New Build Questions

[catacon]

Hey Guys! I am working on selecting parts for a new build and just had a few questions. Here are the parts I have selected:

*Motherboard - DFI Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 ATX AMD Motherboard - $125

*Case - Antec Solution SLK3700-BQE Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 350W Power Supply - $80

*CPU - AMD Athlon 64 3200+ Venice Integrated into Chip FSB 512KB L2 Cache Socket 939 Processor 2.0Ghz - $220

*Memory - CORSAIR ValueSelect 1GB (2 x 512MB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM Unbuffered DDR 400 (PC 3200) Dual Channel Kit System Memory - $95

HD - Western Digital 80GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive, Model WD800JD, OEM Drive Only - $60

Video Card - BFG Asylum -- have it

Sound Card - Mad Dog 5.1 (have it)

DVD-ROM - Reuse from old comp

CD-RW - Reuse from old comp

Floppy - Reuse from old comp

Windows XP Home - have it

Total: $520 (no HD) $580 (with HD) (no tax or shipping)

First off, I am trying to keep this as close to $500 as possible. Also, do I need the SATA HD? I have an IDE I could use for now, or should I go with the SATA? Second, are the parts compatible with each other? Will the PSU that is supplied with the case be suffcient? Can I do better on prices (all of this is from newegg.com)? Thanks alot!

[glc]

If that's a PCI-E motherboard, the PSU is a bit light on power. They need ATX 2.0 power supplies with 24 pin ATX connectors. Which exact BFG card do you have?

[catacon]

It's a PCI 256MB 6600GT (I think). I know it's not the best, but it works and I don't want to spend the money on a new one yet.

Also, I want a Socket 939 motherboard with SATA2 on it (and SATA150), but I can't find a good one. Any suggestions? I would like to keep the price under $140. Thanks!

[glc]

Its a bit early for SATA2 in the AMD world.

[catacon]

So you're saying I should just go for the SATA 150?

[catacon]

I still need help selecting a motherboard. I can't find one that will support the parts I have but also support future parts I may get. Any suggestions.

Thanks!

[glc]

AMD motherboards don't get any better than the one you already picked. What future parts are you concerned with?

[catacon]

Well, as you may have noticed, I am not getting a SATA hard drive, so when I do, I want to be able to support it. But if the motherboards don't get better that, I guess I am OK.

Here is an updated list of parts:

*Motherboard - DFI Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 ATX AMD Motherboard - $125

*Case - Antec Solution SLK3700-BQE Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 350W Power Supply - $80

*CPU - AMD Athlon 64 3200+ Venice Integrated into Chip FSB 512KB L2 Cache Socket 939 Processor 2.0Ghz - $205

*Memory - CORSAIR ValueSelect 1GB (2 x 512MB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM Unbuffered DDR 400 (PC 3200) Dual Channel Kit System Memory - $80

----------------------------------------------------------

HD - Western Digital 80GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive, Model WD800JD, OEM Drive Only - $60

Video Card - BFG Asylum -- have it

Sound Card - Mad Dog 5.1 -- have it

DVD-ROM (2) - Reuse from old comp

Floppy - Reuse from old comp

----------------------------------------------------------

Total: $490 (no HD) $550 (with HD) (no tax or shipping)

[glc]

I am not getting a SATA hard drive

Western Digital 80GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive, Model WD800JD

Eh?

You want better speed, warranty, and reliability, I suggest a Seagate NCQ drive.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822148040 $65.50

[Sysopo]

Faster For Cheaper:

P4, 3.0 HT, 1mb L2. @ 2.99gh -- $209.00 - local.

AsRocks - P4v88 Mainboard
Supports, Prescott & Dual Channel & 800fsb, and HyperThreading.
Safe Overclocking Feature))) 4 gig ram max. Check it out. $47.00 @NewEgg

WD800JB - Not JD.. You should get 8mb Cache on that 80gig = $60.00
HDD , Dual Fan - Aluminum. 6 bucks . (Put it under Primary drive)

1 good exaust fan, and 1 good intake fan 8 bucks or used.

1 ATX Tower PC Case P4 Ready. With 350 Watt or 400 Watt PSU @ $40.00 Local.

256mb, 8x AGP Nvidia, FX-5500 vid card, - $70 @ newegg.

Any same type ram, DDR2 - Pc3200\400 , Kingston , $60 a stick for 512mb. Local. (Dual channel is sweeter) 2 same type sticks in Blue slots)

My shipping is cheap.. Want to order? LOL.

AMD 64 , 512kb cache makes me nod No. lol.

Good Luck, Sys...

[catacon]

I am actually not getting the hard drive, I didn't mean to post that.

Sysopo: Thanks, but I'm ok with the parts I have, as long as they work well together.

[catacon]

I am still confused about this thermal grease stuff. Does it come with the processor or do I have to buy it seperately and do I need it?

