First Build: Need advice/recommendations on several components...

[Parker03GT]

Ok, as you can tell by looking at my sig, my comp is a little outdated and it's time to rectify that. I have kept waiting for future parts to come out and get the best deal but if I keep this up I'll never buy. So I'm going to cannabilize the Dell. I'm big into online gaming so I need a pretty potent comp. I've always had Intel chips so I figure this time I'll give AMD a shot. These are what I WILL need advice/recommendations for:

CPU Mid-Tower
-Thermaltake Tsunami
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811133132

Power Supply
don't know how much wattage is needed (something fairly quiet)

Motherboard
slots for future SLI compatible

Processor
-AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814130247


I will transfer over from the Dell:
Maxtor 60Gb & 120Gb 7200rpm HD's
Lite-On 16X DVD burner
Dell no name brand DVD drive
Creative Soundblaster Audigy 2ZS


Is there anything else that I'm missing? I think that's it. Thanx

[not important]

You need RAM, Graphics card. Operating system.

[Cricket]

If you plan to run SLI you'll need a SLI certified power supply. Here's the list. To be safe I think you should look for PSUs with 500 watts minimum.

Can't help you with the motherboard choice.

Cricket

[Parker03GT]

I went back and edited my post and it deleted several items for some reason. Here's the other stuff I had listed:


RAM
2 Gig (which is better: 2 sticks of 1 Gig or 4 sticks of 512)

Video Card
-eVGA Geforce 7800GT
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130247


And I already have WinXP Pro on disk

[FireByyrd]

great video card, RAM is overkill, you only really need 1GB at the moment.

2 sticks of 1 gig

[Mr.Ferrari]

2 sticks of one gig. But if u plan on doing more extreme gaming, more ram never hurts, i would definately suggest 2 gigs, itll keep you updated for a while. But if your on a budget 1gig will do just dandy.

[Khalil]

Originally Posted by Parker03GT Ok, as you can tell by looking at my sig, my comp is a little outdated and it's time to rectify that. I have kept waiting for future parts to come out and get the best deal but if I keep this up I'll never buy. So I'm going to cannabilize the Dell. I'm big into online gaming so I need a pretty potent comp. I've always had Intel chips so I figure this time I'll give AMD a shot. These are what I WILL need advice/recommendations for: CPU Mid-Tower -Thermaltake Tsunami http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811133132 Power Supply don't know how much wattage is needed (something fairly quiet) Motherboard slots for future SLI compatible Processor -AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814130247 I will transfer over from the Dell: Maxtor 60Gb & 120Gb 7200rpm HD's Lite-On 16X DVD burner Dell no name brand DVD drive Creative Soundblaster Audigy 2ZS Is there anything else that I'm missing? I think that's it. Thanx

You can't beat an Asus motherboard. They are a bit pricier than most but you will get pretty much the best.
2 Sticks of 1 gig is far better than 4x512. In time you can always add 2 more gigs incase your needs change. As Cricket said go with a big power supply mine is only 480 but I am only using 2x6600GTs, my power supply would not handle 2 7800s. I would go with an SLI certified 500+, Antec or OCZ are very good power supplies.

[jayb1234]

Here is a very good SLI certified Antec PSU.

If the XP pro disk you have came with the Dell in your sig, you will have to get a new copy, because the liscense is tied to the original Dell machine and can not be legally transfered to another build.

You might need a floppy drive at some point in the setup.

As far as the sound card, any SLI motherboard will have pretty good 8 channel audio built in, you should give it a try before you install the card.

This ASUS board is pretty popular for SLI.

[Parker03GT]

Originally Posted by jayb1234 Here is a very good SLI certified Antec PSU. If the XP pro disk you have came with the Dell in your sig, you will have to get a new copy, because the liscense is tied to the original Dell machine and can not be legally transfered to another build. You might need a floppy drive at some point in the setup. As far as the sound card, any SLI motherboard will have pretty good 8 channel audio built in, you should give it a try before you install the card. This ASUS board is pretty popular for SLI.

I acquired the XP from someone. It works just fine on my comp right now. Looking at the reviews for that ASUS board, it appears that quite a few people are not happy with it.

[Cricket]

Originally Posted by Parker03GT I acquired the XP from someone.

Is that a genuine MS WinXP CD or a burned copy?

Cricket

[Parker03GT]

off topic

[Louds3]

as per forum rules you won't get any help trying to get a burnt XP cd to work, but most people here will tell you having an illegal copy will usually come back to bite you. for that motherboard, I have it and can tell you I like it very much for it's stability (built this computer 3 weeks ago, 1st build, not a hiccup yet from the motherboard) but the chipset fan is a little loud. They do make a passive cooling version of this board for about $30 more or so. If you will have 7800's plus a few case fans, CPU Fan, and chipset fan, you may start generating some noise. Some people just don't care, but me personally I like a quiet computer.,

steve

[Parker03GT]

As per my topic, I was not asking to get the XP disc to work. I'm only concerned with the parts to build the computer.

[Parker03GT]

What would be the best RAM to get? Brand?

[Louds3]

Corsair Value Select is good if you aren't overclocking it will do you just fine, look for CAS latency of 2.5 if you are getting them in 512mb sticks, but if you get the 2x 1gb you should check out this link, anandtech just reviewed a bunch of 2x1gb kits and had some interesting results http://www.anandtech.com/memory/showdoc.aspx?i=2676&p=1
THe RAM in this article is expensive stuff, it's really only worth it if you will overclock and really push your new rig. For normal everyday stuff and some gaming, the value select is a good choice and about $80 cheaper.

steve

[glc]

Originally Posted by Parker03GT As per my topic, I was not asking to get the XP disc to work. I'm only concerned with the parts to build the computer.

As per forum rule 9, it had to be said. Thank you for understanding.

- Admin -

[Parker03GT]

Originally Posted by glc As per forum rule 9, it had to be said. Thank you for understanding. - Admin -

meh, no need to beat a dead horse. I'm just trying to get some info here. I get to hear "as per rule blah blah blah" all day at work, I didn't care to hear it on the forum as well.