Component recommendations for new rig

Mithridates · Post by **Mithridates** » Sun Jan 02, 2005 11:06 am

If all goes well, I should be able to build myself a new rig sometime in February. It's been 3 years on my current one, so I admit to being a little out of touch. Cost is something of a concern, but I can spend a little more when necessary to make a big difference- I am hoping to spend anywhere from $600-$1000. I need: motherboard and CPU, RAM and video card. The rest of the stuff will migrate from my current rig.

My big concern is matching up the MB, CPU nad RAM correctly and most efficiently. Thanks for any recommendations!

$iljanus · Post by **$iljanus** » Sun Jan 02, 2005 12:39 pm

Well for starters, do you have a preference for AMD or Intel?

Zekester · Post by **Zekester** » Sun Jan 02, 2005 12:42 pm

...and ATI or Nvidia?

Rich in KCK · Post by **Rich in KCK** » Sun Jan 02, 2005 6:04 pm

The future in MB and VC is PCI-e but it is fairly costly now especially if you want a SLI Motherboard. SLI is a feature like the old 3dfx cards where you can run 2 video cards hooked together. If you want to build a system with the next few years without any major upgrades in mind right now you are looking at a AMD system with a Nvidia MB on one side and I can't say whether or not Intell has or is building a SLI MB. If you don't mind upgrading parts over the years you could build a cheaper year old system using the Athlon XP 3200+ and a Nvidia NF2 Ultra MB along with a AGP video card. You could go with a AMD 64 CPU and MB now as well but I'm not sure if the money saved on that is worth the savings vs. the SLI MB system.

Ram isn't that big of a concern and will be easy to configure once you choose the other stuff.

Right now I think ASUS is the only one with a real SLI MB right now but I here it is hard to find in stock at a good price.

The SLI MB is the Asus A8N-SLI and the best price I know of is actually $187 from Buy.com but is sold out right now.

Then add in a Nvidia SLI video card, I don't think all 6600 or 6800's work in SLI I think they actually have to have that feature activated. I mean I don't know if it is a simple fix like a firmware flash on the video card to turn that feature on if it isn't sold as a SLI card.

Finally just pick the Athlon64 cpu and some PC3200 or 4000 ram if you want to overclock, I would say get 1gig of whichever you choose.

Rich in KCK · Post by **Rich in KCK** » Sun Jan 02, 2005 6:09 pm

I would look for a 6600 GT (SLI) card and add in a second one later on to take advantage of the SLI mode once the next generations are out and the prices fall more.

You could go with the 6800 GT or Ultra versions but I don't think you can do that for your price range right now.

Giles Habibula · Post by **Giles Habibula** » Mon Jan 03, 2005 1:48 am

The difference in what you can build between $600 and $1000 can be startling.

I was limited to a budget of $700 when I built this one a few weeks ago. And it's working out fine, but I could have built a MUCH better system with that extra $300, and future-proofed me a LOT longer with a better video card, proc, and motherboard.

Whatever you choose, if you've got the $1000, use it wisely and you'll be much better off in the long run than if you stick with a $600 budget.

edit: Oh, and I was converted to a strictly AMD-man years ago. You simply can't get a better bang for the buck. I originally thought it was an inferior processor, but decided to try one anyway because of the huge price difference at the time. I was really impressed with its performance and never looked back.

Mithridates · Post by **Mithridates** » Mon Jan 03, 2005 4:36 pm

I have no problem with AMD or Intel. I saved quite a bit on my current machine going with AMD.

As for the $600 vs. $1000 thing- yes, I will spend the extra money if it'll make a big difference.

Mithridates · Post by **Mithridates** » Mon Jan 03, 2005 4:55 pm

This might be a more productive manner to do this...how's this system look?

AMD Athlon 64 3200+, 512KB L2 Cache, Socket 939 64-bit Processor - $219

MSI "K8T NEO2-F" VIA K8T800 Pro Chipset Motherboard for AMD Socket 939 CPU - $94

CORSAIR 184-Pin 512MB ECC REG DDR PC-3200 - $225(for 1 GB)

MSI nVIDIA GeForce 6600GT Video Card, 128MB DDR3, 128-B- $190

Total cost - $728- leaves me room for new keyboard, DVD burner, maybe a new monitor

Comments on where I should upgrade? Is that video card strong enough?

Thanks!

Rich in KCK · Post by **Rich in KCK** » Tue Jan 04, 2005 2:56 pm

That system will not work.

You chose a AGP motherboard and a PCI-e video card. That motherboard does not have a PCI-e slot on it.

This is what I was getting at above. While Nvidia did finally get around to releasing the 6600GT in a AGP card the current generation of video cards all came out for PCI-e(xpress) first and I wouldn't doubt that AGP is on its way out completely with the next generation of highend cards. To future proof yourself it would be safer to find a PCI-e motherboard or wait for more PCI-e motherboards that handle the SLI option besides the ASUS one. You can look for the AGP version of that video card and use the motherboard you chose but if you want a newer card in your system and are getting a motherboard anyway you should go with a PCI-e one.

Also if you are willing to spend that much on Ram make sure you find the lowest latency ram you can for better performance.

That is a great price for a retail version of that CPU and yes I think a 6600GT is a great choice as well, just the wrong combination.

Mithridates · Post by **Mithridates** » Tue Jan 04, 2005 11:18 pm

Thanks, Rich. I will heed your advice about going with PCI-e and ditching AGP.

Giles Habibula · Post by **Giles Habibula** » Wed Jan 05, 2005 9:27 pm

Yeah, I just made that mistake with mine.
Now I gotta *wait* for a nice AGP 8X card to come out, since everywhere I look only has express....for now.