First Computer Build

[newuser]

OK, this is what I threw together off HERE
I really wanted to keep it at around $500, but I found it hard to do that and get everything I wanted. I really don't know what I am doing, but anyway:
***EDIT*** see revised configuration below
CASE
Raidmax Model 268WSP $53

DVD ROM
NEC 16x DVD ROM DV-5800C/MXL - OEM $31

COOLING
<a target=new class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduct.asp?description=35-100-101 ">COOLER MASTER THERMAL KIT RETAIL BOX $6
</a>
( Blue )Neon L.E.D. Fan. Size: 80 x 80 x 25 (gotta have the bling) 1@$6
Speeze SuperRock 5T208B1H3 (not sure if I need this-see cpu below)$8
<a target=new class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduct.asp?description=35-150-005 ">Speeze Hard Disk Saviour 4B02S4 Hard Disk Cooler $6
</a>
Speeze Cooling Fan FD08025S1M4 4@$2 $8
SPIRE Case Fan 60mm 12V DC Fan "blower" MODEL FD06015 - RETAIL (for rear of case) $5

HARD DRIVE
WESTERN DIGITAL "SPECIAL EDITION" 80GB 7200RPM EIDE HARD DRIVE MODEL # WD800JB - OEM, DRIVE ONLY $83

RAM (1GIG)
KINGSTON HyperX Series 184-pin 512MB DDR370 (PC3000) DDR RAM modules, Model# KHX3000/512- Limited Quantity Offer $85
CRUCIAL MICRON 256MB 32x64 PC 2100 DDR RAM - OEM 2@30 $60

MOBO
<a target=new class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduct.asp?description=13-130-418
">MSI K7N2 Motherboard for AMD Processors Model Delta-ILSR Retail $135</a>

CPU
<a target=new class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduct.asp?description=19-103-350 ">AMD ATHLON XP 2600 /333 FSB PROCESSOR CPU- Retail
</a>

SOFTWARE
Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition with Service Pack 1 - OEM Full Version $93

GRAPHICS
<a target=new class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduct.asp?description=14-102-207 ">ATI ALL-IN-WONDER RADEON 7500 64MB AGP $126
(Do I need a sound card?on mother board already i think)
</a>

(adding from previous--Wireless Mouse, 48x16x48CD burner, CD ROM, keyboard, speaker set, dial-up modem, old video card for dual monitors?, monitor, 31/2 floppy)
~$840 shipped

Still not sure if I want to build, may go retail(some thing like this http://www.bestbuy.com/detail.asp?e=11215645&m=488&cat=490&scat=491 and upgrade a few parts). what could I get at this price out the door? Any way to get this cheaper and still quality? This does look like a pretty mean set-up though.

DOES IT LOOK LIKE THESE COMPONENTS WILL WORK TOGETHER?? ANY SUGGESTIONS WELCOME (newbie) DO I NEED ANY OTHER components?

EDIT: FIXED LINKS

 

[rhawk79]

well if i were just comparing your proposed system to build versus that system from best buy, i would say go with the best buy system, because notice that it says $800 BEFORE $50, $100 mail-in rebates. So that means you can have it for $650 w/ free shipping. (although you do pay the 800 up front)

Unfortunately the $100 rebate ends today (Saturday)....so there's no time to decide.

 

[newbiepcuser]

Do you live a near a Fry's? They are running a great speacial on MSI nForce2 board and processor combo?

I would go with matching pairs of DDR like Kingston or Corsair as you stated. I heard Crucial has problem with nForce2.


Are you into gaming, if so I would get another video card.

I'm Antec powersupply person, I myself would look at more decent powersupply like an antec or enermax.

Good luck.

 

[newuser]

Originally posted by: rhawk79
well if i were just comparing your proposed system to build versus that system from best buy, i would say go with the best buy system, because notice that it says $800 BEFORE $50, $100 mail-in rebates. So that means you can have it for $650 w/ free shipping. (although you do pay the 800 up front)

Unfortunately the $100 rebate ends today (Saturday)....so there's no time to decide.

yeah, but I have to pay tax up-front on that (~$80) So it is about $100 less than the proposed system. How does the hardware look on that Compaq I posted?

How does my system look?

 

[newuser]

Originally posted by: newbiepcuser
Do you live a near a Fry's? They are running a great speacial on MSI nForce2 board and processor combo?

I would go with matching pairs of DDR like Kingston or Corsair as you stated. I heard Crucial has problem with nForce2.


Are you into gaming, if so I would get another video card.

