Looking to build a PC...

[sammich]

Hey, I'm a total noob when it comes to PC building, and I'm looking for suggestions on what to buy. I also only have about $900 left to spend

I already have a monitor, speakers, dvd/cd-r drives, mouse and keyboard.
I also recently purchased a Antec SuperLANBOY Which already includes a 350W power supply.

Here's my list:
AMD Athlon 64 3200+ socket 939 processor
Chaintech VNF4 motherboard
Western Digital 200GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive
MSI GeForce 6600 GT PCI Express 128MB DDR3 Video Card
TWO Crucial Ballistix 184-Pin 512MB DDR PC
Creative Labs Sound Blaster Sound Blaster Audigy 2 Value Sound Card

But I'm not completely sure if everything is essential or if I can get something similar for cheaper. Any suggestions would be most helpful and appreciated.

 

[airfoil]

You could live without that Audigy2, at least to begin with. Also, I'd choose Seagate over WD. For the RAM, you could consider the G.Skill 512x2 kit at Newegg, its got great reviews - and you'll save $100+ in the process.

Everything else looks pretty good.

 

[Melchior]

Dont waste your money on Ballistix and instead upgrade your motherboard or graphics card.
The audigy 2 is also useless, most onboard is fine.

For 900 dollars I would suggest the following from: www.monarchcomputer.com

Monarch A64 combo w/ A64 3200+ and DFI Lanparty Ultra-D. - 340
eVGA 6800 GT - 388

From Newegg: Twimos TMSP400- 512 x2 = 110
And a Hardrive. Well, it goes a bit over your 900 of if you want big storage. If you need bigger HD, Go for downgrading the 6800GT for an X800XL instead.

No Optical?

 

[Demoth]

Best improvement for the least cost will be moving up another $10 to the Chaintech Ultra version of that board and getting 1 or 2 10000 rpm raptor drives. Unless your running a entertainment system from your CPU, onboard sound is fine for games versus that SB.

 

[ribbon13]

Raptor and $900 budget.... yeah, not gonna happen.

 

[mwmorph]

what are you smoking/ yuo are looking to build a budget rig and are buying premium memory that costts 2x more and will net you a literally 1% in performance increase max!

get some 1gb (512mb x 2) g.skill CAS 2 for $99
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=20-231-012&depa=1

upgrade yourself to an 6800 or x800xl with all that money saved,

buy a seagate IDE or SATA. no real performance differencs, just that SATA cables look prettier.
SATA 200GB OEM (REMEMBER TO BUY CABLES)($123)
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=22-148-033&depa=1

200GB IDE OEM (REMEMBER TO BUY CABLES)($118)
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=22-148-032&depa=1

A Motherboard is nowhere to skimp!
Provides great oc's and is stable as hell DFI "LANPARTY UT nF4 Ultra-D"($139)
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=13-136-152&depa=1

Ditch the audigy to make up for the increased motherboard and HDD prices. onboard sound on the DFI board is good.

upgrade to this form the money you savesd getting value ram like everyone else.
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=14-102-509&depa=1

if you plan to oc, you'd better get a better power supply with more amps on the +12v rail.

 

[Demoth]

Raptor and $900 budget.... yeah, not gonna happen.

--------------------------------------------------------------
Western Digital Raptor 74GB 10,000RPM SATA Hard Drive, Model WD740GD, OEM Drive Only
Specifications:
Capacity: 74GB
Average Seek Time: 4.5 ms
Buffer: 8MB
Rotational Speed: 10000 RPM
Interface: Serial ATA
Features: High Performance SATA Interface
Packaging: OEM Drive Only
more info-> N82E16822144160 $185.00 $185.00



Um, 2 of these would cost him $370 and these beasts in raid 0 would up performance by a huge amount. This would be a far better overall option then the high end ram he is getting when he could get a gig of low latency patriot for $130 instead and scrap the useless sound card.

That is taking into account he even needs HD space approaching 200 gigs as just one of these raptors by itself would smoke any 7200 raid combo speed wise. $900 is a lot to spend considering he already has some of his gear. Some stuff, even in a budget system is worth spending extra on as , for example, a 10000 RPM raptor would last years.

 

[ribbon13]

RAID0 with WD740GD's is rather esoteric and completely out of place for his needs. It would be a waste as I highly doubt he needs extrme STR or higher IOps.

 

[Demoth]

If he is a gamer, which I assume he is by his system specs, a raptor makes a huge difference in loading zones and such quickly. Every bit of hard drive speed is used by gamers, more then most people realize till they actually use a truely fast HD with a MB that can support the technology.

 

[Ike0069]

Originally posted by: mwmorph
A Motherboard is nowhere to skimp!
Provides great oc's and is stable as hell DFI "LANPARTY UT nF4 Ultra-D"($139)
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=13-136-152&depa=1

I agree with everything you posted except for this. There is absolutely nothing wrong with the Chaintech board (I would get the Ultra though).
And saying the DFI is "stable as hell", is kind of amusing. Now I do not have this board, but from my research it is the most UNstable NF4 board out. Of course this doesn't mean that it is a crap board, just that is appears to have more (minor) issues than the others.
The DFI is a good board, but if one doesn't plan to OC, then the Chaintech is a much better decision IMO.

 

[Demoth]

I agree with the chaintech as well, it's what I got myself. Just make sure to get a new one as the older ones did not have a cooling fan on the board.

 

[mwmorph]

Originally posted by: Demoth
If he is a gamer, which I assume he is by his system specs, a raptor makes a huge difference in loading zones and such quickly. Every bit of hard drive speed is used by gamers, more then most people realize till they actually use a truely fast HD with a MB that can support the technology.

74gb of storage is just not enoufg, espically when a hard drive that costs this much is going into a budget build. 7200rpm ide or sata will only be a few seconds slower. it's not gonna kill him.

 

[iwantanewcomputer]

raptors don't belong in a 900 dollar computer. end of story.

follow these suggestions:

Originally posted by: airfoil
You could live without that Audigy2, at least to begin with. Also, I'd choose Seagate over WD. For the RAM, you could consider the G.Skill 512x2 kit at Newegg, its got great reviews - and you'll save $100+ in the process.

Everything else looks pretty good.

i've got an audigy 2 with logitech z680 and it's not worth it. there is a 30-40 dollar chaintech soundcard that gives great digital playback

 

[hans030390]

get a 6800gt oh and get a better Power supply (i saw one on newegg from rosewill at around $50...it was sweet, and my cousin has one)