Should I wait?

[GiMpY-wAnNaBe]

alright, i'm planning to completely revamp my room, computer and stuff, i'm planning to get a barebones kit for the computer and buy all the stuff individually.

this is what i'm planning to get:

iPod
17" plasma/lcd TV
computer barebone kit running a 3000+ (or higher) AMD 64 athlon
any good video card (Radeon 9600 XT or higher)
either 17" or 19" lcd screen (preferably sony, samsung, or phillips)
A good soundcard that has MIDI
Either a microsoft or logitec cordless optical keyboard and mouse set
Liquid cooling system since AMD's tend to get hot
at least 512Mb of highend ram (OCZ, Corsair, or Ultra)
A Fender Stratocaster (its a guitar, for the musically impaired)


what order should i get them in?

My account has exactly 56 cents in it at the moment, but i get my first paycheck from my new job tomorrow and i'm making about 300$ every 2 weeks. More come summer.

As well, whats better? the 64 bit processor from AMD or the intel hyperthreading technology? because the intel motherboards are cheaper than the ones that support the 64 bit architecture.


Thx in advance

[Jonbo298]

If you dont want to wait for the better 939 socket Athlon 64's (which come out in a month or 2), get the 3200+ for the A64, IMO. Amd runs their processors more efficiently without needing to push so much megahertz into it, which Intel is finally figuring that out too, finally.

And get the Logitech MX Duo. I have one and I love it.

And for a video card, if you really feel like splurging, get the x800XT (which comes out in like a month or less). But if you cant drop $500 on a video card, a 9800Pro will do you well.

Not sure on liquid cooling since i havent dabbled with them yet.

For RAM I'd recommend a gig if you can. Dual channel also. I have 512 of good fast ram but I'm noticing the 512 pinch for being a gamer.

Good sound card would be the Audigy2 ZS.

[Seth]

Samsung 172x LCD moniter.

12ms -> good for gaming. Reduces the ghosting to a minimum.





futureshop is selling them for 799 cdn.
futureshop (http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/proddetail.asp?logon=&langid=EN&dept=1&WLBS=fsweb12&sku_id=0665000FS10041715&catid=&newdeptid=1)



and if you're planning on using that lcd/plasma for console gaming, i suggest getting a tube instead. Much larger for less price.


edit: and get a gibson.

[Happydude]

i dont know how you're planning on getting that anytime soon...all that will come up to about $3,000...aorund there anyway...it would take you 5 months of saving...so erm...good luck i guess

[GiMpY-wAnNaBe]

blah...i'm buying a new component or two eery paycheck, this topic was to get advice for which order to get them in...

[GameMaster]

I would get the iPod first, then the TV, then the guitar, then the computer and all of it's accessories.

[GiMpY-wAnNaBe]

alright, for the motherboard i'm not sure whether to go for this (http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=630739&Sku=A455-2102&CatId=1178) or this (http://images.tigerdirect.ca/SKUImages/small/G451-2200-rn.jpg)

i'd kinda lean toward asus, because their known to be stable and generally good, but the gigabyte one looks beefier, and more colorful :D....which one do you guys recommend? theres only a 50$ price difference so, if the gigabyte one is better i'd probably take it.


btw, these are both for an AMD 64 3200+ (apparantly the AMD 64 Fx-53 with the 1600 MHz bus :drool: is $1053 :unsure:, so....ya)

[Null]

its hard to say. you give us a link with a page discribing the whole thing.

then you give us a link with a picture the size of my finger nail and no info to compare it to.

and BTW, gigabyte is a very good brand.

[GiMpY-wAnNaBe]

gah...my bad, just a sec, i'll send you the proper link

proper link (http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=633492&Sku=G451-2200&CatId=1178)

[Null]

Well. what worries me with the Gigabyte is that it says AGP 1.5v gfx cards only.

im not intirly sure on this matter but i think 1.5v gfx cards are older and the newer ones are .8v?

so the gigabyte might not be good for future gaming.

(note, not intirly sure on this)

[GiMpY-wAnNaBe]

Alright.....my pretty much final list is done, here it is:

Monitor - samsung 17" LCD
Motherboard - Asus K8V Deluxe
Processor - Athlon 3400+
Videocard - Radeon 9600XT, may switch to 9800XT...depending on how much money i have when i buy it
Keyboard & Mouse - Microsoft optical wireless desktop set
Soundcard - Sound blaster Audigy 2
Hard drive - either A- 36 GB 10000 RPM or B - 160 GB 7200 RPM, they're the same price
RAM - Ultra 1 Gb Dual Chanel DDR
Powersupply - a nice big 500 W, but i don't know which brand to pick
DVD Burner - LG 8x write
Speakers - Logitec z640

i'm drooling just thinking about it already

[Seth]

Plextor just put out a 12x dvd+-r

Sharp just released a 19 inch lcd with a 16ms response time

Go with the 160 gb hard drive.

The 9800XT would be my choice, especially since the price for it has dropped a bunch.

