Help build this system

[mrdirtguy]

Please help.
Trying to build my 1st system-anything currently for sale in the US will be an improvement.
I'm not a big gamer but I like to play games. Will use for digital photography.

I'm trying to put together a complete list of what I will need:

Motherboard-Gigbyte GA-7VRXP.
Athlon 1800 Retail
OCZ DDR RAM 512MB PC-2700
ATI Radeon 8500 64MB DDR AGP RETAIL
Maxtor 40GB 7200 HD (is installing my Western Digital 80 GB7200 to ghost?)
Pacific Digital 32X12X48 CDRW
Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
Arctic SilverThermal Compound
1.44 MB 3.5 INCH FLOPPY DISK DRIVE- OEM
Thermaltake VOLCANO 7 Variable Fan Speed Control. Retail. For AMD Socket 462
antistatic wrist strap

Right now I'm at about $750 (not including the CDRW and hard drives which I have) I'd like to keep it close to that (and I'll knock the price down if I can). That being said I won't get a cheap PS

I need :
a good case and power supply
a modem.
The motherboard has 3 ATA cables; I'm guessing I need at least 1 more. Any other cables?

I'm hoping that my NEC C700 monitor will be okay and my altec speakers, keyboard, mouse, and microphone will all be okay

What else?
Please let me know what you think. Thanks.

 

[Wolfsraider]

mrdirtguy,
WELCOME to the forums

i'm not an amd guy but one thing i'd change is the OCZ DDR RAM 512MB PC-2700

you pay more for it than it's worth as it is just 0/C 2100 ram if i remember from the other posts around here


case antec 1040 (b = black) with a 400 watt antec power supply=can't go wrong
a diamond supra cheapo modem would do you fine
that would add about 150.00 but should get you completed

since the (2?)harddrives and cdrw =3 drives if you need another cable buy it but this doesn't look like you do



<< I'm hoping that my NEC C700 monitor will be okay and my altec speakers, keyboard, mouse, and microphone will all be okay >>


if in doubt wait after you get the main stuff then decide what is best for you and i think they are ok

looks like a nice setup

good luck

 

[Mithrander]

First, list the price you're getting for each part - it'll give us a clearer idea as to what you're perhaps overpaying for and what you're getting a good deal on. (Retailer info also is important - buying from just any Pricewatch company because of their low advertised prices is a dangerous pitfall.)
First, same as wolfsraider - change the ram. OCZ has a terrible reputation for poor quality ram, and if that goes bust, your entire system goes down with it. Better to spend the extra $20 for Mushkin special, Samsung 2700 or Corsair. Crucial's prices have gone down a bit these days, so shop around.
(There was a Samsung 512mb PC2700 hot deal floating around just the other day for $138 or so - search for it. Should be worth your money.)

Pacific Digital 32X12X48 CDRW
-For cd-rw, there's a TDK 32x cd-writer deal for $67 after rebates - should be cheaper than the Pacific Digital drive and give you one of the top three drives out there. (Next to Plextor, and closely tied with Lite-on)
-Alternatively, read about the dell.com deals for lite-on cd-writers. Excellent burners, good prices, possibly free shipping and no rebates to deal with.

ATI Radeon 8500 64MB DDR AGP RETAIL
- Some people love the radeon, some hate it. If you search around the forum, it's almost like a Mac-PC debate. If you list your price, I can give you a better estimate on the value of it. If you're paying over $200 for it, you're better off getting a Gainward GeForce3 Ti200 from Newegg for about $150-$160 or so. Gainward has built a very solid reputation over the past couple of years for their GeForce products - look around and you'll find it's one of the fastest, stablest, and easiest to overclock video cards out there. Plus, there's Tv-out and twin-view. (dual monitor support - great for editing large photos.)

Maxtor 40GB 7200 HD
-HD is another iffy topic atm. Before, I'd recommend IBM's Deskstar line in a heartbeat, but lately, their 75GXP products have been prone to crashes and lots of issues. Their 60GXP line (of which I have the 40GB) is still rock solid, and often cheaper. I've heard some praises about Maxtor, and Western Digital's stepped up their quality for the newer, bigger hard drives (120GB SE, for example.)
-Post your price for the maxtor first so we can see if you're getting a good deal on this.

Thermaltake VOLCANO 7 Variable Fan Speed Control. Retail. For AMD Socket 462
-I was under the impression that the AMD Athlon XP1800+ was socket A - whether a heatsink made for Socket 462 is compatible, I'm not sure. But how much are you paying for this hsf? You have a lot of hot equipment, so getting a quality hsf is extremely important. If you don't mind raising your budget, I'd go for the Alpha8045 with the Panaflo L1A fan. It's about $40 shipped from case-mod.com or from svucompucycle.com. But, make sure you check to see if it'll fit on your Gigabyte motherboard. (It probably should, being one of the newer KT333 boards, but check alpha's website under 8045 heatsink - www.alphanovatech.com)

Case and power supply -
Can't go wrong with the Antec +400w case deal from newegg.com. Shipping is a bit steep, but it's a great case, excellent power supply and if you buy most of your items from newegg, you can divy up the shipping costs a bit.
However, if you're wanting to save a few dollars, go for the Evercase E4252 case. Trust me on this - do not skimp on a case by buying a cheap Future Power or generic case. I tried that a few weeks ago - ran into a boatload of problems. Case design was poor, motherboard holders was cheap, PCI slot ridge was too high, which meant most of my PCI cards couldn't completely fit in, etc, etc. The Evercase E4252 is one of the BEST cases I've ever worked with - practically screwless, rolled edges, great quality while inexpensive.
Bundle that with either an Antec 350w power supply or the Enermax 365 series. I have a sparkle and it's good - gives me 220w on the rails. But it's still the noisest thing in my sys - probably like 38dba or so.

