**New Build Guide**
- Thread starter worshipme
- Start date
russell1423
Baseband Member
- Messages
- 26
Think you could add some more builds for higher budgets? Also, A site that ships to canada?
BUILD YOUR SYSTEM
The big decision here is choosing a motherboard with the right chipset. Typically consisting of two chips (the Northbridge and Southbridge), the chipset determines various factors such as memory speeds, expansion-slot capabilities, and bus speeds. Intel, AMD, and nVidia are among the chipset manufacturers you'll encounter. The easiest way to determine the features of a chipset is to look at the motherboard's feature list. Chipset characteristics will be reflected by the board's capabilities: how many graphics-card slots are offered, whether Serial ATA (SATA) drives are supported, how many networking ports are available, and so on. If you want to use the newest technologies, such as processors with a fast front-side bus (FSB) or multiple graphics cards, you'll need to pick a board with a chipset that that supports them. We suggest sticking with the latest chipset revisions, such as Intel's G, P, and X series; nVidia's 630i and 750/780i; and AMD's 7-series. Choosing motherboards based on these newer chipsets will give you the latest features and possibly spare you from having to replace your motherboard in 18 months when you're ready to upgrade again.
MEMORY MATTERS
If you're using memory from your previous computer on your new motherboard, choose a board with DDR2 memory support (unless your old PC is really ancient and uses plain old DDR—at which point, it's time to buy new RAM). High-end Intel-chipset boards are available in both DDR2 and DDR3 memory-slot varieties. DDR2 memory remains dramatically less expensive than DDR3 for the moment, but DDR3 offers faster speeds and the most potential for future upgrades. A few manufacturers, such as Gigabyte, offer boards such as the GA-X38-DQ6, which has sockets for both DDR2 and DDR3, allowing you to use older memory now and upgrade after prices drop.
Currently, Intel-based boards are the only ones that can make use of DDR3 memory, though AMD plans to introduce support for the new memory in 2009.
THE SLOT MACHINE
Gamers looking for top graphics per-formance will want to ensure that their motherboard offers at least one PCI Express (PCIe) x16 graphics-card slot. You can increase graphics performance further by installing multiple graphics cards. Unfortunately, while you can drop a single graphics card from any manufacturer into your graphics-card slot, current motherboards that can host multiple graphics cards support either nVidia's Scalable Link Interface (SLI) or AMD's CrossFire technology, but not both. Thus, if you want support for more than one card, you'll need to decide whether you're going to opt for SLI- or CrossFire-compatible cards and choose a board accordingly.
The newest motherboards let you go even further by adding up to three (3-Way SLI) or four (CrossFireX) video cards. You'll get the best performance if all of your video slots support x16 communications. Some dual-slot boards, such as those based on the Intel P35 chipset, run the second card in x4 mode, significantly slowing down multicard operation.
You'll also want to check that there are enough remaining slots to support any other cards you want to add. Many boards have plenty of PCIe slots, which often go unused, but skimp on slots that support the fading PCI standard. If you're building a home-theater PC and want to add, say, a pair of PCI TV-tuner cards and a PCI sound card, you'll need to ensure that your system has three open PCI slots, and that none of them is blocked if you're using a double-width video card.
SIZE MATTERS
Obviously, you need to make sure the board you choose will fit in your PC's case. Full-size motherboards use the ATX form factor, which defines standard dimensions for the board, as well as placement of mounting holes, components, and expansion slots. You can generally swap out any ATX board for another, though some variations in component placement can make for difficulties in small or nonstandard ATX computer cases. Also, some PCs from major manufacturers such as Hewlett-Packard and Dell use custom case-and-cooling combinations that might prevent installation of third-party motherboards.
MicroATX boards use the general ATX design, but they include fewer expansion slots, allowing for a shorter board that can fit in a smaller case. These are popular with builders of home-theater PCs, who are creating small computers for placement in their stereo racks.
Recent years saw a push to create a new standard, BTX, which moved board components around and dropped the power supply to the bottom of the case, with the aim of improving thermal management inside the PC. With the advent of cooler processors and buyers' resistance to a new standard, however, we're not seeing new BTX boards on the market.
POWER PLAY
One component that's a key companion to your motherboard—and one you're likely to need to replace if you're upgrading to a cutting-edge motherboard—is the power supply. Not only might your new setup require more wattage than the one it's replacing, but it might also use different power connectors. A few years ago, power supplies attached to motherboards using a single 20-pin ATX connector; now, that connection has grown to 24 pins. Then a second connector was added, commonly referred to as an "EPS/ATX12V" connector. It first appeared in a four-pin version, then with eight pins. All of the motherboards here require 24-pin ATX connectors, and while some can get by with the four-pin version of the EPS/ATX12V cable, a few require the full eight pins.
