Need alot of help on my new comp.

Case: Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
Motherboard: Up to you
GPU: Prefer single card
PSU: Up to you
CPU: I have heard quad is not fully used during MMO play so im guessing dual
RAM: 4 gigs dunno what brand
HD: Im thinking 1 160 gb 7200rpm and 1 80ish 10000rpm as ive heard a lot about using 1 for OS and 1 for games
OS: Vista 64bit
Im gonna be using a 20 inch LCD.Already have mouse/keyboard and have no use for a sound card.

My current comp has seen better days and I want to get something that will allow me to play MMO's on med to med-high settings,I do not need a top of the line system.Only budget factor is cheap as possible Thanks to all for any input.

P.S.This is my first build so im hoping everything will just click together

A couple things:

DO NOT USE VISTA! IT IS THE EVIL DESTROYER OF COMPUTERS! Stick to XP

I prefer corsair brand RAM, i've had great luck with it.

Look at tigerdirect.com to see if they have a pre-built comp you like, they have great prices and i've had great experiences with them.

If you do end up building your computer, don't worry it is really easy, if you have any trouble you can always ask us or check out some videos on youtube.

Vista isn't THAT bad Balamac- i got Vista 64 and its fine.. just get the SP1 version i think it is with the updates already on the disc.

Newegg.com is where I got all my parts- check it out. I got the e8400 Wolfdale cpu(fast dual core for not that much $$) I don't know what kind of GPU you want but you can get a good 8800 for a hundred bucks prolly, which will play pretty much anything.

Corsair and Crucial are both good memory companies. But from experience (I own a computer shop) I would go with Kingston memory if you are looking at just normal speed memory. If you are going with the XMS style then yah .. go with something like Corsair. The low end on those two I have had to return alot of and depending on the brand of motherboard it can have problems with. You can always look at the motherboard you are buying and it will havea recomended memory type.

Just trying to be helpfull here =)

Vista is getting better but I myself do not build any computers with it , As for the CPU and such well any of them is good really. The 8400 is a screaming CPU for the price you can get them for, but then AMD has never been a horrifying processor either.



How Much are you really looking to spend on one ? $700 or so ? or $1000?

well im looking from $900-$1100...I heard from a shit ton of people that is easy to build your own and the price savings is huge so I figured I would give it a shot

i have had bad luck with the P43/P45 chipset. I should have gone with the nforce 780i. If I had to rebuild, which i most likely will, I will probably get an evga 780i mobo...maybe even the 750i. Here's some reviews: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813188024

The Asus P5Q has been getting good reviews with the P45 chipset and it's moderately priced.

I fell for a Fry's special and was able to get the Crucial Ballistix Tracer. They are pretty sweet looking...here you can see the video in all its glory.



Memory:
OCZ, Crucial and G.Skill have been good to me. But so has Patriot, PQI and Geil.

Great choice on the case. I am an Antec Disciple.

now..Vista...I have been using Vista 32bit for about 3 months now and I can honestly say that I don't like it as much as XP. I am still on the fence if I'm even going to stick with it. It's just not a pleasing to work with as it is with XP. ..just my humble opinion.

CPU:
I agree...I recently switched sides..lol. I used to go full AMD but Intel has had some screaming cpus for a few years now. As Noz and Daloan mentioned, the 8400 is a sweet processor for the price. Unless you do rendering, video or graphics, I dont think you'd have the need for Quad. But hell, if it's in the budget, go for it. Personally, I am using the e6600 and waiting just a little bit more for the Q6600 to drop in price. With the new Nehalem chip coming out in a few weeks (or months), they should all drop in price somewhat.

video card: My son has the ATI 4850 and the graphics are very very nice in AoC and WoW.
I'm using an 8800GT and it looks nice as well. For gaming, I would perfer to buy the ATI 4850 but I need Geforce for my other hobby...tinkering in 3d.

In the end, almost all high end cards deliver.

Good luck!

EVGA boards are very dependable. We have used those in several machines we have built and have not seen any issues at all. As far as video card goes, well .. that is one of the easiest things to upgrade as needed. You could get by with a card liek the 9600 EVGA and be very good graphics.

