Please help noob verify AMD configuration

[agmitch]

Considering the following system - my current system is a Dell P3 450 built March 1999
It will be used for some busines, a lot of web surfing, and some gaming.
I have no qualms about adding hardware (video, sound, extra drives, etc), I just don't feel comfortable building from scratch. Quote from Monarch - somewhat limits initial choices.
I don't care much about sound; looking for decent inexpensive speakers - are there better inexpensive sound cards? How about monitor recomendations? Trying to stay around $1800 for everything.
I may consider OC'ing in the future, and certainly want to be able to replace the processor (with Dual-Core?) later as prices come down (Opeteron 170 would add ~$280 and blow current budget)
Let me know if there are glaring errors or incompatabilities. Thanks in advance!

Monarch Furia Custom Desktop (PCI-E) ($59.00)
Case - Antec Performance One P180 ATX Mid-Tower ($129.00)
PSU - PS 550W - Antec True Power 2 SLI ATX 2.0 ($135.00)
Mobo - DFI Lan Party UT NForce4 Ultra-D ($125.00)
Processor - AMD Athlon 64 3200+ 512K 90nm Rev. E Venice ($152.00)
Memory - DDR (400) 3200 - 1 GB (2 pcs 512) Corsair (VS1GBKIT 400) ($85.00)
Hard Drive - SATA - Seagate (ST3250823AS) Barracuda 250 GB 7200 RPM SATA ($109.00)
CD-RW/DVD-RW - DVD±RW - BENQ DW1640 16X DVD±RW DL ($51.00)
Sound Card - Creative Labs Sound Blaster Live! 7.1 24-bit ($36.00)
Video Card - XFX PVTGUAD7 Geforce 6800GS 256M (OC'd 485MHz NewEgg - $215.00)
O/S - Microsoft Windows XP Media Center 2005 ($121.00)
Other - Microsoft Office 2003 Basic - CD-License ($179.00)
Total: $1,396.00 + Shipping ($80)

Considering 19" LCD Viewsonic VP191B from Tiger Direct (open box $369)

 

[Ricemarine]

Ok. from that list, no.

=Wait until black friday when there's a 19' Samsung 12 ms for $200, search the ads.
=Corsair + DFI = don't mix well, best to aim for OCZ, G.Skill (the 1 GB stick DDR500 )
=Don't get a sound card, unless you're getting an audigy 2 zs for around $40. Just get some regular 2.0 speakers that are around $10.
=Get a Seasonic S12 500w, or an enermax noisetaker 485w.
=Is monarch building the computer for you?.
=Get an antec slk3000b, that way, you can possibly get an opteron 170 or 165.
=Upgrade to a 6800gt if possible, I know a 7800gt can fit in an $1800 budget.

Here's an example of what $1500 can do. (I made the list for a friend)

Antec Solution SLK-3000b black computer case - Retail
BenQ DW1640 16X Dual Layer DVD±RW Bare Drive (Black) ***Free 2nd Day***
[FR] Seagate ST3160812AS 160GB SATAII 7200 8MB Hard Drive
G.SKILL 1GB 184-Pin DDR SDRAM Unbuffered DDR 500 ( PC 4000) System Memory - Retail
DFI LANPARTY UT nF4 Ultra-D Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 Ultra ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
Seasonic S12 500W P4 Or Xeon ATX Power Supply
AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400+ 1GHz FSB Socket 939 Dual Core Processor - Retail
COOLER MASTER KHC-V81-U1 HYPER 6 COPPER HEATPIPE CPU COOLER FOR INTEL P4 & AMD K8 SOCKET 478/754/940/939
BFG GeForce 7800 GT OC PCI Express 256MB DDR3 Video Card w/HDTV-Out, Dual-DVI & VIVO Retail ***Free 2nd Day***
NEC 1.44MB Floppy Drive (Black)

What you can change.
-Get an opteron 165 or 170
-You can downgrade the power supply if wanted to an enermax 485w or forton 500w. No lower!
-You can change the hard drive to whatever
-You can get a different brand video card.
-You don't need the floppy unless you wanted it

 

[agmitch]

Hey, thanks for the tips!

Monarch will be building it, so I need to choose from their lists.
What is black friday?
When you say 1G stick, do you mean that I should run on one 1G stick rather than 2 512M sticks? I can only choose PC 3200 memory.
Do I need to choose a USB card with that case? I see only 2 USBs in the front?

thanks again
bill

 

[aatf510]

Definately cut down on the PSU and use the savings towards videocard or CPU.
My SLI 7800GT + x2 system can never use more than 300w, and I am sure yours won't.

 

[agmitch]

Using the above recomendations and including build and shipping costs, I am left with $750 to cover:
1) Processor - AMD Athlon 64 3700+ ($233)
2) Video Card - XFX 6800GS ($215)
3) Monitor ($300)

Does that mix sound about right? If anyone can give me some monitor suggestions (model numbers help), that would be great! If I choose a 7800GT ($330) and an opteron 170 ($399), I can only have a $20 monitor

thanks

bill

 

[aatf510]

Originally posted by: agmitch
Using the above recomendations and including build and shipping costs, I am left with $750 to cover:
1) Processor - AMD Athlon 64 3700+ ($233)
2) Video Card - XFX 6800GS ($215)
3) Monitor ($300)

Does that mix sound about right? If anyone can give me some monitor suggestions (model numbers help), that would be great! If I choose a 7800GT ($330) and an opteron 170 ($399), I can only have a $20 monitor

thanks

bill

You can choose a 7800GT and a 3200+ if you plan on gaming.

 

[agmitch]

I ordered the Athlon 3700+, Dell Ultrasharp 19", and will probably pick up a 7800GT.

Thanks for the tips!

bill