Budget gamer buying mid-range system - please help!

[adventurerneil]

Howdy! I'm new to the AMD (and to Anandtech forums for that matter), and am more of a "software guy" than hardware. But, I'm in the market to buy a new gaming computer (one that will hopefully last me a year or more with minimal upgrades). I plan to play lots of WoW on this computer, and hopefully the new Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion when it comes out this spring. Don't plan to overclock much, or use SLI, but the option is nice.

I was initially going to have it built for me, but I have a friend in the Geek Squad who is helping me select parts and build.

I've been doing my homework for the last few months, and I think I've decided on the following components - please tell me what you think! These are roughly based on the recommendations of Anandtech's Midrage Buyer's Guide back in Sept.

Antec SUPER LANBOY case - $76
ABIT KN8-SLI (passive cooling) - $99
eVGA 7800gt - $319
Sunbeam NUUO 550W modular PSU - $79
AMD Athlon 64 3200+ Venice - $152
Corsair XMS 1 gb - $117
WD Caviar 200gb SATA - $86
LITE-ON DVD-RW - $40
Zalman fan/heatsink - $32

Total cost: ~$1000 (plus another $50 or so for shipping) from Newegg. Not too bad, considering I'm a budgety college student!

The only thing I'm not sure about is the motherboard and ram. I've been going back and forth between DFI, EPoX, and a few others. My friend in the Geek Squad recommended this ABIT (passively cooled) motherboard with SLI capability, but I haven't found much information or reviews on it at all. Is this necessarily a bad thing?

Someone on Newegg says that they have the board with the Corsair ram, and that it runs great. Any comments would be greatly appreciated! I'll probably purchase quite soon.

 

[unfalliblekrutch]

I"d probably go for the DFI board as it'd probably overclock better. (i'm assuming thats what you're gonna do with your 3200 venice?)

Corsair XMS may not be really neccessary. getting corsair value ram or something may decrease your fps by 1 or 2, but you can compensate by getting a 7800gtx instead of gt from they moeny you save

 

[TriggerHappy101]

Originally posted by: adventurerneil
Howdy! I'm new to the AMD (and to Anandtech forums for that matter), and am more of a "software guy" than hardware. But, I'm in the market to buy a new gaming computer (one that will hopefully last me a year or more with minimal upgrades). I plan to play lots of WoW on this computer, and hopefully the new Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion when it comes out this spring. Don't plan to overclock much, or use SLI, but the option is nice.

I was initially going to have it built for me, but I have a friend in the Geek Squad who is helping me select parts and build.

I've been doing my homework for the last few months, and I think I've decided on the following components - please tell me what you think! These are roughly based on the recommendations of Anandtech's Midrage Buyer's Guide back in Sept.

Antec SUPER LANBOY case - $76
ABIT KN8-SLI (passive cooling) - $99
eVGA 7800gt - $319
Sunbeam NUUO 550W modular PSU - $79
AMD Athlon 64 3200+ Venice - $152
Corsair XMS 1 gb - $117
WD Caviar 200gb SATA - $86
LITE-ON DVD-RW - $40
Zalman fan/heatsink - $32

Total cost: ~$1000 (plus another $50 or so for shipping) from Newegg. Not too bad, considering I'm a budgety college student!

The only thing I'm not sure about is the motherboard and ram. I've been going back and forth between DFI, EPoX, and a few others. My friend in the Geek Squad recommended this ABIT (passively cooled) motherboard with SLI capability, but I haven't found much information or reviews on it at all. Is this necessarily a bad thing?

Someone on Newegg says that they have the board with the Corsair ram, and that it runs great. Any comments would be greatly appreciated! I'll probably purchase quite soon.

That?s more of a high end system than a mid range. Mid range system would be more along the lines of a Geforce 6800GS videocard. You might as well upgrade that 3200 to a 3700 for not much more money, gives you more longevity

Swap the 1 gig of XMS with Corsair valueselect.

Get this mobo instead.

EPoX nForce4 Ultra (939) EP-9NPA+Ultra
http://labs.anandtech.com/search.php?q=...orce4+Ultra+%28939%29+EP-9NPA%2BUltra+

Another thing, people in the "Geek Squad" is morons. You need two requirements to work there, A) Sell people computer stuff that they do not need, and have a smile on your face when you do it. B) Be a Highschool student. C) Be cocky and act like you know everything.

They really have no clue what they are doing. I wouldn?t trust him to piece together or build your PC, even if he is your friend. Don't believe me? Spend the next few months reading this http://bestbuysux.org/cust.html and this http://bestbuysux.org/comments.html

 

[mwmorph]

just remember that the lanboy is uberbright, annoyingly so. you might regret the fugly case later.

i dont know about sunbeam, a quality antec sonata 2 with the stock QUALITY being the important word 380w psu should work fine for less $.

 

[Porter21]

Yes, obviously Antec manufactures some of the best cases out right now. The reason I would buy a LANBOY would be if I was obviously taking it to lan parties or friends house. If I wasn't doing that, I would stick with a more solid case that is less flimsy and is more sturdy. As far as that system itself, I like the parts chosen, haven't had personal experience with many of the parts though. As far as the RAM goes, you should be well off with the xms. Obviously they are more expensive, but I think you'll be happy you purchased it when you decide to OC. I have some crucial RAM that isn't bad in price and has enabled me to overclock as much as i've really ever wanted to.

Good Luck!

 

[emilyek]

Dump the Sunbeam PSU. You can do much better for $80. Think Antec, Seasonic, Fortron.