Building a new system for $1200 (need help)

[MrTeeny]

Hi guys. I'm new here (to posting anyway) and I'm trying to build a PC for around $1200. Im attempting to build a pretty robust system with future upgradeability as a must. I'm somewhat limited on funds and really can't go over the $1200 mark. Below is a list of components that I'm thinking of purchasing. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. This will be my 2nd build. Thanks.

*Case- Cooler Master Praetorian ($115 incl./shi.)

*Motherboard- Asus A8N-SLI Deluxe ($190)

*CPU- AMD Athlon 64 3200+ Winchester ($200)

*Video Card- eVGA Nvidia 6600GT ($195)

*Hard Drive- Hitachi 160GB 7200 RPM SATA OEM ($100)

*RAM- Kingston Dual Chanel 1GB (2x512) DDR PC-3200 ($150)

*Power Supply- Antec 430W "True430" ($75)

*DVD Burner- NEC 3520A 16x +RW ($70)

*DVD-ROM- Sony 16x ($25)

*Floppy- ??? ($10)

*Operating System- Windows XP Home OEM ($90)

Total system price= $1220 (incl/shi.).

 

[Lonyo]

Getting a 6600GT and SLI motherboard is stupid, IMO, unless you are a casual gamer.
I know you say you can't spend more, but there *must* be a way to get a 6800GT and non-SLI mobo, which will offer better performance now and in the future than SLI'ed 6600GT.
Of course, SLI means you will be able to upgrade in the future to 2 cards which perform better than the 6800GT.
Or wait and get an SLI board and an X800XL, which will be cheaper than a 6800GT and perform pretty similarly.

So, somehow you should try and economise to get an SLI mobo and a 6800GT.
Maybe check out some cheaper RAM, ie: not a dual channel kit, but 2 stick of 512MB.

Where are your prices from? See if there are any reputable resellers which are cheaper (ZZF/Newegg etc)

 

[MrTeeny]

Thanks for the reply Lonyo. In fact, I am a casual PC gamer. I do most of my gaming on XBOX Live (although I have been playing City Of Heroes on my PC recently). Most (if not all) prices listed are form either ZZF or NewEgg. The only reason i was thinking of an SLI mobo was for the option of adding a 2nd video card. I was considering the Gigabyte GA-K8NXP-9 mobo but Im not sure when it will be available. I assume the price for that particular mobo would be around $150.

 

[MrTeeny]

Bump.

 

[Edward Lee]

Please note. No system built today will ever be future proof. Some systems may have better upgradability in the near future say 6 months to a year. But beyond that is anyone's guess

Comments:
1) Don't get a 6600 GT for SLI. Benches have shown 1 6800 Ultra or 6800 GT is better than 2 6600GTs. So the 6600GT SLI is pointless unless you have money to burn.

2) If you are a casual gamer SLI is a waste of money for you. Again get it if you have money to burn. SLI offers performance advantages at levels only achievable with the best CPU's and Graphics cards. Though the difference on paper may be up to 70% that of the best single graphics cards out today the the difference to the eye is neglegable. (chances are you won't notice a difference)

3) Your 3200 processor will not be usefull in an SLI configuration. You will get a CPU bottleneck. You will have to spend more money on an FX processor to get the full benefits of SLI. And even the current FX processor will bottleneck at highest settings.

4) You will need closer to 500 watts of clean power or more for the SLI system.

Suggestions:

Save yourself some money and build yourself a AMD 64 3200 S939 Winchester witha 6800 GT and an Nforce 3 or 4 Chipset Motherboard.
This will serve your purpose well enough at least untill the next time you need to upgrade which will be at least 2-3 years from now. And you can stay under $1200 easily.

 

[TheGreenGoblin]

The advice above is pretty good. I'd see if there are any NON SLI Nforce4 motherboards available. That way you can get a PCI Express card and the $$ you'd save can go into a better video card.

As far as needing a 500W PSU. That's just plain wrong. The Antec Truepower 430W should power that system fine , even if you add some case fans, optical drive and a hard drive in the future.

 

[fishmonger12]

i'd go with the chaintech nforce 4 board, and with the 70$ you save, add a couple extra $$ and get a better video card, or save the money and upgrade from the 6600gt when it starts to show its age, when there will be more, better options available.

from what i can tell, dual channel isn't much more expensive than normal ram, as long as you stay in the value ram area.


yeah what he ^ said. there's a 30-60 $ price difference between dual and single channel. your choice.

 

[Edward Lee]

Originally posted by: TheGreenGoblin

The advice above is pretty good. I'd see if there are any NON SLI Nforce4 motherboards available. That way you can get a PCI Express card and the $$ you'd save can go into a better video card.

As far as needing a 500W PSU. That's just plain wrong. The Antec Truepower 430W should power that system fine , even if you add some case fans, optical drive and a hard drive in the future.

What's wrong?
Nvidia Reccommends at least 350 Watt for 1 6800 Ultra (They used to reccommend 420 Watt) for a single 6800 Ultra so for a single 6800 Ultra you'll need between 350-420. Now 500 watts for 2 Ultras SLI is about right IMO. (6800 GT will require roughly the same power especially if you overclock to Ultra speeds)

 

[TheGreenGoblin]

When did he ever mention 2 6800 overclocked GT's or Ultras in SLI mode? I took it that your recommendation was for system he posted which is a single 6600 GT ? You did say " closer to a 500W is needed for THIS system" .

