Newb at computer building...system recommendations

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M

mbotumbo

Junior Member
May 20, 2006
10
0
0
Hi,

Well, I?ve decided its time for a new system. This time I want to build my own, but I?ve never done this before. I?ve cracked my case open plenty, installed new hardware, and such so I should be pretty comfortable building a computer. What I?m not comfortable with, though, is my selection of hardware.

I?ve read the guides that were posted, and they were very helpful, but I?m still just not sure. I?m trying to keep the system under $1,300 (including shipping). I want to be able to play games, but I?m not a hardcore gamer. I don?t require everything to be maxed out?and that wouldn?t be very useful on my monitor anyway. I just haven?t been following hardware lately, so I don?t know what?s good and what?s not. So, I?m hoping some more informed and more experienced individuals could guide me.

So here it is:
--AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+ Manchester 2000MHz HT Socket 939 Dual Core Processor
--DFI nF4 SLI Infinity Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 SLI ATX AMD Motherboard
--eVGA 256-P2-N564 Geforce 7900GT KO 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card
--Patriot 2GB (2 x 1GB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Unbuffered Dual Channel Kit System Memory Model PDC2G3200LLK
--ENERMAX Liberty ELT500AWT ATX12V 500W Power Supply
--Western Digital Caviar SE16 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
--NEC Black 1.44MB 3.5" Internal Floppy Drive
--COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 CAC-T05-UW Black Aluminum Bezel, SECC Chassis ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
--NEC 16X DVD±R DVD Burner Black IDE Model ND-3550A



So, first of all, does anyone notice any obvious mistakes in this setup (like did I make a compatibility mistake?)?
Next did I make good choices on the particular parts (for what they are) or should I go with other models or brands?
I don?t plan on doing SLI (at least any time soon), so do I need that motherboard?
Is the 7900GT worth the money and is the eVGA a good card?
Is a 500W power supply necessary/useful? Would I be ok with 400W?
Do I need a floppy?
Should I get better cooling (rather than stock)?
Do I need to get thermal paste or will there be some on the heat sink already?
Anything else?

Thanks for any help you can give me.

-Mbotumbo
 
T

TheArabian

Senior member
Nov 18, 2005
251
0
76
dude since ur putting so much money into this, wait out till july for conroe and am2

you will probably regret it if you dont wait
 
A

acegazda

Platinum Member
May 14, 2006
2,689
1
0
get the DFI ultra-d instead of the SLI board.
also: if you're going to put that much $ into it (like thearabian said) i would go with a lian-li pc case maybe the pc-7 or the pc60 plus. All aluminum and removable mb tray. Really gr8 quality too. You can get the x1800xt, a superior graphics card for less than a 7900gt ko.
Where did u find the Western Digital Caviar SE16 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0gb/s Hard Drive?

x1800xt">http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814102698</a>

Lian Li pc-60 plus

these are the best prices for both of those
good luck
 
M

mbotumbo

Junior Member
May 20, 2006
10
0
0
Hi,

I wasn't under the impression that waiting for the AM2 was really worth it for my situation. From my understanding (and I could be way off) it?s not a huge performance increase. Also, I would be wary of buying something right away instead of giving it at least a couple of months to mature.

Found the HD on Newegg.

The Lian li case looks a little expensive (relatively) ?is it worth it though?

I?ll look into reviews of that card. The only reason I was going with nVidia was really customer loyalty.

Why switch to the DFI ultra-d, any reason or just plain better?

Thanks so far!

Mbotumbo
 
M

mbotumbo

Junior Member
May 20, 2006
10
0
0
Thats true, for sure...and how much do you suspect it will bring the prices down...also is it really a wait until july?
 
A

acegazda

Platinum Member
May 14, 2006
2,689
1
0
really the only reason to switch to the DFI ultra-d is that you dont need SLI... (thouh it can be modded to SLI) and to stay with a fairly inexpensive DFI board. DFI has the best goodies so stay with them. The ultra-d is one of the best (if the not the best) non-sli board out there especially if you overclock.

in addition the arctic cooling x1 (for nvidia) and x2 (for ATI) are gr8 vga cooling options
as for the CPU go with a thermalright xp-90 (big improvemnt upon stock) check out some reviews in the forum.
 
