Need help on my next project.

[ZealEmpire]

Well everyone I am on the verge of a new project which involves buidling an uber gaming rig.  Right now my computer is pretty good but there is a whole slew of new games I am looking forward to in the upcomming months which will be a bit too much for my specs to handle.  Right now im a 3ghz with 2gb of ram and a Radeonx800 256mb card.  

Option A.
Purchase an empty case from scratch.  Build it up from the ground new everything
Option B.
Buy a new case (since mine is in rough shape) change out mother board and processor and add the other hardware back in.

Tbh I have been wanting to build my own computer from scratch for the longest time especially now that they have such nice cases you can buy.  What would you guys say is the biggest pain when building your own rig?  Or the biggest drawback.  I have heard that ASUS boards are the best to use but honestly processor wise is where I am stuck.  I have always been pentium with the dells I have owned but how does the current line of AMD's stand up to the Pentiums?  I think of myself as a moderate i.t. guy but I dont know if I am good enough to build one.  I plan on using tigerdirect.com for the primary site to order from.  What do you guys think of them?  Looking forward to hearing back fromy ou guys thanks alot.

-Chris

[GX1_Man]

The only guarantee is that whatever you buy today will be obsolete tomorrow. Picking individual pieces  should be done when you are ready to buy, not before.

I can't imagine what the system you describe having can not play, but  if you recycle too much you will be bottlenecking new technology that you will purchase in the future. If the major thing you want is a new case get that.

If you have never built a system, a $1500  "uber system" may not be the place to start. Tigerdirect sells a lot of stuff and has their share of fans, and not.

[ZealEmpire]

Yeah I know how stuff becomes obsolete but as long as its good hardware it will last me a long long time for what I have to do with it.  What do you mean if I recycle too much I will be bottlenecking?  If I buy all new hardware wouldnt you think that would limit capatability issues rather than mixing old with new?

[GX1_Man]

If you need all new hardware then go ahead.

New motherboards need new CPU, they may take different RAM, you will have to get a new video card, and it will need a better power supply. Old hard drives are slower.... well, you get the idea.

[panboy]

I just Built Me an Uber System, I went For an AMD2 64 X2 4600 Cpu , and a Gefroce 7950GX2 , and an MSI mother Board

Ill say tho, Ive Been Hearing that the New Intel Chips out Do the AMD's , but the Difference is Negligible.
My GFX card was Stupid Expensive, and left me only being able to buy 1gig of ram. and it Runs Very hot. Case fans are all at High Speed to keep it cool

the Case i bought was $150 an Antec Slient Case, its very Nice loads of Space , Easy Mounting and Midnight black With None of those Stupid Lights, or See trough Bits.

And all of this will be out of Date in a few months.

Damit my Work Printer has gone and Went Berserk

[ZealEmpire]

Basically all I am stuck on at the moment is a motherboard...to keep it a little more simple I would like to get a motherboard/cpu combo pack so I know there wont be an issues of incompatibilty.  As for the case I have one picked out It has alot of fans an proper ventalation and I believe the power supply that comes with it is a 500watt which is more than enough.  I am probably going to be looking to get a  512mb video card which is going to be insane ammount of money.  As for the brand I have heard half the people say radeon the other say nvidia...The only real issue is just the darn board and processor...Any suggestions?

[GX1_Man]

If you get a "kewl" case with an "el cheapo" power supply you WILL be sorry. A lot of expensive components have been damaged by inferior chinese junk.

In any case save your pennies. AMD will be dropping prices shortly, probably by the end of the month.