I'm planning this build...

[DL402]

I'm in the $800-900 budget and I don't plan to overclock..

AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ Processor Socket 939 Retail - $295.00
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDe...ProductCode=80721-1&affiliate=shopping

XFX PVT42GUAD GeForce 6800 GS PCI Express 256MB DDR Video Card w/TV-Out & DVI Retail - $193.99
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDe...?ProductCode=321037&affiliate=shopping

CORSAIR ValueSelect 1GB (2 x 512MB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM Unbuffered DDR 400 (PC 3200) Dual Channel Kit System Memory - Retail - $78.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820145440

NEC Black IDE/ATAPI DVD Burner Model ND-3550A - OEM - $38.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16827152058

Western Digital 120GB Internal Hard Drive - $79.99
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp...yId=pcmcat33200050001&id=1051384486557

SAMSUNG Black Internal Floppy Drive Model SFD321B/LBL1 - OEM - $9.45
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16821103203

Zonet ZFM5620-MT Data/Fax Modem - Retail - $7.25
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16825130007

EPOX EP-9NPA+ ULTRA nVIDIA nFORCE4 ULTRA - $93.50
http://www.mwave.com/mwave/skusearch.hmx?SCriteria=BA21121&CartID=done&nextloc=

Antec LifeStyle SONATA II Piano Black Computer Case - Retail - $100
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811129155

Total not including shipping: $897.16

So, is there anything I should change? Should I order all of the parts at once, or wait a bit for some prices to (hopefully) fall?

 

[bamacre]

I like it.

 

[DL402]

So everythings fine with it?

 

[leigh6]

Everything looks great.

Just one recommendation.

You can do much better on the Hard Drive.

Wait for some rebate sales from Outpost, or Best Buy, or Compusa, etc. Outpost runs a lot of rebate stuff on Seagate Hard Drive which have a 5 year warranty and are always rated highly. You should be able to pick up a 200 gig for $67.00 after rebate, a $160 for 57.00 after rebate and maybe even a 120 for $47.00 after rebate. These prices include shipping.

 

[SoundTheSurrender]

If your a gamer, get rid of that cpu for a 3200, and get a better video card and more ram. you can get a 3200 for about 160 so you can get a 7800 GT... That would be better. I would also try to buy a 1gb stick instead of 2 512's and get either a 512 or another 1gb stick later.

1gb is bare minimum now in gaming.

 

[DL402]

I'm a gamer but I would like this system to be future proof for atleast 5 years. I also don't need to run everything at super high settings, medium will work fine. I'll look into that harddrive.

 

[jimbob200521]

if you can spare the moneys, you might want to get a better video card anyway. every penny you put into it now will be one more week later on that you wont have to upgrade (not literaly, but you get what im saying)

 

[SoundTheSurrender]

running current games @ medium would make running newer games in 2 years = low. The video card is the main concern if you want to play games. Processor has a waaay less impact. I've seen good frames from a 2.4 Ghz Amd Xp with a Geforce 7800GS.

 

[ottothecow]

But if you plan to upgrade video card later, and are buying in the 200 range, the better CPU will last much longer than the better graphics card will remain top of the line.

You are going to have to upgrad the video card on a gaming machine in that time span but an X2 3800 might be able to pull through.

 

[DL402]

Is there a benchmark comparing the 6800gs and the 7800gs?

 

[SoundTheSurrender]

the 7800Gs is agp, I was just saying that even with a low cpu, a high video card shows good fps still.

 

[GamerExpress]

I think it looks like a very good build

 

[L O L]

i personally think u spent too much on CPU.. r u going to game?

 

[DL402]

Yes I'm going to game, but like I said, I dont need everything at super high settings.

Hrmm, what about getting the 3700+ instead of the x2 3800, and use the extra cash for a better video card? Would that be a better build?

 

[gramberto]

tigerdirect has a sale on a 250 GB hard drive for $70 after rebate.

compusa had an instore pick up of $50 for 200 gb hard drives last week. you have to sign up on compusa.com and have them email you for in store pickups. there is no real plan to them and they have limited supply.

they had a 200 gb hard drive for $20 before christmas, but the store opened at midnight and by 1 AM they were gone, but the next day they had a 300 GB hard drive for $80.

Hard drives and Flash Ram drives are the things I see discounted the most. you just have to look around.

 

[Bobthelost]

It'd be better for gaming in the short term at least, however when you do want to upgrade the graphics card your CPU would also need to go.

 

[DL402]

Wouldnt the x2 3800+ be better overall for long term?

 

[prozac26]

Looks pretty good.

 

[dclapps]

If your looking at the X2 for dual-core gaming, understand you cannot be guaranteed of better performance for having two processors. The theory seems to suggest better performance, but right now it's a wash: COD2 when patched did worse, while Q4 did better.

 

[Bobthelost]

The dual core would definitly be better in the long term yes. But then again if your upgrade will be to buy a whole new system in 2-3 years then it might be best to go for a single core and 7800GT instead. If you'll upgrade the graphics card in a year to a year and a half then i'd go dual core.

My personal choice, either setup is good.

 

[poisonthewell]

Originally posted by: gramberto
tigerdirect has a sale on a 250 GB hard drive for $70 after rebate.

compusa had an instore pick up of $50 for 200 gb hard drives last week. you have to sign up on compusa.com and have them email you for in store pickups. there is no real plan to them and they have limited supply.

they had a 200 gb hard drive for $20 before christmas, but the store opened at midnight and by 1 AM they were gone, but the next day they had a 300 GB hard drive for $80.

Hard drives and Flash Ram drives are the things I see discounted the most. you just have to look around.

Is mentioning a TigerDirect rebate deal really considered helpful advice? I think Staples has a Maxtor 200gb SATA for $90 right now.

 

[DL402]

I seriously can't decide between the dual core and the single...

I plan to upgrade my video card maybe every 3-4 years..

I heard that dual core will run everything much smoother and its hard to go back to singlecore
But I also heard that you dont really need a dual core unless you're going to be multitasking a lot.

 

[dclapps]

If your planning on upgrading after 3-4 years, then I would suggest going with a single core, mildly cheap processor for now with a great graphics card, then, in just a few years time when all the 939'ers are going AM2 or beyond, you can grab a better processor for cheap to hold you for the remaining time on that graphics card.

 

[Bobthelost]

The main advantage to dual cores for me has been multithreaded apps, which can use both cores at the same time. Which means that those processes are much faster.

Smoother? I didn't notice anything coming from a clean install on my 2500XP+ to a clean install on my 4400X2. But the speed difference in DVD shrink was stunning.

I'd go dual core just for the bragging rights, it's a terrible reason, but when you do want to do some number crunching it'll come into it's own. Not to mention the 6800 being a nice card.

NO graphics card will be up to high end gaming spec after 4 years, but the CPU should still be viable.

 

[dclapps]

How much faster is dvd shrink bob, particularly converting from 9's to 5's? I'm on a 2000xp, so somewhat close to what I assume is your old system.