Help me decide on an A64 setup!!

[msi1337]

Selling my laptop to pay for an A64 desktop. My spending budget is $700 without monitor, key, mouse.

I will need:

Winchester CPU retail (will get better HSF later)
Good mobo... (was thinking either DFI ultra, or Asus A8n-E)
Case with good power supply (probably have to buy psu seperate)
(Like the Antec SLK3700AMB case)
Seagate SATA hard drive
16x DL DVD burner (suggestions for brand?)
1GB PC-3200 memory (basic, not going to be overclocking much)(prefer corsair)
16x PCI-E video card (suggestions in the $60-$120 price range.. I don't game much)

will be buying all parts from NewEgg or ZZF... never used ZZF, but I hear they have good deals.

Also, some info on if I am needing an ATX V2.0 12v power supply would be great
24 pin? or 20pin with converter?

 

[Ike0069]

For the case, you can get the Sonata for $96 shipped from Newegg now. The PSU will be plenty for you.
3000+ Retail $145
MSI Neo4 $140
1GB Corsair $100
NEC 3520A $60
Leadtek 6600 $109

Total $~650

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: Ike0069
For the case, you can get the Sonata for $96 shipped from Newegg now. The PSU will be plenty for you.
3000+ Retail $145
MSI Neo4 $140
1GB Corsair $100
NEC 3520A $60
Leadtek 6600 $109

Total $~650

No hard drive?

If you need to cut back on something to have more HDD money, I think you can get away with a lesser motherboard than this.

 

[mwmorph]

3000+-152-http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=19-103-501&depa=1

dfi ultra nf4-139-easily moddable to nforce4sli, comes with 2 pci-e16x slots-http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc.asp?description=13-136-152&depa=1

antec sonata with 380w truepower(included)-96-http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=11-129-127&depa=0

seagate160gb ide(no performance loss between ide and sata-109(all sata seagate retail packages are out of your price range-http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=22-148-031&depa=1

Lite-On 16X dl drive sohw1673s(good drive i have the 1633s[basically, this is a black version of the 1633s])-61-http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=27-106-966&depa=1

memory-97-http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=80098-21&ps=ho1
leadtek

6600-109-http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=14-122-202&depa=1

x600 is a 9600 with a bridge chip. last gen. no dx9c or ps3.0 support. 6600gt is current gen chip.

 

[msi1337]

so I can use a regular True 380 like in the sonata case without a problem?

 

[Hyperlite]

yes IMO, 6600 is better than a X600, and yes, the PSU that comes with the sonata should be just fine.

 

[msi1337]

sorry I though I needed a 24 pin psu for something

 

[msi1337]

I went a little over budget, but here is what I got!


MB DFI|NF4 LANPARTY UT nF4 Ultra-D
Item# N82E16813136152
$137.99

VGA LEADTEK GF PX6600 TD RT
Item# N82E16814122202
$109.00

CPU AMD 64 |3000+ ATHLON 939P 90 RT
Item# N82E16819103501
$152.99

DDR CRSR 512MB X2 KIT|VS1GBKIT400
Item# N82E16820145440
$97.00

HD 160GB|SEAGAT ST3160827AS 8mb %
Item# N82E16822148034
$102.89

DVD+/-RW 16x+|NECND-3520A BG
Item# N82E16827152039
$56.00

CASE ANTEC|MID TOWER SONATA RET
Item# N82E16811129127
$96.00

Total price $764.85 shipped

Is that a good computer?

 

[mwmorph]

it's good

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

If I was getting an $750 computer, that's probably what I would get.

 

[ts3433]

If you weren't going to overclock you probably could have gotten a $100 motherboard (or gone with AGP 754 if you also didn't need 939 dual core--rumor has it that mainstream dual core will use a different socket anyway... something like Socket M2), but that's a good setup.

 

[Cares]

I like it. If it were me though, I would shell out a hundred or so more and get a faster processor. That's only me.

 

[MTSteel]

Worst case scenario with the system you are planning on is having to buy a better PSU for the Ultra D It cannot hurt to try it, but there have been some who have had problems which turned out to be caused by a weak PSU.
Be sure to plug all 4 power connectors to the DFI board for stability.

 

[Ike0069]

IMO the MSI neo4 is a more stable board than the DFI and a few $$ cheaper at ZZF, or you could also go with the Chaintech VNF4/Ultra for ~$100.
Other than that, great system for the price.
And for your question about the 20-pin PSU, this should answer it.

 

[msi1337]

MB DFI|NF4 LANPARTY UT nF4 Ultra-D
Item# N82E16813136152
$137.99

VGA LEADTEK GF PX6600 TD RT
Item# N82E16814122202
$109.00

CPU AMD 64 |3000+ ATHLON 939P 90 RT
Item# N82E16819103501
$152.99

DDR CRSR 512MB X2 KIT|VS1GBKIT400
Item# N82E16820145440
$97.00

HD 160GB|SEAGAT ST3160827AS 8mb %
Item# N82E16822148034
$102.89

DVD+/-RW 16x+|NECND-3520A BG
Item# N82E16827152039
$56.00

CASE ANTEC|MID TOWER SONATA RET
Item# N82E16811129127
$96.00

With this setup, could someone please assure me of which cables I need to plug in and where on this motherboard? I need to know which side the 20 pin connector goes on, if the old 4 pin (originally p4) connector plugs in, and if the fact that the 6600 video card I got doesnt have a power connector on it will cause an issue. If I have to buy a new psu I can, but I would like to use the True 380 that comes in the Sonata case if I could.

sorry for asking newb questions, I am not a pc building newb, just heard a couple horror stories about people frying their mobo using a 20 pin atx connector in the wrong position.

also, anything different I should know about this setup? I have built tons of Athlon XP machines, but this will be my first time ever using A64, SATA, and PCI-E

 

[Ike0069]

That looks real good.
Suggestion: Buy the case NOW, before Newegg adds the shipping charges back on.