Building $2000 computer for a friend... take a look, some questions about AMD systems

[Wah]

He requested an all SCSI system (except storage) with the fastest hard drive he can afford. Budget is $2000 give or take, including cheap 17" monitor for his old system. He's not a gamer, but plays games occasionally, I don't think he will overclock....

This is the first AMD system I am building, so please give me some advice.

Mobo: Asus A7M266 or Epox 8K7A, MSI, Iwill... not sure which to get. I've always been a fan of ASUS.
CPU: AMD 1.4ghz/266mhz
Memory: 256MB DDR... 1 stick crucial
case: Enlight 7237 ..What about the PS? Do I need a special one?
sound card: Santa Cruz
video: GF2
SCSI controller: tekram DC390 U3W
DVD: Pioneer 10x scsi slot load
cdrw: plextor 12/10/32 scsi
HD: seagate X15 18gb scsi
HD: IBM 20gb 60GXP ide
monitor: already has a flat panel
speakers: BA4800
cpu cooler: SVC golden gate

and the little things like mouse, keyboard, etc... This all comes out to a bit over $2k, so i'm gonna cut out some of the fat eventually. This is very similar to my system, so i'm familiar with most of the components...

Is there anything I need to know about building an AMD system? I've built several p2 and p3 systems.


thanks!

changes in bold[/]

 

[NinjaGnome]

Mobo: since he wont be overclocking you want a board thats really stable. maybe the gigabyte board ive heard those are really stable, get an EP- 8k7a if he was overclocking
CPU: AMD 1.4ghz/266mhz
Memory: 256MB DDR... 1 stick of 256mb crucial will work quite well, if he will overclock get some corsair pc2400 (pc150)
case: Enlight 7237 .. you should get an enermax 350 watt ps
sound card: Santa Cruz
video: GF2
SCSI controller: Adaptec 19160
DVD: Pioneer 10x scsi slot load
cdrw: plextor 12/10/32 scsi
HD: seagate X15 18gb scsi mmmmm i want it
HD: IBM 20gb 60GXP ide i have one these are nice drives
monitor: not sure yet... something cheap
speakers: BA4800
cpu cooler: SVC golden gate, whats this?? never heard of it? get a volcano 2 since he is not ocing, they are cheap and will work well. get an thermalright SK6 if he will overclock.

and the little things like mouse, keyboard, etc... This all comes out to a bit over $2k, so i'm gonna cut out some of the fat eventually.

Is there anything I need to know about building an AMD system? I've built several p2 and p3 systems. you need to be careful with that processors get a shim so you dont crush it

well thats it hope this helps.

 

[neuralfx]

thats a good system, check out the K7master from MSI for a motherboard, i dont really think ya need a scsi dvd, but cool, the cheetah is a nice drive.. not familiar with that cpu cooler, got a link? for memory, Crucial is great, and cheaper than mushkin, and u said he's not overclocing it, which even if he wanted to crucial oc's fine. 2 256 meg sticks should be sufficient, unless ya wanna get 3 hehe.. dont need a "special" ps, look at like a 300-350watt Enermax, or some people have good luck with the Sparkle.. hope this helps....
-neural

 

[urameatball]

could use a better monitor.
I say the monitor is the must crucial part of a 'nice' system.

 

[crt1530]

I would recommend a Tekram DC-390U3W SCSI controller over an Adaptec 19160. The best price for this card is currently available at www.memorymedia.com for $175. This is a little(~$30) more than the 19160, but it is a dual channel card that will allow the X15 to utilize its Ultra160 transfer rate capabilities. If you put the Plextor and the X15 on the same channel(19160), they would BOTH be operating at the SCSI-2 transfer rate. Other than that, everything looks pretty good. I'm not sure about the HSF. I haven't heard of SVC before.

 

[zzzz]

that svc golden gate is same as the ocz gladiator and was available from the SVC store for under $20 shipped. It is quite good for its price and beats volcano-2 handily.

 

[bigshooter]

Does he really need SCSI? Is he going to do video editing or something? I'd rather get IDE with a better monitor.

 

[Wah]

Thanks for the replies.
-The cheap monitor isn't for this computer. He has an LCD flat panel, so he just needs something for the computer he is replacing.
-The only real request he made was the 15k rpm hard drive... he wants the seeks that the scsi drives offer. I'm not arguing... I have the x15 and I love it much more than the ide ibm I had before it.
-Like zzzz said, the golden gate is the same as the ocz gladiator... its a good hsf.
-about the power supply, the enlight case I was thinking of getting comes with a PS (300W or 340W) and the case + power supply costs as much as an enlight power supply alone. I know that they are good PSs(i have one!) but i'm thinking that using the stock PS is good enough for now.
-I've been considering the tekram controller... I will see what he wants. edit: oh shoot, I didn't realize the 19160 was a single channel controller... i guess tekram it is then...

 

[Athlon4all]

great rig, on the Mobo since he won't be ocing right? Then MSI K7 Master is for you, most stable 760 non overclocked board. And High performing, and if you get the K7 Master-S that version has on-board SCSI.

 

[neuralfx]

get an ATAPI burner.. in my opinion, i mean i believe plextor has even stopped making scsi burners for awhile, (there is no 16/10/40S, i dont think), gettin scsi for the hd is fine, but for the other stuff, jus go ide, good performance and save a few bucks, .. my 2cents....
-neural

 

[Niege]

Wah - I just built my first AMD system and I went with the Iwill KK266-R. Though it is a good overclocker, my main reason for choosing it was that it came out on top in all the stability tests done by the reviewers. Stability is primary for me. My choice of the RAID board was simply because I wanted four separate IDE channels, obviously not a consideration for you. It's been running clean and stable. The 1.4 wasn't out when I built so I got the 1.2. Very happy.