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I am need of some advice in building my first PC

Sonikku

Sonikku

Lifer
Last week I knew almost nothing of PC's. Now, I know a tad more but am still very new to the idea of building my own machine. (I've been a G4 user up to this point) But after learning a couple things and picking out some parts I was curious as to how well my selections fare.

My objective is to build the best gaming PC I can on a budget of $1000.

Up to now I have only ever used Intel cpu's in PC's (and IBM with my Mac) but many have been telling me in the other boards I post at that AMD is the better choice for gaming machines so I'm taking a chance with a Athlon 64 cpu for my first PC build. I'm hoping I'll be able to OC the A64 3000+ Venice to 3500+ speeds. I have a 5.1 Dolby Digital/DTS surround system and a HDTV with DVI input so I would also like the machine to double as a HTPC for DVD's and home theater. All I am hoping to build is just the tower. I already have a monitor, keyboard and mouse.


AMD Athlon 64 3000+ Venice Integrated into Chip FSB Socket 939 Processor Model ADA3000BPBOX - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16819103537

GIGABYTE GA-K8N Ultra-9 Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 Ultra ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16813128283

CODEGEN C-6209-C9-38C-W Silver Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16811182048

NEC Beige IDE DVD Burner Model ND-3520A BG - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16827152039

Arctic Silver Ceramique Thermal Compound - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16835100009

MASSCOOL FDC08025S1M 80mm Sleeve Cooling Fan - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16835150044

SAMSUNG White 1.44MB 3.5" Internal Floppy Drive Windows 98SE/ ME/ 2000/ XP - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16821103202

Seagate Barracuda 7200.7 ST380817AS 80GB 7200 RPM Serial ATA150 Hard Drive - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16822148040

X2: CORSAIR ValueSelect 1GB (2 x 512MB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Unbuffered Dual Channel Kit System Memory Model VS1GBKIT400 - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16820145440

Rosewill RV450 ATX 450W Power Supply - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16817182008

CHAINTECH AV-710 8 (7.1) Channels PCI Interface Sound Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16829120103

MSI RX800XL-VT2D256E Radeon X800XL 256MB GDDR3 PCI-Express x16 Video Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16814127156

Specs before any OC:

Athlon 64 3000 1.8 ghz
80 Gig harddrive
2 GB of Ram
X800XL video card

For a while I thought a gig of ram would be all I ever needed for years. But with newer games asking for a gig just on the suggested specs and some telling me I'd need a gig and a half just to run battlefield 2 at a steady framerate with maximum quality settings enabled I figured two gigs would give me enough ram with some breathing room. I am also a graphic designer and intend to use a great deal of photoshop, In-design, Illustrator and other programs so hopefully 2 gigs will fit the bill.

The ram I ended up choosing is cheap, but has seen a number of superb reviews. It's greatest downfall seems to be that it has little over clocking potential and should only be run at it's stock speed. But the way I figure it for that cost, if it's reliable I might as well have 2 gigs and run them at stock speeds rather then have 1 gig and try to push it.

I considered the 6800 line of video cards for their over clocking potential, but ended up with the X800XL. Games like Half Life 2 are far more important to me then Doom 3 and the like and I think I'll be spending far more of my time with the former rather then the latter. (To say nothing of all the fantastic reviews I've heard of the X800XL for the price) The smaller size of ATI cards was also a consideration given the size constraints of my case and motherboard setup. The only thing I don't like about the video card is that it's considered to be a fantastic "value" at $300, yet I'm probably going to end up spending just as much on my video card as I do the Xbox 360. Mad

And as for the case, before any of you tell me it sucks given how cheap it is know that it was a greater priority to secure PC parts that would put my gaming rig right in the sweet spot then get a fancy pants "look ma, no screws!" case or something along those lines. For what it's worth, Anandtech gave this case their editer's choice award saying it's the best bang for your buck case without breaking the bank with a surprisingly cool design (by cool I mean air flow...) and sturdy construction without being sharp around the edges. The fan built in to the side in paticular I like as it will help keep my cpu cool while I try to overclock the hell out of it. I would just rather spend more money on quality PC parts that have it taken up by the case. As long as it keeps it cool, I don't really care. However, if any of you have better suggestions based on a more effective design please list suggestions. (however I could not care less about looks.)

If anyone sees a socket that doesn't fit or a pin that doesn't match please speak up now. I think I got every part to play nice with each other but would rather have someone else critique my choices as I'm only now starting to fully understand more of the functions of PC's. Thanks in advance. 🙂
 
Everythig else looks pretty good except the PSU. I do not know who manufactures Rosewill (isn't that the cheapo newegg brand) PSUs, but I would steer clear. Definately want to invest in a more reliable PSU foir that system. Look at asonme decent brands like Antec, Fortron, OCZ, Enermax, Seasonic, etc. You will have to pay a little more, but it is definately worth it. You will have stronger, steadier rails and less chance for the PSU to fail, which may destroy other parts of your PC.


BTW - I believe if you try to run 4 DIMMs they will be forced to run at 2T command rate. This will incur a slight performance hit, but it shouldn't be too bad (It should be more than ade up for by the amount of RAM).
 
Yeah I agree with Sr. Everything looks good but the PSU, you don't want to skimp on the PSU, wattage alone is meaningless. A quality 350w is better than a no name generic 500w. Brands such as Antec, Enermax, Fortron, Seasonic, OCZ, and others as well. The Xclio seems to be popular at the moment, good price and good PSU. It's also usualy better to use 2 sticks of ram rather than 4 for an A64, but if you stick with 4 it shouldn't hurt the performance too much.
 
