New build?

[TheEnd]

This is my first build, so I was hoping for some feedback before I bought anything. I'm looking for a decent gaming computer that can also be used for work.

Here's what I have so far.

Case+power supply
XION II XON-101 Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 450W Power Supply

CPU/Processor
AMD Athlon 64 X2 6400+ Windsor 3.2GHz 2 x 1MB L2 Cache Socket AM2 125W Dual-Core Processor

Motherboard
GIGABYTE GA-MA69VM-S2 AM2 AMD 690V Micro ATX AMD Motherboard

Video Card
EVGA 256-P2-N761-AR GeForce 8600GTS 256MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card

RAM
A-DATA 4GB(2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory

DVD Drive
SAMSUNG Black 20X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X 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 20X DVD±R DVD Burner

I'm have a limited budget (around $800-900) so I don't expect this to be amazing or anything.
please help with feedback

[Dave21]

Welcome to PCMech!

First off, where are you getting parts from? It'll be a lot easier for us to help you with parts if you direct us to your vendor's website.

For 800-900, you can still get a pretty decent gaming PC.

This is just my opinion, you should go with Intel instead of AMD because of speed and power.


I suggest (parts from NCIX.com):

Intel Core 2 Duo E6550 Dual Core Processor LGA775 Conroe 2.33GHZ 1333FSB 4MB Retail $194.49

ASUS P5K ATX LGA775 P35 DDR2 2PCI-E16 3PCI 1PCI-E1 SATA2 Sound GBLAN 1394 Motherboard $143.75

Corsair XMS2 TWIN2X2048-6400 2GB 2X1GB PC2-6400 DDR2-800 CL 5-5-5-18 240PIN DIMM Dual Channel Memory $60.99

I also suggest you get a 8800GT card from eVGA. They go for about $250 now. I'm not sure about the power supply for the case though. So far with the parts i suggest with the video card, the cost is around $650. So the case and the burner is by personal choice.

Dave

[Katreat]

Have not gone AMD in a while so will leave that to others.

If this is a gamer look at the 3850 or 8800 series video cards. The 8600 is a nice all around card but will struggle with newer games. Check out this review and determine what you can aford.

http://www.tomshardware.com/2008/01/...ming_graphics/

You dont really need 4 GB ram, especially if you are on a budget. You would also need Vista 64 to recognize more than about 3.2 GB and that OS might have issue with older software and will run 32 bit software a little slower than a true 32 bit OS.

I dont know the track record of A-data so not sure how good it is, but would recommend Corsair XMS which has very good performance.

For optical this site usually recommends Lite-on retail burners. Nero software comes with the retail version for about $2 more than buying OEM and they have a great track record for performance. Some people have been having trouble with Samsung Opticals.

Generally, it is not a good idea to buy a case/psu combo. Most PSUs that come in cases are low quality. The PSU is a very important part of the build especially as you move into higher power (gaming) video cards. I would also recommend you get something with 500+ watts.

The Antec Sonota III is one of the few combos that come with a quality 500 w PSU. But, if you prefer a different case that is fine, just look for a quality PSU to put in it from this list.

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

Kat

[Masaki 7-11]

AMD is a good solid platform with very good motherboards, so if you plan on upgrading in the future, AMD is a much better choice than Intel. I would recommend getting a motherboard based on the 770, 790X or 790FX chipset since they are much better for upgrading and provide a good speed increase over the motherboard you picked out. If you are looking for a good gaming card, I would take a look at the HD3850 since it's a good price, and provides great performance on the new AMD chipsets like the ones I mentioned.