Rate this setup:

[bluedeviltron]

Motherboard:
ASUS A8N-E Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 Ultra ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131530
$125

CPU:
AMD Athlon 64 3200+ Venice Integrated into Chip FSB 512KB L2 Cache Socket 939 Processor - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103535
$219

Case/PSU:
Antec PERFORMANCE TX640B Black Steel ATX Mini Tower Computer Case 400W Power Supply - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811129157
$110

Hard Drive:
Seagate Barracuda 7200.8 ST3250823AS 250GB 7200 RPM 8M Cache Serial ATA150 Hard Drive - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822148065
$139.50

Video Card:
MSI NX6600GT-TD128E Geforce 6600GT 128MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI-Express x16 Video Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814127147
$178

DVD Burner:
SONY White 16X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 4X DVD+R DL 16X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 24X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2M Cache IDE DVD Burner - Retail
http://www2.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16827-131-244&depa=0
$89.99

Memory:
CORSAIR ValueSelect 1GB (2 x 512MB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM Unbuffered DDR 400 (PC 3200) Dual Channel Kit System Memory - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820145440
$77

Monitor:
SONY SDM-S73/B Black 17" 16ms LCD Monitor 250 cd/m2 400:1 0.264mm Pixel Pitch - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16824006067
$265.99

 

[bluedeviltron]

?

 

[CreativeTom]

Very nice!!!! I think you have thought this through well and I agree with your choices for this machine. It seems like it's very well balanced with equal components, and should be a great machine for you....good luck.

EDIT:Actually I just had a look at the monitor...I think I would go with a nice CRT 19" if you are plan on gaming with this machine, otherwise maybe look for an LCD with a DVI interface, it would be worth your while.

 

[Tostada]

The CPU is $25 cheaper at ZipZoomFly:
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=80701-5

The hard drive is $5.50 cheaper at ZipZoomFly, or $6.50 cheaper at ChiefEgg:
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=101571
http://www.chiefvalue.com/app/productdetails.asp?submit=property&item=22-148-065

It's really hard to justify getting a 6600GT for $178 (plus $3.50 shipping) when you can get an X800 for $189:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814102529

The 6600GT has 8 pipes and 16.0 GB/sec of memory bandwidth. The X800 has 12 pipes and 22.4 GB/sec of memory bandwidth. It pretty much blows the 6600GT away.

Paying $91 for that DVD burner is a pretty bad deal.

Sony DRU-720A: $91
http://www2.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16827-131-244

Pioneer DVR-109: $53
http://www2.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16827129161

Plextor 716A: $114
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16827131338

The review of the Pioneer directly compares it to the Sony, NEC and Plextor drives:
http://cdrlabs.com/reviews/index.php?reviewid=260&page=Performance

The only thing the Sony does best is CD audio ripping. The Sony does get decent DVD ripping speed (the same as the Pioneer/Plextor, and much better than the NEC).

The Sony does 4X DVD+R DL and can't do DVD-R DL. The Pioneer and Plextor both do 6X DVD+R DL and 6X DVD-R DL. More importantly, the Sony has pretty bad burn quality, especially with 16X media. It's not even close to the quality of the Pioneer/Plextor.

Sony Performance:
http://cdrlabs.com/reviews/index.php?reviewid=256&page=Performance

So if you're going to spend that much, spend another $13 and get a Plextor, or save $38 and get the Pioneer which is still better (although the Pioneer needs to be flashed to an A09XL to get the faster DVD ripping speeds).

 

[Tostada]

Originally posted by: bluedeviltron
Case/PSU:
Antec PERFORMANCE TX640B Black Steel ATX Mini Tower Computer Case 400W Power Supply - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811129157
$110

DVD Burner:
SONY White 16X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 4X DVD+R DL 16X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 24X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2M Cache IDE DVD Burner - Retail
http://www2.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16827-131-244&depa=0
$89.99

Do you realize you listed a black case and a white burner?

 

[TWills]

8/10 is my rating

 

[CreativeTom]

Originally posted by: Tostada
The CPU is $25 cheaper at ZipZoomFly:
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=80701-5

The hard drive is $5.50 cheaper at ZipZoomFly, or $6.50 cheaper at ChiefEgg:
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=101571
http://www.chiefvalue.com/app/productdetails.asp?submit=property&item=22-148-065

It's really hard to justify getting a 6600GT for $178 (plus $3.50 shipping) when you can get an X800 for $189:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814102529

The 6600GT has 8 pipes and 16.0 GB/sec of memory bandwidth. The X800 has 12 pipes and 22.4 GB/sec of memory bandwidth. It pretty much blows the 6600GT away.

Paying $91 for that DVD burner is a pretty bad deal.

Sony DRU-720A: $91
http://www2.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16827-131-244

Pioneer DVR-109: $53
http://www2.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16827129161

Plextor 716A: $114
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16827131338

The review of the Pioneer directly compares it to the Sony, NEC and Plextor drives:
http://cdrlabs.com/reviews/index.php?reviewid=260&page=Performance

The only thing the Sony does best is CD audio ripping. The Sony does get decent DVD ripping speed (the same as the Pioneer/Plextor, and much better than the NEC).

The Sony does 4X DVD+R DL and can't do DVD-R DL. The Pioneer and Plextor both do 6X DVD+R DL and 6X DVD-R DL. More importantly, the Sony has pretty bad burn quality, especially with 16X media. It's not even close to the quality of the Pioneer/Plextor.

Sony Performance:
http://cdrlabs.com/reviews/index.php?reviewid=256&page=Performance

So if you're going to spend that much, spend another $13 and get a Plextor, or save $38 and get the Pioneer which is still better (although the Pioneer needs to be flashed to an A09XL to get the faster DVD ripping speeds).

I don't think he was asking for better prices dude.....and I would have to agree on the x800 for the video rather then the 6600GT. I think you really bashed this guy though, it's a pretty nice setup and remember to each his own....

 

[vrbaba]

i would go with the NEC ND-3520A ... The OEM is at 49.99 at Newegg. Just bought it, works fine for me.
You can usually get a better memory than ValueSelect on AT FS/FT forum for abt the same price or less.

I like the setup, but I dunno if you are planning to actually buy everything from Newegg. Its good, but you can save a lot of money looking for better deals here and there. try pricewatch.com too

 

[Tostada]

Originally posted by: CreativeTom
I don't think he was asking for better prices dude.....and I would have to agree on the x800 for the video rather then the 6600GT. I think you really bashed this guy though, it's a pretty nice setup and remember to each his own....

How was I bashing him? I was trying to save him a lot of money. You don't think it's useful for me to point out that the CPU is $25 cheaper at another reputable place? You think it's bashing him to point out that that Sony burner is a terrible deal for $90?

I didn't say it wasn't a nice setup. That would be a great system just the way he listed it. If he wants to spend more and get a bad burner, he can.

Originally posted by: vrbaba
i would go with the NEC ND-3520A

The NEC is a good drive. I've used it plenty times. For another $3, though, the Pioneer is superior in almost every way. It's not like everybody's going to be using DL media anytime soon, so I guess it's no big deal that the NEC writes DL slower and doesn't support DVD-R DL, but if you ever rip any movies, the Pioneer is worth it just because it rips DVDs about 3X faster than the NEC.

The NEC is an old drive. If you want an NEC you should wait for the 3540A. It's already available in the UK.