major upgrade

[Thedlund]

Hello All
New to Tom's Hardware website, but since my 1st name is Tom this seems like the appropriate website. I have been planning a major rebuild my old system.
P4 2.4 GHZ
1g memory
ATI 9700video card
350 GB hard drive
Thermaltake Xaser 3 case

I'm thinking of going with

Geforce 9800GT video card
MSI K9N Motherboard
AMD Athlon 64 X2 6400+
4g memory
PC Power& Cooling 750 watt power supply.

Please tell me what you think. Latter down the road i would like to add another Geforce 9800GT video card to this system.
This computer primary job is editing photos and playing Warrock, but once i get an updated computer who knows what i might start playing.

Thanks again for any advise.
The other Tom

 

[dirtmountain]

Which model of the K9N?
Great power supply, but overkill for your proposed system, even if SLIed later.

 

[Thedlund]

This is the one i was looking at,http://www.compusa.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3799151&CatId=2417
as far a the power supply how many watts do i need?

 

[br3nd064]

Do you have a budget you have to stay under? If you're willing to spend more, look into a Core 2 Duo and socket 775 motherboard.

 

[Thedlund]

i would like to keep it under a $1000

 

[br3nd064]

I'd say get this Core 2 Duo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115052. If you have some extra money when you've decided on everything, you could always change it to an e8x00 series or quad core. As for a sli motherboard... probably a 680i. Check out reviews for different 680i motherboards and see which you like.

Hope that helps.

 

[Thedlund]

Ok, after taking your suggestions , so here is the new list and it really isn't any more expensive than the AMD.

Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST31000340AS 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
Item #: N82E16822148274


Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer 7.1 Channels PCI Interface Sound Card - Retail
Item #: N82E16829102006

Thermaltake TR2 RX W0134RU 550W ATX12V Ver2.2 SLI Ready Modular Passive PFC PFC Power Supply - Retail
Item #: N82E16817153059


G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-6400CL5D-4GBPQ - Retail
Item #: N82E16820231122


ASUS P5K PRO LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
Item #: N82E16813131275


Intel Core 2 Duo E7200 Wolfdale 2.53GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor Model BX80571E7200 - Retail
Item #: N82E16819115052


COOLER MASTER RR-CCH-L9U1-GP 92mm Hyper TX2 CPU Cooler - Retail
Item #: N82E16835103031

EVGA 512-P3-N975-AR GeForce 9800 GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail
Item #: N82E16814130380

 

[br3nd064]

You can't have that motherboard. I'd say you have 4 choices for choices for motherboard. Look at the 650i, 680i, 750i, and 780i chipsets. I was just looking at them though, and make sure that they support (2) pci-e x16 2.0 slots. A lot of the boards say one slot is full speed, then the other is x8.

That heatsink is good, since it doesn't have a mounting bracket, it may be difficult to install. If you're worried about that, get one with a mounting bracket. I have a heatsink very similar to that one (arctic cooling freezer 7 pro) and it does cool very well.

Are you keeping the case from the last build? Since you're well under your budget, you can go with an e8x00 cpu if you want.

 

[Thedlund]

Good catch on the motherboard, i didn't even notice it was a crossfire board. Thanks again

ok, so here are the changes

EVGA 132-CK-NF78-A1 LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 780i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
Item #: N82E16813188024

Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 Wolfdale 3.16GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor Model BX80570E8500 - Retail
Item #: N82E16819115036

ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro 92mm CPU Cooler - Retail
Item #: N82E16835186134

I dropped the sound card, i'll use on board sound for a while. Reading the review on some of these board are down right scary, I have heard lot of good things about ASUS but the reveiws were terrible so i'll try EVGA. I also opited for the extended warrenty on the motherboard and CPU, do you think that is is wasted money?

yes i plan on using my current case.
Total right now with shipping is right at $949.26

 

[br3nd064]

I have all 3 of those in my current pc and they're all reliable. I never go for the extended warranties. I don't think they're worth it because the chances are very slim that you'll actually need it. If you have anything wrong with the product, you'll usually notice it within the first couple of days. You'll be able to RMA it if this happens.

 

[Thedlund]

Thank you very much for all the advise. I have placed the order, can't wait to test this machine out. We will keep you posted.