Building a New $900 Dollar System

[ZOTAN]

Im planning on building a new system over my summer break, and I could use some help selecting parts. I dont want to spend more than 900 dollars. This is what I have been looking at:

AMD Athlon 64 3200+ Winchester Integrated into Chip FSB 512KB L2 Cache Socket 939 Processor - Retail

GIGABYTE GA-K8NSC-939 Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce3 250Gb ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail

XFX Geforce 6600GT 128MB 128-bit GDDR3 AGP 4X/8X Video Card - Retail

Kingston ValueRAM 1GB

I havent picked a case or hardrive yet. I dont need a huge hardrive and 80gb will be more than enough.

Thanks,

Matt

[Antistupid]

I would change the CPU to one with a Venice core.
Asus motherboards are considered to have better quality, so consider them. A good one would be the A8N-E, which uses the newer nForce4 Ultra chipset instead of the nF3.
I suggest you get a PCIe graphics card and a PCIe motherboard. AGP is good, but is dying out, as all new graphics cards are coming out on PCIe.
For harddrives, check out Maxtor and Seagate.
Cases are your choice.

[glc]

The Corsair Value Select is a better deal on ram than the Kingston. A 2x512 PC3200 kit is less than 80 bucks.

If you do go PCI-E (recommended) make sure the power supply is ATX 2.0 (24 pin ATX) and high quality. PCI-E has high power demands.

[piasabird]

The Venice core has a better Memory Controller on the CPU. Normally it is around the same price or close to the same price as the earlier cores. It is important if you plan on using more than 2 sticks of RAM. 2 x 512 is a good combination. Kingston Value RAM is not for overclocking in case you had that in mind. It may overclock and it may not.

If you can afford it get an Nforce4 motherboard and a PCIe Video card.

For motherboard I like the Asus Brand.

[Cricket]

What will the main uses of the new computer be?

:) Cricket

[ZOTAN]

Gaming. Any PCI-E Videocards you guys would reccomend?

[glc]

The 6600GT is available in PCI-E. That's the best out there for under 200 bucks.

[thefultonhow]

Keep in mind that you will need an nForce4 board rather than the board you picked out if you go PCI-E. The aforementioned Asus A8N-E is based on the nForce4.

[ZOTAN]

Ok here is what I have going now:

ASUS A8N-E Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 Ultra ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail

AMD Athlon 64 3200+ Venice Integrated into Chip FSB 512KB L2 Cache Socket 939 Processor - Retail

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

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

On Newegg's webiste it lists some items as OEM, and some as Retail. Whats the difference between the two?

[Antistupid]

OEM is just the component, meaning nothing else will come with it. For example OEM cpus don't come with the HSF unit and OEM graphics cards don't come with bundled software.

[THECOMPUTERN()()B]

if you have enough money go for the x800xl its about 50 dollars more

[kram 2.0]

The 6600GT is available in PCI-E. That's the best out there for under 200 bucks.
Thank competition. Sapphire Radeon X800 128MB 189 USD.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814102529

kram

[Staren]

Graphics Card and RAM I'd buy OEM. RAM expecally, save some money. Sometimes retail graphics cards come with something worthwhile, but if you don't need it, why pay for it.

[ZOTAN]

Would you guys reccomend the X800 over the 6600GT?

[ZOTAN]

I just bought this (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811112022) case. What PSU would you guys reccomend?

[Cricket]

Does the motherboard use a 20 pin or 24 pin power connection?

:) Cricket

[glc]

That's a 24.

Cheapest I'd recommend is this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817103935

[Antistupid]

Would you guys reccomend the X800 over the 6600GT?
yes, I would. The X800 is a better performer than the 6600GT. the 6600 GT compares to the Radeon 9800 but is not in the league of the X800.

[thefultonhow]

Cheapest I'd recommend is this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817103935

The Thermaltake TR2 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817153023) is slightly less expensive (~$10) but is also good.

[ZOTAN]

Here (http://secure.newegg.com/NewVersion/WishList/WishDetail.asp?position=HISTORY&ID=1523269&WishListTitle=New%20Build) is the finalized list. Is there anything else I need? I already have a copy of Windows at home.

[Staren]

Could you paste the list here? Those wishlists / shopping carts are restricted to each user.

[ZOTAN]

ASUS A8N-E Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 Ultra ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail

SAPPHIRE 100109 Radeon X800 128MB GDDR3 PCI-Express x16 Video Card - OEM

THERMALTAKE TR2 W0070 ATX 430W Power Supply - Retail

AMD Athlon 64 3200+ Venice Integrated into Chip FSB Socket 939 Processor Model ADA3200BPBOX - Retail

CORSAIR ValueSelect 1GB (2 x 512MB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Unbuffered Dual Channel Kit System Memory Model VS1GBKIT400 - Retail

SONY Black IDE Combo Drive Model CRX320E - OEM

Western Digital Caviar WD800BB 80GB 7200 RPM IDE Ultra ATA100 Hard Drive - OEM

[kram 2.0]

Looks good to me. Good luck.

kram

[ZOTAN]

Thanks for the help guys. Where would be the cheapest place to get Windows XP Home?

[kram 2.0]

Thanks for the help guys. Where would be the cheapest place to get Windows XP Home?
Newegg - just get the OEM version along with your purchase and it'll cost you about 90 USD.

kram

[glc]

I'd reconsider the hard drive. That's a 2mb cache IDE, and WD is having quality issues. Get a Seagate NCQ SATA drive. It's got a 5 year warranty, that WD is 1 year.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822148040

[Antistupid]

I second the Seagate choice.

[ZOTAN]

The MOBO has been out of stock for a while, and I would like to get started building the computer. Are there any other Motherboards you guys would reccomend

[Antistupid]

Are you sure the A8N-E is out of stock? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131530
If it really is, then try www.zipzoomfly.com and see if they have it.

[David M]

Go to Pricegrabber.com There are a lot more vendors than Newegg and ZipZoomFly. Use the star ratings in Pricegrabber to find the quality vendors. Newegg is excellent but rarely is it the best high quality vendor with the lowest price. I realize your build is very price sensitive.

[iraethan]

zotan - just ordered the A8N-E from zipzoomfly.com and they shipped it quickly. free 2nd day shipping too!

[ZOTAN]

THe hardrive Im going to get is SATA, but the DVD is IDE. Can I have both, or should I switch the DVD to SATA also?

[kram 2.0]

You should be fine with IDE DVD drive - don't think you'll see any difference in terms of performance.

kram

[glc]

A SATA DVD burner is better, but it's considerably more costly because Plextor is the only manufacturer at this time.

[ZOTAN]

I cant find the motherboard, or the videocard on newegg's website anymore. The video card isnt that big of a problem; I can get it cheaper off of zipzoomfly. I cant find the videocard anywhere though. Why did they stop stocking these parts?

[Fragtagonal]

what ever you due stay away from Aspire
Their customer service is bad and i have found their cases to be unreliable
Dont make the same mistake i did

[kram 2.0]

what ever you due stay away from Aspire
Their customer service is bad and i have found their cases to be unreliable
Dont make the same mistake i did
I think Aspire cases are "economy", especially the under 50 USD category but they weren't unreliable IMO. I'm using a 40USD X-Gear right now - it's a nice-looking reliable case.

kram

[glc]

Why did they stop stocking these parts?

In this business, 2 weeks is a long time. Nobody can carry everything and keep it all in stock. Backorder situations from the manufacturers are very common.