Hi,

I could use your advise on this system I put together.
First of all, I live in the Netherlands so prices may vary.
Then, I'm currently using AMD Sempr. 3000+, ATI Radeon 9550 (256mb), 1 gig DDR and was originaly thinking of buying a new AGP-card (like 7600 GT), but decided it was probably better to go for a new build.

This is what I came up with:
- Board: MSI K9N Neo ($90,-)
http://msicomputer.co.uk/products. [...] _id=703670

- Processor: AMD Athlon™ 64 X2 EE 3800+ ($180)

- GPU: XFX 7600 GT/650 Fatal1ty 256mb ($205)
http://www.informatique.nl/cgi-bin [...] FP04012007 (dutch page, but readeble)

- Mem: Buffalo 1 GB DDR2-667 Kit ($130)
- HD: Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 (250GB) ($100)
- DVD RW: AOpen DW1670 ($45)
- Case: Antec New Solution NSK4400 (incl 380W) ($95)
- Extra fan: Sharkoon Silent Eagle Fan 2000 ($10)

This is for Euro 650,- or US $840
I've added the dutch prices in $, so you can get an idea of the difference in prices.
This is about the max I want to spend so adding stuff means subtracting other stuff...
I'll be using this for games like M2TW, Oblivion e.d.
I'm not sure about the GPU (Radeon X1950Pro?), power supply and maybe investing some more to go for Core 2 Duo 6300.

What do you think, is this a balanced system? Is it suitable for future upgrades (in a year or so)?

Thanx

By the way, I'm not much of a pc-wizzard

An Intel 6300 and Biostar 965P motherboard won't cost that much more, but it'll be a much better purchase. And if you spend even $40 more on RAM, then you can overclock this setup and it'll absolutely destroy an AMD X2 3800, even on stock cooling.

If at all possible, try to spend a bit more money and go with C2D, the performance-for-price is extremely good.

And I'm no fanboy, I've actually owned BOTH an AMD X2 3800 and a C2D 6300 and I notice a VERY big difference.

As for vid card, a 7600GT is a great card for the money, but you should consider skipping the Fatality card......you're paying for the name. The passive cooler is nice, but an EVGA 7600GT has a very quiet fan cooler on it, and it's ALOT cheaper, so take a look at that. The BFG 7600GT's cooler is like a jet engine, I would avoid it.

Ok, this is my second attempt. Better than the first?

Moederboard Socket 775 -
MSI 945P Neo3-F Intel® 945P, ATX, 1066 MHz ($115)

CPUs Socket 775
Intel® Core™ 2 Duo E6300 1866 MHz, 1066 MHz, 2x 32 KB, 2x 1024 KB, 1 Boxed koeler ($245)

Grafic Card ATI PCIe -
MSI RX1950 Pro 256 MB GDDR3, Radeon X1950 PRO, PCIe x16, 600 MHz / 1400 MHz, 256bit ($240)

Geheugen DDR2-667 -
Buffalo 1 GB DDR2-667 Kit 1024 MB, 2, PC2-5300 / DDR2-667, CL5 5-5-15 1 ($130)

Harddisk 3,5 inch SATA -
Samsung SpinPoint P120 250 GB (7200) ($90)

DVD-reWriters IDE -
NEC AD-5170A 18/8x, 8/-x(DL), 18/6x, 8/-x(DL), 2048 KB, ATAPI ($40)

Power
CoolerMaster Extreme Power ATX2, 380 Watt ($50)

Midi Tower
Standard CS-323 4x 5,25" / 2x 3,5", 5x 3,5", ATX ($25)

Extra tower fan
Arctic-Cooling Fan 9 92 x 92 x 38 mm, <24 db(A), 59 m³/h, 2000 rpm ($10)


total: US$ 940,- or € 725,90 (Euro's)

- I'm still not sure about the PSU, cause I'm a bit of a noob in this, so is this one good enough?

- Is the MSI RX1950 Pro worth the extra bucks over the say: Asus EN 7600GT 256 MB DDR3 (560MHz/1400MHz, 128 bit) $180 ?

- This 1950 Pro needs an extra slot, will it fit?

Thanx for any advice you can give

Yes, better this time

That mobo is okay, but you might want to try to find a decent 965 chipset instead....much better idea. MSI Neo-F and Biostar 965P are two that should be very affordable (if not very similar in price to what you've shown already).

Yes, get a better PSU. A decent brand-name 500W will last you a long time, and will still allow for you to upgrade later if you wish, especially a vid card. The brand depends on availability in your area and your budget. I highly recommend spending another $50, it's a very wise investment and is peanuts on your total cost of your system.

As for vid card, again....in depends on your budget and how demanding you'll be on your graphics. A 7600GT will handle most games @ 1280 resolution quite well, and is very affordable. A 1950PRO is definitely better, but it depends how much more you'll need to spend for it. Take a look at this to compare, and see if you think it's worth it or not:
http://www.gpureview.com/show_card [...] &card2=385

So if you want to keep your vid card for awhile, getting the 1950 will last longer if you can afford it. If you're not very demanding on your graphics for your gaming, then the 7600GT is a very affordable card that has great performance. You could get the 7600GT, it'll last for a year, then just upgrade at that point to a mid-range DX10 card if you want. That option may be a better investment of your money. In which case, you'll definitely want to get a better PSU now

OH, and if you're not planning on overclocking, then that RAM is fine. If you want to overclock though, get one of those mobos I mentioned (965 chipset) and some better RAM.

