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Hardware and Case Mod's You Paint it, Cut it, Solder it, bend it, light it up, make it glow or anything like that, here is your forum. |
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06-08-2005, 06:29 PM | #1 |
Cooling Neophyte
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: southern cali.
Posts: 39
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Computer for friend, critique? :)
I was asked by a friend to build him a computer for a graduation present, I gladly accepted , especially beacuse I need to brush up on my not-too-good computer skills. Well I've picked the components out for my friend, found a good case for him. Now my only issue is a video card. It's an AGP system with an AMD 64, and I wanted a good video card that'll last him a long time (and to game with for a while). Now the case itself doesn't have amazing cooling, but it is apprently a good case (according to reviews). I'd like to add a blowhole and possibly a side fan. If anybody has any suggestion on the components I'm using (I'll post them, with links) please post 'em here. Also any suggestions on modding will be kindly accepted too. Since this rig's for a friend he said I could "spend" about one thousand dollars, not including tax or anything. I've not gone too high, and all I really need is a video card, again, ANY suggestions on anything welcome.
Here's what I got going: Case: http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16811154048 Case/heatsink fan: http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16811999602 Mobo: http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16813123242 PSU: http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16817151023 CPU: http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16819103444 RAM: http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16820145449 HDD: http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16822144122 Sound Card: http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16829102162 CPU cooler: http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16835106045 |
06-08-2005, 09:35 PM | #2 |
Cooling Savant
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: 15143
Posts: 358
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With that budget, why not go Socket 939 with PCIe? I'd do something like this:
Case - Chenbro Xpider. This one has a horrid orange color, but it's only $19! Excellent build quality and cooling with 120mm fans. No performance mods needed here. Fans - There are a zillion fans out there, but I'd forget Vantec for sure. Panaflo and Yate Loon are good bets and provide plenty of airflow. Mobo - Most of the major NF4 boards should be pretty good. DFI's NF4 Ultra-D is the hot pick for gamers/OCers these days and costs about $140. CPU - Get the Venice 3000+ for only $8 more than the chip you listed. HSF - XP-90 at $25. Killer performance at this price. Vidcard - The 6600GT and 6800 are both great cards for the money. ATI makes great cards, but Nvidia owns the $150-200 niche right now. Your other components look fine, though you might prefer a SATA HD. Don't forget an optical drive; there are plenty of good DL DVD burners for ~$60. You also might hold off on the Audigy - your friend might find onboard sound okay for his needs. Either way, you should have no problem building an excellent system for right around $1000.
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06-08-2005, 09:51 PM | #3 |
Thermophile
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: Charlotte, NC
Posts: 1,014
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Drop the Sound blaster and use onboard, you wont notice the difference unless you are gonna run some pretty major equipment.
Use the money to get a bigger/nicer hard drive. SATA, 120+gb.
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06-08-2005, 10:06 PM | #4 |
Cooling Neophyte
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: southern cali.
Posts: 39
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Thanks a bunch guys, if you don't mind my asking, what's DL DVD actually mea? Or what is a DL DVD burner?
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06-08-2005, 10:11 PM | #5 |
Cooling Neophyte
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: southern cali.
Posts: 39
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Oh, also which is better SATA II or SATA 150? I'll be posting the final partrs ina bit, see what you guys think.
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06-08-2005, 10:41 PM | #6 |
Cooling Savant
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Sunny Florida
Posts: 246
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if you do get a sound card
get a real one M-Audio http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16829121116 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16829121105 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16829121101 i have an audigy and an M-Audio revalution 7.1 and WOW there is a major difference between what they sound like. |
06-09-2005, 01:08 AM | #7 |
Cooling Savant
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: F L
Posts: 125
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DL = Dual Layer
as in movie disc type DVDs with 4.7 x2 GB of space. Thats 9.4GB per DVD. I think the fastest DL burn speed right now is 6x |
06-09-2005, 04:51 PM | #8 |
Cooling Neophyte
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: southern cali.
Posts: 39
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ooooh, ok thanks!
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06-09-2005, 05:56 PM | #9 |
Cooling Neophyte
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: nyc
Posts: 48
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sata II has no real benefit over I. get whatever's cheaper
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06-11-2005, 12:15 PM | #10 |
Cooling Neophyte
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: southern cali.
Posts: 39
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I'm still confused on SATA II and SATA 150. All the motherboards I find (for the 64 bit systems, the nf4) are all SATA 2. I'm assuming this means I can't run SATA 150 on it can I?
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06-11-2005, 02:10 PM | #11 |
Cooling Neophyte
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: nyc
Posts: 48
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you can use it. its backwards compatible. also most nf4 boards also come with sata I ports as well on a separate controller
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