AMD Mid Range Build....Check It out!

[ChiPhiZD]

BOY O BOY, have things really changed since I built a rig last year.....SLI, SATA 3.0, DUAL Core, 64 CPU chips, well maybe some of that was out last year, but too much for my purse...

So if you guys would be so kinda as to take a peek at my new rig I am planning to build and criticize it as much as you want and let me know:

A. If there is anywhere I can cut a little costs from hardware I have picked but there is a better/different component out there that performs better, has a better warranty etc...

B. Recommend a monitor for this rig....I am sure this is a pretty generic statement.

C. Let me know of any issues anyone has seen/heard of from the items listed below...my goal was to keep it in the $1100-$1300 range or so w/o monitor....Thanks in advance guys and gals!

D. Feedback on the case.

E. And of course anything else you wish to throw at me

FYI I have KB/Mouse/1 HDD/Both Opticals

Case: Lian Li PC-61 USB Black Aluminum ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811112025

HDD: Seagate Barracuda 7200.9 SATA NCQ 3Gb/s 160GB 3.5" SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822148105

MOBO: ASUS A8N-SLI Premium Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 SLI ATX AMD Motherboard

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131540

Graphics Card: eVGA 256-P2-N554-AX Geforce 7600GT 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130017

PSU: Antec TruePower 2.0 TP2-550 EPS12V ATX12V 550W Power Supply

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817103932

RAM: CORSAIR ValueSelect 1GB 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Unbuffered System Memory Model VS1GB400C3

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820145505

CPU: AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+ Manchester 2000MHz HT Socket 939 Dual Core Processor Model ADA4200BVBOX

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103547

O/S: Microsoft Windows XP Home With SP2 - OEM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16837102059

[blue60007]

Looks pretty good.

If you want to cut costs, you might find a cheaper case. While very high quality, Lian Li cases costs a handful. Antec and Thermaltake have some cases for $50 or so. You might also lose a few bucks to non-SLI board (unless you really want SLI), like the ASUS A8N5X. Also, you don't need an EPS12V PSU - you can get the TP-II 550 for a few bucks less that way.

Also, be sure to get a dual channel kit (2 512MB modules) instead of a single stick of RAM.

Also, you might consider getting the 3800+ X2 instead, and upgrade the video to a 7900GT. Gaming wise, that'll be more beneficial than a slighty faster CPU.

I'm not sure about monitors though.

[MakeYourslf2012]

Heres a great monitor:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16824001066

Are you looking for a 17", 19", 20.1" ect..? What the budget for the monitor?

Would AMD's new AM2 socket be something your interested in? It was just released a few weeks ago; the only difference is that now it supports DDR2, prices are generally the same. It would ensure more/better upgradeability - but right now, the performance would stay the same.

Other than Blue's comments and the options I've layed out, it looks like a great build.

[ChiPhiZD]

Thanks for your input guys.....can anyone elaborate on AM2 or the DDR2 also, what good ASUS mobos are out there for it and is there any other additional compatibility issues that we know of?

[ChiPhiZD]

Also is there a way to get 2 x 1GB Ram sticks? I dont want to fill all the slots up....the 512s are prob faster though right. and if i upgrade later i can do 2 - 2x1GB right?

[ChiPhiZD]

Ok I took some of the considerations into the new build....in regards to the MOBO, can anyone tell me the diff between these two besides the $50??? I want the ability to go SLI if need be in the future and both of these are Dual Core and SLI Compatible.

#1: ASUS A8N-SLI Premium ATX AMD Motherboard -- This is the one in my build
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131540

#2: ASUS A8N-SLI ATX AMD Motherboard -- Other one I am considering
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131524


FYI I have KB/Mouse/1 HDD/Both Opticals


$112.99 Case: Lian Li PC-61 USB Black Aluminum ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811112025

$297.00 AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ Manchester 2000MHz HT Socket 939 Dual Core Processor Model ADA3800BVBOX

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103562

$159.99 MOBO: ASUS A8N-SLI Premium Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 SLI ATX AMD Motherboard

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131540

$274.99 Graphics Card: eVGA 256-P2-N563-AX Geforce 7900GT CO 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130281

$159.98 RAM: 2x CORSAIR ValueSelect 1GB (2 x 512MB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Unbuffered Dual Channel Kit System Memory Model VS1GBKIT400 - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820145440

$89.99 PSU: Antec TRUEPOWERII TPII-550 ATX12V 550W Power Supply

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

$73.99 HDD: Seagate Barracuda 7200.9 SATA NCQ 3Gb/s 160GB 3.5" SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822148105

$89.99 O/S: Microsoft Windows XP Home With SP2 - OEM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16837102059

[Alaron]

Your build list looks good to me. Either board will work for your setup. Looks like the Premium has some extra SATA ports and accesories.