Jacked Up PC

[Capthemfoos]

Hey guys. I'm going to be making my own desktop computer over the summer. I'll get a job so I'll use that money there. I want the PC to be an excellent, fast, and quiet gaming/workstation with no fatal detriments from those specifications. I've been looking a 4 GB of RAM(2x 2GB) and a 22" Samsung Monitor with a 2ms response time. But, I want a webcam built in the monitor, so if any of you know a good monitor with a webcam, that would be great. I'm also looking at a case that has 2 fans, on on top and on on the side. I need a powerhouse of a power source and a beefed up graphics card. If any of you have any recommendations for me or have any advice, it would be greatly appreciated. I am viewing/potentially ordering this stuff from Newegg.com

[AndyPants]

Well let me just say the 22" Samsung ROCKS (the one with the 2ms response and 3000:1 contrast ratio). One thing to note is the spec is actually 700:1 contrast and only 3000:1 in some sort of special mode. Thats what I have and couldn't be happier with it. As far as getting one with a built-in cam, I would steer away from that as you would be compromising quality for what I like to call "a bullet point feature" (i.e something that looks and sounds cool but really isn't all that necessary). There are lots of good webcams out there and I sure it wouldn't be hard to rig one up somewhere that is out of the way.

As for the rest of what you are doing, just be sure and read read and read some more and check out what people have to say about what you are thinking about getting.

Also another plus to the Samsung monitor (other than it's price vs. performance) is it has DVI and VGA so I can plug my computer into the DVI and run the 360 on VGA (the 360 looks awesome in high resolution)

[Capthemfoos]

This is the monitor I'm talking about. I think its different than yours Pants. Do you have a link for the one you are talking about?

And the web cam is just a little thing I have. I already have an external one, but the built in ones look cool. But if its degrades quality, than no way. I'll just stick with the monitor.

http://www.newegg.com/product/product.aspx?item=N82E16824001268

[norm]

http://www.darksidealliance.com/showthread.php?t=27178

There's the thread from my build. It might help you a bit.

I will say the parts I got were excellent. I don't know if you are going Intel or AMD. What OS are you going with?

Post some ideas of what you were looking for and also post what games, programs and anything else you might be running on the computer. That also helps you decide on what you need.

[AndyPants]

That monitor looks like the newer version in the same line of what I have. It claims an 8000:1 contrast ratio but if you check the manufacturer's page it notes:
DC 8000:1 (1000:1) (Typ.)

Meaning typically 1000:1 So it's essentially the same as what I have. I saw a new one at Best Buy but it had the same specs as the one I have but had a different bezel (frame). The one you are looking at must be an even newer model.

Mine is a SyncMaster 226BW. Here is the spec page for a 226CW which seems to have the same specs as mine. http://www.samsung.com/us/consumer/d...LS22MEXSFV/XAA

With all that aside it is still an awesome monitor and like I said look for multiple inputs but don't be conned by RCA jacks (they are the low end of video inputs and basically suck) Don't forget you can get a VGA adapter for your XBOX and run that into your monitor (or a/v switcher if you have one)

[Capthemfoos]

http://www.darksidealliance.com/showthread.php?t=27178

There's the thread from my build. It might help you a bit.

I will say the parts I got were excellent. I don't know if you are going Intel or AMD. What OS are you going with?

Post some ideas of what you were looking for and also post what games, programs and anything else you might be running on the computer. That also helps you decide on what you need.

Ill be going with Intel. What is the latest version, quad? Windows XP _(I haven't decided yet).

I'm looking for a good motherboard, case, and power supply. I want a strong power supply that is quiet. And a requirement is an excellent graphics card. That is a must.

Games, I don't know, but you can count C&C3 in and Starcraft 2. Maybe I'll get F.E.A.R. or Battlefield 2142 for the multiplayer. And then Farcry 2 will be on it probably for superior map editing potential, as well as maybe COD4. For work, I already have MS Office 07, so thats taken care of. Adobe Photoshop CS3 is a possible in terms of software. Thats pretty much it. I also want thos glow tubes in the tower to make it look nice.:)

And Pants, that monitor looks simply amazing. I think that I will be buying the one that I put up. I'll have to poke around more though.

[Brocman]

Yeah, I spent a long time looking for my computer monitor, and I used it with my PC as well as the PS3 and it is great. It is a 28'' monitor that is 1080p with 3 ms response time, I forget all the other stuff but it is the HannsG model and they sell it at BestBuy for like 600 bucks which is pretty good because I love it and it's awesome.

If you interested in building a pc from scratch I would definetely recommend this site: www.newegg.com

They have some really great stuff on this site and they are very trustworthy.

I would also recommend that you have some experience putting together computers and that you know what your doing. Because if not, you can really mess up (i.e. messing up when putting the processor chip into the motherboard is something that is easy to do if your not careful)

I would suggest that you get a friend to help you that is a professional at this sort of thing.

Beyond that I would also recommend a few things to get if you are looking for a computer that will be really good when it comes to playing games.

Intel Dual Core processor
2 to 3 gigs of ram
GeForce 8800 series Video card

Plus throw in like a few terabytes of hard drive space and your good to go.

P.S. Window Vista is crap, and will ruin even the fastest computers. The reason for that is because it is completly filled with useless programs (bloat) that do nothing but take up space and speed on your computer. It is also a broken program that has no fix for it. Do not use it under any circumstance. Use like XP or something.

[Capthemfoos]

Yeah, I have a friend who already put his own PC together from scratch. I have some other acquaintances that are super PC nerds/ hackers on the side, so I'll ask them a few questions.

