Building A New Computer.

So, I've got a few hundred bucks and I'm wanting to put together a new computer for FFXIV. The problem is, I haven't done anything computer-y in close to a decade. I know how to build them (did that plenty as a teenager), I just haven't kept up-to-date on the tech, so I have absolutely no idea what's considered 'good' anymore. I'm especially clueless when it comes to the newer graphics cards and on how much RAM I need to run newer games.

I'd like to make this an all-purpose gaming computer, something that will handle pretty much any game I throw at it for the next few years, if that's possible for this price range (<$1k.)

I did some surfing on TigerDirect.com and found a few deals. Here's a packaged kit that goes for ridiculously cheap. The gimmicky ad makes me wary that it might be junk, though. (Why hype it with a costumed superhero when the specs are good, amirite?) I like the video-out feature, but I'm unsure if 2GB of RAM is good enough (and at 800MHz? is that considered fast these days? God, I sound like an idiot) or if the Radeon 4350 is a good card.

If not, any suggestions?

2GB is kinda bare minimum for anything anymore, if you plan to have this computer perform decent for any length of time, the minimum you should go with is 4, but I myself would do at least 6, just to be sure.. 4350 isn't terrible, but it's not great either.. A 5770 can be had for about 150 bucks, and that's more then decent.. For CPU, I'd look no lower then Core i5, although if you're planning on this rig lasting for years, and you got the extra money, you might as well go ahead and get the i7..

EDIT: My current system is 9GB RAM, Core i7 and a 1GIG HD4870, I've yet to run into any game that I can't ran at max, and I don't sacrifice game performance to run it at high settings either. I haven't tried it yet, but I imagine GTA IV might give me some issues, but that was a horrible port riddled with problems anyways.

Awesome. I'll take a look at some Core i7-compatible motherboards and see what I can put together. For $150, the Radeon 5770 sounds like a plan.

Are there any particular brands of RAM I should be looking at, or does it matter?

The only issue I've ever seen with brands of RAM, is a somewhat common issue of finding a defective stick in the cheap stuff.. I've never payed much attention to the brand name of RAM, but remember, you get what you pay for.. If you can spare the money to get the better stuff, might as well go for it, but if you need to go cheap with the RAM, it's not usually that big of a deal, just a pain in the *** if you have to return it through the mail for a replacement if you get a defective stick.

Also if you get the cheap ***, and it seems to be working fine, then your computer just craps out, first thing to do is check the RAM, at least for me.. Checking that first has saved me who knows how long looking elsewhere for a problem that didn't exist anywhere else.

how much did that comp cost you?

I didn't actually build this one, it's an ASUS I was just giving him an example of what type of computer can run any game without worry..

It cost me just over 1k.

damn 1k..that sounds like a lot to dump on a comp..how long do you think it'll last though?

and what does ASUS mean? >< I'm not comp savy at all

Quite a while, 2-3 years at least.. I've spent about 1k on my last 3 computers, and they've all lasted about the same amount of time.. They'd probably last even longer, but I'm a heavy smoker, and after a couple of years all the smoke starts to take it's toll..

I'm finding some cool stuff that supports CrossfireX and SLI. Just did a quick google and read up about these and it sounds brilliant (not sure why I haven't heard of it before.) I can only afford 1 graphics card at the moment, but I might want to invest in a second later and I like having that option open. However, the boards I'm finding that support it are almost $100 more than others that don't. Is this really worth it?

It's not necessary like I said, my system has yet to find a game it can't run at max, and I'm on a single 4870

ASUS is a company. They design motherboards, graphics cards, etc.

I found a nice $99 one that, unless it's total crap, I think I'm going with.

This is what I'm looking at at-the-moment:

Mainboard (that front side bus strikes me as a bit low, am I going to feel that?)
CPU
RAM
GPU

I built this system in 2002. Asus Mobo I think I remember the FSB being 2gb while the CPU itsself is am AMD x2 (dual core thus the x2), 4gb of some generic RAM, 2 SATA HDDs in RAID0 (300gb stripe), a shitty GeForce 8400x256, 500w P/S, a DVD burner, (I forget the speed and I'm THAT lazy that I won't lean over and look but will type this instead), all thrown into an Antec case with 5 LED case fans.

