building my first system

[iamWolverine]

so I am building my first system (i've upgraded systems before, but this will be the first time building from scratch). Was hoping for some friendly advice and pointers to some good & well priced products to spiff up my new sys. I hope to spend no more than a $1000 but think i may end up spending up to $1400 (esp if i end up getting an lcd too).

So for now was going to get advice about processor and mobo.
I was looking at and seriously considering
Intel Pentium 4/ 3.0E GHz
here
and wasnt completely sure about which mobo to get with it.
A friend told me to steer away from intel mobo if i want to overclock and suggested perhaps Abit or gigabyte . . . started to look at abits and got interested in the IC7/G here

Those together will set me back about $350, RAM i figure i may be able to get ~1 gig (2x 512) for about $150, that's $500

Video card was considering any of the following (any other suggestions for good performance but perhaps lower price?)
eVGA nVIDIA GeForce 6800 128MB GDDR at $289 here
or
SAPPHIRE ATI RADEON 9800 PRO 128MB DDR at $199 <a target=_blank class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="http://
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproductdesc.asp?description=14-102-268&amp;DEPA=0">here</a>
or
ATI RADEON 9800 PRO 256MB DDR now $265 (was $223) http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=14-102-361&amp;catalog=23&amp;manufactory=BROWSE&amp;depa=1">here</a>[/L]

that would take me up to ~$750+

Not sure about soundcards, cases and fans/heatsinks if i consider overclocking a bit . . . i do know that I want the system to be reasonably quiet. The current (aging) system i have now could almost use it just as a white noise generator.

If I am posting in the wrong thread, or it would fit better elsewhere please let me know.

Thanks all for your advice, much appreciated.

 

[Overkast]

1) I would get a 9800 Pro @ 128MB... don't spend the extra on a 256MB 9800 Pro considering what's happening in the market right now w/ the X800 and PCI Express on the prowl.

2) I recommend the ASUS P4P800 SE motherboard personally. It's a nice budget motherboard with great performance reviews.

3) No way in heck you're gonna get 1GB of quality RAM for $150 or less. Even 1GB of Corsair Value Select RAM will run you $175+ right now. Although this RAM gets decent reviews, it's by no means the best stuff out there. But considering you're pricing on a budget, this is my recommendation for RAM. It get CAS 2.5 @ default voltage/settings and should work no problem in the P4P800 SE mobo.

4) Good choice on Processor. A nice blend between price and performance.

 

[JackHawksmoor]

Asus' newest i865 board is good. The P800-E or something like that. Get the Pentium 4 3.0C (Northwood), not the 3.0E (Prescott) if you're going Intel. Northwood is more powerful and runs cooler.

 

[Fern]

Think about getting a good psu too. Overlooked, but very important part of the system. Check out the Fortron 530 watt @ newegg. IIRC it's about $65

 

[imported_nitrus]

Originally posted by: Overkast
1) I would get a 9800 Pro @ 128MB... don't spend the extra on a 256MB 9800 Pro considering what's happening in the market right now w/ the X800 and PCI Express on the prowl.

i agree, 9800 pro 128 is more then sufficient. X800 and 6800 series card will prolly go down in price in 5 months.

also, instead of the 3.0 ghz i would step down to the 2.8 model. with so much new technology on its way out, you can prolly buy the 3.2 on nov 1st for less then what the 2.8 one cost today. your building a computer at the brink of a price drop due to new models, so its better off that you get midrange parts.

 

[JackHawksmoor]

Quick note, the Geforce 6800 and 6800GT are actually more or less worth the price (on a price/performance ratio) as compared to a $200 Radeon 9800 Pro.