Building my 1st computer (gaming)

[StevenNevets]

Hello guys, just like many others I have heard that building is the way to go.. BTW: TIGHT budget

I plan on building a computer for:
Battlefield 2
Counter Strike
to browse the internet
listen to music
do work on microsoft word/power point
and a just a BIT of video editing (for my games)


Below is what I'm leaning on so far

what I want from you guys:
1. is everything compatible
2. as a whole is it good
3. reccomend new parts (but remember its a tight budget, so keep it cheap)
4. tell me if I forgot a part (besides printer)
5. comment on anything realy
__________
__________

CPU: AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ Windsor 2000MHz HT 2 x 512KB L2 Cache Socket AM2 Processor
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103735
$170 after July 24th – 7/24/06

Motherboard: ASUS M2N-E Socket AM2 NVIDIA nForce 570 Ultra MCP ATX AMD Motherboard (on board sound)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131022
$96.99

Operating System: Windows Xp home with SP2 - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16837102059
$82.99

Case/PSU: Antec LifeStyle SONATA II Piano Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 450Watt SmartPower
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811129155
$99.99

Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda 7200.9 SATA NCQ 3Gb/s ST3160812AS 160GB 7200 RPM 8MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822148105
$69.99

CD/DVD Drive: LIGHT-ON DVD/CD/DVD burner drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827106017
$34.99

OCZ Platinum 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM Unbuffered DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit System
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820227089
$219.99

Video Card: eVGA GeForce 7600 GT CO
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130283
($149.99 after $20.00 Mail-In Rebate)

Monitor: ACER 19” LCD 700:1, 8ms, 1280x1024 (built in speakers)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16824009083
$189.99

Keyboard/Mouse: Microsoft Comfort Curve 2000/ Microsoft - 3 button optical mouse
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16823109156
$24.99 (cheap combo)


Approximate Price = $1,140 (without shipping)

[glc]

I'd get something better than an Ultra power supply, you can get a good one for the same price or less. I'd also use a hard drive other than a RAID Edition. For an extra 10 bucks, get a Lite-On DVD burner.

If the budget is THAT tight, get an Antec Sonata II case - its 100 bucks WITH a good power supply.

Is that G.skill ram on the Asus QVL list? AM2 is VERY fussy about ram.

[StevenNevets]

Originally Posted by glc I'd get something better than an Ultra power supply, you can get a good one for the same price or less. I'd also use a hard drive other than a RAID Edition. For an extra 10 bucks, get a Lite-On DVD burner. If the budget is THAT tight, get an Antec Sonata II case - its 100 bucks WITH a good power supply. Is that G.skill ram on the Asus QVL list? AM2 is VERY fussy about ram.

could you link me up please (newegg prefered)

I have heard that if you up the voltage on the RAM to 2.0v it will work just fine with AM2 - don't know if its true but if it is I'd prefer that (saves me $60)

Here is the case you were talking about (I am so new to this so again, you sure its compatible?)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811129155

For my CD/DVD drive I want just that - something that plays CDs and DVDs + cheap.... no need for a CD burner

What exactly is RAID eddition?

[glc]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811129155
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827106017
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822148105


The ONLY Asus qualified DDR2-800 1gb modules are Kingston.

Have you considered a 939 build?

[chuck4456]

Check out CRUCIAL Technologies for RAM. They are very picky and will have exactly what you need. Their Ballistix modules are incredibly operational.....................

[glc]

I've seen a lot of quality control issues with Ballistix, and there are NO Crucial DDR2-800 modules on the Asus QVL for that board. Note that there are no Ballistix modules in the Crucial configurator for that board.

[StevenNevets]

ya I have considered 939 but no not to intersted in that

[StevenNevets]

when I click my motherboard link and click compatible products I find this set of RAM (cheapish)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820227089

do you think the eVGA Geforce 7900 GT is worth the extra $85?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130028

[glc]

That ram is not on the Asus QVL either. If you have ram related issues and your ram is not on the list, you are going to have a hard time getting support from Asus. I normally am not this anal about it, but AM2 is developing a reputation for being VERY fussy.

I won't touch AM2 for a different reason - it's just too new. Let others debug it. That's why I suggested 939.

[StevenNevets]

Originally Posted by glc That ram is not on the Asus QVL either. If you have ram related issues and your ram is not on the list, you are going to have a hard time getting support from Asus. I normally am not this anal about it, but AM2 is developing a reputation for being VERY fussy. I won't touch AM2 for a different reason - it's just too new. Let others debug it. That's why I suggested 939.

I don't get it?

I go to the motherboard page and click on compatible parts, it comes up - are they lieing to me
________

If you're positive it won't work... whats the cheapest 2 GB kit that'll work with everything else

[blue60007]

What motherboard page?

The ASUS QVL lists modules that ASUS has actually tested and found to work. If a module isn't on the list, it doesn't necessarily mean it won't work, it might, and ASUS hasn't tested it. But, ASUS might have found it doesn't work - thus, if you pick RAM on the QVL you have a guarantee that it will work.

