Building a system for myself

jjessico

Senior member
May 29, 2002
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Alright, my current system is giving up the ghost, and I need something reliable and middle of the road to replace it.

I'm going to carry some old stuff into my new system:
Plextor DVD burner
Logitech 5.1 speakers
2x Dell 1905FPs

Everything else I'm hoping to pick up as follows:
Case: Antec Solution SLK3800B $99
Mobo: ASUS A8N-SLI Deluxe $162
Proc: AMD Athlon 64 3200+ Venice 1GHz FSB $160
Mem: Crucial Ballistix 1GB (2 x 512MB) DDR400 $115
Video: PNY VCG6600GXPB Geforce 6600GT $139
HD: Western Digital Caviar SE WD2500JS 250GB $103 (x2)
Total---881

I don't game at all. What I'm looking for is a stable workstation that will be fast and won't give me any ******. I went with the 6600GT because I need two DVI outputs to run both of my flat panels.

Any thoughts on the WD Caviar SE's? I'll be running them in RAID 1 most likely.

Let me know if I'm wasting any money on any part of this sytem, i wouldn't mind shaving 80-100 bucks off the total price.

Thanks guys,
Jason
 

duragezic

Lifer
Oct 11, 1999
11,234
4
81
If you do heavy workstation stuff, 2GB of RAM might be better. You don't need ballistic garbage and the mobo is definitely overpriced.
 

jjessico

Senior member
May 29, 2002
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Originally posted by: Greenman
Dump the sli motherboard, it's a waste of money if you don't play games.


Do you have a suggestion as to a different board that is equivalent that would dump the SLI? If nothing else maybe I'll end up using 3 or 4 displays with a second card someday.

Thanks,
Jason
 

jjessico

Senior member
May 29, 2002
733
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Originally posted by: duragezic
If you do heavy workstation stuff, 2GB of RAM might be better. You don't need ballistic garbage and the mobo is definitely overpriced.


I do some pretty heavy workstation stuff, but right now I think I'll stick with 1GB and then double it up when I have more available cash this summer. The old PC kicking the bucket right at the beginning of the semester kinda puts a hurt on the budget.

Any other suggestions for a motherboard? I have never had a problem with an Asus board but I've had good experiences with MSI and Abit though.

Thanks again guys.
 

jjessico

Senior member
May 29, 2002
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Originally posted by: alimoalem
drop the sli board. the hard drives will surve you well


Any suggestions for a good equivalent board without the SLI stuff?
 

Viditor

Diamond Member
Oct 25, 1999
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Asus A8N-E would be my choice as well...
But I would reconsider the 2GB of Ram for now...
Increasing the ram later means that you will be going to 4 slots, and that will increase latency on you memory timings. If at all possible, get the 2 GB right away...
 

jjessico

Senior member
May 29, 2002
733
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Originally posted by: Viditor
Asus A8N-E would be my choice as well...
But I would reconsider the 2GB of Ram for now...
Increasing the ram later means that you will be going to 4 slots, and that will increase latency on you memory timings. If at all possible, get the 2 GB right away...


I'd like to, but I can't really spring for the extra 80 bucks right now. I just don't think I can justify it. I've been running with 768mb to 1GB for a few years now and for the most part its been OK.
 

jjessico

Senior member
May 29, 2002
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Any thoughts on the upside/downside of buying 1GB of ram with faster timing vs. 2GB of ram with a bit slower CAS latency?

Like 1GB of Corsair XMS vs 2GB of Corsair Value Select?
 

halw

Senior member
Dec 22, 2005
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If you go with the A8N-e vs. the A8n-e Deluxe you have just saved $52. So would be pretty close to have enough in your budget for 2Gb ram.
 

jjessico

Senior member
May 29, 2002
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Originally posted by: Arcanedeath
Its more user friendly has better support and overclocks better.

I won't be overclocking. Any specifics on the user friendly aspects?
 

Viditor

Diamond Member
Oct 25, 1999
3,290
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1. I have 2 A8N-Es, and they've been rock solid. I don't OC on those computers (which is why I chose that board).
2. More memory at slower timings is far preferable for your scenario!