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Mattellite   08-02-2006 at 06:42:53 AM

Here's my plan:

MOBO:
ASUS M2N-SLI Deluxe
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16813131013

CPU:
AMD Athlon 64 3500+
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16819103633

RAM:
CORSAIR XMS2 1GB (2 x 512MB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM Unbuffered DDR2 800 (PC2 6400)
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16820145566

VIDEO CARD:
PNY Geforce 7600GT 256MB (will probably buy another one of these in a year or two for SLI)
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16814133150

POWER:
Antec SmartPower 2.0 ATX12V 500W
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16817103937

HARD DRIVE:
Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 250 GB SATA 3.0Gb/s
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16822148113

DVD BURNER:
SAMSUNG Black 16X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL
http://www.newegg.com/product/prod [...] 6827151118

I already have a case, monitor, keyboard, and mouse.

Grand total is $695.52 after shipping and rebates.

I plan to use this system for daily use, light gaming, and a little video capture and burning. In a year or two, I'd like to bump it up to two gigs of RAM, another video card for SLI, and a nice dual-core AM2 so that I can get into some more heavy gaming. For now, I am limited by my $700 budget and am looking for a more enjoyable computing experience than my 1.2Ghz 512MB RAM Geforce 6200 can provide.


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ok, after considering the suggestions, here is my final configuration:
(I've broken my budget by almost $73, but I think the extra $$ is worth it for what I'm getting.)

This is the configuration I plan to order tomorrow.

ASUS M2N-E Socket AM2 NVIDIA nForce 570 Ultra MCP ATX AMD Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16813131022

eVGA 256-P2-N554-AX Geforce 7600GT KO 256MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16814130017

Antec TRUEPOWERII TPII-430 ATX12V 430W Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16817103928

AMD Athlon 64 3500+ Orleans 2000MHz HT 512KB L2 Cache Socket AM2 Processor
http://www.newegg.com/product/prod [...] 6819103633

CORSAIR ValueSelect 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM Unbuffered DDR2 667 (PC2 5300) System Memory
http://www.newegg.com/product/prod [...] 6820145098

Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 (Perpendicular Recording) ST3250620AS 250GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16822148144

Thanks for the comments, if I have made any other errors, please let me know before I confirm the order tomorrow.

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kobe08   08-02-2006 at 07:21:02 AM
- 0 +

looks good! :D

Reply to kobe08
Mattellite   08-02-2006 at 07:22:39 AM
- 0 +

I've also considered these components:

MOBO:
MSI K9N Platinum Socket AM2 NVIDIA nForce 570 Ultra MCP
http://www.newegg.com/product/prod [...] 6813130049

RAM:
G.SKILL 1GB (2 x 512MB) DDR2 SDRAM Unbuffered DDR2 800
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16820231064

Can anyone advise on the advantages or disadvantages of any combination of these components? I'm also open to any other suggestions that you may offer. (Except the DVD burner, I already ordered that one.) Thanks everyone.

Reply to Mattellite
The_Prophecy   08-02-2006 at 08:02:41 AM
- 0 +

Let's start with the elephant in the living room...... I have to say this before anything else...

NO, NO, NO to the 7600GT and SLI. AVOID!

Now then... NEVER SLI any cards lower than the 7900GT. There is no benefit to SLI'ing 2 7600GT's. You said there would be "light gaming" for this system. If that's the case, avoid SLI altogether (especially if you're not going to be gaming over 1600 x 1200)

Given what i've just said, here are my suggestions for changes:

Motherboard: Asus M2N-E

Video Card: eVGA Geforce 7600GT <-- $10 cheaper and better specs.

Power Supply: Antec Truepower 480W

RAM: G.Skill 1GB (2 x 512MB) DDR2-800 <--- this is the same set as the one from your second post. I am simply confirming that this set would be a better choice than the first one you picked out.

Reply to The_Prophecy
Mattellite   08-02-2006 at 08:19:39 AM
- 0 +

Thanks for the quick reply.

I appreciate the advice, no room for elephants in my living room!

The only problem I have with the M2N-E is that it doesn't appear to support IEEE 1394. My case (Apevia X-Discovery) has a 1394 port on the front which I would like to be active.
I realize that I could purchase an expansion card... would I be able to activate the port from that?

I feel like the M2N-SLI Deluxe would be overkill for my needs. I'd prefer to find something in the $100 price range to apply that cash where it would be more well spent.

Also, why would the 480W power supply be better than the 500W?

