Note: advice topic, not help topic
Ok, so I've never built a system by myself before (I watched and assisted a genius friend do the one I'm using now), so please go easy on me, heh. My good friend recently built his own by looking at online guides, reviews, info from friends etc, but it's a nice solid $1400 PC that is running great. I'm planning on him teaching me to make mine as we work together on a new system for me.
I really need it for Warhammer Online come February. I know that December (after/before Christmas sales) is the best time to buy stuff, as that is when I built my previous system and saved hundreds of dollars by doing so. I want it to be a Windows XP system, with a budget around but not limited to $1400.
Now, I know quite a bit about computers themselves, but not the important specifics of making one. I'm not here to ask that, but rather your advice on what/when to buy. Currently, my system is suffering from a failing hard drive and thus I can't play any game more powerful than World of Warcraft (and even that is aging).[/g] Believe me, I've defragged, diagnostic'd, scanned for every virus/spyware everything - it's the hardware, 99% sure.
ANYWAY, what do you guys think? Hold out until December and start buying pieces then, or just go for it and start looking for good deals now? All I need is the tower, I have everything else, and I have a power supply I got for free through a mail-in rebate a few months ago (600watt I believe). Will prices really change that much between now and then? Keep in mind I don't really need the computer now; the winter season of console games will keep me more or less occupied. However, even menial tasks are starting to chug along on the computer (stupid Maxtor).
So, to get down to what you all like to read more than walls of text, here is what I was thinking for a system (if I was to build it today):
Windows XP Professional (have it)
320gb 7200 RPM HD (I have a big external, this is more than enough)
600 watt power supply (have it)
3-4GB PC6400 RAM
Nice case with 2-3 fans, big ones, big case
Intel Dual Core e6850 2 x 3.0 GHz
Mobo 680i SLI Ready Quad-Core ready (in case) (maybe with better sound card, too?)
All-in-one disk drive (minus lightscribe)
nVidia 8800 GTS 320MB Graphics Card
That should end up around my price range; at least this is what my friend made, but he has a worse processor but faster RAM (PC8000) which I read is not worth it - processor is more important.
What do you guys think?
Oh yeah, one more thing...is overclocking worth it for what I'll be using it for? Will the extra speed on my processor and/or graphics card make a difference at this point?
Ok, so I've never built a system by myself before (I watched and assisted a genius friend do the one I'm using now), so please go easy on me, heh. My good friend recently built his own by looking at online guides, reviews, info from friends etc, but it's a nice solid $1400 PC that is running great. I'm planning on him teaching me to make mine as we work together on a new system for me.
I really need it for Warhammer Online come February. I know that December (after/before Christmas sales) is the best time to buy stuff, as that is when I built my previous system and saved hundreds of dollars by doing so. I want it to be a Windows XP system, with a budget around but not limited to $1400.
Now, I know quite a bit about computers themselves, but not the important specifics of making one. I'm not here to ask that, but rather your advice on what/when to buy. Currently, my system is suffering from a failing hard drive and thus I can't play any game more powerful than World of Warcraft (and even that is aging).[/g] Believe me, I've defragged, diagnostic'd, scanned for every virus/spyware everything - it's the hardware, 99% sure.
ANYWAY, what do you guys think? Hold out until December and start buying pieces then, or just go for it and start looking for good deals now? All I need is the tower, I have everything else, and I have a power supply I got for free through a mail-in rebate a few months ago (600watt I believe). Will prices really change that much between now and then? Keep in mind I don't really need the computer now; the winter season of console games will keep me more or less occupied. However, even menial tasks are starting to chug along on the computer (stupid Maxtor).
So, to get down to what you all like to read more than walls of text, here is what I was thinking for a system (if I was to build it today):
Windows XP Professional (have it)
320gb 7200 RPM HD (I have a big external, this is more than enough)
600 watt power supply (have it)
3-4GB PC6400 RAM
Nice case with 2-3 fans, big ones, big case
Intel Dual Core e6850 2 x 3.0 GHz
Mobo 680i SLI Ready Quad-Core ready (in case) (maybe with better sound card, too?)
All-in-one disk drive (minus lightscribe)
nVidia 8800 GTS 320MB Graphics Card
That should end up around my price range; at least this is what my friend made, but he has a worse processor but faster RAM (PC8000) which I read is not worth it - processor is more important.
What do you guys think?
Oh yeah, one more thing...is overclocking worth it for what I'll be using it for? Will the extra speed on my processor and/or graphics card make a difference at this point?