i decided to build a new computer: first can you guys tell me what are a decent motherbord, some rams and a cpu. i would use this computer for games and music. tank you

IF -> YOU <- read this you smell .

if you want to play games you are probably going to need a pretty hardcore cpu and a decent motherbourd+Graphics card. if you can play games obviously is would have no problems with music. maybe you could get a cheap removable hard drive to store music on and stop your comp form being cloged up. my computer is quite good for gaming so ill tell you what i have:3.4Ghz CPU, 1 Gigabyte of RAM, intel motherbourd D915GAG with PCI Graphics card slot. for you i would suggest if you want to build cheap i would buy parts from ple to start off. www.ple.com.au/. secondly if you want play all games really fast i would go for an athlon CPU and intel parts for the rest. good luck!
ps.sorry but i cant give advice on actually building it becuase although i have knoledge on parts i have not actually built one myself :p

Get AMD 64 4400+ with a compatible motherboard and 2GB of Ram, 256 ATi Radeon x700, and you have top of the line PC.
Will cost you a lot though :)

Lider

do you have a budget in mind? I would recommend an Athlon 64 3200+ ($190) Abit An8 motherboard ($102) A gig of RAM (~$80~) and if you like great gaming on a budget, you can get the Nvidia 6600GT or the ATi X800PRO ($150-$200). They are both about the same performance but the X800PRO can be overclocked and unlocked to provide extreme performance. Get a SATA150 hard drive and a nice aluminum case and a decent powers supply.
Do NOT get the Athlon4400+ and 2GB of RAM is overkill unless you do video editing or heavily use photoshop or things like it.
If you would like to go cheaper, I could get you some specs on a decent Athlon XP system.
Hope this helps.

Build-in-Progress:
NZXT Nemesis Elite
Athlon 64 3200
Abit An8
OCZ EL PE Rev2 DDR400
X800PRO flash to 800XT PE
A-TOP ATX12V 500W PSU

oh! If you order online, go to www.newegg.com they have great prices (not THE BEST but damn close) and a huge product lineup. local stores overprice nearly everything.

Build-in-Progress:
NZXT Nemesis Elite
Athlon 64 3200
Abit An8
OCZ EL PE Rev2 DDR400
X800PRO flash to 800XT PE
A-TOP ATX12V 500W PSU

hi Bob,

Motherboard: ASUS (THE BEST !!)
Video Card: Ati Radeon
CPU: AMD AthlonXP
Memory: 512mb any top brand. Corsair seems pretty good
PSU (Power Supply Unit): at least 400Watts
HDD: Western Digital

other learned gentlemen in here, might expand on each item above.

rob

Central Coast
NSW Australia

Please tell us the budget and we can tell you more precisely what you can get.

Build-in-Progress:
NZXT Nemesis Elite
Athlon 64 3200
Abit An8
OCZ EL PE Rev2 DDR400
X800PRO flash to 800XT PE
A-TOP ATX12V 500W PSU

killer, do you think everyone is made of money? Even so, your choices are horrible! A64 4400+, 2GB RAM & an X700? The CPU choice is over the top, 2GB of RAM is unnecessary, & the video card choice is lame! Considering you're other two suggestions, why would you even recommend such a weak card?

ASUS A7N8X-X
Athlon XP 1800+
8.5 x 200MHz
1024MB PC3200 2.5-3-3-7
Asus A9550GE/TD 128MB
WinME/WinXP Pro SP1

Jam, I meant to say x800, instead x700. LOL

Lider

Motherboard:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813127206

Processor:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103546

Video Card:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814102554

Lider

Overall system Price will go over 2000$, now that's a system! Jam whats you responce? Have I learned anything yet? or should I go do my homework?
LOL!

Lider

Killer,
Is there soemthing wrong with you that you think someone posting here for some help designing a system wants to spend $1200 + on a cpu and video card alone? Do you spend that?
I work in the industry for a living and price tends to mean,little to me but these choices cross the line and make no sense at all without knowing the needs and uses of the asker.
I am known for lavish purchases but the day will never come I will buy the top of the line cpu at $759...I did once with a P4 3.2 for $5550 and learned my lesson as I had the top cpu once for a few weeks and then the price went in half a few months later.
I am a pro photographer also and would never spend nearly $500 on a video card, there is such a thing as overkill, and I have to tell you though I have a few Athalon cpu setups here, the high end is much higher than Intel and I would never even consider those. Athalon to me, and this is only my opinion, is a price buy, and if the cpu were more, I have much more faith in an Intel cpu because they make the motherbaord and chipset as well, so all 3 have to perform....
Honestly too, if you pay serious attention here, the most problems listed on this forum, are by far from Amd setups, and I will leave the reason, to your fine judgement!

