Building a new pc - please help?

Question

FragFighter 3 Junior Poster

18 Years Ago

I'm getting a list together of what I want for a pc... can anyone help with compatibility/suggestions for hardware?
Ok, this is what I'm going to get (I'm doing up a new list completely based on compatibility) for a motherboard/proc:
Asus M2A-VM AMD Motheboard CPU Bundle - AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400+ Processor 2.30GHz OEM

And… last night while I was looking at video cards I realized, “OMG?! I don’t even know what components go into a computer, or how most of them work!” *forehead/palm* (Well, I do know a fair bit about hard drives, but that’s the extent.)
So, before I look like a total idiot, can someone tell me if this list is right? (I don't speak geek, so if my terminology is off, sorry):

Basic components of a computer:
Media drive (CD, DVD, Blu-Ray)
Sound card
Video card
Motherboard
Processor
Hard drive
Memory (RAM)
Power source
Fans (or a water cooling system)

Ok, I can't figure out where to go online to see if something is compatible with something else (yes, I have googled, asked, and webcrawled =D) so, is the
Asus M2A-VM AMD Motheboard CPU Bundle - AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400+ Processor 2.30GHz OEM
compatible with:
XFX GeForce 8600 GT XXX Video Card
or this:
ATI Radeon HD 2600 Pro Video Card
I do know that the board has built-in video and sound, but I would like a faster (and better) video card.... any suggestions?
Those are the two video cards I'm seriously considering... if they're compatible. I've already decided that the motherboard and processor are the ones I want, I'm just trying to make sure everything is going to work once I get it.

motherboard storage video-card

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Latest Post 18 Years Ago Latest Post by FragFighter

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Generated 9 Months Ago

Short answer: that Asus M2A‑VM bundle will accept a discrete PCI Express video card and the Athlon 64 X2 4400+ you listed is an AM2 dual‑core part (not a single core). The M2A‑VM is a micro‑ATX AM2 board with one PCIe x16 slot and onboard Radeon X1250; it will physically accept PCIe graphics cards. ()

Both the XFX GeForce 8600 GT and the ATI Radeon HD 2600 Pro are PCIe cards and, in typical retail variants, do not need an extra 6‑pin power lead (their board TDPs are low: roughly 47 W for many 8600 GT variants and ~35 W for the 2600 Pro). Vendor models differ, though, so always confirm the card's product page/box for a required auxiliary connector. For gaming performance, 8600 GT cards with GDDR3 and more memory tend to give better frame rates in many titles; the 2600 Pro is lower power and fine for older games. (techpowerup.com)

Practical checklist before buying: confirm the board has one free PCIe x16 (it does), pick DDR2 RAM (the M2A‑VM supports DDR2 533/667/800 and up to the board's limit), get at least 2 GB (2x1 GB) for smoother gaming, check the physical length of the video card vs your case, and choose a quality PSU. Given the published TDPs for the CPU and GPUs, a good 350 W–400 W unit with the standard 24‑pin ATX + 4‑pin 12V and several SATA connectors gives safe headroom (this is an inference based on published TDP values). If you plan a newer/odd CPU later, check the M2A‑VM CPU support / BIOS notes and update BIOS as needed. ()

Notes tied to the thread: was right to flag more RAM as an important upgrade, and 's comment about people using stronger cards on Asus boards is consistent with the M2A‑VM's PCIe slot. With a $500 target, balance CPU + RAM + GPU + PSU; pick the 8600 GT if you want a bit more gaming headroom, or the 2600 Pro if you prefer lower power and price—either will plug into the M2A‑VM, but verify the specific retail card's power connector and length before purchase.

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james1700 0 Newbie Poster · Answer 1 · 2008-08-03T20:50:41+00:00

There are reviews on tigerdirect.com with people saying they have had no problems with this motherboard and an 8800 GT card. Do you have a budget for this build or were you looking at those specific cards

rppprez 0 Newbie Poster · Answer 2 · 2008-08-05T14:01:21+00:00

if you don't have a budjet i suggest you but a way faster processor the amd 4400 is quite slow for some of the newer apps. If you want you can look up quad core and if they are too expensive try to look up at least dual core. even though the bundles might be cheap sometimes its better to spend a little more and get a better product. You can pick your processor first and then work from there. If you want a board with or w/o video or sound and memory you should at least try to have 2 gigs if it's not in budjet at least one gig

