Is this a good build for a gaming pc?

Energize · 3 Jun 2006 at 04:12

Dark-nite said:
EDIT: Also once I have actually bought my new system and set it all up how do I go about putting on my OS especially since there is no floppy drive.

Windows XP doesnt need a floppy drive.

Dark-nite · 3 Jun 2006 at 12:45

Ahh, yes of course. Lol, because windows xp uses ntfs not fat32 or such

completely forgot thx.

I want to spend the least amount of money (as we all want to) as possible but still have a pretty good pc, I will now go for the 2gb ram but can't I just use virtual ram/memory because I think it can go up to 4gb's worth.

If not i'll get the 2gb of ram and as long as the psu will be fine thats great.

Thanks for the quick response from everone appriciate it,
Jamie.

Energize · 3 Jun 2006 at 18:27

Virtual memory is ram, I think you mean the pagefile, which the answer is no, its 10x slower than ram.

Dark-nite · 4 Jun 2006 at 01:44

Yeah I meant the pagefile lol. Only reson I got confused is when you go to change the pagefile size it calls its virtual memory :confused:

anyhow, thanks a lot everyone.

triggerthat · 4 Jun 2006 at 02:10

I'd recommend 2GB of RAM, anything which isn't a MSI motherboard along with a A64

Dark-nite · 4 Jun 2006 at 21:07

Okay

but how comes not an MSI mobo? :confused:

lol

Explicit · 4 Jun 2006 at 23:10

As above, with 2GB of ram it will be a good gaming rig. Also, DVD-Writers are not that much more expensive than the CD-RW/DVD-ROM combo, might as well get something like the NEC 4570

lay-z-boy · 4 Jun 2006 at 23:26

am2 is slower than skt 939.

X2 3800+ 939
Asus a8n32 sli
2gb gskill zx
7900gt (can add another later)
lanboy case
250gb SATA drive
nec dvd burner

with sata you just plug it in and go.

ACESHIGH · 5 Jun 2006 at 04:15

lay-z-boy said:
am2 is slower than skt 939.

X2 3800+ 939
Asus a8n32 sli
2gb gskill zx
7900gt (can add another later)
lanboy case
250gb SATA drive
nec dvd burner

with sata you just plug it in and go.

No AM2 is NOT slower than socket 939.
I have an s939 MSI board & works great, so cant fault MSI boards (though it is my first one).
Dual cards are generally pointless, as one fast card is in most cases better.
The X1800XT is the faster card & cheaper too.

Energize · 5 Jun 2006 at 04:17

Dark-nite said:
Yeah I meant the pagefile lol. Only reson I got confused is when you go to change the pagefile size it calls its virtual memory anyhow, thanks a lot everyone.

Well technically its the ram and pagefile combined.

OzZie · 5 Jun 2006 at 08:15

HIS Excalibur ATI Radeon X1800 XT 512MB GDDR3 AVIVO TV-Out/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail (GX-043-HT)
£174.95 £174.95
CP-152-AM AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 3800+ (Socket 939) - OEM (CP-152-AM)
£161.95 £161.95
MB-088-AS Asus A8N-E nForce4 Ultra (Socket 939) PCI-Express Motherboard (MB-088-AS)
£53.95 £53.95
MY-046-GL GeIL 2GB (2x1GB) PC3200 Value Dual Channel Kit CAS3 (GE2GB3200BDC) (MY-046-GL)
£104.95 £104.95
HD-066-SE Seagate Barracuda 7200.9 300GB ST3300622AS SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM (HD-066-SE)
£64.95 £64.95
CD-001-BQ BenQ DW1650 16x16 DVD RW Dual Layer ReWriter (Black) - OEM (CD-001-BQ)
£22.95 £22.95
FG-000-AR Arctic Cooling Freezer 64 Pro CPU Cooler (Socket 754/939/940) (FG-000-AR)
£14.95 £14.95
CA-026-TT Thermaltake VC2000BNS Mambo SuperMidi Tower - Black (CA-026-TT)
£27.95 £27.95
CA-009-HP Hiper HPU-4M580 Type R 580W ATX2.2 PSU - Black (CA-009-HP)
£44.95 £44.95
Subtotal £671.55
VAT £117.53
Total £789.08

Top of the range video card with 512mb of memory. Very nice clocking dual core 3800+ with a freezer 64 pro to keep the temps down. Excellent 580W psu for a great price. 2GB of ram perfect for overclocking and the latest games. A huge 300GB of storage with 16mb cache instead of 8mb. Black DVD-RW and black gaming case.

