My New PC Specs

[otteridiz]

Below are the "important" specs for the System I am looking to get/build. Please give me any suggestions on changes I should make. My goal is to create a Media Center with decent Gaming capabilities.

PC ? Media Center x64
? CAS: NZXT Nemesis Elite Aluminium Mid-Tower Case 420W W/Window, Temp.Display & Fan Control
? CPU: (939-pin) AMD? ATHLON?64 3500+ CPU [+194]
? CD: 16X DVD ROM (not sure what brand yet)
? CDRW: NEC 3500A 16X DVD+-RW DRIVE DUAL LAYER
? FAN: AMD ATHLON64 CERTIFIED CPU FAN & HEATSINK
? HDD: MAXTOR 200GB 7200 RPM Serial ATA 150 8MB CACHE HARD DRIVE
? MOTHERBOARD: (939-pin Socket) ASUS A8V DELUXE VIA K8T800 MAINBOARD WITH LAN, USB2.0, IEEE, & AUDIO
? MEMORY: 1024 MB (512MBx2) PC3200 400MHz Dual Channel DDR MEMORY (GEIL VALUE RAM)
? OS: Microsoft® Windows® XP Media Center 2005 Edition
? POWERSUPPLY: STANDARD CASE POWER SUPPLY
? SOUND: Creative Labs SB Audigy-2 ZS 7.1
? TV_TUNER: TV Tuner with Stereo and FM
? VIDEO: Leadtek nVIDIA GeForce 6800 GT Video Card, 256MB GDDR3 ($389) OR EVGA nVIDIA GeForce 6800 GT Video Card With Free Doom 3Bundle, 256MB GDDR3 ($399)

2 definite questions: Is the Geil Value RAM ok? Is one video card better then the other?

Thanks for the help!

 

[jpeyton]

Looks good. For Value Ram I recommend Corsair or Mushkin; haven't tried Geil, but they might be good too.

 

[Dru22]

Hey thats a great setup, the Geil will be fine but would recommend Corsair or Mushkin, just heard alot more about the other two, although i do know a couple of people with Geil and like it. One minor thing though, the PSU. You might see if you can get the case without the PSU and look into getting either an Enermax or Antec, more reliable and the watts given on the specs is what you get. A bad PSU thats rated at 450 Watts may only put out 325, but the better PSU says 350 and you get 350. With the video card your buying you will need at least 425 watts. The video card you have picked is great, i currently have that same card but from BFG Tech so it comes OC 20Mhz, i would look into buying it because if you want to overclock it but go to far and burn it up, they won't say anything because it came overclocked and own't be able to tell. Also you can get the 6800 Ultra with a water block already installed out of the box for water cooling.

 

[jvarszegi]

Where did you find the 3500+ for $194? Or is that an increase in some online configurator? What core is the processor?

 

[Andres3605]

try to get a brandname PSU it will save u a lot of headaches recommend OCZ 520 W

 

[Goi]

Looks good. Ditto on the PSU, except you don't have to go for a OCZ 520W. Enermax, Antec, Sparkle, Fortron, Seasonic, Zalman all make great PSUs. Any of them in the 400W range should be sufficient.

 

[otteridiz]

Here is the "almost" final verdict for my system build. I probably won't get everything until late January, so... I may make small changes and search for better prices, but this is pretty close to what I want. Any input is welcome!!

Athlon 64 Media Center PC

CASE
ANTEC Performance Plus Case with 430W Power Supply, Model "PLUS1080AMG" -RETAIL

$115.50

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PROC
AMD Athlon 64 3500+, 512K, L2 Cache, Socket 939 Windows Compatible 64-bit Processor - Retail
(Core: NewCastle - not $194)

$267.50

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MOBO
ASUS "A8V Deluxe" VIA K8T800 Pro Chipset Motherboard For AMD Socket 939 CPU -RETAIL

$129.50

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RAM
Corsair XMS Extreme Memory Speed Series, (Twin Pack) 184 Pin 1GB(512MBx2) DDR PC-3200 - Retail

$199.27

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HARD DRIVE
Seagate 200GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive, Model ST3200822AS, OEM Drive Only

$122.00

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VIDEO
EVGA nVIDIA GeForce 6800 GT Video Card With Free Doom 3Bundle, 256MB GDDR3, 256-Bit, TV-Out/DVI, 8X AGP, Model "256-A8-N349-AX" -RETAIL

$399.00

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SOUND
Creative Labs Sound Blaster Audigy2 ZS PCI Sound Card, Model "SB0350" -RETAIL

$93.00

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SPEAKERS
ALTEC LANSING VS4121 2.1 MULTIMEDIA Speakers -RETAIL

$70.00

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DVD/CD Burner
NEC 16X Double Layer DVD±RW Drive, Silver, Model ND-3500A S, OEM

$64.00

------

DVD/CD Reader
SAMSUNG 16X DVD Drive Black, Model TS-H352A/WBGH, OEM

$24.99

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OS
Microsoft Windows XP Media Center 2005 - OEM

$131.00

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REMOTE
Remote Control with Receiver for Microsoft Windows XP Media Center - OEM

$37.95

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PVR/TV Tuner
Hauppauge PCI Video Recorder, TV/FM Tuner Card, Model "WinTV-PVR250MCE" -RETAIL

$130.95 (maybe a dual tuner PVR500MCE ~ $199)

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Total Price: $1,784.66 ($1852.71 w/dual tuner)

PS: All prices are from Newegg.com

 

[stevty2889]

I would highly recomend getting a name brand power supply, generic power supplies are asking for problems, I know, I lost a $180 motherboard to a generic PSU.

 

[otteridiz]

the Antec Case comes with an Antec 430W PSU.

 

[drpootums]

that antec PS is great, dont be afraid to buy that. However, if ur not looking for top-of-the-line gaming capabilities, and want a video card that has a working Video processor, then just save $150-200 and get the 6600GT. Like i said, if ur planning on doing a lot of gaming or want something that will be fast for a bit longer to come, the 6800GT cannot be beat.

 

[w00t]

its a media center doesnt have to be that good.

 

[otteridiz]

I will be doing some gaming... I really like doom3 and HL2