Buying New Rig - Guild Wars Guru archive powered by Guild Wars Legacy

Imori Akari

Academy Page

Join Date: Sep 2007

Celestial Arrows of the Phoenix [Arro]

A/W

13 Jan 2009 at 10:19 - 1

'ello Guru's.

so I'm looking to get a new computer, as the one I'm on is beginning to suck.

Unfortunately, I work a minimum wage job and am gearing up for college so I'm tight on funds. I was browsing Newegg and came up with this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16883227122

Does this look pretty damn good for its price? Anything you would suggest getting with it? Got a better suggestion?

I do gaming, lots of WoW and Guild Wars. Sometimes when the mood hits me I'll play some Dead Space or Command and Conquer 3. It doesnt all have to run maxxed out, I can live with medium-high settings.

Would this work for those demands?

Also, I can do bits and pieces of computer building. I've customized my current computer a bit, so I think I could learn how to put a computer together. I browsed the stickied post about parts to buy, but I'm not sure what all I'd want that way.

As far as building goes, if I did I'd use my current MSI 600 Watt PSU and DVD drive plus

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811208020 - Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822136319 - Harddrive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813136044 - Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814102803 - Graphics Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820220353 - RAM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103234 - Processor

Would the above work out pretty well? any way to make it cheaper for around same performance?

I know I'm asking alot, but I wanna make sure I'm getting the most bang for my buck, as my buck is limited =P

Blackhearted

Krytan Explorer

Join Date: Jan 2007

Ohio, usa

none

Mo/

13 Jan 2009 at 11:12 - 2

Buying the parts you listed and building yourself would be much more worth your money(and cheaper) than that prebuilt you linked. You could also cut the price of ram roughly in half by buying it alone, without the bundle. I should also point out on the ram that you don't really need to go above ddr2-800 unless you plan on overclocking.

Imori Akari

Academy Page

Join Date: Sep 2007

Celestial Arrows of the Phoenix [Arro]

A/W

13 Jan 2009 at 11:21 - 3

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blackhearted

Buying the parts you listed and building yourself would be much more worth your money(and cheaper) than that prebuilt you linked. You could also cut the price of ram roughly in half by buying it alone, without the bundle. I should also point out on the ram that you don't really need to go above ddr2-800 unless you plan on overclocking.

Over clocking isnt really something I look to do. Just dont want to risk it, and I have no experience with it.

I already have 2G of memory I'm going to carry over from my old system. Would I even really need more RAM? =\

Blackhearted

Krytan Explorer

Join Date: Jan 2007

Ohio, usa

none

Mo/

13 Jan 2009 at 11:43 - 4

Quote:

Originally Posted by Imori Akari

Over clocking isnt really something I look to do. Just dont want to risk it, and I have no experience with it.

I already have 2G of memory I'm going to carry over from my old system. Would I even really need more RAM? =\

If you need more than 2gb depends on what all you will do, really. If it's just gw and wow for the most part(along with the basic web browsing and such), then 2 gigs is usually fine. But other, non gaming things, such as photoshop, could probly benefit from more. Oh, and btw.. is that 2gb in the old system ddr2? if not you'd need the new ram regardless.

Imori Akari

Academy Page

Join Date: Sep 2007

Celestial Arrows of the Phoenix [Arro]

A/W

13 Jan 2009 at 11:54 - 5

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blackhearted

If you need more than 2gb depends on what all you will do, really. If it's just gw and wow for the most part(along with the basic web browsing and such), then 2 gigs is usually fine. But other, non gaming things, such as photoshop, could probly benefit from more. Oh, and btw.. is that 2gb in the old system ddr2? if not you'd need the new ram regardless.

Nah I dont Photoshop or anything. Pretty much do just what you named. Some medium gaming and web browsing.

Yeah, its DDR2. =\ Alright, I'll look for some cheaper DDR3 then.

As for graphics card, I'm only familiar with the Nvidia line, so I'm not sure about how the one I chose would compare. Would it be about a 9500 or 9600?

How does

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820145183

look got RAM?

Also, I'm about to crash for a few hours, so I wont be replying right away.

Thanks in advance for the help.

Blackhearted

Krytan Explorer

Join Date: Jan 2007

Ohio, usa

none

Mo/

13 Jan 2009 at 12:12 - 6

Quote:

Originally Posted by Imori Akari

Nah I dont Photoshop or anything. Pretty much do just what you named. Some medium gaming and web browsing.

Yeah, its DDR2. =\ Alright, I'll look for some cheaper DDR3 then.

As for graphics card, I'm only familiar with the Nvidia line, so I'm not sure about how the one I chose would compare. Would it be about a 9500 or 9600?

