Tplayer
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Building a computer, looking for suggestions
There are so many boards and processors to choose from these days. I want to build a fairly powerful computer that will support a pentium 4 processor and up to 4GB of memory.
It would be nice to find all the other hardware including a case all in the same place. Any suggestions??
To start just looking for a great baord and processor.
It would be nice to find all the other hardware including a case all in the same place. Any suggestions??
To start just looking for a great baord and processor.
>> and up to 4GB of memory << be aware that windows XP will use only 3 Gb
a nice board and processor :
Asus A8N-SLI_PREMIUM Motherboard
Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 2.4 Ghz processor
KVR400X64C3A_1G DDR400 PC3200 1024MB 184Pin CL3 Kingston memory
a nice board and processor :
Asus A8N-SLI_PREMIUM Motherboard
Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 2.4 Ghz processor
KVR400X64C3A_1G DDR400 PC3200 1024MB 184Pin CL3 Kingston memory
newegg's pretty good if you live in the US - where do you live? what is this PC going to be used for? If your going to play games then an SLI motherboard is probably what your after. You also suggest you want a P4, why is that? As nobus suggests, Athlon's seem to have the edge with price/performance at the moment. Are you thinking of setting up a raid array? In which case, a minimum of 4 internal 3.5 bays may be important which would allow you to setup raid 10.
A few more details about what the intended purpose of this PC would help.
A few more details about what the intended purpose of this PC would help.
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ASKER
I'm sorry for the general question but I've only built one computer. Dual core seems to be the way to go. The new Dell XPS I bought has 2x2.8GHZ processors. I really love it but with so many fans it's not the quietest machine in town. The video card is 12 inches long and it has two fans also.
Ok, I live in Tucson and my have to order these parts online.
I'll go with egghead.
Ok, I live in Tucson and my have to order these parts online.
I'll go with egghead.
ASKER
Would you be so kind as to give me part numbers of everything I would need to build this computer you are drooling over.
No affiliation with any of these vendors... just found the parts on pricewatch.
http://www.partspc.com/ProductDetails.asp?CatID=75&ProdID=6903
that's the combo mobo/cpu
here is detail on the mobo http://www.partspc.com/ProductDetails.asp?CatID=75&ProdID=6903#
While AMD dual core run much cooler than Intel, you'll likely want at least 2 case fans.
The Graphics Card... now, there is a question, no? I'm an Nvidia biggot, so I'd go for the 7800 gpu with a minimum of 256meg RAM. AGP 8x or PCIE are both supported on this motherboard. Again, I feel AGP is still a superior technology for graphics, but that's just my humble 2 cents, and this thread is not really the place to get into that debate - it's your choice.
Then you want to stick in 2 or three 1GB sticks of good RAM. Don't cheap on this one, get some ULTRA or other good brand cas2 memory.
If you're just going to play games and such, the integrated sound should be fine.
choose a case that has at least 4 mounting points for fans, and when you install them make sure they're blowing in the right directions! you don't want to create an area of pressure in the unit (positive or negative pressure. Example, if you mount front fans, they should blow in, rear fans blow out.
If you get a case with a power supply, make sure it's at least a 450w.
Those are my 2 cents. I'll be building a system like this in the summer - after I get my taxes back and get the house painted... (wife says!).
John
http://www.partspc.com/ProductDetails.asp?CatID=75&ProdID=6903
that's the combo mobo/cpu
here is detail on the mobo http://www.partspc.com/ProductDetails.asp?CatID=75&ProdID=6903#
While AMD dual core run much cooler than Intel, you'll likely want at least 2 case fans.
The Graphics Card... now, there is a question, no? I'm an Nvidia biggot, so I'd go for the 7800 gpu with a minimum of 256meg RAM. AGP 8x or PCIE are both supported on this motherboard. Again, I feel AGP is still a superior technology for graphics, but that's just my humble 2 cents, and this thread is not really the place to get into that debate - it's your choice.
Then you want to stick in 2 or three 1GB sticks of good RAM. Don't cheap on this one, get some ULTRA or other good brand cas2 memory.
If you're just going to play games and such, the integrated sound should be fine.
choose a case that has at least 4 mounting points for fans, and when you install them make sure they're blowing in the right directions! you don't want to create an area of pressure in the unit (positive or negative pressure. Example, if you mount front fans, they should blow in, rear fans blow out.
If you get a case with a power supply, make sure it's at least a 450w.
Those are my 2 cents. I'll be building a system like this in the summer - after I get my taxes back and get the house painted... (wife says!).
John
oh, and my original comment - 500mb hard disk.. LOL.. I ment 500w power supply - my son was talking when I typed that. I'd go with some Seagate 300gb drives - now that they have SATA those are COOL.... and 5yr warranty. But again, that depends on what you're going to do with it. IF it's just going to be a gaming PC, one 300gb Sata will probably do, or you could go the 2 drive route and get a 74gb 10krpm drive for the OS and swap file, and the 300gb for all your data.
John
John
Go to their motherboard area, you can narrow down your search based on your needs....!