Another first build

Hello all,

I have been lurking over the last few months and thank you all for a lot of information. Add me to the others who are undertaking my first computer build, and I'm looking for some pointers/advice.

These are the components I have picked out thus far:

Antec Performance One P180B case
Asus M2N32 SLI Deluxe mobo
Seasonic S12 Energy Plus 650W PSU
ZEROtherm BTF90 heatsink
AMD Athlon 64 X2 5200+ processor
Patriot Extreme Performance 2GB DDR2 800 (PC6400) memory
2 X 400GB WD Caviar Sata in RAID0
Foxconn NVidia 8800GTS 640MB

I am building this for gaming purposes primarily.

Well these are the major components so far, the rest I don't think I need advice about. I've done some research but the first question is are there any glaring hardware compliance issues with any of these components? Also, does anyone have suggestions for replacement parts that they have heard better things about (in the same price range.)?

Thanks in advance for any input.

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Why the Athlon CPU?

It's crazy not to be buying C2D right now.

Core2 should be the start point for any gaming build of any budget, especially with upcoming price drops.

Ditch the AMD.

Reply to Malazan

Any AMD enthusiasts care to defend? Honestly, with the recent price drops of the AMD processors and things I've read about AMD motherboards possibly being able to upgrade to AM3 chips with a BIOS update, it seems like a good deal. (correct me if I'm wrong on that one.) Essentially, for future upgrades of the processor it seems (from some things I've read) that AMD is the cheapest way to go in terms of not having to buy new mobos as often... (again, someone slap some sense into me if this is wrong.) Again I'm a noob here so I'm basing this on things I have read (or thought I understood to be the case) in the forums here.

EDIT: Ok I misspoke before, according to what I read in an article on Tom's website here the upcoming AMD quad cores would most likely be compatible with current AM2 mobos with a BIOS upgrade

Reply to remper

First check out this CPU chart from tomshardware and use newegg to price the Intel and AMD you're looking at. While Intel out performs AMD, AMD prices have dropped so much that you can get comparable performance for less money. My understanding is that AM3 will require a new mobo but my be wrong, while there are already Intel mobo that will handle Quad Core. Personally, I think you're better buying for what's on the market today because what ever Intel or AMD come out in the next geration mobo mfg will come out with better boards once it's released.

Reply to g-paw

That CPU will hardly limit the 8800, just leave it like it is, or get a brisbane x2 3600+ and overclock the hell out of it, it can hit higher speeds than the X2 5200+ when overclocked.

Reply to RandMcnally

If the prices are similiar, go with eVGA 8800gts, lifetime warrenty and 90 step up program, if they do come up with a nice card you pay the difference.

Reply to alcattle

My point in buying this system right now is to try and balance somewhat the cost with fairly high end performance and with minimal upgrading needed down the road a few years (Understanding that the CPU and graphics card WILL have to be updated more frequently) So, I'm trying to look ahead as well. And if AMD comes out with a quad core that will work with this mobo, I'm all over that right now

Reply to remper

Quote :

If the prices are similiar, go with eVGA 8800gts, lifetime warrenty and 90 step up program, if they do come up with a nice card you pay the difference.

Thanks for the tip I will definitely check this out

Reply to remper

I'm not sure if the 8800 GTS (or GTX) fits in the P180b. Can anybody answer this one please.

Somebody posted a link a few days ago with PC cases that support the 8800 GTX, and Antec P180 was not there. Thermaltake Armor or Antec 900 were there, by the way.

Reply to dsidious

Quote :

...These are the components I have picked out thus far:
Antec Performance One P180B case
Asus M2N32 SLI Deluxe mobo
Seasonic S12 Energy Plus 650W PSU
ZEROtherm BTF90 heatsink
AMD Athlon 64 X2 5200+ processor
Patriot Extreme Performance 2GB DDR2 800 (PC6400) memory
2 X 400GB WD Caviar Sata in RAID0
Foxconn NVidia 8800GTS 640MB
I am building this for gaming purposes primarily.
Well these are the major components so far, the rest I don't think I need advice about. I've done some research but the first question is are there any glaring hardware compliance issues with any of these components? Also, does anyone have suggestions for replacement parts that they have heard better things about (in the same price range.)?

For $0 you could use the stock retail heatsink.
If you do not plan to overclock this system will be competitive with an Intel system of roughly the same $$$ outlay.
If you want to overclock, get an Intel system. Then an aftermarket cooler would make more sense.
Do yourself a favor and get NotSoExtreme memory. Look for 1.8volt sticks instead of the more tricky to run 2.0 and up stuff. If you like Patriot, then something like the PSD22G800K or my favorite, Kingston KVR800D2N5K2/2G
As far as future upgrades go, chances are you will get a new motherboard when the cpu upgrade makes sense. Usually this is a generation down the road, not just a better chip using the same socket.

