any recommendations?

[macewank]

so i'm building a new PC.. got a few parts in today (case and video card) but still have a few components to put in...

here's the build i have now

Case: generic case with a couple 120mm fans and a 350wt PS.
CPU: 939 Ath64 3200+ (BI process)
Ram: 2x 512mb Crucial Ballistix PC3200's
Video: PCI-E Nvidia 6800GT

now.. my main question is the motherboard. right now i'm pretty much buying an ASUS A8N-SLI Deluxe, with plans to put another 6800 GT in the machine at some point later this year.. however, ASUS recently released a VIA pci-e board (without SLI obviously) and i've been told that might be a better option.. any thoughts?

also, any thoughts on the various other things is welcome as well... if im going to spend upwards of 1400 bucks on it (which i am) i'd like to get as much cost efficiency out of it as possible.

 

[ribbon13]

Goto the motherboard forum and see how many threads there are with people having problems with the A8N-SLi

 

[Fern]

Hi macewank and Welcome to the Forums!

First - Get a good quality PSU (ex. Enermax or Fortron). Too many posts about peeps having instability or, even worse, fried components from a cheap generic PSU.

Go look for posts by a member named Zebo, he just posted a pile of benchies with diff ram on 64bit system. Word is that expensive ram is a poor-bang-for-buck investment with these systems. Save yourself some $

Fern

EDIT: HERE'S a link to Zebo's post

 

[macewank]

wow.. lol

seems like a lot of the issues are either from overclocking or just flat out the newness of nf4 (drivers and the like havent matured to the point of solid stability?) neither of those are huge considerations as my intent with this is the long haul (at the very least, 1.5-2 years... what a long haul!) and i dont have any immediate plans to overclock...

edit: Hey Fern.. thanks for the welcome I have a Thermaltake 480W Silent PurePower in the CPU i'm using now that i wouldnt mind swapping out with the 350 in my new case if necessary.. would you recommend that, or would it be ultimately worth it to plunge the extra cash on one from one of the companies you suggested...

 

[ribbon13]

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=17-103-478&depa=0
No frills, kick ass 36A on 12v, Active PFC, made by Fortron PSU.
or get a PCP&C 510W SLi

Take a look at this mobo.
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=13-136-151&depa=0

 

[macewank]

hmm.. the board is appealing.... as is the power supply (assuming the TT one i have wont cut it) i'll have to think those over.. the board not being in stock kinda hurts (checked pricewatch, monarch says 3/1.. im looking to have this done a bit sooner than that) so i'll have to see if i can find something.. may even find one cheaper /shrug.

anything else?

 

[ribbon13]

As much as i like newegg, this is $50 more at newegg
http://www.monarchcomputer.com/Merchant...Code=190659&Category_Code=nvidia-PCI-E

 

[macewank]

gotta pick and choose ... newegg is way steep on some things, monarch is steep on some things, yadda yadda

 

[Fern]

Originally posted by: macewank
wow.. lol

seems like a lot of the issues are either from overclocking or just flat out the newness of nf4 (drivers and the like havent matured to the point of solid stability?) neither of those are huge considerations as my intent with this is the long haul (at the very least, 1.5-2 years... what a long haul!) and i dont have any immediate plans to overclock...

edit: Hey Fern.. thanks for the welcome I have a Thermaltake 480W Silent PurePower in the CPU i'm using now that i wouldnt mind swapping out with the 350 in my new case if necessary.. would you recommend that, or would it be ultimately worth it to plunge the extra cash on one from one of the companies you suggested...

If it was me I'd put that stroger PSU is your new rig.

I also really like that PSU Ribbon13 linked. IIRC there's a Fortron 530 watt for $80

 

[macewank]

alright.. so i think this is where im going for now.. i'll add the PS later as i'm not really wanting to add anything else at htis point (i've been told the TT PSU will hold what im running right now, but once i SLI i'm going to need more)

Processor: AMD Athlon 64 3200+
RAM: Corsair Value Select Dual Channel Kit 184 Pin 1G(512MBx2) DDR PC-3200 - Retail
Motherboard: Asus A8N-SLI Deluxe
Video Card: eVGA nVIDIA GeForce 6800GT
Sound Card: PCI CreLab Audigy ES
Hard Drive: Maxtor 200GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive
CDROM: 16x LiteOn Black OEM
Burner: Sony Internal 16X DVD/CD