[Null]

I'd strongly recommend AGAINST the wireless keyboard and mouse. Expecially for games. but thats up to you. (wireless have not as good of responce time and end up being a pain with batteries)

[Jonbo298]

I have the Logitech MX Duo (wireless) and I LOVE it. Batteries aren't a pain to me because it came with 2 rechargeable batteries for the mouse and the keyboard I just put 2 standard batteries in and haven't had to change them since I got it about a month or so ago. But I'd recommend staying away from the MS wireless set. I've heard they arent the best but the MX Duo is worth all $70 of it (newegg.com)

As for video card, get a 9800Pro. 9800XT's are too expensive (even after the price drops) for what it gives. Hell, why not just get an x800Pro:D:p

Also for the powersupply, PLEASE do a bit of research into one because in the powersupply market area, its quality over quantity because ive heard cases of people getting a no name brand 500w psu and it died within a month.

But other then that, everything else looking good!

[GiMpY-wAnNaBe]

thanks everyone for your help, and i actually was wondering about the powersupply brands... does anyone have any experience? price isn't that important, but the lower the better :D

btw, +rep to all who helped, also, whats the difference between normal and dual channel RAM?

[Hero2]

dual channel is faster....but thats all I know ;)

[quiet mike]

I think you are rushing it a bit. You are buying a top end computer of the generation that is dying. Look just what's new now and will be standard in 6 monts:

- Fully DirectX 9 videocards: NV4X, and ATI4XX chipsets (2 times the 9800XT) and soon in PCI Express interface
- (The death of AGP) PCI Express (more bandwith, more independence from other cards on PC, and faster)
- Athlon 64 with 1000 HiperTransport bus AND Dual Channel controller on 939 motherboars which will soon be cheaper.
- P4 with 1066 FSB and who knows when 64 bit support (already implemented in Presscot, but locked like hiperthreading in the begining).
- The new Sis, nVidia, VIA chipsets for AMD, and the new VIA and Intel shipsets for Pentium.
All these will become mainstream over the next months and will be the begining of the next 5 years. I would VERY STRONGLY recomand puting the money in the jar and wait untill you can buy the PC all at once, or at least all the important things (motherboard, processor, videocard, RAM, and audio card). Not only will you be able to get better things, but also if you get something that you would get right now, it would be cheaper then. Also, since you are building a PC from scratch, it's very important to know where the industry goes, so you don't have to build a new PC in 2 years. If you buy a motherboard with PCI, AGP, ATA and 266 FSB you'll find that next year you can't stick anything new in your PC because all these will be extinct.
AMD 64 is maturing into the 939 chipset, PCI Express is coming and accesories for it will follow soon (ATI already has native support, and nVidia has a bridge adapter to use PCI Express) Gigabit Ethernet, motherboard chipsets with separate bandwith lanes between RAM, PCI Ex, USB and Ethernet and probably soon an upgrade to the SATA interface.

Again, this is the worst time in my opinnion to go all out on a PC. Go to Anandtech, TweakTown, 3D Guru, and many other hardware sites and get ready for next generation. By the time your checks add up into a PC you will know what to do.



P.S. Dual Channel RAM DD SDRAM is ram that allows two lanes of traffic between it and the CPU at the same time. old ram only alowen one lane that would go to CPU ->RAM and then RAM->CPU. This is actually a motherboard chipset problem and not RAM. but you do need 2 sticks of identical RAM to work. By identical I mean the exact same type of RAM (same manufacturer, size, S/N)

[GiMpY-wAnNaBe]

thanks, thats a lot of good info to know, +rep

likei said, i'll be buying the pieces with each paycheck, not all at once. I recently heard of the PCI express, so that kinda gave me doubts but in anycase, i'm getting my new monitor, keyboard and mose first....thats taking up about a months work (i'm getting the monitor on thursday)....after that point, i'm not so sure anymore. i was planning to get the new motherboard and videocard, buuuuuuuuut, i don't know now... i guess i'll buy the RAM and then wait for changes in the industry, i was looking into the 940 socket (i'm assuming thats what you meant, and not 939). But the only processor thats using that socket is the Fx-53 which at $1000 is more than slightly out of my price range.

when you say that ATI has native support does that mean you can stick a radeon 9600XT or 9800XT into a PCI express? ( i highly doubt that).

I guess i can buy everything but the motherboard and its add on components. hmmm...when do you think the price would go down for all the new technology? because i doubt its going to start in the same range as the current stuff.

once again thanks

[quiet mike]

Right now AMD has 2 tipes of 64 chips; the 940 pin Opteron (servers) and entusiast market FX version of it using buffered RAM and Dual Channel, and the 975 pin or something like that. This one is a little faster and allows for the much more cummon and sligthly faster unbuffered RAM, but with only half the L2 cahe and no Dual Channel.
Now AMD is moving both of these chips to a new 939 pin version that allows for buffered or unbuffered RAM and supports Dual Channel on any RAM. (AMD bus controller is on CPU not on motherboard, so here is a chip design not motherboard, like I was explaining on Dual Channel coment)

Yes, ATI will make the older versions native on PCI Express as well as the new versions. They are not out yet, but will be soon. nVidia said that for the moment it will use a bridge controller instead of a native chip. We don't know if that will trully impact performance or not. Well have to see once they can test a full PCI Express package.

Happy buying~!