StarDestroyer.Net BBS

I am getting a budget gaming computer. How does this look?

AMD Athlon 3200+
NVidia GeForce 6800XT 12ppls
1 gig Cosair value memory
80GB WD HD
380w Seasonic psu
ASRock Dual Sata 939 mobo
Cooler Master Cavalier case
Lite-one combo disc drive

the total is about $660 on Newegg.com w/o shipping.

Upgrade to the Athlon64 3700+ or a Dual-Core Athlon if possible.

I can't afford to go over $1200, and I am also buying new monitor, mouse (Logi MX518), keyboard, and network (wireless.) Maybe I could overclock? BTW, the 3200+ is still superior to the P4 @ 3.0 GHz, right?

Edit: How good is the 6800XT relatively to the rest of the 6800 series?

Manhatten Project wrote:I can't afford to go over $1200, and I am also buying new monitor, mouse (Logi MX518), keyboard, and network (wireless.) Maybe I could overclock? BTW, the 3200+ is still superior to the P4 @ 3.0 GHz, right?

Depends on what you're using it for, but probably.

Edit: How good is the 6800XT relatively to the rest of the 6800 series?

Significantly weaker. The 128 version is actually slower than a 6600gt!

Another victory for nVidia's naming scheme!

Manhatten Project wrote:I am getting a budget gaming computer. How does this look?

AMD Athlon 3200+
NVidia GeForce 6800XT 12ppls
1 gig Cosair value memory
80GB WD HD
380w Seasonic psu
ASRock Dual Sata 939 mobo
Cooler Master Cavalier case
Lite-one combo disc drive

the total is about $660 on Newegg.com w/o shipping.

Is there a particular reason you picked that motherboard? Why are you getting an AGP motherboard? You should really be looking into PCI-Express.

And you do know that an extra $50 would literally triple your hard drive space, don't you? And even if you don't go that route, why not go with a manufacturer that will offer a five year warranty on the drive, like Seagate?

Manhatten Project wrote:I can't afford to go over $1200, and I am also buying new monitor, mouse (Logi MX518), keyboard, and network (wireless.)

What kind of monitor are you looking at getting? How big a monitor do you want? Is power consumption a concern?

Einhander Sn0m4n wrote:Upgrade to the Athlon64 3700+ or a Dual-Core Athlon if possible.

I really don't think the 3700+ is worth the extra ~$65. If he's going to put more money into that system it should be going into a better video card and motherboard.

Like a 6800GS. (Note that eVGA offers lifetime warranties on their products.)

I would like to point out that the 6800XT i am getting is 256 Mb of memory, plus, it has the same amount of pixel pipelines as does the rest of the 6800 series.

Manhatten Project wrote:I would like to point out that the 6800XT i am getting is 256 Mb of memory, plus, it has the same amount of pixel pipelines as does the rest of the 6800 series.

Then it depends on what game you're playing.

Anything from BF2 to C&C Renegade to AOE II.

Why are you looking to get the XT and not the GS? Are you aware that there are no 6800XT cards that are AGP?

Uraniun235 wrote:Why are you looking to get the XT and not the GS? Are you aware that there are no 6800XT cards that are AGP?

My mobo supports both.

Okay, which leads us back to why are you getting an AGP video card and motherboard?!

Uraniun235 wrote:Okay, which leads us back to why are you getting an AGP video card and motherboard?!

You dipstick. The XT is PCI-e x16, while I got the mobo because it was cheap, and could support both.

Just a bit of advice, the 7800gt is a really sweet card right now, it's about 300 bucks (go zipzoomfly for free shipping ) and it's just a great card for the price.

Another bit of advice: Don't bite the hand that feeds, then shit where you sleep, ManhattEn.

InnocentBystander wrote:Just a bit of advice, the 7800gt is a really sweet card right now, it's about 300 bucks (go zipzoomfly for free shipping ) and it's just a great card for the price.

I can't afford that high.

Einhander Sn0m4n wrote:Another bit of advice: Don't bite the hand that feeds, then shit where you sleep, ManhattEn.

Thanks for accentuating the 'E'. Sorry about the 'dipstick' comment, but I wasn't reading close enough. I will try to be less inflammatory.

Manhatten Project wrote:I can't afford that high.

Said you can't go over 1200.

Monitor you can find on slickdeals for around 200, 40 for mousekeyboard, that's 900, the 6800xt appears to be around 150, so another 150 to that total is 1050; leaving you with plenty of wiggle room. It's your money, of course.
Alternatively the x2 3800+ is about the same cost of an upgrade, but I think a 7800gt will be a bigger performance boost.

InnocentBystander wrote:

Manhatten Project wrote:I can't afford that high.

Said you can't go over 1200.

Monitor you can find on slickdeals for around 200, 40 for mousekeyboard, that's 900, the 6800xt appears to be around 150, so another 150 to that total is 1050; leaving you with plenty of wiggle room. It's your money, of course.
Alternatively the x2 3800+ is about the same cost of an upgrade, but I think a 7800gt will be a bigger performance boost.

Add the network and shipping, and I am very, very, close.

Network cards are like 20 bucks, try pricing some components on ZipZoomFly.com, can usually get free shipping from them, sometimes for sub newegg prices to boot.

InnocentBystander wrote:Network cards are like 20 bucks, try pricing some components on ZipZoomFly.com, can usually get free shipping from them, sometimes for sub newegg prices to boot.

I need two, plus the router.

Manhatten Project wrote:

InnocentBystander wrote:Network cards are like 20 bucks, try pricing some components on ZipZoomFly.com, can usually get free shipping from them, sometimes for sub newegg prices to boot.

I need two, plus the router.

I recommend the Linksys BEFSR41. I have one,mm and have had little difficulty with it after getting it set up.

Einhander Sn0m4n wrote:

Manhatten Project wrote:

InnocentBystander wrote:Network cards are like 20 bucks, try pricing some components on ZipZoomFly.com, can usually get free shipping from them, sometimes for sub newegg prices to boot.

I need two, plus the router.

I recommend the Linksys BEFSR41. I have one,mm and have had little difficulty with it after getting it set up.

I already have the router figured out. It is a ZxYEL one, perfect for a home network. Thank you also for being helpful and civil.

If you require 2 network ports, might look into searching around, many NF4 PCI-E motherboards now include 2 network connectors.

Another note: NF4 PCI-express boards can be found at as slow as $57check here

Manhatten Project wrote:Add the network and

Onboard networking.

Any modern motherboard should provide at least 1 gigabit network(at worst only 10/100) port which has near-zero impact on CPU usage. Otherwise it isnt worth it, because the rest of the feature set is shitty.

While Asrock isn't a bad brand (it is Asus' budget line), I don't exactly trust ULi chipsets. Try to see if you can afford an NF4-based motherboard and stick with PCIe.