Ok you persuaded me... Im attempting to build a gaming rig. Advice needed.
- Thread starter SkylineOnFire
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buy seperately but if you can then all at the same time if not get it on interest free build the thing and enjoy, as for going out of date good luck waiting until you can buy parts that wont go out of date rapidly its too lucrative a market for manufacturers to ignore r+d 
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I Think il get the case, fans, PSU, DVD drive etc... Now, then get the motherboard/GPU/RAM in one big go. What about a sound card? Am i going to need one? As i though the motherboard had onboard sound :S
You dont need a sound card.
There is no point what-so-ever in buying bit by bit, there is nothing you can do with the pieces you buy early on until the rest comes so it just sits there. By the time youve got enough for the last component the earlier ones could be outdated/replaced. Your very likely to get more for your money buying all at once. You dont waste money on extra postage.
If you really dont have the self control not to spend the money then give it to a friend/family member to look after as you get it until you have enough together.
There is no point what-so-ever in buying bit by bit, there is nothing you can do with the pieces you buy early on until the rest comes so it just sits there. By the time youve got enough for the last component the earlier ones could be outdated/replaced. Your very likely to get more for your money buying all at once. You dont waste money on extra postage.
If you really dont have the self control not to spend the money then give it to a friend/family member to look after as you get it until you have enough together.
Ok so you buy the PSU first month, then the case, then the HDD etc etc.
3 months later you put it all together and the PSU doesn't work but now you have to send it back to the manufacturer (possible in another country) instead of the retailer and all the hassle that goes with that.
Seems silly to me to have parts that you can't do anything with gathering dust, depreciating and going out of date and out of warranty. Save up and buy in one go. Not like you can use it any quicker buying piece by piece. Maybe save a second HDD or other non-essential pieces for a second order but that is all.
3 months later you put it all together and the PSU doesn't work but now you have to send it back to the manufacturer (possible in another country) instead of the retailer and all the hassle that goes with that.
Seems silly to me to have parts that you can't do anything with gathering dust, depreciating and going out of date and out of warranty. Save up and buy in one go. Not like you can use it any quicker buying piece by piece. Maybe save a second HDD or other non-essential pieces for a second order but that is all.
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Good points, im just a little impatient. But il hold off getting everything until mid september. Can you guys spec me a good quad core, motherboard and let me know what RAM is compatible with it, as thats the part thats been confusing me. I also have a ghetto desktop from... about 6 years ago, 160GB hard drive, ATI Radeon 9800 or something etc etc... Im thinking, if i take this to pieces a few times and rebuild it using the guides on here, will the things i learn be relevant to more modern computer building, as i havent really had any experience with desktops since this one, so i dont know how much could be gained from this.
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Ok once again, im taking this old desktop to bits then reassembling, check it still boots etc... i have a few old desktops actually since my family assume i may want them they ususally dump their old pc's with me for some reason, so i might swap things around, see how everything works etc... right back to my question.
I have a 160gb hard drive here, its old, but it works fine. It has windows XP on it, now, if i build my pc, could i use this hard drive, and this copy of XP that is on it, as a temp until windows 7 comes out, then id get something bigger with windows 7. But as a temp, could i theoretically run this old hard drive with XP?
I have a 160gb hard drive here, its old, but it works fine. It has windows XP on it, now, if i build my pc, could i use this hard drive, and this copy of XP that is on it, as a temp until windows 7 comes out, then id get something bigger with windows 7. But as a temp, could i theoretically run this old hard drive with XP?
The experience gained just from handling the components will be useful - help get your confidence up. Its also useful to look up the different connection types although theyre likely to ALL have changed since that 6 year old PC came about. If you plan to swap the parts about make sure you are keeping things compatible - CPU's going into compatible mobos and same sockets. Dont force anything. If switching a GPU its a good idea to get the drivers ready first and remove the old ones before swapping out.
Heres some compatible CPU/mobo/RAM combos, it depends what your budget is and what your going to be using it for as to what the best combo is for you.
If you give us a realistic figure of waht you could have budget wise when it comes to build we can give you a better picture of the hardware, though its likely to completely change by then lol.
Its likely to be an IDE HDD, instead of SATA and so will be considerably slower, I would advise just buying a solid SATA HDD straight off and using the Windows 7 Release Client until it is actually released. You can get a decent HDD for cheap atm and can always add a second data/media storage drive in later if you wish. I always prefer doing a fresh install of the OS when going into a new system, sometimes the OS has a little tantrum and refuses to work with the new hardware simply because its trying to run the same older stuff.
Heres some compatible CPU/mobo/RAM combos, it depends what your budget is and what your going to be using it for as to what the best combo is for you.
If you give us a realistic figure of waht you could have budget wise when it comes to build we can give you a better picture of the hardware, though its likely to completely change by then lol.
Its likely to be an IDE HDD, instead of SATA and so will be considerably slower, I would advise just buying a solid SATA HDD straight off and using the Windows 7 Release Client until it is actually released. You can get a decent HDD for cheap atm and can always add a second data/media storage drive in later if you wish. I always prefer doing a fresh install of the OS when going into a new system, sometimes the OS has a little tantrum and refuses to work with the new hardware simply because its trying to run the same older stuff.
