Building A Computer <$1,000
- Thread starter Alazar
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PizzatheHut06
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Alazar said:
Why would you want a case with bells and whistles anyway? Would that just be noisy? haha, i'm an idiot and that was an old man dad joke.
Anyway, if you like gaming cases, I've always thought this one looked sweet. It comes with a power supply, but you can always remove it and install the one you purchased, which would be far more reliable.
But if you want a more traditional model, this is a really nice one too.
Basically with cases, it's a matter of personal preference. Just make sure to stick to a reliable brand and you're set. Normally finding a case with a good power supply is the tough part, but since you already have one, it's all downhill
emeraldice
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Case choice and Fans go hand in hand, so I would recomend chosing the case before you buy fans. Once you buy the case, you know what sizes and what quanities to get; you still have plenty of money to buy the rest of the stuff you need (DVD/CD drives, case, and fans)
The CPUs you choose are good for overclocking. The specs you posted look pretty good; however, Gaara, phosho and the others do know what they're talking about. As for CD/DVD drives, you can find a double layer burner for sub $100 now, but the media's still $10 a pop. Media will get cheaper though.
The CPUs you choose are good for overclocking. The specs you posted look pretty good; however, Gaara, phosho and the others do know what they're talking about. As for CD/DVD drives, you can find a double layer burner for sub $100 now, but the media's still $10 a pop. Media will get cheaper though.
Your build looks overall solid.
Your memory is a bit dodgy in terms of overclocking potential, value RAM generally speaking is not meant to be overclocked, and has pretty weak timings, however at stock speeds it should run fine.
Any decent overclocking memory would probably put you over budget, but it is a wise investment if you do plan on overclocking. If you do decide to go that route, I would stay away from Corsair, they are generally an overhyped company and there is better RAM out there, namely G.Skill and OCZ.
If you also wanted to save a few bucks you could scratch the SLI board and just go with the single PCI-E lan-party, especially if you don't plan on using another 6600GT in SLI,
Finally, even if you are running at stock speeds, an aftermarket heatsink for both your video card and processor matched with some Arctic Silver 5 thermal paste is a very good investment towards optimal part performance and protection.
Apart from those things, I wouldn't change anything though, you should be pleased with that system.
Your memory is a bit dodgy in terms of overclocking potential, value RAM generally speaking is not meant to be overclocked, and has pretty weak timings, however at stock speeds it should run fine.
Any decent overclocking memory would probably put you over budget, but it is a wise investment if you do plan on overclocking. If you do decide to go that route, I would stay away from Corsair, they are generally an overhyped company and there is better RAM out there, namely G.Skill and OCZ.
If you also wanted to save a few bucks you could scratch the SLI board and just go with the single PCI-E lan-party, especially if you don't plan on using another 6600GT in SLI,
Finally, even if you are running at stock speeds, an aftermarket heatsink for both your video card and processor matched with some Arctic Silver 5 thermal paste is a very good investment towards optimal part performance and protection.
Apart from those things, I wouldn't change anything though, you should be pleased with that system.
This is all excellent info. so far, thanks.
I plan on using one of the suggested cases (thanks Pizza).
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=11-156-139&depa=1
With that, my total amounts to 823.
I don't need a VERY large hardrive (the one I'm currently using has only about 23ish gig used up with all the games I play) and I found out my disc drive is become gimpy, haha.
As for the ram, I've heard about OCZ a little bit, is the overclocking potential worth the extra money? I'm have very little knowledge to overclocking RAM.
Not that sure about the SLI thing...sorry.
And finally, what heatsinks, GPU fans, fans, etc. are reliable/efficent?
I'm sorry I have to ask so many questions, but right now I'm at school and I don't have the time to look into everything, so if nothing else comes up by the time I leave, I'll be home around 3ish.
Thanks for all the help, you guys.
(If it matters, I play a wide variety of games such as Half-Life 2 to Rome:Total War, but I guess that's kinda of a given for a "gaming PC", haha)
I plan on using one of the suggested cases (thanks Pizza).
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=11-156-139&depa=1
With that, my total amounts to 823.
I don't need a VERY large hardrive (the one I'm currently using has only about 23ish gig used up with all the games I play) and I found out my disc drive is become gimpy, haha.
As for the ram, I've heard about OCZ a little bit, is the overclocking potential worth the extra money? I'm have very little knowledge to overclocking RAM.
Not that sure about the SLI thing...sorry.
And finally, what heatsinks, GPU fans, fans, etc. are reliable/efficent?
I'm sorry I have to ask so many questions, but right now I'm at school and I don't have the time to look into everything, so if nothing else comes up by the time I leave, I'll be home around 3ish.
Thanks for all the help, you guys.
(If it matters, I play a wide variety of games such as Half-Life 2 to Rome:Total War, but I guess that's kinda of a given for a "gaming PC", haha)
PizzatheHut06
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I would recommend this hard drive. I have that exact one, and it is extremely reliable. I've had no problems with it whatsoever, and 80 GB should be more than enough considering the amount that you've used thus far on your current HD.
I purchased RAM called Corsair XMS, which is overclocking RAM, however I regret that decision because it is more expensive and I don't overclock. ValueRAM gets its name because it is meant to run at the rated speeds, no more. If you want to overclock the memory, you would have to buy the more expensive stuff. Personally, with the system you have, I would see no need to overclock your RAM or your CPU. Your CPU is very fast and can easily play any game you will throw at it. Also, overclocking the RAM leads to very neglible increases in speed, so I see no need for it. Of course you're free to make your own decision, that is just my two cents. If I was building a system all over again, I would buy this RAM. It is cheap, only $108 for 1 GB, and you can run the two sticks in dual channel.
