Help on my first build

[Mark2582]

Edit: Links are broken. Sorry.

Well I have finally decided to upgrade from my old Dell (P4 2.8, 768mb pc3200, Radeon 9800 non-pro, and all the other crappy Dell parts). I have a budget of about $1800 for all this. This rig will be used mainly for gaming (Mostly FPS with the occasional RTS game) and web surfing. Although I will be playing a variey of games on this system, I am most concerned with its performance in Battlefield 2. The problem is no one really knows how this game will run, but this system should handle it on 1600x1200. Speed and silence are my two main concerns. There will be no overclocking on the CPU, might OC the video card.


Motherboard and CPU:
MSI K8N Neo 4 Platinum and 3700+ San Deigo combo from Monarch.

Memory:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820145440">CORSAIR ValueSelect 1GB (2 x 512MB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM Unbuffered DDR 400 (PC 3200) Dual Channel Kit System Memory - Retail</a>

Video:
Leadtek 6800gt to be overclocked to Ultra.

Hard-Drive:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822148065">Seagate Barracuda 7200.8 ST3250823AS 250GB 7200 RPM 8M Cache Serial ATA150 Hard Drive - OEM</a>

Optical Drives:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16827152035">NEC Black 16X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 4X DVD+R DL 16X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 24X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2M Cache IDE DVD Burner - OEM</a>
and
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16827151212">SAMSUNG Black 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-ROM IDE CD-ROM Drive - OEM</a>

Floppy/Card Reader:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16821104104">MITSUMI FA404A/404M Black USB2.0 & FDD Digital Card Reader/Writer W/FD (Black)INTERNAL - OEM</a>

PSU:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817151023">SeaSonic S12-430 ATX12V 430W Power Supply 100 - 240V UL, CE, DEMCO, NEMCO, SEMCO, FIMCO, CB, FCC, CCC - Retail</a>

Case:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811119068#DetailSpecs">COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 CAC-T05-UW Black Aluminum/Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail</a>

Display: VX924 when it is released. Link to cheap price would be helpful.
Speakers:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16836121118">Logitech X-530 70 Watts 5.1 Speaker - Retail</a>

One last question: Do those Dell Windows XP reinstallation disks work on any computer? If so I wouldn't have to buy another copy of XP. If not, then I guess I will.

I will not need a keyboard/mouse.

Constructive criticism is welcome and any advice you have would be great. I am willing to change out any of these parts if you have a better alternative. I also need to be sure that all of the parts are compatible as I am new to this. Thanks.

 

[jackson18249]

Well your comp is looking pretty good so far. I'm sure with your current setup, you will have absolutely no problem running battlefield 2 at 1280*1024 with everything on high. On to your system.

CPU: Get whatever fits best into your budget. Those processors are all top notch and there will be about 1-2 fps difference between the three.

Motherboard: If you are planning on overclocking, I reccomend getting the DFI Lanparty UT NForce 4 Ultra-D motherboard. If not, get the MSI K8N Neo 4 Platinum. Both boards are solid.

Memory: Your current choice isn't the greatest. If you are going to get the MSI board, get this memory: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=20-145-440&DEPA=0
If you are getting the DFI, go with this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820227213

The corsair memory will work great and its cheap. The OCZ, on the other hand, handles much more voltage, can run at tighter timings, and will help achieve a higher overclock.

Video: Awesome video card for the price. Only if you have more money to spend, then I would reccomend getting something better.

Hard Drive: Good choice, but you may also want to look at the Hitachi T7K250.

Optical Drives: That DVD-Burner is solid, but i dont know why you need another combo drive to go with it.

Floppy Card: It works.

Power Supply: It's decent, but I prefer the 500w Fortron Blue Source power supply, especially at $69 shipped. http://www.actbuy.com/details.asp?item=FS17500%2D2%2E0

Case: I guess I would reccomend this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811129152

Display: I haven't seen it in person, but it gets fairly good reviews. If you could spend maybe $50-100 more, get a Dell 2005fpw when it is on sale. I have this monitor and it is the best thing ever.

Speakers: My friend has those and they are great for the price. Get them.

Windows XP: You need to buy a new disc and license. Just get an oem copy like this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16837102141

Have fun with your computer. You should stay well within your budget.

 

[wisdomtooth]

to Mark2582:

Seasonics are great PSUs. But rather than the Super Silencer, you want to get the Seasonic S12-430. The S12 vents better than the Super Silencer because it has an 120mm fan, and it's even quieter.

The Fortron the other guy suggested is a reliable PSU, but it's loud. The Seasonic is a better PSU-- Definitely get a Seasonic S12 since you are looking for quiet.

