New Build, please look over

Here is my new pc, please look it over for compatibility, etc. It started on a budget of $600, let me know what you think of the cpu and gfx card choice, and if it will all fit with the case and mboard selected. I have a 630w PS to use so I don't need that. I think that covers everything, and will I lose anything by having to use a DVI adapter for my VGA CRT monitor? I might also try to hook all this up to my HDTV at 1080p or 1080i.

Wishlist

As opposed to LCD screens? I thought lots of people stayed away from LCDs. To me, they cost way more and just look worse. Unless a lot has changed with them lately. SaiTokoKeimei

There have been a lot of advances in LCD technology over the past few years, and at this point I'd say a good LCD can equal or even surpass a CRT monitor in most aspects people look for in a good monitor. Three years ago, you'd be pretty much right, and five years ago, definitely. Right now though, I'd say LCD screens definitely have the edge.

CRT's can still be good monitors. I'd get lower timing R.A.M. 5-5-5-15 is rather high and maybe spend more for a case but cases are a personal choice; however, I'm a fan of front and back 12mm fans which keeps my rig cool.

roulettethedog

Oh, they're excellent for graphics work. Still, a good LCD is definitely preferable for most people.

Anyone else think the same about the ram?

Just realizing the max resolution on this monitor is 1280 x 1024 with 60hz refresh, and I can't handle 60Hz it drives me nutty.

So how do I go about fitting a new monitor into the budget? Might as well make it LCD..

Anyone know of a good.... CHEAP monitor? lol

Anyone else think the same about the ram?

Just realizing the max resolution on this monitor is 1280 x 1024 with 60hz refresh, and I can't handle 60Hz it drives me nutty.

So how do I go about fitting a new monitor into the budget? Might as well make it LCD..

Anyone know of a good.... CHEAP monitor? lol

SaiTokoKeimei

The resolution on that isn't much higher than my monitor now.

How bad is it using this great computer at 1024 x 768 resolution?

Considering if I have to get a monitor with at least 1600 something resolution this rig might not be so great anymore

Using this computer on my HDTV seems like a good idea of course, but the whole keyboard and mouse thing doesn't work so great

Also of note is that I found I don't own a copy of windows, just restore discs. :roll:

So now I'm not sure what to do to avoid buying a new copy of windows, I guess buying an IDE/SATA adaptor or buying a new dvd drive that's sata would be cheaper, since the mboard only has 1 IDE slot and both my HD and DVD are IDE.

My whole thing is falling apart

or you could just use your current hard drive with XP on it already....brainiac24

that's what I'm saying, my current HD is IDE. My DVD drive and HD are BOTH IDE and the new motherboard only has 1 IDE slot.

-Anyone know a way around this problem?

-And will NOT getting the seagate HD slow my whole system down?

-Still waiting to see if I should stick to my 1024 X 768 monitor.

When I settle those things I'll be good

[QUOTE="brainiac24"]or you could just use your current hard drive with XP on it already....SaiTokoKeimei

that's what I'm saying, my current HD is IDE. My DVD drive and HD are BOTH IDE and the new motherboard only has 1 IDE slot.

-Anyone know a way around this problem?

-And will NOT getting the seagate HD slow my whole system down?

-Still waiting to see if I should stick to my 1024 X 768 monitor.

When I settle those things I'll be good

I'm not sure, but I think that some IDE cables are double-sided, so you can connect 2 items to the one slot on your motherboard. And are you sure your hard drive isnt SATA?

[QUOTE="brainiac24"]or you could just use your current hard drive with XP on it already....SaiTokoKeimei

that's what I'm saying, my current HD is IDE. My DVD drive and HD are BOTH IDE and the new motherboard only has 1 IDE slot.

-Anyone know a way around this problem?

-And will NOT getting the seagate HD slow my whole system down?

-Still waiting to see if I should stick to my 1024 X 768 monitor.

When I settle those things I'll be good

or you could just use your current hard drive with XP on it already....brainiac24

i had a thread on doing this before and apparently it won't work, i'ld still have to re-install windows

There is no SATA on my current motherboard, unless my HD has SATA and IDE then no it's not SATA.

I just want the monitor for games really, but color is important too

Will connecting my HD and DVD drive as stated above slow my pc down much?

even if it slows my DVD drive down like stated before, I really don't use a DVD drive much, just for installing and burning of course.

But, will not upgrading the HD to a fast seagate drive slow my rig down? If I can use my current HD effectively then all that's left is to get a monitor so I'm getting close... was still set on buying a fast HD though, and I need input on whether 1440 x (something) resolution is enough to upgrade my monitor to, or if I should stick with my 1024 x 768

[QUOTE="brainiac24"]or you could just use your current hard drive with XP on it already....markop2003

i had a thread on doing this before and apparently it won't work, i'ld still have to re-install windows

Using the HD I have now won't work?

The ATA/IDE interface supports two devices (Master and Slave). Therefore, your *current drives* will work, although you would get much better performance from your DVD drive if it was on its own channel.JN_Fenrir

[QUOTE="markop2003"]

[QUOTE="brainiac24"]or you could just use your current hard drive with XP on it already....SaiTokoKeimei

i had a thread on doing this before and apparently it won't work, i'ld still have to re-install windows

Using the HD I have now won't work?

have a look at my old thread: http://uk.gamespot.com/pages/forums/show_msgs.php?topic_id=25718051

Anyone else think the same about the ram?