I'm Antec powersupply person, I myself would look at more decent powersupply like an antec or enermax.

Good luck.

I am not a hard-core gamer, just every once and a while I play Doom I-III or quake
What type of card do you suggest?

Thanks for the help

 

[newbiepcuser]

Originally posted by: newuser

Originally posted by: rhawk79
well if i were just comparing your proposed system to build versus that system from best buy, i would say go with the best buy system, because notice that it says $800 BEFORE $50, $100 mail-in rebates. So that means you can have it for $650 w/ free shipping. (although you do pay the 800 up front)

Unfortunately the $100 rebate ends today (Saturday)....so there's no time to decide.

yeah, but I have to pay tax up-front on that (~$80) So it is about $100 less than the proposed system. How does the hardware look on that Compaq I posted?

How does my system look?

Stay away Compaq/Best Buy. I use to be techie at retail chain, the dam complaints and nightmares. If you have to get OEM computer, then get a Dell and then slap in more ram and better video card. Just wait for a hot deal and then you can probabaly get it under 500 shipped.


Get Geforce 4 ti4200 and tv card if you must have TV capablity. It should be only little bit more.

 

[rhawk79]

tax, yes, nevermind sorry. i live in mass so whenever i need something from the mall or best buy or wherever i goto new hampshire...no sales tax

personally i prefer intel-based systems but that machine looks solid. if i may i would also like to recommend storepc.com...i built two pc's for friends this semester using that site, each at $500-$550...and better systems than either of your two...i decided to try that site in particular because they do not charge for assembly. that doesn't matter if you're assembling yourself but i had no time to do that for them during school. highly recommended.

 

[Cerb]

1) Not bad, though I'd go with the Evercase E4252 w/ 300w Enhance PSU (or the same with an "Ever" sticker on it)
2) The prebuilt one is good price right off the bat.
3) You want to get the 2600+ that uses 266MHz FSB or get PC2700 RAM for the current one (PC2700 RAM being the better option).
4) The ATi AIW gives your system an edge. The integrated video eats your system memory, causing a serious performance hit, especially using PC2100 RAM. Also it cuts down on useable RAM. With the 128MB setting, you've got 384 real MB to use.
5) You've got sound as good as that Compaq on yours listed there, though you may want to get a soundcard if you don't like it. If you're asking, though, no. Until what you hear isn't good enough, you don't need one

Oddities:
1)RAM only expandable to 1GB...Wha?! Should be at least 2GB, and most new ones should be up to 3GB.
2) Integrated GF4 MX, but AC '97 audio...What on earth?! Maybe it doesn't use your system RAM...but more likely they used a cheap version of an NF2 board.
3) 3 PCI?! It's a ...micro?! Ew...2 PCIs (available) can get eaten fast.
4) No fiewire...eh.
5) No gameport? Yeck. I've still got a joystick that uses one.
6) Software:
Works suite--not bad, but kind of annoying.
Quicken--probably useless to you.
Norton AV: Must have. It's $16 more on that Newegg order.

Extra stuff you are getting:
1) SATA RAID 0 or 1 (why not 0+1?)
2) Firewire ports

(note: No links, because Newegg is down for maintenance)
What I'd change:
Mobo: Epox 8RDA+. It'll save you over $40 alone, and if you're thinking about that Compaq machine, you won't use the MSI board's extra features.
RAM: 1x or 2x 512 Kingston HyperX PC2700. There's no need for PC3000, and why the extra Crucial stuff? If you want 512MB dual-channel, go for Kingston HyperX PC2700 dual with 2x256MB, or 2x512MB for 1GB. If you aren't going to overclock nor use dual-channel memory, go with a single Kingston ValueRAM stick. If you're not into tweaking, it will do fine and is almost $30 cheaper. If you want dual-channel, get the HyperX, because some of the budget RAM, even name brand stuff, won't work right sometimes. You don't want to be mixing memory, either.
CPU: Leave it at the 333MHz one and just get the PC2700 memory.
Case: Evercase E4252 w/ 300w PSU. IMO, best case & PSU combo until you get to the Chenming stuff.
Video: If you aren't going to use the inputs on the AIW in the near future, just get a better gaming Radeon or Geforce with TV-outs. Look at the pictures. Most newer video cards have a VGA and DVI w/ a VGA adapter--dual monitors.

Now, assuming about the same price on video, less on RAM and mobo, but a touch more on the case, I'd say it's down to right around $800 (unless you want 1GB RAM, or dual-channel 512MB). What you should be getting from Newegg is better than the Compaq, though the Compaq is at a good price for what it is. If you go with the Newegg one, just pop back in here when you go to set it up. Everyone is a n00b at some point.