How does

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820145183

look got RAM?

Also, I'm about to crash for a few hours, so I wont be replying right away.

Thanks in advance for the help.

Haha, you didn't need to look for ddr3. What i meant was if it wasn't ddr2 that you had now, that you'd then need to get new ram of the that type(ddr2). I guess i might not have worded that the best back there.

Anyway on the video card.. i'm not a fan of ati's r700 architecture personally, but the 4830 should be much faster than that 9500gt, it should also be faster than the 9600gt as well. If i remember correctly it should be nearer to the 9800 series in performance.

Imori Akari

Academy Page

Join Date: Sep 2007

Celestial Arrows of the Phoenix [Arro]

A/W

13 Jan 2009 at 19:08 - 7

Ah gotcha =P It all just needs to be the same? Right on.

Dang that will be quite the upgrade..I'm running an Nvidia 8600 right now. Seems pretty cheap compared to the other cards with that capability.

Celestial Crown

Frost Gate Guardian

Join Date: Oct 2006

15 Jan 2009 at 01:08 - 8

If you don't plan on running crossfire/sli, pick yourself up a 790gx board. Also I'd strongly recommend getting the x2 7750 (bundle it with memory or even the biostar 790gx, which I heard was a pretty good board.) The x2 7750 is basically a phenom with 2 cores disabled, so its about 20% clock for clock faster than older x2's and it can run 1066 ram. Mine overclocked very easily to 3.2 with a multi change and a little bump in voltage. I think 4830 is a good budget choice too.

Elder III

Furnace Stoker

Join Date: Jan 2007

Ohio

I Will Never Join Your Guild (NTY)

R/

15 Jan 2009 at 01:54 - 9

what exactly is your budget? GIve us a figure and someone here will whip together the pc of your dreams

Imori Akari

Academy Page

Join Date: Sep 2007

Celestial Arrows of the Phoenix [Arro]

A/W

15 Jan 2009 at 05:06 - 10

Looking to spend 600 or under. Hopefully.

Celestial: I dont overclock. I know nothing about it. I was thinking about how since I wont be running SLI or Crossfire I shouldnt need a board with it. The one you named is a Crossfire board. Is http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813138130 the one you had in mind or is it another one?

snaek

Forge Runner

Join Date: Mar 2006

N/

15 Jan 2009 at 06:21 - 11

imo u can get much cheaper

i wouldnt go wit an amd 790fx unless u plan to crossfire (go wit an amd740 or 780)
hard drive is excessively big (unless u really need all that space?)
----in which case if u do, then i'd go wit 2 smaller seperate hd's
and that ram is way expensive (do u really need the usb key+3dmark bundle?)

also, i wouldnt buy a pre-built machine wit vista on it
wait until windows 7 (hopefully it releases before the end of the year)

Imori Akari

Academy Page

Join Date: Sep 2007

Celestial Arrows of the Phoenix [Arro]

A/W

15 Jan 2009 at 07:04 - 12

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813138105 How does this board look? Only need the one graphics card slot. Says its a micro though, will that still be mountable in a medium case? And how about everything being so close together, would that be an over heating issue?

Quaker

Hell's Protector

Join Date: Aug 2005

Canada

Brothers Disgruntled

15 Jan 2009 at 20:12 - 13

Micro ATX fits into a regular ATX case - it's just a bit smaller. There shouldn't be any particular heat problems.

Elder III

Furnace Stoker

Join Date: Jan 2007

Ohio

I Will Never Join Your Guild (NTY)

R/

16 Jan 2009 at 03:11 - 14

Case:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811144197

HD:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822136073

MOBO:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813135075

RAM:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820227298

CPU & GPU combo deal:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboD...t=Combo.151878

TOTAL Price (after rebates) = $499.15

Buy it, use it, love it. I'll vouch for all those parts.

Imori Akari

Academy Page

Join Date: Sep 2007

Celestial Arrows of the Phoenix [Arro]

A/W

16 Jan 2009 at 03:44 - 15

oh damn

Nice build Elder.
Is the OCZ ram good even though I wont be overclocking? The impression I've got is its not too great unless you OC it.

Quaker

Hell's Protector

Join Date: Aug 2005

Canada

Brothers Disgruntled

16 Jan 2009 at 17:16 - 16

Quote:

Originally Posted by Imori Akari

Is the OCZ ram good even though I wont be overclocking? The impression I've got is its not too great unless you OC it.

It's not usually worth paying extra for high performance RAM unless you intend to overclock, but it still works ok. In this case, you wouldn't even be paying "extra", so it's all good.

