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Taking the plunge! Build advice...?

I

imported_Beaker

Junior Member
I have been researching like crazy (including UsandThem's excellent guide here) and I reckon I'm about ready to take the plunge and build my first machine.

I am looking for good gaming performance. I might get around to a bit of overclocking eventually (when I figure out how it is done 🙂).

Here is my spec (hoping to order soon - Jes and Komplett are online retailers here in Europe):

- MSI K8N Neo4 Platinum-54G Jes ? 149

- AMD Athlon 64 3200+ Winchester Jes ? 178

- TwinMOS PC3200 DDR-DIMM 1024MB Dual Pack Kit w/two matched PC3200 DDR DIMMs Komplett ? 108

- Sapphire Radeon X800XL PCIe 256MB Jes ? 288

- Seagate Barracuda 7200.8 250GB SATA 8MB 7200RPM NCQ Komplett ? 133

- DVDR IDE NEC ND-3520A Dual black bulk Jes ? 52

- Antec Sonata Miditower, Black w/380W PSU Komplett ? 119

- Microsoft Windows XP Home SP2 English OEM Komplett ? 86

I already have a 19 inch CRT, a Creative Audigy Sound Card and a Hauppauge PVR 150 TV Tuner Card.


Questions...

1) Memory: Despite all my research, I still know very little about RAM, so any advice here would be very welcome.

2) Processor: I am looking for a 3200+ Venice but the price hike to ? 217 (OC UK) doesn't seem worth it. At that rate, surely a 3500+ Winchester for ? 246 (Jes) would make more sense. I'm hoping for good Jes prices on Venices when they get them in. How much of a premium would you pay for Venice over Winchester?

3) PSU: I've read great things about the Antec Sonata case. But will the 380 Watt TruePower power supply be enough?

4) Do I need a floppy drive? (I keep reading mentions of SATA drivers...)


Any advice at all would be very much appreciated. Thanks.
 
i seriously doubt that psu is gonna be enough . head to msi's website see what they recommend for psu for that board. im willing to bet 380 isent gonna be enough. besides why get the bare minimum on a psu get a little more then you need gives you more head room for upgrades that may come around the corner.
 
I got some advice...don't build it.

Aside from that, man I thought Canadian hardware prices were high...european prices are even higher!!

Everything looks pretty good, I am pretty sure you can get away with that PSU but like knothead34 said you should get something a little more powerful just in case you need to upgrade. Other than that the X800XL is actually a very energy-friendly card, it doesn't have it's own power connector and draws all it's power through the PCI-e port.

I would recommend a better PSU also, not only for upgradeablity but also to provide a constant and sufficient stream of energy to all components.
 
Thanks for the input, guys. It's great stuff - keep it coming...

Could I have a problem if I get a Venice chip and the BIOS of the motherboard is not new enough to recognise it? Would I then not be able to boot and upgrade the BIOS?

I like the Sonata, so I might get it and upgrade the power supply later.

I don't want to spend too much on RAM. Is the TwinMOS option compatible and ok?

Do you think the 3200+ and the X800XL are a good match in terms of price / performance?

Thanks for the welcome, Shadowblade.

Originally posted by: Addikt
I got some advice...don't build it.
Click to expand...
Addikt, are you testing my true faith and determination...? 🙂
 
Originally posted by: Beaker
Thanks for the input, guys. It's great stuff - keep it coming...

Could I have a problem if I get a Venice chip and the BIOS of the motherboard is not new enough to recognise it? Would I then not be able to boot and upgrade the BIOS?

I like the Sonata, so I might get it and upgrade the power supply later.

I don't want to spend too much on RAM. Is the TwinMOS option compatible and ok?

Do you think the 3200+ and the X800XL are a good match in terms of price / performance?

Thanks for the welcome, Shadowblade.

Originally posted by: Addikt
I got some advice...don't build it.
Click to expand...
Addikt, are you testing my true faith and determination...? 🙂
Click to expand...