A

acegazda

Platinum Member
May 14, 2006
2,689
1
0
spending more $... useless pci-e x16 slot... less pci slots (although in the case of the DFI ultra-d there are only 2 but it makes up for it with gr8 overclocking ability and awesome bios.
 
secretanchitman

secretanchitman

Diamond Member
Apr 11, 2001
9,352
23
91
though with AM2 coming next week and conroe in the next month or two, i would hang on and see if its worth it to wait or not.

i like your build, though since its your first time. i would:

-drop the cpu down to an athlon64 X2 3800+
-drop the mobo down an asus a8n-e...or a dfi ultra-d if you plan on overclocking. maybe even the epox would be good for you. or maybe the sli versions of it if you plan on going SLI later on.


So, first of all, does anyone notice any obvious mistakes in this setup (like did I make a compatibility mistake?)? - nope

Next did I make good choices on the particular parts (for what they are) or should I go with other models or brands? - yep

I don?t plan on doing SLI (at least any time soon), so do I need that motherboard? - i would get an SLI ready mobo, like the asus a8n-sli deluxe, etc.

Is the 7900GT worth the money and is the eVGA a good card? - yes and yes evga is a good brand because it still retains the lifetime warranty even if you overclock the card and/or put a 3rd party cooler on it.

Is a 500W power supply necessary/useful? Would I be ok with 400W? 400w is the minimum. i would stick with 500w just to be future-proof and safe.

Do I need a floppy? - unless you are stuck in the 90's, not really...lol, or if you still need it for school. i would get a USB-powered floppy or a internal card reader w/ floppy in the same bay. whatever floats your boat.

Should I get better cooling (rather than stock)? - if you arent overclocking, then the stock cooler should be fine. or if you are worried about temperatures, but i dont think you should be.

Do I need to get thermal paste or will there be some on the heat sink already? - there will be some on the heatsink already.

Anything else? - how about keyboard, mouse, speakers, monitor, etc? are you set on those?


hope that helped!
 
M

mbotumbo

Junior Member
May 20, 2006
10
0
0
Thanks, that helps a lot.

I have the keyboard, mouse, speakers, monitor, etc already (at least I'm happy enough for now with what I have).

What do you think of the particular power supply i was also looking at the FSP Group (Fortron Source) AX500-A, 2.0 version, 2 SATA, PCI Express, 500W as an alternative.

-Mbotumbo
 
JEDIYoda

JEDIYoda

Lifer
Jul 13, 2005
33,986
3,321
126
Originally posted by: TheArabian
Reason for waiting is possible price lowering...
Click to expand...

Not much of a reason to wait...hoping for lower prices.
You can wait and wait and wait....doesn`t matter when you decide to build there will always be somebody telling you to wait based on a possibility of lower prices.
I say -- go for it!!
 
A

acegazda

Platinum Member
May 14, 2006
2,689
1
0
hey delerium.... why are opturons so good...not bashing ya its just that everyone seems to be using them for overclocking.
and wat the heck is am2 and conroe?
 
F

Frankie

Member
Mar 11, 2001
164
0
76
Maybe it's just me, but I don't feel safe in getting technology the week it comes out. I just built a new system a week ago and I know it's going to be stable and problem free because I'm using RELIABLE technology.

I would give AM2 and Conroe at least a year before I would use them to make sure any and all problems are worked out.

Again, I might be a little paranoid in this but when I'm putting down $2000+ on a new system I want RELIABLE parts, not stuff just coming off the assembly line.
 
bamacre

bamacre

Lifer
Jul 1, 2004
21,029
2
81
I would wait for the Intel Core 2 Duo (conroe). It'll blow the X2's out of the water.
 
secretanchitman

secretanchitman

Diamond Member
Apr 11, 2001
9,352
23
91
Originally posted by: Ichigo
Originally posted by: bamacre
I would wait for the Intel Core 2 Duo (conroe). It'll blow the X2's out of the water.
Click to expand...

qft
Click to expand...

apparently, the 2.66Ghz version of the core 2 duo (or 2.4Ghz i dont remember) flew past the athlon64 FX-60 in games and some media encoding. those were preliminary benchmarks, and AT had did previews on them.

thats what i will be waiting for in the next month or two.
 
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