Edit: New rig finalized

[veggz]

This is my first time building a computer so I may be a bit clueless as to which parts to get. I am not necessarily under a budget but I also don't need top of the line components. The rig will be used mostly for basic apps, video encoding, and maybe some gaming (I've never gotten into FPS and I would like to be able to play HL2 or Doom 3 if I wanted to with high settings). Here is what I have so far:

CPU: A64 3000+ S754 $146 shipped
MB: DFI LANParty UT nF3-250Gb $98 shipped
RAM: 1 GB Corsair VS $141 shipped
GPU: Leadtek 6600GT AGP $208 shipped
Case: Antec Sonata $94.82 shipped

I already have 20GB and 80GB WD hard drives, NEC 3520a, old Lite-On CD-RW burner, Creative Audigy, and Dell CRT M991 monitor.

Also, I have had absolutely no experience with OC'ing, as my current rig is a Dell 4100. Is this system able to be decently overclocked? And if I do decide to overclock, would the 380W power supply included with the Sonata be able to hold up?

Thanks a lot for your time, I know you guys see way too many of these threads.

 

[Malladine]

Looks great. IMO the 3200+ isn't worth the extra dollars. I would recommend the 939 socket if you can afford the extra $50-100. Going AGP instead of PCIe shouldn't be a problem either, if that's your preference.

Good mb, great gpu, ram, case.

I always buy OEM and the hsfan/thermal paste seperately but have heard good things about the retail amd sets if you're at all concerned about doing that yourself.

Oh and I don't overclock, so nothing to offer there. If you're going for AGP and overclocking you might want to consider a 450 watt ps.

 

[Regs]

The 754 could be overclocked anywhere from 2.2 GHz - 2.4Ghz. I rarely see anything higher coming from the 754 socket. Your PSU may prove sufficient. A 6600GT does not draw as much power as the 6800GT and Ultra, so you should fine with 380watts.

 

[ayman]

Originally posted by: Malladine
Looks great. IMO the 3200+ isn't worth the extra dollars. I would recommend the 939 socket if you can afford the extra $50-100. Going AGP instead of PCIe shouldn't be a problem either, if that's your preference.

Good mb, great gpu, ram, case.

I always buy OEM and the hsfan/thermal paste seperately but have heard good things about the retail amd sets if you're at all concerned about doing that yourself.

Oh and I don't overclock, so nothing to offer there. If you're going for AGP and overclocking you might want to consider a 450 watt ps.

If he goes with the 939, then he'll need a different motherboard. Personally i wish DFI made one for the 939 that supported AGP.

 

[Malladine]

Originally posted by: ayman

Originally posted by: Malladine
Looks great. IMO the 3200+ isn't worth the extra dollars. I would recommend the 939 socket if you can afford the extra $50-100. Going AGP instead of PCIe shouldn't be a problem either, if that's your preference.

Good mb, great gpu, ram, case.

I always buy OEM and the hsfan/thermal paste seperately but have heard good things about the retail amd sets if you're at all concerned about doing that yourself.

Oh and I don't overclock, so nothing to offer there. If you're going for AGP and overclocking you might want to consider a 450 watt ps.

If he goes with the 939, then he'll need a different motherboard. Personally i wish DFI made one for the 939 that supported AGP.

Well right, that's what i meant by the extra $, not just for the cpu, also mb costs a little more. I recommend Chaintech or Abit.

 

[veggz]

Thanks for the help guys. I was considering a 939 3200+ a little while ago, would that be a significant upgrade from my present config? I was reading something on these forums about people wishing they had gone 3200 becauseof a larger buffer size or something.. would that be an issue in what I'm planning to do?

 

[ayman]

Originally posted by: Malladine

Originally posted by: ayman

Originally posted by: Malladine
Looks great. IMO the 3200+ isn't worth the extra dollars. I would recommend the 939 socket if you can afford the extra $50-100. Going AGP instead of PCIe shouldn't be a problem either, if that's your preference.

Good mb, great gpu, ram, case.

I always buy OEM and the hsfan/thermal paste seperately but have heard good things about the retail amd sets if you're at all concerned about doing that yourself.

Oh and I don't overclock, so nothing to offer there. If you're going for AGP and overclocking you might want to consider a 450 watt ps.

If he goes with the 939, then he'll need a different motherboard. Personally i wish DFI made one for the 939 that supported AGP.

Well right, that's what i meant by the extra $, not just for the cpu, also mb costs a little more. I recommend Chaintech or Abit.

oh, ok.

 

[Malladine]

The clawhammer has larger cache than the newcastle sure. Maybe that's what they were talking about? It's also clocked slower and is more expensive. I am unsure on real world performance gain regarding the cache. There is a gain, but dunno if it makes up for the lower clock and extra $. Clawhammers (1mb cache) can be had on both sockets with the higher end ones available for 939

As far as being an upgrade from your present setup, not much no. BUT, 939 is more futureproof, if there is such a thing

 

[veggz]

Well since I will most likely not be upgrading for a few years at least it looks like I might as well go with the 754. Thanks for the help guys. Any more suggestions are welcome.

 

[veggz]

Ok here are the parts I have decided on, I will most likely be ordering sometime tonight or tomorrow so please provide any more recommendations or advice:

CPU: A64 3000+ S754 $146 shipped
MB: DFI LANParty UT nF3-250Gb $98 shipped
RAM: 1 GB Corsair VS $141 shipped
GPU: Leadtek 6600GT AGP $208 shipped
Case: Antec Sonata $94.82 shipped

=$687.82

 

[ribbon13]

good cpu
good mb
good ram
good gpu
no opinion case

 

[veggz]

Thanks. Also, I was just wondering what kind of settings I can expect to run HL2/Doom3 at with this new rig. I've never run a game above 1024x768 with all the settings turned off so I'm hoping I can give it a shot with this one.

 

[ribbon13]

http://graphics.tomshardware.com/graphic/20041222/vga_charts-09.html
http://graphics.tomshardware.com/graphic/20041222/vga_charts-06.html

 

[Mountaindew Man]

Originally posted by: veggz
Thanks. Also, I was just wondering what kind of settings I can expect to run HL2/Doom3 at with this new rig. I've never run a game above 1024x768 with all the settings turned off so I'm hoping I can give it a shot with this one.

My rig, listed below, just gave a Half-life 2 video stress test result of 123 fps. The settings were 1024x768, model detail HIGH, texture detail HIGH, shadow detail HIGH, water REFLECT ALL, antialiasing NONE, filtering mode TRILINEAR, and wait for vert sync DISABLED. At 1280x960 with the same settings the frame rate dropped to 107.

I would think your rig should play Half-Life 2 with similar results. Nothing to worry about......now you will have only your own skill level to blame when someone slaps you around in HL2. I'm not slapped around nearly as much as I used to be and do quite a bit of it myself now. The game is much more enjoyable with a good computer.

The Antec Sonata case is very nice. It's much better than I anticipated and highly recommend it. I added one more 120mm fan up front, have Asus Cool and Quiet running, and nothing overclocked. After an hour of HL2 the cpu temp is only 40 degrees C. Only problem with the Sonata is that it's a bit tight working inside.....wish it were just a little larger.

Good luck!