Reccomendations

[MikeyH]

Hi,

I am in the process of putting togethor a parts list for a new system and would like some comments, reccomendations (been over 4 years since I last put something togethor, and with the rate computer tech advances these days, I'm not that sure on whats what).

System will be used primarily for gaming, internet, and web design.

This is what I have lined up on my list so far.....

viewSonic 19" Widescreen VA1912W $515
Antec TX1050B Black SOHO Tower (500W) $315

AsusTek A8N-SLI $177
AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual-Core 4200+ 2.2GHz $607
2 x 1GB Corsair Value Select DDR-400 $342
MSI 7900GTX 256bit 512MB $898

Pioneer DVD-110 16X DL $69

Logitech MX518 Gaming Mouse $75


=====
$2998

(No I'm not a salesmens wet dream, I live in New Zealand. and thats the cheapest prices for each of those parts over here)

My main concerns are is the X2 4200+ too much for what I need (I've read a lot of articles and benchmarks, showing that single cores can easily out perform a dual core on todays games) I know I will be "future proof" if i get one, but how long till I need one? By the time they become mainstream requirements they could be a lot cheaper.

Also mainboard and memory, are these satisfactory? any other reccomendations, if I did go with a cheaper single core (3000 - 3500) would It be wise to spend what I save on a better mainboard and memory (A8N32 Sli w/ Corsair 3500LL Pro)?

Once the 7900GTX's drop in price more, I will be adding a second, that could be at least another year away though.



Any thoughts or comments will be greatly appreciated

 

[shadowduck]

Not a bad build except that motherboard is horrible with a very high fail rate. Look for something from EPoX or DFI. Also unless you can go SLI within 90 days, there is really no point in getting an SLI board. You could away with A8N-E from Asus (does not suffer from the issues the SLI boards do). Other than that, looks good!

 

[The_Prophecy]

If you're looking to furture proof... get the A8N32-SLI.... the 2 full width x16 lanes may not be needed yet, but down the road games probably will need that much bandwidth for the graphics...

I'm not too fond of MSI video cards... try for something like BFG, XFX, eVGA or Gigabyte.

As for the 4200+... it's fine, but if your budget can handle getting a 4400+, go for it. Another option would be to get a socket 939 Opteron chip... an Opteron 165 or 170 should in theory be about the same price as the 4200 or 4400+....

 

[MikeyH]

I noticed a lot of people on these forums are using the opterons, whats the difference between them.

Why do I need to go sli in the next 90 days? :?

I will also add im not interested in overclocking, and dont want to spend much more then I already have

 

[shadowduck]

Why do I need to go sli in the next 90 days? :?

Because otherwise SLI is a complete waste of your money. Generally new video cards come out every 3-4 months. The new top end card then usually will beat 2 of the last generations mid range cards in SLI and cost around $100-150 less. So SLI makes zero sense unless you can do it now.

 

[kwalker]

sli would be a nice bonus for high resolution gaming on that flat screen.
you dont need to go sli but like the prophecy said that A8n32-sli is a sound board and both pci x slots are 16X
the opty is a high end chip with great overclocking capabilities on air
and runs cooler than most 64s.