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[IndonesiaWarMinister]

'K, so I made myself into one of the most great highschool of the nation.
As a reward, my father told me to make a list of computer parts that will be assembled by us...
I would put the budget at 800 US $ or so...

The thing is, I don't know what to buy...
I know only these:

It must be intel and nvidia, since ATI has major problem with many game engines...
Quad-core, if possible.


Can anyone help me?

Edit: I have an idea for the processor. It's the Q6600 Kentsfield. 200$, and I heard it can reach 3.0 GHz when OC-ed. Is this true?

[Peewee]

Need moar info.
Computer is intended for gaming, right?
Laptop? Probably not since you're building yourself, but still.
Quad core is a bit outside your price range, since you generically need:

Motherboard
Processor
Memory
Graphics card
Power supply
Hard drive
CD/DVD drive
Case
Operating System
Keyboard+Mouse


Oh, and this should probably be moved to life advice.

[Siquo]

I'm in the same process myself, but I'm postponing it to after my holidays. I've set myself a budget of about twice that, and I'm not scared of AMD processors (which are usually a bit cheaper, and nowadays they are also perfectly OC-able).

I'm currently looking at a triplecore AMD Phenom II X3 720 Black Edition for about 120 Euro, the black edition has a separate muliplier for easier OC, and for video an AMD Sapphire HD 4890 1GB GDDR5 PCI-E, maybe even two, at the price of 180 euro... Perhaps even an SSD for the OS and some games, and a few TB storage on old-school platters. No more RAID 0 though... Bad experience, that was.

Also, don't skimp on cooling and power supply, they're easily overlooked but will make your life whole lot easier (my current PC is... half fried, half frozen. It still works. Barely. After several tries booting it up, it beeps at me madly, I manually spin the fans, kick it once or twice, and swear at it, it reluctantly picks the windows data from between the bad sectors, and gives me a flickering red screen of something resembling an OS).

[IndonesiaWarMinister]

Keyboard + Mouse : Could use my current one, they're still working (If they're broken, my dad WILL replace em)
Monitor : Same, current one
Memory : I think 2 GB is enough, 32-bit can't use 4 GB YET, right?
Processor : Q6600 is cheap enough, (200$ ++) and have half-life for like... 5 years?
Motherboard: I don't think I am knowledge able enough for this one, yet
OS : My 'acquired' XP should be enough, or I'll dual boot to ANY linux distros which emphapize game play (should be exist in 2011 or so, I think...)
GPU : I still search for one
Power Supply: I don't know about this... Need to wait until all parts have been bought first...

Cooling: idk, I don't think I am going to OC, anyway...

The budget : it can be raised to 1000 $ max, I think... Computer is such a long-time investment, anyway... This computer that I type in is already 5 years old or so.

[Muz]

Why do you want quad core? It's very cost ineffective, because like the lower end ones are as good as the better dual core ones. And some games don't utilize it efficiently.

Oh, BTW, a lot of CPUs and GPUs slow down when they get too hot, to prevent themselves from overheating. If that happens (i.e. if you're using a AMD ) cooling will definitely speed it up.

[Tormy]

Hint: You should buy a dual core system. Buying a quad core CPU is kinda pointless right now. [In fact dual core >>> quad core in regard to the amount of FPS in DF even.  ]

[SolarShado]

Hint: You should buy a dual core system. Buying a quad core CPU is kinda pointless right now. [In fact dual core >>> quad core in regard to the amount of FPS in DF even.  ]

o_0 really? anyone know why? is it because more cores = each core is slower by itself?

[A_Fey_Dwarf]

Also, A good case can keep your whole system cool and actually increase performance. A good case =/= expensive case, I found my case for around $50 US, and it has a 25cm side fan right over the top of the motherboard, a mesh wire and a blue LED fan in the front. Also has room for two more fans.

Anyways, I'll give you what I consider you need:
= CPU: Intel Core2 Quad Q9400 (Make sure you buy it with stock cooler, not OEM)
= Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3R
= GPU: HD 4850X2, Find the cheapest
= RAM: Get 3GB if you are going 32Bit, Get a good brand like Corsair for low latency
= HDD: Any size, what ever you think you will need.
= DVD: Find the cheapest.
= Case: Search around, this is more of a personal preference, If you can't decide on anything get a CM 690
= Power Supply: Corsair HX-620 620W Power Supply

Not sure if that is over budget, hopefully not.

