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Deciding on a new build as a gift from the GF, please provide feedback

G

grifter12

Member
Haven't been up to date on hardware since my last upgrade, but I need a new system because I'm passing off my 2500+ Barton/GF4-4600 build to my GF for WoW. My system is intended for WoW and some HL2. She is buying me the parts for Xmas, so I tried to pick solid value choices for a gamer. All (or most) pieces will probably come from Newegg, any store suggestions for cheaper prices at comparable value?

Also, any thermal paste recommendations? I am way behind on the cooling scene. Thanks a ton!

Mobo:
DFI "LANPARTY UT nF3 250Gb" NVIDIA nForce3 250GB Chipset Motherboard For AMD Socket 754 CPU
$99.50

CPU:
AMD Athlon 64 3000+ (2.0GHz), 512KB L2 Cache, 64-bit Processor - OEM
$139.00

HD:
Seagate 120GB Barracuda 7200RPM SATA II with NCQ Hard Drive, Model ST3120827AS, OEM
$105

Case:
ANTEC Performance Plus Case with 430W Power Supply, Model "PLUS1080AMG" -RETAIL
$115.50

DVD/CD burner:
NEC 16X Double Layer DVD±RW Drive, Silver, Model ND-3500A S, OEM
--silver because the color seems to match the case's metallic color the best
$64.99

RAM:
Corsair Value Select (Dual Pack) 184 Pin 512MBx2 DDR PC-3200 - OEM
$152.77

Sound:
Onboard

Monitor:
Dell 2001FP (my expense, already ordered)

Video card:
Would love a 6600GT AGP but the price is up from its release point, $240 at Newegg. Should I bite the bullet on this?


Edit: To cover a couple more bases, I'm not waiting for NF4 cuz I'd like to play WoW with her and friends ASAP, I plan to upgrade the mobo when I move on from this, and I don't plan to OC...much.
 
looks good to me except for the fact that socket754 doesn't support dual channel. socket939 does support dual channel and has come down to about the same price as 754. i agree with zebo on the BFG 6800 if you are gonna splurge on the vid card.

thermal paste - arctic silver 5
 
Is the SATA II drive really worth it? Why not save money and get a bigger capacity ide or regular sata? Everything else is good though.
 
Thanks for the help! Glad to hear the system mostly sounds good, as I have become way to acquainted with this forum's search function the past week.

Couple more questions raised:

Originally posted by: yetti
looks good to me except for the fact that socket754 doesn't support dual channel. socket939 does support dual channel and has come down to about the same price as 754. i agree with zebo on the BFG 6800 if you are gonna splurge on the vid card.

thermal paste - arctic silver 5
Click to expand...

Socket 754 doesn't do dual channel? Doesn't my socket A NF7 already do dual channel? Should I switch my RAM choice?

Originally posted by: iamskewIs the SATA II drive really worth it? Why not save money and get a bigger capacity ide or regular sata? Everything else is good though.
Click to expand...

I was under the impression that SATA 2/NCQ helped a decent amount. Otherwise I'll switch to:
Seagate 200GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive, Model ST3200822AS, OEM Drive Only
$128.00


Q]Originally posted by: Sonic587Maybe pick up a cheap Chaintech AV-710 as well if you care about decent sound. Not the greatest for games, but it will beat the onboard by a lot. Realtek onboard audio blows. I've heard it.
Click to expand...

That bad? 🙁
 
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