building a new pc.. yay!

[EvilGavin]

im selling THIS pc to my mum, so it's time to build a new one for ME! sorry for the long read, check the bold parts if you dont want to...

Athlon 64 3000+ (retail) $146 link
-Seems to be the way to go. (lol, my 2000+ has a 1.67 clock speed, and this cpu would be 1.8, im guessing the clock speed doesnt mean much when comparing different chips. I can see why AMD uses the XXXX+ numbering.)

MSI K8N Neo4-F $85.50 link
-Im looking to spend under $100 on the mobo. Obviously this isn't a place where you can skimp, but a few sites I checked out recommened these. What do you guys think? I obviously want s939 and PCIe for future proofing... Not a big fan of SLI, seems ATM its not necessary for me to have this feature in my sytem. Does this bord support the X2's? I'd like to grab one of those bad boys sometime down the line. also, How long is AMD using socket 939?

Kingston ValueRAM 2x512 $77.98 link
-From what I've read here on the forums, if you arent going to overclock, there really isn't any need to buy expensive ram. I'd just liek to get some from a quality company with a good warranty. A few companies have 1gb of value ram for around $80+... I just put down the kingston because it was cheap. this pc has only 256. for some reason i never got around to upgrading... man it feels slow!

eVGA 6600GT PCIe $169 link
-eh... it's about all I can afford. the 6800's dont go below $200 I don't think. but it sure will kick the crap out of my current gf 3 ti200... I just want to play some of the newer games at 1024 with medium detail settings

Western Digital Caviar SE 80gb 7200rpm SATA $56 link
the last harddrive I bouth was the infamous IBM desktar. yes it is still running to this day, but it makes funny noises! lol... anyways, I bought that oem, and i never bothered to save the receipt or check if I had a warranty. I'm not going to make that mistake again. I might even buy 2 of them, one to replace the deathstar. newegg says it has a 3 year manu warranty. That sound pretty good, although i thought oems were usually wrrantied through the site?

Case and Power Supply
-I need a sub $100 case that comes with a reliable power supply. here's some I found mentioned on the forums or on other sites...

Antec Solution SLK3700-BQE w/ Antec 350watt PSU $79.99
-I guess it's the same thing as that cheap compucase, but with an antec 350watt psu. that's very appealing.

InWin IW-C720T w/ PowerMan 300watt $50.99
-someone recommended this beause the PSU was a forton. I've never heard of "powerman" is it just rebranded?

Looking at the 12volt rails like you guys say to do, (I hope I read it right), it's 16amps on the antec, 17 on the powereman. is that enough juice?

cd/dvd drives... that oem 3540a from newegg looks nice, but I dont know if i want a drive w/o a warranty. then again, its so cheap that it might not be worth it to pay for a warranty...

Conclusion: that's a little over $650... ( I'm not necessarily buying everything from newegg, obviously i'll price shop a bit)

( and I'm fairly sure I have the mouse/keyboard/monitor/os situation covered...) This PC will be used for a) web surfing, b) gaming. Now, I know this isn't exactly a beast for gaming, but shouldnt I be able to play most of todays games @ 1024x768 ? Plus, I think I did a pretty good job future proofing. I'm sure I'll be able to get a great PCIe card in a few years when this one is obsolete. And as of now I'll at least be ble to get a dual core cpu.But, i would like your guys opinions. Although i read alot of bout pc parts, I've never put one together COMPLETELY on my own. Are there any compatability issues i have to worry about? Also I don't really plan to overclock....

Thanks. I know most people just post their list and say HEY tell me what you think! but, I am not most people. Sorry for the long read!! man, I'm a total geek. this kind of thing is so fun!


-gavin


also. these forums are amazing. I honestly can't belevie how much information you guys have. Anything I dont know about i just type into the search and BAM, you guys have the answer...

