new build [noob] help

[skyline1212]

Mobo : Asus A8N-SLI Premium

CPU : AMD Opteron 170 Dual-Core S939

Harddrive : 2x Seagate 200G 7200rpm SATA-II 3Gb/s 3.5" 8M

Dvd Rom : NEC 3550A DVD+-RW 16x Dual-layer

Monitor : Samsung 915N-II 19" 1280x1024 81khz 700:1 8ms 300cd/m2

Video Card : 7800GT CO 256MB PCI-E eVGA 7800GT CO 256MB SLi Dual-DVI

Ram : Corsair VS2GBKIT400C3 2GB Kit(2x1G) PC3200 400Mhz

Power Supply : Antec TPII-550 TRUEPOWER 2.01 550W POWER ATX12V 20Pin+4pin Quiet / Silent

Case : Lian-Li PC65UB PC65UB Aluminum E-ATX 18" BLACK tower

Cpu cooler Zalman CNPS9500 Dual-Core Fan Blue LED

thats the list I have so far...
do I need to make any changes?
or any other part recommendations?
first of all I will be using the computer for games and internet..
I am not planning to oc my computer part for now, maybe later.

Also, why SLI mobo if I'm not going SLi ...
well first of all, I have done some research on asus mobo's
I was going to get the Asus A8N-E mobo, but I heard it is very unstable...
so then people recommended me "EPoX EP-9NPA+Ultra" but then I live in Canada and unfortunately they don't stock Epox mobos...
Even if I get it from US, I would have to think about cost of shipping & handling which becomes the price of Asus a8n sli premium mobo.

As for harddrive goes... I will be stripping them and going in raid 0

Lastly, I couldn't find any articles on memory..and I don't know which brand is good. I chose the "Corsairs" because they had a good price. Can anyone recommend me a good brand ram for my mobo?

That's all for now..

Sincerely,

Jang

 

[tylerthedruid]

Little confused about the SLI question. Looks like you're going SLI... aren't you?

Everything looks fine to me, but I haven't really run a comb over it. If you're doing gaming you might want to flip over to an AMD mobo and processor, mainly because AMD is a little better for dual core and gaming. Since you aren't going with DDR2 you won't lose much switching over.

I see you want a 19" monitor. If you're willing to skimp 1/6 on the contrast ratio and refresh rate, take a look at this fujiplus monitor that's going for 200$ (90.00 rebate though).
Fujiplus FP-988D Silver-Black 19" 12ms LCD Monitor 250 cd/m2 600:1 0.264mm Pixel Pitch - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16824168005

 

[tylerthedruid]

Oh, and take my suggestions with a grain of salt (am i using that expression properly?). I haven't found any serious criticisms in your build, and am only throwing out ideas to bounce off of you. e.g. - the monitor is slightly lower quality, but might save you 100 bucks. just an idea.

 

[skyline1212]

yeah I won't be going SLI
and btw the cpu is amd its just opteron
Also, the monitor looks nice...I like the price..
but then like what i said again...
I live in Canada.....

thanks anyways..

 

[Jagger]

but then like what i said again...
I live in Canada.....

That's OK, we won't hold it against you... :tongue:

Looks like a good build. Keep the good monitor - when you upgrade in the future, it will continue to serve you well.

Make sure you get the eVga model 517. It is identical to the 516 (cooper cooler and all) but comes OC'ed stock so the company's warranty backs it fully (I have two and have been very happy).

Unless you plan to have your HDs in RAID, you may want to consider going for one large SATAII drive for storage and on 74 GB Raptor for OS and other programs needing fast access. Not a major issue, but something to consider.

 

[skyline1212]

thanks for the heads up
i just checked the model on the video card and its 517
cooper cooler and its overclocked..

 

[purelithium]

I am vehemently against any use of ASUS in a rig, I've had issues with every asus board I've owned, including the A8N-SLI Premium. That board has major issues with both ethernet ports. Make sure you investigate things like that before you buy.

 

[Jagger]

I am vehemently against any use of ASUS in a rig

No disrespect intended, because I am certian you have had problems with Asus, but someone has had problems with EVERY MB mfg out there. This is why there are virtually no MBs on Newegg with five stars.

That being said, some mfgs are better then others. The gegeral consensus I have derrived is that Abit, Tyan, Asus and, to a certian extent, DFI are all solid companys.

 

[skyline1212]

i've been using asus mobo's for every build
and they haven't let me down..
from my perspective..
its a solid board if u know what your doing

 

[skyline1212]

oh yeah i looked at that mobo
but isnt it different from EPoX EP-9NPA+Ultra

 

[tylerthedruid]

I am vehemently against any use of ASUS in a rig

No disrespect intended, because I am certian you have had problems with Asus, but someone has had problems with EVERY MB mfg out there. This is why there are virtually no MBs on Newegg with five stars.

That being said, some mfgs are better then others. The gegeral consensus I have derrived is that Abit, Tyan, Asus and, to a certian extent, DFI are all solid companys.

Epox is great too!

What about MSI?

 

[Jagger]

I meant no disrespect to either Epox or MSI. I should have stated that my recommendations came from personal experience. Since I have no experience with with Epox or MSI, I can't say anything good or bad about them. Sorry for any confusion.

 

[tylerthedruid]

I meant no disrespect to either Epox or MSI. I should have stated that my recommendations came from personal experience. Since I have no experience with with Epox or MSI, I can't say anything good or bad about them. Sorry for any confusion.

No problem . That's actually a large amount of motherboard experience you have there.

My only real custom experience has been with epox. Of course, I've dealt with tons of dell and compaq boards, all of which sucked.

Msi is only something I've heard good things about.

 

[purelithium]

I couldn't find a 9NPA+ Ultra inside Canada, I even called tigerdirect.ca to see if they could import one specifically for me, but they said no. So I had to buy mine off of ebay. I paid US$147 including shipping(about CAD$170).

I love it to pieces

 

[georgebeee]

I'm currently using an epox nforce2 board on my xp system, and it's awesome. I replaced a gigabyte via board with it, and my next system will also be based on an epox board.

but it's more than just personal experience. THG did a reveiw on amd mobo's. they recommended msi, epox and chaintech.

 

[Jagger]

Of course, I've dealt with tons of dell and compaq boards, all of which sucked.

That's a shocker

Anywho, one poster did reference Gigabyte. I built an Athlon 3200+ system using their 7NNXP board. If my experience with Gigabyte holds true accross the spectrum, Gigabyte is not worth it. It has a lot of fancy bells and whistles which they charge a lot for and don't really do that much. Also, that board had some weird quirks - the LAN was impossible to get working (had to jerryrig a NIC card). I keep thinking I could have gotton the same performance out of a MB that cost half the price.