Final new system build. Last chance critiques.

[Boa Constrictor]

This is hard.

I havea $700-750 budget and trying to get the best that I can for it. This is what I came up with so far and I'm just about ready to order.

Motherboard : CHAINTECH VNF4 Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 ATX AMD Motherboard

Case : CHENMING 301KEB-0-0 Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

CDDVD Burner : NEC Black IDE DVD Burner Model ND-3520A BK

Hard Drive : SAMSUNG SpinPoint P Series SP2014N 200GB 7200 RPM IDE Ultra ATA133

Ram : 2X WINTEC 512MB 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Unbuffered
(- The Wintec seems to get nothing but praise everywhere I look. I don't plan to overclock, so I don't need crazy performance memory.)

PSU : THERMALTAKE Silent PurePower TT-420AD(DUAL FAN) ATX 420W Power
(Not the greatest PSU but it seems to be getting good ratings everywhere I look...)

CPU : AMD Athlon 64 3000+ Venice Integrated into Chip FSB Socket 939

Video : SAPPHIRE 100109 Radeon X800 128MB GDDR3 PCI-Express x16 Video

Trying to get the ultimate balance of cost/performance and quality. I think this is the best I can do with my budget, but if you have any thoughts?

 

[kb3edk]

Almost everything on your build looks rock solid... I use a Chenming case and the build quality was outstanding... it's like a server case for 1/2 the price. nForce 4 motherboard is also a wise choice.

The one exception I'll point out is your choice of RAM... I've used Wintec before and have had a very bad experience, I got a bad stick and their RMA process was terrible. I wound up talking to three different people there and sending a bunch of faxes back and forth before finally giving up. You might want to consider spending an extra $20 or whatever to get "value RAM" from a better vendor like OCZ, Mushkin, GEiL, Corsair, etc. Good luck -

-Adam in Philly

 

[The Pentium Guy]

I agree, everything loks awesome except the RAM. It might be better if you posted links and prices, as we can tell you where to find a better deal....etc.

 

[Bushman5]

id save on the hd and get a pro and better ram

 

[Boa Constrictor]

Well I can't really save that much on the HD to move up to a X800 PRO. I mean, a 160GB drive is only 7 dollars less. Really not worth it. I need a big drive. I always had problems with my 80GB drive because I was looking for more and more space. Plus games are getting bigger.

As far as memory goes, how about swapping the memory for two sticks of OCZ Premier Value 512MB 184-Pin DDR SDRAM Unbuffered DDR 400 (PC 3200) System Memory - Retail .

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16820146998

Would that be better? Corsair is too high up in price...

I've been told I should get a 6600GT instead of X800 because the 6600GT has better drivers?

 

[kb3edk]

Originally posted by: Boa Constrictor
Well I can't really save that much on the HD to move up to a X800 PRO. I mean, a 160GB drive is only 7 dollars less. Really not worth it. I need a big drive. I always had problems with my 80GB drive because I was looking for more and more space. Plus games are getting bigger.

As far as memory goes, how about swapping the memory for two sticks of OCZ Premier Value 512MB 184-Pin DDR SDRAM Unbuffered DDR 400 (PC 3200) System Memory - Retail .

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16820146998

Would that be better? Corsair is too high up in price...

I've been told I should get a 6600GT instead of X800 because the 6600GT has better drivers?

Yeah, that RAM is the "value RAM" I mentioned... it's definitely best to get two matched sticks to take advantage of the dual-channel memory controller on the Athlon 64. If you only need 512MB then this OCZ kit ($41) could also work for you.

Interesting question on the video card... I am running both nVidia (GeForce FX 5700) and ATI (Radeon 9800XT) these days and while I love my ATI card, the nVidia drivers were definitely easier to install and I have had absolutely zero problems on any games with them. GeForce might also be a better choice for you since you're getting an nForce motherboard.

-Adam in Philly