Oppinions on this setup for a first timer...........

[FishingforAMD]

how is this setup? I'm a first time build very excited to build my first computer.

AMD Athlon 64 3800+
ASUS A8N-SLI Premium
eVGA Geforce 7800gt
Seagate 250GB SATA HDD
ZALMAN CNPS7000B-AlCu (heatsink for cpu)
Sony DVD ROM
LITE-ON DVD Burner (SHW-160P6S)
CORSAIR 512MB DDR 400 (PC 3200) Memory
(2 dimm sticks to make a gig)(CMX512-3200C2PT)
ARCTIC SILVER 5
Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005
Aspire X-Alien Case
500watt psu

What do you think? I know there is no tv tuner that is because I already have an external one.

I would really appreciate any help or suggestions.

FishingforAMD

 

[mdd1963]

Looks good to me, have fun with it!

 

[FishingforAMD]

Is it most likely the system will boot the first time it is turned on?
and also is configuring the bios hard for a first timer?

 

[FishingforAMD]

HELLO ANYONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[xslimmiejimmiex]

AMD=reliable, runs cooler than Intel, excellent for OC'in, awesome for graphics...

i too was 1st time builder, i JUST built this new build with the help of the manuals and of this Forum.

CPU-get 3200+, save your money to afford the dual-core as they become cheaper
MEMORY- Corsair VS 1GB (2x512MB)
PSU- that or the Fortron 450WPSU i got, 450 is plenty

gotta have CPU/Heatsink Fan, PSU (24-pin plus 4-pin ATX12V), memory, graphics card, case wires, and a CD-ROM drive USB or IDE in order to run everything, look at my posts/questions, may help you

http://forumz.tomshardware.com/hardware/Build-Time-Installing-Setup-Suggestions-ftopict171582.html

good luck, don't rush, ask if you have ANY doubts, that's what i did, i thank everyone on TG Froumz that helped. it saved me over $200 from taking it somewhere to set it up, plus i get the satisfaction of knowing that I, built it, haha, if i can do it, anyone can, trust me...

 

[FishingforAMD]

Should I get a 3700+ or 3800+, I think the 3700+ might be better as far as the L2 Cache which is 1MB versus 512kb and it costs less too . Is overclocking hard to do and will it lower the life span of the computer?

Thanks guys so far.

FishingforAMD

 

[matthead]

Personally I purchased the San Diego core 4000+ series. Did I miss the explanation of what you will be using this comp for? My guess is a DVR media center. My rig is predominately gaming coupling my proc with an eVGA 7800 GTX KO vid card.