How is this gaming system?

[CurlingRocks]

I, a novice, plan to build a gaming system for my children. I also plan to use it some for video editing and as a DVR. I like to spend about $1500 for everything except the monitor/software/keyboard/mouse. The folks at Fry's recommended these components:

MSI K8T Neo-FIS2R ($169.99)
Athlon 64 3000+ ($249.99)
DDR 512 MB 3200 Corsair ($89.99)
Radeon ATI AIW 9800 Pro 128 MB DDR ($399.99)
MXT-L01P120 120G U133 8 MB ($119.99)
Diabolic Blue Case 400 W ($139.99)
TDK 4x Dual +/- RW Drive ($149.99)
Pioneer 16X DVD-ROM 16x Max DVD 40x Max CD ($69.99)

What do you think about this gaming system? Do you have any recommendations for improvements or alternatives I should consider?

Thanks for all your help!

-shing

 

[Snorkius]

seems ok to me...

<b>wooooow <font color=red> Killer Klowns </font color=red> ... from <font color=blue>outer space</font color=blue>... HOLY SH¡T!</b>

 

[P4Man]

If you are spending that kind of money, i'd get 1 gig of RAM really. The generic 400W may also be barely enough especially with that Radeon connected to it. Wouldnt hurt trying of course, but if you get any sort of trouble, consider a more powerfull quality PSU.

= The views stated herein are my personal views, and not necessarily the views of my wife. =

 

[redface]

Yup, a good 400W PSU (Quality brand name) is better than a no name PSU. http://www20.tomshardware.com/howto/20021021/index.html

A fine day!

 

[sirak]

Try newegg.com for better prices. You can get a 9800pro AIW for $333 (save $66) for example. Definitely go for a gig of RAM.

----------------------
PIV 2.4c @ 3.12ghz
1gig PC3200 (512mbx2)
ASUS P4P800
GF3 Ti200 64mb (soon to be replaced)
WinXP Pro
3DMark2001SE: 6453
3DMark2003: 746

 

[Fyrsign]

NewEgg will definately help trim your cost fairly well. I have spent the last 3 weeks pricing out components and ended up deciding to buy everything from NewEgg due to them nailing down the lowest price on so much of what I was buying. Here is what I ended up with (everything here is times two since I am building one for my wife and one for me):

Case: Chenming Aluminum Custom Case (Silver/Green)
Price: $ 60.00 (CompuSave)
[Bought locally and ended up having to buy the display pieces due to lack of inventory. What this did though is allowed us to pay $60 each case AFTER tax, which was $9 less than the regular sale price BEFORE tax... Was a great surprise for us]

MSI K8T Neo-FSR VIA K8T800
Price: $ 95.00 (www.newegg.com)

AMD Athlon64 3000+
Price: $ 227.00 (www.newegg.com) - Retail

Apacer 184 Pin 512MB DDR PC-3200 - OEM
Price: $ 82.00 (www.newegg.com) x2

Fortron- FSP530-60GNA 530W
Price: $ 67.00 (www.newegg.com)

Seagate 80GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive, Model ST380013AS, OEM
Price: $ 85.00 (www.newegg.com)

SAPPHIRE RADEON 9800PRO Video Card, 256MB DDRII
Price: $ 313.00 (www.newegg.com) - Retail

Lite-On Black 52X32X52 CD-RW Drive, Model LTR-52327S
Price: $ 33.50 (www.newegg.com)

LITE-ON BLACK 16X DVD ROM Drive, Model XJ-HD166/XJ-HD 165H
Price: $ 31.00 (www.newegg.com)

MITSUMI D359M3D Black 1.44MB 3.5INCH Floppy
Price: $ 10.00 (www.newegg.com)

ROUND, 18-Inch, Floppy drive cable, Booted, 2-Connector ( BLACK )
Price: $ 2.75 (www.newegg.com)

ROUND, 24-Inch, True ATA133/100, IDE Cable, 3-Head ( Black )
Price: $ 3.75 (www.newegg.com)

Microsoft Natural Multimedia Keyboard & Wheel Mouse Optical Value Pack PS2 102keys -OEM
Price: $ 31.00 (www.newegg.com)

Arctic Silver 5. 3.5-gram( 1 cc. ) tube
Price: $ 6.99 (www.newegg.com)



I am not some amateur-crastinator... I am a PRO-crastinator!