Bah. I've built many systems with Rosewill PS's. I love them. Good specs, quiet and a great value. To each his own however.

And you don't want any case bashing, but here it is. I have one problem with that case. Look at the grill on tha back of that thing. Does it look restrictive to you? That sucker will be noisy even with a low RPM / low CFM fan it. And you want to overclock, which means you will need to move some air.

If you plan to punch it out you will be OK. But, maybe the noise doesn't matter to you. Again, to each his own.
 
I dont know about the PSU band, so i wont comment.

You might want to consider a different MoBo. Gigabyte aren't bad, but if it doesn't break the budget, an ASUS might be better.

Since your building a new gaming machine, getting 2GB isn't a bad idea.

Also, I wouldn't bother with a seperate sound card. Try on-board sound first, and if you dont like it you can always add a sound card later.

RoD
 
I hear even if the MOBO has built in audio optons, even with a optical input, it still often pales in comparison to seperate cards. But I'll take your advice and try the on-board audio anyways.

But as for ram is the general idea that it's better to have 2 GB (2x1gb) then it is to have 2 GB(4x512)? It seems as though the single 1gb sticks aren't really that much more then the ram I picked out. Are there 1 gig sticks of ram made that anyone could link me to that would be better?

And as for the case, it might be loud. ...But I doubt it's anything worse then what I've put up with with my G4. 😛 I just thought it was a good case for the money as it was suggested by anandtech.
http://www.anandtech.com/casecooling/showdoc.aspx?i=2336&p=21

Oh, and as for MOBO's, what is the difference I need to keep in mind when buying one if they all have a 939 socket, four 184 pin Ram slots, PCI express 16 slot, 2-3 regular PCI slots and harddrive compatibility? What bearing will a Nividia or some other chipset have on my gaming rig? What MOBO brands are better for gaming then MSI?

Thanks to all for your comments. It's very much appreciated.
 
I considered getting that case for a while. But I then noticed it was a very small mini case and started to worry if my demanding x800xl and OC cpu would be cool enough with such little space.
 
True, I have one and the board fits a bit snugly, but I don't overclock so I don't have an issue. I'm partial to Antec for their customer service. They replaced a noisy case fan in a week of me emailing them and they are good solid cases without the flashing lights/retarded designs. Sonatas are nice for about $100.
 
Processor - cool
Mobo - I don't know how that motherboard fares in overclocking. I'd stick to the big three: MSI, ASUS, and DFI. Maybe you should spring for an ASUS a8n-e
Case - I'd recommend an Antec Sonata or SLK series case. They are a quality brand.
About the thermal compound. Since you're buying a retail processor, I don't really see a need to upgrade your thermal paste as the stock thermal pad does just fine, especially @ 3500+ speeds.
Floppy - cool
Hard drive - The 160-250GB hard drives is the range where you get better bang for your buck. If you stay with the 80GB, that's cool.
Memory - cool
PSU - It seems a bit iffy, maybe try an XClio 450W
Sound card - cool
Video card - cool

All in all, it seems to be a stout build.
 
I was not even aware then CPU's came with their own heatsink fan a little while ago. Just now I didn't even know they came with their own paste.

Thank you very much for your input guys. I really appreciate it as I'm learned a great deal along the way. I did have a change of heart on my ram however. Can anyone suggest whether this 2GB (1GB x2) set of ram is any good?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820145579
I'm hearing that Athlon 64 likes 2 sticks more then 4, and it would also free up to slots on my MOBO. Other then that I'm curious what a good MOBO would be for me that isn't too extreme for a newbie in setup, but still allows me to do such things as OC my cpu while not affecting my RAM. It's just that I hear with lower end MOBO's overclocking tends to effect the ENTIRE setup, and not just the one part in question. I would like to OC my 3000+ venice core, but I don't want to push it with my ram. The Ram I want should be reliable, but I don't intend to push it beyond it's stock speeds. Any other input would be great.
 
I don't see anywhere in the MOBO or PSU descriptions on newegg where it says whether or not it uses the 24 pin. Where do I look?
 
Originally posted by: Sonikku
Originally posted by: The Pentium Guy
Remember to get a 24-pin psu.
Click to expand...


Any idea if the Power Supply that this Antec case comes with is 24 pin?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16811129150

I'm not quite sure what the advantage is of a 24 pin PS to be honest...
Click to expand...



I just got the SLK1650 and the PSU comes with a 24pin plug that can turn into a 20 pin plug, you just snap off the extra four pins (you can reconnect it though).
 
I got a great suggestion for the case. Get the Antec PlusView 1000. For one it is quiet. Two, it is great for cooling with 5 spots for fans including one on the side for your cpu and video card. Three it has a filter that keeps dust from entering the case. Four it has a side window which will look really nice. Five It is really heavy and is not likely to fall or no one will steal it because it would be so hard too. And last and most important, It has lockable side Panal and lockable front swinging door.🙂
 
Originally posted by: thekillerjks
I got a great suggestion for the case. Get the Antec PlusView 1000. For one it is quiet. Two, it is great for cooling with 5 spots for fans including one on the side for your cpu and video card. Three it has a filter that keeps dust from entering the case. Four it has a side window which will look really nice. Five It is really heavy and is not likely to fall or no one will steal it because it would be so hard too. And last and most important, It has lockable side Panal and lockable front swinging door.🙂
Click to expand...


Is that on newegg by any chance?
 
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