Hows this pc?

[primarypunisher]

Sorry for askin this Q alot, but this will be my first custom PC and i want it to be as close to perfect as possible.
Thermaltake Black Gaming Tower XaserV
Lite-On Black 48X24X48X16 Combo Drive
AMD Athlon 64 3200+, 1 MB L2 Cache
Zalman CNPS7000A-AlCu Aluminum + Copper CPU Cooler ( will this work for amd 64bit)
Shuttle nForce3 150 Chipset Motherboard for AMD Socket 754 CPU
Corsair XMS Extreme Memory Speed Series, (Twin Pack) 184 Pin 1GB(512MBx2) Registered DDR PC-3200 w/ Platinum-Silver Heat Spreader
Seagate 80GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive

 

[nick1985]

looks good. i would recommend maybe the kt800 over the nforce3.

 

[everman]

That case looks a lot like the Enermax CS-10181-B (Black)Server Case,12- Bay I just got for a new server. Really pleased with the case, lots of nice space and easily fits a lot of HDs. Everything else looks nice too I don't think the Athlon 64s with 1mb cache perform much better than the 512s though, and you'd save a chunk of change there.

 

[primarypunisher]

I heard the nforce3 was better and that the kt800 had problems

 

[nick1985]

Originally posted by: primarypunisher
I heard the nforce3 was better and that the kt800 had problems

suit yourself

 

[shiftomnimega]

Well, I heard that the nvidia chipset lacks hypertransport support

 

[Zinn2b]

that do real well in games if it does well there it do everthing else well nice very nice

 

[Aikouka]

Why are you getting registered RAM for an Athlon 64; if my memory serves me correct, you only need those for the 940-based processors.

 

[primarypunisher]

im nub about ram and mobos and everything, like i said this is my first PC, is all that compatable up there?

 

[Aikouka]

Okay, I'll give you my overall opinion about all of the stuff:

Case: Thermaltake doesn't make great cases. I'm sorry, I own a Xaser III, probably my worst purchase ever. I think my old compaq has better air flow. Their nice non-screw fan design is okay ... but it causes some rattling of fans that can be quite annoying. Also, I find that thermaltake puts a lot of cheap stuff in their products and also is VERY negligent with packaging. Some of my Thermaltake Rheobus (rheobus is the dials that controls the fan speeds) molex connector pins became loose and dislodged after removing them from from fans once. When I got my case and I definitely paid a premium for it ($215), I received NO instructions and my case window was beat up and scratched.

Optical: Good choice. I am a huge fan of Lite-On, because I own a DVD drive and a CDRW drive from them and they've never failed me. If you ever want to do CD-to-CD copy though, I would probably recommend two drives, because making CD images is a pain.

CPU: If you're somewhat strapped for cash, just buy the 3000+ and save yourself the $80-$100.

HS/F: I recommend not buying that Zalman. Looking at the motherboard, I can see that huge heatsink conflicting with the capacitors that are to the right of the rear I/O ports. The last thing you want is a broken capacitor! Just buy the retail CPU and use the stock HS/F.

Mobo: Your choice is okay ... but a VIA K8-based board might be a better choice. Also, to save money, buy a cheaper board. You might never notice the difference in speed. If you're having trouble deciding, take a couple look at Anandtech's great benchmarks of motherboards and see which one fits your performance and price needs.

I'd recommend the MSI Neo: http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=13-130-434&catalog=22&depa=0

RAM: That ram is Registered and will only work on systems that require registered DIMMs. These are two good DIMMs that are rated well:

Mushkin L2 PC3200:
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=20-146-288&depa=0
OCZ PC3200 Platinum:
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=20-146-966&depa=0

Both are gig sticks

HDD: That's fine.