building a new system

[sephiroth786]

Case -A-TOP Alien Case - $92

mobo - Asus AV8 Deluxe 939- $135


CPU - amd 64 3500+ - $352

optical drive - NEC dual layer - $75

RAM - two of these corsair value select 3200 - $166

thermal paste - arctic silver 5 - $7

Video Card - eVGA geforce 6800 - $283

HSF - Zalman CNPS7000A cu - $41

im sorta new at this stuff and i was wondering if the Zalman HSF is compatible with the 939 3500+ and the 939 Fx-53(might change my mind and go for this...) since newegg lists the Zalman for socket 478 and socket 754 processors. I dont really think i'll overclock, maybe just a little. I already have a spare hard drive + speakers + monitor so let me know what u guys think about this setup. Thanks in advance.

 

[Frew]

Like it all EXCEPT the case but thats somthing personal.

 

[DerwenArtos12]

not bad, I would definatly suggest getting the MSI Neo2 Platinum though, not widely avalable but I think it is a definatly nicer board. Also, ram is not the place to scimp. for less than another $100 you could upgrade the ram. I don't knwo what your budget is but you should be able to find a 6800gt for under $400 around here. you have a great system lined up as it is but will another couple hundred it could be phenominal.

ram I woudl suggest this minimum.

 

[sandorski]

Originally posted by: DerwenArtos12
not bad, I would definatly suggest getting the MSI Neo2 Platinum though, not widely avalable but I think it is a definatly nicer board. Also, ram is not the place to scimp. for less than another $100 you could upgrade the ram. I don't knwo what your budget is but you should be able to find a 6800gt for under $400 around here. you have a great system lined up as it is but will another couple hundred it could be phenominal.

ram I woudl suggest this minimum.

I'll disagree on that RAM recommendation. Maybe if the OP is Overclocking, otherwise it's a waste of money.

 

[DerwenArtos12]

Originally posted by: sandorski

Originally posted by: DerwenArtos12
not bad, I would definatly suggest getting the MSI Neo2 Platinum though, not widely avalable but I think it is a definatly nicer board. Also, ram is not the place to scimp. for less than another $100 you could upgrade the ram. I don't knwo what your budget is but you should be able to find a 6800gt for under $400 around here. you have a great system lined up as it is but will another couple hundred it could be phenominal.

ram I woudl suggest this minimum.

I'll disagree on that RAM recommendation. Maybe if the OP is Overclocking, otherwise it's a waste of money.

that is true I guess, I woudl only assume with a system like that you would overclock as the potential for doing so is so high. I do have to stick to the motherboard recomendation even if you do not intend to overclock, GREAT BOARD!

 

[sephiroth786]

thanks for the help guys...as for the motherboard is concerned...i looked around desperately for an n-force 939 mobo but all i found was the gigabyte one which costs way too much. If u guys have any links to the MSI mobo for under 200 let me know!

 

[UsandThem]

I would take an Asus board over a MSI board anyday...........but that is just my opinion. I have had great luck with every Asus board I have owned (they have a three year warranty as well). The couple of MSI boards I have had (the last was the VIA 266a chipset motherboard -can't remember the model, but it was the one Anandtech put in the servers and they started crapping out on them). They were anything but a pleasure to deal with.

I know there are people out there who swear by MSI (they may have had great experiences with their products), however I am not one who has had good experiences with them.

 

[mechBgon]

Replace the case's stock power supply with a good-quality one. Enermax, Antec, PC Power & Cooling, Fortron... sure. L&C is the evident maker of the PSU in that case, and I would avoid them based on their reputation.

 

[footbal07]

you might want to look for a better case like an antec or lian li but thats all preferance. i dont know too much about that one but there is nothing more annoying in my mind then working on a cheaply made case. anyways whether you do go with that case or not, get a nice psu like mechbgon said. also i would definately take a 6800gt over the vanalla 6800. to keep the cost down you could consider an asus k8n, 3200, and a 6800gt but definately go with the 6800gt

 

[sandorski]

Originally posted by: UsandThem
I would take an Asus board over a MSI board anyday...........but that is just my opinion. I have had great luck with every Asus board I have owned (they have a three year warranty as well). The couple of MSI boards I have had (the last was the VIA 266a chipset motherboard -can't remember the model, but it was the one Anandtech put in the servers and they started crapping out on them). They were anything but a pleasure to deal with.

I know there are people out there who swear by MSI (they may have had great experiences with their products), however I am not one who has had good experiences with them.

Me too, though I'm using an MSI board right now. MSI boards are rock solid stable, until they die. They'll usually last past the Warranty period, though my K7 Master had 6 months left when it died.

IMO, for someone who upgrades regularly(every 12 months or so) an MSI board will do the Job just fine, but if one wants 2-4 years use then Asus is probably the best way to go.