Also, you want to pick up a Zalman CNPS7000 heatsink for your CPU-- At low speeds it's near silent.

You also need to find some way of silencing the NB fan on your motherboard, and it's a good idea to pick up a quiet HSF for your vid card-- Either a Zalman VF700 or an Arctic ATI Silencer.

And as long as you have a valid key for your XP, you DO NOT need to pay for another license as long as you are only going to use it on one machine. Download a copy of XP off the net, install it on your new rig, and use your existing valid key.

HTH.

 

[Mark2582]

No one has any additional advice? I am really unsure about that motherboard.

 

[Mark2582]

Bump.

 

[Mark2582]

Is anyone willing to help? This forum moves very fast and I need some more advice on this rig.

 

[Mark2582]

Bump again. Could some of you folks with more experience give me some advice on this build? Sorry to bump so many times I just really need some feedback. Thanks.

 

[mechBgon]

And as long as you have a valid key for your XP, you DO NOT need to pay for another license as long as you are only going to use it on one machine. Download a copy of XP off the net, install it on your new rig, and use your existing valid key.

Sorry bro, but an OEM license is good only for the system it came with. Even if it isn't in use on that system anymore, you can't (legally) use it elsewhere. Do's and don'ts.

On the bright side, if you run DBAN on your Dell and then restore it, you can patch it up with all the latest security patches and sell it off fresh as a daisy, and that should get you the funds for your new Windows license

FYI, proper bumping ettiquite is something along the lines of once per 4 hours, and if you make your links say what the products are by name, that would help us poor 56k users Welcome to the Forums, enjoy your new rig!

 

[cyclohexane]

Since you have a SLI mobo, why not go with Nvidia?

 

[Mark2582]

Sorry about bumping so much, will follow the 4 hour rule in the future. And this is the Non-SLI version although there is a SLI version of the board.

 

[Mark2582]

Bump. Is it safe to buy an AGP mobo? I believe both companies have said that G70 and R520 will come out in AGP but I am unsure.

 

[MobiusPizza]

There's not a lot Socket 939 AGP boards around
They aren't too expensive either
Just hink of it as future proof

The new chipsets must have PCI-e parts. It's just whether they would include AGP or not

 

[bocamojo]

I have read lots of good reviews about the DFI LanParty NF4 boards. Perhaps you should do some searches and see if you think one of these types of mobo's will meet your needs.

 

[Mark2582]

Originally posted by: AnnihilatorX
There's not a lot Socket 939 AGP boards around
They aren't too expensive either
Just hink of it as future proof

The new chipsets must have PCI-e parts. It's just whether they would include AGP or not

EDIT: Sorry, I am a moron. So do you suggest buying the AGP board or the PCI-E board?

 

[biostud]

Get a PCIe based mboard and a PCIe based video card. No reason to buy AGP when buying a new system. Other things will come for PCIe in the future. Either get a nForce4 Ultra or SLI, all depends if you want to have the option of going SLI some time in the distants future. Otherwise :thumbsup: specially for the Seasonic.

 

[Mark2582]

Originally posted by: biostud
Get a PCIe based mboard and a PCIe based video card. No reason to buy AGP when buying a new system. Other things will come for PCIe in the future. Either get a nForce4 Ultra or SLI, all depends if you want to have the option of going SLI some time in the distants future. Otherwise :thumbsup: specially for the Seasonic.

I think I will just get the PCI-E mobo. The only reason I wanted the AGP was to take advantage of the x800xt for $330, but the x800xl isn't too much slower and is in PCI-E. I could upgrade to an x850xt, but I don't really know if the additional 130 bucks for one will be worth it. At 1280x1024 or lower I know it wouldn't matter too much, but for 1600x1200 I am not so sure. I am also considering changing the processor to a 3200+ Venice, but I am worried that G70 and R520 will need something faster and I don't plan to overclock. Then again, even the San Deigo 3700+ may not be fast enough.

 

[Mark2582]

Bump.

 

[Mark2582]

Bump.

 

[l Xes l]

COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 is one great case.. dont ever change it.. it looks better than most of cases out there...
i just bought mine and took some pix... my thread http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview.aspx?catid=37&threadid=1589846
and pioneer's dvr-108 or 109 is a great dvd-rom to consider too..
for the monitor.. i wouldn't play games on widescreen monitor.. my laptop has the widescreen game kinda looks weird and stretched.. unless u can find a setting within the game to adjust the resolution...
for the memory and psu just listen to wat jackson18249 and wat others said..

 

[Mark2582]

TTT.

 

[Mark2582]

BUMP.

 

[Mark2582]

Could someone else please offer some additional advice?

 

[Mark2582]

Any other help please? I am unsure about my decisions.