Building my budget system...

[TechHead87]

Ok guys, here goes.

1. ASUS "A7N8X-E Deluxe" nForce2 Ultra 400 Chipset Motherboard for AMD Socket A
CPU

2. AMD Athlon XP 2600+ "Barton", 333MHz FSB, 512K Cache Processor

3. Corsair Value Select 184 Pin 256MB DDR PC-3200 - OEM

4. eVGA nVIDIA GeForce2 MX400 Video Card, 64MB DDR, 64-bit, PCI, Model
"e-GeForce2 MX400(064-P1-NV39-SX)"

I already have a case (came in a box that has the name "Manhattan" on it...400w PSU), but I'm thinking about getting an Antec with a 450W because I've never even heard of a Manhattan case. I also want to get an ATI All In Wonder 9600 (the one with the TV Tuner) somewhere down the line. Currently running with a Maxtor 30gig HD, but soon will be upgrading to a Seagate or Samsung 100+ gig. Of course, all my parts will come from Newegg unless I find a good deal locally or on eBay. Any suggestions?

 

[TechHead87]

anyone?

 

[dc5]

are you going to play games with it? do not get a pci video card, it's just a waste of money. also, a 450W antec power supply will not be neccessary, even a 300W antec will be plenty with the parts you listed.

 

[Childs]

I would caution you against the all in wonder. Get a decent video card and get the ehome wonder. That way, you can upgrade the video and keep the tuner later. Also, I would give the PS supply you already have a shot and use the savings to get 256MB more memory. And that 64bit GF2MX is about as low as you can get. A ATI Radeon 7000 AGP might be a better purchase, while still staying in the budget motif.

 

[TechHead87]

I'll play a few games, but i'll be doing a lot of audio editing also. The PCI card is just to keep my head above the water for the time being.

 

[TechHead87]

Originally posted by: Childs
I would caution you against the all in wonder. Get a decent video card and get the ehome wonder. That way, you can upgrade the video and keep the tuner later. Also, I would give the PS supply you already have a shot and use the savings to get 256MB more memory. And that 64bit GF2MX is about as low as you can get. A ATI Radeon 7000 AGP might be a better purchase, while still staying in the budget motif.

Good idea. I was planning on ending up with 512mb RAM anyway. But I'm kinda leery about this power supply. My old PSU was only 250w, and its heavier than the 400w PSU that came in the "Manhattan" case.

 

[Childs]

If you are not overclocking or putting in a 6800GT with 5 HDDs, probably any generic PS will be alright. On the system you're spec'ing I'd give the old PS a chance. Could save you $100.