Hey guys, I've never built a computer before, and I really don't know much about specific parts. I've been reading for a few days now and it still doesnt make much sense to me. Anyway, hopefully you'll be capable of helping me.
I want to build a new computer for gaming, my current one is about 7 years old. Specifically, I want a computer that can run a new game coming out called "Age of Conan". Here are the recommended configurations for the game.
Recommended configuration (Up to 1280X960, most features on)
OS: Windows XP SP 2 or Windows Vista
Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo 2.4GHz or equivalent
RAM: 2048MB Dual Channel DDR2
Video card: NVIDIA GeForce 7900 GTX or equivalent
Video memory: 512MB
DVD-ROM: Quad-speed (4x) DVD-ROM drive
HARD DRIVE SPACE: 30GB
Ideally, I'm looking to spend around $750, but I'd understand if that is unrealistic for getting a computer of this caliber. If anyone could point out some viable options I'd certainly appreciate it.
Please keep in mind however that I'm Canadian, and I believe NewEgg does not ship to Canada.
Thanks fellas, I appreciate any help you can give!
PS: I looked around TigerDirect.ca and came up with this:
Yeah, you really could do just fine with an 80 dollar motherboard and you wont notice the difference. Nowdays everything is really close speed wise, not like way back 7 years ago when the board made a good bit of difference.
@amdgirl...you should do a cover of "smelly cat" ..lol
"Now if the 4870x2 was actually notably faster than the 280 for about the same price, then I might even take a chance on it. However, that won't be the case."-robx46
"Now if the 4870x2 was actually notably faster than the 280 for about the same price, then I might even take a chance on it. However, that won't be the case."-robx46
^ Ok, do you seriously wanna stay under your limit? If so try to assemble your own list of parts. I do have a sense that almost built boxes give you less customization and etc. If your fine with the box take it! Or I suggest you start with a Core 2 E7200 or E2160 if you plan to overclock. Next maybe decide on whether you want an atx or matx case. I think in most cases (no pun intended) people will be better off with matx cases as they are easy to carry, take up little room and don't have great performance differences compared to ATXs. It's mostly about expansion tho... Once you chose your case go for the motherboard.
Sort out this much, I'll be back tomorrow...
Thanks for the responses! Theyre certainly appreciated.
It all depends how much over the limit, at absolute max I would say 900 or less. I don't really have a preference in ANYTHING because as I mentioned, this would be my first computer I've ever built, thusly I have no experience with any computer except this dell
I'm just looking for a computer that I can play some new games on relatively smoothly. I don't care about cranking the graphics up to max or anything, I'm content with medium settings. I found a store that has very similar prices to NCIX/Tigerdirect that is very close to me, heres a link.
Well Tom's just did an article, which has a part in it that said recent graphics cards do best between 2.6 and 3 ghz, lower and you end up losing a lot of performance because the card is not pushed enough. Games tend to like more cache on intels, so personally, I'd go for 2 or 4 meg and skip the cpu's with the 1 meg. Ya go with what you can afford, another option might be a midrange AMD, they are less money, but for the midrange, you can get something about as fast as the 6400's or so for not a lot of $$. Just a thought. On the high end, of course you'd have to go Intel right now, no contest.
"Now if the 4870x2 was actually notably faster than the 280 for about the same price, then I might even take a chance on it. However, that won't be the case."-robx46
"Now if the 4870x2 was actually notably faster than the 280 for about the same price, then I might even take a chance on it. However, that won't be the case."-robx46
graphics cards do best between 2.6 and 3 ghz, lower and you end up losing a lot of performance because the card is not pushed enough.
Does this include the Duo Core CPUs?
Quote :
Games tend to like more cache on intels, so personally, I'd go for 2 or 4 meg and skip the cpu's with the 1 meg. Ya go with what you can afford, another option might be a midrange AMD, they are less money, but for the midrange, you can get something about as fast as the 6400's or so for not a lot of $$. Just a thought. On the high end, of course you'd have to go Intel right now, no contest.
Any preference? Also, is there any way to know if different items are compatible with one another? I've read that there can be major issues if you mix-and-match different components. I'm just so confused, I find it very hard to know where one item (be it CPU/Video Card/Motherboard/etc.) sits in comparsion with others. When I have everything all picked out, how will I even know if it can run the things I'm looking for?
EDIT: Also, I'm trying to pick out some memory, how do I know if I need PC5300 - Pc6400? Is there a difference between DDR1/2/3?
Message edited by Namis9 on 05-17-2008 at 03:07:52 PM
Try looking for the E7200 or E8400, faster just a tiny bit more expensive. Make sure you match this with 45nm capable 1333MHZ motherboard. Your motherboard should state what RAM it uses (DDR2 or DDR3). If I were you I'd stay away from DDR3 as it is very expensive. PC6400 = DDR2 800.
Pretty much any PCI-E video card will fit with a PCI-E motherboard. Its very hard to find AGP these days so don't worry.
How's this look?
Case: Black xBlade Full ATX Case no PSU - $64.35
Power Supply: Antec@ TruePower Trio 550 - 550W ATX12V v2.2 Power Supply - $76.65
Motherboard: Asus P5GC-MX/1333 Intel 945GC LGA775 FSB1333MHz 2DD2 SATA Video AUdio 10/100 LAN MATX - $55.65
CPU: Intel@ Core2 Duo E8400, 3.0-GHz @ 1333Mhz w/ 6mb - w/ HEAT SINK AND FAN - $238.35
Memory: Kingbox PC6400 @ 800Mhz - 2GB - DDR2 - $47.25
Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 Hard Drive - 320GB internal - 3.5' SATA 300 7200rpm 16MB Buffer - $73.64
Video Card: EVGA Geforce 8800GT PCI-E 512MB DDR3 Dual DVI HDTV - $168
Well, the 6000 and up from AMD aren't worth the price honestly. 5200 and up are good for the money compared to intel, with the 5400 scoring right around the same as the e6300 and 6400's, but if I was gonna spend 170 or so, go Intel for sure, AMDfangirl is right on !
As far as memory, there isn't a lot of performance increase for ddr3, but it is a lot more, she is right, stick with ddr2, as far as compatibility, most ram works just fine with most boards, but you can check each motherboards site for a compatibility list of what they actually tested with if your super nervous; I wouldn't be though...you're pretty safe picking and decent ram. As far as power supplies, a good rule of thumb is, if it doesn't have a name skip it, if it's super cheap, skip it (like 750 watts 49.99 = bad !), other than that, you'll do fine, building them is really easy and the motherboard manuals pretty much tell you how to do EVERYTHING. If your not comfortable with that, the other advantage with getting it built is that it is tested for you and usually a warranty.
"Now if the 4870x2 was actually notably faster than the 280 for about the same price, then I might even take a chance on it. However, that won't be the case."-robx46
"Now if the 4870x2 was actually notably faster than the 280 for about the same price, then I might even take a chance on it. However, that won't be the case."-robx46
