First PC Build

[Seraph]

Alright. Heres the deal. I have this Dell Dimension 4300.....yah, don't laugh at me it was a gift.

Anyways, it can't run with Counter Strike: Source and I was gonna just get a new processor for it.....but I'm gonna have to get a new comp SOMETIME.....so why waste more money on this POS Dell?

I decided to make an attempt to build my own computer.

Now, I have NO CLUE what stuff to get. All I can really salvage from this Dell is the 70 gig WD hard drive. I know that I want to get an Athlon CPU......and a new GeForce FX video card (probably....I seem to be drawn to GeForce more than the Radeon cards).

Thats about all I know.

Oh...and I want to try to keep it near $1000.


I don't really have a clue about how Athlon CPU's work differently from Intel, just have always heard they are better for gaming than Intels. Yes, I am a hardware noob.


http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=11-133-125&depa=1 maybe this case? I dont really know :amazed:

 

[r1y23]

im preatty new as well but all the parts below for my comp plus the (case Kingwin KT-424-S-WM Silver Aluminum Case) was around $1200 and it runs cs source so well it made me cry the first time i saw it... its so.... beautiful.

the cpu fan is a Gigabyte GH-PCU21 VG 3D CPU Cooling Fan
With Heatpipe For AMD Socket A and Intel P4 478.

i also got a floppy drive (optional for you)
and a Sony Internal 16X DVD+R / Double Layer/DVD+RW Drive Model DRU 710A Retail Box

i got all this off price watch.
sorry its so messy but im at school right now and i dont have alot of time ill try to send you a neater list later.

 

[Seraph]

Thanks. Anyone else got suggestions?

 

[Seraph]

Ok, I've spent some time lookin at stuff. I am staying loyal to Newegg.....cause they rock.

Now, heres what I have so far.


Case:
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc.asp?description=11-170-020&catalog=23&manufactory=BROWSE
I really like how it looks, and the cooling seems to be alright.


They had a bundle of a Mobo, CPU, and RAM, so I checked that out, looked pretty nice to me.

Mobo:
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc.asp?description=13-127-181&catalog=23&manufactory=BROWSE
CPU:
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc.asp?description=19-103-503&catalog=23&manufactory=BROWSE
Someone still needs to explain Athlon to me.....^
RAM:
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc.asp?description=20-141-423&catalog=23&manufactory=BROWSE
1 gig.....yay

This is the Hard Drive that I am salvaging, I think this is the one anyways:
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=22-144-102&depa=1

I have an old GeForce 4 Ti4200 128mb video card.....I guess I should get a new one...

What type CD-Rom drive do I need? A CD burner is a must. Im open for suggestions there.

Sound...doesnt really bother me. I can use a $25 card from Wal-mart (thats what I use now ). I can probably just use that until I decide I want something better or it breaks. But, is there a decent sound card for less than $50?

What else do I need, if anything, after I get video/sound/cd-rom?


Oh, and will a better monitor improve performance? Mine is like 5 years old...at least.

 

[Seraph]

http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproductdesc.asp?description=27-106-931&DEPA=1


How bout this for my Cd-Rom drive?


THis IS a drive and not just a burner......right? I'm stupid.


and what video card would everyone recommend?

 

[_SiLv3R_]

burners can double as drives to read date off of cds yes.. wud be kinda redundant if they wudnt do that lol... but i would have to suggest this mobo:

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=13-130-468&depa=1

this is the best mobo availible for the socket 939 as of rite now.. and it is a fact that the mobos with the nforce 3 chipset perform better than the mobos with the kt800 pro chipset.. newayz u dont have to worry about that lol...

and the thing with amd is that they are able to get more things done every clock cycle.... so even with a lower operating frequency (that 3400+ runs at 2.2 Ghz i believe).. they can still out perform 3.0Ghz intel cpus when it comes to gaming

 

[Nubius]

and the thing with amd is that they are able to get more things done every clock cycle.... so even with a lower operating frequency (that 3400+ runs at 2.2 Ghz i believe).. they can still out perform 3.0Ghz intel cpus when it comes to gaming

Yeah if you look at my thread 2nd OC attemp you'll see my OC'd chip that was at 2.7GHz beats out a 3.8GHz pentium in the Whetstone bench, but the intel wins the dhrystone

 

[Seraph]

I'm glad you suggested that one, because it was the one I was choosing between (it and the one I posted).

Yah, I saw your post (or someone's) in the Hardware section that recommended the nForce3 and decided to change it.


Ok, so, what do I need now? What do I lack (besides sound/video cards....need suggestions there)? When I say lack, I mean do I need to get a heatsink, extra fans? what?

 

[RangerX]

Found this and thought you might like to see what you can do for 800 bucks.

http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1558,1675320,00.asp

There are some things that can be changed like the MB and processor but it shows you basically what you're looking to do

 

[Nubius]

I'd suggest the Abit AV8-3rd Eye if you can get that instead or the MSI Neo2-Platinum is also an excellent choice. I built a computer with that board and it has lots of options and runs really stable. The temperature monitor is completely accurate too. The AMD64 bit really isn't standard among operating systems and programs yet meaning they don't fully take advantage or their architecture, so that means your computer will be good to go for a while Also AMD's have shorter pipelines that Intels and can do more operations per second that intels, that's why my 2.7GHz overclock could beat that 3.8 Intel and the 2.2GHz opteron no problem. All the parts you picked out look pretty good except I'd look into a different case because the power supply you'll get with it will probably suck. Look into Thermaltake cases.