$1500-$1700 for a new desktop

R

RockDiesel

Geek Trainee
I apologize ahead of time for the long post.

Hi all, I just joined the forums because I am getting a new computer and this looked like a great place to become informed.

I have approximately $1500-$1700 to spend on a new desktop. I have looked at Dell's XPS systems, but from what I keep hearing there are other places to buy computers and get more bang for my buck. However, I do not know where to start.

I was thinking about buying everything and building it myself, but I am unfamiliar with the process. Not sure where to start. However, I have heard that I can build a pretty rock solid system with the amount of money I have to spend. I have looked on NewEgg, but do not know the difference between the brands and what I should buy.

I have come to these forums for help and was wondering if anyone can recommend some builds for me. Things I won't need in the build are monitor, keyboard, and mouse. So I will pretty much only need the unit and some speakers maybe. Prebuilt systems and build-my-own setups recommendations are both welcome. Thanks ahead of time for taking time out to help me.

-Rock

PS...Forgot to say that this is for gaming.
 
Can you do the following:

-Use a screwdriver
-Read and follow instructions

If you can do both, you can assemble a PC yourself.

Here's a suggested list of parts to get:

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-K8N-SLI $82.99
CPU: Athlon64 4000+ Retail $299.99
Video Card: MSI Radeon X1900XTX $446.99
RAM: OCZ Performance 2GB PC3200 DDR (2x1GB) $173.99
Hard Drive: Samsung 400GB SATAII $149.99
Optical Drive: Pioneer DVR-111D 16x DVDRW $36.99
Sound Card: SoundBlaster Audigy 2 ZS $64.99
Power Supply: Enermax EG851AX-VH 660W $210.99
Case: CoolerMaster Centurion 541 $45.99
Speakers: Logitech X-530 5.1 speaker $53.99

Total: $1,566.90 + shipping (and tax for CA, NJ residents)
 
Thank you for your reply Big B. I am more of a software guy, so I don't deal with hardware much. As long as it comes with instructions or I get a guide off the internet then I think I'll be fine.

I am up for more suggestions if anyone has any, so I can compare some builds.

I just found this article on Tom's hardware and was wondering how it compares to the suggested build Big B mentioned.
Your DIY 4 GHz Dual Core Gaming Rig For $720 | Tom's Hardware

Like I said I am more of a software guy, not a hardware guy so I am having trouble comparing.

-Rock
 
You'll have to overclock the CPU at higher speeds than the manufacturer recommends to achieve that. I'd stick with Bs advice.
 
Thanks addis.

Another question: Does the build that Big B suggested come with everything for assembly. Like all the cables and wires, or do I buy those too?
 
All the wires you need will already come with what youre ordering. One more thing you will need to add to that list is an O/S(Operating System). You can either download Linux for free, or buy XP off newegg.
 
i did forget about a floppy drive, but you are right zeus, it is nice to have one just in case. Thanks for all the help so far.

-Rock
 
if i were you rock i'd go with B's suggestion, not only has it got twice the RAM (2Gb, essential when gaming) and a powerful PSU, rather than underpowered PSU that comes with the case, 400Gb HDD is a lot better than 160Gb and the board B suggested already has RAID so just throw another HDD at it to have 400Gb RAID setup

in short B's system is better, in my opinion
 
thanks for the reply donkey. I think I am going to go with Big B's system, and throw in a floppy drive and network cards. i don't know much about RAID though, so I don't know why it is important. I always thought RAID was for big servers, but I guess I'm wrong.

-Rock
 
RAID= Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks

It's a means via hardware and/or software of combining hard drives to act as one big drive and/or silently mirror one drive. The catch involves a multiple of the smallest disk in the array, so, you'd be missing 50GB out of what you have now. For real performance, you'd want to have a designated hardware RAID card, which doesn't rely on drivers to operate. These are the cards that cost $300, so what you have on your motherboard is RAID, but it's software RAID, and despite what some people say, you're not going to benefit by using a RAID 0 array. If you're worried about data security, RAID 1 could be beneficial.

RAID 0 works by writing across all the drives in the array as if it's one big ol' hard drive. It writes bit 1 to drive 1, bit 2 to drive 2, bit 3 to drive 1, bit 4 to drive 2, etc. Unlike other RAID levels, there is NO fault tolerance, and if one drive bites it, kiss everything good by, because you've lost parts of every bit of data in the array.
RAID 1 is mirroring. This writes the same data to both drives in the array. Bit 1 is written to both drive 1 and 2, bit 2 is written to both drive 1 and 2, bit 3 is written to both drive 1 and 2, etc. If one drive goes, you've got a back up where you left off. The main disadvantage is that since the data is being written twice at the same time, there is a performance hit.

There's also other RAID levels, but RAID 0 and 1 are the most common.

Having said that, if you choose to run RAID 0, you will destroy the data on both drives when the array is created. RAID 1 can also have detrimental effects if you mirror the wrong drive.

Have fun and play around with it if you want, but back up before you start fiddling around with it.
[link=http://www.hardwareforums.com/sata-raid-questions-12088/#post77345]Source: Written by Big B[/link]

Futher information on how to setup Raid then go [link=http://www.hardwareforums.com/storage-info-sticky-11391/]Here[/link]
 
RockDiesel said:
thanks for the reply donkey. I think I am going to go with Big B's system, and throw in a floppy drive and network cards. i don't know much about RAID though, so I don't know why it is important. I always thought RAID was for big servers, but I guess I'm wrong.

-Rock
Click to expand...

The motherboard that Big B has suggested has onboard Lan, you dont need a network card. Great system as well.

Good luck :)
 
please don't go for the X1900XT you're gonna regret it. only get it if you're planning to get a crossfire system, but this one isnt, it's an SLI platform. PLEASE!
 
Roy, I think I will go with your videocard, if and only if you give me a better explanation why, so I at least understand why I am making this choice.
 
i personally don´t really fully understand RAID (will be reading up on it soon, when i can afford a Raid controller and a few HDD´s) if you don´t use RAID a 400Gb HDD is obviously better than 2X 160Gb HDDś

at least none of the pc suggested has a maxtor HDD (not good IMO)
 
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