Building around the Asus A7N8X....

[joepa99]

My dad got one of these for me as an early Christmas present. He had heard me talking about building a new computer and I had mentioned this motherboard.

Now, I have to build a machine around it. I will be using this computer primarily for surfing and MS Office applications, although with a new machine I see myself doing a lot more gaming as well as video editing.

I will be building this computer over the next couple of months. Any suggestions on CPU, Case/Cooler, RAM, HDD, Video and Audio Cards, etc. is greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Arhra]

For your video card, right now, it's kind of hard to go wrong with a R9700 Pro. For your memory, I would think about EDIT (Forgot the limitations of your mobo, sorry) 512 DDR PC2700. I would avoid an Audigy 2 for your sound card, I've had some major problems with them (locking the system etc). Maybe go with an Audigy 5.1.

Your HDD is really what you want, but an 80 or 120 GB 7200 RPM sounds decent right now.

Not quite sure about what CPU you would want, but it really depends on what you are using it for.

 

[L3Guy]

joepa99;

I am going through the same excersize right now.

Here is what I cam up with:

Antec 840II Case & PS (400W)
Asus A7N8X MB
512 MB Crucial PC2700 DDR - I recomend Name Brand Ram. Crucial is my personal favorite, but there are others that are equally good
( 2 * 256 DDR to use the dual mem controler)
Athlon 1800+ TBredA - I too am waiting for Barton.
Danger Den Water cooling Kit. - My own personal extravagence. The retail Box cooler is a cheap and safe bet to get started.
Sound Card - The on board sound is reputed to be fantastic. Why buy the board if you do not use the A7N8X sound?
Ethernet- Again, both the on board Nic's are fantastic.
Gforce 4 Ti 4200 - Great price at about $120 The ATI 9500 pro is the other card I am checking out. Ask in the Video Forum.
Seagate SATA HD (if available) If not, the WD 80 Gb SE.
Lite on CDRW 48/24/48
Lite on DVD 16X
Your faverite OS.

Remember, your job is to balance cost and performance on each aspect.
Everyone has their favorite manufactures.

Also, the A7N8X will only use DDR memory. RamBus memory is not currently supported in any AMD chipset. (Probably never will)


Just my 2 cents;

Doug

 

[joepa99]

Would you mind giving me the prices for that setup?

 

[mechBgon]

It may be best to buy some Corsair PC3200 CL2 if you want to migrate to Barton, since there will eventually be Bartons that run at a 400MHz FSB. With PC3200 (DDR400), you'll be prepared. Other than that, I like the setup L3Guy has posted, that sounds like a sweet rig

 

[jonmullen]

For RAM I would recomend some good corsair XMS Pc2700 CL 2. Its not that much more than crucial and I am pretty sure every one here will say it is the best. 512mb is highly recomended. Besure and get to sticks to take advantage of dual channel.

For Video card any R300 card is going to be great. If you want video editing I would look into the AIW R9700. If that is too much, an AIW 8500 or a Ti 4200 or a R9500 pro are all good cards. If you have the money make sure and get the 128mb versions of these cards (most only come in 128mb)

Case- Antec's are nice. Coolermaster and Lian-Li are also nice.

For processor I would look at the 1800+ throughbread. They sould give any easy overclock to 2200+. Plus I have heard that they are not mulitiplyer locked. Dont quote me on that.

For HD- I would get a WD special edition. If the board has raid, which I think it does think about a raid setup.

Sound- Use the onboard. It is great sound.

For HSF the Volcano 7+ are nice. The Coolermaster HHC-001 is nice and the Alpha's are always great. If you want it to be quiet you might think about replaceing the fans with Panaflo's of vantec stelth's.

 

[joepa99]

I think right now my plan is to get a mobo and case that will be fine to use for awhile and somewhat future-proof, and get the minimum CPU, RAM, and video card necessary, then upgrade when I can. I mainly will use this computer for internet, MS Office stuff and a little online gaming. I don't plan to overclock right now, but may in the future.

Thanks for all your help...

 

[RocketsFan]

I'm building a machine as I type this, and here's what I'm putting in it

Case : Antec 1080AMG Performance Plus/Antec 430W True Power PS
Mobo : Asus A7N8X Deluxe
HeatSink : Thermalright SLK-800 w/ Thermaltake Smart Case Fan II
CPU : AMD Athlon XP 2200+ (just pulled it out of my "old" machine. will put a 2800+ or Bartons when they come down in price)
Memory : Samsung PC2700 512MB RAM x 2 for a total of 1GB of RAM
Video Card : Sapphire/ATI Radeon 9700 PRO
Drive 1 : Western Digital 120GB Drive (WD1200JB - 8 MB Buffer)
Drive 2 : Sony DRU-500A DVD-RW/+RW/-R/+R/CD-R/CD-RW drive
Drive 3 : An old LS-120 drive I had lying around

Not sure what else will go into it other than the usual keyboard, monitor, mouse, etc. May use the Audigy out of one of my old machines... how's the default sound on the A7N8X? Hmmm....

 

[optimistic]

Originally posted by: joepa99
I think right now my plan is to get a mobo and case that will be fine to use for awhile and somewhat future-proof, and get the minimum CPU, RAM, and video card necessary, then upgrade when I can. I mainly will use this computer for internet, MS Office stuff and a little online gaming. I don't plan to overclock right now, but may in the future.

Thanks for all your help...

Case:

Minimum CPU: AMD Athlon XP 1700+/266 FSB Thorougbred Processor CPU 1700+/ 1.47GHz -Retail $65

Minimum Video Card: ATI RADEON 8500LE 64MB DDR CRT/DVI/TV $72

RAM: PNY 256MB PC2700 $49

 

[joepa99]

Thanks to everyone for their input. I'm glad I found this website.

 

[techietam]

it's kind of hard to go wrong with a R9700 Pro

H's not getting it for free, so it's easy to go wrong by spending $300 on a video card

 

[techietam]

If you decide to go with 1700+ T-Bred, I have a brand new
retail CPU with 3 year warranty for $52 shipped.

Can also add 256DDR PC2100 for $40, if you want to stay low in cost
until you get more $$, or you can just get 2700 or 3200 Corsair one 256MB chip
and add another one, when you are ready, to take advantage of Dual DDR.

 

[Tab]

How much video editing are you doing spcificly? I would really look at a ATI AIW 9700Pro, or if you need something less expensive ATI 8500DV. Depending on the proccessor you get, PC2700 or PC3200 would be your best bet.

 

[mechBgon]

Trivia item: I was over at Crucial.com and pulled up the memory options for the A7N8X-Deluxe. They list a 1Gb PC2100 DIMM for it! :Q Hmmm! 3Gb PC2100, ooooo...