First Time builder-hypothetical machine

[eaglestrike7339]

For a machine planned like this, would the parts work together?
ok, here are my choices:

CPU Pentium 4 631 Cedar Mill 3.0GHz 2MB L2 Cache LGA 775 800FSB $78.00 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819116004

Mobo ASUS P5L-MX LGA 775 Intel 945G Micro ATX Intel $75.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...813131041#spec

RAM Kingston 1GB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 667 (PC2 5300) $69.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820134216

HDD Seagate Barracuda 7200.9 ST3120811AS 120GB SATA 3.0Gb/s HDD-OEM $53.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822148161

Pri Optical LITE-ON BLK 16X DVD-ROM 52X CD-R 32X CD-RW IDE Combo Drive-OEM $23.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827106029

FDD (floppy) n/a $-

Sec Optical n/a $- \n

Sound Card n/a $-

Video Card n/a

PSU SPARKLE FSP300-60THA ATX12V 300W Power Supply UL 60950, $37.77 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817103498

Keyboard n/a (have) $-

Mouse n/a (have) $-

Modem n/a (have) $-

Monitor n/a (have) $-

Speakers n/a (have) $-

OS Microsoft Windows XP Home With SP2B 1 Pack - OEM $89.99

Case n/a (have)


Subtotal $429.72


I am worried most bout the PSU, would that work out? It is the one thing that i know least about, so any suggestions would be great. Also, woudl the one i have chosen work if i added a low end graphics card and another gig of ram?

[Khalil]

I think a socket 939 AMD for around the same price will give you substantialy higher performance. Those cedar mills from everything i hear and read about them have major heat issues and they are not fast at all. What would you be doing with this machine? Gaming? Multimedia? Or just basic internet and office stuff.
If you want to go Intel then spend a little extra and get at least Pentium D but a Core2Duo would be your best option at this time.

[eaglestrike7339]

so your advice would be to scrap the whole thing and build up an AMD system? I have no preference with AMD or Intel, as long as it works.

I was basicly using this as an example build, just to see what i could spend on each component, and hopefuly have a person more computer adept than me look it over.

again, the PSU would be sufficient?

Though, either way, the system would work if i were to build it? C2D is out of my reach, and will b for long while

[mainiac]

Well from looks it would work. I never heard of that psu though, there is a sticky that tells you the good/bad/best psu's out on the market right now. I believe it is at the top of this forum. You will also need a video card if you want to be able to see anything on your computer. I have corsair memory, it's cheaper and better. Also try tigerdirect.com then tend to have some very good deals, and sometimes you can find things pretty cheap on their, but newegg is also a very good site.

[Khalil]

Sparkle are probably as good as you can get when it comes to PSUs, Sparkle also makes FSP.
300 Watts is enough as long as you dont add a powerful video card. If you add a video card you gonna need more than the Sparkle you have listed above. You also might want to go with 2x512 sticks instead of 1x1GB memory. 2 sticks will give you better performance.

No offence Maniac but Tigerdirect is no comparison to newegg.com I rarely ever buy anything from them unless its on clearance and their house products are very low quality.

[eaglestrike7339]

how much on-card memory should be in a "good" graphics card? my usage is listed above.

and also stated at the mobo specs:
Onboard Video
Onboard Video Chipset Intel GMA 950

Would that be onboard graphics? Would there then be no dedicated chip needed?

second to last thing, I would have gone with the 2x512, but that would destroy any upgrade ability, as i would have to buy 2 new 1gig sticks. Am i making since here, or am i just being slightly naive?

Last thing, since i was trying to make this a desktop, will the MicroATX vs. a normal ATX matter? I unknowingly got the micro when i searched for an onboard graphics chip, somthing i wanted for a simple first build

[Khalil]

The 939 Socket processors are selling like hot cakes, I just looked on newegg.com and the selection is thining out.
I would suggest you get this CPU and add a heat sink and fan http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103037
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835186010

The 939 manages memory extremely well with DDR400
Here is the best socket 939 motherboard you can get your hands on
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131569 Notice the 4 memory slots This is a great set up that will give you excellent performance as long as you planing on keeping it for 2 to 3 years.
If you are looking to upgrade soon to dual core then I suggest you go with an Intel Pentium D series and a motherboard that can be compatible with the C2Ds for future upgrades.

[eaglestrike7339]

I am starting to like AMD more and more. The CPU looks good, and so does the motherboard. Ill reconfigure the addons (lack of SATA 3.0s), but hey, i like IDE better anyway. Once that is done, il try to check back in later. Thanks for all the help

[danielson]

The reason the 939's are selling like hotcakes is because they are going to be obsolete very shortly. If you are going to spend $85 on a mobo, you are far wiser to buy an AM2 platform for the same price, as this will allow you much better future upgrades if you choose to. Also, the difference between AM2 cpu's and 939 ones is very minimal. Here's a suggestion.