So when you go shopping for stuff, you just buy the most expensive because you feel "you get what you pay for"? Apparently you think price is everything, so why did you choose the most expensive S939 SLi board & not take advanatge of SLi?? I think you better increase your budget another $100 or so & buy two of these:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814143028

ASUS A7N8X-X
Athlon XP 1800+
8.5 x 200MHz
1024MB PC3200 2.5-3-3-7
Asus A9550GE/TD 128MB
WinME/WinXP Pro SP1

ooops, I meant another $1000

ASUS A7N8X-X
Athlon XP 1800+
8.5 x 200MHz
1024MB PC3200 2.5-3-3-7
Asus A9550GE/TD 128MB
WinME/WinXP Pro SP1

I was going to, but stopped. Look, I won't spend that much on PCs, I'd rather spend it on something else. It is just suggestions.
Jam, how did you know that I got the most expensive motherboard out there LOL,

Killer

Lider

OOps my P4 cpu was $555 not $5500 I only wish you could edit these posts when noticing mistakes.

I say AMD for CPU (cause I like them)
You probably aren't made of money so an AMD Athalon64 3200+ would do (or maybe a 3500+ with 1meg L2 cache :) )

For video card, I personally love NVIDIA, so I would say 6600GT, I have 6600GT overclocked by ASUS and it works pretty awesome. Sure I can't play everything at maxed out to insanity, but I can get 1024x760 with a modest amount of antialiiasing and atisophoric filtering, and running at a very smooth framerate (even on battlefield 2!!). Though, if you are playing older games, you could probably max the graphics out.

RAM, just do what you want really, if you get an AMD get DDR400 (pc3200) though. I would reccomend 1gig.

I love asus motherboards to death.

get a beefy PSU, and not something cheap. I like the Powerstream/modstream family from OCZ cause its cool how it is setup, however you can probably get less aethetically pleasing powersupplies, that give out more wattage for less money. Personally I say AT LEAST 400watts, and thats very minimum, I reccommend 500watts.

or course, if you have unilmited money just get the most expensive everything, or go buy an alienware.

My other signature is a Porsche

thank you all for posting . i dont want to spend too much money on the system. budget around $600 - $800 . may pay a little extra for more proformace

IF -> YOU <- read this you smell .

all you guys that have been talkin about cpu's and ram and all that. i was just wondering, do you guys think my comp is any good?

CPU:3.4Ghz intel
MOTHERBOURD:D915GAG
RAM:1024MB DDR
EXTRA'S:logitech cordless keyboard and mouse duo, logitech 5.1 speakers, 19" Flatron LG LCD screen, 200GB external hard drive.

i got this setup for around $2,800 Australian
did i get good value?

PC sounds great to me but I haven't a clue to the exchage rate.....well if I did this right sounds like $2100 Us and that sounds really high but might be what you have to do in Australia?

Hi everyone,

This is my first time posting so forgive me for any break in protocols, but I too am seeking to build a new computer and would love some advice. I built my own 286 when I was 15, but since then I really havn't kept up with the finer points of system building, or even the current state of top-of-the line technology for that matter. Here is my situation/needs:

I currently have about $2000 saved up and would like to build the best system I can for the money. I have the advantage of already owning an ATI Radeon 9800 Pro 256mb AGP and a SB Audigy Platinum. I know that both of these cards arn't the absolute top of the line any more, but I think they will work for a new build (I can always upgrade them later).

My current system is a 1.7 ghz P4 with a mediocre motherboard and a slow 512mb of ram. If it wern't for the graphics card, it would be unfit for my needs. But even now, it can't run Half Life 2 or some of the other, newer games to my satisfaction. So, basically, I am looking to build a brand new system from scratch.

The main things I am confused about are:

1) Whether to go with Intel or AMD... and if I go with AMD.. how to compare the performance or a particular chip to Intel. (I've been told you can't compare the GHZ rating of an AMD directly to an Intels in terms of performance)

2) How important is it to match up motherboard bus speed to ram?

3) Is PCI-E that much better then AGP 8x?

4) Is 10,000RPM considerably better then 7200 (er, 7800, whichever it is) for a HD?

But mainly, I just wanted the advice of people who know a lot more then I do about what they would buy, in my situation, with the given money ($2000).

My general philosophy is to buy the best hardware I can afford as long as it is atleast about 6 months old. (Otherwise it looses its value too quickly and you end up overpaying in the long run). But at the same time, I am not looking for "bargain value". I am willing to pay for the good stuff.

In any case, I appreciate any advice you guys could offer me. Specfic hardware suggestions (company and model) would be especially appreciated.

Sincerely,
Jonathan