DPM77's New Bragging Rights... PC Gaming Rig ; )

we have to do this stupid donkey Senior project and i'm thinking about trying to build a PC for the project because it would be a really appropriate thing to do. How long did it take you?

[ace]

Lol, lucky you dude, NC is changing it for class of 2010 and higher, we have to do like twice and much as yall do. I would build a comp for that too, but I have no idea what all were going to have to do. For instance, we have to have 15 hours of community service (wtf?) and our mentor can't be a teacher.

ya man the Graduation Project just seems like another thing to do on top of everything else. I'm kinda pissed...

[DarkPacMan77]

It took me about 40 minutes to do, and I was being cautious. Aside from unwrapping my parts, it probably only took me 15 minutes to put together. Picking garbage up, double, triple, and quadrouple checking my work is what took the longest. It booted up first time no probs and has been solid since.

Building a computer is easy. Learning what parts are compatible, what frequencies, voltages, chipsets, socket types, dimm modules, interfaces, BIOS settings, part capabilities and so on... THAT'S where building a computer is hard.

If you need help coming up with a parts list, give me a budget or contact me via AIM or both of those ... w/e. I'll help you out.

-DarkPacMan77-

well ive been looking to build a comp that could play oblivion for 400 or less. i have a 300 gig hdd, a flat screen monitor already as well as a tower and unlimited use xp cd. i need a mobo, RAM, a video card compatible with XP and a dvd drive suitable for burning xbox 360 games.

[DarkPacMan77]

Sure thing. I will come up with some parts for you light_alistor. Do you plan on reusing a current computer case? If so, you should have a good power supply as well. I'm guessing you don't, so I'm going to include a capable power supply and a case as well.

-DarkPacMan77-

hey thanks man. but yea i have a power supply from the late nineties so its probably due for an upgrade.

[DarkPacMan77]

Definitely not worthy or probably capable of powering a newer graphics card lol. I'll go look for parts right now. Do you have a preference over AMD or Intel?

-DarkPacMan77-

[ace]

Aiight check it, this is what's going to be in the mail and arrive hopefully some time next week. (I won't order it until friday or so)

MOBO: Biostar TA770
GPU: Whatever is the cheapest on sale at bestbuy this weekend, I'll get a 8800GT later this summer
HDD: Seagate Barracuda 250gb / 8mb cache / 7200 RPM SATA
HDD2: WD Caviar 200gb / 2mb cache/ 7200 RPM PATA
CPU: AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400+ Brisbane 2.3ghz G2
RAM: OCZ Platinum Revision DDR2 800mhz 4-4-4-12 (Timings OC'd to 1000mhz)
CASE/ PSU: Logisys Area 51 Silver w/ stock 480W PSU (Will upgrade psu later this summer too)
OPTICAL: LG GWA-4165B 16x DVD Burner PATA
OPTICAL2: (Optional, if I decide to free up a PATA spot) Some LITEON 16x DVD reader I picked up off a teacher a while back.

I'll post links soon, and some of the parts are being lifted off my comp now. Lemme know what yall think? Also I noticed light alistor wanted a pc under 400 to play Oblivion? If you like any of my parts I'm choosing, there well a good choice for a budget pc. My bill right now is totaled at $361.76 3-day UPS shipping. Not very bad if you ask me, for a nice cheap upgradeable computer that does what I want.

Or if dpm feels like posting links while he is on newegg while I work on this massive stack of hw instead :p

[DarkPacMan77]

@ ace ~ I highly recommend not purchasing a junk graphics card from Best Buy. They are so ridiculously overpriced and underpowered... however, the TA770 doesn't have onboard graphics, so it wouldn't really be usable unless you had a graphics card. It's for that reason alone that I recommend you wait on the build, if you can. Unless you were doing it for school or something as well? - idk. that processor also isn't "G2" - the graphics card's processor is "G2". Slight goofup there, but no harm done. Up to you though.

@ light_alistor ~ This is list of motherboards that I'd advise. I have the Biostar A770 A2+ motherboard that is listed on the top, the cheapest one. It's perfect for me. I have 2gb of DDR2 800mhz RAM @ 4-4-4-12 timings, an EVGA 8800gt 512mb graphics card (plays ANYTHING maxed, but resolution varies). The board has 4 RAM slots and can use quad cores and DDR2 1066mhz memory if you upgrade to a quad, so it's good for future upgrades. The only problem that I've had is that it uses AC'97 I think it's called, so my front headphone port can't plug in to the motherboard, so it doesn't work. There may be a workaround, but I have a headphone port on my speakers so it's not a problem.

I used different RAM, but [url=http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820146565[/url]this RAM is more well-known and popular in the world for being a name brand, so it will work well in that A770 A2+. Mine was [url=http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820161063]Wintec AmpX[/url], and worked from the first boot-up until now with no problems, if you want to save a dollar or so lol.