Reply to Mattellite
The_Prophecy   08-02-2006 at 06:28:41 PM
- 0 +

Yes, you can get a firewire card and connect the front panel firewire port to it. The M2N-SLI is overkill. With a 7600GT, an SLI setup would be a complete waste of money. Actually SLI is generally a complete waste of money anyway.

Firewire card, and if you need Firewire b (800 Mbps), pick up this card

Like I said before, replace the M2N-SLI with the M2N-E.

I suggested the Truepower 480W becuase the Truepower series tends to be more reliable than the Smartpower supplies.

Reply to The_Prophecy
Mattellite   08-02-2006 at 11:27:28 PM
- 0 +

Honestly, SLI would be a complete waste of money for me. It would be highly unlikely for me to upgrade at any point in the near future to SLI. I would be much better off saving that money to upgrade to a nice dual core and an extra gig of ram down the road.

Thanks for your help The_Prophecy.

I'll be placing my order in the next day or so. Just want to let all these ideas settle for a while, I probably came up with half a dozen configurations before posting the first time.

Reply to Mattellite
enforcerfx   08-02-2006 at 11:58:27 PM
- 0 +

Quote :

Let's start with the elephant in the living room...... I have to say this before anything else...

NO, NO, NO to the 7600GT and SLI. AVOID!

Now then... NEVER SLI any cards lower than the 7900GT. There is no benefit to SLI'ing 2 7600GT's. You said there would be "light gaming" for this system. If that's the case, avoid SLI altogether (especially if you're not going to be gaming over 1600 x 1200)

Given what i've just said, here are my suggestions for changes:

Motherboard: Asus M2N-E

Video Card: eVGA Geforce 7600GT <-- $10 cheaper and better specs.

Power Supply: Antec Truepower 480W

RAM: G.Skill 1GB (2 x 512MB) DDR2-800 <--- this is the same set as the one from your second post. I am simply confirming that this set would be a better choice than the first one you picked out.



Agreed. The 7600GT your looking it, as is overpriced. PNY loves to sell tuff 10-20 bucks more than what other companies sell it for. Defintely avoid SLi with 2 7600GT's. You really wont get better results. I'd go with the ram, and power supply Prophecy offered. Heres 2 links: 1 to the Case, and 1 to the 7600GT you can pick out.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6811119068
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814130283

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814127217
This one is a 7600GT, with a dual slot cooler on it. Its about the same price as the PNY one. I own 2 MSI 7900GTXs. MSI offers good quality products. I would usually recommend stuff from them. Good luck with your setup.

Reply to enforcerfx
enforcerfx   08-02-2006 at 11:59:20 PM
- 0 +

never mind, didnt see that you had a case, just scratch that part out of what i said.

Reply to enforcerfx
Mattellite   08-03-2006 at 12:14:53 AM
- 0 +

Just when I thought I was done...

What is the difference between
eVGA 256-P2-N553-AX Geforce 7600GT CO
http://www.newegg.com/product/prod [...] 6814130283

and

eVGA 256-P2-N554-AX Geforce 7600GT KO
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16814130017

(besides 4 dollars)?

Reply to Mattellite
The_Prophecy   08-03-2006 at 12:20:13 AM
- 0 +

According to the specs listed on Newegg..... there is no difference other than $4. If there really is a difference that someone else knows about, please let us know.

Reply to The_Prophecy
jazzye2   08-03-2006 at 12:45:44 AM
- 0 +

ahh just pay the extra $4. :idea: ya might just get a better card.

Reply to jazzye2
pollenpaul   08-03-2006 at 12:48:59 AM
- 0 +

From what I have read the KO is better at cooling, but that's all I know.

Reply to pollenpaul
Mattellite   08-03-2006 at 01:07:23 AM
- 0 +

New thought:

Since I'm doing a pretty good job so far of sticking to my budget, the 80mm fan on the side of my case is entirely too noisy.

These are kind of cool: Bluegears b-Cool 80mm LED Fan w/ Temperature Display
http://www.frozencpu.com/fan-218.html

How do you shop for an 80mm fan?

Reply to Mattellite
Mattellite   08-03-2006 at 02:14:33 AM
- 0 +

If I'm planning on upgrading to 2 gigs in a year or two, wouldn't it be wise to get a single stick of 1 gig?

I imagine that even though I wouldn't be able to see the full performance of my system it would still be an incredible upgrade from my current 1.2 Ghz, 512 mb setup.

Recommendations are welcome.

Reply to Mattellite
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