Trying to put together another system

[Skunkwourk]

My friend is giving me an Asus K8V SE Deluxe that he got from the bundle in "hot deals" a while back so I'm trying tp put it to good use. I already have a Samsung 955DF monitor, keyboard, mouse, speakers, and a floppy drive. I don't plan on overclocking either so this is basically a stock gaming machine. Im willing to spend between 500 - 1000. There are a few things that concern me, some reviews on new egg talk about needing to disable the promise controller to use SATA. I have an old maxtor 40 gig HD that I want to put in this computer so will I still be able to do that? Im also thinking of getting the 3400 retail, but I'd like to make the system as quiet as possible so should I get a quieter heatsink? Also will I have enough cables to put in the following? I basically want a 160 gig drive (either SATA or IDE), my old IDE 40 gig, 1 gig of ram, DVD drive, CD-RW drive, and a decent video card that will handle doom3 and Half life 2 at maximum settings.

This is what I have so far

Athlon 64 3400 (should I get the 512 or 1mb buffer and will the retail heatsink be enough)
This Enlight Case (I know Antec Sonata comes recommended but I just like the way it looks and do I need a better power supply)
Corsair XMS ram
Sony 52x32x52 CD-RW drive
Sony DVD-ROM drive
Either a SATA or IDE Maxtor 160 gig drive
Audigy 2 (if needed)
And a good AGP video card (6800GT? or any recommendations)

Im still pretty much a n00b so If you notice any compatibility issues with my selections please let me know. Any input is appreciated thanks.[

 

[ts3433]

Get the 512K Newcastle, you get 200 MHz over the 1MB Clawhammer. Retail HSF will be enough if not overclocking and you don't need complete silence.
XMS or any other CL2 RAM is a waste if you don't OC; get value CL2.5 RAM. Timings mean jack diddly sh!t on an A64.
You'll only need the Audigy 2 if you have high-end speakers.
I'm not sure how good Enlight's PSUs are, maybe stick with those recommended Antecs to be safe. If you want to swap the PSU on a budget, consider a Fortron.
Try a Seagate drive; they now have 5-year warranties, and seem to be recommended on here a lot.
The 6800 GT will be a good videocard for your maximum settings gaming.
Maybe instead of the individual CD-RW and DVD drives, get a single DVD burner for $10 more.

 

[Skunkwourk]

ok this is what Im getting, I guess the only question I have now is will the 350 PSU be enough for everything. As for video card Im planning to get the 6800.


Enlight ATX MID-TOWER CASE
ENERMAX 350W Power supply, Model "EG365AX-VE (W)FCA"
AMD Athlon 64 3400+, 512k L2 Cache, The Only 64-bit Windows Compatible Processor - Retail
2 - Crucial 184 Pin 512MB DDR PC-3200 - OEM
Maxtor 120GB 7200RPM IDE Hard Drive, Model 6Y120P0, OEM Drive Only
Maxtor 160GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive, MODEL 6Y160M0, OEM Drive Only

 

[DaveSimmons]

Maxtor is currently on the "hated list" here, even though I've had good luck with them. Samsung Spinpoint drives are cheap and run cool and quiet for only a tiny drop in performance (so loading a map takes 7.2 seconds instead of 7.1).

You sure we can't talk you into a Sonata? Runs quiet, good power supply, glossy black piano finish . . .

Also, I'll contradict ts3433 and say a plain DVD-ROM reader (without burning) is best for drive #1, because some game copy protection doesn't get along with CD / DVD burners. Otherwise I agree.

6800GT is a great card especially if you want to keep it for awhile. A plain 6800 is also good (just lesss future-proof), as will be the 6600GT once the AGP price gets closer to the PCI-E price.

 

[Skunkwourk]

haha yeah I just got done reading the thread on maxtor, I haven't had any problems with them yet. I would get the 6800GT but I had no idea its price would stay this high for so long, Im actually going to try to get the 6800 at compusa. But I guess everything seems alright, I'll probably order these parts off newegg tomorrow.

 

[imported_thomash]

buy my Asus X800XT Platinum Edition off me (UK) --> Better that 6800GT

NEED MONEY