[Peewee]

Hint: You should buy a dual core system. Buying a quad core CPU is kinda pointless right now. [In fact dual core >>> quad core in regard to the amount of FPS in DF even.  ]

o_0 really? anyone know why? is it because more cores = each core is slower by itself?

Dual core delivers a lot more bang for your buck. For example...
One i7 (quad core) runs at 2.66GHz and costs $280 US.
One E6300 (dual core) runs at 2.8GHz and costs just over $80 US.

For the computer I'm using to type this up now, I bought an E8500. It costs ~$190 US, and it runs at 3.16GHz default, though some claim to have OCd it up over 4.00GHz without needing extra cooling.

Anyway, the majority of games only ever use one core at a time, so having a quad core with a lower clock speed will make most games perform slower.


For memory, you first need to decide what sort you want. Do you want extremely fast, but expensive DDR3 memory, or do you want more reasonably priced, but still fast DDR2? The only real difference is the number of memory slots you use, and motherboards are only built to deal with one mode (Ok, two. The intended DDR2 or 3, and a safe mode DDR so it only needs one RAM chip to work right).
If you decide on DDR3, you will want to get three 1-gig sticks. If you decide DDR2, you'll just get two instead.


My machine, by the way, is this:

Code: [Select]

Monitor:         $129.99 Acer 19" widescreen LCD
Case:            $59.99 Cooler Master Aluminum ATX Mid-tower
Keyboard:        $19.99 Microsoft curvy keyboard
Mouse:           $9.99 Microsoft optical mouse
Motherboard:     $134.99 Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3P
Processor:       $179.99 3.16GHz Core 2 Duo E8500
Processor's fan: $32.99 Arctic Cooling Fan+Heatsink (got it in a combo with processor)
Video card:      $129.99 Nvidia GeForce 9800GT
PSU:             $89.99 Corsair 550W
Memory:          $52.99 G-Skill 4GB (2x2GB) 1066MHz DDR2
HDD:             $74.99 Western Digital Caviar 640GB 7200RPM SATA
Disk drive:      $17.99 SATA DVD-ROM
OS:              $89.99 Windows XP SP3
Speakers:        $39.99 decent quality stereo speakersTotal price = $1052.86 (without sales tax crap)

[Tormy]

Hint: You should buy a dual core system. Buying a quad core CPU is kinda pointless right now. [In fact dual core >>> quad core in regard to the amount of FPS in DF even.  ]

o_0 really? anyone know why? is it because more cores = each core is slower by itself?

Indeed. My E8400 is operating @ 3.8Ghz. Now go figure that why is a dual core system better for gaming right now. [OS + apps runs on Core 1, while DF runs on Core 2.]
If a game is not optimized for quad core systems, well....dual > quad in that case.

[IndonesiaWarMinister]

But I build my computer in mind of the future...

I'd say dual core will be out-dated in 3 to 5 years...

[Peewee]

But I build my computer in mind of the future...

I'd say dual core will be out-dated in 3 to 5 years...

And if you really plan on OCing your quad core, it will likely be dead in two, so you're better off getting the better benefit now. >_>

[IndonesiaWarMinister]

But I build my computer in mind of the future...

I'd say dual core will be out-dated in 3 to 5 years...

And if you really plan on OCing your quad core, it will likely be dead in two, so you're better off getting the better benefit now. >_>

Well, I'll refrain from OCing it, then... 2.4 GHz is good enough for me. (even though there can't never be enuff power)

[Peewee]

Alright, it's your bad choice, not mine.

Anyway, you'll need a motherboard with support for whichever processor you chose.

Then you'll need to pick out the RAM, based on what speeds and which type (ddr2/ddr3) your mobo supports.

You still need to pick out a graphics card, but those generally fit into the PCI-E expansion slot, so just make sure the motherboard has one or more.
What maximum resolution does your monitor support? You might want to get a new one to make it worth having a good graphics card.

[Tormy]

But I build my computer in mind of the future...

I'd say dual core will be out-dated in 3 to 5 years...

Maybe, who knows and who cares? Right now dual core is much better, and that is what matters.