Cheapest way to get good gaming rig!?

Well there ye go :-)...

Anything else we can help ye with Sorze?
 
Yes, AMD makes Athlon XP and Athlon 64 processors. 64s are better in every way. And yes, there is an advantage. You have future 64-bit program support, plus, they handle 32-bit programs much better than Athlon XPs.

The 3000+ is pretty nice, and that's the one I'm getting.

You can also test out Windows XP 64-bit at Microsoft if your system is capable.

Oh, I refer to mobos and processors as 754-pins and 939-pins, I guess that is also called sockets. So if you see that the AMD Athlon 64 3000+ is 754-socket (which it is), that means it's 754-pin. There are many different names for computer parts, so sometimes it gets confusing.

I hope we helped. Any more questions or whatever, don't hesitate to post.
 
Malfunction, you're the 13-year old guy? If so, then I congratulate you on your knowledge!
 
Champ said:
Well there ye go :-)...

Anything else we can help ye with Sorze?
Click to expand...

:O

Starting to feel a bit like a leech here, everybody's real helpful and all...

I just want you all to know how much I appreciate the help, your saving us a whole lot of money and hassle. :)

Atleast the thread is getting alot of views, I hope other people can learn something here too.


It's just alot to take in you know, there's always some question that needs answering..


Like: Athlon 64 3000+ or athlon xp 3200+ ...? almost exactly the same prize...
or
Do the Geforce 6800 with 'only' 128Mb memory suck?


See what I mean..? ;)


Edit: And another.....
I'm worried about cpu limiting on the x800 and the Geforce 6800. Should I worry, probably will get a athlon 64 3000+?
 
If you are looking to do some gaming, I would recommend an Athlon 64 CPU.
The Athlon 64 CPUs are better than the Athlon XP in 32bit by a lot, regular Windows (XP). 64bit is a bonus for the future, but not now.
Just to give you an example, an Athlon 64 2800+ is better than a Athlon XP 3200+ for games.

When buying a CPU and trying to match a motherboard, you look at the Socket. Athlon 64 3000+ Socket 754 matches a Socket 754 motherboard. Sometimes there are other things you have to look for, like FSB speed, but there is nothing different between the Athlon 64's like that yet.

At least 512MB of memory is highly recommended and 1GB would help with the more demanding games (Farcry, Battlefield games, HL2 etc). With the larger levels and many detailed models in todays games, they can pause or lag at times and having 1GB often avoids the delay.

SATA is similar performance to PATA (IDE ribbon cable) but it has a few improvements. Either one would be good.
 
Champ said:
Malfunction, you're the 13-year old guy? If so, then I congratulate you on your knowledge!
Click to expand...

Hah, thanks, I've been quite interested in computers for a while. But this summer I've really done my homework. :P

No problem Sorze, everyone has to start somewhere.

Oh, for those questions:

A64 3000+ vs. AXP 3200+

I'd go with the 3000+ for future 64-bit support, and how it handles 32-bit programs much better.

As for the 6800 128mb, well, the normal 6800, or the 6800-GT? If you don't midn paying the extra amount, I'd get the 6800-GT 256mb. The 128mb isn't much different, but if you don't feel like upgrading your card again in a few years, I'd get the 256mb to be safe for future games, since Doom 3 already tested the 256mb of the latest cards.

Finally, a 64 3000+ shouldn't limit the newer cards at all. They're pretty powerful.
 
I can only answer you on your first one. I'll give ya a link when I find one, alright onward:

Like: Athlon 64 3000+ or athlon xp 3200+ ...? almost exactly the same prize...
I'd say the 64 3000+, there's more 'future' in that one over the regular xp one. I'm no expert on the athlon area, but what is their GHz equilivants?
 
A64 3000+ is stock clocked at 2 ghz, but it makes up for that in other features.
 
Allright, this is what I'm looking at now:

---------------------------------------------------------------
Motherboard
Abit KV8 K8T800 S754 SATA RAID GBLAN ATX

Processor
AMD Athlon 64 3000+ 2.00GHz 512kB HT Boxad ink fläkt

RAM
2*Kingston 512MB DDR DIMM PC3200 400MHz 184-pin

Harddrive
Seagate Barracuda 7200.7 200GB 8MB SATA 150

Case
Chieftec 340W ATX12V Fulltower black

CD/DVD Writer/Reader
Pioneer DVD±RW 8x intern IDE Bulk

Soundcard
Creative SoundBlater Live! 5.1 Digital EG Retail

Graphicscard
PowerColor Radeon x800 Pro 256 MB AGP8x TV-Out DVI Retail
---------------------------------------------------------------
All in all, between 1700USD and 1500USD, depending on where I get the x800.