 

[Edward Lee]

:thumbsup:

 

[blackinches]

blackinches thinks you can save a few bucks by not getting the extra dvd rom or the floppy drive. who needs a floppy drive nowadays anyway. blackinches also thinks a non sli board would be a better way to go. you can also save some money on the case. have you considered the centurion 5. blackinches thinks that is a very sexy case.

good luck.

 

[TheGreenGoblin]

I think blackinches needs to stop referring to himself in the 3rd person

A floppy drive is useful. There are quite a few utilities that require boot up floppies. Disk cloning , memory troubleshooting, hard drive testing. The 6$ you save is not worth the hassle you face when something goes wrong and you don't have a floppy drive in the system.

 

[Regs]

I agree with the statements above. Don't waste money on a SLI motherboard when you can get twice the performance shelling out the money for a 6800GT or even a 6800.

 

[drpootums]

Go with the system i have in my sig, except for no Zalman fan (use stock), get the Chaintech board (instead of DFI), and get the case you picked out if you want. In the end with those it will come to about $1220-1230. My system is pretty good for the money IMO.

6800GT and a 3400+ and u'll be set for a while. Your upgradeability wont be as high with the skt754 board, but it's faster than a 3500+ skt939 cpu for $50+ less.

 

[MrTeeny]

MrTeeny apprciates all the help. Some good points have been made. Im skipping the SLI board and more than likely going with the Chaintech nForce4 Ultra board. As much as I would like to leave the floppy drive out, I've found (as TheGreenGoblin stated) they are useful and sometimes necessary.

Also, drpootums, is that a single stick of RAM and how do you like the BFG 6800GT? Thanks.

 

[blackinches]

Originally posted by: TheGreenGoblin

I think blackinches needs to stop referring to himself in the 3rd person

blackinches cannot. blackinches has always had a problem with pronouns. blackinches does not understand how to use them.

 

[fstime]

Originally posted by: MrTeeny
Hi guys. I'm new here (to posting anyway) and I'm trying to build a PC for around $1200. Im attempting to build a pretty robust system with future upgradeability as a must. I'm somewhat limited on funds and really can't go over the $1200 mark. Below is a list of components that I'm thinking of purchasing. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. This will be my 2nd build. Thanks.

*Case- Cooler Master Praetorian ($115 incl./shi.)

*Motherboard- Asus A8N-SLI Deluxe ($190)

*CPU- AMD Athlon 64 3200+ Winchester ($200)

*Video Card- eVGA Nvidia 6600GT ($195)

*Hard Drive- Hitachi 160GB 7200 RPM SATA OEM ($100)

*RAM- Kingston Dual Chanel 1GB (2x512) DDR PC-3200 ($150)

*Power Supply- Antec 430W "True430" ($75)

*DVD Burner- NEC 3520A 16x +RW ($70)

*DVD-ROM- Sony 16x ($25)

*Floppy- ??? ($10)

*Operating System- Windows XP Home OEM ($90)

Total system price= $1220 (incl/shi.).

Everything is good but I would get a 6800 series PCI-E card imo and I would get rid of the Hd and replace it with a WD or seagate. They seem to be the most reliable. Everything else looks great.

 

[otispunkmeyer]

lonyo gave sound advice. 6600gt now and hope to sli later isnt a good choice, i would just get a cheaper nforce 4 board with no SLI, and then get a 6800gt or equivalent ATI card. you pays your money and takes your choice with these cards now, u simply cannot fall off with either comapny.

i'd definately stay in the non-sli arena for the time being, and just have one powerful card.

as for ram, dual channel kits are put together as matching sticks of ram, guarranteed to work in dual channel mode together. 2 seperate sticks will do exactly the same anyway, but i suppose its peace of mind. in my experience dual channel kits have been the more economical choice, as there's often deals on these products on a weekly basis at sites like www.overclockers.co.uk jus the other week they had 1GB geil value PC3200 for just over 100 pounds sterling

either way you'll want at least 1Gb of ram if u want a robust system, and dont bother looking at the fancy ram with low timings either. 1GB of PC3200 Value ram is all you need. Athlon 64 has very little regard for memory timings (in the way it operates) and is also less dependant on memory bandwidth (in comparison to a P4 system) buying ram with fast timings wont merit any great performance gains and will be money badly spent.

 

[drpootums]

Originally posted by: MrTeeny
MrTeeny apprciates all the help. Some good points have been made. Im skipping the SLI board and more than likely going with the Chaintech nForce4 Ultra board. As much as I would like to leave the floppy drive out, I've found (as TheGreenGoblin stated) they are useful and sometimes necessary.

Also, drpootums, is that a single stick of RAM and how do you like the BFG 6800GT? Thanks.

It's a dual channel kit. It was about $10 more together, and i guess i just wanted one package instead of paying shipping on both. It's nice ram, and the heatspreaders look pretty cool. Made in U.S.A. too!!!

And i like my BFG. My Leadtek went bad on me so newegg refunded me being they didnt have any more in stock, so i just picked this up at BB. It's not as loud as people say IMO and it looks pretty nice (i have the new "special" cooler). I like it, but like i said some people think it's too loud. The only problem is that it doesnt come with any bundled games like my Leadtek card did...