Building a new PC soon

[Rico]

Well gang, I think I'm going to be building a new PC soon.  It's time.  Been researching more and trying to pick my set of parts.  This is the idea so far:

ASUS motherboard - trying to settle on model
Intel Wolfdale 3 Mhz proc.
4 gigs RAM
WD SATA drives
Video 8800 GTS or maybe 8800 GT
etc...

Video card is one of the big questions right now.  Lots of choices.  I'm also trying to decide on Win XP or Vista.  I plan on using this machine for a few years and expect I might need Vista at some point.  Anyway, advice or suggestions?

[billybob476]

I've begun thinking the same thing myself. As for the video card, I'd highly recommend the 8800GT. Overall it slightly outperforms the GTS. However as one of my earlier threads mentions, a lot of people have been having some issues with the 8800GT and WoW. Being that you play WoW and will likely continue to do so for awhile, this is a consideration.

The 9000-series (9600/9800) Nvidia cards have recently come out, so prices on the higher end 8800GTX's may come down shortly.

Two of my big question marks when it comes to a new build are the mobo (I like ASUS as well but deciding on a specific model is damn hard, a lot of them are so similar) and the case. I really don't know much about cases and considering it's the part of the machine you see the most i find people don't think that much about it.

Any ideas on the case front?

[Rico]

This is the case I am thinking of from Cooler Master.  It's a monster, has great spots for drives, kind of pricey, but I really like it:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119138

P.S.  Have you heard of any specifics with the 8800 GT's and WOW?

[billybob476]

Nice looking case for sure. If you google "world of warcraft 8800gt" you'll see some threads on the issue. I don't think it can be attributed completely to the video card but I had some issues myself when i first upgraded, with tweaked settings my frames aren't so bad now.

We have to keep in mind I'm running a Pentium D 3Ghz and WoW tends to be a more processor intensive game.

[Rico]

GAHH - I'm getting more confused as I look at more and more parts and choices.  Maybe I should just buy a Mac?  ;)

[billybob476]

Well, I take it this machine will be used primarily for multimedia work and also some gaming? Maybe keeping the purpose of the machine in mind will focus you a bit better.

Then again, a mac isn't a horrible idea either. However in all honesty I much prefer the mac laptops to their desktops.

EDIT: 1000th post!

[Jen]

Cool. David just build one for himself for editing video and playing video games. It was his first build and I think he won't ever go back to factory made again. He installed Vista, though I warned him not to. It seems to be working OK... though we haven't tried to play any games on it yet. I heard that can be a problem sometimes.

[Rico]

Yeah, once you build your own machine it's pretty impossible to go back.  This will be my main machine for everything.  I really want more horsepower for video work, gaming, etc.  I'll get there eventually, just have to make some decisions.

[billybob476]

Perhaps something to do as well is poke around some of the high end manufacutrers (Alienware and the like) and see what parts they're using. Generally not a bad place to start. I also like Extremetech.com and tomshardware.com

[jedijeff]

Good luck Rico, I am sure what you choose will be correct. I agree there does seem to be a lot of choices. For me, I usually go with an ASUS board, as I have always had good luck with them, though I guess you have to decide what model . I also like Intel processor over AMD. Never had any issues with AMD, just have a preference for Intel. I am like you in that I am planning on getting a new PC as well, and deciding what I want, my main question mark is with Video cards, and which one, as there seems to be a lot of different ones, ranging in price. I guess maybe to many choices ;) . Building PC's are a lot of fun, all my primary PC's I have used for myself have been built.

[davekill]

A machine to keep for a few years would have to be built on a 64-bit architecture. Unless software is an issue or you're planning on downsizing your efforts in the near future, it just makes sense.

I have to plan what I need – then double it just so I don't get into trouble later.
Besides – they are wicked fast!! :ohbaby

[MouseSlayer]

just blew my motherboard and had to buy new. looked at cloning a machine but price was a major issue and i figured i didn't know enough to cover all the possible compatibility issues. so i bought new. . . i hate vista.

now i have software compatibility issues and little details like it dropping my serial number to my games and not being able to play online, not remembering settings and generally being a nuisance. sorry widgets didn't seem to be worth it. so today I'm going to be trying to get my system working . . bad point if i mess up there is no reinstall disk or recovery disk to start over but i got this erecovery thing that pops up but of course no details as to what it actually DOES. I've got alot of running programs now where i don't actally know what they do or if they are more extraneous adware junk. this may take awhile.

[billybob476]

Rico, any more ideas over here? I really seriously started getting into speccing out a new rig this weekend. Having the same issues over motherboards. Have you thought about RAM? The top end motherboards are supporting DDR3 now but I was figuring DDR2 would be sufficient.

[Rico]

I'm getting closer.  I think this will be the motherboard.... (X38 type)....

ASUS MB:
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16813131219

This memory (DDR2 1066):
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16820231166

This processor (Wolfdale):
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16819115037

Still deciding a bit more on the video card but probably will be an 8800 GT.

[billybob476]

Looks like good choices to me. I hope you don't mind if I use this thread to build my machine as well!