 

[rhawk79]

oh if you're going to check out that site, start with a barebones kit at $0.00 and build from the ground up. good luck...(the best buy system is still a nice option)

 

[newuser]

I'll check out those sites today.
I had trouble finding some of those recommended mother boards on www.storepc.com, so if anyone knows which ones available on that site are good for the AMD Xp 2600, also which case. So if anyone would want to check out that site, and help me configure a system that would work (and has parts available from them). As I understand it, they assemble the whole thing there, and it has a 1yr warranty, correct?

I'll check out those suggestions, Cerb, thanks for the advice.

I do think the compaq does look nice, I am just afraid if I want to upgrade it in a year or so, the mobo will be a little too cr@ppy, also some of the components used look a little cheaper quality (although there specifications look good), not enough cooling IMHO either. I know I could adress these things right away, but if I break open the case to mod it, I am SOL with the warranty.

Thanks for the help

 

[newuser]

OK, I took your advice. Here is the revised configuration (still at $840, but better case, psu, video card, (I think). Is this PSU and Video card good? Will this tuff work together well? Also, notice I have down the retail CPU, should I get OEM and the heatsink listed below, or is the retail heatsink adequate? **edited some stuff, now at $830****
CASE
CaseTek (Black) Super ATX Tower case, With Window and USB 2.0/1394 Model CK-1018-1A $55

DVD ROM
***DELETE**NEC 16x DVD ROM DV-5800C/MXL - OEM $31
***REPLACE***LITE-ON XJ-HD166S/XJ-HD165H 16X DVD ROM Drive - Retail48X $33

COOLING (too much cooling?)
COOLER MASTER THERMAL KIT $6

Zalman ZM-F1 80mm Fan with Quiet Mode 2x$5 $10

***DELETE***Speeze SuperRock 5T208B1H3 Ball bearing Support up to Intel P3 Tualatin ~2.2GHz AMD Athlon XP~3000+ **AMD Recommended** CPU FAN - RETAIL $8

***DELETE***Speeze Hard Disk Saviour 4B02S4 Hard Disk Cooler $6

***DELETE***Speeze Cooling Fan FD08025S1M4 2x2 $4

HDD
WD WESTERN DIGITAL "SPECIAL EDITION" 80GB 7200RPM EIDE HARD DRIVE MODEL # WD800JB - OEM, DRIVE ONLY (8MB cache) $83

RAM (good advice, cerb thanks!)
KINGSTON HyperX Series 184-pin 512MB DDR333 (PC2700) 64X64 DDR RAM modules, Model# KHX2700/512 2x$75 $151

MOBO
&#9658;On Sale! Epox Motherboard for AMD Athlon/Athlon XP/Duron Processors, Model# EP-8RDA+ $85

POWERSUPLY (adequate connectors for #cooling fans intended)(I heard the PS/case combos mostly had low-grade chap power supplies so I got seperately, true?)
***DELETE***Fortron FSP350-60BN 350W P4/AMD Ready Power Supply - Retail $32
***REPLACE***Antec P4 ATX12V 350 Watt Power Supply With 2 Fans - Retail $46

CPU
AMD ATHLON XP 2600 /333 FSB PROCESSOR $106

Windows XP $93

VIDEO CARD (clueless!)
**DELETE***GAINWARD/CARDEXPERT GeForce 4, 8X AGP. Ti 4200, 3.6ns, 128MB DDR $124
***REPLACE***LEADTEK WINFAST A280 GEFORCE4 TI 4200 128MB VGA & TV-OUT, DVI-OUT AGP 8X RETAIL BOX $125

Shipping $45

(adding from previous--Wireless Mouse, 48x16x48CD burner, CD ROM, keyboard, speaker set, dial-up modem, old video card for dual monitors?, monitor, 31/2 floppy)


let me know what you guys think

 

[paperfist]

Welcome to the forums.

Don't mean to sound the alarm bell but I *THINK* (if memory serves me) that Gainward had a lot of problems with the Ti 4200s. Not sure if they still do, but you may want to do a search on Gainward 4200. The Ti4200 is a very good card for the money and what you plan to use it for; I'd personally go with Leadtek's version.

Yeah for CPU the retail HSF is perfectly fine unless you plan on over-clocking. If you want to save a little money you could get the Barton 2500+ ($95) which has a larger 512 vrs 256 cache then the 2600+ does and they perform almost equally in benchmarks (Barton has a slight edge in aps).