Reply to Newf

Quote :

For $0 you could use the stock retail heatsink.
If you do not plan to overclock this system will be competitive with an Intel system of roughly the same $$$ outlay.
If you want to overclock, get an Intel system. Then an aftermarket cooler would make more sense.
Do yourself a favor and get NotSoExtreme memory. Look for 1.8volt sticks instead of the more tricky to run 2.0 and up stuff. If you like Patriot, then something like the PSD22G800K or my favorite, Kingston KVR800D2N5K2/2G
As far as future upgrades go, chances are you will get a new motherboard when the cpu upgrade makes sense. Usually this is a generation down the road, not just a better chip using the same socket.

Regarding the memory, what makes 2.0 V or higher more tricky to run?

I may want to do some overclocking, but again like I say, I'm not looking to make the uber gaming rig here.

Also, according to a link I checked it will definitely be close, but I can fit the 8800 GTS in this case. And otherwise I can remove the hard drive case that would be in the way(there are 2 HDD trays in the case)

Reply to remper

Quote :

Regarding the memory, what makes 2.0 V or higher more tricky to run?

Nothing, if you can get it to POST and changing voltage in BIOS does not bother you. Not all high voltage ram will POST on 1.8 volts. Some will POST using only 1 stick, which you can work with. It can be a crapshoot, especially if you are looking at pricing and trying to cut corners. Some tricky ram has good specs but can cost less than Kingston value ram. Gee, I wonder why?

Reply to Newf

Quote :

Also, according to a link I checked it will definitely be close, but I can fit the 8800 GTS in this case. And otherwise I can remove the hard drive case that would be in the way(there are 2 HDD trays in the case)

Yeah, I did some research too and got the same info. The GTX will fit only if you leave a hard drive bay empty. The GTS is smaller so there's a chance it may fit even if you do use the bay.

Reply to dsidious

Quote :

Regarding the memory, what makes 2.0 V or higher more tricky to run?

Nothing, if you can get it to POST and changing voltage in BIOS does not bother you. Not all high voltage ram will POST on 1.8 volts. Some will POST using only 1 stick, which you can work with. It can be a crapshoot, especially if you are looking at pricing and trying to cut corners. Some tricky ram has good specs but can cost less than Kingston value ram. Gee, I wonder why?

So basically you're saying that stock BIOS settings can make it nearly impossible to get high end RAM to work? Or is it certain brands of high end RAM?

Is the Patriot RAM I have been thinking about getting basically the same as the Patriot RAM you suggested, only pre-OCed?

Reply to remper

The cause is the actual chips used on the pcb. Any given memory brand uses different OEM chips depending on the performance level and price being offered. In order to run at speeds over 400MHz, some OEM chips not only need more than 2 volts, but they won't run reliably at the 1.8v your motherboard will POST at. AFAIK, this is mainly a problem with P965 boards not wanting to read the ram SPDs and just starting up at 1.8v. Many boards BIOS can read a 1.9 or 2.0v SPD spec and set VDimm accordingly. If you read reviews of the ram you are considering, they will tell you about the SPD settings as well as any POST/boot/stability problems encountered.
What my point really is centers around buying ram that overclocks when you have a system that won't go much higher. Match the ram to the motherboard you have decided on. Use the lists given by both the motherboard OEM site as well as the memory OEM site to get compatible parts. This is less of a problem with AMD systems but it still happens. I do not know if the Patriot is OK or not. I could research it, but so could you. If you were buying any ram rated at 1.8v I would know that it would work just fine. But you are not...

Reply to Newf

OK thanks for the info. I'll look around and see what I find.

Reply to remper

So I finished collecting my build and changed a few things: For now I'm going with the EVGA 7950 GT 512MB video card, and then use the step up program to a new card within 90 days. I changed to 2GB Corsair memory, and a 74 GB Raptor, with a storage drive to come. I also went with 5600+ processor.

Anyway, I fired it up for the first time and got everything to work on the first go round. Everything has been perfect, so again I thank everyone here who have answered many questions I have had while browsing the forums.

Now I have one more. Are there any diagnostic programs people would suggest to test components?

Reply to remper

So I finished collecting my build and changed a few things: For now I'm going with the EVGA 7950 GT 512MB video card, and then use the step up program to a new card within 90 days. I changed to 2GB Corsair memory, and a 74 GB Raptor, with a storage drive to come. I also went with 5600+ processor.

Anyway, I fired it up for the first time and got everything to work on the first go round. Everything has been perfect, so again I thank everyone here who have answered many questions I have had while browsing the forums.

Now I have one more. Are there any diagnostic programs people would suggest to test components?

Reply to remper

Forum Homebuilt Systems : General Homebuilt - Another first build

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Another first build

Forum Homebuilt Systems : General Homebuilt - Another first build

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