Antec cases I like, Antec power supplies I hate. After replacing about 50 or more of them I am done with using any Antec power supplies. I would recommend going with a Thermaltake PS 500w or more depending on what all you put in the machine.

I have an evga mobo with nforce 790i ultra chipset and i love it. i also agree on the corsair ram being very nice. I run vista with no prob whatsoever but if you do decide to go vista just be prepared to build a better comp. Theres nothing wrong with vista its very nice and in my experience more stable but it has a larger footprint therefore you need newer more powerfull parts to run it. That said vista 64 with direct x 10 and a 9800gx2 is heaven. And as far as cases i use nothing but xclio, mine right now is a 380 and i love it so much. I have a thermaltake toughpower 850w psu.

So here is what I have so far.....

Case: 119.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129021

Motherboard: 239.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813188024

GPU: 119.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130334

PSU: 124.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817153049

CPU: 169.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115037

RAM: 73.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820134193

HD: 149.99/44.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136033

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136112

OS: Vista 64bit

Ok total is 1043.92

Now is there anywhere I can get more bang for my buck so to say....

SumatranRatMonkey wrote:So here is what I have so far.....

Case: 119.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129021

Motherboard: 239.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813188024

GPU: 119.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130334

PSU: 124.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817153049

CPU: 169.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115037

RAM: 73.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820134193

HD: 149.99/44.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136033

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136112

OS: Vista 64bit

Ok total is 1043.92

Now is there anywhere I can get more bang for my buck so to say....

You may need DDR2-800 RAM.

If this is what I had to play with, I would get the 750i and put the difference in a better video card. The older 8800GT performs a little better then the 9600GT. Not to say its horrible by any means but maybe a 9800GT or better would put it at a sweet spot for me.

Everything else looks pretty good.

ok so here ar the changes.....

GPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130380

RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145184

Motherboard: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813188026

New total is 1036.93 without any of the rebates....Onky question I have is the Vid card only had 4 reviews...why so unpopular???

SumatranRatMonkey wrote:ok so here ar the changes.....

GPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130380

RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145184

Motherboard: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813188026

New total is 1036.93 without any of the rebates....Onky question I have is the Vid card only had 4 reviews...why so unpopular???

This is only a theory but there is a batch of cards that are so closely matched that it makes no sense to upgrade. So in other words, one with say a 8800GT might not "upgrade" to a 9600GT or 9800GT. It wouldn't make much financial sense. The "significant" upgrade would be a 9800GTX, GTX260 and GTX280. Even then, the upgrade from a 8800GT to the 9800GTX isn't that much more. But yes, the newer model that is slightly better then the 8800GT is the 9800GTX but it's not enough to justify the upgrade...in my opinion.

I don't want to suggest that you get an 8800GT just because I have one but it is an awesome card for the money. You might have to spend $200+ for the 9800GTX to get comparable results.

Take a look at this chart.... http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Leadtek/GeForce_9800_GTX . When I was looking at getting a video card , it was between the 9800GTX and the 8800GT. I decided to get the 8800GT and save the $50 some odd dollars. The review has some test results as well. The review is correct to say that it's hard to compete either of these cards with the ATI 48XX. Like I said, my son has the 4850 and it simply looks very very nice.

I hope others chime in....I don't want to look bias...LOL.

You might even consider moving up to a 9800 GTX or 9800 GTX+. Here is the GTX+ and you can even get them overclocked and super overclocked models from EVGA. This is the link to the basic EVGA 9800 GTX+. It will give you a little more bang with higher memory clock, core clock, and stream processor speeds than the 9800 GT. The cost for the basic model at Newegg.com is $199 and then $209 and $229 for the over clocked and super over clocked models.

SumatranRatMonkey-

Take a look at this:

Best Video Cards For The Money: August '08
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/best-graphics-card,1987-3.html


The Best Video Card for your money: July 2008
http://www.hardware-revolution.com/the-best-video-card-for-your-money-july-2008/


The prices might be a little dated but you get the picture.


btw...

Newegg has this one for sale and if you don't mind it being non-modular:

CORSAIR CMPSU-550VX 550W $90
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139004

It's gotten decent reviews.

Thanks for all the help It will be about a month till I make a buy so I will probably change my mind 30 times till then. But yall pointed me in the right direction.