My first PC i am building

[fabidovalle]

Hi, i want to build a PC to take advantage of all the beauty on AoE3.
I already bought the 7800GT.

And this is what i am checking out to build my baby. Please give your 2cents!


ASUS A8N-SLI Premium Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 SLI ATX AMD Motherboard - OEM $119.00
Western Digital Raptor WD740GD 74GB 10,000 RPM Serial ATA150 Hard Drive - OEM $161.00 - $20.00 rebate = 141
2 mushkin SP3200 1GB 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Unbuffered System Memory Model $89.99 x 2 = $179.98
AMD Athlon 64 3700+ San Diego 1GHz FSB Socket 939 Processor Model $233.00
Subtotal: $784.97
Shipping: $22.14
Total $807.11

What do you guys think? Do you see any problems? My other option would be to buy this one and just add my video card:
http://e4me.com/products/products.html?prod=eMachines_T6524

Thank you very much!



EDIT:
I almost forgot, i am also getting this case, whic comes with the power supply:
Antec LifeStyle SONATA II Piano Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 450Watt SmartPower 2.0 ATX 12V V2.0 for AMD & Intel systems Power Supply - Retail
$91.99
Is this a good one?

 

[w00t]

dont get the e-machines you are making a good decision building you own pc.
I am just going to go down the list of your parts
good mobo
hd is good but low amount of space and game loading times are only couple sec better
is that 4x512mb sticks? or 2x1gb sticks? iam confused try to get 1gb sticks
good choice but with opterons and dual core coming out you might wnat to look into that you could just get a 1 gig stick if you needed and get another one later.

almost forgot nice video card

 

[fabidovalle]

The ram is one stick of 1gb each. Now, do i really need to buy them in pair, or can i get one stick of 1gb now and another one later? (i thought i read somewhere that if i buy two it will be good for either Overclocking or just for the games to play better).
So you don't think it is worth paying that much more money for the HD? And if not, which one you suggest?

I did not understand about the opteron!

Thanks!

 

[fabidovalle]

I almost forgot, i am also getting this case, whic comes with the power supply:
Antec LifeStyle SONATA II Piano Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 450Watt SmartPower 2.0 ATX 12V V2.0 for AMD & Intel systems Power Supply - Retail
$91.99
Is this a good one?

 

[hurtstotalktoyou]

I'd get an X2 3800+. If you need to make room in your budget, skip 1GB RAM or that Raptor.

 

[eXx08]

You can get 1GB now and one later. Also get a Opteron CPU either a 148 or 165.

 

[fabidovalle]

Wow, i am running to newegg to find the price on these.
Thanks

 

[fabidovalle]

The X2 3800+ is $100 more but is says that operating frequency is 2.0 Ghz which is slower than the 3700+ San Diego??!!

 

[fabidovalle]

The Opteron Amd 148 i see for the same price as the 3700 San Diego. For what i read on the reviews, it is a good processor for Overclocking. Is this why you said to go with it?

 

[hurtstotalktoyou]

The Opteron 148 is essentially the same as the San Diego 3700+, which is why they are only $1 apart in price. I have no idea why that guy recommended it. The Opteron 146 is a bit cheaper, but supposedly it has the same overclocking potential, which means it's just as fast as the 3700+ or 148. Supposedly.

The X2 3800+ only has 512KB L2 per core, and runs 200 MHz slower than the 3700+.... but it has two cores! That means performance is out of this world when multitasking.

 

[fabidovalle]

So, gamewise the X2 3800+ is in pair with the San Diego 3700, but it has an edge in multitasking? What about overclocking, which one is better?
Thanks

 

[hurtstotalktoyou]

In gaming, the 3700+ is better than the X2 3800+. However, is that your only consideration? If so, go for the 3700+. If you want well-rounded computing speed, go for the 3800.

The 3700+ should get up to 2.6-2.7 GHz. The 3800+ should reach 2.5 GHz. But, truth to tell, overclocking is a crapshoot as often as not.

 

[Phluxed]

Yes the 3700+ is better in gaming... marginally. The X2 is a little more future proof. When games with true dual core support begin to come out, youll be thanking people for telling you to get a dual core (if you did indeed get one)

 

[GamerExpress]

No that's all wrong....

Go with a DFI or Epox board
Go with some OCZ or Corsair value memory
Don't get the Raptor!!! go with a seagate 7200.9
Go with the Opteron 165 if you can find it....if not the 3800 X2

 

[hurtstotalktoyou]

Originally posted by: GamerExpress
No that's all wrong....

Go with a DFI or Epox board

I prefer Epox, too, but Asus is fine.

Go with some OCZ or Corsair value memory

Why?

Don't get the Raptor!!! go with a seagate 7200.9

I prefer Seagate, too, but a Raptor is fine if he wants it.

Go with the Opteron 165 if you can find it

The Opteron might be too expensive for him.

....if not the 3800 X2

There I agree.

 

[nick1985]

Originally posted by: GamerExpress
No that's all wrong....


Go with some OCZ or Corsair value memory

What the Fvck is wrong with Mushking RAM? Mushkin makes some of the best memory out there.

 

[drum]

Originally posted by: nick1985

Originally posted by: GamerExpress
No that's all wrong....


