PC set up help needed badly!

[CDN-SMOKEJUMPER]

Okay so this is a series of questions as this is my first computer that was not my parents and I think it’s pretty good but I’d like to know for sure. I’m picking it up in the next day or two when it’s ready and I’d like some advice on getting Battlefield going without any hiccups.

First imagine someone who knows a only marginally how to use a PC other than office programs and gaming and you’ve got me. Basically, I’ve never set up folders and organized files and such so some advice on that would be nice. Anyway, I’ll start with my specs and tell me what you think and maybe what to watch out for more or less it’s hardware I know least about. New drivers and such confuse me and I’ve no idea how to do it properly for example.




Cooler Master Ammo 533
MS Windows XP home
AMD Athlon 64 x2 3800+ 64bit, dual core, skt 939
400w PSU
LG DVD RW+/- 16x double layer
Cooler master neon Led case fan
Corsair 0512MB DDR, 64MX64 x2 <------------ getting another 1000 in a month
WD 160 GB Caviar SE SATA300, 7200rpm 8mb
ASUS EN7600GT/2DHT, 256MB
ASUS A8N-E, nForce4 Ultra, sk939 ATX, SATA, 8ch, Glan, PCIe



All this part is what get’s me confused, what is this stuff and what does it do?. Also what setting do you think the will run the game at and do you see any problems coming up?

So when I first get the PC set up what should I do and then go from there. Thanks everyone I’m sure you’ll get me killing quickly (maybe) and I hope smoothly.

[Scinto]

Re: PC set up help needed badly!

Cooler Master Ammo 533 > Case (holds all the parts)
MS Windows XP home > Operating Systems (allows you to run games/programs)
AMD Athlon 64 x2 3800+ 64bit, dual core, skt 939 > Processor (the brains)
400w PSU > Power Supply (Power)
LG DVD RW+/- 16x double layer > Optical Drive (Allows to read/write Cd/Dvd)
Cooler master neon Led case fan > Fan (Cooling)
Corsair 2x 512mb DDR > Ram (part of brains to)
WD 160 GB Caviar SE SATA300, 7200rpm 8mb > Hard Drive (Storage)
ASUS EN7600GT/2DHT, 256MB > Graphics (Pretty colours/pictures)
ASUS A8N-E, nForce4 Ultra, sk939 ATX, SATA, 8ch, Glan, PCIe > Motherboard (main componant, with on board sound)

dont know if that was what you meant and dont mean it to be too sarcastic

i dont personnaly like nVidia cards so wouldnt know exactly what to run it on but id take a guess at something in and around medium to high

[CDN-SMOKEJUMPER]

Re: PC set up help needed badly!

Cool thanks yeah this is what I wanted.

I found out that this is a 2 Ghz processor but a lot of you have higher? My question is what is the point of having dual core then? Is this a good enough processor to get the gaming performance I want?

Any ideas on setting it all up such as memory allocations I’ve heard people mention and where to do that? Anything conflicting and that I should watch for? Later when I know what I’m doing and possibly overclock will I need to get another fan or cooling accessory?

All advice is welcome!

[lil_jimmy_norton]

Re: PC set up help needed badly!

Don't get socket 939, AM2 is out now.

[CDN-SMOKEJUMPER]

Re: PC set up help needed badly!

Which means?? Sorry..
It's a new processor that I'm getting isn't it?

edit/ This thing is costing 1152 and I'm not rich so please keep that in mind for any suggestions in changes to be made. I'm paying in a few hours so any ideas now are still fine!

I just read some reviews about the processor and it’s seemed positive. Is it worth getting a dual core over a faster single? Will the dual core be an advantage both for gaming and replacement due to it getting obsolete over a faster single core?

Do you really notice a performance difference between say 2 and 2.6 Ghz?

[Scinto]

Re: PC set up help needed badly!

Don't get socket 939, AM2 is out now.

i guess your made of money the processors for that socket are expensive,, and Smokejumper has a budget,

Dual core is simply a single processor acting as if there was 2 of them, spliting the tasks, and should be perfectly fine with Bf2

[imported_Wreck]

Re: PC set up help needed badly!

i guess your made of money the processors for that socket are expensive,, and Smokejumper has a budget,

Dual core is simply a single processor acting as if there was 2 of them, spliting the tasks, and should be perfectly fine with Bf2

AM2 processors are the same price as socket 939, or in some cases cheaper.

Dual core for AM2:

http://www.monarchcomputer.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=M&Product_Code=120994&AFFIL=pricewatch&NR=1

Motherboard:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813130050

or

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813130049

Memory:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820231063

Get one now, and one later.
or

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820231071

Video card:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814130283

Power Supply:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817103937

Hard Drive:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822136009

You're whole list revised by me, excluding the processor is $762 shipped in my newegg shopping cart. Add $299 shipped for the processor from Monarch and you get:

AM2 system for $1061 shipped.

P.S. Forget about pretty colors when you are on a tight budget.

This is US prices, but I see you are in Amsterdam? It would help if we knew what site you were buying from.

[Scinto]

Re: PC set up help needed badly!

one i saw was for 700+ a/w from various sites ive not seen many AM2 mobo/processors in stock

[LoD]

Re: PC set up help needed badly!

Looks like he already had some local shop build his computer... too late i guess. In 2-3 weeks all the AM2 should be avaliable everywhere.

[CDN-SMOKEJUMPER]

Re: PC set up help needed badly!

Looks like he already had some local shop build his computer... too late i guess. In 2-3 weeks all the AM2 should be avaliable everywhere.

Don't you just hate that.....
Oh I looked at ordering online from the states but a lot of places will not mail outside of North America and I'm not too confident in putting a pc together.

Thanks all.