BreakmanX.com

OK heres why i want to know, im building my own computer, budget is about $600, I just cant decide, P-4 or, AMD64, Now remember my budget, Im not buying a Pentium 4 Extreme or AMD 64 X2, Im either buying Pentium 4 or AMD Athlon 64. Im gonna be gaming of course, also will be using Visual Basic, Photoshop CS, 7.0, etc

Heres whaty i have to buy with $600 dollars.

MOBO & Processor
Video Card
Case
Memory



Im using a old 60 gig Hd and old monitor.

SO saying all of this i need lots of ideas, im thinking $600 should be plenty, so everyone give me what u would buy in all the parts i listed.

Also PCI Express or AGP for the Video?


BTW excuse any spelling errors, im typing this with little time on my hands.

Richie and Break are probably more up on the current market than I, but here's my 2 cents. If you're on a tight budget, AMD is the way to go, they always give you more power for your money. That was before the 64 though, so I'm not quite sure how the match-ups look these days.

One thing I can't stress enough: buy a good motherboard. It's not the showy piece of equipment, but believe me it makes all the difference. Especially 6 months from now when you want to upgrade again, a good, modern mobo will give you upgradability for years without overhauling your entire system.

As far as AGP vs PCI express, I have no idea. A year ago I'd have said AGP. It's cheaper with no real disadvantages. I'm still not sure if PCI-X gives you anything, though if it's the way of the future don't get caught holding an obsolete motherboard. I'll defer to Richie, Break, Afro, and anyone else on this one.

I'll also say what I say every single time someone asks for hardware advice: do not buy a cheap-ass power unit. Buy a name-brand power unit. If you buy a good case like a Cooler Master, ThermalTake, Lian-Li, Antec, etc it'll come with a good power unit of the same name. If you buy a cheap case, buy it without the power unit and then buy a good power unit seperately. Max wattage does not mean better. A better power unit is a quality one from a trusted company, not just a p.o.s. with a big number on it. Reason is that a big power unit from a generic company provides inconsistent power - causing all kinds of bad shit to happen to the rest of your system.

Since a CDROM drive is not on your list, I'm assuming you have one already?

Also, if you're using an old hard drive, that's fine, just remember to back up your shit now and then.

I'm only slightly more current with the market than Realm, but I'll give it a shot anyway.

As far as I know, AMD is still the "bang for the buck" way to go compared to Intel procs.

But considering you only have to buy five parts with $600, price may not be that much of an object. I'd encourage you to experiment with proc and mobo combinations, try to find the right balance. And read every article on Tom's Hardware pertaining to 64's and P4's. They're the authority on hardware reviews, as far as I'm concerned, second only to Maximum PC.

The way I understand it, PCI Express is the standard that's currently replacing AGP. There are still AGP cards in production, but like Realm said, it's important to choose a motherboard with the future in mind.

Considering the future, I'd also recommend looking into a motherboard with built-in SATA support, preferably more than one port. I saw noticeable improvements in load times on several games when I made the switch. It also means fewer ribbon cables clogging up the case.

Memory? 512 MB does me just fine, but I'd get a gig if you've got the cash.

UPDATE

Ok So today I went to my bestbuy to check out some cases and they had Bestbuy brand and 1 antec, Antec was normally 69.99 but it was on sale for 39.99 with a mail in rebate. So I figured hell I should buy it while i have a chance so I did, So now i just wait like 6 weeks for the mail-in rebate check, but still 39.99 case with Truepower 350WATT PS I think i got a good deal, If i need to i can upgrade the PS later but 350 will be enuff for now.


So next part Im gonna but is the MOBO and Processor, saying that I still havent decided on either og these. I was looking on newegg and saw some pretty sweet P4 deals, Im guessin for max upgradebility I need to go with Slot 775 for intel, mainly for the 64bit and DDR2.


