New computer

[halion1]

Any good?
AMD Athlon 64 3800+ Orleans 108.00
ASUS M2N-E 93.99
ASUS EN7300LE/HTD/128M GeForce 7300LE 128MB 64-bit GDDR2 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail 51.99
CORSAIR XMS2 1GB (2 x 512MB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail 132.99
Seagate Barracuda 7200.9 ST380811AS 80GB 7200 RPM 8MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM 43.99
SAMSUNG Black 16X DVD-ROM 52X CD-R 32X CD-RW 52X CD-ROM 2M Cache IDE Combo Drive - OEM 21.99
Antec NeoHE 430 ATX12V 430W Power Supply 100Vac to 240Vac +/- 10% UL, CUL, TUV, CE, FCC, CCC, CB, C-tick - Retail 79.99
Windows 89.99
fan 1.49
I do have a case.

I am still embarrassed,
Ross

 

[acegazda]

Hate to do this but I'm going to answer your question with 3 questions:
1. What are you going to be using the PC for?
2. What is your budget?
3. Do you have a monitor?
After you answer those, we'll be able to better answer yours.

 

[dBTelos]

For another $20 you could triple the size of your HD.

 

[KAZANI]

That combo optical drive is a bad choice. You can get a DVD-RW for only a few more bucks.

 

[halion1]

Light gaming, light overclocking, HEAVY multimedia. My budget is 600-620 USD.

 

[halion1]

Yes, I do have a monitor.

 

[potato28]

Mreo HDD space, maybe upgraded video card. What games are you playing?

 

[DaveSimmons]

NEC3550 DVD burner makes more sense, media files back up much easier in 4 GB chunks and I've seen blank DVDs as low as 14 cents each.

Getting a Fortron FSP PSU for $50 instead of the Antec would get you closer to getting a 7600GT card (around $115) instead of 7300.

 

[halion1]

I DO have a 200 GB External HD. As for games, I doubt if I will even game.

 

[halion1]

Any hardware suggestions?

 

[Bobthelost]

The RAM is a poor option. You'd be much better off getting cheaper stuff, it won't improve performance and you'd just be throwing it away.

The PSU is overkill, 330W is more than you need for that.

 

[151528]

For multimedia tasks you should go with a better multi tasking CPU, and more HDD space, although the 200GB ext you have should last you a little while.

 

[halion1]

What ram should I choose?

 

[Bobthelost]

AM2 have a 200mhz FSB speed (yes i know they don't technically have a FSB) don't they? In which case you can get a moderate overclock from DDR2 533. Size makes more difference than speed does, if you can stretch to 2GB of RAM then i'd do it. (Don't worry if you can't, as long as you don't want to go for vistain the near future 1GB should be enough.)

Basically cheap and cheerful 533 would be my choice.

 

[halion1]

What about power supply?

 

[Bobthelost]

I'm a fully carded seasonic fan, but if you go to pricerunner or froogle and check out the enhance 5140 then that's about the best value PSU around.

 

[Gautama2]

Surprised no one critcized the M2N-E for overclocking. Head on over to the motherboard forum and check the sticky, problems galore. The best motherboard in that price range is the DFI Infinity Ultra-II M2, which I am currently running. Great overclocking, tons of bios options, rock stable, and if your worried about the northbridge fan being loud--its not. Chipset does get hot, but I'm not BSODing because of it.

 

[halion1]

Seasonic 380w PSU?

 

[Gautama2]

That would work perfectly.

 

[halion1]

any alternatives to the DFI?

 

[dBTelos]

Seasonic 380w PSU?

For the 7300, yes.

 

[halion1]

how about a 6800XT?

 

[alimoalem]

1. psu: fortron 450w or enhance $50 (u save $30).
2. optical: move up to dvd rw..~$30 (add $8)
3. motherboard: dfi board guatama recommended..$90 (save $4)
4. cpu: am2 3800x2...$169 (add $61). if you decide to go c2d, the e 6300 is $183 at newegg (probably cheaper elsewhere)
5. ram: pqi TURBO 2x512mb ddr2-667 $99AR or A-DATA Vitesta 2x512mb ddr2-533 for $105 if you don't want rebates. the vitesta ram got a good review by anand. (u save $30)
6. video card: i think the x1300 is a better card but i could be wrong. if it is a better card, you can get it for the same price as the 7300...maybe a couple dollars cheaper.

in all, my recommendations add $3 to your total cost. what you gain, though, is a better motherboard, dual core processor, and a dvd-burner. plus, i think fortron/enhance is better than antec, but that's just me.

 

[smthmlk]

unless one of his requirements is silence, I wouldn't get a seasonic here. I would recommend:
--> Fortron AX400 [$52.56 shipped]
--> Enhance 5140GH [~$67 shipped] [review]
--> Fortron FSP400-60GLN [~$55 shipped] [review]

The FSP400-60GLN would be best bet unless you could find the enhance model cheaper.

 

[Smartazz]

Originally posted by: Gautama2
Surprised no one critcized the M2N-E for overclocking. Head on over to the motherboard forum and check the sticky, problems galore. The best motherboard in that price range is the DFI Infinity Ultra-II M2, which I am currently running. Great overclocking, tons of bios options, rock stable, and if your worried about the northbridge fan being loud--its not. Chipset does get hot, but I'm not BSODing because of it.

Beat me to it. I have the board, it's ok. Some people have been lucky with the board, I've barely been able to overclock mine though.