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[TheeZy]

I'm looking to get a quality gaming computer. My budget is around $700-$800 USD. I don't think I'll be doing much overclocking but I'd like to have that option available to me.

I've decided on the following system:

COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 CAC-T05-UW Black Aluminum Bezel, SECC Chassis ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
Antec TRUEPOWERII TPII-550 ATX12V 550W Power Supply 115/230 V UL, TUV, CB, FCC CLASS B, CUL
CORSAIR XMS 2GB (2 x 1GB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM Unbuffered DDR 400 (PC 3200) Dual Channel Kit System Memory
EPoX EP-9NPA+Ultra Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 Ultra ATX AMD Motherboard
AMD Athlon 64 3800+ Venice 2000MHz HT 512KB L2 Cache Socket 939 Processor
eVGA 256-P2-N562-AX Geforce 7900GT 256MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card

If something isn't listed (hard drives, etc) it means I already have it purchased.

Are all these components compatible with one another? Should I consider replacing one of these parts with something else? Just comment on my choices.

Thanks!

 

[The_Prophecy]

Here's what I would change:

Mobo: Asus A8N5X

Power supply: Antec Smartpower 2.0 450W

Since you haven't picked out an SLI capable motherboard, a 550W power supply is overkill.

 

[chrisbrown]

yeah man, looks good, though i agree with prophecy's changes. if you can wait a month you should be able to the x2 3800 for only $20 dollars more than the 3800+, otherwise i'd say save a bit of money and go for the 3200. If you're not dead set against overclocking, all the venice cores oc to roughly the same speed anyway

 

[carpcmelee]

wy get s939 wen it is being phased out in like a couple of days or something. get am2 and a 3800+. it will be much better, plus u get future upgradeability.

 

[TheeZy]

wy get s939 wen it is being phased out in like a couple of days or something. get am2 and a 3800+. it will be much better, plus u get future upgradeability.

I do not plan on ever upgrading this machine, and I prefer the reliability of the socket over newer, less tested sockets.

The_Prophecy, I'll use the power supply you suggested. What makes the motherboard you suggested better?

 

[The_Prophecy]

939 is not going away tomorrow.... look at socket 754... it's a really old platform but it's still around.

The reason I didn't suggest going AM2 is because then he would have to spend more for ddr2 ram....

But if he doesn't mind an extra $50-70 or so, here's what I would recommend:

CPU: AMD Athlon 64 AM2 3800+

RAM: OCZ Gold 2GB (2 x 1GB) DDR2-800

Mobo: Asus M2N-E

Edit:

I suggested the Asus A8N5X earlier because Asus is widely known as a better brand name. The chances of recieving a DOA board are smaller.

 

[Multiplectic]

I would change the EpoX for an ASUS, and beware of the eVGA 7900GT, some people here in the forums had some serious problems with it...

 

[Newf]

wy get s939 wen it is being phased out in like a couple of days or something. get am2 and a 3800+. it will be much better, plus u get future upgradeability.

I do not plan on ever upgrading this machine, and I prefer the reliability of the socket over newer, less tested sockets.

The_Prophecy, I'll use the power supply you suggested. What makes the motherboard you suggested better?No, don't do it. The TruePower is a much higher quality unit. The EpoX is a good board, although it is favored mainly for overclocking ability. Nothing is wrong with choosing an Asus instead, it just costs more.

 

[The_Prophecy]

Nothing is wrong with choosing an Asus instead, it just costs more.

Uhh... the A8N5X is $20 cheaper than that EPoX board..... and the M2N-E is only $2 more than the EPoX....

 

[INeedCache]

I'd love to see those stats that shows you have a better chance of a non-DOA board with Asus over Epox.

 

[The_Prophecy]

If you're looking for published numbers.... there are none.... it's just generally known that Asus boards are most always of better quality than other brands. I'm not implying that the EPoX board is bad..... i'm just saying that the Asus board has a smaller chance of being DOA.

 

[INeedCache]

Well, it is specifically known by me that our shop has sold more Intel and Gigabyte boards than Asus, with less failures over the last 10 years. In fact, we've never had an Intel board fail. Other than perhaps Fujitsu-Siemens, which are rather pricey but the best boards I've ever used, you won't find more stable and reliable boards for Intel processors than Intel's boards. Asus' reputation exceeds their product, and in my experience, is no longer deserved.

 

[The_Prophecy]

That would be an excellent point if we were talking about Intel and Gigabyte boards. But we are talking about Asus and EPoX here. Now i'm not saying Intel and Gigabyte boards are bad.... I love them. They have never given me trouble. I put Asus and Gigabyte boards into all of the computers I build for people and I have never taken one of them out of the box only to discover it was DOA. I have also built a few using Intel branded boards and none of them ever came DOA either.

 

[enforcerfx]

ya 939s are going to be leaving shelves soon yet i still have 1,(AMD X2 4800+ oc'ed to 2.6) AM2 is now the "in" processor at this point, then conroe, then quad-core. Go for AM2.

 

[itguy]

wy get s939 wen it is being phased out in like a couple of days or something. get am2 and a 3800+. it will be much better, plus u get future upgradeability.

Why spend extra money for high latency DDR2 ram when you can save money and stick with 939 and low latency DDR ram and skip DDR2 altogether?

DDR3 will be a true memory upgrade and it's entirely possible that DDR2 will have a very short lifespan.

 

[The_Prophecy]

DDR2 may have higher latencies, but also runs at a higher effective clock speed. DDR2 is the way to go for now with AM2 using it, and Intel platforms have been using it for a year or more already. DDR3 won't be mainstream until at least 2008.

 

[Newf]

Yes, the A8N5X is cheaper because it is a no-frills budget nF4 board. The EpoX is an nF4 Ultra board. All I was saying is that apples to apples Asus boards tend to cost a little more. I have been willing to pay that premium, (and also for Intel mobos), but everyone does not have to...

I think AM2 is the way to go due to upgrade potential even though it may be a shortlived socket unless:
1) You have DDR ram you want to reuse to save upgrade costs.
2) You prefer an established/mature system with BIOS releases at or above 1.0. AM2 seems to be finicky about which DDR2 ram works and some are simply not seamless installs. I can deal with this but I don't like it.
3) You see potential value in the High-end 939 cpus as they are phased out and hopefully become cheap before they are gone...