Your best bet is to purchase a power supply that's flexible. We used Corsair's new TX750W supply when testing boards for this article. It offers plenty of power, and, like with many new power supplies, both the ATX and EPS/ATX12V connectors are split into 20+4 and 4+4 pin configurations, accommodating motherboards old and new. It also includes four PCIe graphics-card connectors in a 6+2 configuration, allowing it to accommodate the newest video cards in CrossFire or SLI modes.
Don't skimp when buying a power supply. Though you can find generic power supplies with prices as low as their wattage ratings are high, these often don't provide clean, stable power. An inexpensive power supply may promise lots of watts, but once you start loading it up with hard drives, video cards, and a high-end processor, it may not pump out the necessary voltage. This can result in unpredictable system crashes and other reliability problems
The big decision here is choosing a motherboard with the right chipset. Typically consisting of two chips (the Northbridge and Southbridge), the chipset determines various factors such as memory speeds, expansion-slot capabilities, and bus speeds. Intel, AMD, and nVidia are among the chipset manufacturers you'll encounter. The easiest way to determine the features of a chipset is to look at the motherboard's feature list. Chipset characteristics will be reflected by the board's capabilities: how many graphics-card slots are offered, whether Serial ATA (SATA) drives are supported, how many networking ports are available, and so on. If you want to use the newest technologies, such as processors with a fast front-side bus (FSB) or multiple graphics cards, you'll need to pick a board with a chipset that that supports them. We suggest sticking with the latest chipset revisions, such as Intel's G, P, and X series; nVidia's 630i and 750/780i; and AMD's 7-series. Choosing motherboards based on these newer chipsets will give you the latest features and possibly spare you from having to replace your motherboard in 18 months when you're ready to upgrade again.
MEMORY MATTERS
If you're using memory from your previous computer on your new motherboard, choose a board with DDR2 memory support (unless your old PC is really ancient and uses plain old DDR—at which point, it's time to buy new RAM). High-end Intel-chipset boards are available in both DDR2 and DDR3 memory-slot varieties. DDR2 memory remains dramatically less expensive than DDR3 for the moment, but DDR3 offers faster speeds and the most potential for future upgrades. A few manufacturers, such as Gigabyte, offer boards such as the GA-X38-DQ6, which has sockets for both DDR2 and DDR3, allowing you to use older memory now and upgrade after prices drop.
Currently, Intel-based boards are the only ones that can make use of DDR3 memory, though AMD plans to introduce support for the new memory in 2009.
THE SLOT MACHINE
Gamers looking for top graphics per-formance will want to ensure that their motherboard offers at least one PCI Express (PCIe) x16 graphics-card slot. You can increase graphics performance further by installing multiple graphics cards. Unfortunately, while you can drop a single graphics card from any manufacturer into your graphics-card slot, current motherboards that can host multiple graphics cards support either nVidia's Scalable Link Interface (SLI) or AMD's CrossFire technology, but not both. Thus, if you want support for more than one card, you'll need to decide whether you're going to opt for SLI- or CrossFire-compatible cards and choose a board accordingly.
The newest motherboards let you go even further by adding up to three (3-Way SLI) or four (CrossFireX) video cards. You'll get the best performance if all of your video slots support x16 communications. Some dual-slot boards, such as those based on the Intel P35 chipset, run the second card in x4 mode, significantly slowing down multicard operation.
You'll also want to check that there are enough remaining slots to support any other cards you want to add. Many boards have plenty of PCIe slots, which often go unused, but skimp on slots that support the fading PCI standard. If you're building a home-theater PC and want to add, say, a pair of PCI TV-tuner cards and a PCI sound card, you'll need to ensure that your system has three open PCI slots, and that none of them is blocked if you're using a double-width video card.
SIZE MATTERS
Obviously, you need to make sure the board you choose will fit in your PC's case. Full-size motherboards use the ATX form factor, which defines standard dimensions for the board, as well as placement of mounting holes, components, and expansion slots. You can generally swap out any ATX board for another, though some variations in component placement can make for difficulties in small or nonstandard ATX computer cases. Also, some PCs from major manufacturers such as Hewlett-Packard and Dell use custom case-and-cooling combinations that might prevent installation of third-party motherboards.
MicroATX boards use the general ATX design, but they include fewer expansion slots, allowing for a shorter board that can fit in a smaller case. These are popular with builders of home-theater PCs, who are creating small computers for placement in their stereo racks.