Modem
-What wolfsraider said - Diamond modems are usually great.
If you don't mind a clunkier external beige modem sitting outside, there was a deal for an external modem for around $21.95 or so. The reviews give it a solid thumbs up, gets good speeds and has call waiting features, etc.

Cables
-Might as well get rounded cables if you're going to be ordering one more. If it's cheaper, just order a set and use them to better organize your system for airflow.

 

[Barnaby W. Füi]

all athlon XP's are socket A.

 

[mrdirtguy]

Thanks for the help!
Here's the initial numbers:

NEWEGG:
Motherboard-Gigbyte GA-7VRXP. $127.00
Athlon 1800 Retail $129.00
ATI Radeon 8500 64MB DDR AGP RETAIL $154.00
Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition $88.00
Arctic SilverThermal Compound $6.00
1.44 MB 3.5 INCH FLOPPY DISK DRIVE- OEM $9.00
antistatic wrist strap $5.00
Diamond SupraMax 56K V.92 PCI Modem $17.00
PLUS SHIPPING (TO NYC) $565

Googlegear Samsung 512MB PC2700 333MHz DDR Memory $132 + shipping $143

4better/4worse I already bought the following:

Maxtor 40GB 7200 HD about $55 with coupon and rebate
Western Digital 80 GB7200 $50-$125 (not sure whether rebate will go thru)
Pacific Digital 32X12X48 CDRW-$70
memorex scanner-$30

Still looking for the case/ps and heatsink/fan (I don't believe the alpha fits because it has screws and I think I need clips--I'm asking now.)
I know this is a stupd question but since my drive is IDE, does that mean I don't need a SCSI card?

Thanks again.

 

[Snoop]

<< Googlegear Samsung 512MB PC2700 333MHz DDR Memory $132 + shipping $143 >>


Good choice, much better than the ocz memory.


<< Diamond SupraMax 56K V.92 PCI Modem $17.00 >>


Diamond would not be my first choice, I would go with a Lucent chipset based modem, better driver support as well as better overall chip than the Rockwell, from my reccolection.
edit: then again i cant find any v.92 lucent based modems......

 

[mrdirtguy]

I know that the prices out there for XP already reflect a price cut, but since AMD has shipped the Thoroughbred, which are supposed to be smaller, cheaper and faster, to computer manufacturers, perhaps this is one of those times that it makes sense to wait for new technology?

 

[microAmp]

<< Athlon 1800 Retail $129.00
Still looking for the case/ps and heatsink/fan (I don't believe the alpha fits because it has screws and I think I need clips--I'm asking now.)
I know this is a stupd question but since my drive is IDE, does that mean I don't need a SCSI card?
Thanks again. >>



You don't need a SCSI card; since you are getting a Retail CPU, you don't need anothe heatsink/fan it comes with one, unless you are going to o/c, then if so, get an OEM and save a few $$$.

 

[Mithrander]

I'm checking around to see if the alpha 8045 will fit on your gigabyte mboard too.
Most of the Gigabyte 266a mboards worked fine with the Alpha 8045, so I'm guessing it probably will. Your best bet is to either email alphanovatech.com and ask them or email gigabyte's customer support and inquire about it.

From what I've heard, people generally complain about the amount of background applications that Windows XP runs that sucks up cpu power and memory. I run my system as clean as possible, but even at startup, WinXP already has 20 applications using 110mb of my RAM. (I have 512). So you can imagine if it's really worth it. It's nice for looks, has great driver support for most applications and peripherals, but if you're looking to run your computer as fast as possible, I'd stick with Windows 2000. Only difference really is that it just looks like regular windows...

As for the heatsink, I've heard varying reports about the volcano series. They don't seem that great, and I'm sure you can find a better one for the amount you're paying.

If you're up for a easy mod, you can always grab an old Global Win FOP-32 and replace the screaming Ys-tech fan with a much quieter and yet just as efficient 80mm Sunon or Panaflo fan. Apparently, the clip that it uses to clamp the original 60mm fan can easily be stretched to accommodate an 80mm fan(I've done this - it's fairly easy to do. Only installing it is THE hardest part). Just bend it slowly. =)

If not, svucompucycle sells the GC-68, which runs great, is quiet and is fairly inexpensive. Only thing is that with your system, it might post higher temperature readings than you'd like.
Still, I think the alpha8045 is your best bet for noise/price ratio. If it doesn't fit...then I'd hunt around the cases/cooling section for the next best. Hard to really think of too many that performs great and doesn't generate a lot of noise.

But other than that, your system looks fine. Sounds like you're getting a good deal too. I'd personally go for the GeForce3 Ti200 from newegg, but the 8500 radeon chip is nothing to scoff at.

Just find a good solid case (Antec, Chieftec, Lian Li - expensive, Evercase), couple that with a good power supply (Antec's Tru330, Sparkle 350, Enermax Whisper series) and your system should run just great.