BYOPC (Build Your Own PC)

[Emaho]

I had loads of problems with my SATA harddrive. I needed a floppy disk driver and install some drivers through diskette. And I didnt get a floppy disk driver with the cpu. It is kinda noisy to, when its working.

[Subjugation]

Hmm, I thought all Asus mb's have fan instead passive system. Which model you have? Tho all I do with computer is play, surf on the net and edit pictures - perhaps sometimes write something.

Most of them do have fans, but a couple of the new ASUS boards have the passive heatsinks.

Here's the A8N I bought: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131540

Here's the new ASUS-32 A8N:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131568

I'm not going to buy 2x7800GT's. I would rather spend the cash to single good GFX card (like GF7800GTX 512mb or Radeon X1900XT(X)).

If you're not gonna run dual cards, then I wouldn't bother bying an SLI board in the first place. In fact, a lot of people say SLI is just a marketing gimmick, and you're better off upgrading your video card if you're looking for significant performance gains. However, according to some of the articles I've read from Anandtech, Bittech and Tom's Hardware, SLI actually does work, but not for every game out there.

For example, I have a 6600GT, and I've been kicking around the idea of spending another $120 bucks and running them in SLI. This will supposedly give me a performance gain of about 50% for most games*. But if I spend $300 and get a 7800GT, I will get around a 90% increase in performance*.

But the problem is I really don't have an extra $300 bucks lying around, but I do have an extra $120 bucks. But I have no idea what I'm going to do with 2 extra PCI-E cards once I decide to upgrade in a year.




* (article regarding specified performance gains can be found here:http://www.tomshardware.com/2005/12/02/vga_charts_viii/)

[Subjugation]

Bump, and I need your help.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103572

Can anyone tell me if that comes with some sort of cooling fan?

Yea, the heatsink and fan is included. The CPU comes shipped with the heatsink, fan and a thermal paste patch already attached to the bottom of the heatsink. You just need to remove the sticky tape and you're set to attach it to the top of the CPU.

EDIT: Btw, at AMD's website, they have a simple instruction videos on how to do it, including some FAQ's, and tips.

http://www.amd.com/us-en/Processors/...5E6678,00.html

[tahkis]

If you're not gonna run dual cards, then I wouldn't bother bying an SLI board in the first place. In fact, a lot of people say SLI is just a marketing gimmick.

Could be just marketing gimmick but pretty much all new motherboards support SLI and the price difference between SLI and non-SLI mb's isn't too big.

Get at least a 450 W Power Supply.

Why? One Finnish group had 350W Fortron in their test configuration: AMD 64 3200+, Asus A8N-SLI deluxe, 7800GT SLI, Maxtor 120Gt, 2x256mb DDR.

[ZeUs!!]

BYOP

[Subjugation]

Why? One Finnish group had 350W Fortron in their test configuration: AMD 64 3200+, Asus A8N-SLI deluxe, 7800GT SLI, Maxtor 120Gt, 2x256mb DDR.

Fortron is a quality PSU, also. I have one myself.

You mentioned the Antec Neo HE, which looks perfectly fine. It has triple 12v rails, offering a combined 48amps. But the Sonata Piano II only offers 32 amps on dual rails. Keep in mind, 32A is fine for a the average system, but as the gaming market evolves, performance oriented PC's are becoming more resource hungry.

If you're going to run 2gb of low latency memory, a high end CPU, a large capacity HDD, a gaming mobo, a high-end gfx card---not to mention any lighting effects, LED displays, overclocking, extra fans, and your optical drives...I would worry in the middle of a huge battle scene in a game that stability could be a concern.

And that's not even mentioning if you want the option to upgrade your system within the next 2-3 years. It's cheaper to spend an extra $30 bucks on a meatier PSU than having to buy a new one down the road.

[Money]

Ok, so for next school year I need a Windows desktop to work on. I know the nerd in me wants to build it myself, but for the price of the stuff I have to buy, I could easily buy a Dell PC that comes with a Warranty.

Now, first off: I know I would be shopping from www.NewEgg.com. The worst part is, I am relatively clueless from that point on. I know I need a case, and I know I need a motherboard. But really, I have no clue about the difference in them.

Here's what I want the computer do be about to do:

Run
I want a AMD board that is capable of running Vista when it comes out, so I guess that means 64bit?
Be able to play decent games (i.e. Quake4, new gen PC games) at a decent FPS.
Have ethernet 10/100

The rest is really in the air.

The first question I guess... what would be the smarter choice:

Buy a Pre-Built PC
Make a DIY PC

newegg is overpriced despite what you think. go to www.tigerdirect.com

[404 Not Found]

newegg is overpriced despite what you think. go to www.tigerdirect.com

I tend to agree with Money. But you may also want to run whatever components you want on http://www.pricewatch.com and see who has what for the best price. They have alot of vendors who will waive the shipping costs.

[Money]

rofl newegg....what a joke...
heres your motherboard and processor bundle for 179$ before 30$ rebate and newegg is cheap LOL
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...316&CatId=1734

your fan
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...p?EdpNo=636205


heres a bad ass case with 450w power supply
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...&Sku=A406-1028

and your memory
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...022&CatId=1043

and vid card..

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...4963&CatId=694

[Subjugation]

rofl newegg....what a joke...
heres your motherboard and processor bundle for 179$ before 30$ rebate and newegg is cheap LOL
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...316&CatId=1734

your fan
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...p?EdpNo=636205


heres a bad ass case with 450w power supply
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...&Sku=A406-1028

and your memory
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...022&CatId=1043

and vid card..

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...4963&CatId=694

I've never used Tigerdirect, but I doubt their shipping and customer service is nearly as good as Newegg.

And that system is really not that good, so I dunno why you parted those particular products together. The only reason that mobo/cpu bundle is so cheap is because it has a Uli chipset, 754-pin architecture (which will probably be as outdated as Socket-A soon), and an OEM processor that doesn't even include a fan and heatsink---so you have to buy a heatsink/fan plus the thermal paste seperately. That means you can add another $25 bucks to the total.

Not to mention that "badass case" with the generic PSU is actually cheaper at Newegg. And it doesn't even carry 20 Amps on its single 12v rail.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811208008

And the same vid card is cheaper at Newegg.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814150041

And 1gb(2x512) of PNY Optima is cheaper at Newegg...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820236110

[DoTheFandango]

Maybe I should just buy a really cheap PC and upgrade what I want? What does it mean when it says "Integrated Intel Graphics"? Does that mean I can't upgrade it?

[Subjugation]

Cuz then you're paying for parts you aren't going to use.


And I'm not sure about the "intel integrated graphics" without looking at the product specs, but it sounds like the mobo has on-board video.

But since on-board video chips are not designed for high end graphics quality, you'd have to buy a video card anyway, since you want to play newly released games.

[DoTheFandango]

I don't mind doing that at all, but I just want to make sure that the GFX card is actually upgradeable.

I don't know anymore, I'm just frustrated.

[Subjugation]

There won't be a card. So if you were to upgrade, you'd just have to buy one. It would be just like the onboard audio---there would just be a port in the back of the mobo where you plug in your monitor, with the rest of the I/O ports.

[DoTheFandango]

I know, and that's fine. But I'm worried that they are going to make it so I can't put another PCI card in.

Bleh, fuck this. I need a better job.