[StevenNevets]

Look!!
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Compat...82E16813131022

3rd set of ram =

OCZ Platinum 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Unbuffered Dual Channel Kit System Memory Model OCZ2P8002GK
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820227089
$219.99

[blue60007]

I have no idea if Newegg actually tested to see if that combination works. They probably just picked some DDR2-800 RAM and put it in there to advertise it. It very well may work, but I can't say for sure.

[glc]

Who are you going to believe first? Newegg or Asus? Asus made the motherboard and tested the ram. As said, buy ram that's not on the QVL at your own risk. It very well may work fine but if it doesn't, be prepared to hassle with exchanges and restocking fees.

[StevenNevets]

Originally Posted by glc Who are you going to believe first? Newegg or Asus? Asus made the motherboard and tested the ram. As said, buy ram that's not on the QVL at your own risk. It very well may work fine but if it doesn't, be prepared to hassle with exchanges and restocking fees.

are you saying you reccomend me buying a $300 kit for 2 GB ram

TIGHT budget.. I need a 2 GB kit under $220

and hm Newegg is supposed to be a trusted site? I realy need to save

[glc]

Okay, let's put it this way. The Asus QVL is ram that has been tested and certified by Asus to work in the board. Now, let's say you buy ram from Newegg. Let's say it doesn't work. It's not going to work for one of 2 reasons - it's defective or it's not compatible. Newegg will exchange defective ram. They will not exchange for a different kind of ram. They will refund, but there's a 15% restocking fee. THIS is the chance I'm talking about.

There are only 2 ways to ensure compatibility - one is to buy ram that's on the QVL. The other is to buy from a vendor that has a configurator and guarantees compatibility. Newegg does not have a configurator or guarantee compatibility. They only guarantee against defects.

Crucial has a configurator and guarantees compatibility - and the 2gb kit of DDR2-800 from them is almost $400. NOTE that this ram is NOT on the QVL.

I hate to keep saying this, but if you are on a tight budget, look just a bit harder at 939.

[jer888]

yeah why are you not interested in 939 StevenNevets? What dont you like about it?

[SputnikSweethrt]

I recently built an AM2 rig and I'm very happy with it.. it's new, yea, but AMD already announced that they're no longer producing for socket 939 so they must be pretty confident with their new socket, right?
I agree 939 is better value but perhaps Steven plans on more CPU upgrades in the future.

Make double sure that the OCZ Platinum RAM is compatible. When I called OCZ to check compatibility with my mobo (ASUS M2N32-SLI) the rep told me they were having problems with the Platinum grade RAMs.

That said, I'm using OCZ Gold edition RAM which isn't on the QVL and it's working fine, and also, Asus released new BIOS for their AM2 mobos about a week ago that solved a lot of RAM issues so keep that in mind.

[glc]

Good point. If you are going to use *anything* not on the QVL with AM2, research what kind of luck other users are having with it and also look into bios updates. We are still in AM2's infancy.

[kas2]

Originally Posted by StevenNevets TIGHT budget.. I need a 2 GB kit under $220

I'd go with corsair valueselect, I don't think it's worth it to go with the really fancy top of the line RAM. I've used valueselect on two PC's with no problems. A 2x1gb kit is about 170 bucks on newegg.

[Staren]

Originally Posted by kas2 I'd go with corsair valueselect, I don't think it's worth it to go with the really fancy top of the line RAM. I've used valueselect on two PC's with no problems. A 2x1gb kit is about 170 bucks on newegg.

kas2, don't tell him that when the others are trying to explain that not everything works with AM2 just yet. Yes ValueSelect works with the vast majority of set-ups, but AM2 is still very new and it is hardly in standard use at the moment. It it known to be picky about RAM, and you have a 50/50 chance that any RAM that hasn't been tested will work.

Newegg does not do their own testing. They are a retailer and will sell you whatever you want to buy, if it's compatible or not. Their website is usually very good about not just popping up random parts as suggestions, but the fact that a part is suggested as somethig else you might want to buy, or part of a combo deal, there is no garentee that they will work together. Point being, if you don't go with RAM listed by someone who has done the proper testing, you do so at your own risk.

[glc]

kas2, also the AM2 takes DDR2, not DDR, and anything slower than DDR2-800 has an adverse effect on performance. There is no value select DDR2-800 and I doubt there will be for quite a while. Value select DDR-400 is fine for a 939 build.

We encourage people to read the entire thread before adding a comment - and I really doubt you did or you would not have said what you did. Thank you.

[Ghost(BOO!)]

Originally Posted by glc kas2, also the AM2 takes DDR2, not DDR, and anything slower than DDR2-800 has an adverse effect on performance. There is no value select DDR2-800 and I doubt there will be for quite a while. We encourage people to read the entire thread before adding a comment - and I really doubt you did or you would not have said what you did. Thank you.

Will the ddr2 even fit into a ddr slot? I've never used ddr2 so I have no idea.

[blue60007]

Nope....

[Ghost(BOO!)]

that's what I thought