Building a PC

My son is running e machine 2.8 intel cel. He is into Gameing. I would like to buy the parts to build a better PC, and show him how to build it.Need to see what you all suggest on the Mother Board and CPU.I'd like to get a Mb that's good for gameing and that also can be up graded in future. I'd like to stay around $400 for just the motherboard & CPU.We'll deal with the video card later. Thanks alot for your time. Chuck

 

Gaming and want to upgrade in the future - points to athlon 64 and a socket 939 motherboard.
Recommend Asus, Abit and Gigabyte for these sorts of boards, and athlon 64 3400+ for gaming at the minimum really.

 

personally i'd hold off on a athlon 64 right now, maybe in 2years when prices come down more and when it starts becoming a necessity.
you can get some really great 32-bit cpu's from AMD for amazing prices now, im running on a barton 2800 from 2years ago and game and it's incredible still.
stick to AMD though, you're not paying as high a price as you would with Intel...just for the name.

 

What? No with AMD you're not spending out at all! I saw a 64 cpu OEM, 3200+ for £85 this morning, you can't call that expensive.
They also pack in more power for gaming and you're ready for 64bit apps that are coming in.

 

I have to disagree with that,you should never hold off and wait for prices to come down,theres no point,unless theres a definite price cut announced in maybe a week or two,you start waiting in the chip business and you'll be waiting forever.

Its best to buy what you can afford,any A64 chip will smoke an xp in gaming,combined with the latest nf4 boards,pci-e,dual channel memory and on die memory controllers,the extra perfromance of the new chips is around the same as the percentage price difference.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131540

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103533

 

I'd agree with McAdam... I'm building up an Athlon 64 box right now, and know it'll most likely grow with my needs in the immediate future. I don't do a lot of gaming, but I'm a developer (web and c/s) and need a decent amount of power for Server, SQL Server, complex web apps, etc... Cost-wise, you can build a decently powerful box for under $1k (US$).

 

Thanks for all the replys, I think i'm going with what Rikky posted . Ihave a Asus MB on one of our PC,and it's been a good one. I"ve never build a AMD,so this gives me a good reson to see how AMD performs.My son is 12 and I think it's time for him to build his PC, since he on it ALL the time. IT"S good to know you all are here for us if we run into any troubles. Thanks to you ALL. Chuck

 

While 64 means nothing to me really, AMD will out perform Intel everytime. I've never had any trouble with an AMD based system, and nothing but problems trying to work with Intels.

 

I have P4 3.2 on my PC and when I record movies or do DVD"s mine HEAT"s up fast,but added cooling fans to fix this,but at first it was a pain in the but. I am runnig intell on the three other PC and no problems. I"m going AMD this time. Thanks Chuck

 

Well I have to disagree, only becaue paying more close to $200 is a bit much, for a processor most applications don't really need JUST yet.
I say 64 bit will be fine in 2years and start becoming the standard but right now, a lot/big majority of the applications dont' require them YET.
Developers realize not EVERYONE can afford or wants to get a 64bit processor .
Hence the reason i'd wait a bit longer till it starts becoming the norm.
While the "geek" community likes the 64 or has it, doesn't represent the general population in terms of what people have or are buying (pre-built computers, your IBMs, HPs, Sonys, Dells ...*blahhh*).
But by then, guess what, prices will be lower than what he would pay for now.
The cyclical process of computer components are usually around 2years or so...so......
But that's just me of course, I got steals on my CPU/mobo/vid-card...ludicrous prices all because I set a goal for what I knew would be right, waited for them, and bang, came down within a year or so...
At least it's safe to say we both appreciate AMD

 

reply with quote

 

I disagree with this view as Intel and AMD have their own advantages, you can't say one is better than the other.

 

from the amd website

jak3y,I think you have a misunderstanding of the way the chip works,just because it says 64 bit and is running in a 32 bit enviroment its not like your losing half the performance or only utilizing half the chip,its just a marketing ploy to let corporations/end user know if they upgrade thier computers to a64 chips today or a year ago,they will be able to use the windows vista without upgrading thier computers again

 

I can say it, that just doesn't make it true. I've never had an Intel processor that I didn't have trouble with. Even my AMD's have given me trouble, but nothing on the same level as when I running Intel's.

 

You know, depending on which video card your getting, and what your video card budget is, I'd go with getting him an eVGA 7800GTX PCIe video card. It's the best video card out right now, and you get a free eVGA nForce 4 SLI motherboard, which is totally future upgradeable. Total cost is 550 for the bundle at zipzoomfly.com. Again this is assuming you want to get him a decent video card too, thats a 150 dollar motherboard for free so the overall cost is pretty good. Also the Athlon 64 3500+ Venice is a good choice for the cpu, it's only 220 bucks. If you can swing a bit extra the Athlon 64 3700+. which is what I've got now, has a buttload of oc potential and is a newer core, San Diego. The 3700+ is around 265 right now.

 

i understand that, im just saying that why pay for 64 when there aren't many applications that require it YET.
in 2-3years sure why not, but by then the 64 you have today, will cost a lot less then, and for the same money you pay today, you can probably get a lot faster cpu at the time...i know the argument will be it's like paying double if you buy a sempron today (a mediocre one at that) then a 64 bit in 2years, but, one valuable lesson i learned while working with the "geeks" at $hit Buy (i mean Best Buy, that always happens sorry), is never buy top of the line anything, because it will get replaced in 2-3years...good rule of thumb, and makes sense to me...just my 2cents..