New system - feedback requested

[hypn0tik]

Hello Ladies and Gentlemen.

I've decided to build my very first computer and I have chosen the following parts. I would appreciate any sort of feedback that you may have and also some good tips for me to keep in mind seeing as this is my first attempt at building a system.

Without further ado:
Processor - AMD Athlon 64 3200+
Motherboard - Asus K8N4-E Deluxe
RAM - CORSAIR Value Select 1GB (2x 512)
Case - Rosewill TU-155 Black

Other than the video card, I think this covers the basics. I would like a few suggestions for a decent video card in the $150-200 range. Nothing to fancy, but something that will run games like HL2, Doom3 and so on. I was looking at this one (Link) but I could really use some help on this.

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for your time. If this post is in the wrong place, I apologize.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Welcome to AT.

Any reason you're looking at 754 instead of 939?

I think if I would change something, it would be the case/PSU.
Antec makes very nice cases with quality powersupplies.

 

[hypn0tik]

Yoyo: Thank you for the quick reply. I appreciate you taking the time to give this a look. As far as your question goes, there is no particular reason I picked the 734 over the 939. Is the 939 better? If so, in what way?

Edit: I saw that Antec Case, but I was unsure if 350W would be enough to power the system. I still need to put in a HD, DVD Burner, Floppy (possibly) and maybe a separate CD burner. I'd like a viewing panel on the case as well...

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

The 939 cores are based on newer technology and have some advantages (like running cooler)
939 also allows you to use dual channel instead of single channel for your memory.

I would be more comfortable with a quality 350watt PSU than a generic 400watt model.

A 350watt antec should handle most systems.

The lower end Antec cases are pretty plain though, so I guess it's not a great option for you if you want a window.

EDIT: btw, here's a nice guide one of our members here made for first time builders.

 

[hypn0tik]

This is what led me to pick the 734 over the 939.

Here is a comparison of the 2 I was looking at:
734 vs 939

It seems to be that they are both almost identical but the 734 chip will give me an extra 200MHz clock speed. Now, I'm unsure as to how much of a difference it will make.

Edit: Wow, that guide is really helpful. Thank you for directing me to that. I'll definitely be putting that to good use.

Also, about the case. I guess you do make a good point. Quality over quantity. I'm going to have to think about the case a bit more. Is Thermaltake a good company for the price you pay? I've heard that Antec is one of the best but what about Thermaltake?

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: hypn0tik
This is what led me to pick the 734 over the 939.

Here is a comparison of the 2 I was looking at:
734 vs 939

It seems to be that they are both almost identical but the 734 chip will give me an extra 200MHz clock speed. Now, I'm unsure as to how much of a difference it will make.

I know it's kind of hard to pick them out, but this chart has some real life comparisons of the Winchester 939 3200+ vs the Newcastle 754 3200+.

They perform pretty similarly, with the 939 edging out in some things and the 754 edging out for others.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: hypn0tik
This is what led me to pick the 734 over the 939.

Here is a comparison of the 2 I was looking at:
734 vs 939

It seems to be that they are both almost identical but the 734 chip will give me an extra 200MHz clock speed. Now, I'm unsure as to how much of a difference it will make.

Edit: Wow, that guide is really helpful. Thank you for directing me to that. I'll definitely be putting that to good use.

Also, about the case. I guess you do make a good point. Quality over quantity. I'm going to have to think about the case a bit more. Is Thermaltake a good company for the price you pay? I've heard that Antec is one of the best but what about Thermaltake?

Thermaltake is alright.

I'd take Antec over it, but I think it's a better choice than Rosewill (I could be wrong on Rosewill quality, but I've read some things about them that lead me to believe they wouldn't be a great choice).

 

[hypn0tik]

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello

I know it's kind of hard to pick them out, but this chart has some real life comparisons of the Winchester 939 3200+ vs the Newcastle 754 3200+.

They perform pretty similarly, with the 939 edging out in some things and the 754 edging out for others.

Hmmm. Yeah, it is hard to pick them out. I'm not sure whether to go with the original processor and motherboard (in my original post) to go with this Processor and this Motherboard.