I probably won't be overclocking my system, never done that before and I don't want to melt my new CPU
I'll spend some more on a better PSU (see below). But I pretty much overspend my budget already, so I'm not sure if I want to spend even more. So here's what I'm wondering:

ATI MSI RX1950 Pro will last me longer than the 7600 GT, benchmarkingtests are much better for the 1950. If I go with the 7600GT I'll save $60,- wich I can spend on a better Mobo.

So basically it comes down to the choice between:

Mobo Socket 775 -
MSI 945P Neo3-F Intel® 945P, ATX, 1066 MHz ($115)

CPUs Socket 775
Intel® Core™ 2 Duo E6300 1866 MHz, 1066 MHz, 2x 32 KB, 2x 1024 KB, 1 Boxed koeler ($245)

Grafic Card ATI PCIe -
MSI RX1950 Pro 256 MB GDDR3, Radeon X1950 PRO, PCIe x16, 600 MHz / 1400 MHz, 256bit ($240)

Memory DDR2-667 -
Buffalo 1 GB DDR2-667 Kit 1024 MB, 2, PC2-5300 / DDR2-667, CL5 5-5-15 1 ($130)

Harddisk 3,5 inch SATA -
Samsung SpinPoint P120 250 GB (7200) ($90)

DVD-reWriters IDE -
NEC AD-5170A 18/8x, 8/-x(DL), 18/6x, 8/-x(DL), 2048 KB, ATAPI ($40)

With good PSU and case


Or:

Mobo Socket 775 -
This is one of the cheaper 965 mobo's I could find:
GigaByte 965P-S3 ($150)
http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Product [...] uctID=2321

Or maybe a nVidia 650i
Asus P5N-E SLI Retail ($155)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813131142

And what about the nVidia nForce 570 SLI IE boards, are they any good? By the way, I could find a Biostar mobo, so maybe it's nog available in Holland/Europe

CPUs Socket 775
Intel® Core™ 2 Duo E6300 1866 MHz, 1066 MHz, 2x 32 KB, 2x 1024 KB, 1 Boxed koeler ($245)

Grafics Card PCIe -
Xpertvision/Palit 7600GT or Asus EN7600 GT or XFX 7600 GT XXX/590 (all $180)

Memory DDR2-667 -
Buffalo 1 GB DDR2-667 Kit 1024 MB, 2, PC2-5300 / DDR2-667, CL5 5-5-15 1 ($130)

Harddisk 3,5 inch SATA -
Samsung SpinPoint P120 250 GB (7200) ($90)

DVD-reWriters IDE -
NEC AD-5170A 18/8x, 8/-x(DL), 18/6x, 8/-x(DL), 2048 KB, ATAPI ($40)

With PSU and case


About PSU:
What's a good brand?
Thinking of:
- Sunbeam NUUO SLI Retail (480W, $115)
- Sharkoon SilentStorm Retail (480W, $100)
But I have no clue, could you give me some advice?
I know that two times 12V-rail is good, and a temp controled fan.
What does the combined power do, it isn't mentioned in all specs.

I could go for a case with integrated PSU:
- Antec Lifestyle Sonata II (450 W) like the design
http://www.antec.com/ec/productDet [...] odID=08140
($140)
Is this one good?

What would be the best choice for gaming-pc with limited upgrading ability (something like extra mem. and or better CPU in a year), keeping in mind that I'm probably not going to OC or tweak very much.

Thank you

Option 1 has the better graphics card, no doubt. Option 2 has the better motherboard and a respectable gfx card. Since you're not overclocking, then option 1 mobo will do fine. So overall, if you're more interested in gaming, then Option 1 is better, but it may cost you more than Option 2.

As for power supply, definitely go with the integrated Antec Sonata II. It's a good PSU that will handle your setup, and will save you a fair bit of cash. Good call on that.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6819115005

Where you getting your CPU price at? this one is 190

I live in the Netherlands, and our (CPU-)prices are a little bit above yours, unfortunatly. Lowest price in holland I could find was € 165,- (euro) or US$ 213,50 (yahoo currency calculator), but it's at a crappy shop. Prices I listed before are at a shop in the netherlands with prices about 3% above average (but with a handy tool to build your own pc's). I've checked for cheaper shops last night.

By the way, if been looking into it some more last night and came up with a new (and hopefully last) setup.

What do you think?

- Intel Core 2 Duo E6300 (1,86/1066/2MB)
- MSI P965 NEO-F
- Corsair 2x512MB DDR2 667 TWIN2X 1024-5400C4
- Samsung 250Gb SATA II 8Mb
- Sapphire 256Mb X1950Pro Ultimate PCI-E
- Samsung SH-S182M LightScibe Zwart Bulk
- Antec Sonata II 450Watt

Total: Euro €803,40 or US$ 1038,40

I know, I did spend more money then intended....
Your suggestions did make sense

How difficult (or dangerous) is it to overclock this system (slightly)?

Looks good.

Not sure about the MSI mobo overclocking, but if you're just doing a bit then you should be fine with those parts and mobo.