New Machine

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I'm on the path to building a new computer for myself, but I'm running into some problems actually deciding what parts to get as I'm not quite sure how they interact with each other properly.

I've got a cpu, monitor, video card, and hard drive picked out, along with a possible cd/dvd-rw. I also have an empty minitower I got from my dad a couple months back.

Help/Suggestions?

List:
Monitor: $189.81 or $139.99

http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=18161&vpn=ET.1706B.000&manufacture=Acer
Acer AL1706B 17IN LCD Black 1280X1024 500:1 12MS 0.264MM VGA Monitor

or

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1556143&CatId=167
HP L1706 / 17" / 500:1 / SXGA 1280 x 1024 / Silver-Black / LCD Monitor

Primary HDD: $84.89 or $49.99

http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=16577&vpn=0A31637&manufacture=Hitachi
Hitachi Deskstar T7K250 160GB SATA2 7200RPM 8MB 8.8MS Hard Drive 3 Year MFR Warranty

or

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1477509&Sku=THD-1600M3
THD-1600M3 :: Maxtor / DiamondMax 10 / 160GB / 7200 / 8MB / ATA-133 / EIDE / RoHS / OEM / Hard Drive

or

http://www.pricewatch.com/hard_drives/5768-1.htm
200gb - $65

Cd rom: $29.99

http://3btech.net/ao52cddvcodr.html
Aopen 5232/AAH-B

Video Card: $176.00 or $139.99

http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=18390&vpn=256-P2-N554-AX&manufacture=eVGA
EVGA E-GEFORCE 7600 GT KO 580MHZ 256MB 128BIT 1.5GHZ GDDR3 Dual DVI-I HDTV Out Video Card

or

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2207285&CatId=1560
EVGA GeForce 7600 GT KO / 256MB GDDR3 / SLI / PCI Express / Dual DVI / HDTV / Video Card

Processor: $141.45 or $119.49

http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=14417&vpn=ADA3500BPBOX&manufacture=AMD
AMD Athlon 64 3500+ Processor S939 Venice 2.2GHZ 512K L2 Cache 90NM Retail Box

or

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1366613&CatId=1949
AMD Athlon 64 3500+ / 512KB Cache / 2000MHz FSB / Socket 939 / Venice Core / Processor with Fan
 
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SA_Gohan said:
List:
Monitor $139.99
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1556143&CatId=167
HP L1706 / 17" / 500:1 / SXGA 1280 x 1024 / Silver-Black / LCD Monitor

Hard Drive $49.99
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1477509&Sku=THD-1600M3
THD-1600M3 :: Maxtor / DiamondMax 10 / 160GB / 7200 / 8MB / ATA-133 / EIDE / RoHS / OEM / Hard Drive

Cd rom: $29.99

http://3btech.net/ao52cddvcodr.html
Aopen 5232/AAH-B

Video Card: $176.00 or $139.99

http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=18390&vpn=256-P2-N554-AX&manufacture=eVGA
EVGA E-GEFORCE 7600 GT KO 580MHZ 256MB 128BIT 1.5GHZ GDDR3 Dual DVI-I HDTV Out Video Card

or

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2207285&CatId=1560
EVGA GeForce 7600 GT KO / 256MB GDDR3 / SLI / PCI Express / Dual DVI / HDTV / Video Card
One site's CAD the other's USD. You pick which one you want.

Processor: $141.45 or $119.49

http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=14417&vpn=ADA3500BPBOX&manufacture=AMD
AMD Athlon 64 3500+ Processor S939 Venice 2.2GHZ 512K L2 Cache 90NM Retail Box

or

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1366613&CatId=1949
AMD Athlon 64 3500+ / 512KB Cache / 2000MHz FSB / Socket 939 / Venice Core / Processor with Fan
Same as the video card(s).
10 Characters.
 
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Cucumba said:
Stay away from EVGA, they have a bad rep for DOA cards.
I've used two EVGA cards in my computer hitsory. I haven't experianced any DOA incidents but I have heard of some. Either way, most websites (especially Newegg) have great RMA policies for DOAs.

I'm really out of the loop on computer hardware but I'd definatly go with that Acer monitor. I've been using the same one for a while and all my friends have Acer brands. They're pretty reliable.
 
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I agree, Tass. It looks nicer, too.
 
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Evga's warranty policy is actually pretty good, they'll repair/replace it as long as their is no physical damage done to the card. This in some cases includes overclocks (as long as the card is not phyisicaly damaged), this is as far as I can remeber off the top of my head reading reviews on eVGA products. I myself have never owned a eVGA card though, but the warranty offered with their products is peace of mind.

The only nick nack I have with a graphics card partner is Gecube and my faulty 9600xt that I once had.
 
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While it's nice to know RMA's are accepted and handled gracefully, I would rather get cards that work every time.

I've heard good things about XFX.
 
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Cucumba said:
While it's nice to know RMA's are accepted and handled gracefully, I would rather get cards that work every time.

I've heard good things about XFX.
Hehe XFX is in the same row as EVGA and Club3D.