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What is the windows 7 release client? Is it free, and how do i obtain it? Sorry about all this
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And your right, its a "western digital WD cavalier Enhanced IDE Hard Drive".
But would it be possible, to use this as a temp or.... As its the XP id like salvage really, just to run for a while.
But would it be possible, to use this as a temp or.... As its the XP id like salvage really, just to run for a while.
The Windows 7 Release Candidate was a step between the beta and final releases. Microsoft just making sure they'd covered all the little bugs and querks before they released is finally (making sure they get it right after that almighty Vista screw up). The RC is a fully useable OS, It was given out free for testing purposes. I dont know if its still obtainable from Microsoft anymore, think they were planning to stop giving it out soon. Check the MS website to see, and if not I should be able to hook you up.
This would be better - http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HD-057-SA&groupid=701&catid=14&subcat=768
I have put old HDDs in before and tried running the OS off that, but most of the time it requires remastering as the hardware builds were so different. I suppose there is no harm in trying, but I would still recommend getting a new HDD. Samsung Formula 1 or Western Digital Caviar Black.
This would be better - http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HD-057-SA&groupid=701&catid=14&subcat=768
I have put old HDDs in before and tried running the OS off that, but most of the time it requires remastering as the hardware builds were so different. I suppose there is no harm in trying, but I would still recommend getting a new HDD. Samsung Formula 1 or Western Digital Caviar Black.
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I cant believe how helpful people on this forum are to be honest. I was a little nervous about posting, as i remember 3 or 4 years ago when i first properly got into photography, trying to get my first DSLR, i got so many elitist people telling me not to bother, that i was stupid etc... So its great to see such nice people here. Anyway.
Out of the list you just kindly supplied, i think the third one down is realistically what i was after, but should i try and go for the fourth one down, would it make that much of a difference?
I mean at the end of the day all i want to do is run ARMA 2 and Operation Flashpoint Dragon Rising, a few COD games and some RTS, basically anything that is released around now and maybe the beginning of 2010, id like to run them at medium/high and get a good frame rate, will all those combo's give me that?
Out of the list you just kindly supplied, i think the third one down is realistically what i was after, but should i try and go for the fourth one down, would it make that much of a difference?
I mean at the end of the day all i want to do is run ARMA 2 and Operation Flashpoint Dragon Rising, a few COD games and some RTS, basically anything that is released around now and maybe the beginning of 2010, id like to run them at medium/high and get a good frame rate, will all those combo's give me that?
The 4th combo would offer considerable performance boosts for the money - 3.2GHz quad, new mobo + chipset with DDR3 RAM over 2.33GHz quad, older mobo + chipset using an outdated socket (775, still excellent technology but not likely to see any new CPUs ever again) with DDR2 RAM.
For gaming I would recommend anything but the 3rd down. Clock for clock the Intels are better - however the AMD comes at 3.2GHz stock so no overclocking is needed to get the performance which makes life easier. AMD are generally accepted as the best bang for your buck. If you are planning to wait a round for a while then prices are going to fall as new tech comes out too.
For those games its going to be more about coupling the CPU with a solid GPU, something along the lines of a GTX275 or 4890. The GTX260's and 4870 1GB's also perform well.
(I just think of mysefl when I was first getting into this stuff and how I could have done with a helping hand. I like talking about this crap anyway lol).
For gaming I would recommend anything but the 3rd down. Clock for clock the Intels are better - however the AMD comes at 3.2GHz stock so no overclocking is needed to get the performance which makes life easier. AMD are generally accepted as the best bang for your buck. If you are planning to wait a round for a while then prices are going to fall as new tech comes out too.
For those games its going to be more about coupling the CPU with a solid GPU, something along the lines of a GTX275 or 4890. The GTX260's and 4870 1GB's also perform well.
(I just think of mysefl when I was first getting into this stuff and how I could have done with a helping hand. I like talking about this crap anyway lol).
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The 4870's what i had in mind.
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Well il have my temporary monitor which is pretty terrible, its a CRT so... 1024x768 or something rubbish.
After a month or so il get something like http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MO-045-AC&groupid=17&catid=276&subcat= which is 1440x900
I dont intend to go huge at all
After a month or so il get something like http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MO-045-AC&groupid=17&catid=276&subcat= which is 1440x900
I dont intend to go huge at all
YES, you've sussed it, but dual cards still bother me, because a single card is more stable....
if so, the best bet is to get the most poweful Graphics card in 10 months time and this'll be the GTX 300 or similar
plus if you buy in bits you have to anxiously wait on your next delivery coming so you can continure your buildThe 4870 1GB will cope with 1440x900 without issues. For the time being at least - may have to start turning graphics down later on but it will keep pace for a good year or so.
Although no1 mentioned anything about getting dual GPUs before Mal, its seems worth mentioning that there is no real problem with them stability wise and more and more games are supporting them. Im not suggesting you should go for one but dont rule it out as a bad idea.
