Newbie here needs pro advice

Alright ladies I am a newbie installing his new computer for the first time and I have some questions.

Here is what I got so far.

ECS K8 HT2000 Nforce4 A939 motherboard
1g Micron DDR400 Crucial ram
300g drive.

Im confused. The motherboard that I have has certain RAM they recommend. Is this what they only tested? Im concerned my RAM wont work. Also.

I havnt bought the AMD yet, I want to buy the 3000+ 1.8g? Anyone have any experience with this Ntune software? How much can I overclock this cpu? I dont see any jumpers on this mobo that seems to not support OCing.

Any help is appreciated!

Corey

Awesome.

Now as for the AMD. ive owned a 733 for about 5 years (thus why im building) The 733 was the crap back in the day. Im trying to not have to upgrade for quite some time. How long do you expect the 3000 to last me? From Newegg 135.00 seems like a steal.

rgr that. I will make sure I read on those stickies. And as for the 3000+ lasting me?

how long it will last u is dependent on what you use the system for. For email + websurfing + homework etc? Umm... a loooong time....

For games? Do you mean, how long will u be able to play min sys specs, or what? or for video and powerhouse apps?

Dual core is here, apps/games will be optimized for it by next fall/winter season. Windows VISTA will take full advantage. That's the future. And then quad cores coming 2007 (1.5 years).

Your RAM will work fine. You just need DDR1 RAM and you have it.

If you want to OC you need to do a lot of research and check out info on RAM timings and how it relates, check reviews on ur mobo, get good cooling, get a good PSU, etc. You could get a very minor OC with anything pretty easily though.

For games video is key. Don't but anything less than a 6800GS 256mb for $215 newegg. But me, I'd get the $310 (after MiR) 7800gt from newegg. I like XFX fastest out of box for both those cards.

Don't buy new hardware thinking about the future and how long it will last you. These matters change really fast, especially now, graphic cards are released every 2 months. Try not to buy the best of what's available now.

Already own it from the previous computer.

As for budget? 200. Spent about 400 already. I planned on using the 200 for the CPU witch I dont have yet.

Well whatever games my 733 can handle. Starcraft. Jedi Knight 2,

But Ive been wanting to get into the big tier of gaming.

BF2
BF1942
COD2
Raven Sheild

Games like that.

Not sure really. Its a Sony and its a 19 LCD

I see where you're coming from but thats bad advice. Always check roadmaps and research the market, there certainly are good times to buy. True you never know whats next but you get a pretty good idea.

That said, of course, never buy the best... unless you like wasting money. I always go for just below the best... the sweet spot...



Yeah, with a 19" monitor.. umm.. native res is 1280 and if you want to play CoD2 at native res (which yes, you do, anything below that looks ugly) with good graphics, well your gonna need a better GPU. A 3200+ cpu will be fine, but the graphics card, NOTHING less than a 6800gs for $200 - I'd go for the 7800gt for $300... I also wouldnt spend anymore than that (around $300 for the 7800gt) on a card as its not worth it.

Yeah.. great.. you're in a hurry...but take the time to download the manual for the board and read it while waiting for your system.. Or you'll end up here asking stupid question and getting flamed..

And by the way... seriously... get the 3000+ 160 gigs HDD and save extra money, dump that radeon 7000, and get something better.. because, the nforce4 board don't run AGP card and even an old t-bird 1GHz would be limited by this video card.

Or, wait until you have the money to upgrade everything, because by the time, other component might become cheaper and you could even get more for your money...

Sorry julius, but he said pro advice. You're still a newb, so I'll just let everyone pretend that your advice came from me.

the screen gets all blury and some parts of it lag behind because your monitor is too slow.

Okay don't buy from newegg, buy from here for free shipping

NewEgg still rocks for me, but ZZF has good stuff to... I used to buy from them when they were PC-Nut, and wish they would have kept the name... but they were sued for using the name somehow...

Avoid their rebates like the plague...they avoid paying them likewise....

dont OC! if you dont know what your doing you will screw something up.. its not worth risking your well earned money unless you know you can do it right.

i was trying to make the point that if your new to it there is considerable risk. i first started OCing on old parts i had that i didnt use anymore. part of learning computers is screwing up.. its what makes it interesting!