Building first-ever rig

[bramma]

Well, I've recently moved out of my parents house and I am now trying to build myself a computer. I've been using different sites so far, and this is what I have came up with. Keep in mind that this computer will be used mainly for mmorpg games like everquest. I also don't have anything to carry over from another computer, so I will need a monitor and an operating system, and I am trying to do it all for under $800 dollars. Well, this is what I have so far...

Case: Antec solution series Super mid tower case with 350W Smartpower power supply 'SLK3700AMB) $69

CPU: AMD Athlon Xp 2500 333 fsb, 512K Cache processor $80

Motherboard: Epox 8rda3+ $96

Ram:Kingston ValueRAM 184 PIN 256 MB DDR PC-2700 $48

Sound: Built into motherboard. Figure I can get a cheap set of speakrs for $15 to $20 bucks.

Video Card: Powercolor ATI Radeon 9600 PRO Video card, 128 MB DDR, 128 bit, DVI/TV-Out, 8x AGP, model R96A-C3N" $124

Hard Drive:Samsung 80 GB 7200 RPM hard erive, oem $68

Also, I may need a case fan or two for cooling, because I'm not sure if this case comes with enough to keep the system cool.

Optical drives: Lite-On 52x32x52x CD-RW drive, model LTR-52327S $33

Floppy Drive: OEM drive from newegg $10

Keyboard: Saw a nice cordless at walmart for $30

Monitor: Samsung 753DF-T/T 17" Dynaflat crt monitor $169

Operating system: at a loss for this one. Was looking for a lost-cost solution for windows xp. But retail, it is about $150

Extra IDE Cable for hard drive: $5 at dealsonic.com

Antistatic wrist strap: $7 at dealsonic.com

Right now, this comes to about $900. I really need to squeeze it in under $800. So, any help and suggestions are greatly appreciated. Also, let me know if all of these components are compatible.

 

[sisooktom]

You might just want to save up a little longer rather than cut components. It's gonna be hard to build a gaming rig for that money, considering you need everything right down to the keyboard and mouse. Because you're really a little light on both memory and graphics and you're already over budget. Maybe someone here can come up with a setup that you can overclock and squeeze you in.

 

[paladiin]

Few suggestions:

Mobo: The Epox board you've chosen is a bit pricey for an nForce2 board in my opinion. Unless you specifically need a feature on that board that's not on another (I'm not aware of one) you can save $25-$30 by going with a different board. I've heard good things from the DFI NFII-Ultra board and of course there's the Abit N7F, Asus A7N8X, or even cheaper Epox boards. $100 for a budget mobo is just too expensive in my opinion.

CPU: Go mobile Barton. Even if you never use it's "unlocked" potential, the lower voltage required will give you lower temps, which is always a good thing. $8 more for the mobile 2500+, or save $3 and get the mobile 2400+. But let's be honest - you'll want to overclock it, even just a little bit!

Hard Drive: Keep your eyes on the Hot Deals forum for a good "after rebate" deal on a hard drive. It's usually the only part I buy from a retail chain store simply because you can get a great deal after rebate. The last big one was $39 after rebate for a 120GB 7200RPM 8MB cache drive.

OS: Yes, XP is what you want. Home is perfectly fine for most users. No need to buy a Retail version - OEM's work just fine (some rules apply to purchasing OEM version). Or if you have a previous version of Windows around, just buy the Upgrade version. Expect to pay around $90.

Monitor: Take a peek on the Hot Deals board - there was a KDS 19" CRT for $79 after MIR you might be interested in.

and now the bad news...

RAM: First off, since you mentioned it, EQ is a major RAM hog. I went to 1GB specifically for EQ, and am glad I did. 256MB simply is not enough in my opinion to make EQ happy. 512MB minimum, 1GB recommended. Next, I highly suggest going PC3200 over PC2700. While it costs a little more, it will give you headroom if you decide you want to really use your nForce2 400 and your mobile barton's potential (ie 200Mhz FSB).

 

[dennisjai215]

use a regular ABIT NF7 NOT the NF7-S one + a AMD Mobile 2400, its what i use cheap and good.. i bought it for like 160+ a month or 2 ago but im sure u can get it cheaper now
it'll run cool enough that you do not need a case fan unless you overclock...

and i've seen 9600pros for around 110.. cheaper than that 124$ one at newegg

but you may want 512mb stick of ram instead of 256.. so save a little here and there and add the ram

edit: the newegg has mushkin value ram pc3200 512mb for 83 bucks.. that is better than getting a stick of 256pc2700 @ 48 bucks