Dark-nite · 5 Jun 2006 at 22:18

So are you suggesting I should get this? lol

Why dvd writer other than a combo and also before how comes 'triggerthat' said "anything apart from an msi mobo"? :confused:

Thanks,

Jamie.

toy_soldier · 6 Jun 2006 at 00:56

OzZie said:
Top of the range video card with 512mb of memory. Very nice clocking dual core 3800+ with a freezer 64 pro to keep the temps down. Excellent 580W psu for a great price. 2GB of ram perfect for overclocking and the latest games. A huge 300GB of storage with 16mb cache instead of 8mb. Black DVD-RW and black gaming case.

Are you a sales person by any chance?

ACESHIGH · 6 Jun 2006 at 02:19

Dark-nite said:
So are you suggesting I should get this? lol

Why dvd writer other than a combo and also before how comes 'triggerthat' said "anything apart from an msi mobo"?

Thanks,
Jamie.

He may have had a problem with an MSI mobo, I personally say never buy Galaxy cards (bad experience) whilst others will happily buy them.

Me i think MSI are good manufacturers & as said before my MSI AMD mothboard has had no issues at all.

t31os · 6 Jun 2006 at 12:48

Energize said:
Well technically its the ram and pagefile combined.

http://computer.howstuffworks.com/virtual-memory.htm

Dark-nite · 6 Jun 2006 at 13:04

Oh, I see.

What do you think of the suggested system above?

Thanks,
Jamie.

BillytheImpaler · 6 Jun 2006 at 13:13

OzZie said:
killer spec

That, sir, is a great spec. The only thing I'd possibly change is the PSU. Hipers are good but Tagans and Seasonics are better. If the cash isn't there for one of the top-shelf PSUs, it's a dandy spec as-is.

Dark-nite · 6 Jun 2006 at 23:58

Ok, I have made up my mind i'm sticking to what ozzie has said. It looks great!

Thanks a lot ozzie

and thanx everyone you've been a great help. Anything else to say will be mostly appreciated. :cool:

Thanks once again,
Jamie.

lay-z-boy · 7 Jun 2006 at 00:07

ACESHIGH said:
No AM2 is NOT slower than socket 939.
I have an s939 MSI board & works great, so cant fault MSI boards (though it is my first one).
Dual cards are generally pointless, as one fast card is in most cases better.
The X1800XT is the faster card & cheaper too.

Erm yes it is.

Then explain why my x2 at 2.7 is faster than a 2.9ghz x2?

DDR2 = t3h suck for am2.

Dark-nite, ok, but if you get any problems, expect a 'i told you so'

ACESHIGH · 7 Jun 2006 at 02:25

lay-z-boy said:
Erm yes it is.

Then explain why my x2 at 2.7 is faster than a 2.9ghz x2?

DDR2 = t3h suck for am2.

Dark-nite, ok, but if you get any problems, expect a 'i told you so'

Sorry but i think you are wrong. If talking average performance over multiple tasks / games AM2 is the superior platform, but admittadly by only a few percent.

http://www.pcper.com/article.php?aid=252&type=expert&pid=14
An X2 4800+ processor based on the AM2 platform with DDR2 memory is going to perform only a percent or so faster than an X2 4800+ based on the 939-pin platform with low latency, standard DDR memory.

http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/showdoc.aspx?i=2741&p=9
Not all is gloom in the AMD camp, however, as there are certainly bright spots. AM2 IS faster than Socket 939, with even more possible DDR2 bandwidth for the future.

http://www.it-review.net/index.php?...k=view&id=529&Itemid=91&limit=1&limitstart=10
On average the AM2 platform scores higher than the s939 platform, both using an X2 3800+ CPU.

Is this a good build for a gaming pc?

Man of Honour