Building my First PC, Help/Advice Appreciated

[Shawnm]

I'm building my first computer for college, and because college is expensive, I'm trying to keep the costs down, but still have it be pretty powerful because I play alotta games and such on it.

So far this is what I have:

ANTEC ALUMINUM SERIES LAN BOY MINI TOWER CASE Model# LANBOY w/ Antec 350W SmartBLUE POWER SUPPLY.
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduct.asp?description=11-129-126
I Picked this because of the generally positive reviews it has gotten, its lightweight, and I like the design :-D.

Asus Motherboard for AMD Athlon/XP/Duron Processors, Model# A7N8X Deluxe Retail
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduct.asp?description=13-131-436
From what I have heard this is a really good mobo, all though If anyone has any suggestions about a diffrent one or knows of any problems with it, please tell me. I've heard from a few people that the MSI K7N2 Delta-ILSR, might be better and they are roughly the same price, which do you all think would be better?

AMD ATHLON XP 2800 "Barton" 333 FSB PROCESSOR CPU- RETAIL
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduct.asp?description=19-103-377
I picked the 2800, because there didnt seem to be that much of a preformance diffrence between it and the 3000 Barton, to justify spending 75 more bucks.

2 Sticks-DDR 3200 RAM From Crucial.com.

All Together so far this comes to about 500 dollars.
I already have the optical drives that I would be using with this computer, and will probably purchase the 80GB Maxtor Hard Drive's frequently on sale at Staples to save a few more dollars.

That just leaves a video card, and sound card. For the video card, can anyone recommend a good mid-priced card that would be able to handle upcoming games quite well(Like HL2,etc.). And for the sound card, is the diffrence between the onboard soundcard on the mobo, and something like an audigy 2, that big? I have a set of Logitech Z-640 speakers and would I be able to notice a big diffrence if I purchased an Audigy 2? I do spend alot of time listening to music, but would not consider myself a high-end audophile( As it should be apperent by the fact the Z-640s only cost about $70 🙂 ) I know that the onboard sound of the motherboards wouldnt be as good as an Audigy 2, but how big of a diffrence does the A2 make?

If anyone can suggest any changes, or has an advice on the parts I have selcted, please tell me. I'm conserned about cost, but I also dont want to have a system that becomes antiquated very quickly, I also dont want to overclock it before anyone suggests it, because I have the worst luck sometimes and I know that I'll break it right away 🙂.

Thanks.

 

[hjo3]

I'd stick with the on-board sound IIWY. For a well-priced video card, I might go with the GeForce4 MX440 128MB if you only wanna spend like $90-ish. If you want a really good card though, I'd look into the GeForce FX 5600 256MB, Geforce 4 Ti 4800, or the Radeon 9700.

My 2 cents.

 

[Murr]

I'd get the ATI 9500 pro.

 

[Cogman]

Youll also need, Monitor (around $100) a mouse+keyboard (like 5 dollars). also dont forget adiquite cooling (2 case fans, thermalright 800SLK(u), cpu fan, thermalgease) that will run up another $50. and since you said you wanted to go cheap, im sure that there are other cases out there that could still do the job you want for a lot less.

 

[Shawnm]

Hows the Radeon 9600 Pro?
I know it has DX9 support, but I hear its framerates are sometimes slower then a Ti 4600 card.
Is the trade off worth it?

 

[Shawnm]

Cogman, the Processor is the Retail version, so wouldnt it already have the fan and heatsink with it?
And I already have a monitor I love 🙂.

 

[optimistic]

Originally posted by: Murr
I'd get the ATI 9500 pro.

I would get this 9500 pro too. I heard they're faster than the current 9600 cards. You can probably get a 9500 pro for around $160 ish.

Oh and I think it's very important (at least for me) to get the quietest components possible (the PSU being the noisest). I imagine it wouldn't be very fun sleeping next to a low speed hair dryer all night long. I'm sure your roomate will appreciate a quiet comp too.

 

[JZilla]

How about the Epox 8RDA+ and Barton2500, that combo is really cheap and fast. Although not as fast as the 2800, but alot cheaper.

 

[Cogman]

Originally posted by: Shawnm
Cogman, the Processor is the Retail version, so wouldnt it already have the fan and heatsink with it?
And I already have a monitor I love 🙂.

As far as the Retail version goes.. Bad, bad, bad, bad, Idea. Retail fan is Crap and you can expect trouble ahead, And you do still need case fans. The Retail fan does just enough cooling to get the job done.

 

[jdogg707]

Originally posted by: optimistic

Originally posted by: Murr
I'd get the ATI 9500 pro.

I would get this 9500 pro too. I heard they're faster than the current 9600 cards. You can probably get a 9500 pro for around $160 ish.

Oh and I think it's very important (at least for me) to get the quietest components possible (the PSU being the noisest). I imagine it wouldn't be very fun sleeping next to a low speed hair dryer all night long. I'm sure your roomate will appreciate a quiet comp too.

