Pick apart my soon-to-be set-up

[MaDfLaMe37]

The FINAL product!

Processor: AMD Athlon 64 3200+ Venice Integrated into Chip FSB Socket 939 Processor Model ADA3200BPBOX - Retail
Motherboard: CHAINTECH VNF4/Ultra Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 Ultra ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
Memory: CORSAIR ValueSelect 1GB (2 x 512MB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Unbuffered Dual Channel Kit System Memory Model VS1GBKIT400 - Retail
Video Card: eVGA 256-P2-N376-AX Geforce 6800GT 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail
Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda 7200.8 ST3250823AS 250GB 7200 RPM Serial ATA150 Hard Drive - OEM
Optical Drive: BenQ Black IDE DVD Burner Model DW1620 PRO BLK BONUS - Retail
Floppy Drive: MITSUMI Black 1.44MB 3.5" Internal Floppy Drive Windows 98SE/ ME/ 2000/ XP - OEM
Case: COOLER MASTER PAC-T01-EK Black All Aluminium Alloy ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
Power Supply: SeaSonic S12-380 ATX12V 380W Power Supply - Retail
Display: HYUNDAI L90D+ Silver 19" 8ms LCD Monitor - Retail
Keyboard: Saitek PZ30AU Black USB Wired Standard Eclipse Keyboard - Retail
Mouse: Logitech MX518 931352-0403 2-Tone 8 Buttons 1x Wheel USB + PS/2 Optical Mouse - Retail
Operating System: Microsoft Windows XP HOME Edition With Service Pack 2 - OEM

Grand Total (w/o Shipping): $1,594.41
Grand Total (w/ Shipping): $1,659.18

 

[rammstein junkie]

for the mouse i recomend a mx518 and for a keyboard the Saitek PC Gamer's Keyboard (eclipse)

 

[The Pentium Guy]

Get rid of that expensive RAM - corsair valueselect all the way. No point in superLL ram if you're getting a chaintech (hence, not overclocking). With a $2000 budget, try squeezing in a 7800GTX and/or a Dualcore CPU (If you're a multitasker, I'd put the priority to DualCore, if you're a gamer, I'd put the priority to a Single Core).

Other than that, looks awesome.

-TPG

 

[MaDfLaMe37]

Thanks for the tip about the RAM. I've swapped that out with ValueSelect.

I'll see how much money I have left after deciding on a case, monitor, keyboard, and mouse before I think about maybe getting a better video card.

 

[The Pentium Guy]

What are your uses for this system by the way?

 

[MaDfLaMe37]

Mostly gaming...

I'm going to the Colorado School of Mines for engineering but I'll do all my lab work on their computers.

 

[n7]

Awesome.

Now that you have that value RAM, i'd say it's outstanding.
Great choice on the BenQ DVD-/+RW

If you wanna shave a little more off the price, you could switch the 6800GT for an X800XL.

For case, i love the TT Soprano.
For mouse, Logitech MX518 if you can find it; if not, MX510 is still excellent.

 

[The Pentium Guy]

Is the Sorprano loud?

 

[keeleysam]

Originally posted by: rammstein junkie
for the mouse i recomend a mx518 and for a keyboard the Saitek PC Gamer's Keyboard (eclipse)

QFT

 

[n7]

Originally posted by: The Pentium Guy
Is the Sorprano loud?

Not from what i can tell.

Granted, i have my BFG 6800GT, which runs loudly, so i couldn't really say for sure, but the 120mm fans (which the Soprano uses) tend to be quieter than the faster RPM 80mm fans from what i know.

 

[The Pentium Guy]

Gotcha. I think I'll consider this case for my friend. Thank you for the information.

 

[GuitarDaddy]

Looks great! The only thing I would change is the Powerstream 420, I would get the Modstream 520 for $10 more. And overclock that puppy, with the latest bios the Chaintech overclocks well

 

[MaDfLaMe37]

Originally posted by: GuitarDaddy
Looks great! The only thing I would change is the Powerstream 420, I would get the Modstream 520 for $10 more. And overclock that puppy, with the latest bios the Chaintech overclocks well

Will do, thank you.

