Thoughts on this Rig?

[auveeb]

Hey,

I'm new to Anandtech. These forums look pretty cool and helpful. Anyway, I'm currently making a rig for Photoshop, games and surfing and that type of thing and I'd like to know what you guys think of it. Please keep in mind, I've got a budget of $600 and this is my first build.

Case - ENERMAX CS-5271LBFS-B Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 350W Power Supply - Retail

HDD - Maxtor DiamondMax 8s 6E040T0 40GB 7200 RPM Serial ATA150 Hard Drive - OEM
40GB is very little, I know. I've got a bunch of hard drives I could use laying around.

MOBO - ASUS A8S-X Socket 939 SiS 756 ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail

Vid Card - XFX PVT43GNDF3 Geforce 6600GT 128MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail

Processor - AMD Athlon 64 3700+ San Diego 1GHz FSB Socket 939 Processor Model ADA3700BNBOX - Retail

RAM - CORSAIR XMS 1GB (2 x 512MB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Unbuffered Dual Channel Kit System Memory Model TWINX1024-3200C2PT - Retail

I'm not too sure about the processor. It was either that or the 3800+, but that's where my budget comes into play :

I'm not even 100% positive all of these parts will work together. All insight is highly appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[theMan]

the only thing im not sure about is the motherboard. i dont know anything about it. do you have any cash left? maybe you should move up to a $100 board, like the epox 9npa+ ultra.

 

[auveeb]

Yup, I do. I've got about $50 to spend. Hmm, well as long as overclocking is an option and it works with the components I've already decided on, I'm game for that motherboard. Would the components I've chose work with the mobo?

 

[theMan]

you mean the one i suggested? yes. it is a good overclocking board too. oh, yeah, i didnt notice. get corsair value select. for sure. especially on a rig like this. that will give you some more money. also, get a case without a power supply, and get a better power supply. 350w is probably not enough. how about an antec p180 case and a fortron 450w psu?

 

[harobikes333]

can you splug for the 6800GS???

 

[python023]

Definitely get a better PSU.
Perhaps drop down to a Venice or Opteron 14X - both are very good OCers, and spend the excess on a 6800 + PSU + better mobo.

 

[eXx08]

I would go with a Opteron 148 CPU I'm using it now I can have Adobe Photoshop, Pinnacle Studio 10, Itunes with about 1300 songs and Counter-Strike open at the same time and everything still flys. I would also try to get 2GB of RAM.

I would also pick a Sapphire Radeon x1300 up at newegg for about $95 saves you there and it's better for photoshop than the 6600GT.

DEFFINATLY GET A BETTER PSU you don't want to skimp there try to get a Fortron 450watt for $50.

 

[Azuris]

yeah i like computers and stuff.

 

[duragezic]

Save money on the RAM by going with Corsair Value or something of that sort.

Def get a case without a PSU, then add the 450W Fortron to it.

I don't see a need for a 40GB hard drive if you have others laying around. 40GB is almost useless. They are expensive for how many GB you get. 120GB-200GB probably has the cheapest per GB and a good size overall.

Next with some of the money you save from above, go with a $100 NF4 Ultra board. Not that the SiS is that bad, but Nforce has proven itself over the years.

Fvck the 6600GT. Too slow if its for gaming rig. Get a 6800GS for $210 or so.

Skimp a little on the processor and go with a Venice 3200+ or so. I hear the 3000+ or 3200+ can be overclocked to 3700+ range almost always.

A few changes here and there, that should still keep you around $600.

 

[alimoalem]

looks good. the cpu is awesome so don't worry. the thing is you might need a dual core so an opteron would be the way to go but your budget would most likely not be able to support it. the mobo i don't know about so you should look into others such as epox, ASRock and others. if you have th $50, go to a 6800gs. it is easily twice the card of a 6600gt and will beat a 6600gt in sli

 

[auveeb]

Would this setup be better?
Case: A cheap Spire case from NewEgg
PSU: Thermaltake TR2 W0070 ATX 430W Power Supply - Retail
CPU: AMD Athlon 64 3700+ San Diego 1GHz FSB Socket 939 Processor Model ADA3700BNBOX - Retail
Vid Card: MSI NX6800-TD128E Geforce 6800 128MB DDR PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail
Mobo: EPoX EP-9NPA+Ultra Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 Ultra ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail

I realized I already had some RAM. A question: I have a few ATA drives laying around, would those work okay with my setup? They're not ancient or anything, just like 2-3 yr old 120gb WDs

 

[jlbenedict]

go down a notch or two on the CPU
go with an X800GTO
get Value Ram instead of that overpriced XMS stuff

the EPoX EP-9NPA+ you've mentioned is a good board..
the Abit KN8 series seem to perform well at a decent price as well...
Fortron 450 watt power supply... this has been mentioned

 

[auveeb]

What would you reccomend for the CPU?