[Cricket]

Originally Posted by catacon I am still confused about this thermal grease stuff. Does it come with the processor or do I have to buy it seperately and do I need it?

If you're buying a retail Athlon 64 it comes with an approved heatsink and the heatsink has a thermal pad already on it. No need to buy thermal compound and you don't want to use a thermal pad with thermal compound together. If you do, your CPU temps will be high.

But if you're buying a OEM Athlon 64 and getting an aftermarket heatsink, you'll need to get thermal compound (if the aftermarket heatsink doesn't come with any...some do).

Cricket

[catacon]

Ok thanks! Also, will the Antec 350W power supply that comes with the case be sufficient for my system, or will it be a little low?

[Cricket]

If you're just using a PCI video card for now, I think the 350 watt PSU might handle the load okay. But if you start to get random reboots, you'll need to replace it with something stronger.

Cricket

[catacon]

What you recommend upgrading to?

[discodanman45]

This would be what I would get since you need an ATX 2.0 PSU with that mobo

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817103937

$75 is a good price for this PSU and would allow you to get a better video card in the future

[catacon]

Ok so if I get that PSU, what case should I get? What brands do you recommend? I would like a quiet one (who wouldn't).

[discodanman45]

Hold on, sorry about that PSU. It has modular connectors, which are a great idea but I heard they have some prpoblems. This psu is not as powerful, but will do the job.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817103936

This will give you some head room. However if you just want to get by, this one will do the job.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817103935

[catacon]

OK, I found this case:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811180013

What do you think?

[catacon]

Any input at all?

[glc]

It's hard to give opinions on cases because everyone has different tastes. Just about anything will *work* - quality is not as big an issue with cases as it is with other components.

[Antistupid]

go with the case, you like. Since you are going to be looking at it. You should get what you like.
As for the question of quite cases, cases are neither loud nor quite. What makes most of the movies will be the fans. Therefore, if you want a quiet case, you can't get any case but make sure that you replace the fans with quieter ones. Also, the heatsink that comes with your CPU was the very loud, making your "quiet" case loud.

[catacon]

How many fans would you recommend for this system? Right now I have one that I can reuse and the one that comes with the case. Of course, the heatsink fan aswell. Is that enough? What brands of fans would you recommend?

Thanks!

[Cricket]

Originally Posted by catacon How many fans would you recommend for this system? Right now I have one that I can reuse and the one that comes with the case. Of course, the heatsink fan aswell. Is that enough?

I would take the fan from the front of the case and move it to the back and have it exhaust heat from the case. You might want to add another exhaust fan on the back. You could populate all the fan ports if you want to, but adding more fans usually means more noise.

Originally Posted by catacon What brands of fans would you recommend?

Sunon, NMB, TopMotor, ADDA, Zalman, Vantec and Panaflo. As long as the fans are the ball bearing type and not the sleeve type they're usually pretty good. I prefer to use Panaflo fans.

Cricket

[catacon]

Ok thanks for all the input!

Would this PSU work? It's a little less and looks better. Not sure about the brand?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817153007

Here is (I hope) the final list of parts:

*Motherboard - DFI LANPARTY UT nF4 Ultra-D Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 Ultra ATX AMD Motherboard - $130

*Case - Antec Solution SLK3000-B Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - $50

*CPU - AMD Athlon 64 3200+ Venice Integrated into Chip FSB 512KB L2 Cache Socket 939 Processor 2.0Ghz - $205

*Memory - CORSAIR ValueSelect 1GB (2 x 512MB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Unbuffered Dual Channel Kit System Memory Model VS1GBKIT400 - $75

----------------------------------------------------------

Video Card - BFG Asylum -- have it

Sound Card - Mad Dog 5.1 -- have it

DVD-ROM (2) - Reuse from old comp

Floppy - Reuse from old comp

Total: around $550 with tax and shipping at newegg.com

P.S.

I have a stick of 512 RAM, can I use that in addition to the new memory I am getting to have 1.5GB.

Thanks!

[catacon]

Anything at all? I am thinking about ordering some of the parts this week (case, PSU, memory), so I would like to know if that PSU works.

Thanks!

[hobey19]

its not atx 2.0 as the others were. i would stick with what was recommended

as far as the brand, thermaltake is fine

craig

[catacon]

OK. Where do you see that the Antec is ATX 2.0?

Another question: When I install a copy of Windows XP that I have on my old comp. to my new one, I will have to call Microsoft to activate again right? Will that be a big deal or is it fairly painless?

[Cricket]

Originally Posted by catacon OK. Where do you see that the Antec is ATX 2.0?

It says 2.0 right in the product description of all three Antec PSU that links were provided for.

Originally Posted by catacon Another question: When I install a copy of Windows XP that I have on my old comp. to my new one, I will have to call Microsoft to activate again right? Will that be a big deal or is it fairly painless?

It's painless.

Cricket