Micro ATX AM2 system

[Trey22]

Please note that I am aware of the upcoming price cuts. I'd like to build now, as I currently don't have a rig at all. I plan on picking up a $150ish X2 3800+ later on.

Budget is $1000 prior to shipping / tax. I already have a 19" Viewsonic VP191B LCD. All prices from Newegg.

Couple of questions:
1. I chose the RAM below to keep the cost down and hopefully use a divider when overclocking. Any benefits to choosing DDR2 667 RAM?

2. I was thinking of going w/ the lowest cost AM2 CPU... which would be a Sempron 2800+ for $65. Overclocked, would it temporarily provide enough horsepower to run games like BF2?

Motherboard
BIOSTAR 6100 AM2 NVIDIA GeForce 6100 Micro ATX
$66.99

CPU
?

Memory
pqi POWER Series 2GB (2x1GB) DDR2 (PC2 4200) DC Kit
$129.49 -$10 rebate = $119.49

Hard drive
WD Caviar SE16 WD2500KS 250GB 7.2k RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s
$89.99 -$10 rebate = $79.99

Video Card
eVGA Geforce 7900GT KO 256MB
$269.99 -$30 rebate = $239.99

DVD burner
LITE-ON 16X DVD+/- W/ LightScribe
$38.99

Floppy / Media Reader
MITSUMI Black 1.44MB 3.5" Internal USB 2.0 digital card reader w/ Floppy Drive
$19.99

Sound Card
Creative Sound Blaster Audigy2 ZS SB0350 7.1 Channels PCI
$64.99

Speakers
Logitech X-530 70 Watts 5.1 Speakers
$51.99

Keyboard
MS Curve 2000 B2L-00002 Black USB Wired Ergonomics Keyboard
$15.99

Mouse
Logitech MX518 2-Tone 8 Buttons 1x Wheel USB + PS/2 Optical Mouse
$38.99

Case
ASPIRE X-QPACK Black MicroATX Case w/ ATX 420W power supply
$85.99

SubTotal: $873.39 w/out CPU.

 

[GamingDaemon]

IMO, the eVGA 7900 GT KO will let you run BF2 all by itself. It looks like you have a great system.

I'm personally jealous because I spent $165 on an eVGA 7600GT, then spent another $135 with the eVGA step-up program to get the 7900 GT KO. Sigh, $300, oh well, the board ROCKS!

 

[Trey22]

eVGA's step up program is what sold me on this video card. I looked at the Superclocked version, but that slight clockspeed boost didn't justify an extra $35.

 

[GamingDaemon]

Originally posted by: Trey22
eVGA's step up program is what sold me on this video card. I looked at the Superclocked version, but that slight clockspeed boost didn't justify an extra $35.

Not worth it. I think you did great. You should have no problem running anything.

 

[Trey22]

Looking for advice on the RAM now.

 

[imported_killuminati]

for $141 :
AMD Athlon64 3800+ AM2 is the best option
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103631

but to get the best juice out of the System u need Dual-Core :
AMD Athlon64 X2 3800+ AM2 :
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103735

Peace & ciao !!!

 

[Trey22]

I don't mind waiting for the price cuts next month and getting a X2 3800+ on the cheap, so for now I'm picking up the cheapest AM2 CPU I can find.

 

[Trey22]

 

[imported_fx]

AM2 only supports DDR2 800 (PC6400).. not DDR2 667 (PC4200)..

You never mentioned what you going to use the computer for.. What's the purpose of using this rig? Dual core can be useful if you tend to multitasking but no benefit for gaming yet. Single core processors is useful for gaming and games gets a lot advantage from single core processors nowsdays. For cheap 2GB RAM, I would recommend this because it going to be cheaper after the rebate ($165). Anyways, for processor, If you plan to get single core then get AMD AM2 3200+.. If you plan to get dual core, get AM2 X2 3800+.

 

[Trey22]

Will be doing alot more video encoding (Xvid/OGG for my Treo650), and FPS type gaming (Battlefield is my fav series).

 

[cisco kidd]

what y9u have stated is not correct AM2 supports DDR2 533/667 and 800. Second DDR667 is not 4200 but it is 5400

DDR2 667 will work fine on an AM2 board, good DDR2 667 can reach 800 clocks with the same timings as DDR800 of 5,5,5,12 in most cases when running quality ram