build a computer

[ringfort]

I have been playing with the idea of making a computer specificaly for playing AH2.  Any ideas on specs or how to go about it would be apreciated.

And again thanks to those who helped me with my crashing problem (computer i meen)

Ringfort

"lets do it to them before they do it to us".

[Schutt]

Wait till the new m2 socket AMDs are out, will probably be a small leap but the current stuff should drop in price a bit.

[Smiggyy]

Hi, just a quick guidance note on PC building.

Its all about getting the combination right.

Its a marriage of processor speed, memory capacity/speed and rpm of the hard drive, dont let a slow hard drive ruin an otherwise perfect system.
Make sure you research your GFX card too, dont buy into a high memory GFX card only to find that the GPU lets it down. Do the homework first.
Trawl the sections in here for advice.

Partition your hard drive and place windows only on the C:\
Store your data, files and programs on the D:\, that way if anything goes wrong with windows you can simply reformat the C:\ partition and all data, settings etc will be safe.
BACK D:\ THINGS UP TO CD/DVD ONCE A WEEK.


Try to get hold of a copy of mini-xp, its a cut down version with all the cr*p removed and can sometimes use only about 50MB of memory when running.
Do a CTRL ALT DEL after you close down all the background processes on normal XP and see what the memory load is to compare.
Tested mini-xp at work and its great, specially if the system is only going to be a gaming one.
Has no IE, no media player etc, but must stress only really for use as a gaming platform.
You'll need to add DirectX after install, altho I'm sure there's a version floating around with it installed less the usual garbage.

You'll find it on torrent, Limewire etc.

Finally other things to note:
Get a low memory usage firewall, stay away from Norton.
You're safe to close down your Anti-virus packages while playing AH but you will always need the FW running.
One really good, low memory, FREE anti-virus we've tested which has a very very small memory footprint and high scan speed is AntiVir, free and excellent for home usage. Has all VB100 awards recently and costs nothing.
Firewall cant really go wrong with ZoneAlarm basic, free and easy to setup.

Hope this is of some benefit to you.

Smiggy

[Hap]

ring, i built one 4 years ago.  bought motherboard, cpu, memory, and vid card from newegg.  used old cd drive and floppy drive from old box.  bought a box from cool cases.

still works too

hap

p.s.  if you know how much you will spend, call up newegg, tell the fellow how much you will spend, direct him to this BBS, let him scan a bit and ask for his recommendations.

jot em down and run 'em by some of the guys (not me) who know what's what and you'll get some advice.

[Krusty]

Originally posted by Schutt
Wait till the new m2 socket AMDs are out, will probably be a small leap but the current stuff should drop in price a bit.

Also, you should probably wait for Intel's Conroe chip to be released (if it's not already? I think it's coming out in a month or two). It blows away the competition so far.

It all revolves around the CPU. Pick your CPU. Then find a motherboard that takes that chip and supports that chip. Then when you've narrowed your mobos down to that chip type look for options on the motherboard including ram type, video card port type, and any PCI or SATA features you want. The RAM depends on the motherboard (which depends on the CPU). The vid card depends on the motherboard AGP/PCIe (and again the motherboard depends on the CPU). So the CPU influences which mobo you get, which then influences your RAM type, ram capacity, video type, and so forth. Thus I say, choose the CPU first. Work your way out from there.


Then get a fast HD. SATA is better than IDE any day. Trust me on that. I went from a 20GB IDE to a 110GB SATA. It rocked my world.

[ringfort]

Hi Schutt, thanks for the advice read your stuff had to rest for 20mins it was exausting.  But will follow the advice, to the letter.

many thanks

Ringfort:D

Germany to win the world cup:aok

"lets do it to them before they do it to us"

[GunnerCAF]

Here is a tip, never wait for the next greatest thing.  If you need to build one, build it.  Once you start building your own, you will find it gets easier to upgrade every few years because you can use good parts from your old PC.

I like to check Sharkyextreme to start with.  It has some comparisons between Intel and AMD and the price changes over the last month.

http://www.sharkyextreme.com/guides/WCPG/index.php

Gunner

[Schutt]

Hey ringfort i only wrote one line guess you mixed me up with smiggy but all he wrote is correct and good advice