Their overclocked version of 7600GT and 7900GT were know to breakdown in a few days or being DOA's.

The problem is solved now though.

Seriously the brand doesnt say much at all, these days.
 
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Okay, I've had a bit of a delay in getting my computer, but I've gone and bought the motherboard and cpu here, and I've got everything except for the video card and the memory (which I'll get next week)

I think I'm going to go ahead and stay away from the EVGA cards as suggested, but now I'm not sure what direction I should go. I'll be doing a balance of modelling and gaming on the machine, but on the other hand I don't want to spend over a hundred dollars on a card.

I was looking at this or something similar. What do you guys think?
 
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SA_Gohan said:
Okay, I've had a bit of a delay in getting my computer, but I've gone and bought the motherboard and cpu here, and I've got everything except for the video card and the memory (which I'll get next week)

I think I'm going to go ahead and stay away from the EVGA cards as suggested, but now I'm not sure what direction I should go. I'll be doing a balance of modelling and gaming on the machine, but on the other hand I don't want to spend over a hundred dollars on a card.

I was looking at this or something similar. What do you guys think?
_STAY_ away from the x600 series, take 6600gt PCI-E or the more pricey 7600GT.

Or if you are in luck get an 6800GS(PCI-E).
 
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Devion said:
_STAY_ away from the x600 series, take 6600gt PCI-E or the more pricey 7600GT.

Or if you are in luck get an 6800GS(PCI-E).
7600GS > 6600GT, Geforce7 cards also do HDR better then the 6 series of cards. Though they are roughly the same in performance, the 7600GS is the better of the two, and they are sometimes cheaper or around the same price.

As Devion already said though, I would try going for a 7600GT.
 
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Go for the 7600GS, Awsome cards. Nvidia seems to be doing better than ATI at the moment. And seem to be better price/performance wise. And you will never look back with a 7600GS driving your new beast :)

As with any Graphics card manufacturers they all have good and bad points, I guess more people have heard more bad points than good with evga. Personally I stick to MSI, NEVER had a problem with ANY of their cards. They may not be the fastest in the pack, But they are darn reliable for me. So why change? :D


....Also The Radeon x600 Series cards, are based on the Radeon 9700 GPU. (Specification wise) and perform around that area.
If you can go for at least an X800 or Geforce 6 6600GT.
 
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I think I'm gonna have to go for a 7300 GS at the moment, and then upgrade to a 7900 GT at the end of the year, since I'm a little strapped for cash at the moment =/

I also need to figure out what kind of ram I'm supposed to get. The last time I built a computer I didn't have to worry about high or low density chips, and what kind I'd need to fit my board, but now I do and I can't tell for certain if my mobo can actually handle a high density chip
 
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Get the 7300GT.

According to some review site, its actually a low budget card where you can game with. o_O
 
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Devion said:
Get the 7300GT.

According to some review site, its actually a low budget card where you can game with. o_O
Agreed. If you're on a show string budget, get a 7300GT as Devion has already suggested or ethier a 7600GS as they are very inexpensive cards.
 
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Okay, I got the GT and my mother board should be arriving tommorow. The main thing left now is the ram, which is confusing me. I see some fair prices for 1gb sticks, but some of them are labeled high density and won't work with my board, and others are low density (but that implies that's it inferior . . .)

How can I tell if the board supports a high or low density ram chip, and what precisely is the difference in performance? Or is there one?
 
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SA_Gohan said:
Okay, I got the GT and my mother board should be arriving tommorow. The main thing left now is the ram, which is confusing me. I see some fair prices for 1gb sticks, but some of them are labeled high density and won't work with my board, and others are low density (but that implies that's it inferior . . .)

How can I tell if the board supports a high or low density ram chip, and what precisely is the difference in performance? Or is there one?
Most consumer memory should work in your mainboard, so it's not really to much to worry about.

A few recommendations:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820145450 - CORSAIR XMS 1GB (2 x 512MB) DDR400 2-3-3-6 $121

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820145596R - CORSAIR XMS 2GB (2 X 1024) DDR500 3-4-4-8 $188

I'd go for the 2gb kit if you can afford it.
 
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A couple days ago a lightning storm knocked out the motherboard on my computer (it was connected to a surge protector, and the power was off on everything except the powersupply itself). Everything else on the surge protector works, except for my computer ><; so I'm shopping around for a new board.
Here's what I've got that's pretty similar to what I had before.

Old board: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...20025339678&rd=1&sspagename=STRK:MEWN:IT&rd=1

Candidates:
http://cgi.ebay.com/AMD-Dual-Core-A...8QQihZ009QQcategoryZ80139QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
http://cgi.ebay.com/AMD-Athlon-64-x...82QQihZ009QQcategoryZ1244QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

I'm probably going to go with the 4400, but it says its a dual core (the pictures don't have two processor sockets) so I'm curious as to how that works before I get it.
Thoughts?

EDIT: Huh . . . I thought I was posting a new thread =/
EDIT2: After some investigative research I've determined that I've misunderstood the meaning of dual core for a very long time ^^;;;
 

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