[seventhhalo]

Well ive been shopping around on newegg, my potential limit to money is around $4,000(although I don't want to be forced to spend that much). Well ive never built a computer before and ive decided to go athlon so with my very little knowledge ive gathered a generalization of what i want. If anything doesn't look good please let me know, thanks.

Case
http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16811133152

Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16813131568

Processor
http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16819103527

Memory
http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16820145575

Hard drive
http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16822144160

CD drive
http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16827135046

Sound card
http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16829102163

I haven't decided on graphic card yet but will most likley be Geforce. My main concern is compatability and heat so any info is more than welcome. Also this is excluding cooling devices if anyone has any suggestions for great cooling please post! BTW this is a gaming pc. Thanks!

[PeNZ]

If your going to spend that much on a CPU, I would get an X2.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103544

[seventhhalo]

Yeah, im balancing betwenn fx-55/fx-57 and an x2. My main concerns right now is heat and compatability.

[PeNZ]

X2 is gonna do you better over all I think.

[Miller]

trying to keep it under 4grand...lol

only 74gig? may i suggest a large 300-500gig drive for storage.

go with an x2, for that price you could get a 2.4 2x1mb cache and overclock it. try a NEC dvd burner, or 2. i hope your getting some phat LCD's for a limit of 4 grand

[Mr. Ali]

why no ddr2 on that mobo?

and WTF dont get the audigy 2zs, thats like 2yr old technology

get this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16829102190

[basketofkittens]

Originally Posted by Mr. Ali

why no ddr2 on that mobo?

and WTF dont get the audigy 2zs, thats like 2yr old technology

get this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16829102190

I don't know about you guys, but I can't hear any difference between a SBLive! card something like that above... Does anyone else here think that spending $185 or $195 on a souncard (especially a creative one) is completely ludicrous? I've also heard from more than one person that these new creative cards all the same garbage anyway...

[Mr. Ali]

Originally Posted by tremblay

I don't know about you guys, but I can't hear any difference between a SBLive! card something like that above... Does anyone else here think that spending $185 or $195 on a souncard (especially a creative one) is completely ludicrous? I've also heard from more than one person that these new creative cards all the same garbage anyway...

hey hey hey, im not talking about hearing a difference, im just saying that for $10 less he can get the latest and greatest technology and added bragging rights. whats wrong with that?

[PeNZ]

My OG Audigy works sweet for me.

[Miller]

Originally Posted by tremblay

I don't know about you guys, but I can't hear any difference between a SBLive! card something like that above... Does anyone else here think that spending $185 or $195 on a souncard (especially a creative one) is completely ludicrous? I've also heard from more than one person that these new creative cards all the same garbage anyway...

Fuck, i can't hear the difference. Just a company taking advantage of nerds wanting the "BEST" technology. thats why i stick with onboard sound. all sounds the same to me

[ivwshane]

For that kind of money you might as well go alienware or similar.

Seems like a waste to me though.

[basketofkittens]

Originally Posted by Mr. Ali

hey hey hey, im not talking about hearing a difference, im just saying that for $10 less he can get the latest and greatest technology and added bragging rights. whats wrong with that?

I'm not bagging on you. In fact I think you made a good suggestion in saving him money, but what I'm saying is that spending even $185 on something that doesn't perform any better than something that comes with the motherboard is stupid.

[seventhhalo]

well, ill reconsider for sound card. Reason i only went 74 gb HD is cause i already have external hard drives for storage. 2x 300 gb atm. Anyways yeah thats just the barebone system w/o the OS Monitor keyboard ect. Aside from that, can anyone tell me if there is any compatability issues with this setup? From the looks of it i think it looks fine but im not experienced in building PC's so im trying to learn lol.

[PeNZ]

Everything there will work fine with eachother.

[hans5849]

if you got some $ to blow i sould say get the Seagate 7200.9 series 500GB, its a awesome drive. That way you could use the extrenal drive more for just transfering files, and backups.

I know you didn't ask for video card advice, but heres a good test run with BF2. Anandtech. I recomend a 7800GTX single or if your nuts SLI.

For your RAM i suggest this. I know its more expensive and starts off with higher latencies. But it will give you a big advantage in overclocking, and you will probably be able to get it down to the lower latencies.

It doesn't look like that case comes with any fans, heres a list of fan comparison. link. I do like that case though, it looks sweet and sturdy. 100% aluminum cases suck i always think im going to break them.

I don't see a heatsink listed there and if your going to do any OCing you'll need a aftermarket one. Recommended Heatsinks. My personal favorite in the Zalman CNPS 7000ALCU, its quieter than the CNPS7700 and it doesn't take up as much room as the Thermalright XP-120.

Most cases don't come with a good PSU stock Recommened PSUs. I personally use a Seasonic S-12 600HT and i love it. You will want one thats at least 400watts

[seventhhalo]

thanks a bunch! Yeah ill be sure to get a heat sink and some fans. Ill check out your reccomendations.

[Mr. Ali]

good advice hans

[hans5849]

im having a productive day, i even applied for a job fixing computers at compusa today.

And i forgot to say read some of the Recommended pages there, not just what is recommended it will give you a better understanding of how the parts work.