New Build Advice

[Dominion]

Hi any advice would be appreciated. My current system is a few years old now - Factory built Medion 1.4 P4, has a micro-ATX mobo and is socket 423 with RAMBUS ram so upgrading would really need a new mobo and have decided to start from scratch.

I've made up my mind on the socket 939 - not sure about the SLi mobo. was going to go for the A8N-E but was only £15 price difference. So having gone for the SLi mobo i would have to get the 6600GT just in case i felt like doubling up in the future lol. I am looking to get into some gaming on this build but SLi feature may never get used. A more practical but future proof mobo might be in order.

CASE - Antec Sonata UK 380W PSU ATX (£75)

CPU - AMD Athlon 64 3000+ Socket 939 512Kb (£96)

MOBO - Asustek A8N-SLI Deluxe Socket 939 nForce 4 SLI PCI-E (£108)

GRAPHICS - 6600GT (need help on which one) around £120

HDD - Seagate Barracuda 7200.7 NCQ 80GB SATA150 7200rpm 8MB (£37)

DVD-RW - NEC DVD+-R/RW 16x Dual Layer IDE Black ND3520 (£34)

2x512 crucial RAM DDR400 non ECC (£65)

All from Dabs.com except RAM and graphics card

[glc]

Looks solid. If available, I prefer eVGA for Nvidia cards. A good alternative to Crucial for ram is Corsair.

[thefultonhow]

You might run into problems with a 20-pin PSU and that board. I would recommend buying a case with out a power supply and getting a 24-pin (ATX12V v2.0 compatible, PCI-Express compatible, whatver they want to call it) one.

[Dominion]

Thanks - i did wonder about the PSU in that case - Antec said it was compatible with PCI-e. Does that mean the PSU needs some kind of adapter? or will its just not give the mobo as much power as it should?

I found this graphics card (mainly because i can get it from dabs.com with all the other bits)

http://www20.graphics.tomshardware.c...e_6600-16.html

I read some other good reviews but a few have said it gets really hot and might need some extra cooling.

[thefultonhow]

The graphics card looks good -- it may run hot but I doubt it would need any more cooling than is in the Sonata case, or any other well-ventilated one for that matter. As for the PSU, it is theoretically compatible, but it only has a 20-pin power connector. Asus put another connector on the board to make it compatible with the old 20-pin PSUs, but I've heard that it doesn't work very well, so it's a better bet to stick with a 24-pin PSU.

[Dominion]

still planning after long delay having been working away from home
plus no real urgency as PC is ok but starting to show its age now

updated list

Case - Antec Sonata 2 with 450w PSU

CPU - Athlon 64 3200+ Venice

Mobo - Asus AN8-Sli Premium

Harddrive - Maxtor Plus 10 200gb - 16mb cache
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/cgi-bi...OCLEARFRAMES=1

RAM - Crucial PC3200 2x512 CAS3
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/cgi-bi...OCLEARFRAMES=1

Graphics Card - XFX 6800 256mb
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/cgi-bi...OCLEARFRAMES=1

I'm in 2 minds over the mobo - maybe should just go for the basic AN8-E as i may never use SLi.
Not sure about the graphics card - should i go for a GT? tempted by a 7800GT but i'm only going to be a casual gamer but still want to play new games.

will need cables for the harddrive

(I have a dvd-rw, monitor etc)

any thoughts?

i have an upgrade version of xp - can that be transferred?

[jayb1234]

The motherboard should come with hard drive cables.

You are likely to need a floppy drive for installing drivers, Bios uodates, diagnostics, system recovery etc..

Transferring the upgrade version of XP might be a problem, since the original OS is very likely to be keyed to the machine it came in.

[glc]

Don't waste your money on a SLI premium board if you won't be doing SLI. The power supply you have chosen this time is fine for non-SLI.

[Dominion]

Sorry the links don't work - must be related to a cookie on my computer i think

Think your right - will be going for a non sli board.

Also i read this article:

http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=27440

Think a 7600 would suit my budget more.
Though tempted by the BFG 7800GT OC

[freakitchen]

Dominion, i notice you've chosen your parts from dabs.com

Although at quick glance the prices look reasonable, I've always found dabs to be more expensive than either ebuyer.co.uk, or overclockers.co.uk. These are the UK stores I always use for component shopping, and might be worth a look.

Freakitchen

[Dominion]

Hi

I have started looking at overclockers mainly now - they are very good.

just waiting for the sonata case to come into stock - out of stock on alot of sites

i'm now looking at:

BFG RNF4U nforce4 ultra (socket 939) PCIe mobo
BFG 7800GT OC 256mb graphics card

also looking into RAM with a lower latency - maybe
Crucial Ballistix 3200 which has 2.5

[jayb1234]

Two suggestions about the RAM. After you decide on which motherboard, go to the manufacturers web site and look for their list of tested/approved RAM for that motherboard. Or order it from the configurator at Crucial, it will be quaranteed to be the right RAM for your board.

[glc]

I'd be wary of a BFG motherboard - this is the first time I've heard of them making motherboards. I think I'd stick with established quality manufacturers.

[Dominion]

Originally Posted by glc I'd be wary of a BFG motherboard - this is the first time I've heard of them making motherboards. I think I'd stick with established quality manufacturers.

I've done some research and it would appear to be a rebadged Chaintech VFN4 ultra - which by all accounts is a good board but its a budget board and cheaper than the BFG. You can check on newegg. I can't see Chaintech on UK sites anyway.

Modified list

Antec P180 (gift from girlfriend)
1Gb Crucial Ballistix (2x512) tbc depending on mobo
Abit A8N Ultra
AMD 3200 venice
Maxtor harddrive
BFG 7800 GT OC or XFX 6800 GT

Antec Truepower 2.0 430w <-- is this enough?

[blue60007]

430w should be enough, but you could bump up to the 480w for (I think) $5 (USD) more just to be safe.

[glc]

If it's a Chaintech, I'd still be wary. Haven't had very good luck with them in the past.

[Dominion]

I think i've settled on the Abit A8N ultra

Now because of this P180 i need to choose a powersource

From reviews you have to careful and its recommended to get a modular make with long cables.

Looking at the Enermax Liberty, Tagan Easycon or Antec NeoHE (heard bad things about Antec and they are hard to find)

Considering just sticking with Sonata 2 - less hassle but they are all out of stock

I'm now going to looking into the 6800GS cards

[glc]

Enermax, Tagan, and Antec are all quality PSU's.

[freakitchen]

Check overclockers.co.uk for power supplies. They have the full range of Tagen, and I'd recommend them without hesitation.

Freakitchen