BIOSTAR TFORCE 550 $79
AMD Athlon 64 X2 3600+ $95

Then pair it up with your other choices. Although, I'd get the 250GB version of that hard drive since it's only $15 more for double the space. Anyway, the Biostar mobo is incredible in terms of reliability and performance. I know someone that has the exact same setup, and he overclocked it to 2.75ghz with no problems at all. Even if you don't, at least this setup allows you future upgrading on the AM2 platform, which just makes alot of sense.

[eaglestrike7339]

I haven't heard of the BIOSTAR brand very much, are there any obvious problems with thier boards? The main ones people seem to buy here are of the ASUS brand, but hey, Ill check out what they have too. Thanks for the suggestions

also, would that be the OEM model from Brisbane @ 1.9ghz?

[danielson]

No it's the retail version. Biostar is a very reputable company. They are well known for providing great quality products and mobo's that are reliable and easy to work with. On newegg right now you can buy that cpu/mobo combo for $149. yeah...wow. For that price there is no better price/performance combo you can get.

[glc]

Stay with what you originally planned - but do the following subs:

Pentium D 805
Dual channel ram kit - Corsair, Crucial, Kingston DDR2-667 2x512
XClio 450BL PSU - it will handle a video card, that 300 watt Sparkle is pretty shy of +12v amps to handle much of a card.

When the C2D's have the big price reduction at the end of April - you will be ready if you choose to upgrade. The C2D already is outperforming the best AM2 out there and to go any higher with AMD you will have to wait for AM3. Then the cycle starts all over. Nothing wrong with a 939 except it's at the end of its life cycle.

[danielson]

Unless you plan on overclocking, you're wasting your money on C2D, especially right now. Please, whatever you do don't waste your money on a PD 805. If you're going to buy intel then just wait it out until April 22nd when the official launch and price drop happens. Then you'll get an E4300 for $113 and you will have the best performace/price ratio CPU on the market. You would be very wise to NOT buy any of it now, don't buy the RAM, the MOBO, NOTHING! You're only throwing money away. The Ram, mobo, cpu will all be cheaper on April 22nd so buying any of it now is just throwing money away. Even when these do drop in price, the strength of them is in their overclocking, so if you don't plan to do any, you're better off buying AMD because at stock speeds and performance you'll get an equal system from AMD for cheaper. Personally, I'd wait until April 22nd, I love the C2D, the E4300 is going to become the budget systems diamond in the rough. To be honest, I'd call April 22nd the perfect storm in computer hardware prices. Imagine, an E4300, 2GB of Ram, Gigabyte DS3 mobo as the base of your budget rocket. For those three components you'll pay $400. Throw in a 320GB seagate HD for $85, CD/DVD burner for $35, a PSU for $50 and a case for $75 and a 7600GT video card for $85 and you have a $725 beauty. You could overclock this system to easily be faster than any stock dual core CPU on the market, and pay less than what a high end CPU costs for your entire system. That's exactly why I would wait.

[eaglestrike7339]

That sounds like a good idea. Would SP1 likely come out for Vista by then? I don't remember the amount of time between XP and Sp1, and if a month after april Vista SP1 comes out, i will probably wait till then.

again, thanks to all who helped me here, and thanks for the verdict. I have heard how highly regarded the C2D is around here, so I think that this is a good plan.

TY to all, and see you again on April 22

one last thing, if i change my mind and decide to go back to an AMD build, is there a processor one step up from what I have chosen? I noticed that in general AMD have more bang for the buck, which is important to me.

[glc]

Don't go dissing the 805 so fast - the numbers I read have it benching within 10% of a 4000+ Windsor and higher than a FX-57 (yes, I KNOW the FX-57 is only single core but its 300 bucks). It's a great placefiller if you need to build now. You can always sell it to a hobbyist who wants to use it as an overclocking toy - they overclock like crazy.

[Mr.Ferrari]

SP1 won't be out a while, expect atleast a year. A few small updates maybe but thats bout it.

I've seen heavily overclocked 805's keepin up with stock FX60's even lol. Heat is your real enemy at that point.

[newbuilder14]

I've been impressed with the Pentium Ds I've used before actually (the 805 and 915). They are great chips. Heat isn't a major issue, actually. I've seen idle temperatures from 40c-50c. I would pair a nice Pentium D 915/805 or Core 2 Duo E6300 with an Asus P5B motherboard. I would get the P5B over the DS3 but that may just be me.

[eaglestrike7339]

If i were to commit enough money to get something along the lines of the
AMD Athlon 64 X2 Brisbane 3600+ (OEM) listed above would it be an improvement over the Pentium Ds? In a system, I am not really looking for CPU upgradability or mobo upgradeability, and would use the system as is for a few years, with the most upgrade replacing the GPU or adding a gig of ram.

[Khalil]

If you are not going to upgrade than anything will work really. Even the 939 will serve you well for the next 2 to 3 years then you can always build something else.
I have a lot of friends who buy end of life products to save money. The 939s are not slow by any means. Unless you are be playing the latest and best games I would go with the 939 setup I suggested above.
As far as a Video card I would go with an Nvidia 7300GT, eVGA, BFG or an Asus
Good luck