Just realizing the max resolution on this monitor is 1280 x 1024 with 60hz refresh, and I can't handle 60Hz it drives me nutty.

So how do I go about fitting a new monitor into the budget? Might as well make it LCD..

Anyone know of a good.... CHEAP monitor? lol

SaiTokoKeimei

If I'm not mistaken, I don't think 4-4-4 RAM will be compatible with the P965. I think only 5-5-5 and 6-6-6 is compatible, but I could be wrong.

As for resolution to look for, I prefer 1600x1200 if my rig can handle it, and if not, 1280x1024 is still a good resolution to be playing at. I try not to go any lower than that, and luckily I haven't had to, yet.

For an LCD, I'd suggest this one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824254005

It's got a decent contrast ratio and a good response time, plus it's cheap and well reviewed. As for what to cut back on, the two main things that you can play around with are the video card and the processor. You could cut back one and leave the other, or vice versa, or cut each one back, but not by much. Maybe a 7900GT/E6420, X1950XT/E6420, etc..

Also, Rayvin suggested the P35 chipset motherboards. The advantage of these boards is that they will support Intel's new line of processors, the Penryns. If you want to go with a P35 motherboard, I'd recommend this one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128050

It's about $10 more, but if you want the ability to upgrade to a Penryn further down the road, then it would be a good $10 spent. There are slightly cheaper ones if you just search P35 on Newegg, but this one seemed like the best bet while keeping the price reasonable. Also, if you go with the P35, you can step up the RAM timing to maybe a 4-4-4 such as this one for $5 more: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231087

However, I really don't think it's necessary and really, I think any DDR2 800 RAM is good enough. 5-5-5 timing is not bad in my opinion, but other people may disagree.

[QUOTE="SaiTokoKeimei"]

Anyone else think the same about the ram?

Just realizing the max resolution on this monitor is 1280 x 1024 with 60hz refresh, and I can't handle 60Hz it drives me nutty.

So how do I go about fitting a new monitor into the budget? Might as well make it LCD..

Anyone know of a good.... CHEAP monitor? lol

FireBurger

If I'm not mistaken, I don't think 4-4-4 RAM will be compatible with the P965. I think only 5-5-5 and 6-6-6 is compatible, but I could be wrong.

As for resolution to look for, I prefer 1600x1200 if my rig can handle it, and if not, 1280x1024 is still a good resolution to be playing at. I try not to go any lower than that, and luckily I haven't had to, yet.

For an LCD, I'd suggest this one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824254023

It's got a decent contrast ratio and a good response time, plus it's cheap and well reviewed. As for what to cut back on, the two main things that you can play around with are the video card and the processor. You could cut back one and leave the other, or vice versa, or cut each one back, but not by much. Maybe a 7900GT/E6420, X1950XT/E6420, etc..

Also, Rayvin suggested the P35 chipset motherboards. The advantage of these boards is that they will support Intel's new line of processors, the Penryns. If you want to go with a P35 motherboard, I'd recommend this one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128050

It's about $10 more, but if you want the ability to upgrade to a Penryn further down the road, then it would be a good $10 spent. There are slightly cheaper ones if you just search P35 on Newegg, but this one seemed like the best bet while keeping the price reasonable. Also, if you go with the P35, you can step up the RAM timing to maybe a 4-4-4 such as this one for $5 more: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231087

However, I really don't think it's necessary and really, I think any DDR2 800 RAM is good enough. 5-5-5 timing is not bad in my opinion, but other people may disagree.

Wait.. I though only very recent MoBo's supported Penryn? Has this changed?

^^The P35 mobos are relatively new.

Saito, here's a build I threw together to give you an idea of what you could do to fit "around" your budget. It comes out to ~$841 with shipping. There's no HDD, so I'd suggest getting an adapter for your IDE HDD and just use that. I don't think an older HDD will hinder you that much for games. As far as I know, I think the only time HDD speed matters in a game is when you're loading a level or something, but I beleive once you're in the game it doesn't matter. I could be wrong but I think that's how it works. Plus, like you said you'd have to spend a lot more money for a new OS.

Also, the rig has 4-4-4 timed RAM and a P35 mobo. I cut back on the CPU and video card, but it's still a very good computer. Lastly, I threw in a 19" LCD. Again, this is all just to give you an idea of what you can get with the monitor included, etc..

Just play around with the different parts and ask more questions until you get something that fits your budget and that you like.

*EDIT* Forgot the link: https://secure.newegg.com/NewVersion/Wishlist/PublicWishDetail.asp?WishListNumber=7259867&WishListTitle=%24800

Yeah. I just expected them to be more expensive.
evilbarbarian

Same here!

The only expensive ones are the ones that support SLI (two mobos I think) but I dont think they support DDR3, which is a bit silly lol.

[QUOTE="evilbarbarian"]Yeah. I just expected them to be more expensive.
skinnypete91

Same here!

The only expensive ones are the ones that support SLI (two mobos I think) but I dont think they support DDR3, which is a bit silly lol.