Building a new gaming rig - Component review

[Devier]

Hi all,

I'm building a new gaming PC and I'm hoping those experts out there can provide some advice on component selection. I've based most of these selections on mid-range guides from SharkyExtreme and Anandtech, but I've been somewhat out of the loop on recent hardware advances. I'd appreciate an experienced eye as to whether or not these components are the best bang for the buck and will all work well with each other. Newegg.com appeared to offer great prices on all of these components and I've had good experience with them in the past, so I'm looking to order everything from them at once.

Without further ado:

AMD-compatible Motherboards
CHAINTECH VNF4/Ultra Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 Ultra ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
$92.00

ATX Computer Cases
ASPIRE X-Dreamer II ATXB4KLW-BL Blue Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 350W Power Supply - Retail
$57.00

CD/DVD Burners (RW Drives)
NEC Black IDE DVD Burner Model ND-3520A-KIT-BLU - Retail
$48.99

Floppy Drives
NEC Black 1.44MB 3.5" Internal Floppy Drive Windows 98SE/ ME/ 2000/ XP - OEM
$8.49

Memory - System
CORSAIR ValueSelect 1GB (2 x 512MB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Unbuffered Dual Channel Kit System
$79.99

Monitors - LCD
HYUNDAI L90D+ Silver 19" 8ms LCD Monitor - Retail
2 x $339.99 = $679.98

Processors
AMD Athlon 64 3200+ Winchester Integrated into Chip FSB Socket 939 Processor Model ADA3200BIBOX - Retail
$190.00

Video Cards & Related Devices
XFX PVT45GUDF3 Geforce 6800GT 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail
$50.00 Mail-in Rebate
$349.00

Subtotal: $1,505.45

Shipping
FedEx 2Day -- $66.19

Total: $1,571.64 - $50 mail-in rebate = $1521.64

Sound card will be my old PCI SB Live Value and HDD will be my existing WD 120GB 7200 RPM and IBM Deskstar 60GB 7200 RPM. I've got a keyboard, mouse, printer, and speakers (Klipsch) already too.

QUESTION: It looks like I can get a Venice core proc for same price, is there a difference in Venice vs. Winchester?

QUESTION: Do these all look like the right parts for a mid-range upgrade? Any swap suggestions? Anandtech seemed to think AMD offers better gaming performance, so that's why I've gone that route.

QUESTION: Am I missing any critical components other than sound & HDD that I'm stealing from my old rig? Is that a mistake?

Thanks a bunch for any advice,

--Dev

 

[UsandThem]

Originally posted by: Devier

QUESTION: It looks like I can get a Venice core proc for same price, is there a difference in Venice vs. Winchester?

QUESTION: Do these all look like the right parts for a mid-range upgrade? Any swap suggestions? Anandtech seemed to think AMD offers better gaming performance, so that's why I've gone that route.

QUESTION: Am I missing any critical components other than sound & HDD that I'm stealing from my old rig? Is that a mistake?

Thanks a bunch for any advice,

--Dev

1. Yes, get the Venice core CPU. It improves some key areas.

2. Get a case without a power supply and get a better power supply.

3. Get the 3540a DVD burner for same amount.

 

[nick1985]

your going to need a better power supply than that, no doubt about it.


get the 3000 over the 3200 and use the saved cash for a power supply that wont fry your components. i suggest getting an antec case with a power supply. although, it wont have all the riced out lights and crap.

 

[Devier]

Thanks for the feedback. I'll definitely do the Venice and the 3540a instead of the original components. Which case/PSU combo would you suggest? The Antec SLK3000-B seems so darn boring looking and I don't want to spend a fortune on the case. Is 350W sufficient or will I need 400+?

 

[Matt2]

Why can't he just throw a new PSU in the Dreamer case? He obviously picke dit cause he liked it...

 

[Devier]

How about throwing the following PSU into the X-Dreamer?

Antec SmartPower 2.0 SP-400 ATX12V 400W Power Supply - Retail
$55.00

Adds $55 to my price but hopefully some more reliability and the 24 pin connector... thoughts?

 

[suicidalpigeon]

nice..two L90D's. i like your taste :thumbsup:. for the psu you can get a 450w xclio for like $50.