Built it for someone who turned around and didn't want it. I charged them all but $250 for the parts. Think it cost me around $600 to build after parts/shipping.

Look at what the site has and cross-check that with what else the site has this will fit.

Ex: I want a Socket 754 board. I go look at Socket 754 CPUs and then RAM for the board, then Video, then the rest, in that order.

I would also suggest AMD as they're just super reliable and live forever.

Also don't forget that CPUs have a suggest 200 hour "break-in" period so before you go over-clocking, you need to make certain you've broken it in nice and proper, or at the very least, don't push it too hard and keep a close eye on the temperature which brings us to Thermal Grease; I suggest Arctic Silver.

Make sure you get yourself a good flow of air through your box to keep that power-house of a CPU cool. Spending a few bucks extra here, can save you a lot down the road.

Make a point to clean out the box regularly and not allow dust to become an issue, and a basic system like that - I still have yet to have an AMD system die on me.

I have Socket As that are still running strong and those are just Sempron sets. One is an Athlon which has been my preferred chip of choice because it's the strongest you're going to get in the AMD line without moving into the Opteron series and whatever else might be out this year. I haven't looked in a while.

Edit: Forgot to mention the Mobo is an Asus M2N-E and this system, while being the minimum suggested, is rightfully so - becoming too weak to be good for higher end gaming.

http://www.101comp.com/ is another good site, imo better than Newegg & TigerDirect in most ways.

hmmmmm

Never actually owning a desktop myself, i just went out and bought brand new. I've saved since hearing of release. I *** hate Sony so PS3 wasn't an option. I also ran FFXI one a 360 and a shitty acer laptop that crashes once a day. But these are the specs ( don't mind the C and P)

Processor Intel® Core™ i7 Processor 930
Motherboard Intel X58 Chipset
(PCI-E x16 + x16, OR x16 + x8 + x8, OR x8 + x8 + x8 + x8)
Graphics ATI Radeon HD5850 / 1G of GDDR5 memory
Memory 3x2G 1600MHz DDR3 gaming memory
Hard Drive 500G SATA
Optical Drive 22x DVD+/-RW
Chassis Cooler Master CM 690 II Advanced
Power Supply 850W Power Supply
Operating System Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit
Warranty 1 Year Parts & Labour

I'm also without a monitor now and searching around for a decent one. But with that said, I'm not even sure what I'm looking for. I was assuming 1080p with 120gz refresh? Correct me if I'm HELP I AM TRAPPED IN 2006 PLEASE SEND A TIME MACHINE; any input would help.

And also, what's the deal with running dual monitors? I'm interested to know.

Should be fine, I have the same speed FSB, my CPU (i7 920) is a bit better, but I don't even take advantage of it fully, therefor, for all practical purposes, you're installing the same CPU as I have while we both have the same FSB.

Here's my tower: http://reviews.cnet.com/desktops/asus-essentio-cg5290-bp007/4507-3118_7-33703094.html incase you want to compare anything to it later on (video card it came with has been replaced with my 4870 though)

@Wackatramp, (I'm basing all this on gaming, there are other uses for it) basically 2 monitors just gives you 2 desktops, making it much easier to dualbox on (in FFXI it meant running windower and putting one window on each desktop, then instead of having to switch between the windows, you could just look at one monitor or the other) or if you're running a long complicated quest for instance, you could put the game window on one monitor and bring up the walkthrough on the other, again, instead of having to switch between windows you could just glance between the two monitors.

For hardcore gamers, it's a plus, but it's basically wasted on casual gamers.. Most modern gaming cards now come with dual monitor support as default, nothing special you need to do or buy (other then a second monitor) you just plug both monitors into their respective ports on the card, and go to your video cards configuration utility (on ATI it's CCC) and set it up there, takes all of 2-3 clicks, nothing complicated.

As for your other question, I can't tell you.. I never really pay attention to any of that with my monitors.. But then again, I'm not the type to demand the absolute best viewing experience, I've never been one to be too concerned with the visual aspect of gaming, I'm always far more focused on the content of the game, no amount of graphical beauty can distract me from how crappy a game is if the devs neglected the content aspect.. Far Cry 2 and Just Cause 2 are prime examples of that.