First build and nervous..

[Calson]

Hi all,
I have always bought pre-built systems, but a friend suggested that I try building my own for my next computer. I want a gaming/development machine, i.e. something that can handle lots of apps as well as a machine that will play most games coming out in the near future (they don't have to run at max settings, just something that will let me play at reasonable quality). I went to newegg and built my dream machine, then I woke up and toned it down a bit. I want to keep it around $2k.. My biggest worries are that the parts may be incompatible, or that I am forgetting something. I went with items that had good reviews. Here is what I have so far:


AMD Athlon 64 FX-57 San Diego 1GHz FSB Socket 939 Processor : $811.00

BIOSTAR TForce4SLI Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 SLI ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail : $113.00

CORSAIR XMS 2GB (2 x 1GB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Unbuffered Dual Channel Kit System Memory Model TWINX2048-3200 - Retail (X2 for 4gb) : $360.00

ASPIRE X-Navigator ATXA8NW-BK/500 Black Aluminum ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 500W Power Supply - Retail : $154.00

NEC Silver IDE DVD Burner Model ND-3550A - OEM : $38.99

Seagate Barracuda 7200.9 SATA NCQ 3Gb/s ST3160812AS 160GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM : $83.00
(I won't have a lot of games, so I don't need lots of space right now)

NEC Black 1.44MB 3.5" Internal Floppy Drive - OEM : $9.99

Microsoft Windows XP Professional X64 Edition 1 package - OEM : $142.95

Onboard sound.
PSU with case.

Speakers, monitor, kb and mouse I already have.

Total Price plus shipping: $2,031.95

From what I can see, this knocks the pants off anything I could buy pre-built for that price, but that is what is also making me so nervous... If it's too good to be true, then it probably is... Suggestions/comments welcome and appreciated!

[doctorgonzo]

I don't see a video card there; do you already have one?

I would choose a different brand motherboard than Biostar, such as Asus.

[Calson]

oops.. Yes I do, just forgot to post it:

eVGA 256-P2-N516 Geforce 7800GT 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail : $270.00

[IntegraGSR]

Get a sound card, even if it's just a Live 5.1. It takes stress off of the processor to use sounds thus giving you better performance overall, especially in games.

Get a quality PSU, I suggest Antec and Enermax, for this setup I suggest around 500W. Most folks overlook this very important part.

I agree with gonzo that ASUS is a superior brand, if you want to go that route.

Do you really need an FX-57? You can get a dual-core Toledo for $200 cheaper.

[doctorgonzo]

That's an SLI board...do you plan on doing SLI in the future? If so, then make sure you get a PSU that can handle it. I doubt that the PSU in that case is SLI-certified.

If you aren't going to do SLI, then you can save some money by getting a non-SLI board.

[Calson]

I can salvage the sound card from my current computer. I usually play games without sound, so I didn't even think about needing a card.

Looking at motherboards gave me a huge headache. The prices vary so widely, and to me (utter newb), the look mostly the same. Any recommendations in this department?

I went with the FX-57 because I wanted a computer that would last me about 5 years with only minor upgrades. I figure it would pay off in the future.

I went with the SLI board because I wanted the option to add an extra graphic card down the line. I didn't know that psu's were sli certified. Would it be better to hjust go with a non-sli board for now, and just get a new board and card down the line (I am thinking about a year or so)?

[Calson]

Oh.. One thing I meant to ask about is cooling.. Do I need it? what kind?

[thefultonhow]

On the FX-57, look at it this way -- you can spend $800-900 on a processor now, or you can spend $300-350 on a processor now and then $300-350 on a processor and $200 on a motherboard/RAM 2.5 years down the road. An FX-57 is NOT going to be able to keep up come four years from now if history is any indication, but if you get a processor in mid-2008, then that will probably be able to do just fine. I'sd also recommend getting a dual-core for what you're going to be using the system for.

For the RAM, you really don't need anything more than 2 GB, and you can always add more later if it becomes an issue. You also don't need the expensive Corsair XMS -- Corsair ValueSelect should be sufficient.

The stock CPU cooler should be sufficent.