 

[Cheezeit]

good choices

for the case and PSU, get the antec slk 3000b and the xcio 450. thats the best you can get for your >100 price range

for the mobo, get the chaintech nf4 ultra or the ECS one that won the editor's choice from AT

newegg is good about drives, and you don't need a warrenty. just rma it to them if its broken or somehting

by the way, nice post. I haven't seen such a detailed one in a while

 

[NokiaDude]

Meh, I'd splurge and get at least a 6800GT.

 

[GuitarDaddy]

Looks good, but if your going to overclock I would get a bigger PS with at least 20+ amps on the 12v. If not just use the Antec that comes with the case.

 

[shoRunner]

the PSU that comes with the case has been updated and has 21A on the 12V rail

 

[poisonthewell]

Another Antec case to consider. I got it a little cheaper a couple weeks ago, but this case for around $65 shipped is a heck of a deal.

 

[Mesix]

I recommend Corsair Value Select RAM for like $5 more.

 

[Budmantom]

I think it's a little anemic, you may want to look at a X800 for a video card.


Tom

 

[KoolDrew]

Everything looks good to me, but I would spend the extra for Corsair VS. Also you can shop around for better prices to save a bit of cash. I recommend the Hitachi Deskstar 7K250 80GB for a drive though.

Also I think I was the one who recommended that In-Win case and yes it is just a rebadged Fortron.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

I'd recommend going to Fry's to ge ta hard drive.

200 GB 7200.8 for $48.88?? LoL.

 

[EvilGavin]

Originally posted by: Cheezeit
for the case and PSU, get the antec slk 3000b and the xcio 450. thats the best you can get for your >100 price range

Good stuff. it might be a little more than im willing to pay, but definatley worth checking out.

Originally posted by: Cheezeit
for the mobo, get the chaintech nf4 ultra or the ECS one that won the editor's choice from AT

there's a sale on the chaintech that ends in a few hours! man, anyone want to throw me an opinion on this board real quick? Actually i'll just use the handy search function

Originally posted by: Cheezeit
newegg is good about drives, and you don't need a warrenty. just rma it to them if its broken or somehting

thanks, i'll keep that in mind.

 

[xTYBALTx]

Originally posted by: Cheezeit
for the mobo, get the chaintech nf4 ultra or the ECS one that won the editor's choice from AT

there's a sale on the chaintech that ends in a few hours! man, anyone want to throw me an opinion on this board real quick? Actually i'll just use the handy search function

I've heard excellent things.

 

[Powermoloch]

The setup looks great at the least

 

[Michael D]

AMD 64 3000+ OEM for $117 - http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview...atid=40&threadid=1631297&enterthread=y

Get that and a nice heatsink with fan (http://www.jab-tech.com/customer/product.php?productid=2921) for about the same price as retail. But you'll have a cooler CPU and possibly overclock if you wanted.

 

[EvilGavin]

eh, I refuse to rush myself into a decision just because the sale ends soon. The new roundup article is great, and I think I might grab an epox 9npa. now to decide if i want to go with the ultra or not..

The Epox 9NPA+ is the fastest board in the roundup at stock speeds. It was also the highest overclocker at stock speeds, and the second highest overclocker when the bus was overclocked. The Epox is an incredible value whether you are looking for a board that will run fast with stability at stock speeds or a board that will satisfy almost any Athlon 64 enthusiast. The range of overclocking options and the overclocked performance are among the best that we have seen, falling short only in the memory voltage area, which tops out at 3.1V. The feature set is more or less average for Ultra boards, but the overall performance is clearly standout. Based on the standout performance and solid overclocking that we achieved with the Athlon 64, we are pleased to award the AnandTech Gold Editors Choice to the Epox 9NPA+ motherboard.

If you looking to save even more money, the 9NPA, based on the nForce4 x4 chipset, has a street price of around $90. You give up the SATA 2 support and 1000 bus, but most of the performance features are still available in the same basic motherboard.

edit: i forgot to say thanks for the replies / comments. you don't even know how much they help!

 

[EvilGavin]

Originally posted by: shoRunner
the PSU that comes with the case has been updated and has 21A on the 12V rail

with the 3700b ?

edit: yep, read it in the reviews, good to know.