Is Intel Quad core any good or is core duo better. What are the pros/cons? I'll do some research as well.

[Brocman]

im not sure about quad core, I haven't really heard too much about it. But I am sure if you googled it, you would find a forum that would talk about it.

[Capthemfoos]

Here are the parts I will be purchasing.

Motherboard

Case

Power Supply

Video Card x2(one for even pixels, one for odd)

A choice between these two Quad core processors:

2.4GHz

2.5GHz


RAM

Hard Drive

Monitor

CD drives x2

And thats it. The OS will be Windows XP professional. Let me know if something is crap or isn't compatible. This will make a great PC. It should be sufficient to run Crysis pretty well without blowing up:).

[norm]

The case looks nice, since this is your first build see if you can find a case with a removable motherboard tray. Li-lan and Coolermaster make some. I'm sure there are others out there. A removable motherboard tray is nice and it is so much easier to put the computer together when you're not scraping your knuckles.

The PSU, I'm not too sure about that. I've heard good and bad things about modular cabling. Since you are going to run SLI, 2 drives, 2+Gb of RAM, games, and maybe a couple of HD's why not play it safer and not risk anything? I have an OCZ 600 Watt GameStream in mine. It has enough connections for everything. They make a 700 watt for $90 after a $35 mail-in-rebate. I did a lot of research when I built mine last year and they seemed to make the best for that price range. Other then spending $$$ for a PC Power and Cooling PSU the OCZ had the best.

As far as your processor are you sure you want to go Quad-core? I don't know of any games that use a Quad-core yet. A good Duo Core should be cheaper then the Quad and still run your games better. Unless you're working in photos, music, or films and it's your job there's not big enough reason to justify a Quad Core yet. Here is a link that compares Intel's duo and quads with AMD's duo and quads. Should help you see what I'm talking about. http://techreport.com/articles.x/12091

I have GSkill RAM and love it! I just have 2Gb in mine and it's great. Only thing you may not realize is that XP Pro will only recognize 3GB or RAM unless you're running the 64 bit version. So keep that in mind


Any reason why you picked an IDE drive instead of a SATA drive? I have A Samsung and it's great
Samsung
So far no coasters, litescribe is fun, and it's read everything I've put in. SATA is so much easier to hook up. Your motherboard has 6 SATA slots and if you fill 2 with dvd drives you can save the other for HD's.

What kind of HD are you going to go with? Might as well get 2 of them. You could get two of the same and run a RAID or you could get a 10K drive to hold your OS and programs and have the second drive as your storage drive to hold all your music and other files. Seagate makes a great 7200rpm drive with nice 16Mb to 32Mb caches.

I truly believe you can do this yourself. If I could do it anyone can. If you have ever replaced RAM or anything else like that you can build a computer yourself. The hardest part is trying to decide what you want as far as parts..lol.

A couple of tips, get an aftermarket cooler for your PSU. I have a huge Zalman cooler on my PSU along with some Arctic Silver and that thing is great. You really don't need a grounding strip. Just make sure you touch the metal part of the case before you touch anything else. Spending a little less in the processor will let you add a little more to the video card and that will make more of a difference then if windows loads a second or two faster. After you get everything set up, your games, applications and everything else loaded and updated clone or ghost the drive. That way if anything screws up later on it's easy for you to recover. Whenever you start, just take your time, have a space cleaned off and have fun.

[Capthemfoos]

Well, I talked to a friend and he said modular cabling was good since it takes care of wires that I won't be using. I'm not going to be running SLi, its just there if I want to change it to SLi.

From what I know, Quad core runs all games. It just doesn't speed up gaming now. It speeds everything else up, since games are not formatted for quad core now. In the future they will, making it faster. This is me planning ahead as it will last me longer.

Now, the RAM. Yeah, I know it doesn't support 4 GB, but will XP3 support more than 3? This is also me anticipating the future. :)

Nad my friend said Cd drives with IDE, so took that. But SATA is faster and better?

There is an HD link there. Would my system(using the specs now) be able to support 2 HD's?

[Capthemfoos]

Another question. If XP only supports 3 GB of RAM, and I put int 4 GB, will it utilize 3 GB(using one and part of another stick) or only 2 GB. I'm asking if it can split it, basically

[AndyPants]

As for your RAM questions, I don't know, but you should have no problems running 2 HDDs. In fact, you should if for nothing else than to have a mirror drive.

I have had too many (in reality only 2 but still 1 is enough) HDD crashes to not recommend this. In one instance, I was only running one drive and lost EVERYTHING. Certain things are reinstallable but those pics you that you never got around to backing up are not (and no not the pron, I just redownload that too ;) ) Sure it might make you feel all "untied to worldly possessions" but let me tell you it ****ing sucks!

[norm]

I completely understand about planning for the future. What I did was spend a little more on the motherboard and a lot less on the processor. I got a motherboard that can handle the dual core I have now and will handle either the triple or quad core I get in the future. Think about that option.

SATA is faster than IDE hands done. It was IDE, then PATA then has gone to SATA. Other then speed is ease of set up. No more master and slave issues when setting up. You just plug them into the board and go. The other benefit is better airflow. No more wide gray cables blocking the air.


I see your HD now. You picked one with a 8Mb caches, why not get the one with the with 16Mb cache? Same price and and Gb. Make sure you get two of them.

As far as the Ram is concerned if you have 4Gb in there XP will only let you use 3Gb and XP uses the remaining Gb as the some weird Bios function that doesn't do anything.

I really thought you were using SLI.