Powersupplys, never heard of the one you have listed and you do want to get a quality one as cheap PS are the bane of many bad system builds. Antec makes some of the best and 330 or more watts should be fine. Check out Neweggs Antec cases if you haven't I think you could find a similar setup to what you have already choose and in that price range.

Cooling, I think you are a wee bit over board J on my system builds I just get a good case like the Antec that already has a rear exhaust fan and I stick with the Retail HSF for the processors. Those fans along with the PS fan will cool your system just fine, you don?t really need a HD cooling fan and all those other aftermarket fans unless again you plan on over-clocking or you are trying to achieve noise reduction over OEM stuff.

Everything else looks pretty good. Not had any experience with NEC drives, but I know a lot of people here swear by Lite-ons myself included.

 

[newuser]

Oh, thanks. ( made some of those suggested changes in my post above)
Guess I did go a little overboard with cooling, lol. Probably b/c I am a little fed up with my laptop that has one tiny fan and always over heats. haha

How hard is it to assemble the components? And if I understand correctly, I will just plug everything in on the motherboard and it will automayically detect everything installed the first run through BIOS when I turn it on, is this correct?

 

[newuser]

Here is what I got off www.storepc.com (a little pricey, not as much selction especially mobo's)

MOBO:
Gigabyte GA-7VAXP Raid Socket A DDR Retail Box (??)

CPU
AMD Athlon? XP 2600+ 384K 333FSB OEM
Thermaltake Volcano 9 Socket A Variable Fan Speed Control

RAM
2x 512Mb DDR333 PC2700 (1Gb Total) (does not specify name brand, wtf?)

HDD
80Gb ATA100 WD800JB 8Mb 7200rpm

CARDS
AGP (8x) XFX GeForce4 Ti 4200 128Mb DDR TV/DVI Retail Box
ATI TV Wonder with Video Capture VE Retail Box

DVD
16 X LiteOn DVD-Rom IDE Retail Box

CASE
ATX Evercase Black MidTower 300W P.S.
2x Case Cooling Fans

SOFTWARE
Microsoft Windows XP Home

A little over $930 shipped, about the same stuff, if not a little less, but assembled which is a plus

 

[Cerb]

CaseTek case: never used it, but it looks remarkably like a Chenming, and does look pretty sturdy.

Collermaster grease: as good as any until Arctic Silver, but if you're not going to use a big heatsink, it's fine and dandy.
Big heatsink would be a Thermalright SK-7 or more expensive.

Zalman fan: eh. Should be fine. Nothing wrong with it.

Speeze HSF: it will be tough to get on initially with its clip, but it should be great once you do.

Mobo: 8RDA+ down to $85?! Wow, last I saw it was $92 .

PSU: Nice. I think the Enermax counterpart would be quieter, but that Antec has a bit higher 5v + 3.3v combined wattage, so 6 vs. 1/2 dozen.

CPU: Retail gives you a fallback HSF, and as cheap as they are now compared to OEM, you might as well get retail.

Video: Good choice.

With that Newegg one, you'll beat the hell out of the Compaq one in every way, save maybe noise, but can't even be sure of that.

Looks better.
Better RAM (1GB DRR 333 at 2-2-2-5-1T vs. 512MB DRR 266 at almost certainly 2.5-3-3-6-2T).
Smaller but likely faster HD.
Far better video.
Better sound almost certainly.
Slightly better CPU (2.08 GHz with a 166 (AKA 333) MHz front-side bus vs. 2.13GHz at a slower front-side bus of 133MHz)
Better PSU
Upgrade potential. Believe me, the PSU in that Compaq is marginal, and simply will *not* take major upgrades, such as a reasonable video card.

I note you have *deleted* next to the heatsink...the retail CPU comes with a fan, but it will be louder than the Speeze. So, if that doesn't bother you, leave it deleted, else get it back again.

Notes on assembly, since you pretty much said you were a n00b:
1) DO NOT turn the PC on without the heatsink on the CPU and fan plugged into a header on the motherboard.
2) Try turning it on with just the motherboard, CPU (and HSF), RAM and video to make sure it POSTs (it may come up at a much slower speed than it should, but that's normal and you'll have to change it later on)
That's about it until you run into problems (assuming you run into any)

 

[newuser]

Thanks for the reply, so is the artic silver worth it, it is only like $1more.
About the HSF, I just want something that will provide good cooling and low noise, is the spreez good for that?

