Building a new computer.... need input

[exoid]

Hello,

I'm trying to build myself a new computer as the one I'm using now is getting quite old in technology.

Here is what i have so far;

Abit [AN8-Fatal1ty] Fatal1ty AN8 (nVidia nForce4 Ultra Socket 939/1000FSB Dual-DDR-400 PCX16(x1) PCX1(x2) PCI(x3) SATA300-RAID(0/1/01)/ATA133 w/ IEEE1394/USB2.0 / 5.1 Audio / Gigabit LAN)

AMD [ADA4000BNBOX] Athlon64 4000+ S939 (Athlon64 4000+ 2.4GHz 1000FSB 1MB L2 Cache Socket 939 AMD64 (Retail))

Corsair [VS1GB400C3] DDR400 1G (Corsair DDR400 1024M 184pin 2.5v C3)
Corsair [VS1GB400C3] DDR400 1G (Corsair DDR400 1024M 184pin 2.5v C3)

Alps [FD1.44-BK] FD 1.44 Black (1.44MB 3.5" Internal Floppy Drive (Black))

Seagate [ST3160812AS] Barracuda 160GB SATA-II (Seagate 160GB 7200RPM SATA-II 3Gb/s 3.5" 8MB Cache)

Thermaltake [Dream VA3400SWA] Dream Pro VA3400SWA (TSUNAMI Dream Pro Alumi 4X5.25 2X3.5 5X3.5" ATX-400W Silver Mirrored W/ WINDOW)

Now my main concern, as this would be my first time actually building a PC, is if this is all compatible with other components? As in, will the motherboard work with the selected ram & hd.

As far as i'm aware, the mobo supports DDR400, which the ram is. (confirmation would be nice from AT users)

My questions would be.. is this a good choice? mobo/ram and hd choice.

It would cost me $1200CAN for this sytem, excluding a GFX card & PSU.

Comments appreciated.

Thank you.

 

[EagleEye]

HD is a good choice, but you can get better ram/mobo for the money.

Most people would suggest an EPOX mobo for a non-sli machine. Also, some g-skill value ram should be cheaper, higher quality, and oc more if you want to oc.

 

[Some1ne]

Why not do a dual-core CPU?

 

[alimoalem]

Originally posted by: Some1ne
Why not do a dual-core CPU?

or get a cheaper single core for the rest of the system? like a 3700

 

[GamerExpress]

Not sure I agree with that, but to each his own.

 

[brbdc]

I would shy away from dual core. If your going for gaming. I have had nothing but problems with my dual core. All the problems were eliminated by going to a single core for the game. Games ranging from Battlefield 2 to War3.

 

[exoid]

Well no i don't really need SLI, i just need a nice mobo that's feature rich and powerfull.

the AMD X2 are DualCore no? your suggestion is to go with single-core processors?

i'm looking for gaming yes, so your suggestion is to go with a single-core?

I'm looking to upgrade now and be set for awhile... for gaming and general programs use.

i've been told to get a mobo that has NCQ (check sp?) support and a NCQ harddrive because its nice in performance?

 

[Linflas]

I just ordered my parts and I went with the single core 4000+ San Diego because the machine will be primarily a gaming machine. This thread pretty much helped me settle on the single core.

 

[Some1ne]

This thread pretty much helped me settle on the single core.

The problem with that thread is that it greatly overestimates the CPU's impact on gaming performance. Any AMD chip 3000+ or faster (or clocked at a level equivalent to the 3000+) will not be CPU constrained when gaming...in short, anything >= 3000+ will game just fine, and won't show any huge performance difference one way or the other. The video card is the deciding factor here. This may change when multithreaded games come out, in that all of a sudden an entry level dual-core chip will be a requirement, but that's a ways off yet, and I doubt game developers would make a sudden jump to requiring a dual-core setup in order to get adequate performance, it just leaves too many users in the dust at the moment.

the AMD X2 are DualCore no?

Yes, the X2 is the dual-core line from AMD.

i'm looking for gaming yes, so your suggestion is to go with a single-core?

Personally, I'd say go dual-core, even for gaming. I have a dual-core setup myself, and it games just fine. I've used it to play new games like FEAR and Quake4, all the way down to exceptionally old games like Starcraft and Fallout, and it performs admirably in each case. I don't know why people report problems gaming on dual-core, maybe they're not installing the CPU driver or the right OS patches or something. It's been nothing but a cakewalk for me.

i've been told to get a mobo that has NCQ (check sp?) support and a NCQ harddrive because its nice in performance?

Most people will tell you that NCQ doesn't do too much in the here and now. I still think it's worth having however, and it should really help once multitasking and multithreading take off a bit more.