This is my first build, and I want to keep the cost to about $1,000. It will be used for some casual gaming, about 1/2 time, and then general use otherwise.

Motherboard: ASUS A8N5X Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 ATX AMD $90.00

CPU: AMD Athlon 64 3700+ San Diego 1GHz FSB Socket 939 $233.00

RAM: CORSAIR ValueSelect 1GB (2 x 512MB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 $81.00

Graphics: ASUS EN6600GT/TD/128 Geforce 6600GT 128MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 $159.00

Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda 7200.8 ST3250823AS 250GB 7200 RPM Serial ATA150 Hard Drive $103.00

DVD/CD Drive: ND-3550A BK OEM NEC Black 16X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 16X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2M Cache IDE/ATAPI DVD Burner - $39.00

Case: COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 CAC-T05-WW Black/Silver Aluminum Bezel, SECC Chassis ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - $55.00

PSU: COOLER MASTER Real Power RS-450-ACLY ATX12V 450W Power Supply $78.00

Floppy Drive: SONY Black 1.44MB 3.5" Internal Floppy Drive Model MPF920 Black - OEM Model#: MPF920 Black $10

Operating System: Microsoft Windows XP Home With SP2 $94.00

Speakers: Logitech X-230 32 Watts RMS 2.1 Speaker - $32.00

Monitor: Acer AL1714CB-8 Black 17" 8ms LCD Monitor 370 cd/m2 350:1 0.264mm Pixel Pitch $213.00

I'm a newbie, so I would be interested if you see any problems, incompatiblilities, areas where I could save money, etc. Do I need a separate sound card, or is that on the motherboard? Is hardwired ethernet home networking built in? Is there anything I'm missing like adapters or cables?

Thanks.

Maynard

Save some money, buy this reliable powersupply($39.99):
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817153006


Buy this 3200+ processor, it will easily overclock to the speed of that 3700+, and costs way less($164):
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6819103535


Buy this RAM, You will get better perfomance out of a single stick of 1GB($82):
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820145505


Save another $20 or so on the monitor and buy this one, which is virtually identical($193):
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6824205006

Take the money you saved on the CPU(~$70) and Power Supply(~35) and Monitor (~$20) and add them to the $159 u planned on spending for the video. That is about $285. This is one of the best video cards on the market, and well worth the $299 price tag(7800GT):
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814130256



I probably won't be visiting this forum for a while, but hit me up at my email- violentbobdole@yahoo.com if you want to talk about building the system, or if you have a response. I'm also on Yahoo instant messager under the name violentbobdole. I'd be more than happy to explain anything to you, or give reccomendations!


- John -

Thanks for the great advice...a newbie question...does the motherboard include sound and networking? Thanks.

It should, though sound can be a mixed bag. But to put it in perspective my computere which i will replace soon is a dimension 2400 and i have no problems with its on board sound.

Not necessarily if the 2x512mb runs at dual channel, plus two sticks OC better.

Actually, for the majority of games and applications, dual channel makes virtually no difference. Look up some benchmarks - dual channel never provides any more than a couple of frames a second. Even then, if he ever wants to add another stick of RAM, it would be better to have a 1GB stick and not have to shitcan (2) 512s. Also, generally a single stick of RAM will get faster timings more reliably than a pair (Unless you buy the low latency stuff, which he obviously isn't being on a budget)

I stand by my original statement. Buy the 1GB, and some time down the road add another 1GB stick when you realize that you'll need it for BF2 and such. Dual channel isn't going to really net you any benefits. The two 512's actually won't overclock any better either - dual channel memory is at an immediate disadvantage when it comes to OC'ing in dual channel. Its kind of like how you can OC a video card higher if it is not in SLI. Believe me, I've researched all of this a ton.

Thanks for the input!

- John -

Nothing you are saying has any scientific backing. Your first statement was he would get "better performance" from the 1GB stick which is simply not true. To say so is irresponsible. Dual channel is faster no matter what you may say even if it by a few seconds or a few frames. Why not suggest him buy a sempron CPU? Its just a "little" slower in most applications. In any case, the "marginal" increase of performance is free so what is the problem?