Oh yeah, I will be running those two case fans, 1 front/1 rear exhaust, sound good?

I really like the different case, more industrial; the new case/psu looks uber good compared to my intitial combo. lol
Is this the PSU, you suggest?
ENERMAX EG365P-VE(FM). 350W Power supply for AMD K7 & Pentium4 $47

Will I be able to do some moderate upgrades on this set-up withou too much hassel in like 1 yr or so. (like sound card, second HDD, DVD burner, etc...)
Also, one more n00b question, I assume the motherboard comes with all the cables I will need, and the HDD etc comes with all the screws and stuff.
I'll most likely have a friend help me in the actual assembly to make sure I don't do anything too idiotic.
Should I have to mess arond with the BIOS settings after installation of everything? if so how much adjustment?

 

[Jgtdragon]

Looks good.

 

[Novgrod]

you shouldn't have to mess around, but you might want to mess around with the bios.

good call on the case change. if you have any problems with the build, don't hesitate to come for help.

 

[Cerb]

Originally posted by: newuser
Here is what I got off www.storepc.com (a little pricey, not as much selction especially mobo's)

MOBO:
Gigabyte GA-7VAXP Raid Socket A DDR Retail Box (??)

Slower than the Nforce2 boards. Not bad aside from that...but if I wanted cheaper than the 8RDA+, I'd get the L7S7A2. That board is in fact more expensive, though. And still slower.

CPU
AMD Athlon? XP 2600+ 384K 333FSB OEM
Thermaltake Volcano 9 Socket A Variable Fan Speed Control

ew...why not SK-7 and an adjustable fan?

RAM
2x 512Mb DDR333 PC2700 (1Gb Total) (does not specify name brand, wtf?)

Well, it probably isn't as good, but even so, you won't get the benefit you would from the Nforce2 board (KT400 is not dual-channel).

HDD
80Gb ATA100 WD800JB 8Mb 7200rpm

CARDS
AGP (8x) XFX GeForce4 Ti 4200 128Mb DDR TV/DVI Retail Box
ATI TV Wonder with Video Capture VE Retail Box

The Leadtek one will look much better, and why the TV wonder? If you're going for that you should just stick w/ the All-in-wonder 7500 earlier.

DVD
16 X LiteOn DVD-Rom IDE Retail Box

CASE
ATX Evercase Black MidTower 300W P.S.
2x Case Cooling Fans

SOFTWARE
Microsoft Windows XP Home

A little over $930 shipped, about the same stuff, if not a little less, but assembled which is a plus

Well, there is *some* silver lining...

 

[Cerb]

Originally posted by: newuser
Thanks for the reply, so is the artic silver worth it, it is only like $1more.

If you want. You don't need to, and arctic silver is messy. For you I'd recommend the radio shack goop, actually. Sure it won't cool quite as well, but it isn't *that* bad, and is easy to apply.

About the HSF, I just want something that will provide good cooling and low noise, is the spreez good for that?

It's better than the retail cooler, yes. The best for that for you would be the Thermalright SK-7, but it's a hefty amount more.

Oh yeah, I will be running those two case fans, 1 front/1 rear exhaust, sound good?

Yes

I really like the different case, more industrial; the new case/psu looks uber good compared to my intitial combo. lol
Is this the PSU, you suggest?
ENERMAX EG365P-VE(FM). 350W Power supply for AMD K7 & Pentium4 $47

Yes. I will be using that PSU when I upgrade.

Will I be able to do some moderate upgrades on this set-up withou too much hassel in like 1 yr or so. (like sound card, second HDD, DVD burner, etc...)

Yes. Worst case you may get enough IDE devices to need a $35 controller card, but that's where the 6 PCI slots come in

Also, one more n00b question, I assume the motherboard comes with all the cables I will need, and the HDD etc comes with all the screws and stuff.

Screws and jumpers: yes. Cables: no. You will be lacking 1 ATA cable. Just go to accessories-cables on newegg and get the cheapest ATA133 cable of at least 12" in length. The mobo comes with a single one, and you want the CD and DVD drives on a channel separate from the hard drive(s).

I'll most likely have a friend help me in the actual assembly to make sure I don't do anything too idiotic.

Probably a good idea .

Should I have to mess arond with the BIOS settings after installation of everything? if so how much adjustment?

You will likely need to set the memory to have timings set by SPD and then set the front-side bus to 166MHz and have the memory at a 1:1 ratio with it (so that it runs at 166MHz).