 

[Spitfire_x86]

Decent system. But I would buy LiteOn LDW-811S as DVD burner. It's one of the best 8x dual format DVD burner (8x DVD+R) and costs only $130 to $150

----------------
<b><A HREF="http://geocities.com/spitfire_x86" target="_new">My Website</A></b>

<b><A HREF="http://geocities.com/spitfire_x86/myrig.html" target="_new">My Rig & 3DMark score</A></b>

 

[Black_Cat]

Via chipset? Blech!

You've tried and failed. The lesson here is, never try again. -- Homer Simpson.

 

[Johanthegnarler]

1gb of ram will do wonders. I currently just taken my 512 tossed it and bought 2x512 sticks.
Don't go generic psu. Highly recommend any name brand psu. And unless you're gonna use the AIW extra's go just a normal pro. Save ya some cash.

<A HREF="http://arc.aquamark3.com/arc/arc_view.php?run=610166081" target="_new">http://arc.aquamark3.com/arc/arc_view.php?run=610166081</A>
Figured i'd do it too..reality my ass.

 

[SoDNighthawk]

Build it and they will come then come and find me in Day Of Defeat Online and I will humble it for you

It's realy not about the speed anymore over 1 Gig in CPU power it's all about who is driving it

Barton 3200+ 400MHz
A7N8X Deluxe
Liquid 12 Celsius
2x512 Crucial DDR 400 PC3200
GeForce FX5900
Two Maxtor 40Gig 8MB cach 7200rpm
SONY RW 52x/24x/52x
SONY DVD 16x/40x

 

[richie_benaud]

Sounds cool i'm sure they'll love it. Another stick of 512mb wont do u any harm, games like bf1942 are memory hogs and will take all the memory u give it. Go Newegg and save some $'ss

May be worth considering/pricing a dell or similar, u could get a full system with audigy sound card, surround speakers, 19in monitor etc. Then give your kids the old computer so they dont mess your one up... Also maybe look to wait 2 months as DDR2 and new gen of video cards will be out

 

[Zoron]

It's realy not about the speed anymore over 1 Gig in CPU power it's all about who is driving it

This is a complete 180 from your previous statements. Someone with a P4 kick your ass?

<font color=red> If you design software that is fool-proof, only a fool will want to use it. </font color=red>

 

[Snaggle]

everyone has said almost everything,so I thought I would show you one thing" MSI K8T800 Chipset Motherboard for AMD Socket 754 CPU, Model "K8T Neo-FIS2R" -RETAIL


- Specifications -

Supported CPU: Socket 754 Next Generation AMD Athlon 64-bit CPU
Chipset: VIA K8T800 + VIA VT8237
RAM: 3x DIMM for DDR400/333/266 Max 2GB
IDE: 3x UltraDMA 66/100/133 up to 6 Devices
Slots: 1x AGP 8X/4X, 5x PCI 2.2(32-bit,3.3V/5V)
Ports: 2xPS2,1xLPT,1xCOM,1xLAN,8xUSB2.0(Rear 4),5xAudio,1xSPDIF,2xIEEE1394
Onboard Audio: Realtek ALC655 6-Channel Audio Codec
Onboard LAN: Realtek 8110S Gigabit Ethernet
Onboard SATA/RAID: 2x Serial ATA, Ultra ATA/Serial ATA RAID 0,1 or 0+1
Form Factor: ATX

Model#: K8T NEO-FIS2R
Item#: N82E16813130434

Rating: Vote(s): 30 Review(s): 19
Free FedEx Saver Shipping




Yes $126.00 "-newegg

Get the aiw version of the pro at newegg and make sure you buy the retail version for the software...at least if you've a cable connection to record all you tv shows and movies on,and make sure at least one optical drive has a dvd burner.For games make sure you've ODs that can read dvds at x16 and cds at X52,which means you'll have to use two;but you can then throw away your vcr and convert all your vrc tapes to dvds.BTW go to newegg and read their hardware reviews for your items.I recommend hardocp for motherboard reviews.

 

[CurlingRocks]

Thank you all very very much for your recommendations. I will definitely get 1G of memory, a good PSU with at least 400W, a faster DVD burner, and the retail version of the AIW 9800 Pro. Also thanks for the pointer to newegg.com whose price is much lower than my local Fry's.

Is there any difference between the OEM and the retail versions of the CPU and memory other than the price? I'm glad that snaggle noted the difference between the OEM and the retail versions of the AIW 9800 Pro. Also, any recommendations for cases and PSU will be greatly appreciated.

Some people suggested looking into pre-build systems. I'm not looking to buy a pre-built system because I wanted to build it with my children ... educational thing for both me and my children. I've worked in the software industry for over 16 years and have not build a system ... embarrassing. Thanks again all!