Imori Akari

Academy Page

Join Date: Sep 2007

Celestial Arrows of the Phoenix [Arro]

A/W

16 Jan 2009 at 20:31 - 17

ugh that combo deal ran out today =[ Gotta buy them seperate now
gonna go with
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboD...t=Combo.153595

Elder III

Furnace Stoker

Join Date: Jan 2007

Ohio

I Will Never Join Your Guild (NTY)

R/

17 Jan 2009 at 14:33 - 18

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103249

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814150323

same CPU as the combo deal I picked out before (def. better than the 2.3ghz agena CPU)
to save you a little more $$$ you could get that 9800 gt, not quite as good as a 4850, but very close imo, and it comes at a great price and free FarCry 2 (mail that to me!!! lol) better card than the 4830 and at the same price too....

Imori Akari

Academy Page

Join Date: Sep 2007

Celestial Arrows of the Phoenix [Arro]

A/W

17 Jan 2009 at 18:42 - 19

Alright its ordered. Added a little more, but I figure its not that big a deal.

aha, I'll install Farcry, and if I dont like it, I'll get ahold of you Elder =P

Imori Akari

Academy Page

Join Date: Sep 2007

Celestial Arrows of the Phoenix [Arro]

A/W

03 Feb 2009 at 07:18 - 20

Ugh...After getting a PSU that's fan burnt out on second time being turned on, and a motherboard that fried right after, got the stuff RMAed I got it back and hooked it back up. Now, I'm getting nothing. Everything is hooked up, checked it all over repeatedly. When I turn on the power, I hear a whining like the PSU is starting up, but the LED's on the PSU, and no lights on the motherboard come on.

This is the PSU
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817701004

now with these symptoms, does the PSU sound like the problem or would it be something else?

Note that the PSU works fine in my old computer

Elder III

Furnace Stoker

Join Date: Jan 2007

Ohio

I Will Never Join Your Guild (NTY)

R/

04 Feb 2009 at 02:56 - 21

what PSU was it that fried the first time?

Sounds like either the RAM is not seated correctly, the PSU itself is not switched on (I actually did that once myself), or there is a cable somewhere that is loose (the most likely situation).

Take it apart one by one and start with the bare minimum (CPU, mobo, 1 stick of RAM) and work up from there with every successful start-up.

Imori Akari

Academy Page

Join Date: Sep 2007

Celestial Arrows of the Phoenix [Arro]

A/W

04 Feb 2009 at 09:19 - 22

Eff it
I'm done.

Did as you said, when I came down to the basic mobo hookups, it sparked and smoke started pouring out. Fried again.

On top of all of this, I popped off the case of the Dell I was using to check what sort of processor it used to see if I could pop the one I bought on, and when you unscrew the cover and pop it back, it brings the processor with it and bends the shit out of the pins. That computer is down now too.

I'm done with this crap. I'm going to send in what I can for refund, and just buy prebuilt.

Thanks anyways Elder.

Elder III

Furnace Stoker

Join Date: Jan 2007

Ohio

I Will Never Join Your Guild (NTY)

R/

05 Feb 2009 at 01:04 - 23

man, I'm sorry to hear that - it sounds like you ave had your share of bad luck there. :/

did you by any chance have one of these???

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16899261005

Lord Sojar

The Fallen One

Join Date: Dec 2005

Oblivion

Irrelevant

Mo/Me

05 Feb 2009 at 05:57 - 24

Imori, you had a bad PSU. It happens. As for the processor, I assume it was an AMD. A Zero Insertion Force (ZIF) socket is used to hold the processor. You need to raise the bar on the side of the CPU in order to safely remove the CPU. When you put the CPU back in, you lower the bar to lock it in place (no pushing or pulling required)

Don't give up just because of this type of setback. It happens to everyone at least once during a lifetime of building. Give it another whirl. You won't regret building your own rig.

Imori Akari

Academy Page

Join Date: Sep 2007

Celestial Arrows of the Phoenix [Arro]

A/W

13 Feb 2009 at 23:11 - 25

Apologies for the slow reply.

No Elder, I didnt use one. Everyone was telling me just touching the side of the case (metal part) before working would discharge all static.

I'm gonna guess the PSU was bad =\ which is odd since it worked in the Dell.
As to the Dells CPU, I did pull up the bar, just the chip seemed like it was super glued to the cooler =| and the angle that it pulled out at bent the pins to where it wouldnt slide back in. I still have it, but due to attempting to slide it in, the pins are kinda..yeah. messed up.

I sent in the motherboard for a refund, but thats all Newegg would refund out of it. I'm considering buying a new PSU with tax check and another mobo and having it put together professionally. I'm still debating though...its just all been a huge headache and I dont think its worth it anymore. =\