I would neither stretch nor feel bad.

But I would also scout the requirements for Vista and buy for those except in one area. Graphics card. I would buy the minimally effective card for the games I want to play. Since it'd likely be replaced relatively soon. What are the minimum settings I can enjoy the games with, what's the best value card that provides that? Overbuying on powersupply could be a good move at the outset too.

Well, dedicated to such a course of action, I would try to plan for the overspending I would do. Cutting back on somethings and putting that money in an account for later so I would neither stretch nor feel bad.

But I would also scout the requirements for Vista and buy for those except in one area. Graphics card. I would buy the minimally effective card for the games I want to play. Since it'd likely be replaced relatively soon. What are the minimum settings I can enjoy the games with, what's the best value card that provides that? Overbuying on powersupply could be a good move at the outset too.
I've tried to save up, but since I'm in school I only get 950 SEK/month, and that's supposed to buy everything I need (except food), so it's kinda tight.

And Vista will be a problem, since we usually only get a new OS when my parents get a new computer or such, and I've been hoping that I wouldn't need to buy it. Seems like I will...

I've tried to save up, but since I'm in school I only get 950 SEK/month, and that's supposed to buy everything I need (except food), so it's kinda tight.

And Vista will be a problem, since we usually only get a new OS when my parents get a new computer or such, and I've been hoping that I wouldn't need to buy it. Seems like I will...

I'd advice against buying those brand name PCs to save money. Yes they are cheap but they do use dubious components sometimes. :p

I'd advice against buying those brand name PCs to save money. Yes they are cheap but they do use dubious components sometimes. :p
Yeah, sure, I won't buy a complete comp. (except possibly a laptop somewhere in the future), it's my parents that do.

Yeah, sure, I won't buy a complete comp. (except possibly a laptop somewhere in the future), it's my parents that do.

Laptops aren't cheap compared to desktops, but then only thing you can upgrade are the memory and hard drive. They are also more fiddly to open up. Buying the wrong laptop is worse than buying the wrong desktop as you don't have much options to upgrade.

Laptops aren't cheap compared to desktops, but then only thing you can upgrade are the memory and hard drive. They are also more fiddly to open up. Buying the wrong laptop is worse than buying the wrong desktop as you don't have much options to upgrade.
I meant "future" as in when I work or possibly going to a uni, it's pointless getting one now when I can get a better desktop for less money...

I meant "future" as in when I work or possibly going to a uni, it's pointless getting one now when I can get a better desktop for less money...

I'm kind of lucky as I'm in charge of IT purchasing in my company. I get stuff at closer to wholesale prices for the company and staff. I actually inherited the responsibility ...

I'm kind of lucky as I'm in charge of IT purchasing in my company. I get stuff at closer to wholesale prices for the company and staff. I actually inherited the responsibility ...
My sisters boyfriend has the same but with cellphones. Real good as he sells them to my family at discount prices as well :D

Anyways, of to have some dutch pancakes..

Bumpy, I guess.