two words...HOLY SHIT!!!! I had to read that 4 times to understand all that stuff. And I know that you put that in simple terms too. OMG!!! I feel retarded now. If I have any questions I think I might just send you a pm. In fact, why don't you just build me the BEST possible PC between $1000-6000!?! I'm sure you could do much better than me. Then, if you have anything included in it that I don't know how to work, like overclocking, then you can teach me how to use it. Wow. I might read it again. Thank you very much. I'll ask more questions later...g2g.
Building Gaming PC
- Thread starter Nirvana89
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tylerdrude
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6k on a comp? pm me ill build it 
Apokalipse
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I'd sure like to build a $6000 computer, even if it's not mine
anyway, what people have suggested is good so far.
a 6800 GT is a very good card, which you can overclock past Ultra speeds.
just don't get an XFX or a Chaintech, they do not make very good quality cards
the DFI NF4 Ultra-D is probabbly the best overclocking board you can get. on top of that it is very good quality
for a sound card, use the one that comes with the board. it's 8 channel (7.1) which means you can use surround sound speakers.
for a CPU, definately either a Venice or San Diego core Athlon 64.
the Venice and San Diego are both exactly the same, except the san Diego has 1MB L2 cache instead of 512kb
your CPU's cache is used to fill up with instructions, so the CPU can process them a lot faster than if they had to retrieve them directly from RAM.
it also helps because RAM has to 'refresh' all the time.
RAM is made with millions of capacitors, which basically store charge according to what bit they are holding (a 1 or 0)
now, because these capacitors are so small, they don't hold their charge very long (we're talking microseconds)
so RAM has to refresh to keep the charge in the capacitors
every time RAM refreshes, the CPU used to have to wait for it to finish before taking data to process. now with the cache filling up all the time, a CPU can process data easily
anyway, what people have suggested is good so far.
a 6800 GT is a very good card, which you can overclock past Ultra speeds.
just don't get an XFX or a Chaintech, they do not make very good quality cards
the DFI NF4 Ultra-D is probabbly the best overclocking board you can get. on top of that it is very good quality
for a sound card, use the one that comes with the board. it's 8 channel (7.1) which means you can use surround sound speakers.
for a CPU, definately either a Venice or San Diego core Athlon 64.
the Venice and San Diego are both exactly the same, except the san Diego has 1MB L2 cache instead of 512kb
your CPU's cache is used to fill up with instructions, so the CPU can process them a lot faster than if they had to retrieve them directly from RAM.
it also helps because RAM has to 'refresh' all the time.
RAM is made with millions of capacitors, which basically store charge according to what bit they are holding (a 1 or 0)
now, because these capacitors are so small, they don't hold their charge very long (we're talking microseconds)
so RAM has to refresh to keep the charge in the capacitors
every time RAM refreshes, the CPU used to have to wait for it to finish before taking data to process. now with the cache filling up all the time, a CPU can process data easily
Yeah I'm tryin to build a comp between $1,000 and $1,600. Okay, I'm definitely going with the DFI board. I guess I just have to be really careful when tryin to overclock. Guess that is what the temp monitor is for. Also, go with the 6800gt rather than ultra. Thx for teachin me this stuff about cache, cpu, RAM, overclockin, and all kinds of other crap. I'm definitely gonna keep askin questions on this forum. The price on my current "want to build" comp is between $1,200 and $1,600 dollars. I keep adding and getting rid of parts I don't know if I want. For instance, I am not sure I want a dvd burner but then again I do because I use it a lot. If you guys want to help out and make me the best comp between $1,200 and $1,600 dollars then go for it . I'd appreciate it.
. I'd appreciate it.Powerslave
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well, i could set you up with one right now ok so here it is
amd 64 3200+ ( venice or san diego, only a few dollar differance)
dfi nf4 ultra-d mobo, the best board in my opinion
2x512 mb memory, your choice in what brand
segate 160gb 7200 rpm hard drive, seagate is best in my opinion
dvd burner, usually like 50 $, cd drive-20$, floppy- 10$
viewsonic 19"
eVGA 6800 gt
all this is around 1400
amd 64 3200+ ( venice or san diego, only a few dollar differance)
dfi nf4 ultra-d mobo, the best board in my opinion
2x512 mb memory, your choice in what brand
segate 160gb 7200 rpm hard drive, seagate is best in my opinion
dvd burner, usually like 50 $, cd drive-20$, floppy- 10$
viewsonic 19"
eVGA 6800 gt
all this is around 1400
I just remembered another question I had..actually two...wait...three.
First, what is vsync and do you know if turning it off helps a game run smoother? When I used to play SWG I was told to turn it off.
Second, how big of a difference is there between a 128mb graphics card and a 256mb?
And third, what is virtual memory. I was told that I can turn it up to about 1000 mb's and the computer uses it like RAM. Still confused on it all though.
First, what is vsync and do you know if turning it off helps a game run smoother? When I used to play SWG I was told to turn it off.
Second, how big of a difference is there between a 128mb graphics card and a 256mb?
And third, what is virtual memory. I was told that I can turn it up to about 1000 mb's and the computer uses it like RAM. Still confused on it all though.
Apokalipse
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Vsync means the video card waits for the monitor to finish drawing before it sends the next frame. this means less flickering, but can cost speed
only turn it on if your screen flickers.
virtual memory: a file on the hard drive used like RAM.
RAM is where everything is normally 'loaded' and has all the active programs and data.
sometimes the RAM it has is not enough, so Windows will use part of the hard drive to load programs or files. it is much slower than RAM, and usually having programs in RAM will make them faster. however some programs are stubborn and only run when there is paging file (I don't know why programmers make them like that), so you should have it on
your graphics card memory is used to hold textures and sprites. the more video memory, the more it can hold. however, video memory doesn't determine the speed, the speed is mainly determined by the GPU itself. for example a 256MB Radeon 9800 doesn't perform as well as a 128MB Geforce 6800 (even the plain one)
the 256MB Radeon 9800 is actually a bit slower than the 128MB 9800 (although not by much). this is because there is more memory for it to address
as far as heat and overclocking. there is actually very little risk of your CPU dying from heat, just as long as you have the cooler on properly
when overclocking, you have a much greater chance of your PC crashing.
basically, overclock your CPU until it crashes, then set it just a little bit lower than that, until it is stable. there is no real risk doing this
only turn it on if your screen flickers.
virtual memory: a file on the hard drive used like RAM.
RAM is where everything is normally 'loaded' and has all the active programs and data.
sometimes the RAM it has is not enough, so Windows will use part of the hard drive to load programs or files. it is much slower than RAM, and usually having programs in RAM will make them faster. however some programs are stubborn and only run when there is paging file (I don't know why programmers make them like that), so you should have it on
your graphics card memory is used to hold textures and sprites. the more video memory, the more it can hold. however, video memory doesn't determine the speed, the speed is mainly determined by the GPU itself. for example a 256MB Radeon 9800 doesn't perform as well as a 128MB Geforce 6800 (even the plain one)
the 256MB Radeon 9800 is actually a bit slower than the 128MB 9800 (although not by much). this is because there is more memory for it to address
as far as heat and overclocking. there is actually very little risk of your CPU dying from heat, just as long as you have the cooler on properly
when overclocking, you have a much greater chance of your PC crashing.
basically, overclock your CPU until it crashes, then set it just a little bit lower than that, until it is stable. there is no real risk doing this
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