Did I make the proper choices?

svenge

Senior member
Jan 21, 2006
204
1
71
First-time builder, no plans to overclock currently, want to build a solid, reliable AMD 939 rig for about $750 without much grief. Here's my projected component picks:

CPU: Athlon64 3200+ Venice 939 ($169)

MOBO: Epox EP-9NPA+ nForce4 Ultra ATX ($105)

CASE: Cooler Master Centurion 5 ($55)

POWER: Fortron/FSP AX-450PN 450W PSU ($50)

RAM: Corsair ValueSelect PC3200 2x512MB ($79)

VIDEO: eVGA Geforce 6600GT 128MB PCIx16 ($135 - $20 MIB)

STORAGE: Seagate Barracuda 7200.9 160GB SATA ($85)

FLOPPY: Samsung Internal 3½" 1.44MB Drive (just in case!) ($10)

I already own a NEC ND-3520 DVDRW 16x DL drive, so that part's taken care of. What do you think of this for a budget rig? The one thing that I'm not terribly sure of is the motherboard. I need reliability above all, that and firewire/USB headers for the front of my case to attach to, as well as the onboard backplate ones. Your opinions would be greatly appreciated.
 

Broly

Banned
Dec 18, 2005
430
0
0
you need more ram.
2gb is the standard these days.
epox is a great motherboard.
everything else looks great
 

svenge

Senior member
Jan 21, 2006
204
1
71
YOyoYOhowsDAjello (wow, what a name!): This will be a general-purpose rig. Light gaming, nothing hardcore.
 

YOyoYOhowsDAjello

Moderator<br>A/V & Home Theater<br>Elite member
Aug 6, 2001
31,205
45
91
Originally posted by: svenge
YOyoYOhowsDAjello (wow, what a name!): This will be a general-purpose rig. Light gaming, nothing hardcore.

Some general things I might suggest

Skipping the floppy drive unless you know you need it (I haven't used one in years)
See if you can get a good deal on a harddrive from a retail store with rebates (sometimes you can get a great deal)
Maybe get 1x1gig stick of ram so in the future you could easily stick in another 1gig stick.
If you're not overclocking and you can find a board with the right features for about $75 that would bring your cost down a bit (nothing wrong with the board you have selected though)
You would probably end up with better gaming performance if you could jump up to a 6800gs even if it means dropping the CPU down to a 3000+ (if you can fine one for cheaper)

 

bamacre

Lifer
Jul 1, 2004
21,029
2
81
Try this, faster cpu and video card...


Thermaltake Soprano VB1430BWS Mid-Tower W/X-Window 430W Power Supply (Black)
$101.87
http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?p=CA-1430BWS&c=pw

Asus A8V-E SE Via K8T890 Athlon 64(FX)/Athlon 64 X2 Skt939 DDR ATX Motherboard
$81.00
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=247018

AMD Athlon 64 3500+ Processor (Venice) Socket 939 Retail
$201.00
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=80717-5

Corsair VS1GBKIT400 1GB Kit DDR400 PC3200 CAS2.5 Value Select Memory Retail
$78.49
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=80098-21

Western Digital Caviar SE WD2500JS 250GB Serial ATA II 7200RPM Hard Drive w/8MB Buffer
$99.90
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=101220-11

eVGA e-GeForce 6800 GS PCI Express 256MB DDR3 Video Card w/HDTV & DVI-I Retail
$189.99
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=322744

Total Price Shipped: $752.25

Edit: Sorry, prices are a couple of days old, I just noticed ewiz jumped the price if the case/psu by about $10. Everything else looks fine though. But you can go with the Seagate 160GB drive you linked to in the OP and the difference will get you back to your $750 budget.
 

leigh6

Diamond Member
Jun 2, 2004
3,011
0
0
I like your setup.

That Epox board is sweet.

You might be able to save a buck here or a buck there. But I think what you picked out is right on the money. You can always upgrade your video card later if you feel it is not to your liking.

The case you picked is REALLY nice. Much nicer live than in pictures. Nice hard drive, great processor. ENJOY!!!!
 

l Xes l

Banned
Feb 3, 2005
3,459
0
0
...dont get 3500 or 3200... get 3000... after some OC"ing.. u wont even be able to tell any difference...
Epox is nice.. but i'd go w/ DFI board and cause it's still the overclock king... OC that beast and hop onto the FX speed... that's money well spent..
Centurion 5 is indeed a sexy thang..
 

leigh6

Diamond Member
Jun 2, 2004
3,011
0
0
Originally posted by: krnxpride83
...dont get 3500 or 3200... get 3000... after some OC"ing.. u wont even be able to tell any difference...
Epox is nice.. but i'd go w/ DFI board and cause it's still the overclock king... OC that beast and hop onto the FX speed... that's money well spent..
Centurion 5 is indeed a sexy thang..

This is very poor advice for a 1st time builder. The DFI Ultra D can be a tough board for even experienced builders. And to recommend overclocking to a 1st time builder is just plain
silly.

For your first build get something fast and functional. See how you like it. Then learn about overclocking if you feel the need. You can always upgrade down the line.