The only thing I'm not sure about is the RAM(184-pin??), when I click on RAM, I get a whole lot to choose from:

DDR DIMM
DDR SODIMM
DDR2 DIMM
EDO SIMM
RAMBUS RIMM
SDRAM DIMM
SDRAM SODIMM


I'm not sure why I should pick on over the other. :hmph:


Please tell me if anything seems weird, obviously everything has to work together etc.

Edit: Thanks for the link Champ.. Interesting read

Edit2: "I reckon DDR2 is the fastest of them there."
It better be!!! Frickin expensive, I tell you! :sleep:

oh, and comments on the rig? Everything looks like it works together, etc?

Edit3:Ignore this edit, DDR DIMM it is..
 
I reckon DDR2 is the fastest of them there. DDR ranks second, forget the other ones. Malfunction?
 
Hmmm..I don't have much knowledge in RAM except some common terms, like the ones you listed, so I can't help much here.

Your system looks pretty good, but I have a question, and possibly a suggestion.

What is the price on that Chieftec 340 watt PSU?
 
Can't answer ye on your rig, because I know little to nothing about Athlons and what goes together. RAM and graph card looks great though, but I would recommend a Nvidia 6800 GT. It's faster than the x800 Pro in most cases. (HL is an exception, but I reckon Nvidia will update their drivers soon to match ATI's. Also note that HL2 is more than playable with the 6800 GT)
The 6800 GT is only 100 danish crowns (danske kroner) more expensive than the x800 pro according to my shop.
 
What's the abreviation PSU?
power...supply...unit ? :rolling:

The chieftec costs 1101 Swedish kronor, which is about....
146,8US dollars!


The Geforce 6800 gt is actually about 67 bucks more than the x800 I've listed (from where I'm buying). In the benchmarks I've looked at it seems like the x800 pro is atleast a match for the 6800 gt, but yeah, tell me if you think somethings up.

I'm thinking of not buying the graphics card from the same place as I'm buying all the parts, though, if I can find a better deal.

The site i'm buying from is www.inwarehouse.se, for all you other swedes out there.
If you know of any good sites, please tell me, I've never bought parts before, so I don't know if they're good really, and I don't know many sites period.



What are the powersupply recommendations for the x800 and the 6800 cards ? Hadn't actually thought about that until now..
 
Prices really vary from shop to shop, but I believe both cards have a retail value of $400.

I too prefer the 6800-GT. Future SM 3.0 support, performs pretty much equally (in HL2) to the x800 pro according to recent VST benchies, and it also has more pixel pipelines.

EDIT: PSU = Power Supply Unit, correct

Yeah, it's pretty important. Wow, that's pretty expensive. I think you should go for a higher watt PSU, like at least 400watts+. If you can find some others that are at decent prices above 400 watts I'll tell you what I think.
 
I thought it seemed expensive too, but it was the cheapest fulltower I could find at that site... :(

Come to think of it, do I really need a fulltower?


Edit: When you say PSU, and I say case, we mean the same thing right?
That chieftec one is the only one that i can see som sort of Watt specifics on....
 
Oh, sorry Sorze, I didn't realize the case was the Chieftec. I thought Chieftecwas the brand of the PSU.

Uhh, well, you can always get a case with no PSU, and then buy a PSU seperately.
 
Sorze: No, it's two different things, you just often buy them together. The case is simply the "metal box"
 
Yeah, thanks, I realized that now...

I cant find any 400w psu, but I've found a few cases/psus (combined, yes both psu and case, glad we cleared that up ;) )
that come abit closer.


Antec Sonata Piano Black Quiet Midi Tower 380W True power


I'm not sure about this Towerbusiness.. Do I really need a fulltower? That one isn't, it's a midi tower, they're smaller I guess.
Should I worry about the size?

Does size matter ? ? :D

Edit: It's a few kronor more cheap than the chieftech I posted before, I guess because of the size, because it's more powerful..
 
Antec Sonata Piano Black Quiet Midi Tower 380W True power
Click to expand...
That's a good one. btw, you don't need a full tower ;) trust me...
good luck with buying your computer!
 
Say i have a Sony Vaio w/ a 240watt psu. But i needsomething bigger for a 9800pro but there isnt much room for a psu that much bigger. Whats my best bet?
 
true new cases arent expensive but I really dont feel like transplanting the guts to my comp. but then again i might not have a choice
 
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