Another rig-building advice thread...

[magus_gr]

Hello ppl... I'm a complete newbie here (a virgin, one could say!), and this is my first post, so be nice! I'm looking into putting a new system together, so I thought I'd ask about your opinion...

First of all, monitor and case aside, my budget is about 1000 euros (1 eur = ~1,15 USD). Also, I live in Greece, which accounts for prices listed perhaps being a bit higher than some of you expect (19% vat here- dont know what its like in the US or elsewhere).

Here's the config I have in mind so far (all prices in euros):

ZALMAN ZM400B-APS SILENT ~95
ASUS P5LD2 (i945P) 130
INTEL 640 @ 3,2 Ghz 225
ZALMAN CNPS9500 ~55
2x 512MB CORSAIR TWINX DDR2 5400 CL4 ~120
GIGABYTE 6600GT GV-NX66T128VP SILENT-PIPE 175
250 GB WD SATA2 ~110
ΝΕC NC-4550 BULK DL 45

The sum total is 955, so I've got a little room for improvement (or more room, if I make any changes). Obviously, I want it to be as quiet as possible. I'm not a big gamer, so it's not like I wanna spend anything over 200 on a graphics card or any more on a SLI board. I DO listen to quite a lot of music though, and I'm also considering getting a TV tuner and use the thing as a DVR (with another HD perhaps). I left sound out of the picture cause I'm gonna connect it to my sound system. The rest is more general use (office, internet etc.). Bear in mind that the retailer I'm getting the system from allows a rebate in upgrades done within 6 months of the original purchase. So, in terms of future proofing, that means I could get a 940/950 in a few months time and use the same board to host it...

Now, I wanna know what you ppl think. Any suggestions or stuff you'd change? Should I go with an AMD instead (3500/3700) and get a X2 when prices fall further (which I think will happen when AM2 comes out)?

 

[magus_gr]

I have noticed most people in here favour AMD... I do agree that A64 chips are better, mostly in terms of thermal behaviour and performance in office apps and games, but given that most of the work I'm gonna be doing with it will be media-related (especially if I go for a TV Tuner, in which case I'm gonna be doing some editing as well), wouldnt an Intel chip be a better idea?

In any case, I guess I could go for an MSI K8N Neo4-F and a 3500+ Venice core chip, which would work out at pretty much the same amount I have budgeted for the intel config.

Any other opinions?

 

[Maxiius]

Of course i'm gonna recommend AMD, but if you want intel, you might want to look into Liquid Nitrogen cooling to keep it under 50C hahah

j/k, but for real

if you're gonna use multi-threaded apps. Go for a A64 X2 3800+.

Agreed