System for buddy, please critique

[JoPalm]

Building a system for a buddy of mine and I havn't looked up comp stuff for about a year. Don't have the time to research too so I looked at the system buyers guide in the forum. I was hoping some of you could critique the system if summed up thus far.

Athlon 64 3200+
MSI K8N Neo 2 Platnium
Samsung 512MB PC3200
Maxtor 160GB SATA
ATI Radeon X800 Pro 256MB OEM
CL Audigy 2 OEM
Pioneer DVR-108 16x16 DVD+-RW OEM Blk

Money is problem but spending it wisely is. He wants a fast system but doesn't want a top of the line one. He wants it to play doom 3 too. Can anyone recommend maybe a cheaper motherboard that is comparable and easy to work with like the MSI. (I have msi in my machine so i'm partial to them, don't really like asus for some reason, lol). Also what quiet PSU would you recommend for this system?

Thanks!!

 

[Spamdini]

i think the mobo ur thinking of is MSI K8N Neo platinum not the 2 because the 2 is for socket 939 link so either ull have to change ur mobo or ur cpu. also nvidia seems to have won the GPU race *so far* so the 6800 gt will probably be a good choice over the x800 but i am an ATI fan so go ahead. Also this seems to be the top choice right now might wanna consider it for ur optical.

 

[Spamdini]

a gig of ram is also highly recommended especially for doom 3. so multiply by 2.

 

[CraigRT]

This may sound stupid, but if he wants to play Doom3, reconsider the ATi card, and make it an NVidia, preferably the 6800GT card.
the K8N is a good mobo for most people, but you can do a lot better for the money... something like an Abit KV8 Pro or Soltek K8AN2E-GR are like $100 US
I'd also personally recommend a gig if you can swallow the price, it actually is worthwhile this day and age for the average gamer/power user.
I'd also again personally ditch the Maxtor for a Seagate, their 5 year warranty, and overall kickass drives should not be overlooked by anyone IMO.
the rest looks pretty standard, no worries.

 

[mechBgon]

edit: ^^ yeah


Firstly, the MSI K8N Neo 2 Platinum is a Socket939 board, and you've picked a Socket754 chip, so make those two match one way or the other, higher CPU or else the Socket754 version of the board.

For a nice + quiet PSU, how about an Antec NeoPower 480W or Enermax 470W Noisetaker And if you're building a gaming system, 1GB of RAM might be worth the investment.

 

[Spamdini]

do u have anything against the MSI K8N Neo platinum CraigRT?

 

[JoPalm]

Athlon 64 3200+
MSI K8N Neo Platnium Socket 745
2x Samsung 512MB PC3200
Seagate 160GB SATA
MSI NX6800GT 256MB DDR
CL Audigy 2 OEM
Pioneer DVR-108 16x16 DVD+-RW OEM Blk

Better? don't worry about the dvd writer. Does he really need a 480 PSU? lol. does neopower come in smaller power sizes?

 

[MDE]

Something around a 380W Antec TruePower should be fine. What's the price difference between the Audigy 2 and Audigy2 ZS?

 

[JoPalm]

whats the diff between the 2 and the 2 ZS?