As of AMD i guess I need to go to Socket 939? Also I dunno at least a AMD3000+ right? So many questions. =(

Also today I went and bought Max Pcs Gaming Compouter building guide, I was kinda disappointed though b/c it just talked about all the best stuff like $1000 processors. But it gave me lots of great tips on bulding it


These 2 Processors look pretty good, what do yall think?

AMD-


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6819103537



Intel-http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6819116230

The AMD, definitely. When the hell did AMD go to Socket 939 across the board? Jeez I'm behind on my tech news.

Jbrown wrote:Ok So today I went to my bestbuy to check out some cases and they had Bestbuy brand and 1 antec, Antec was normally 69.99 but it was on sale for 39.99 with a mail in rebate. So I figured hell I should buy it while i have a chance so I did, So now i just wait like 6 weeks for the mail-in rebate check, but still 39.99 case with Truepower 350WATT PS I think i got a good deal, If i need to i can upgrade the PS later but 350 will be enuff for now.

Good job - I'm jealous. Antec is kickass and the power unit is perfect.

For mobo's, stick to good brands like MSI, Gigabyte, Asus, or BFG.

Just browsing through Newegg, these looked like decent boards to me, analyze away guys.

With PCI express:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6813130492
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6813128301

With AGP:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6813131510

Realm wrote:The AMD, definitely. When the hell did AMD go to Socket 939 across the board? Jeez I'm behind on my tech news.

No kidding, what the fuck happened to Socket A? Or SLOT A.

It's all old school now.

WOW tyvm realm that second PCI express looks great for $115 it has dual PCIx so i can eventually go dual SLI video cards.

Update

So this is what Im planning ON right now

Antec Case/PSU-------Bought All Ready

AMD Athlon 64 3000+ Venice Core -----planning on buying next week

Gigabyte GA-K8N PRO-SLI MOBO

Maybe 512 Corsair RAM, im not sure on RAM yet

Il just pick up a DVDROM Combo drive from Bestbuy or Walmart Probably

Now on the Video Card IM not sure yet.....Will someone find me a good PCI express one under $150?

TY for help all

So I have everything picked out except a video card and i need yalls help,

It needs to be PCIx and no more than $150 so if anyone knows any decent ones post them here please.

From browsing NewEgg, it looks like the best you'll do with $150 is a X700, like this one:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814125199

Or, a 6600GT, seen here:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814170072

If you're willing to spend a little more, then you get into the X800/6800GT range. I would recommend this, even if it means waiting a little longer, or saving a little more. You'll be glad you did later on.

This one looks pretty good, I can buy another later and run it in SLI, for now im Gona get this
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814130214


Before i started checking these cards out i though 256RAm was needed, but it seems some 128 are better than 256,
Thanks richie for thenm other 2 they look pretty good going by the reviews

well shit, I'm jealous.

Update: This is my current things in My cart i will be buying next week off of Newegg.

Processor- AMD Athlon 64 3000+ Venice Core

Mobo- GIGABYTE GA-K8N Pro-SLI Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 SLI

Videocard- eVGA 128-P2-N368-TX Geforce 6600GT 128MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card

RAM-Update CORSAIR ValueSelect 1GB (2 x 512MB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200)

DVDROM- Gigabyte Combo Drive

Total Price including shipping= $528.98



Do I NEED XP or can I get along with Windows 2000? Ive seen some people say it is better. I already have windows 2k so should I buy XP?
I cant wait to order dis shit

You're under your price limit with that parts list (a very nice list, btw), I'd say screw XP and buy a couple good games you want. 2000 is good, and while you'll want to upgrade to XP eventually, it doesn't have to be immediately.

Aight thanks Realm Ill probably do that, I guess Im gonna het HL2 first then a MMORPG that being WOW or Guild Wars. Anyone here play either of these? BTW wheres Jack Burt0n been?

Only thing I worry about 2k is its driver issues. The thing runs like a tank a lot of the time, but it detests certain hardware configurations. No harm in trying it though, and you'll most likely be successful. I had one of those unlucky configurations back in the day... Also, XP runs games a bit better.