another check my specs post...

[louky]

Up until a week ago I didn't know anything about building a PC, I've just been researching and this is what I came up with. Let me know if there are any obvious problems.

mem OCZ DDR400: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820146896
cpu 64 3800+: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103531
psu Antec TruepowerII 550w: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817103931
gpu 7900GT: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814130028
hd Seagate 3.0gb/s: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822148105
mb A8N-E: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131530
sc: have audigy 2 zs
case: need advice - nothing fancy, cheap
cdrom: have benq 1640

PC will be used mostly for gaming and occasional movie encoding. My budget is not locked in to a certain amount, but my overall goal is value/performance. I'm not looking to spend any more than what I have listed.

Thanks

edit** oh yeah, and i wont be looking to upgrade for another 3-4 years.

 

[shadowduck]

Up until a week ago I didn't know anything about building a PC, I've just been researching and this is what I came up with. Let me know if there are any obvious problems.

mem OCZ DDR400: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820146896
cpu 64 3800+: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103531
psu Antec TruepowerII 550w: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817103931
gpu 7900GT: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814130028
hd Seagate 3.0gb/s: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822148105
mb A8N-E: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131530
sc: have audigy 2 zs
case: need advice - nothing fancy, cheap

PC will be used mostly for gaming and occasional movie encoding. My budget is not locked in to a certain amount, but my overall goal is value/performance. I'm not looking to spend any more than what I have listed.

Thanks

Not a bad system by any means, but unless price is a major concern, I would go AM2. Change the motherboard to M2N-E, which is AM2 version of A8N-E. Consider waiting until after July 25, when the X2-3800+ will be in the price range as the 3800+ you picked. Look for some Corsair CLS4 DDR2-800 RAM.

As for a case, look at Antec P180. I love this case. New at newegg its $124, but you can get it from Antec directly with the slight chance of minor problems for $79.
Antec B Stock

 

[Akifuddin]

If you want value/performance, then wait a few weeks until Intel Core 2 Duo processors come out. Then, you can get a 7900GT and an E6600 and 2GB of DDR2-800 RAM is a must if you don't want to upgrade for another 3-4 years. But remember, some people would rather get a 7600GT and wait for DX10 to come out before getting an awesome video card. That power supply is pretty much awesome so just save up some more within these weeks and after getting this Conroe system, you're pretty much set for 3-4 years as far as gaming. By the way, Core 2 Duo processors start shipping on the 23rd.

 

[mulciber]

if you go socket am2 you will need new ram.
It should be ddr2-800 or else you should just go with 939.

if you wait and get an e6600, instead of getting a 7900gt get the x1900xt from newegg for $325.

 

[The_Prophecy]

Here are my suggested changes:

Video: eVGA Geforce 7900GT KO

Mobo: Asus M2N-E

RAM: OCZ Gold 1GB (2 x 512MB) DDR2-800

CPU: AMD Athlon 64 3500+

It will end up costing a little bit more, however this gives you more room for minor upgrades (I know you said you weren't planning on upgrading for 3-4 years, but that's only what you plan on doing). Minor upgrades meaning either new CPU (one of the X2 chips), more RAM, possibly a faster video card, but never all at the same time. That would be a complete rebuild, which I know you're definitly not going to do. Even if you don't go with my AM2 suggestions, get the video card i've suggested anyway. It's only a little bit more money, but offers much higher clocks on both the core, and video ram.

I know i've dropped you from a 3800+, to a 3500+, but you always have the option of overclocking.

Or, like some others have suggested, you could scrap both my suggested changes, and your original plan and get a Conroe based system.

 

[louky]

Yeah, when I said no upgrade for 3-4 years I meant full overhaul. My current pc has allowed me to play all the games I've wanted over the last 4 years with a few minor upgrades like you mentioned.

So overall, it seems like I was on the right path, now I just have to decide if I want to go AM2, which offers no performance increase for more money, but room for expansion in terms of processor. What about the fact that socket AM2 is still new with the potential for bugs? That shouldn't effect my decision?

Conroe, I am interested, but being the frugal person I am, the pricing will ultimately make that decision for me. Does anyone have any links to estimated pricing?

Also, in regards to the 7900gt, what kind of life can I expect out of it? I hadn't considered dx10 coming out soon until Akifuddin mentioned it in this thread. Should that effect my choice at all? I mean would it be wise to take a step down to 7600 gt or an ATI at the same price point? My initial thought is that it will be two years or so before a full conversion to dx10 anyway.

Thanks for all the responses so far!

 

[chrisbrown]

Here's a link of intel's pricing for the conroe launch http://images.dailytech.com/nimage/1023_large_conroe_pricing.jpg .I've a feeling this is the price to the stockist so retail prices may be a little more.