Mid range Gamer build for review...

[Lothartw]

Please review this build and see if I have the right idea...

I was a tech back in the late 80's to mid 90's and have little fear of building it, but want input.

Is a heat sink/fan include with the AMD processor below?
Do all LCD monitors provide DVI inputs? Can I run my old SVGA 17" trinitron as a second screen?
Is this a decent gamer build?


MAXIMUM budget $1500. This brings me to 1100, with 400 to spare for shipping and marriage counselling... Please let me know what you think...
Lothartw


Antec Solution SLK3000-B Black Computer Case $50
Case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16811129152


Antec SmartPower 2.0 SP-500 500W Power Supply $69
PSU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817103937


Gigabyte GA-K8N-SLI ATX AMD Motherboard $85
Mobo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813128306


AMD Athlon 64 3500+ 2000MHz HT Socket 939 Processor - Retail $190
CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16819103533


Western Digital Caviar SE16 250GB 3.5" SATA 3.0Gb $90
HDD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822144701

G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM $160
RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820231047


Pri Optical: OLD CD/DVD BURNER from dead pc $priceless


Sound Card: ___Plantronics USB headset/sound $priceless

ASUS Geforce 6600 EN6600/TD/256 Video Card $100 (2?)
Video Card: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814121179


FDD: Teac 3.5" from dead pc $priceless

Keyboard: _________PLEASE SUGGEST___________

Mouse: __________Currently Wireless USB mini, please suggest___

Lan: _______On mb___________________


ViewSonic Optiquest Q7B3 Black 17" 8ms LCD Monitor $170
Monitor: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16824116010

Speakers: ________none________________

Microsoft Windows XP Home With SP2 - OEM $85
OS: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16837102059

Extras: _____________________________

[jayb1234]

Yes, the processor will, come with a heatsink/fan unit.

As far as the video card(s), if you want to run 2 of them you will need an SLI approved power supply from the list on this page.

The Antec TruePower 2 550W should be good with 2 6600 cards.

The 500W Smartpower isn't certified, but would be fine for just 1 6600.

You could also go with a single higher performance card, in which case you could get a non-sli board and save 20-30 bucks or so there, and not need an SLI certified PSU.

Keyboard/mouse: I like the standard wired ones from microsoft, logitech is a decent brand too.

Liteon has some pretty nice DVD burners that come with the burning software, here is one with lightscribe and dvd-ram write.

[Lothartw]

Thermaltake W0057RU-01 PurePower TWV 500W Power Supply - Retail $130
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817153031


The SLI power supplies are mega bucks. My first choice was $450.00! How does the one above work for you? As far as optical drives, I really haven't found a use yet for a dvd burner.

I am planning this mb as a basis for expansion as I fall behind the inevitable tech curve. I don't intend to do much with SLI but rather running dual monitors, but the option for the future seemed worthwhile...

Does that make sense? Are there any pitfalls I should look out for in this build outside of the usual..

Thanks for such a fast response!
Matt

[freakitchen]

I'd get this power supply:

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

50 more watts than the Thermaltake, for less money, and arguably a better manufacturer.

DVD Burners are so cheap these days, that it makes little sense to get any other optical drive.

An Nvidia 6600 isn't a gamers card. You'd want to be looking at a 6800GT/7600GT for something that will give you decent performance (a 6600GT is possibly the minimum you'd want to go for). Games rely on the vid card more than anything else.

FK

[Lothartw]

The only game I really play is World of Warcraft, so the graphics aren't that intense....I am looking for the best price for decent playability with the intent to expand down the road... would I be better to get a single card and possibly buy a mate for it down the road? I really want to pair two monitors to have auxillary programs running on the side (AIM, Ventrillo, webbrowsing, mpg viewing)...

I am finding a bunch of 7600GS cards and 6800 cards of various flavors.. where can I find out the differences in the letters after the number...


XFX PVT42EUDE3 Geforce 6800 XTreme 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail $135
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814150130


ASUS EN7600GS SILENT/HTD/512M Geforce 7600GS 512MB 128-bit GDDR2 PCI Express x16 Video Card $147

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814121007

Thanks again!
Matt

[glc]

Get a good single card with dual head to feed 2 monitors, stay away from SLI, that is only for gamers who want the last bit of performance they can get. Keep it simple. Look at the Asus A8N5X and A8N-E single slot boards. The Smartpower power supply will be fine for this use.

[Lothartw]

GLC,
Would you mind giving an example of a dual head card? One that can support the gaming I do.. Thanks so much,
Matt

[MakeYourslf2012]

Pretty much anycard nowadays has dual output.

If you want a great card within a reasonable price range, look at the 7600GT. If you want the best performance, look at the 7900 generation

[Willem]

Hey Matt! How's life treating ya bud? Hope all is well.

Anyway, for less than 200 more dollars, I would upgrade the video card and processor to the following:

PNY VCG7600GXPB Geforce 7600GT 256MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814133150

AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ Manchester 2000MHz HT 2 x 512KB L2 Cache Socket 939 Dual Core Processor - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103562

You'll have a longer amount of time before you have to upgrade, and quite a bit more power to boot. The dual core configuration will allow more power for multitasking (which I know for a fact you do with your PC) and the upgrade in the video card will give you the current series of nVidia GPU, rather than the last series. Other than that, the PSU you chose is SLi compatible and from a reputable company, the motherboard is compatible with the X2 family of AMD64's and SLi, and all other items look good to go. I would, however, eventually upgrade to the Creative X-Fi series of sound cards...but that can be down the road a bit. See ya bro!

Tre