Proposed PC build, need opinions

[McSquid]

Hi, Im building my own Pc for the first time and Id like some advise and opinions so I can get the best for my money. im in college so i dont have too much to spend on it. Ultimatly the cheaper the better. im looking to create a mid-end machine that can do some decent gaming. heres what i came up with after talking to a few friends. Im all set with keyboard, monitor, mouse, and sound system. I also have a unknown 512 stick of ram in my e-machine T2792 That ill use if i can.


PC Case: | 412 black temp ATX Computer case 500w USB2.0 24pin | $ 50
http://cgi.ebay.com/412-black-temp-ATX-Computer-case-500w-USB2-0-24pin_W0QQitemZ220054185266QQihZ012QQcategoryZ51063QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Floppy Drive: | Maxtor 6Y080L0 |
HAVE

Hard Drive: | Western Digital WD1600YS 160GB SATA2 7200rpm 16MB RAID Hard Drive | $ 70
http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?name=HD-W1600YS

DVD Drive | LITE-ON Combo Drive Black SATA Model SHC-52S7K-05 - OEM | $ 30
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16827106040

Cd Drive: | dvd/cd-r combo drive |
HAVE

Processor: | AMD Athlon 64 3800+ Venice 2.4GHz 512KB L2 Cache Socket 939 | $ 96
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16819103531

Processor cooling fan: | ARCTIC COOLING Alpine 64 CPU Fan For AMD CPU | $ 9
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16835186010

Motherboard: | ASUS A8N5X Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 ATX AMD Motherboard | $ 73
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16813131569

Memory: | CORSAIR ValueSelect 1GB (2 x 512MB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Dual Channel | $106
http://www.newegg.com/product/Product.asp?item=N82E16820145440

Power Supply: | APEVIA (ASPIRE) ATX-CW500WP4 ATX 500W Power Supply 115/230 V UL, CSA, TUV, CE | $ 40
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16817148027

Video Card: | ATI Radeon X800 128MB PCI-e video card | $ 50
http://www.ubid.com/ATI_Radeon_X800_128MB_PCI-e_video_card/a801106948-rsearchone.html

Sound Card: | 8 Channel audio of some kind |
(on motherboard)

Ethernet card: | Linksys LNE100TX9(v5) Fast Ethernet Adapter |
HAVE

PC Fans: | Green/Blue UV Sensitive 80mm Fan w/ Quad UV LEDs X 4 | $ 15
http://www.xoxide.com/80blgruvledf.html


Total: $~575 with shipping

[newbuilder14]

Look at Newegg.com for your parts. So far I like the motherboard, processor, and hard drive. Get Corsair ValueSelect memory, an nVidia 7600gt, and a Fortron Source power supply if you can afford it - what is your budget?

[McSquid]

My Budget is $100 plus whatever my parents are willing to give me for christmas. so i assume around $500 total still, the cheaper the better as im just a poor college student.

[newbuilder14]

I wouldn't use the memory in your eMachines - may be more trouble than what it's worth.

Here is my recommendation:

Processor: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103535 62
Mobo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131569 73
RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820145440 106
HDD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822135106 45
DVD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16827106017 30
Case of your choice - don't use the junk PSU - ~50
PSU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817104953 42
VID: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814143054 89

^^ $500 - it is hard to do a cheap gaming system - this is the minimum I'd recommend and there are still things you can change.

[McSquid]

Concidering my current system its quite the upgrade...

E-Machines T2792

Windows XP home
Intel Celeron 2.7 ghz
768 MB RAM (no idea what kind. how do you find this out after its installed?)
Intel® 82845G Graphics controller
Realtek AC'97 Audio
80GB HD

also, ive been finding that newegg really doesnt have all that great of prices anymore. they seem to offer things at the going price minus maybe $5 i guess its because everyone knows about them now so they dont have to.

[newbuilder14]

Yes, you will have a better gaming system. I always buy from Newegg when I can - they're customer service rocks and look at this: http://www.anandtech.com/IT/showdoc.aspx?i=2694 - looks pretty professional, they way they organize their products.

[McSquid]

Well, Ive heard nothing but good things about them. However I have also yet to buy anything from them. So i dont get to have a real opinion yet.

also i forgot to mention that i already bought the Video card i listed. the radeon x800. i found it for $50 yesterday as oppose to the average price i seemed to find of $90 unfortunatly there were only 10 available so i just went ahead and did it. it also was a way to lock myself into actually going through with it and building a computer instead of just saying i would and then not doing it. bought the UV fans 2 :)

[newbuilder14]

Well at least you didn't buy anything else - the x800 will begin to show its age but it is a good starter card on a budget.

[McSquid]

i think it will be fine for me. thing is, i tend to play older games and rarely play ones that need A+ graphics. i stay a few years behind. the only game i have any interest in at the moment is Gothic 3 which requires a much better PC than the one i have. its what prompted the upgrade since it made me realize my computer is hardly mid ranged anymore.

[newbuilder14]

This new one won't be the best either, but if you wait to save up a bit more, you can do it with better components. Would it take too long for you to get $1,000? If it will the system I specced out above will be fine.

[McSquid]

yea, im looking at the stuff you specified and doing a bit more research and finding some better stuff than that of before. ill put it up in a minute. also found a different PSU since the one you specified is out of stock. i like it, it seems durable and has 2 fans on it. not to mention every cable i need.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16817148027

[McSquid]

there, updated it. any better?

[fleeingpepper]

Aspire doesn't make very good PSU's, look at this thread for PSU info. The three good PSU companies that are cheap would be Sparkle, Fortron Source, and Xclio. (I'm partial to the Xclio PSU's, they usually come with a little something extra, used to be a fan controller, now they have some rubber coating so it doesn't shock you and get shorted and stuff)

Oops, forgot a link: http://forum.pcmech.com/showthread.php?t=131195

[tetsuo]

According to the PSU reference link http://forum.pcmech.com/showthread.php?t=131195 the maker of that PSU produces shoddy parts (Turbolink).