want to avoid problems

[backithink]

I am building a new system this will be my second system i have built,

but i have been out of the loop for a while. last system i built had to

be gotten rid of due to some outside probems. and i am just getting

back to where i can rebuild. i am not looking for an ultra gaming rig

but something that i can get by with for occasional gaming. does anyone

forsee any problems with the following setup. Btw the case and power

supply was a $20 item at goodwill, lol, but it is running an old amd

duron processor and a asus mobo. cant remember model number but it all

seems to run fine its just too slow. 900mhz 512mb of ram.

AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+

ECS NFORCE4M-A

Kingston 2GB DDR2 667MHz

nVidia GeForce 7300 256MB PCI Express X16 - Video Card

80gb wd hdd

ide cdr-/rw/dvd-rom drive

300 watt power supply

atx case

any problems please let me know so i dont go out and spend my hard

earned cash on junk. as i said i have built a system before and dont forsee any problems, if i run into them i should be able to fix them with out much effort


thanks

[nocturnx]

The first thing that jumps out is that power supply. Your more than likely your going to need more than 300w and what brand is it?

[Cricket]

Your existing power supply is probably an older ATX 1.0 but newer motherboards require the newer ATX 2.0 with the 24 pin main power connector and the 4 pin 12v power connector. And 300 watts is a bit light for a modern rig.

You sure you want a ECS motherboard? Bottom of the barrel as far as quality goes (right above PC Chips).

And you may want to change the RAM from Kingston to Corsair or something similar. Kingston RAM isn't as good as it used to be...quality control issues and lots of bad sticks getting out into the market.

And you might want to get a bigger hard drive too. 80GB is gonna fill up fast.

Cricket

[backithink]

After looking around and doing some reading i found what looks like better quality items for the same price i want to pay including a 500 watt psu how about this (memory brand will most likely change)

ASUS M2N-E Socket AM2 NVIDIA nForce 570 Ultra MCP ATX AMD Motherboard

Leadtek PX8400GS TDH 256MB GeForce 8400GS 512MB (256MB onboard) GDDR2 PCI Express x16 Video Card

APEVIA ATX-CW500WP4 ATX 500W Power Supply

AMD Athlon 64 X2 4800+ Brisbane 2.5GHz Socket AM2 Processor

OCZ Gold 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel

EXCELSTOR Jupiter Series ESJ8080S 80GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive

Dynatron A48G 70mm 2 Ball CPU Cooler

i know an 80gb hard drive will fill up fast but i am on a $500 budget that includes shipping when i get more money i will buy bigger hd, i am going to keep my dvd rom drive tho again till i can get more money lol

[catacon]

I would recommend something other than an Apevia PSU. Go with an Antec or Fortron Source or some other quality brand. Have a look at this thread:

http://forum.pcmech.com/showthread.php?t=131195

[backithink]

Thanks was just reading that post and took into consideration, to keep under my budget i found a 430 watt psu by thermaltake its a smaller psu but i need reliability. i can always upgrade later. right now i am doing my research and taking advice. and i appreciate any input i can get. it always helps to know from other peoples experiences. if anyone has any advice on how best to spend my $500 let me know i am looking for the best bang for my buck.

[Alaron]

If its this unit: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817153023 you need to upgrade it. That is not an ATX 2.0 unit, which, as Cricket explained, is necessary for a new build.

You don't need a CPU cooler if you buy the CPU 'Retail'. Then it will come with a heatsink/fan.

Finally, I've never heard of "Excelstor" hard drives. I'd stick with a more reliable brand like Western Digital or Seagate.

[backithink]

thats the unit, and i guess i have some more research to do, my ide hdd should work atleast for a while, i would like to upgrade it but may be out of the budget for now

[backithink]

i think i have figured it out, with a little more research i found a new hdd and power supply,

Western Digital Caviar SE WD1600AAJS 160GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM

Antec Basiq BP500U ATX12V Version 2.01 500W Power Supply - Retail

as listed on newegg.com

i am only $2 over budget think i could move the couch for that, one more question and i think i should be okay, should i get a tube of thermal grease, i know the last build i had i bought a tube and the processor had come with the grease same with the heat sink attachment for my koolance case, which btw i cannot find anymore hmm

[LeftyAce]

With a retail processor, thermal paste is pre-applied to the heatsink. (And you have to use it to preserve the 3 year warranty).

[backithink]

thats great

this is what i have assembled

https://secure.newegg.com/NewVersion...gear+under+500

Thanks for your all of your help

[Alaron]

That looks like a solid list. The only suggestion I have is a different video card. That particular model is going to steal some of your system RAM. Thats why it says 512MB (256MB onboard).

Swap it out for this eVGA model instead. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...=evga%2b8400gs

[backithink]

nice catch, thanks. now i cant wait for good ole' monday, get the day off, get paid, and its just 5 more days left till vacation. i know what i am doing on my vacation

[backithink]

okay so i was looking around and now i am between a rock and a hard place, i need a recomendation on which mobo to use. I originally had picked out an asus board
cause they are a reliable, well in the past i had a gigabyte mobo and loved it. it was extreamly reliable. so heres my problem should i go with the gigabyte board which is $10 cheaper or stick with the asus.

here is the gigabyte board
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128052

and the asus
http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16813131022

[Cricket]

I would still recommend the ASUS over the Gigabyte right now...been hearing about people having lots of problems with Gigabytes lately.

Cricket