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General discussion

should i buy or build?

Jan 1, 2005 10:28PM PST

i want a new computer...i need something more highend than not(play eq2 on it) so should i buy one or build one...i heard people that build have problems "all the time" and i know a little about them but not all that much...the only thing about buying one..is what i want in it..i dont care about what the case is as long as its big and i dont need a large harddrive(i have a 60 gig harddrive with over 67% availble) but i want a good videocard.ram.and athon 64...so thinking it might be better to build..anyways if you have any ideas or good place to buy one...or a good list of what i need to build one please let me know...thank u much

Discussion is locked

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If you are going for a 64 bit AMD
Jan 1, 2005 11:46PM PST

be sure to get the socket 939 CPU and Mobo. Which CPU and which mobo depends on the money you can spend.

One place to shop is http://newegg.com

To read about the mobo's and CPU's go to http://www.tomshardware.com and or http://www.anandtech.com

The articles give all of the info needed to make a decision.

They'll also have articles on video cards.

Also go to some of the gamers sites to read opinions.

If you get a copy of a gamers magazine or Maximum PC you will see many ads for places to buy complete gaming machines.

Remember these new CPU's get hot as hades and cooling of the CPU, memory, and video card are very important so don't get a small case. Have room for many fans.

Good luck and make a great choice.

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build build build
Jan 3, 2005 6:53AM PST

I have always built my systems.
I just bought a amd 64 3000+ and a epox motherboard yesterday for $235 total. I got them by checking the price at WhoSave.com, you can try it. You can save a lot of money building yourself. if you don't know what to buy, just check out what the big companies use to put together a high end pc.
note: the one big problem with building is that you need the software. hopefully you can use the software you have from your other pc.

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Build
Jan 3, 2005 5:49PM PST

You already have some good advice. Newegg.com will get you your parts. RE software, you probably can not use your OS from your old computer, do not try to pirate XP, they do keep records and after one installation and registration you must either get a second user licence or pony up for a new copy. So figure $90 +/- for a new copy of XP SP2. An AMD 64 3000 is not that expensive, get 1G of RAM and a card of your choise.
Start with the CPU, match the MB to that, then get memory to work with the MB. Do not cut corners on cooling. Spend $40 not $4 . Your HD should be ok. See you in Quenos

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a good list
Jan 4, 2005 8:42PM PST

ok i plan on building one.. so i need a complete list of what i will need..if anyone knows a good site plz let me know