1. Looks good. TwinMos is a good brand.

2. From what I have read, motherboards will boot with a Venice core cpu, but to take advantage of some improvements, you need to update your BIOS.

3. That cpu and video card will be a good solid setup. The Venice core cpu is the way to go.

 
Yeah, that looks like a pretty nice system. Prices are pretty high though 😵 I would go with the Venice. It's only a couple dollars more here in the States, so there shouldn't be too much of a difference. Venices have better memory controllers if you decide to run 4x512MB RAM, and they're a bit better for overclocking.
 
Originally posted by: ShadowBlade
different PSU
i reccomend ocz modstream 450W (or 520W, whichever)
otherwise, it looks good

Welcome to AT
Click to expand...

Originally posted by: Beaker

Thanks for the input, guys. It's great stuff - keep it coming...
...I like the Sonata, so I might get it and upgrade the power supply later.

Thanks for the welcome, Shadowblade....
Click to expand...

I think Shadowblade's P/S recommendation is great and so is this SeaSonic S12-430 P/S

If you build your rig in the Sonata case with the intent of upgrading the P/S LATER you are asking for trouble (or at least a LOT of work). Have you ever replaced a P/S in a rig after you have already installed all your other components and neatly and thoughtfully arranged and placed your IDE/SATA/P.S. cables ???

It can be a pain in the butt !

Swap out the P/S BEFORE you build, IMHO 😀
 
Originally posted by: Fisher999
If you build your rig in the Sonata case with the intent of upgrading the P/S LATER you are asking for trouble (or at least a LOT of work). Have you ever replaced a P/S in a rig after you have already installed all your other components and neatly and thoughtfully arranged and placed your IDE/SATA/P.S. cables ???

It can be a pain in the butt !

Swap out the P/S BEFORE you build, IMHO 😀
Click to expand...
That is precisely the kind of advice I am looking for. Great to hear from you experienced builders.

Not what I want to hear, though! 😀

Any suggestions of a case to use instead of the Sonata? I like the simple classy look. I've read that it has big fans and is quiet and good quality.

Any case that could fill those shoes...?
 
Originally posted by: Beaker
Originally posted by: Fisher999
If you build your rig in the Sonata case with the intent of upgrading the P/S LATER you are asking for trouble (or at least a LOT of work). Have you ever replaced a P/S in a rig after you have already installed all your other components and neatly and thoughtfully arranged and placed your IDE/SATA/P.S. cables ???

It can be a pain in the butt !

Swap out the P/S BEFORE you build, IMHO 😀
Click to expand...
That is precisely the kind of advice I am looking for. Great to hear from you experienced builders.

Not what I want to hear, though! 😀

Any suggestions of a case to use instead of the Sonata? I like the simple classy look. I've read that it has big fans and is quiet and good quality.

Any case that could fill those shoes...?
Click to expand...

They don't have a big selection like Newegg does, but I found this one from one of your links.

You would have to buy a power supply though.

However, the Sonata case with power supply would work just fine for you.

Also, IMO, it is not that difficult to swap out power supplies. Yeah, you have to get your cables straightened again, but it isn't that bad.

 
If you like the sonata get another antec little number, the slk3000b. It incorporates most of the features of the sonata and doesn't come with a power supply making it cheaper and allowing you to choose the psu you want.

The seasonic is a very nice psu but hard to get hold of and pricey in europe. Can't even get the s12, just oem models with different circuitry.
 
i would go for some corsair value ram, if you arent oc'ing. also, floppy drives will come in VERY handy. you need to install your sata drivers via floppy during windows installation, also, you need it for bios updates. i really dont think there is any advantage with the venice. my winchester overclocks better than some venice cores ive seen around here, and there is no big advantages at the same frequency. i would get the ocz modstream psu.
 
Does anyone know anything about the 54g version of the MSI K8N Neo4 Platinum?

I'm searching all over but can't seem to find any info.

Why do I have the notion that it includes a card with 54g and Bluetooth combined?
 
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