Building a rig for a friend...suggestions?

[jdavisomaha]

He wants to stay as close to $800 that he can. I will not overclock anything.

He already has a DVD burner, a keyboard+mouse, and a monitor.

I will be selling him 2 gigs (4x512) corsair valueselect ram for $70, and a Thermaltake Silent Purepower 480 for $25.

Graphics card will be: Evga 7900gt co for $299
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814130281

Motherboard:
Epox EP-9nPA+ Ultra (please someone tell me it is compatible with 4x512 Corsair VS Ram)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813123236

Case: Coolermaster Centurion 532 at Newegg for $75-$20 rebate + $16 shipping

Windows Home: 95 bucks

Hard Drive: Western Digital Digital Caviar SE SATA 80 gigs - $53

Processor:

Option A - Athlon Venice 3200 for $159

Option B - Athlon San Diego 3700 for $212

Any opinions?

 

[jdavisomaha]

Bump for edit and opinions.

 

[furballi]

I'd go with the Antec SLK3000B for $53 delivered. Fry's had a 300GB Seagate drive with 5 yr warranty for $70 AR. Go with the A64 3000. The user will not be able to differentiate the speed increase with most applications, even with the 3700 CPU.

http://www.provantage.com/antec-slk3000b~7ANTG02Y.htm

 

[imported_rod]

Processor:

Option A - Athlon Venice 3200 for $159

Option B - Athlon San Diego 3700 for $212

How much is the 3800+ X2? It's the cheapest dual-core out there. Otherwise, probably the 3700+, just so you don't need to upgrade it too soon.

RoD

 

[dfuze]

My suggestions:
1- spend a little extra and get the X2 3800+ for a little more. If you change your mind, it is an excellent overclocker (mine from 2.0 to 2.4 without a sweat).
2- becareful w/ the antec cases. I have the PlusView II and the door feels a bit on the weak side (compared to the rest of the case feeling sturdy).
3- everything else should enable your friend to play the game at optimal settings, especially the 2 gb of ram.

 

[Ipno]

Actually for BF2 he would get better performance from a 3700 than an X2 3800

 

[thebigdude]

i second the avoid antec cases, had a couple of bad experiences with them

course now im a cooler master fanboy so you cant really listen to me anyway

 

[the Chase]

If he is really going to be playing mostly Bf2 go with the ATI X1800XT or X1900XL(if one comes out in time).

 

[NaOH]

Originally posted by: Ipno
Actually for BF2 he would get better performance from a 3700 than an X2 3800

Well with the 7900GT, it won't make much of a difference. I believe he would be better off future proofing his system with a dual core CPU than a single core. He could easily reach and surpass the 3700s speeds with the 3800 x2 using stock HSF if he wanted to.