Suggestions on my new puter

[primeosu2]

I've never built a puter from scratch before and I really wanna. Since I'm making good money this summer, I want to spend it this time instead of losing more than half of it in the stock market like last summer. I plan on spending anywhere from $1000-$1500 without a monitor. I use my puter ALL the time, but mostly it's for the web, music, aim, etc. The only real 3d-intense game I play is CS. Here's what I'm currently thinking about:

1.1 to 1.3 ghz Athlon (266 fsb)
ASUS, MSI, etc. Motherboard
256 or 512 mb pc2100
40 to 60 gb 7200 rpm HD
DVD and CD-RW drive
video card??
sound card?? maybe SB Live! 5.1
case?? w/ 350 W PS?

The video card is basically my biggest decision. I think the GeForce3 is too expensive cuz I really wouldn't be using its full capabilities often. But then I don't want my video card to be bottle-necking my system. I was thinking maybe the Radeon 64mb DDR or GeForce2 Pro, or maybe GF2 Ultra...

Also, what's a good heatsink/fan for the cpu that's pretty good for OCing but isn't like over $60?

Remember, I have money to spend... Thx for all the help!!

 

[dave127]

hey...i have a few suggestions...for the mobo, alot of people are saying good things about the EPoX 8K7A and for the ram, get it at crucial.com/webpromo save 15%...that means 512 mb of ddr will only be about $120...right now the IBM 60gxp seems to be the fastest hard drive, but the Maxtor Diamond Max isnt too far behind in performance and can be had for cheaper...check the hot deals forum for info on that....for dvd i like the toshiba because they are quiet...and rw i always have to recommend the almighty plextor, this time in the 16x variety...for the video card, check newegg.com cuz they have some great prices on GeForce2 pro's...and for sound card i like the turtle beach santa cruz...for the case, antec makes really good ones

Hopes This helps...
Happy Building,
Dave

 

[NelsonMuntz]

Dave has some great suggestions, a lot of the stuff he mentioned can be had pretty cheap at newegg.com. I would definitely get the memory through crucial because with free shipping and everything it is a steal and why not go for the full 512 Mb DDR? I would agree that the Epox EP-K87A is a good board for DDR also. The best priced processors right now in that range are the 1.2 and 1.33 GHz ones with the 266 FSB which goes great with that DDR RAM. I would suggest sticking to the GeForce 2 Pro or GTS. The Pro is almost as good as the Ultra and can be had for much less and the GeForce 3 is definitely pricey. Newegg.com also has some good prices on thermaltech and coolermaster fans if you don't want to get a retail boxed processor. Have a good time on your first build! Oh yeah, I almost forgot. I wouldn't suggest spending the extra money to get a Plextor CD-RW since you can get a good 12X with anti-coaster technology real cheap right now from another reputable company, and for the DVD I think Aopen has a pretty good one out there at just 12X instead of paying the premium for the 16X Toshibas. If it does need to be more quiet, then spend the extra money. I'm just cheap I guess.

 

[Apple]

I can't seem to get the webpromo thing from Crucial to work anymore, it worked the first time I tried it but now it doesn't work at all. Anyone else having these problems?