first time build what do you think

[flattius_maximus]

this is my first time building a PC and i wanted some feedback on my hardware selection. here is the system.

MSI K8N Neo4 Platinum nVidia Socket 939 Motherboard / Audio / PCI Express / USB 2.0 & Firewire / Serial ATA

Premium 2526 Blue ATX Mid-Tower Case with Clear Side, Front USB and Audio Ports and 400-Watt 24-Pin Ready Power Supply

AMD Athlon 64 3700+ / 1MB Cache / 2000MHz FSB / Socket 939 / Processor with Fan

Corsair Value Select Dual Channel 2048MB PC3200 DDR 400MHz Memory (2 x 1024MB)

Seagate / 300GB / 7200 / 8MB / SATA-150 / OEM / Hard Drive

NEC ND3550A / 16x8x16x DVD+RW / 16x6x16x DVD-RW / 8x DVD+R DL / 6x DVD-R DL / 48x32x48x CD-RW / Biege / Dual Layer / Retail Box DVD Burner with Software

Microsoft Windows XP Home edition OS

and for a video card i was thinking of using eVGA GeForce 6800 GT / 512MB DDR3 / PCI Express / Dual DVI / TV-Out / Video Card




but if you guys have any better suggestions then let me know

[freakitchen]

Looks like a solid build.

The only thing you'll need extra is a quality power supply...those bundled with cases are mainly junk. You'll want an ATX2 unit, check out the power supply reference thread in the general hardware forum for the best manufacturers.

Freakitchen

[786ARS]

you dont want to be getting a 512mb gfx card, for that money get a 7800gtx instead. more value for money.

[flattius_maximus]

do you mean junk as in they dont work properly or junk as in they will cause damage or junk as in they will wear out quickly?

[Stuey]

Originally Posted by flattius_maximus do you mean junk as in they dont work properly or junk as in they will cause damage or junk as in they will wear out quickly?

Any or all of these things can happen with a generic PSU.

[freakitchen]

do you mean junk as in they dont work properly or junk as in they will cause damage or junk as in they will wear out quickly?

All three.

The main issue is that low quality units never put out the wattage they specify. They actually lose power as they heat up, potentially causing damage to your components as they don't get the power they need.

Ultimately, this causes severe system instability, and potentially damage to all your components if (often when) the PSU dies, as they won't have any voltage protection. Why take risks with expensive parts, when quality units exist for little more? See the XClio 450w power supply on Newegg as an example.

Freakitchen