Building computer help

[Jimminy1136]

I don't know what i'm really doing, my brother will actually help me build it when i get the pieces in the mail. I'm just trying to figure out if all of this will be compatible. If you see something that could/should be replaced for the better, please let me know. Thanks!

Processor: AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+ Windsor 3.0GHz 2 x 1MB L2 Cache Socket AM2 125W Dual-Core Processor

Motherboard: ASUS M3A78 Pro AM2+/AM2 AMD 780G HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard

Ram: G.SKILL 2GB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 667 (PC2 5300) Desktop Memory
is this the right type? or is there better???

Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda ES.2 ST3250310NS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM

Video Card: ZOTAC ZT-88TES3P-FCP GeForce 8800 GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card

DVDROM: Sony NEC Optiarc Black IDE DVD-ROM Drive Model DDU1615/B2s - OEM


Thanks so much. If there are any recommendations, i will take them. Thanks!

[The Village Idiot]

Looking at the Motherboard specification the RAM you've chosen is too slow.

Memory Standard - DDR2 1066/800

You've got 667MHz, most recommend Corsair value memory, gets the job done well.

As for better, I'm not quite sure how the ATi 3850 compares to the 8800GT but I found a pretty good one on NewEgg for a similar price. If you look at the Toms Hardware benchmark it seems to do a bit better.

http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/charts...d%5B2116%5D=on

Gigabyte GV-RX35512H Radeon HD 3850
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814125084

[Jimminy1136]

Thanks!

Any other recommendations would be much appreciated!

[Rev_pizzaguy]

Ummm... I think you're a little mixed up there The Village Idiot. That chart compares the HD4850 to the 8800GT, not the HD3850. Quite a bit of difference. Here's an HD4850 from newegg.com:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814161235

You might try looking at this review, which includes an 8800GT and an HD3850:

http://www.neoseeker.com/Articles/Ha...hd3850/14.html

-or-

Go to: http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/charts...hmarks,30.html
and pick the game and cards to compare.

[tmathews]

You've chosen a server hard disk. It'll work but you could get more capacity and speed for less money with a Seagate 7200.11.

[Rev_pizzaguy]

For the money, this is a way better drive and gets you more space:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822148335

There really isn't a need to go with the ES.2 series unless you are using a raid card.

Also, for ram I would go with this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231098

I am currently using that in an AMD AM2 build and it works great.

Also, you may want to consider a SATA dvd burner such as this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827106263

If you want to stay with IDE, then consider a Lite-On like this instead of the Sony:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827106228

[The Village Idiot]

I was wondering why the 4850 was so cheap!

[aram]

As far as I'm aware there really is no point in getting a SATA DVD drive, as there's no performance improvement over IDE. Also there can be issues with SATA DVD drives when installing XP.

Better off saving the SATA ports for HDD and Ble-Ray OMHO.

[The Village Idiot]

SATA has smaller cables meaning you don't have massive great ribbons floating around in your case. I have a SATA DVD Drive and unless your a hardcore hard drive man its fine.