new build - does this work???

[squashdude]

hey folks

so i'm building a new system and was hoping to get a bit of help. i think i've put together a pretty good machine, but i'm still pretty new at this and would very much appreciate comments from you guys - i.e. would you change anything, have i missed anything, or have i made a stupid mistake like picked out an intel mobo for an A64 chip...or something along those lines?

this rig will be used mainly for gaming...and a little multimedia but nothing heavy. would love to get the low latency corsair RAM, but can't really afford it given the current setup. and does anyone have any suggestions for good value 19" CRT monitors? thanks a ton.

Case: Coolermaster TAC-T01 Wave Master aluminum
Power: Vantech Stealth 420w
CPU: A64 3200+
Cooling: none (stock CPU HSF)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-K8VT800 Pro K8T800
Memory: Corsair TwinX1024-3200 DDR CAS2
Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda 7200.7 120GB
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon X800 XT
Sound Card: SB Audigy 2
CD/DVD-ROM: LG 52x24x52 CD-RW & 16x DVD combo
Floppy: Black floppy
Network card: none (integrated in MB)

 

[CeilingHoles]

I suggest you go for an nForce 3 250GB motherboard instead.

 

[amol]

no need to get ultra low latency, my 2-3-3-6 works great

as for the video card, you can save some money by getting the nVidia 6800GT (which has specs that are very close to the Ultra)

as for crt monitors, you cannot go wrong with NEC/Mitshubishi and ViewSonic

 

[CeilingHoles]

Yea, forgot to mention that latency doesn't make a big differnce in Athlon 64 systems.

 

[squashdude]

Thanks for the suggestions (and the low latency info) - any views on the EPOX 8KDA3 NForce3 board?

And are LG monitors decent?

 

[mjuarez]

Epox makes very good quality motherboards. They're a bit unknown in the US, but abroad they seem to get very good reviews. I'd also second that you get an NForce3Pro 250Gb motherboard if possible, but the VIA K8T800 will be just fine. Either one of those chipsets are great for Athlon64. The VIA is faster by a few percentage points (less than 5%) over the NVidia in most cases, by the way.

Edit: The PSU looks sweet too.

Marcos

 

[squashdude]

I was debating between that Vantech and the Antec 400w w/ Smartpower. My sense is that either one should be fine (even if the Vantech is 420w vs. the 400w of Antec's). The stock heat sink should be ok for the CPU since i'm not planning to overclock, right?