Recent years saw a push to create a new standard, BTX, which moved board components around and dropped the power supply to the bottom of the case, with the aim of improving thermal management inside the PC. With the advent of cooler processors and buyers' resistance to a new standard, however, we're not seeing new BTX boards on the market.
POWER PLAY
One component that's a key companion to your motherboard—and one you're likely to need to replace if you're upgrading to a cutting-edge motherboard—is the power supply. Not only might your new setup require more wattage than the one it's replacing, but it might also use different power connectors. A few years ago, power supplies attached to motherboards using a single 20-pin ATX connector; now, that connection has grown to 24 pins. Then a second connector was added, commonly referred to as an "EPS/ATX12V" connector. It first appeared in a four-pin version, then with eight pins. All of the motherboards here require 24-pin ATX connectors, and while some can get by with the four-pin version of the EPS/ATX12V cable, a few require the full eight pins.
Your best bet is to purchase a power supply that's flexible. We used Corsair's new TX750W supply when testing boards for this article. It offers plenty of power, and, like with many new power supplies, both the ATX and EPS/ATX12V connectors are split into 20+4 and 4+4 pin configurations, accommodating motherboards old and new. It also includes four PCIe graphics-card connectors in a 6+2 configuration, allowing it to accommodate the newest video cards in CrossFire or SLI modes.
Don't skimp when buying a power supply. Though you can find generic power supplies with prices as low as their wattage ratings are high, these often don't provide clean, stable power. An inexpensive power supply may promise lots of watts, but once you start loading it up with hard drives, video cards, and a high-end processor, it may not pump out the necessary voltage. This can result in unpredictable system crashes and other reliability problems
metin
In Runtime
- Messages
- 364
ok for the $850 to $1000 gaming PC build
SAPPHIRE 100245L Radeon HD 4850 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card
is there any other gpu thats better, at about the same price because I have heard that nVIDIAs are better than ATIs, I'm not trying to start a big topic here lol.
But I'm probably going to...
SAPPHIRE 100245L Radeon HD 4850 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card
is there any other gpu thats better, at about the same price because I have heard that nVIDIAs are better than ATIs, I'm not trying to start a big topic here lol.
But I'm probably going to...
Infrared1
Baseband Member
- Messages
- 91
It depends.
One year ATI may make some great new card that blows away Nvidia's current cards, or Nvidia may do likewise. Take for example, the GTX 280 was the best single card out on the market until ATI unleashed the HD 4870 X2. Nvidia will come out with the GTX 290 which will be better than, the GTX 280 and maybe better than the 4870 X2.
So there really is no "best". Nvidia usually targets top-of-the-line users and they produce the most expensive, powerful cards. ATI tries to target the average user and bring great cards out at a very decent price. If you want my advice go for the best price/performance card out there. Currently the top in price/performance is the 4850 in many people's opinion, including my own. If you want the "best" you can get currently buy the 4870 X2. As for any gpu that's the same price but better; at $20.00 more and about the same is the 9800 GTX+.
Holysky
Fully Optimized
- Messages
- 3,692
Case: GIGABYTE 3D AURORA GZ-FSCA1-ANB Black Aluminum ATX Full Tower
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811233002
This is just a suggestion as the choice of case is based on personal preference. But I'm sure that nobody will be disspointed with this case.
That link is broken
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811233002
This is just a suggestion as the choice of case is based on personal preference. But I'm sure that nobody will be disspointed with this case.
That link is broken
PlayinSumWoW
Beta member
- Messages
- 5
First off, I'm new to the forum and have NEVER done this before
, so I apologize for my lack of knowledge and stupid questions. but:
Is it possible that I run Mac OS Leopard on, say, the $500 build; or would it have to be Windows?
If I still have the monitor from an ancient Dell Inspiron 4100 PC, can I use that until i find something better?
and, finally, will a PCI sound card like this one: http://pro-audio.musiciansfriend.com/product/MAudio-Delta-1010-LT-PCI-Digital-Audio-System?sku=701376 , work in the setup?
Thanks a million for your patience, and sorry for my lack of computer knowledge.
, so I apologize for my lack of knowledge and stupid questions. but:Is it possible that I run Mac OS Leopard on, say, the $500 build; or would it have to be Windows?
If I still have the monitor from an ancient Dell Inspiron 4100 PC, can I use that until i find something better?
and, finally, will a PCI sound card like this one: http://pro-audio.musiciansfriend.com/product/MAudio-Delta-1010-LT-PCI-Digital-Audio-System?sku=701376 , work in the setup?
Thanks a million for your patience, and sorry for my lack of computer knowledge.