SLI is a technology that involves using two video cards on one motherboard, increasing graphics performance. However, it is INCREDIBLY expensive because you would need to buy two 6600GT's for example, instead of one. Currently, I consider it a waste of money because many games do not yet support SLI. Also, the 6600GT you have in mind will give you very nice performance.
As far as the CPU goes, if you buy retail and it comes with a heatsink, you should be fine to use that one. The Winchester core runs very cool, and you should only need a new heatsink and fan if you're overclocking. As for the GPU, eVGA uses very good heatsinks on their video cards, and once again, you shouldn't need a new one unless you overclock.
RAM with overclocking potential should only be purchased if you have the intention of overclocking it, otherwise it's a waste.
Basically, if you want to overclock RAM, the value stuff won't cut it, and if you have no intention of overclocking, the value RAM is all that you need.
Basically, if you want to overclock RAM, the value stuff won't cut it, and if you have no intention of overclocking, the value RAM is all that you need.
Oh, okay. Well, I've been using 512 RAM for years and I thought it was okay, so I think the RAM I listed should be good enough then.
That hard drive is probably more than enough and I've used WD before, so the total as of right now is:
$880 (with shipping)
And, I think my disc drive (just checked it) is good enough (unless there's something new about disc drives I havn't heard of, it can read my games and, I think, that is good enough).
As for my ram, I don't think I'll overclock that, but I was considering overclocking my CPU and GPU. Am I forgetting anything so far in the total $$$ amount?
I hope to have this all finalized by 5:30 today so I can get the sales (I'm a penny-pincher, haha).
That hard drive is probably more than enough and I've used WD before, so the total as of right now is:
$880 (with shipping)
And, I think my disc drive (just checked it) is good enough (unless there's something new about disc drives I havn't heard of, it can read my games and, I think, that is good enough).
As for my ram, I don't think I'll overclock that, but I was considering overclocking my CPU and GPU. Am I forgetting anything so far in the total $$$ amount?
I hope to have this all finalized by 5:30 today so I can get the sales (I'm a penny-pincher, haha).
CPU and Memory overclock hand in hand, unless you want to sacrifice your hypertransport speed.
Basically, your CPU communicates with your RAM at a certain speed. On Athlon 64s this is called hypertransport, and is defaulted at 200MHz on the Athlon 64s.
The Hypertransport speed is multiplied by a multiplier in order to calculate the overall CPU speed. For example, in your case:
AMD Athlon 64 3200+ @ 2GHz
200MHz Hypertransport speed x 10 (Multiplier) = 2000/2GHz
In order to overclock the CPU, you need to either raise the hypertransport speed, or raise the multiplier. Since the multiplier on Athlon 64s are locked, you can either decrease the multiplier and greatly increase the HTT, or you can simply increase the HTT speed.
Now, your memory should be the same speed as your HTT speed, which it is. For example.
DDR400(PC3200) @ 400MHz/2 = 200MHz
Now, let's say you wanted to increase the CPU speed 100MHz. You would enter the BIOS and make the following changes.
210MHz Hypertransport Speed x 10 = 2100/2.1GHz
However, since memory runs on a default 1:1 ratio with the Hypertransport speed, your RAM will also be running at 210MHz. Value RAM cannot overclock very far so if you wish to keep the 1:1 ratio on you won't achieve very high speeds.
However, you can elimimate the 1:1 ratio, therefore you can increase the hypertransport speed without increasing the memory speed, however your memory speed is now bottlenecking the rest of your system as it is running slower than your hypertransport wants it to. Understand?
There are two solutions to this problem, you can either purchase better RAM with better timings that will be able to keep up with the 1:1 ratio, or you can buy faster value RAM to begin with.
For example, say you buy DDR466 as opposed to DDR400. That RAM will automatically be underclocked to match the Hypertransport speed, however once you start raising the hypertransport speed, the memory will easily keep up until the HTT reaches 233MHz, at which point and time the memory will be running at its default stock speed.
Basically, your CPU communicates with your RAM at a certain speed. On Athlon 64s this is called hypertransport, and is defaulted at 200MHz on the Athlon 64s.
The Hypertransport speed is multiplied by a multiplier in order to calculate the overall CPU speed. For example, in your case:
AMD Athlon 64 3200+ @ 2GHz
200MHz Hypertransport speed x 10 (Multiplier) = 2000/2GHz
In order to overclock the CPU, you need to either raise the hypertransport speed, or raise the multiplier. Since the multiplier on Athlon 64s are locked, you can either decrease the multiplier and greatly increase the HTT, or you can simply increase the HTT speed.
Now, your memory should be the same speed as your HTT speed, which it is. For example.
DDR400(PC3200) @ 400MHz/2 = 200MHz
Now, let's say you wanted to increase the CPU speed 100MHz. You would enter the BIOS and make the following changes.
210MHz Hypertransport Speed x 10 = 2100/2.1GHz
However, since memory runs on a default 1:1 ratio with the Hypertransport speed, your RAM will also be running at 210MHz. Value RAM cannot overclock very far so if you wish to keep the 1:1 ratio on you won't achieve very high speeds.
However, you can elimimate the 1:1 ratio, therefore you can increase the hypertransport speed without increasing the memory speed, however your memory speed is now bottlenecking the rest of your system as it is running slower than your hypertransport wants it to. Understand?
There are two solutions to this problem, you can either purchase better RAM with better timings that will be able to keep up with the 1:1 ratio, or you can buy faster value RAM to begin with.
For example, say you buy DDR466 as opposed to DDR400. That RAM will automatically be underclocked to match the Hypertransport speed, however once you start raising the hypertransport speed, the memory will easily keep up until the HTT reaches 233MHz, at which point and time the memory will be running at its default stock speed.
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