Since it can get confusing...
133MHz=133 1/3MHz, AKA "DDR 266", memory is PC2100
166MHz=166 2/3MHz, AKA "DDR 333", memory is PC2700
200MHz=200MHz, AKA "DDR 400", memory is PC3200

 

[newuser]

sigh, here is my revised, revised configuration. btw, I talked to another buddy who does this stuff professionally and he said he would set it up for basically free (beer money, lol)
Closer to $860 now with the upgraded HSF, hopefully worth it.
Out of curiousity, how much would something like this set-up from HP,compaq,etc retail for?

CASE
CaseTek (Black) Super ATX Tower case, With Window and USB 2.0/1394 Model CK-1018-1A $55

DVD ROM
LITE-ON XJ-HD166S/XJ-HD165H 16X DVD ROM Drive - Retail48X $33

COOLING *www.svc.com
Arctic Silver's NEW Premium Silver Polysynthetic Thermal Compound: Arctic Silver 3. 3-gram( 1 cc. ) tube. $7 *svc $5

Zalman ZM-F1 80mm Fan with Quiet Mode 2x$5 $10 (1front/1rear)

***DELETE***Thermalright SK-7 ( Heatsink ONLY ). All Copper heat spread $25
* Thermalright AX-7 Socket A Cooler $18
* Enermax Whisper Fan 80x25mm $8


HDD
WD WESTERN DIGITAL "SPECIAL EDITION" 80GB 7200RPM EIDE HARD DRIVE MODEL # WD800JB - OEM, DRIVE ONLY (8MB cache) $83


RAM (good advice, cerb thanks!)
KINGSTON HyperX Series 184-pin 512MB DDR333 (PC2700) 64X64 DDR RAM modules, Model# KHX2700/512 2x$75 $151


MOBO
&#9658;On Sale! Epox Motherboard for AMD Athlon/Athlon XP/Duron Processors, Model# EP-8RDA+ $85

(Generic)24-Inch, Teflon Coated, IDE True ATA133/100, Flat Cable for IDE Hard Drives, CD ROM, DVD ROM or CDRW, 3-Connector, 133/100/66, 24 Inches Long. Please see image $3

POWERSUPLY
ENERMAX EG365P-VE(FM). 350W Power supply for AMD K7 & Pentium4 $47


CPU
AMD ATHLON XP 2600 /333 FSB PROCESSOR $93 (*switching to oem+ SK7 HSF)

SOFTWARE
Windows XP $93
adding anti-virus after bulid

VIDEO CARD
LEADTEK WINFAST A280 GEFORCE4 TI 4200 128MB VGA & TV-OUT, DVI-OUT AGP 8X RETAIL BOX $125

OLD DESKTOP
31/2 floppy
I/O magic 48x16x48 CDRW
***removed***HP CDR (slow)(used as a CD ROM basically)
Microsoft Wireless Mouse
Compaq Keyboard
speakers, monitors, etc..

Shipping ~$45 +~$5 at svc

This look good?
You guys know much more about this stuff than I do for sure.

 

[policy11]

as3 is cheaper at svc.com and i would get the 2500 barton over the 2600

 

[Cerb]

2500+ vs. 2600+:
2600+ will generally have the lead, but a few things the 2500+ will match or beat it on. You'll be happy with either, but the 2600+ is *overall* better.

For an 80mm fan for the HSF, I'd recommend the Enermax Adjustable 80mm. Others will recommend the YS-tech adjustable 80mm, which hsould also be good, but I have no experience with it.

The new DVD-ROM will take over as CDROM, so forget the slow burner.

The closest I came to the said system was a Dell for a bit over $1300. Compaq and HP have too many corners cut to count any of theirs until the very high end as equivalent systems.

AS3 is cheaper at SVC. If it is all total cheaper, you may want to get all but the cooling at Newegg, and get an AX-7, AS3 and an 80mm adjustable fan at SVC. I don't know how much the shipping is at SVC, but it is till probably cheaper to get those parts there. The AX-7 is almost as good as the SK-7, looks cooler , is cheaper, and is about as good with slower fans. It is also lighter (but see, Newegg doesn't sell it).

 

[Novgrod]

if you check the hot deals forum, the aforementioned antec cooling is super-cheap at staples right now ($2.50)

 

[newuser]

Considering those suggestions, I tweaked the set-up slightly (noted above)
removed CDR, Thermalright AX-7 Socket A Cooler $18,Enermax Whisper Fan 80x25mm $8, from svc. They say they charge actual shipping rate, so around $5 shipping Still at $860 total, sweet!

I guess this will be a pretty decent set-up, I hope anyway