Putting together a new system

[LuciniaFletcher]

Currently debating between going with a 754 for reliablilty and value or getting 939 for some degree of future proofing.
Specs that I was looking at are:

DFI Lanparty 754 $109
Athlon 64 3000 754 $146
1GB Corsair valueselect ram $135
Leadtek GF 6800 GT 256MB AGP $380
Total 770

I currently have an Antec Truepower 480 PSU, and a 160GB WD 7,200 RPM 8mb hdd.

This is within my budget range, but I am a bit worried about having to simply junk it in a year. The new boards that support SLI have got my attention, to my way of thinking, in a year when the video card starts getting tired, just add another, and volia! upgraded video. Same for processor.

The other option that I'm considering is the same setup but with a DFI lanparty SLI board (when I can find one, that is). The only problem there is finding a Nvidia PCI-E video card of that level at a decent price, the PCI-E version of that above card is $455, which is $75 more than the AGP version (all prices are newegg).

Also, what about the SATA drives? Is the drive I have sufficent, or should I spring an extra $100 or so and get a SATA drive, like the WD Raptors?

Thanks in advance for your help!

 

[rmrf]

how much gaming do you do?

 

[LuciniaFletcher]

Sorry, I should have included this before. Gaming (WoW, HL2, D3, etc), photo editing, and light software development are the only things I would use it for.
And yes, I do alot of gaming

 

[bay]

You'll probably get hassled for not going 939. I'm not even going to claim to have any sort of proper knowledge on how to make that decision. however, i have a very similar setup to yours and am absolutely enthralled by it so that's the opinion I'm going to quietly give.
instead of the 3000 i have a 3400 and evga 6800gt.

 

[thegimp03]

I would go 939. I was recently faced with this decision, but eventually went 939 because of the ease of future upgrades (just pop in a new processor). You will spend a bit more for 939, but it will be worth it later in my opinion. I also went AGP because I had a 6800 NU card in my other rig and was just going to move it into my newer one.

 

[albundee]

gaming = 939

 

[halfadder]

If you plan on upgrading the graphics within the next 18 - 24 months, go 939 and PCI-E.

Keep your current drive until you need more space. By then you'll probably want to do a reinstall of Windows anyway and it'll be a perfect time to add a nice new SATA drive.

 

[Dravic]

For the same price you can go 939(AGP).

Epox 9nda3j($92) or 9nda3+($112) both nf3 ultra boards
3000+ 90mm 939 winchester $146

at mwave..

I'm expecting mine today, and the Epox is a great budget overclocker. I got the 9nda3j since I already have firewire, still on IDE, and dont mess with consumer grade raid anymore.. just not worth it.

I also have a 6800nu so i wanted to stay with AGP for at least the next year.

 

[Griffinhart]

Originally posted by: halfadder
If you plan on upgrading the graphics within the next 18 - 24 months, go 939 and PCI-E.

Keep your current drive until you need more space. By then you'll probably want to do a reinstall of Windows anyway and it'll be a perfect time to add a nice new SATA drive.

I agree. As a gamer, I upgrade my Video board frequently. 10 month average. PCIe is the new "standard", so you would be better served by 939 and PCIe.