How is this for my first system? lots of Q's. answers/suggestions/comments please

[cowsclaw]

this is my first attempt at building a computer and am unsure of what components to get... a little info: i plan to use this mainly for office applications and internet surfing with occasional photoshopping, web design, and gaming. i tried to keep the price as low as possible. one of my main concerns is to still be able to use this computer 2-3 years down the line with upgrades along the way. if you could keep these things in mind and make some suggestions/comments, it'd be much appreciated

1) mobo- Epox 8RDA+ ($100)
comments: at first wanted to get Asus A7N8X Deluxe, but it costs $145. tried comparing the two and the only thing i think i'd be missing in getting the Epox is the SDIF out. the SATA on the Asus would be nice for later, but it's really not worth the extra $50. which do you think would be better in the longrun? They both should be able to support SocketA until the end (even Barton), right?

2) CPU- Athlon 1700+ Thoroughbred-B ($60)
comments: it's cheap and i might try overclocking in the future when i have time. i'll probably end up upgrading to a 3000+ when they get cheap. anyone know where i can get a Thoroughbred-B 1700+ withotu the risk of getting an A?

3) Case/Power Supply- Antec LANBOY ($90)
comments: i like the look and weight of it. i haven't really read any negative reviews for it either. i looked and everyone says that Antec power supplies are good, but should i upgrade it? Directron gives the option of upgrading it to a Antec True430 for an extra $25, but i'm not sure if it would be worth it. i.e., will this power supply be good still when i upgrade to a 3000+ in the future? or will i have to upgrade it then anyways? Or should I just scrap this whole LANBOY idea and opt for the 1080AMG or somethign else right off the bat?

4) Memory- 1x512 MB Crucial DDR PC2700 ? CL=2.5 ? Unbuffered ? Non-parity ? 6ns ? 2.5V ? 64Meg x 64 ($85)
comments: how big of a difference does memory make? i mean, what justifies the large price difference between this Corsair memory and this Crucial RAM? what makes it twice as expensive? is it that much slower (yes, i've tried reading about latencies and which brand is best)? also, i realize that i should consider getting 2x256MB instead because of the dual channel DDRAM board, but from all the posts and articles i have read the difference is only minimal. i will just get another stick of the 512MB when i have the money.

5) Video Card- Radeon 8500LE 128MB ($100?)
comments: does the manufacturer of the board make a big difference? e.g., SapphireTech vs Hercules vs. Crucial.

i'll worry about the other things later.
i) how are the things that i have chosen?

ii) has anyone ordered anythign from Directron.com? are they safe to use?

iii) should i redistribute the way I spend this $450 in any way? e.g., spend big bucks on really good RAM and downgrade ____. excluding a faster CPU, what would make this computer fast for the longest time?

THANKS for taking the time to read all of that!
-kirin

 

[thorin]

This isn't a major issue but you may want to consider a 1800+ or 1900+ I just heard last night from the local computer store that I always use that the 1700+ has been discontinued and they can't get it from their supplier any longer.

Thorin

 

[thraxes]

Memory:
Well it depends on if you want to overclock like crazy or just mildly. For normal use and mild overclocking you can't go wrong with Crucial (Micron), Samsung, Infineon and other name brands. For OCing look into Corsair, Mushkin, GEIL etc...

Graphics:
I run a sapphire 8500 and it works really well, don't know about Hercules but I guess that the differences are minimal.

Otherwise the system looks pretty good and the cojponents are well balanced considering the budget

 

[Bonesdad]

Freaky...this is the EXACT system I have been looking at, down to the case and memory.

Looks like a really good system doesnt it? The only change I would definately make it going with 2x256 PC2700 DDR from Crucial or PC3200 from Corsair (more spendy, but yes, speedier and more overclockable - CL2). Doesn't sound like we can talk you out of 1x512...just that memory is so cheap right NOW.

I have also read about some problems the 8RDA+ or NForce2 problems with R300 GPUs like Radeon 9500 or 9700...sorry, don't have details... You should check into this forum for some good information.

Don't have any info bout Directron...

Good luck!

 

[SafeZone]

directron is a good company, I've ordered from them several times without a problem

however, I have never ordered a CPU from them, and you mentioned trying to find an athlon 1700+ t-bred B. I would recommend looking at newegg first, and probably looking at an 1800+ or 1900+ as thorin pointed out the 1700+ may be being discontinued, also your chances of getting a t-bred B increase as you go to higher speeds.

While directron may have a fine selection of CPU's, make sure you check out the stepping numbers on the cpu that you order from the site, whether it be directron, newegg, or any other site, and make sure you get what you're paying for, and if you receive an A in the mail, send it back and ask for a B

other than that, system looks pretty good. with 1 stick of 512 memory you're not going to be able to run dual ddr until you get another stick, and if you have 2 moderate performance crucial sticks, you may be bottlenecking your planned 3000+ upgrade

if I were you, I'd go with 2x256 corsair 3200 cs2 ram, this will give you plenty of performance headroom for the future, and also perform better now with dual-channel ddr

as for the power supply, what you have there should be fine, just make sure to check what the 12v rail is on that, if its anything less than ~15 amps then you could run into problems since cpu stability depends on this 12v rail. and as long as you aren't running tons of optical drives and hard disks everything should be fine on the other rails.

 

[cowsclaw]

thanks to everyone for the quick responses

Originally posted by: Bonesdad
Freaky...this is the EXACT system I have been looking at, down to the case and memory.

since you are looking at the same system, where have you seen the lowest prices for these components?

Originally posted by: SafeZone

if I were you, I'd go with 2x256 corsair 3200 cs2 ram, this will give you plenty of performance headroom for the future, and also perform better now with dual-channel ddr
.

yeah, i considered this upgrade so i wouldnt have to upgrade later, but its
too expensive (twice as much)

thanks, though