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First build...good system?

6

6535

Junior Member
This is going to be my first build. I've researched this to death, but just want to make sure that the below system is compatible and sound. My budget is around $800-900, so that's why I've chosen a few less than top-of-the-line components. I start med school next fall, so I went w/ AM2 because of better upgrade-ability in the long run (won't be able to afford a complete new system for at least 4 years). Also, I've chosen components that will perform well enough for what I need to do: some gaming (CS:S, HL2, BF2, BF2142--don't need them on super-high settings) and mainly school work (some light vid/photo/DVD/audio stuff). I've checked memory, power source, etc. compatibility with manufacturer's recommendations. System:

Mobo: Asus M2N-SLI nV 570 (Socket AM2)
CPU: Athlon 64 X2 +3800 (Socket AM2)}
Mem: Corsair XMS2 1 GB(2x512MB) 240pin DDR2 800
GPU: BFG GeForce 7600 GT 256MB GDDR3
HDD: West. Dig. 160GB 7200 SATA 3.0Gb/sec (16MB Cache)
PSU: Antec SmartPower 2.0 500W
Optical: NEC 16x DVD+-R Drive

Thanks for any feedback or recommendations.
 
SLI = No no, save money and get a cheaper board.
CPU = Get a single core, faster now and cheaper now.
RAM = Meh, 2GB much preferable but the market is stupid at the moment.
PSU = Poor choice, nicer ones around for the money, froogle the enhance 5140.
GPU = Good card.
 
Originally posted by: Bobthelost
SLI = No no, save money and get a cheaper board.
CPU = Get a single core, faster now and cheaper now.
RAM = Meh, 2GB much preferable but the market is stupid at the moment.
PSU = Poor choice, nicer ones around for the money, froogle the enhance 5140.
GPU = Good card.
Click to expand...
Agreed on all of them except #2
If you multi-task 2 CPUs is a great thing, and with the price differnce being so low you might as well

 
Yea, that was my idea w/ the 7600GT--don't blow a load of $$ now, since DX 10 is around the corner
 
Great build for the money, but I'd try another motherboard. The NForce 570 Asus are kinda buggy, so I'd use the DFI INFINITY NF ULTRAII-M2 instead. OK, it doesn't have SLI, but it is way more overclockable and stable than the Asus.

It retails for $94.99 at NewEgg...

Link
 
Yea, I was just looking at that...thx

My idea w/ the SLI was this: is the future of GPU's going to be dominated by SLI? Are newer games in 3 years going to be almost strictly SLI? If that is the case, then I want SLI for a future upgrade. If SLI won't dominate the market in the next 4-5 years, then I think I'm going to switch to a non-SLI board.

Anyone have some ideas about the future GPU market?
 
Originally posted by: Patrese
Great build for the money, but I'd try another motherboard. The NForce 570 Asus are kinda buggy, so I'd use the DFI INFINITY NF ULTRAII-M2 instead. OK, it doesn't have SLI, but it is way more overclockable and stable than the Asus.

It retails for $94.99 at NewEgg...

Link
Click to expand...
something to point out...

That motherboard + my proposed ram = great overclocking
have them sitting at my house... can't wait to get this thing set up


Oh, and the DFI can be modded to support SLI although I'm sure it's not the safest solution to SLI😱

 
If you have alot of money and are gonna be able to buy a extra card for SLI whenever that maybe then go for it. IMO I don't think SLI will ever dominate the market unless Nvidia/ATI gets to a point to where they just can't boost performance with newer cards like they have in the past. I haven't seen this yet but doesn't mean it can't happen years down the road. I think SLI is mostly for ppl who have alot of money and can afford 24" or bigger screens and need the extra power to push games to the res they need. So if you plan on getting or have a 24" screen or bigger screen before your next upgrade then get a SLI board.
 
Originally posted by: Bobthelost
CPU = Get a single core, faster now and cheaper now.
Click to expand...

What the fsck? (WTF?????)
If you can get DC then just fsck'n get it so you have it for the future. You'll never know what you might need it for.

Take ME for expample. Around Christmas of 05 I got a new computer (the one in sig) and I got dual core just to have it and I got a good deal on it. Now I do some video decoding/encoding to store some movies and junk on my HD. 6-8 months ago I never thought I'd be doing that.

Just goes to show you, you'll NEVER know what the future might hold.

Also I agree. GET THE 2GB's of RAM. Windows and your games will thank you. Oblivion+Mods=RAM HOG. HL2+FakeFactory mod=RAM HOG, and the list goes on.

PLUS you can tweak some things in the registry to make use of all that ram.
 
So far as I can tell, there's always been a card that is faster than 2x cards SLI'd available not too long after, for a decent price.

say two 6600 GT's, your first card, say $200 CDN sometime late last year
now you want to grab another 6600 GT which now is say $160 CDN.

total spent about $350 CDN, but two 6600 GT's is pretty weak nowadays, and for about $160 will get you a 7600 GT which is faster than the 6600 GT, hence you're gonna go for the 7600 GT thus eliminating your need for SLI
 
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