FIRST build in a while!

[legoflamb]

I think I've pretty much settled on this for my new system:

AMD64 3700 1mb l2 cache 1000fsb
ASUS A8V-E SE S939
MAXTOR 6L200S0 DiamondMax 10 200gb 16mb Cache SATA
LiteOn SHW-1635S-05C
256MB PCI-Express HIS Excalibur Radeon X800GTO
2x512mb corsair value select ram

I'm going to buy the case and psu locally as the postage will probably not make it worth buying off the internet.

Is there anything I need to know before I go ahead and buy this lot?

Is it worth springing the extra £20 to get the IceQ turbo x800 gto which is a slightly higher clock and memory speed and a special cooler for overclocking?

I never dare do that even if it's designed for it because i reckon my luck would jsut run out - but does anyone have good experiences, does it make it sick like a 6800 gt or something?

 

[Crashman]

Why get a normal priced board with a cheap-arsed chipset? There are pleanty of nForce4 boards with similar prices, even nForce4 Ultras.

 

[legoflamb]

ok cool - can you recommend one specifically as I don't know much about it that's why I picked that board.

 

[Crashman]

Sure, Here's a nice one with the nForce4 Ultra chipset

If you give me more details about what you want in a board, I can make more recommendations.

 

[legoflamb]

errm a nice amount of usb, built in LAN could be handy, integrated sound

pci express, for amd 939

cheap and reliable.

I dunno really what else to say....

 

[Crashman]

Yes, they all have those features these days. How about IEEE1394 FireWire support? Most people don't need it, but I never know unless you mention something.

 

[legoflamb]

i dont even know what firewire is

So just out of interest what exactly was wrong with the board i picked?

Is it jsut known for being chepo and crappy?

 

[Crashman]

Actually it's one of the better boards to use that cheap, crappy chipset.

 

[legoflamb]

what chipsets should i be looking out for that are cheap then?

 

[Crashman]

Since the nForce4 series has dropped in price, there's no reason to get a "cheap" chipset. You can find nForce4 boards starting at around $70, nForce4 Ultra boards starting at around $80, and nForce4 SLI boards starting at around $100.

The board I suggested is a good unit. You might be able to find the non-Ultra version for around $10 less if you look hard enough.