1st Build

[Tempest000]

Hey guys, this is my 1st build and i wanted to know what you guys think ;P I only have about a $500 budget so any tips and suggestions are more than helpful.

Case: Thermaltake Soprano RS101 Black Mid-Tower ATX Case with Clear Side, Front USB and Audio Ports

Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-M61P-S3 AM2 NVIDIA GeForce 6100 ATX AMD Motherboard

RAM: G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory

CPU: AMD Athlon 64 X2 4600+ Windsor 2.4GHz 2 x 512KB L2 Cache Socket AM2 65W Processor - Retail

Video Card: ASUS EN8500GT TOP/HTP/256M GeForce 8500GT 256MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready Video Card

Optical: LG Black 18X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 10X DVD+R DL 18X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache IDE 18X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe

Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar SE WD3200AAJB 320GB 7200 RPM 8MB Cache IDE Ultra ATA100 Hard Drive

Going to reuse monitor, mouse, keyboard, and speakers from old gateway computer.

[glc]

You need a power supply.

Why an IDE hard drive? You should be using SATA these days.

[Tempest000]

ah, forgot to list power supply was thinking of going for Thermaltake TR2 W0070RUC ATX 430W Power Supply 115/230 V. Whats the major difference between IDE and SATA?

[Alaron]

That power supply doesn't have the dual 12V rails that new builds require. Try this one instead: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817104954

SATA has thinner cables and faster transfer rates. IDE is starting to disappear from motherboards.

[Tempest000]

Will do, thanks

[Tempest000]

Okay, so I'm switching Western Digital Caviar SE WD3200AAJB 320GB 7200 RPM 8MB Cache IDE Ultra ATA100 Hard Drive to the Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3250410AS 250GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive and the power supply to the FSP Group (Fortron Source) AX450-PN ATX12V 450W Power Supply. Am I all set to start buying or are there anymore tweaks to be made?

[Katreat]

I would switch to a SATA burner also. I am out of the loop on AMD builds so will leave it to others for MB and CPU advice. But as others have said, IDE is slowly going away so your are better to set yourself up with SATA if the MB can handle it.

Kat

[mwhaha]

Personally, I would use intel as they are alot better, but your choice. Also, WHat OS are you going to be using?

[Tempest000]

Will have to check out some more burners in the meantime, was thinking of getting Windows Vista 64-Bit, but I'm not sure though it's really expensive. If not that then I'll probably stick to Windows Professional.

[Katreat]

Not alot of reason to go for 64 bit OS unless you have more than 3.2 gigs of ram. No real advantage at this time. There is just not enough software that really takes advantage of it so the only real gain is the ability to use more ram. You will be fine sticking with 32 for now and either using XP or Vista home premium.

Kat

[Tempest000]

Hmm is vista home premium better than professional? Or is one notably better than the other?

[shadowpr]

It's hard to compare vista to xp. It seems more like a personal choice right now.

[Katreat]

I agree with shadow, I took the plunge only to get 10X with my new build. I am slowly learning vista. I would have been happy to stay with XP for what I do if it handled 10X.

From what I have read, there is little reason to go beyound Vista Home Premium for the average home user or gamer. With XP there where some features offered with professional that where useful for some but with Vista it is mostly buisness related additions.

If you want to enjoy the new 10x features in games go with Vista. If you want the most stable and problem free OS stick with XP

Kat

[Tempest000]

I'll stick with XP then, thanks for the input =)

[ArtBest]

Originally Posted by Tempest000 Whats the major difference between IDE and SATA?

Where to start.

Dramatically higher bandwidth means much faster data transfer.
Configuration is nearly automatic. In other words, plug it in and it works.
No more clumsy ribbon cables to clog your case, interfere with airflow, and come unplugged by accident.

Bottom line, they're easier to install, they work better and they work faster. And within a year, you'll probably be hard pressed to find a new motherboard that supports IDE. You can consign IDE to the scrapheap of parrallel ports, serial ports, and PS2 ports.

[Tempest000]

Okay switching previous optical drive to this one: LITE-ON Black 20X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 20X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA DVD. Any more suggestions?

[Alaron]

Double check that is the model that comes with Nero software.

[Tempest000]

Hmm it doesn't say, but one of the reviewers said this: Nice drive, quick, easy install, nero s/w, so is it safe to assume it comes with nero or no?

[shadowpr]

If it says retail, then it should come with the software. If it says OEM, then it won't.

[Tempest000]

Yea it says retail so I should be good then =)

[shadowpr]

Yes sir.