Looking to build first PC

[Cougar109]

Hey, I'm looking to build my first PC and wanted to get all of my pieces checked out first. Plan on using it mostly for gaming and sound editing while on a budget of about $1,100.

Thermaltake Armor Series VA8000BWS Case
ASUS A8V ATX AMD Motherboard
AMD Athlon 64 3500+ 2000MHz HT Socket 939
Rosewill RP550S-2MK 550W PSU
CORSAIR XMS 1GB 184-Pin DDR SDRAM
Seagate Barracuda 7200.9 120GB 3.5" IDE Ultra ATA100 Hard Drive
SONY Black IDE DVD-ROM Drive Model DDU1615/B2s
LG Black IDE CD-ROM Drive Model GCR-8525BK
Logitech X-230 2.1 Speaker
Creative Sound Blaster Audigy2 ZS SB0350 Sound Card
HYUNDAI L91A Black 19" 12ms LCD Monitor
Nvidia 7800GS OC 256MB DDR3 Gfx card AGP

THe reason for the AGP card and MOBO is because thats the current card I have in my old comp and dont really feel like I need to worry about spending another $250-$500 on a equal or superior card just for the PCI-E slot. As time goes on I'll eventually swap out the MOBO and card when I have more money, just want something very good for now and in the near future on the budget I gave above.

[786ARS]

the price difference between a 120GB hd and a 160 or a 200GB is only about $10-20, so consider something like this:- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822144235
250GB for $75

[Alaron]

Welcome.

Switch out that power supply for something with higher quality. Rosewill's are on our bad list here. This Antec: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817103931 would be perfect.

Also, if you are working with sound, you may want to look at the Creative X-Fi sound cards. They are the latest from Creative and receive great reviews.

Also, make sure the ram is PC3200. It probably is, but I'm just checking since you didn't list that.

[Cougar109]

Wow, thanks for quick responses.

Originally Posted by Alaron Welcome. Switch out that power supply for something with higher quality. Rosewill's are on our bad list here. This Antec: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817103931 would be perfect. Also, if you are working with sound, you may want to look at the Creative X-Fi sound cards. They are the latest from Creative and receive great reviews. Also, make sure the ram is PC3200. It probably is, but I'm just checking since you didn't list that.

I was looking at those sound cards but for right now I can't really afford it. I've heard SB 0350 before and its a great card for almost a dirt cheap price. Took your advice with the power supply though and swapped that out, thanks.

the price difference between a 120GB hd and a 160 or a 200GB is only about $10-20, so consider something like this:- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822144235 250GB for $75

My Mother Board

Nice product and Ill look into uping the HD space though not sure if I'll need it. But I don't think the mother board I picked can work with a ATA150 HD. Then again mother boards are one of the things I know little about so I may be wrong.

[Alaron]

Your board can support a SATA hard drive no problem. I would recommend you pick one up. 250GB is the sweet spot for size/value and everyone can use extra space.

[freakitchen]

For the extra few dollars, I'd switch the motherboard to one with an Nvidia chipset - proven to have better reliability and stability than Via.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131569

FK

[Alaron]

FK, Cougar needs a board with AGP because of his video card.

[freakitchen]

Ahh, thanks Alaron, missed that one. my apologies

FK

[Cougar109]

Thanks for the help guys, I think I'll go ahead and order the parts. One quick question, do I need any other software to get everything running other then the OS and drivers?

[Alaron]

Your motherboard will come with the drivers you need, and WindowsXP will get you up and running.

You might want to pick up a DVD Burner drive with software. Lite-On drives come with Nero for burning.

[Cougar109]

Great thanks.