Some advice for New Comp!!!

[voodooviper]

Ok well I decided to build a new computer and was a little confused about what was a better buy in terms of value and performance in some parts.

My basic build:

1. Case - Thermaltake Xaser V Damier Series - Blue w/ window
2. Motherboard - Gigabyte "GA-K8NF-9" NVIDIA nForce4 4X Chipset
3. Processor - AMD Athlon 64 3000+ 90nm process
4. Ram - 2x 512 something ?
5. Hard Drive - 160 something ?
6. Video Card - NVidia 6600GT company?

Im trying to build the best computer I can for the cheapest price, so any help would be greatly appreciated. Im trying to keep the cost down as much as i can but still get good quality because ive already gone over my budget (in my planning) of approx. 1000 (w/o monitor). Thanks alot!!!

Questions:

1. What kind of ram should i get, because i need ddr400 but they greatly vary in prices. I am probably not going to do very much overclocking.

2. Since like everything i read says get the 6600gt over the x700 ( i still like ati though ), ive decided to go for one of those, but what company? The cards vary in price from this evga (cheapest) to much more expensive more well known brands. I want a good and sturdy card which will not spontaneously combust!

3. The raptors were too expensive so im looking for a good sturdy hard drive which will not have random failure / loud noises. Also I am looking for one which is pretty fast. I was thinking around 160 gb or something. Which company is the best? (ie. Western Digital, Seagate, Maxtor, ...)

4. What kind of power supply should i get? I was thinking of around a 500W or something like that, but I am not sure how much I need to run this machine. Is it worth paying more for the name brands? Generally are all power supplies the same? What kind of connetors do i need?

5. Sound Card - I want a good one which will play high quality music and game sound. I almost decided to get the Audigy 2 ZS Platinum but then realized that I would never ever use all of the connectors and stuff included, and didnt want to pay 200$. Im looking for the cheapest one, but still a good sound quailty. Pretty sure not more than 80-100$.

Any help will be greatly appreciated, Thanks alot!!!

 

[Hyperlite]

1) Kingston HyperX or Mushkin
2)eVGA, XFX, i havn't heard of any 6600GT brands that are "bad"
3) Western Digital IMHO
4)Fortron 530w, the PSU is the most important part of your system, you need a good one.
5)i really can't speak to the issue of sound cards i'd say just go with a cheaper audigy.

 

[Steg55]

1) RAM - dead easy. Buy Corsair. But not Kingston, and definatly not Crucial.
If you want to lots of gaming then you want this CORSAIR XMS Xtreme Memory Speed Series, Xtra-Low Latency 184-Pin 1GB(512MBx2) DDR PC-3200
If you dont plan to do alot of gaming - or simply cant spend $250 on RAM then you want this Corsair Value Select (Dual Pack) 184 Pin 512MBx2 DDR PC-3200

2) My recommendation on graphics cards is the XFX - they build basic reference designs - no fancy lights - but they build the best cards ive ever used. They are the best for any thing. Thus - XFX nVIDIA GeForce 6600GT Video Card

3) HDDs.....more difficult. My personal reocommendation is Seagate because ive never had a problem with them and they are the quitest drives out. Some people dont like them because they are not the fastest HDDs but Ive never had a problem.

4) "Tagan" Series 480W Power Supply, Model "TG-480" - best power supply ever. It has enough grunt for that machine of yours and then quite alot more. There is no competiton.

5) Creative Soundblasters are the best sound card - full stop. So what you want it this - Creative Labs Sound Blaster Audigy2 ZS PCI Sound Card Pro quality sound and features for $81.

I hope that helps

Steg

 

[SrGuapo]

1) Mushkin value RAM - cheap, reliable, and did I say cheap (was $130 at newegg)

2) evga is a good brand. If they are the cheapest, then I would go for that.

3) Seagate makes good, quiet, reliable drives. Look for a 7200 RPM drive that has some good reviews. Any of those companies should be fine, though some people tend to shy away from Maxtor.

4) You want a good name brand PSU (Antec, Fortron, Enermax, etc.). You could probably get away with something as low as 400 Watts, but I would recommend a 450W or more. The antec true power series are good card and not too expensive (480 W is ~$80).

5) You may want to use the onboard sound and see if that fits your needs. If you don't need all the various special connectors, it should be fine for listening to music and gaming. If it is really an issue, you can always buy an Audigy2 later.

Good luck!

Edit: spelin'

 

[Hyperlite]

Steg55, why not kingston or crucial?

 

[Steg55]

Crucial because they use Micron chips and Micron produce offically the WORST memory on that market.
Kingston simply because both myself and others have had problems with their RAM,
Just stick to the 3 my reliable brands and you can't go wrong - Corsair, OCZ, Mushkin

Steg