BF2S Forums first build

well, get a better video card.
is it dual channel memory? and at what speed is it?

you might want a better power supply, this one might be good for now, once you start upgrading it wont be enough. it would be a waste of money to sped 34 dollars now, and 60 next year. do yourself a favor, buy a good power supply now, that has 90% efficiency, this cools it better.

if the budget allows it get a decent soundcard. something like creative audigy 2 or higher (yes, im addicted to saying that)

are all places in the case for fans beeing used? if not, buy good silent fans.

yeah definately go for socket AM2 or move to the Intel Core2 Duo E6300.

If you choose eithr AM2 or Core2 you have to get DDR2 ram.  If you get AM2, make sure to check mobo/ram compatibility because many AM2 owners have reported problems with incompatible ram.

Save up for a bit more and you could do quite a bit better:

Core 2 Duo E6300 - $183
GeForce 7600 GT $160
Biostar TForce P965 Deluxe  $135.

DrM wrote:

On the note of fans, I would not use the fan that come with the CPU, spend an extra $15 on a good CPU fan.




DrM

using any fan/heatsink other than the provided will however void your warranty.  if you arent overclocking stock cpu fan/heatsink are fine.  MAKE SURE TO USE THERMAL PASTE it makes all the difference in the world.

I'm not gonna spec anything out...just offer opinions.

You can even overclock the later Athlons with the stock HSF.  I was so happy to go back to a stock fan and get rid of the noise of those uber-fans on the older Athlon XPs.  With the A64, I was able to turn off most of the case fans too, so my computer is much quieter now.  I'm thinking of getting a Zalman video cooler just to get rid of the noisey stock Nvidia cooler on my 7800.  You don't have to go nuts on case fans either.  A good input and a good exhaust fan is all you'll need beyond good airflow inside the case.

I too will recommend the 2gb of ram.  It's a noticeable improvement in a few of the later games.  Not so much of a difference anywhere else though...at least in typical home computer use.  I have a 512mb stick of Super Talent memory in one of my home servers, and although it's super cheap, it has been fine for light server use.  I can't say how it handles being pushed hard though.  I'm an OCZ/Corsair fan, but to each his own.  Newegg currently has a deal on Corsair XMS 2gb for $187 AFTER rebate, or 94 bucks for 1gb Ballistix.

Only get a X-fi or some such audio card if you want EAX.  Beyond that, the performance hit for integrated sound isn't that big.  For BF2, just set it to medium sound quality, and it'll probably be better than what you have now anyway.  When I dropped the soundcard for integrated sound, I think I lost 4fps as long as I don't use EAX.  That's not enough to even notice.  I boycotted Creative years ago, so I offer no opinion on the Audigy/X-Fi series cards themselves other than google searches show LOTS of problems with crackles and pops.  Considering your buget, there are better things to spend your money on.

I'm not familiar with Rosewill PSUs, but I know they sell make moderately low-end stuff.  I'd do a little more research just to be safe.  Is it 400watt continuous?  If it isn't, I'd consider something else if you plan to upgrade later and keep it.  Better to spend a little more now and have a PSU that's good for the long haul IMO.

You'll be able to play all the current games with that 6800 at reasonable settings.  You can get a 7600 for 20-30 bucks more though.  I wouldn't want to spend much more right now, because as others have said, you'd be better waiting for a nice DX10 card on down the line.

If I were in your shoes, I'd try to get the best video card I could, that Ballistix memory (or the 2gb set if you could), and a decent PSU, the rest sounds fine for your budget.  If you can get a cheaper motherboard that isn't SLI, it might not be a bad idea.  SLI is fine if you want horsepower NOW, but by the time you're ready to get a new video card, DX10 cards will be out and you're not going to want to buy another 6800 or some such.  I made this mistake already with SLI and a single 7800GTX.  When I buy another video card, it won't be another 7800, it'll be something DX10 capable (crysis and such is my only justification) and the 7800 will go to my wife's PC.

Most of all....Good luck and have fun building!

Forget about DX10 cards entirely.  given the budget you are working with, they will be considerably out of your reach.  Expect a return of $500+ cards when DX10 is released.  Everyone saying to wait could be compared to saying "don't buy that Toyota Camry, the new Jaguars will be out next year", that's fine but if you can't afford a jaguar now you probably won't in 6 months either.    Just get the best GPU you can afford and hope it will manage until you can afford to build another system (which is why I recommend at least a 7600GT, anything less will leave you short with newer games).

Last edited by ShotYourSix (2006-08-11 22:03:33)

About those CPUs...I don't think you'd notice the difference while using either.  If you can put that 40 with the 50 you're under the 600 mark and put that extra 90 on another 1gb of ram, it would be well worth it (since I don't know what the different in the SuperTalent vs PQI is...I'm just suggesting options).   ...moreso than the small increase in cpu speed which you probably wouldn't notice without benchmarking anyway.

Buy the 6800GS that is one sweet card, and in some ways I think it is better that a card in the 70.

Last edited by stef10 (2006-08-12 03:06:15)

a fly wrote:

keep dreaming, it will take a long while before xfi drops that hard.

X-Fi's sell on eBay for 35 quid - DO YOUR RESEARCH.

Mow a couple yards or something and earn the 30 bucks more   Or if your parents are willing, ask if there's something you could do around the house to earn the money at home.  Put in a good, hard effort to show them you really want it.  Hopefully, they'll appreciate that you're trying so hard.

Last edited by InnerMonkey (2006-08-12 21:07:12)

Wait a second...if you only have to pay $300 and your dad pays the rest, couldn't you spend as much as you want without going completely overboard becuase it's over $300 anyways?

Ok reading around I noticed that most people are bashing AM2, saying there is no performance increase. If thats true would it be better to build s939 instead of AM2? Mobo, RAM, CPU are just a little cheaper as well but it might be enough so that I could get the 7600GT.

Do you think it will atleast still be availible for the next few years?

Just a question b/c looking at a lot of reviews and looking at numerous tech sites AM2 is kind of getting slammed.