New Build...More juice or too much?

[SR20DET]

Hello Guys and Gals

I recently found your website while looking for info on building my own PC. I've done some reading and had a lot of questions answered just from that but I thought I'd register and ask a few of my own if you all don't mind. I'm going to be building an AMD based system mostly for playing World of Warcraft and doing some email/web surfing. Nothing too "extreme" so I was curious if what I have is overkill or just the right parts for the build. All the parts will be purchased from Newegg.com

Case: Thermaltake Tsunami VA3000BWA
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811133132
PSU: Antec TRUEPOWERII TP-II 550W
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817103931
MOBO: Asus A8N5X
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131569
CPU: AMD Athlon 64 3700+ San Diego
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103539
RAM: Corsair VALUESELECT 2G ( 2 x 1G )
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820145579
HD: Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD2500KS 250G, 16MB, SATA 3.0GB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822144701
VIDEO CARD: eVGA GeForce 7600GT Model # 256-P2-N553-AX
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130283
OPTICAL: NEC 16X DVD+R Black
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827152058
FLOPPY: NEC Black Internal
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16821152005

Some questions that I've been pondering...

1. Is the Antec TPII 550W too much power for just one 7600GT on an Asus A8N5X?

2. The San Diego and 7600GT aren't bottlenecking one another are they? Like is the video card not good enough for the CPU or is the CPU not good enough for the card?

3. Lastly the 7600GT is 128MB Inteface. The X800GTO however is 256MB Interface. The clock speeds are higher on the 7600GT though. Which one is the better performer?

Thanks for taking the time to look this over. I know you guys get this a lot. Much appreciated!

[thefultonhow]

In order...

1. 550 watts is overkill; with a 7600GT you'll be fine with 450 (maybe less), and with a 7800GT or 7900GT you'd still really only need a 480. I have a friend who's running a 3200+, a 7800GTX, and four hard drives, and that maxes out a 480 watt power supply. WIth that said, it won't be a problem if you have too much power; the computer just won't utilize it all.

2. You shouldn't be too concerned with either component bottlenecking the other if WoW is the most demanding game you're going to be playing. They will be plenty for that purpose. If you have an additional $100 to spend, the 7900GT would be a worthwhile upgrade IF you're going to be playing relatively demanding games at high resolutions.

3. Not sure on this. As I said, though, the 7600GT should be fine for WoW.

Now I have an (off-topic) question for you -- I assume your username refers to the Nissan engine; do you have a car with one, and if so which one?

[kentuckyser]

I had an '01 Nissan Sentra with a Bluebird SR20DET w/ a Gti-R T28 and manifold on it.

[SR20DET]

I had a 96 B14 with a SR20DE that I sold. I always wanted to put a bluebird in it but I never did

1. Ok so the TP II 550W is overkill. I'll find a quality PSU with lower wattage.

2. Sounds like the San Diego and the 7600gt will pair nicely then.

Thanks for your ideas.

[glc]

It may be overkill, but it's a high quality unit. I would go ahead and get it, you will have better peace of mind if you ever upgrade your video card to one that requires a TON of power.

[DoomLord]

SR20DET--

You can NEVER have too much power!! Better to be prepared for
adding more peripherals and components or being able to use it in
another machine if you have to,than worrying about overloading
the p.s.u. and getting a B.S.O.D. or corrupted data or failed components!

The p.s.u. is something you definitely do NOT want to cheap out on.
On the other hand,a bigger p.s.u. may have greater power consumption,
so you need to balance one against the other.

As for your video cards,get the Nvidia 7600GT,as it should beat the
ATI X800 series, even with 128MB.

DoomLord