Final PC Check

[MattTech]

I am putting together my first system(last one was Athlon 1.4ghz).
AMD Athlon 64 3200 (Socket 754) - Retail (CP-060-AM)

Asus DVD-E616P1 16X DVD-ROM / 48X CD-ROM - Retail (CD-002-AS)

Western Digital Caviar 120GB Special Edition 8MB Cache Serial ATA - OEM (HD-009-WD)

Chieftec Dragon DX-01SLD Midi Tower - Silver (CA-033-CT)

OCZ 1GB (2x512MB) PC3500 Dual Channel Series EL-DDR (ME-006-OC)

MSI K8T Neo-FIS2R (Socket 754) Motherboard (MB-010-MS)

Sapphire ATI Radeon 9800Pro

Originally I was going to go for the ASUS K8V Deluxe with Corsair RAM, but there may have been compatability problems. The OCZ website confirms that my choice of RAM is compatible with the MSI board, which I believe has slightly better performance than the ASUS(or at least would have with PC3500 memory compared to PC3200 on the ASUS). However, is it worth paying extra for the dual channel series? Is this the ideal system for games, or should I be considering Intel or waiting for something around the corner?
Finally, have I missed any compatibility problems?
Any contributions will be appreciated.

 

[Futher]

looks like a nice system to me brudda =)

 

[Futher]

might I suggest a scsi DVD-Rom? haven't seen them in many systems, but I love mine.

 

[Ant001]

Hmm, dunno about the MSI mobo, I don't generally like MSI, but I don't know about that particular mobo.

A64 doesn't do dual channel, so having two sticks as opposed to one isn't going to make a difference.

Right now, A64 is the best bang for the buck, and is better than current P4s in games.

 

[Corporate Thug]

i'm on the same boat as ANT001

look into the abit KV8 max 3

 

[MattTech]

Originally posted by: Ant001
Hmm, dunno about the MSI mobo, I don't generally like MSI, but I don't know about that particular mobo.

A64 doesn't do dual channel, so having two sticks as opposed to one isn't going to make a difference.

Right now, A64 is the best bang for the buck, and is better than current P4s in games.

OCZ give you the choice of dual-channel or non-dual channel, would dual channel RAM make no difference?

 

[Ant001]

They advertise them as dual channel because they have been tested as a pair. There is nothing different about the sticks.

 

[nick1985]

Originally posted by: shady06
i'm on the same boat as ANT001

look into the abit KV8 max 3

i had 2 mad MSI boards in a row. that was my first, and last experience with MSI.

my asus rocks though...:beer:

 

[nick1985]

Originally posted by: Ant001
They advertise them as dual channel because they have been tested as a pair. There is nothing different about the sticks.

we know....the sticks are dual channel compatible. only problem is your board ISNT.

 

[Texun]

That system is going to crank! One comment though: I can't rate that particular board, but as far as MSI goes I've had one and that was enough. It performed well and was solid when it ran but lived a short life. I've used a number of other boards since; ASUS, Abit, also Shuttle, and they have all been excellent boards. My record is not a scientific sampling, but as one who works for every dollar I spend there is no way I would consider an MSI when I've had solid success from the others. MSI just doesn't pull my trigger.

 

[JBT]

I would avoid the MSI board. All I see on this forum is people complaining about there's being dead or not working correctly. I have owned one MSI board and I can tell you I will never own another one. I will be sticking with Abit/Asus for quite sometime.

The rest of the system looks good though. Also consider the Mushkin PC3500 Level 1 or level 2. Level 2 is about $100 more expensive though.

 

[tapir]

FWIW my MSI 875P is up to my standards. Has a lot of tweakability and the price was right (white box). I might be tempted to choose an ABIT or Asus if i had unlimited cash, but MSI, in my experience, is fairly reliable and has responsive customer service.

 

[Breezie]

i got the neo2 865pe... another vote for msi being pretty good- all well over here =)

 

[jdogg707]

I have the MSI board and question. It is a great overclocker and has tons of features, but I do have issues with my Floppy Drive not working correctly. Other than that I am flying at 2.25GHZ with my Athlon 64 3200+ (Memory Limited).

 

[MattTech]

I eventually chose an Antec Sonata case rather than the Chieftec, and I went for much cheaper Kingmax PC3500 RAM because the performance difference is so slight. I should have it finally running tomorrow when the RAM arrives.

 

[Maximilian]

My boards the exact same as the MSI one u were thinking on buying ive had it for about 3 months now and its fine. But considering all the people that seem to be having problems with MSI just avoid it and buy somthing else.

 

[NokiaDude]

Is there any different between the Sapphire and ATI video cards?

 

[us3rnotfound]

get a asus