Go with some OCZ or Corsair value memory

What the Fvck is wrong with Mushking RAM? Mushkin makes some of the best memory out there.

i guarantee he hasn't used it before.

may not have heard of it more than once or twice either

 

[Cheezeit]

Originally posted by: drum

Originally posted by: nick1985

Originally posted by: GamerExpress
No that's all wrong....


Go with some OCZ or Corsair value memory

What the Fvck is wrong with Mushking RAM? Mushkin makes some of the best memory out there.

i guarantee he hasn't used it before.

may not have heard of it more than once or twice either

Muskin is okay. Pretty good ram for low prices.

 

[fabidovalle]

Hi, first, thanks for all the feedback!!


I went to newegg and found this board for 139,00 so it is just 20 more:
EPoX EP-9NPA+ SLi Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 SLI ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813123246
People's feedback there was very good. What do you think?

The 165, is this one?
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications...65&SRCCODE=SHOPPINGDF&CMP=OTC-SHOPPING
If it is, and is much better than the San Diego 3700, than i suppose i can come up with the $100 needed for it.

The reason i want the Raptor is that this PC will be mainly for gaming, not to use as saving info. For that i will use a external drive whenever i need it.

Ah, what about the case i am choosing? I am saving a lot money because the power and case are together!

Thanks once more!!

 

[GamerExpress]

Originally posted by: drum

Originally posted by: nick1985

Originally posted by: GamerExpress
No that's all wrong....


Go with some OCZ or Corsair value memory

What the Fvck is wrong with Mushking RAM? Mushkin makes some of the best memory out there.

i guarantee he hasn't used it before.

may not have heard of it more than once or twice either

I have heard of it and I am using it right now in one of my machines....I don't like it, I think some people have found success with it, but I would go with some Corsair or OCZ like I said.

 

[fabidovalle]

bump!

 

[hurtstotalktoyou]

Originally posted by: fabidovalle
Hi, first, thanks for all the feedback!!

You're welcome.

First of all, what you'd picked out initially is perfectly fine for your needs. Any changes are very much optional. Since the PC is for you, it's important that you get it personalized to your needs and comforts. The suggestions I'm about to make are not by any means necessary to get a great deal or a great PC. But if you want the most bang for your buck, read on.

I went to newegg and found this board for 139,00 so it is just 20 more:
EPoX EP-9NPA+ SLi Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 SLI ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813123246
People's feedback there was very good. What do you think?

That's possibly the best motherboard on the market right now, but I'd think carefully about whether or not you need SLI. The 9NPA+ Ultra is about $35 cheaper, and you can use that money for, say, a better CPU. If you do need SLI, then this is a great choice.

The 165, is this one?
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications...65&SRCCODE=SHOPPINGDF&CMP=OTC-SHOPPING
If it is, and is much better than the San Diego 3700, than i suppose i can come up with the $100 needed for it.

The Opteron 165 is a dual-core CPU, which means its speed and power take different paths than the San Diego 3700. Dual-core CPUs are great at multitasking. For example, let's say you want to encode a movie while playing BF2. With dual-core, you can actually do that. However, if all you're doing is gaming, and you don't have any apps running in the background, the 3700+ will perform better.

What you want to remember, though, is that even in single-threaded apps, the 3700+ won't perform *that* much better than a dual-core CPU, but for multitasking the dual core will blow away a 3700+. And because of this, your system will hang and stutter much less often with dual core than with single.

If you choose to get a dual-core CPU, it's important to know the difference between the Opteron 165 and Athlon X2 3800+....

Opteron 165 -- 1.8GHz & 1MB L2 per core
X2 3800+ -- 2.0GHz & 512KB L2 per core

In other words, even though it's more expensive, the Opteron 165 is slower than the X2 3800+. However, it *supposedly* overclocks to about the same clock speed as the 3800+ (2.3-2.5GHz, depending on your luck). However, because the 3800+ has a higher stock speed, it will probably overclock a bit higher than the 165. Since clock speed seems to have a greater impact on performance than L2 cache, I recommend the X2 3800+. It's cheaper and it should be faster.

The reason i want the Raptor is that this PC will be mainly for gaming, not to use as saving info. For that i will use a external drive whenever i need it.

The Raptor is fine if you don't need large amounts of storage space.

Ah, what about the case i am choosing? I am saving a lot money because the power and case are together!

This is a volatile subject. I have never seen any tests to determine which power supplies are most stable and which are least. Moreover, I've never seen any test results that show how PSU instability can cause PC instability, except in the obvious case of complete PSU failure. However, PSUs are consistently blamed by techies and Anandtech forum mites alike for everything from component damage to system crashes.

However, despite this lack of non-anecdotal data, the premise makes some sense: If you buy a cheap PSU, you risk trouble. Therefore, to avoid these problems, Anandtech roamers have developed a sort of PSU canon--a list of trusted manufacturers. They are as follows:

PC Power & Cooling
Seasonic
Antec
Enermax
Fortron Source (FPS Group)

If your PSU is manufactured by any of the above companies, you can be reasonably sure it won't fry your PC. Since the PSU that comes with the case you picked out is an Antec, you're good to go.

Thanks once more!!

Any time.