Mac User building first PC

[Arryn]

Hello everyone,

I'm a mac user who wants to build a decent gaming PC. Thankfully, I have friends who intervened before I could even consider buying a Alienware. Now here I am. I have spent the past couple days researching how to build a PC. Here is what I got lined up:

Case: ASPIRE X-Navigator ATXA8NW-AL/500 Silver/Black Computer Case With Side Panel Window - Retail Link

Mobo: ASUS A8N-SLI Deluxe Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 SLI ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail Link

Video Card: SAPPHIRE 100600SR Radeon X800PRO 256MB 256-bit GDDR3 VIVO PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail Link

Processor: AMD Athlon 64 3500+ Venice 1GHz FSB 512KB L2 Cache Socket 939 Processor - Retail Link

RAM: 3x CORSAIR ValueSelect 512MB 184-Pin DDR SDRAM Unbuffered DDR 400 (PC 3200) System Memory - Retail Link

Hard Drive: Western Digital Raptor WD740GD 74GB 10,000 RPM 8MB Cache Serial ATA150 Hard Drive - OEM Link

Display: SAMSUNG 913V-Black 19" 12ms LCD Monitor 250 cd/m2 600:1 0.294mm Pixel Pitch - Retail Link

Drives: 1x SONY Black 52X CD-R 32X CD-RW 52X CD-ROM 2M Cache IDE CD Burner - Retail Link

1x SONY Black 16X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 4X DVD+R DL 16X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 24X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2M Cache IDE DVD Burner - OEM Link

First, is everything compatable? Since I am new at this, I might have missed somthing. So please point out any problems with this setup.

Second, is there anything you recommend changing? I want to keep the price within the current range of $1500-1700. If there is anything I can change that will save me money, please tell me.

Finally, are there any tips you have for me that are not in PCMech.com's "How to build a PC" article?

Thanks!

[cuog]

The Motherboard you specified is a good one but it is set up for SLI which is dual geforce videocards so you will want to switch the motherboard to a cheaper one without SLI or buy a geforce card instead and save up for a second to run SLI, it as you guessed with 2 video cards is a much better graphix setup but at the cost of a lot of mulah, i am sure someone here can fill you in more on the SLI stuff than i can

[Arryn]

Ah, I missed that. So would I get better preformance from say two cheaper Geforce cards (MSI NX6600GT-TD128E Geforce 6600GT 128MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail Link)? If so, I could just replace the video card instead of the motherboard. It's only +$100 if I got the two geforce cards which is no big deal as of yet.

[David M]

What is your budget? It really helps for us to have a ballpark idea.

[Arryn]

Under $1800. The price as of right now is ~$1774.

[Antistupid]

Two 6600GT is not going to give you much performance. I would stick with the X800 or look at the 6800GT/Ultra cards.

Socket 939 motherboards runs memory in dual channel--meaning two cards are treated as one. It is therefore suggested to get cards in multiples of two. I suggest getting two 512 sticks or two 1GB sticks.

[David M]

The 6800GT is a good card for your price range and motherboard. If in the future you find your video lagging you can aways upgrade to a second 6800GT. Asus is a very reputable company and that board is a good one. The only downside to that board is the chipset fan, but the board you get may have the new fan. If not, Asus is replacing the old chipset fans for free.

[Arryn]

Cool , I'll switch the video card with the 6800GT and get the extra RAM later. Thanks for the input!

[glc]

If you don't plan on adding the second video card for SLI, get the standard A8N-E, save a few bucks. If you do want SLI, look at the Standard board, it's cheaper than the Deluxe and you may never use the extra features.

You will need to replace that Aspire power supply with an ATX 2.0 spec unit, and if you go SLI, you will need an Nvidia-certified unit. The best deal on a standard ATX 2.0 unit is the XClio 450 watt unit, it's in the $50's. SLI-certified units start at $100 and go up from there.

For the ram, get a dual channel kit (2x512), the Corsair value ram is the best deal out there.

I'd recommend different optical drives. Sony DVD burners are rebadged Lite-Ons with lousy software and bitsetting disabled in the firmware, get a real Lite-On. You also don't need a combo drive, just get a standard DVD-ROM drive for the second optical, a Sony is a good choice here.

Whether you mount it in the case or not, you should get a cheap OEM floppy drive just in case you need it, you may need it to install SATA drivers during the Windows install process and it's nice to have for running diagnostics from a bootable floppy if you ever need to, it's a lot easier and quicker than trying to burn diagnostics to a bootable CD.

[nicolaus corelius]

get the same case w/o power supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811144103

[Arryn]

glc,

Question: which brands produce the best SLI-certified PSUs for the money? I've seen some of them on xoxide.com and don't care for the $150+ price tags. Are the cheaper Antec (like this one ) and Enermax (like this one) SLI PSUs any good?

Also, I do plan on ordering a floppy drive for that reasons that you highlighted.

EDIT: Doh Search function is my friend... I found the PSU FAQ and I probably should have read that over before posting. If I have any questions I'll be sure to ask.

[glc]

That Antec is an EPS power supply for servers, it may be SLI-certified but I wouldn't use it. That Enermax is SLI-ready but not certified.

Try this one:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817103931