I can vouch for that, my rommate hated my PC, with all 5 case fans blowing full speed and a Vantec 92mm Tornado going on the CPU! I reccomend looking at some Thermaltake SmartFan II's, great fans, controllable noise!

 

[Markfw]

BTW, the 9600 is supposed to overclock REALLY good, but I haven't tried it. If you get the OC that they say, the 9600 will beat the 9500 and probably run cooler since it is .13.

 

[Etherfan]

In my opinion, I'd drop the Audigy 2. Creative's drivers are just weird.
You can pick up a nice Fortissimo III 7.1 for $50 from Comp USA. (maybe even cheaper elsewhere).

 

[paperfist]

Originally posted by: Cogman

Originally posted by: Shawnm
Cogman, the Processor is the Retail version, so wouldnt it already have the fan and heatsink with it?
And I already have a monitor I love 🙂.

As far as the Retail version goes.. Bad, bad, bad, bad, Idea. Retail fan is Crap and you can expect trouble ahead, And you do still need case fans. The Retail fan does just enough cooling to get the job done.

I would disagree with that. The retail fans are more then adequate to cool the chip they come with and you get a 3 year warranty to back that up with. Sure they are no match for aftermarket fans that are designed for over clocking but I don't think he planned on doing that.

You might want to look into Crucial RAM and nForce2 motherboards there used to be some issues with that combo, not sure if it's been cleared up or not. Crucial or Kingston is a good alternative.

How much do you want to spend on a video card? As has been mentioned the ATI9500 Pro is a good choice.

 

[Shawnm]

Ok I think I will definittly go with the 9500 Pro, as you all seem to think very highly of it-the local CompUsa, or Bestbuy hopefully will have one in stock, as newegg dosnt have any retail versions of the card in stock.

I'm going to try and go with the fan that is going to come with the processor, along with the case fans, and I'll keep a close eye on the temp of the processor, and if It gets too hot then I will get additional cooling.

I'll read up some more about the quietest fans, I didnt give much thought to how loud it would be but I guess I should 🙂.

 

[Cogman]

Originally posted by: paperfist

Originally posted by: Cogman

Originally posted by: Shawnm
Cogman, the Processor is the Retail version, so wouldnt it already have the fan and heatsink with it?
And I already have a monitor I love 🙂.

As far as the Retail version goes.. Bad, bad, bad, bad, Idea. Retail fan is Crap and you can expect trouble ahead, And you do still need case fans. The Retail fan does just enough cooling to get the job done.

I would disagree with that. The retail fans are more then adequate to cool the chip they come with and you get a 3 year warranty to back that up with. Sure they are no match for aftermarket fans that are designed for over clocking but I don't think he planned on doing that.

You might want to look into Crucial RAM and nForce2 motherboards there used to be some issues with that combo, not sure if it's been cleared up or not. Crucial or Kingston is a good alternative.

How much do you want to spend on a video card? As has been mentioned the ATI9500 Pro is a good choice.

In tests, the retail fan will let the cpu run at about 55C. IMHO that is to hot. My current cpu will not run stable at that temp. and with the accumulation of dust, your almost garanteed that within the next year your going to have a dust buildup on the heatsink that will cause the temps to go higher and Instability issues to arise. Trust me, even if your not OC you will want a better cooler then retail.

 

[Gage8]

Originally posted by: Cogman

Originally posted by: paperfist

Originally posted by: Cogman

Originally posted by: Shawnm
Cogman, the Processor is the Retail version, so wouldnt it already have the fan and heatsink with it?
And I already have a monitor I love 🙂.

As far as the Retail version goes.. Bad, bad, bad, bad, Idea. Retail fan is Crap and you can expect trouble ahead, And you do still need case fans. The Retail fan does just enough cooling to get the job done.

I would disagree with that. The retail fans are more then adequate to cool the chip they come with and you get a 3 year warranty to back that up with. Sure they are no match for aftermarket fans that are designed for over clocking but I don't think he planned on doing that.

You might want to look into Crucial RAM and nForce2 motherboards there used to be some issues with that combo, not sure if it's been cleared up or not. Crucial or Kingston is a good alternative.

How much do you want to spend on a video card? As has been mentioned the ATI9500 Pro is a good choice.

In tests, the retail fan will let the cpu run at about 55C. IMHO that is to hot. My current cpu will not run stable at that temp. and with the accumulation of dust, your almost garanteed that within the next year your going to have a dust buildup on the heatsink that will cause the temps to go higher and Instability issues to arise. Trust me, even if your not OC you will want a better cooler then retail.

There are lots of opinions out there but a retail fan/hs approved by AMD will do you just fine. The only reason to get a different one is if you plan to overclock it. It might be nice to get an extra fan for your case. Thermaltakes are nice and quiet. This will help by giving it better air flow in your case.