Thoughts?

 

[scrawnypaleguy]

If it were me, I would go with the socket 939 setup there, only because it's got far better support, and the possibility for expansion will last for quite a while. Having said that, to improve your upgradeability you may want to go with an nForce4 Ultra chipset, instead of the "vanilla" nf4.

 

[hypn0tik]

Originally posted by: scrawnypaleguy
If it were me, I would go with the socket 939 setup there, only because it's got far better support, and the possibility for expansion will last for quite a while. Having said that, to improve your upgradeability you may want to go with an nForce4 Ultra chipset, instead of the "vanilla" nf4.

Well, the price of the 2 chips is the same so cost isn't a real issue. If I do go for the 939, which of these would be preferrable?
Winchester or Venice

Also, is it true that Asus and MSI are the top 2 brands for mother boards? What is the general opinion on Abit or Gigabyte?

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: hypn0tik

Originally posted by: scrawnypaleguy
If it were me, I would go with the socket 939 setup there, only because it's got far better support, and the possibility for expansion will last for quite a while. Having said that, to improve your upgradeability you may want to go with an nForce4 Ultra chipset, instead of the "vanilla" nf4.

Well, the price of the 2 chips is the same so cost isn't a real issue. If I do go for the 939, which of these would be preferrable?
Winchester or Venice

Also, is it true that Asus and MSI are the top 2 brands for mother boards? What is the general opinion on Abit or Gigabyte?

Venice.

All those brands are good.

 

[hypn0tik]

Awesome. Thanks to everyone for their input. You guys are really awesome!

I see a lot of siggies and recommendations for a 6800 graphics card. Would that be preferred over the 9800 or the X800?

 

[hypn0tik]

Thanks for the advice on the processor/mobo.

Now, what about a decent video card. I've seen a decent amount of siggies with the GeForce 6600 and 6800. Are they the way to go for mid to high end gaming?

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: hypn0tik
Awesome. Thanks to everyone for their input. You guys are really awesome!

I see a lot of siggies and recommendations for a 6800 graphics card. Would that be preferred over the 9800 or the X800?

Definately better than the 9800, but I don't remember how the regular X800 stacks up against the newer cards.

The X800XL is a great PCI-e card for the money.
some info for you

EDIT: looks like the X800 is a little better than the 6600gt

 

[hypn0tik]

Would a 6600GT that's run through a PCI-E 16x be more efficient than a 6800 going through an AGB 4x/8x?

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: hypn0tik
Would a 6600GT that's run through a PCI-E 16x be more efficient than a 6800 going through an AGB 4x/8x?

PCI-e doesn't really give you any performance increase over AGP.

Generally Nvidia cards are a better deal in AGP form and the ATI cards are a better deal for PCI-e.

 

[scrawnypaleguy]

the performance difference between the 6600gt and the vanilla 6800 is pretty much negligible anyways. Save some money and go with the 6600gt. Or, if you're feeling high end, the X800XL does have very good performance, just like yo-yo said. I have one myself, and there is a significant difference in performance over the 6600gt on higher resolutions. It performs more on par with the 6800gt, while generally being much cheaper.

 

[Pats2005]

a refurb A400gt was just 211 shipped from newegg.

 

[hypn0tik]

Well, I really don't want to go over the $200 mark on a video card which I may not even use that much (depends on how busy I am with University and stuff) so I think I may end up going with a 6600GT for my gaming needs. It should be sufficient to run over 90% of games right?

 

[KayKay]

yeah the 6600 GT is pretty solid card. It will give you a chance to enjoy games for the next while, until you have built up funds for another card. go with it

 

[prism]

If you're planning on getting that X800 from newegg, why not get this one instead?
Sapphire Radeon X800 - Retail

It looks like the exact same card but it comes in retail packaging, plus it's cheaper right off the bat and it has a $30 mail-in rebate. Or is there some advantage of getting OEM instead of retail? (I honestly don't know, I'm somewhat of a n00b)

 

[coomar]

oem, just the card, no box, cd's cables and such, usually less warranty