FragFighter 3 Junior Poster · Answer 3 · 2008-08-06T06:15:00+00:00

if you don't have a budjet i suggest you but a way faster processor the amd 4400 is quite slow for some of the newer apps. If you want you can look up quad core and if they are too expensive try to look up at least dual core. even though the bundles might be cheap sometimes its better to spend a little more and get a better product. You can pick your processor first and then work from there. If you want a board with or w/o video or sound and memory you should at least try to have 2 gigs if it's not in budjet at least one gig

Lol, I thought the 4400 was pretty good...
but now I'm going through and looking at all the system requirements for everything I want to run and am going to rechoose a processor based on that...
I did want to get a dual core processor, so I will look at that seriously...
My budget for this project is $500, and I'm just looking for something that will get me by for 2 or 3 years until I get the money and time to build a more serious rig.
My preferance is a board with sound, but it doesn't matter about video... I will probably upgrade that anyways.

rppprez 0 Newbie Poster · Answer 4 · 2008-08-06T06:45:22+00:00

No problem with that budjet your can get at least a 6400 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103244 cheap enough for your budjet and powerful enough for a few years of service

FragFighter 3 Junior Poster · Answer 5 · 2008-08-07T01:26:01+00:00

No problem with that budjet your can get at least a 6400 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103244 cheap enough for your budjet and powerful enough for a few years of service

Ok, I checked out the 9600, it looks good, but I also looked at some reviews on other processors, and am also considering this one:
I think I've decided on the Athlon 64 X2 5000. It's a dual core, which I like, and is newer and meets the minimum requirements (it exceeds, actually) of what I want to run on it.
Now, on to the motherboard, I guess...

FragFighter 3 Junior Poster · Answer 6 · 2008-08-07T01:32:10+00:00

Motherboards I'm looking at:

and

rppprez 0 Newbie Poster · Answer 7 · 2008-08-07T03:03:05+00:00

sounds cool i looked at both this is now what you want personally hdmi or sound or video but for what u want to do the both boards are ok

FragFighter 3 Junior Poster · Answer 8 · 2008-08-07T03:28:08+00:00

Well, the requirements for what I want to run vary, so here's what I want to run followed by the system requirements... Some of the programs I have tested on my current computer and/or my parent's gaming computer.

Battlefield 2
1.7 GHz Intel Celeron D / Pentium 4 or AMD Athlon XP/ Sempron or greater
512 MB of RAM or more
8x or faster CD/DVD drive
Video: DirectX 9.0c compatible
Sound: DirectX 9.0c compatible

Unreal Tournament 2K4
Pentium III or AMD Athlon 1.0 GHz processor (Pentium® or AMD 1.2GHz or greater recommended)
128MB RAM (256MB RAM or greater recommended)
8X CD-ROM or DVD
Windows® compatible sound card
32 MB video card required (64 MB NVIDIA or ATI hardware T&L card recommended)
DirectX® version 9.0b (included on game disc)

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
CPU Intel Pentium 4 2.4 GHz or AMD Athlon 64 2800+ processor 2.4 GHz dual-core
512 MB RAM (768 MB for Vista)
Nvidia GeForce 6600 or ATI Radeon 9800 Pro Nvidia GeForce 7800 or ATI Radeon X1800:[20]
100% DirectX 9.0c compliant card Sound Blaster X-Fi (Optimized for EAX ADVANCED HD 4.0/5.0 compatible cards)

Office 2000 and Windows XP will pretty much run on anything, and certainly on anything I get...

FragFighter 3 Junior Poster · Answer 9 · 2008-08-07T17:47:34+00:00

I'm going to go back to the 4400 because it is a decent processor; it's not dual-core, but I think the single core will be ok for now.

Samsang 0 Newbie Poster · Answer 10 · 2008-08-09T20:09:13+00:00

Why not go Intel motherboard/Intel processor and keep the money in the US for a change?

FragFighter 3 Junior Poster · Answer 11 · 2008-08-11T02:59:48+00:00

Why not go Intel motherboard/Intel processor and keep the money in the US for a change?

Because my technical advisor (my dad), who has been working on pcs for at least a decade, says that the Asus motherboards, for the most part, are the best. And although my current computer is a Pentium III, I'm far more familar with the AMDs.