My first build

[Rhymes with Pretzel]

I've been thinking about building my own computer for a long time; reading a lot of guides and reviews, on this site and others, and I think I'm finally ready to buy the components and try my hand at it. Before I do, however, I'd love to get some feedback from people who actually know what they're doing. I will be using this computer for schoolwork, a bit of audio editing, and all of the games that won't work on the hopelessly out-of-date machine I'm currently using. I don't want to spend much more than $1300-$1400 US, and I'm not interested in overclocking at the moment (possibly at some point in the future). This is what I'm considering:


<a target=_blank class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16811129152">Antec Solution SLK3000-B Black Computer Case -- $49
</a>

<a target=_blank class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16813123236">EPoX EP-9NPA+Ultra ATX AMD Motherboard -- $95
</a>

<a target=_blank class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16814130215">eVGA Geforce 6800GT 256-P2-N376-AX Video Card -- $299
</a>

Antec NeoPower ATX 480W Power Supply -- $114


<a target=_blank class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16819103562">AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ 1GHz FSB Socket 939 Dual Core Processor -- $352.96
</a>

<a target=_blank class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16820145440">CORSAIR ValueSelect 1GB (2 x 512MB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM Dual Channel Kit System Memory -- $85.99
</a>

<a target=_blank class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16822148033">Seagate Barracuda 7200.7 200GB 3.5" Serial ATA150 Hard Drive -- $110
</a>

TOSHIBA Black IDE DVD-ROM Drive Model SD-M1912 -- $21


HP Black IDE DVD Burner Model DVD740vi -- $86.99


Total: $1213.94

I appreciate any advice or opinions you guys might have. Thanks.

 

[JE78]

Save a few bucks and get a NEC 3540A DVD-RW for $40

 

[Anubis]

id go with a Gig of ram 2x 1gb
and the NEC burner is fine as well as teh Ben Q and they are both cheaper

 

[maverick2604]

a steal... i just bought that myself! what a salesman you are... it came with a free bundle of dvd-r's! bundle for free

 

[Hough NutZ]

If were going to spend $300 on a video card, I would move on up a couple more dollars and get a 7800GT for which can be had for $340-400.

 

[Rhymes with Pretzel]

Originally posted by: Anubis
id go with a Gig of ram 2x 1gb
and the NEC burner is fine as well as teh Ben Q and they are both cheaper

I should have mentioned: The reason for the $87 burner is that my friend recently bought a similar model, and really liked the LightScribe feature. As for the memory, how about this:

gigaram 2GB (2 x 1GB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DUAL CHANNEL System Memory -- $213

Only I've never read anything recommending gigaram as a good buy .

 

[Anubis]

id go with OCZ Corsair or patriot for the ram, shoudl be bout teh smae price

Corsair value select is cheaper like 190 but slower timeings

 

[YYZ2112]

Here's $0.02

Those seem to be some fairly retail prices. If your not in a hurry you should be able to save a few bucks on the case (you might take a look at this one - which I own and love).
http://www.xpcgear.com/aluminum.html

Then wait for a good deal on that neopower 480 (excellent psu). There's one for $95 incl shipping on pricewatch but you may well find a better deal (w/rebate) elsewhere.

Then try to get an equivalent HD which you should easily be able to find for under $100 incl shipping. Take a look at these 200gb Diamondmax 10 plus SATA units at NE.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductLi...ry=0&minPrice=&maxPrice=&Go.x=0&Go.y=0

If you want to save some more bucks then pull the trigger on the CPU, RAM and Vid Card in that order. Since your CPU is pretty well given, you'd do well to invest the balance of your budget in your RAM and Vid Card.

This may get you a better price on your CPU (the longer you wait the farther prices fall) and then with all the money you've saved, splurge about 20%-30% of rest of your budget on getting better RAM (cas 2 if possible (the one your looking at is (2.5-3-3-8) I believe)) and the remaining 70%-80% getting a 7800GT or possibly a GTX video card (a single 7800GT performs on par with two $300 6800GT's in SLI, so it's clearly a better value IMO).

Oh, and don't forget an HSF for your CPU if you buy OEM (cheaper).
A Thermalright xp-90C may do the trick if need be.

I hope this helps a bit.
GL !

 

[Rhymes with Pretzel]

Originally posted by: Anubis
id go with OCZ Corsair or patriot for the ram, shoudl be bout teh smae price

Corsair value select is cheaper like 190 but slower timeings

The only 2 x 1GB I can find costs more than twice as much for memory with higher latencies than what I'm currently considering. Does the extra gig justify this? Should I get the cheaper 2 x 512 and keep an eye out for 2GB with better latencies for a better price?

 

[nippyjun]

Originally posted by: Hough NutZ
If were going to spend $300 on a video card, I would move on up a couple more dollars and get a 7800GT for which can be had for $340-400.

ditto

 

[designit]

I would stay away from Gigaram.
this Link
has a list of good OCing 2x1g rams
Patriot LLK $246or OCZ Platinum $237 are cheapest 2 gigs overclockers
Crucial ballistix are best 2x1g overclockers, but much more expensive.
The list compiled by XS will help you choose.

 

[CraKaJaX]

Get the OCZ platinum, it's awesome ram.

 

[Hough NutZ]

Originally posted by: CraKaJaX
Get the OCZ platinum, it's awesome ram.

Absolutely.

I have it running in my system.

OCZ 2x1gb ---- 2-3-2-5 ----- $230 after Mail in Rebate FTW

/end of discussion on ram