New PC needed, advice appreciated

[EricW]

Hi, this PC I'm on is dying (Orange Fuzz coming out of capacitors, HD continually developing bad spots), and I need a new one.

I work at home, but I also game a ton, so I think its time I upgraded pretty much everything. I like to have the "fastest" stuff possible, but video cards/chips that cost 1000 bucks each are not going to happen until I win the lottery.

So if you could, please review this list of stuff and point out anything that could be improved or any problems. I haven't been keeping up with all the changes (PCI Express etc, SATA, Firewire, etc etc) so I easily could be making some mistakes. Life was so much easier when you could say "Ok, I'll buy a 286 at 10MHz." 🙂

ThermalRock Eclipse RH-M040-1AW Black Aluminum 0.8mm (Chassis) Aluminum (Front Panel) ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
Model #: RH-M040-1AW
$115.00 I've been using Antec cases, but this got a decent review here, so I am willing to give it a shot. I like easy to use cases for sure. Looks are indifferent to me. I don't care about glowy or see-through. I like cool cases as the room with my PC's can get hot.

Link Depot 18" Floppy UV Cable, 2-Connectors Model UV-FLP18-SL - Retail
Model #: UV-FLP18-SL
$2.49 I plan on stealing my current 3.5 floppy, it still works, but I'd prefer a round cable instead of the flat.

COOLMAX 24" Blue Serial ATA 150 Cable, 2-Head Model SATA 24" 2H BLUE - OEM
Model #: SATA 24" 2H BLUE
$3.49 I'm guessing this is what I need for the Raptor HD? Is there anything else SATA wise that I would need? Is it just like an ATA HD where its just power+cable going into the HD and cable going to mobo and power to the power sup?

Unincom 24" 3-Connectors Copper True ATA133/100/66/33 IDE Round Cable Model IDE-24COOPER - $3.59 For my Pioneer DVD drive which still works fine for me.

ASUS A8N-E Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 Ultra ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
Model #: A8N-E
$109.99 This doesn't have firewire I guess. What am I missing out on if I don't get firewire? I don't need SLI I don't think. Bad enough to pay 700 bucks for one video card, but 1400?? eek 😀.

XFX PVT70FUNF7 Geforce 7800GTX 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card with 450MHz Core and 1250MHz Memory - Retail
Model #: PVT70FUNF7
$459.00 Pretty much chose one with decent reviews and a slightly faster clock speed... any advice? I'd love the new 512 ones, but I'm not going to pay 700+ bucks for it. Even 460 makes me sick.

OCZ PowerStream OCZ520ADJSLI ATX, BTX, SATA, P4 and EPS12V 520W Power Supply - Retail
Model #: OCZ520ADJSLI
$139.99 Is there a cheaper but still powerful enough PS? I'm getting a bit wary of the ANTEC's I've used before.

AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ 1GHz FSB Socket 939 Dual Core Processor Model ADA3800BVBOX - Retail
Model #: ADA3800BVBOX
$322.00 I'm an AMD fan, and this seems like a fairly cost effective chip for its performance.

CORSAIR XMS 2GB (2 x 1GB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Unbuffered Dual Channel Kit System Memory Model TWINX2048-3200 - Retail
Model #: TWINX2048-3200
$216.00 2GB the standard these days? I have 1 GB now and the new games seem to want more...

Western Digital Raptor WD740GD 74GB 10,000 RPM Serial ATA150 Hard Drive - OEM
Model #: WD740GD
$161.00 Is this overkill? I could get bigger drives for less cash, but I do like fast load times.

Total cost so far, just over 1500 bucks, without shipping....

I'd love to pare that down to 1000 but can live with it (I spent 3500 on a Pentium 3 733 from Alienware a long time ago, so 1500 is cheap in comparison 😉).

Am I missing anything important? Cables? Fans? Do I need a better CPU fan/heatsink? Etc etc.

Thanks much!

Eric

 

[GOREGRINDER]

imo, ditch that motherboard

id go with ABIT,EPoX,MSI,or DFI over ASUS anyday from personal experience's

if yer not goin with an SLi mainboard for an option,..check out somethin like this
ABIT KN8-Ultra $98.00

its got a 100% copper northbridge heatsink,the best capasitors you can get at a great price


are u planning on overclocking that 3800+ X2?,..if not id suggest going with a single core 4000+ for better gaming speed,(2.4ghz 1mb L2 cache,and at the same price even)...if you are gonna overclock then stay with the 3800+ X2 and get a copper heatsink and fan like an XP-90 or a thermaltake venus 12

Thermaltake Venus12

Thermalright XP-90c

 

[EricW]

No, don't plan on OCing much if at all. I sorta wanted the dual cores because sometimes I am multi-tasking heavy stuff and would like to be able to continue to use the PC.

Anyone else have any recommendations?

 

[imported_electron]

I'm with Goregrinder on ditching the ASUS. Epox or DFI are my recommendations. I also have to agree with him that a faster rated single core will suit you better for gaming than that dual core x2 3800+

 

[Phluxed]

I'm against both of them on ditching Asus. That board has had numerous website awards and it is a very solid choice. Some people have a problem with asus after a stint of the instability and low quality parts they were using. They're back to their old stable ways in this generation. Consider an opteron processor, even if you didn't want to consider it, do so anyway. You'll be pleasently surprised. The dual core is on par with the single core processor more or less in terms of gaming. Though it might be a little weaker in games, its negligably weaker, to the point you might lose 1FPS in current games. However, you will be prepping for future games. Go with dual core.

 

[EricW]

Thanks all for the advice.

I'm not too fond of EpoX at the moment, I've had 4 of 6 EpoX motherboards (mostly 8RDA's I think they are) die before they should (including this PC).

Orange fuzz coming out of the capacitors is not a sign of good quality to me.

I want a board that doesn't die... I'm not used to having motherboards die like this. I had a IBM PS/2 50 last for ....well... I don't think it ever died, I just stopped using it. Same with a 486/66... and then a P233.... my first mobo death was in my P733, which had an intel mobo in it. And now in 4 of the 6 PC's I've built with epox boards, death..... not a good ratio to me. So its time for me to choose a different brand.