This is a list of compatible and DPM recommended processors for the motherboards I showed you above. Every one of them can run Oblivion like pie along with a capable graphics card, but for the price/ performance sake, I recommend the AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+ 2.6ghz processor. However, if you plan on overclocking... there is a better purchase. The "black box" AMD Athlon 5000+ is the same processor at stock settings, however, it has an unlocked clock multiplier, therefor, it is capable of hitting 3.2-3.3ghz speeds stable. Be warned though, you will have to buy an after-market heat sink and fan combination which will cost a little more. The regular X2 5000+ comes with a heat sink and fan. If you have limited computer experience and/ or don't want to overclock, pick up the X2 5000+ or whatever is in your price range really. I have the AMD Athlon X2 5400+ in mine running at stock, and Oblivion rarely dips into the 40 frames per second area... VERY nice. Runs flawless.

graphics: I have this graphics card and it plays Crysis with all settings at high. I use the Nvidia control panel to force 16x anisotropic filtering and 16x anti-aliasing for all games I play, and I run Crysis at 1280 x 1024 resolution. I mention Crysis b/c it is the most resource-intensive game out right now. If that is a little out of the price range right now, I suggest this card. It will play Oblivion more than wonderfully, and even play Crysis easily on medium settings with moderate resolution. Maybe even high settings with lower resolution at 30+ frames per second. Very capable.

For a case, on a budget, with a quality power supply, I suggest nothing more or less than this case. It has a good 585W power supply with enough amperage on the +12V rails for the processor and graphics card as well as being a stunningly "stealth" type of case. I recommend that one, right now, because it has free shipping and a good power supply, effectively saving nearly $50 on shipping from those two parts alone, and being truly a great budget purchase.

EDIT ~ I bought this DVD burner w/ lightscribe. Good purchase. It comes with a SATA cord to plug it in as well as a retail version of Nero. At least, I think it's retail... but I haven't installed it so I don't know lol. I can find out though if you really want. The box is in the other room.

-DarkPacMan77-

[ace]

Well I mean either way I plan on getting an 8800GT by the end of the summer. When I said bestbuy I was trying to merely use a generic phrase as in I am going to use a random cheap graphics card. I found a radeon x1550 on newegg for $20 so i think I will buy that with it. $20 isn't really bad for me for a decent graphics card (keep in mind I'm using a x200 now) that is going to get me through the summer.

Also the processor is G2, there is two versions of the 4400+. The G2 has better voltage control, and slightly less heat levels for $6 more then a G1. I hear G2's are better at overlcocking so yea. If you don't believe me then check out newegg's listings for the 4400+. There are two, a $58.99 version and a $64.99 version. Even though by looking on the pages you probably can't tell a difference other then the model number but the G2 is the more costly one and the one I'm getting.

The only reason I'm even spending 20 bucks on a gfx card is because the reason you stated, no on board video :p O well, it was my birthday last monday and I feel like wasting money for that exact reason.

It took me about 40 minutes to do, and I was being cautious. Aside from unwrapping my parts, it probably only took me 15 minutes to put together. Picking garbage up, double, triple, and quadrouple checking my work is what took the longest. It booted up first time no probs and has been solid since.

Building a computer is easy. Learning what parts are compatible, what frequencies, voltages, chipsets, socket types, dimm modules, interfaces, BIOS settings, part capabilities and so on... THAT'S where building a computer is hard.

If you need help coming up with a parts list, give me a budget or contact me via AIM or both of those ... w/e. I'll help you out.

-DarkPacMan77-

Alright man, thanks i'll probably ask you when i get closer to my project time.

[DarkPacMan77]

I'd get this graphics card instead. 3 reasons.

1. It's fairly cheap, but will actually play any game on the market (even Crysis with low settings)
2. It takes little power to run. I'm using a 460W with a 8800gt 512mb. People use the card I recommended you with 300W just fine, so your default PSU can power it nicely I think...
3. EVGA has a 90-day step-up program. What that means, is if you spend $80 on that graphics card I recommended you, within 3 months, you can ship your card back to EVGA for a newer card. Now, you said you planned on buying the card that I have, an 8800gt 512mb. Truly a great card... but, this is where it gets better. For one, the price of the 8800gt I bought is RISING b/c it's THAT good... however, it's $210 right now. Think about 3 months from now. The price should drop $30-40 dollars by my estimate. If you consider $190 (when I bought mine)That would mean that it would cost somewhere around $145-165... again, estimates. However, by using the EVGA 90-day step-up program, that $80 you spent turns into an $80 COUPON!!!!.

That's right... an $80 coupon. So conservatively estimating around a $160 price in 3 months, perhaps higher, who knows, but with a $160 price, and an $80 coupon, that means that you only need to save $80 in three months in order to get an 8800gt.

... just throwing that out there...

-DarkPacMan77-

[ace]

Dude..thats good thinking. I didn't know about that 90-day step-up program. The only problem is coming up with $60 more dollars. I'll think about it though, that's a really good suggestion. That would be sweet. That means if I did all that, as an estimate, I would only need $130 to get that psu you mentioned a while back and a 8800gt. Thats less then the 8800gt if I got that $20 card instead!

Lemme see what I can sell to gamestop friday...mmm....

dude. great job. i have ALOT better idea now of what im getting thanks!