Neither RAM is going to overclock well since they are both bin rejects. but to let you know, 1GB sticks of RAM DO NOT overclock better due to the density. i just read this the other day when shopping for RAM. I had to decide between 2x512 of Geil ultra or 2x1GB of corsair. That samsung TUCC or whatever RAM is limited to 512 sticks. It cannot be made for 1GB sticks. As a matter of fact, there are only a handful of 1GB RAM sets that can even com close to 512 sticks in terms of overclocking and they are STOOPID expensive. Again, irresponsible.

Your arguements on why 1GB is better for the future are not without merit. He may find himself wanting another GB of RAM. Its all the side stuff you said that is, well, troublesome. I suggest you follow up your posts with my favorite line... "In my opinion" Its just not right to speak so authoritatively here on the forums when you are not right.

Nothing you chose was really bad I would say. But you asked so here goes:

CPU: A64 3200
Graphics: 6800GS (there is a sale at newegg for $170 w/rebates)

Thats it. Everything else is fine. Let me pass on a few nuggets though.
If you are just a casual gamer, the maybe a mobo with integrated graphics would be an option in the short term. the 6600GT is fine but a little dated. If you can suck it up for a few months, Biostar has a good mobo with 6100 graphics onboard that will do you just fine (I have seen Doom3 on an X300 from ATI at it looked just fine for the casual gamer. There are some really good midrange cards coming out in the next few months that are worth waiting for. Not to mention, the Biostar has built in overclocking for the novice. I think you would be happy with it. It was my first choice but I opted for the AsRock SATA dual cuz i intend on reusing my 9800Pro until the new midrange cards come out this summer. Like I said, i think they are worth waiting for. If you cant wait, the card i suggested will do you some justice.

Dont skimp on a power supply. if it is too good to be true then it is. get a power supply that you can carry forward to your next upgrade. if you see a high wattage power supply on sale for $29, it is for a reason. Any antec true power is a good power supply.

Cases are the most overlooked component. Get one that has potential for unforseen upgrades. if you out grow yours, it becomes a $50 foot rest. Get a big one that can accomodate 120mm fans in my opinion. Its more quiet and your computer will last longer. I like the Asys fredom tower. Its BTX ready, quiet, and really cool running. Its $150 shipped though....

I cannot stress this enough: Do not try and save a few bucks by buying a LCD from some no name company. when you get dead pixels and they start giving you the run around, you will remember this advice. Buy name brand.

Last thing, if your mobo is 24pin ATX, you need to make sure you get a 24pin power supply unless an adapter is included.

Good luck.

Wow - I bet you feel important when you come off in a condescending attitude and try to act like you know it all. Actually, much of what I said has direct scientific evidence if you look into it instead of just trying to flame people. I stand by everything I posted, and I am not just pulling this stuff out of the air - I am a computer enthusiast and a modder, and I've been doing this stuff for long enough to have a valid opinion. This guy is a beginner, so he isn't going to be "stoopid overclocking". He won't need to. In fact, even basic 1GB sticks of Corsair Value CAS2.5 will overclock his 3200+ up to 3700+ specs without a problem, assuming he doesn't try to jack his timings to something ridiculous. The difference between Sempron and A64 is no where near the difference between single-channel and dual channel. Once again, do your homework and you will see that the Athlon processors can't even fully utilize the memory bandwidth provided by single channel. Next you'll be telling me that there is a huge difference in the performance of an AGP2x and an AGP8x card. Help yourself to a technical manual.

Until then, I would prefer if you wouldn't just come onto forums to try to call people out, because you are going to end up looking like an asshole in the end. Do your homework, and maybe then we can talk. Nothing I said was "irresponsible" - in fact, for building a sub $1,000 computer, it is advice that you can take to the bank.

Until next time,

- John -

Look guy, in your first post you said that he would get better performance out of a 1GB stick instead of 2x512mb. That is simply not correct. when you were corrected on it, you recanted and said he would not notice the difference. Any way you slice this potato, you were wrong ok? Whether or not he is a novice is not relevant. Whether or not he will see the difference is also not relevant. He is a novice now, but will be a misinformed novice if he follows your logic. You gave the guy bum scoop-end of story. Why would you try and argue the point?

Can you really OC a 3200+ to 3700+ with stock HSF? Aren't they different cores? Plus, I'd heard the 3700+ can OC to FX speeds. I just think the dif between an OC 3200+ and an OC 3700+ is huge.

umm, I'd heard the A64 series don't really need 1mb L2 cache, hence why the M2 64's won't go over 512kb L2.