Fellow geeks, Help me build my new computer

[ScottTheFish]

Ok, it's new computer time. I build all my own but it's been over 2 years and I haven't kept up with the hardware stuff like I used to.

Here's what I know so far:
- $1200-1300 budget
- AMD proc(64 bit? is it worth it yet? Any software taking advantage of it?)
- 1 GB RAM
- already have a 2001FP, so no monitor.
- I want best bang for my buck, not the absolute fastest available. Buying the fastest cpu/vid card available is for suckers. double the price for 10% more performance, no thanks.
-no interest in overclocking, etc.

I need advice on mobo/chipset, I want onboard sound, LAN, USB 2.0, etc.

cpu speed, whats the best speed right now for price/performance balance?

Best bang for the buck video card...always been a Nvidia guy, but I could go either way, no holy wars, please [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img] I do some gaming (HL2,Doom3, etc) so I need something pretty beefy. Dual DVI would be good, but not mandatory.

Appreciate any advice.

[ScottTheFish]

bumpitty?

[Token]

Go to Tom's Hardware Guide.

[Jimmything]

ASUS MOBO
P4

Dont forget this

I put this together recently with a dual 120GB raid 0 config. and 1GB of DDR2 ram. Radeon X700 vid card. It screams...

[eejit]

http://www.sharkyextreme.com/guides/...le.php/3491051

[jetsg4]

Well... bang for buck and good performance.. i agree with the previous poster on using newegg.com, i have cut almost every other vendor i had since i started using them, they are great. i hate intel and don't think their cpu's are a good value for their price/perfomance. the only time i use an intel is if i have a client that will not use anything else.. but 99% time i let them check out the AMD boxes i have and they change their minds. so, anyway.. i just built a system with these items and it rocks, and will be well under your price point...

CPU - http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...502&depa=1

MB - good, http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...469&depa=1
better, http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...530&depa=1

Ouu.. so nice, this case is awesome... if you have the means, i highly recommend you pick one up..
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...023&depa=1

usb2.. the good board has 8, the better one has 10.. i hope those are enough.. both are rock solid and badass.. some people don't like the ATI chipset though..

either way, i would definately pick up a couple of fast SATA HD and utilize the RAID, don't skimp on the power supply either, you'll regret it.

this is a great power supply, and the fan control matches that case perfect and fits like a glove behind the door
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...007&depa=0

anyway, thats a good start, and if you get all of this, you've only spent about 500... if you need any more input or help, you can email me @ jetsg4@yahoo.com or message me on msn @ the same

Good Luck

[Bulbarainey]

For AMD64, the 64-bit isnt really taken advantage of, although you can get 64-bit Mandrake and a beta version of Windows XP-64.... but the thing that's more important that the AMD64 does is more things in less cycles, and performs better in a lot of games....usually better bang for your buck too. As for video cards, I usually get ATI, but this time around the 6800GT seems to be the best price/performance... Don't spare the 20-30$ on your mobo, get a quality brand board and try to get PCI-E, ive wasted a lot of time on crappy boards

[Terry]

If I were building a system today, I’d use the Asus A8N-SLI Deluxe. With good Corsair low latency RAM, it is ready for easy upgrades to a faster CPU, SLI video, and Raid.

The BFG GeForce 6600 and 6800 cards are very good bang for the buck. Get one now to stay in budget, add another later for a super upgrade after the price comes down.

That’s what I would do.