I also forgot a sound card! I've chosen the Audigy2 ZS just because a friend has it and it works great.

 

[The Pentium Guy]

The gamer edition is the same as the non-gamer edition except that it doesn't come with ... games . No point in that sound card unless you've got some good speakers - take a look at some Klipsch (Klipsche?) 5.1 speakers - they're #1 for games .

 

[MaDfLaMe37]

Originally posted by: The Pentium Guy
The gamer edition is the same as the non-gamer edition except that it doesn't come with ... games .

Heh, good to know.

 

[GuitarDaddy]

I have the Asus and the onboard sound is quite decent, plenty good for the cheap 2.1 speakers I'm using. Like Pentium Guy said unless your going to spring for some nice 5.1 speakers like the Klipsh you really don't need a sound card.

 

[MaDfLaMe37]

Yeah...

On second thought I guess I'll just take out the sound card because I'll probably just be using my headphones in the dorm or at lan parties anyway.

What would you guys suggest for a monitor?

 

[shoRunner]

evga 6800gt $350

can save $25 on your card if you want to...it doesn't have the BFG warranty though....

 

[MaDfLaMe37]

Yeah I saw that, I decided to go with the BFG just because of the lifetime warranty.

 

[MaDfLaMe37]

Final set-up is done! I've chosen the mouse, keyboard, monitor, and case. I also threw in a mouse pad.

Check it out in my first post.

Comments/suggestions are still welcome, but I'm pretty sure this is the best bang for the buck. I decided against upgrading the video card to a 7800GTX.

 

[Operandi]

Since you won't be using the PSU in the Antec I would start looking at CoolerMaster and Lian Li for your AL case needs. The CM ATC/PAC line is one of the best cases ever made, far better then the P160.

The OCZ wouldn't be my first choice in PSU's either, you can do far better for the money. Check out the Seasonic S12 line.

 

[hardwareuser]

I don't wanna hijack this thread or something, but I don't wanna spam the forums either.
Please pick apart my setup too!

Athlon 3200+ Venice
DFI nf4-d
Corsair Valueselect PC3200 1GB (2x512)
Radeon X800XL
Western Digital 160GB WD16000JS

I wanna overclock. I'm planning on getting those cases that come with the PSU rated at 450+W. Do those suck really badly that I should reconsider?

Thanks for any help!

 

[The Pentium Guy]

^-- Bah. You're not spamming by creating a new thread. And that setup is fine, except for the fact that the DFI hates the Corsair ValueSelect. For $20 more there's the OCZ Value VX which the DFI really likes. But seriously, just create a new thread.

Back on topic: MaDfLaMe37, that new setup looks awesome, althoguh since you're going with the Chaintech board (= limited overclockability), you might want to consider a better processor (dualcore perhaps?) - that's up to you though.

 

[MaDfLaMe37]

Hmm...

This guy says:

Originally posted by: GuitarDaddy
Looks great! The only thing I would change is the Powerstream 420, I would get the Modstream 520 for $10 more. And overclock that puppy, with the latest bios the Chaintech overclocks well

I might want something faster but I don't think I can afford a dual core... Would there be a different motherboard that I would be better off with instead of the Chaintech?

I've changed a few things due to what Operandi said about the case and power supply. I ended up liking one of the Cooler Master cases and I switched the PSU...

What are the strong/weak points in my system now? What would you change if you were me?

 

[MaDfLaMe37]

So I've come to the conclusion that I'll want to overclock the CPU/GPU and I'm thinking that my current PSU (a 430W) might not cut it. So I was looking through the most recent buyer's guide and they went with a Enermax EG565P-VE FMA2.0 SLI 535W on the high-end system which is actually a couple dollars cheaper than the SeaSonic. Would there be any problems/reasons not to swap these two?

Also, is there any truth to what GuitarDaddy said about the Chaintech allowing good overclocking with the new BIOS? Or should I look at a different mobo? If so, which one would you suggest?