PC shopping question

[Variol (Farseer) Elmwood]

Sorry, I couldn't find the other threads on this. I was just messin' around, building a system on Greenlyph:
http://www.greenlyph.com/new/compbuild.php

That's where I got my current PC.
Here's what I have so far:


I don't need a HDD. I will take it from my old one.

Do I need a sound card or is it on the MB anyway?

Does it have networking on the MB? Does it come standard?

General thoughts on the processor, MB, memory and video card would be a help. I will also transfer the CD & DVD drives.
The case & power supply would be helpful as well.

doh, Heroes is on..!

Just a brief quick response, I'll be more thorough when you have time.

All motherboards have integrated audio, so you don't technically need a sound-card. Sound-cards really should go the way of the dodo but they haven't yet. Sound cards still provide a higher level of audio, but it is all a matter of preference.

All motherboards have built in network adapters as well. Networking shouldn't be a problem.

For a video card if you want a low-end card, consider a AMD 4670. Great price/performance. A 9600GT will work well too.

[Variol (Farseer) Elmwood]

Thanks,
I wasn't sure about the network/audio thing. Mine has it, but it's 5 years old.

Looks like they don't carry the AMD video card.

[Ilander]

Honestly speaking, you might want to think about a new optical drive...now, I'm not saying get a blu-ray drive, but a new DVD-Burner will almost certainly be much faster than an old one (if you have one)...and if you don't have one, they're pretty cheap.

Also, courtesy of Newegg.ca, you might think of a Radeon 4670 or a Geforce 9600 GT.

But, anyway...I'm really happy that Newegg Canada is up and running now! I don't know if it will have the best prices you can find, but it always does here in the U.S.

[Variol (Farseer) Elmwood]

I do next to no burning anyway, so it is minor concern.

[Harkoliar]

if your pc is 5 years old most likely your HD would be just as old. Check the motherboard to see if it still supports IDE settings. Else nowadays its Sata2.

oh unless its wireless connection, then lan is standard onboard function nowadays

[Variol (Farseer) Elmwood]

The drive is SATA. I bought it 2 Christmas' ago.

Some other questions Variol

What kind of gaming are you looking to do with this machine? None at all or a lot (including new/upcoming releases?). Also what is your monitor resolution? Knowing that will help decide what an appropriate video card.

Also do you have a budget limit? How much are you looking to spend? Can you give a range?

For case/power supply. The case is largely user aesthetics and what appeals to you. Many people are partial to the Antec P182 case. I'm going for a Gigabyte Mars case. It is fairly recent, and ever since eyeing it I fell in love with it. When I build my new rig that is my case of choice.

A reputable 500W power supply is all you'd need I reckon.

[Variol (Farseer) Elmwood]

I play mostly turn-baser strategy & RPG's. All my games are a few years old, or more. If I build a gaming machine it will do everything else anyway.

I don't care what the case looks like; I plan on looking at the screen.

Right now I'm at 1024by768 32bit resolution. I could go higher, but why bother.

I know I should not skimp on a good power supply.

I don't want to spend more than $500.

[Ilander]

Here is a good build for you...

What it does well:
Word Processing, internet browsing, virus scanning, video and photo editing, video viewing, folding@home, and any number of other tomfollery.

What it does reasonably well:
Play older games, as the onboard graphics from ATI are actually capable of running Oblivion, on somewhat reduced settings, at your resolution.

What it does not do well:
Play high-end modern games at resolutions other than 1024x768, with high settings...

BUT, you have upgrade room to fool around with, and should you find yourself in need of more power later, you can drop in quite a few graphics cards without any modifications to my recommended PSU...like the ATI HD 4670, or an nVidia GeForce 9600GSO, which are both good choices at around the $100 canadian mark.