Ready to do first build...at LAST!

[CrazyIrishman]

Its been planned for a while but now I'm finally able to do a first build to replace my dinosaur! Unfortunately, there isn't an unlimited budget to use so this is what I came up with. The hard drives are OK for now but as money permits I'll get SATA drives. The optical drives are still good except for the bezel color (1 floppy drive,1 CD-ROM, 1 Nec DVD-RW ND-3520A)


The processor is going to be an AMD Athlon 64 4000+ SanDiego. NewEgg has them for $75.99 w/o a heatsink & fan.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103037

Choice of fan w/ heatsink is the Zalman 9700 110mm for $54.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835118019

Motherboard: ABIT KN8 SLI Socket 939 for $91.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813127225

Power supply: Thermaltake (probably the W0106RU) Regular price $169.99 w/ $25.00 rebate its $144.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817153039

Video card: BFG 7900GS Price: $189.99 before rebate, $169.99 afterward.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814143070


I do need to get a case but I'm not sure which to get. The two choices I like are:

RAIDMAX Smilodon 612WBP for $89.99 before $20.00 rebate

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811156062

or the APEVIA X-Cruiser in Black for $69.99 before a $10.00 rebate

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811144151


I'm leaning toward the Apevia but I don't know how much larger you can go with the fans. The PC I have now has the same size fans but they can't be made any larger as there isn't extra room. On the plus side though are the gauges for the fans and temp.

If anyone has experience with either one of these cases or their manufacturers I would really appreciate hearing about them as this is the last part to choose for the build. The only change to either case that I would want to be doing swapping out the fans for larger or better ones to fix quality or CFM issues. I'm not set up to do major work on cases.

The best part is that this won't break the bank. Not including shipping cost, the subtotal is $607.94 with rebates.


THX

CI

[Alaron]

SLI on a budget is really not the best way to go. You can put together a much stronger machine without spending so much on a power supply. Also, keep in mind that AMD 939 is being discontinued, so your upgrade path in the future will be very limited. Your list is missing RAM.

Here is a list that will blow away that build and it will cost the same as your current build if you added RAM (1GB DDR-400 is $90):

Asus P5B Motherboard - $125
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131030

Intel Core 2 Duo E6300 - $184
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115005

1GB DDR2-667 - $77
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820145568

Same BFG 7900GS - $170

FSP 450w PSU - $55
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817104954

Any case you like - $75

For a total of ~ $690

[vaiovenom]

Check out Thermaltake Tsunami cases. I have one and love it. I researched and read reviews which led me to it and I dont regret the purchase.

[CrazyIrishman]

The RAM I'm using right now is 1 gig of Corsair Value Select and a stick of 512mb. Don't recall the brand but I'm pretty its a decent name brand part. I mostly use the computer for surfing the web,email,burning a DVD once in a while, and playing some games on ocassion. I might get some new games later on but the one I really like is an older flight sim from Warbirds III. I don't play online.


I'll be looking at Thermaltake cases tonight. Might see one that I like more than the two I did pick.


Alaron,

What suggestions do you have with using an AMD CPU ? The Intel build you suggested is nice but I'm partial to AMD. Kinda like Ford vs. Chevy ya might say! lol

I picked the AMD 4000+ based on price and the reviews on it. Most everyone seems to like it especially for games, which is the main reason for doing a build. I had thought about going dual core not too long ago but the info I was getting from some friends of mine was confusing at best.

Guess I should've come here first!


THX

CI

[Alaron]

Aha, I suspected you might be reusing RAM. You will need DDR-400 just to check that.

If you're stuck on AMD, swap the motherboard for the A8N5X. An older board these days but a proven solid winner: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131569

Then definitely go dual-core on the CPU. This Opteron would be a great fit: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103586 And it is compatible with that board, just checked Asus.com.

[CrazyIrishman]

Until I edited my post I had the ram speed listed. For some reason I forgot to add it again afterwards! lol. One stick is DDR400(Corsair 1 gig), but I don't remember what the other is, but I know its not DDR400.

(note to self....don't post when you're tired lol)

A few months ago I bought the DDR400 in anticipation of building another PC. I was going to get another stick of DDR400 soon after but that didn't work out.

I finished looking at Thermaltake cases, and as luck would have it they're no longer available in the color I want(black)and priced out of my budget. There is one model of it still made and its alot cheaper than the black version was(Damier V5000C in blue) but the color is ugly IMO. It looks like its neon blue! lol I can't find a V5000A (black version)anywhere.


THX

CI

[danielson]

By the looks of what you chose in your first post, it looks like you want a decent all-round system for multi-tasking and some gaming. In that case there are many alternatives, but if you're looking for the best price/performance ratio then I can suggest this:

Biostar Tforce 550 $78
X2 3600+ CPU $95 When purchased as a combo the 2 cost $149 WOW you can not beat that for price/performance ratio.
2GB of Corsair Value Select PC 5300 Ram $160
DIAMOND X1950PRO 512MB $199 after M.I.R. this card blows away the 7900GS or any card made for this price range. You can't beat it.
FSP Group (Fortron Source) AX450 $50
Case of your choice $100

That's $660 and it gives you better performance than anything listed in this thread. It gives you a very solid mobo that can overclock that CPU to 2.5-2.75ghz with no problem, or just give you great stability out of the box with no overclocking. It gives you 2GB's of ram which is important for multi-tasking and gaming. It gives you by far the best Video Card you can buy for the money and it beats the 7900GS hands down in every category, as well as every other card $250 and under. The power supply is reliable and will handle what that system will throw at it under full load, which isn't much considering under load the 3600+ uses about 53w and even the X1950Pro only uses 66w. This leaves you tons of room with a 450W PSU. Looking at that system, I have to admit it's very powerful, and will handle anything you do with it.

BTW, the mobo/cpu combo deal is at newegg, as well as the prices for all the other parts. I just have to say again, that mobo/cpu combo deal is screaming out for people to buy it and build a rocket budget system.