New Computer

Hashey · Post by **Hashey** » Wed Feb 01, 2006 3:23 pm

Ok, so if im lucky i should be getting a new pc next month. Since i have about 0 knowledge about pc hardware, i try it here.

I am aiming to get an AMD processor, a Sapphire X800GTO, 2 gig of rams and maybe a new motherboard. Most stuff i got in my current computer i'll set over, like my hard drive, dvd/cd-rom player, etc.

Anyone could give some suggestions on the stuff i still want to get please?

Also -as some of you already found out- that sometimes on teamspeak, my mic goes real bad and makes these weird rousing(pardon my english) sounds. Now i've had this with about 3 different mic's, so im thinking the problem is with my sound card. I think i've got a Creative Sound Blaster 5.1 Live.

Post by **ph1l0r** » Wed Feb 01, 2006 3:37 pm

Get yourself a real good mainboard and you should be better of with the onboard sound compared to the soundblaster card you have right now.

ASUS A8N-SLI Premium is probably a really good choice.
Buy a CPU and Graphiccards you can pay for and the two 1gb modules for the 2gb ram.

Graphics Card Brand doesn't really matter much. Most vendors just build the reference designs from ATI or NVidia. Look for differences though. Some sell cards with slow ram and different clock rates.

Post by **Mat-Moo** » Thu Feb 23, 2006 12:10 pm

OK guys, lets give him some more input!!

Based on his current system (Dell 2.4ghz 1gb ram and 120ghhd) there is not going to be a lot to salvage.

About the best he can do is save the HD and CD/DVD rom (OS?) - So shopping list will be :-

Case (whater you like, just make sure the MB firs in it)

PSU (I'd doubt if your current PSU will support the newer power requirements needed, best with ATX-2)

Mainboard/CPU - You said you'd like to go Athlon route. Get a mainboard that you can upgrade to the newer AMD 64 x 2 chips, but buy a cheapish AMD 64 chip for now (939). Also make sure it's a PCI express mb!

Memory - 2gb - has to be these days 2x1gb ddr - and memory is pretty cheap at the moment

GFX card - Depends how much budget you have left - a good start would be an ATI X850xt which you should get for around €200 (I think!), I'm not sure on the nvida side, so hopefully someone else will chip in some advise!

Did I forget anything? Well wehn you build the new one, you will probably lose all, or a lot of data

Andi · Post by **Andi** » Thu Feb 23, 2006 12:27 pm

i dont know if thats right with the loss of data...
i upgraded several devices of my pc like mainboard and gfx few weeks ago.... and i did not even reinstall windows xp!
just build up your hardware and boot from the windows-cd. then choose install (i think so, but in no case repair with console!)
after that you should get again the choice to repair yout current installation, but this time it will go automatically. it detects your new hardware and installs everything by itself. after that you should be on your old desktop without noticing any changes.....

Post by **Mat-Moo** » Thu Feb 23, 2006 12:36 pm

You can, your best uninstalling any MB drivers etc. though - IMO MUCH better jsut to re-install from scratch (so dataloss in terms of Os/installed, not physical data)

Post by **Ash2Dust** » Thu Feb 23, 2006 1:56 pm

His OS CD (Dell Restore CD) will check for a DELL motherboard before doing a clean install. And then after it finds a Dell motherboard, it will install an image of the original system that shipped.

Charger · Post by **Charger** » Thu Feb 23, 2006 6:29 pm

Hashey, these guys gave excellent advice, take heed. As a precaution, when you decide what you want to buy, post the combinations here. This forum can look over the build and make sure it all matches up.

My rule of thumb when building is select motherboard first. It's the cornerstone of any build and dictates all other components.

As for your old hard drive, is it IDE or SATA? Keep this in mind when deciding your upgraded mobo.

Last, enjoy the process. Its fun to build your own rig!!!

tvuk · Post by **tvuk** » Thu Feb 23, 2006 6:49 pm

I choose the processor first, and then get the best mobo for it that fits my budget.

Post by **madcow** » Thu Feb 23, 2006 8:44 pm

tvuk wrote:I choose the processor first, and then get the best mobo for it that fits my budget.

Same here, the processor is the thing which will set you back the most (apart from a flashy gfx card) and although the motherboards don't tend to differ wildly in price it can still make a big difference to whether or not you are overbudget.

WoodenPlank · Post by **WoodenPlank** » Thu Feb 23, 2006 8:57 pm

The MSI K8N Neo 4 SLI Diamond PLUS is a seriously sweet motherboard, goes for around $200USD. Defiantely look at it, too. if you go with an SLI board, make damn sure to buy an nVidia card to avoid even the potential of conflicts. I have a 6600GT PCIX that does well at all medium on BF2.

Youll need a fresh copy of XP. An OEM copy of home should be able to be bought with your mobo for around $100USD.

A good single-core socket 939 processor is a good way to go. A 3400 or better is where to look. The Dual core 4400+ is a good choice for a dual core proc, but the dual cores arent the hottest on gaming yet.