New system parts...

[Dogdaysdude]

Someday I may actually build this...it's been fun planning it all out. It's not for gaming as I don't get into games. See what you think...I'm very open to suggestions.

CPU AMD Athlon 64 3200+
CPU Cooler Gigabyte 3D Ultra GT
MB Gigabyte GA-K8NSNXP-939
RAM 2 x 512MB SSR400 Corsiar Value Select
Graphics Gigabyte GeForce 6200 PCIe
PWS (Power supply) Antec 480 Watt TRUE480
HDD Hitachi 250GB SATA oem
DVD Lite-on SOHW-1633S
Case Cooler Master Centerion 5

Haven't decided on the monitor yet. And of course somewhere there will be a floppy drive, mouse and keyboard. I'm trying to keep the price around $1100 or a bit more than that.
Thanks.

[Dogdaysdude]

Uh-oh. Graphics card doesn't match motherboard. Back to more research...

[rio_bugarin]

I'm trying to keep the price around $1100 or a bit more than that.
Thanks.

wow !! You're building a powerful pc. Good luck.

[saphalline]

I would suggest a mobo based on NVidia's NForce4 chipset family. This will not only get you a PCIe slot for vid cards, but will also get you some nice modern features. Chaintech's VNF4/Ultra (http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=13-152-049&depa=1) is on Newegg for under $120 after shipping. This mobo is based on the NForce4 Ultra chipset, and gives you an x16 PCIe slot, two x1 PCIe slots, onboard GbE, 10 USB 2.0 ports, and 4 SATA 2.0 ports. NForce4 is the latest and greatest for Socket 939 right now, and the price will be high for awhile. But eventually, it will come down a lot. And you did say "Someday I may actually build this..." :D

Although I am curious... what is there to do on a computer besides surf the forums and play games? :p

[Dogdaysdude]

Saph, I noticed that was the MB you suggested a few days ago when I had asked for parts suggestions. The thing that scares me is the bios settings for any motherboard. I know I can read about them, but I'm still not sure what the best settings would be for any given system and how much actually needs to be changed in the bios. I liked the DIY guide for an AMD system at www.hardwarezone.com, so I was going to stick with that MB. But on the other hand, I don't want to use that MB just because they did. :rolleyes:
It seems like most people recommend the Asus or Abit MB's. Chaintech's pretty good, then?
As for games...I don't mind them myself. I just don't have the time. There are other things I'd rather be doing. (Like checking out Usenet newsgroups) But it really bothers me to see my kids sit endlessly in front of the computer playing them. My kids are only 8 & 5, though, so I hate to see them cultivate that habit this early. I watch it pretty close and time them, as well as make sure homework (for the 8 years old) etc is done first. Maybe I'm over sensitive about it. But that's my .02.
Thanks for your help.

[saphalline]

Now here's a good debate! Mobo's - how important are they? Let me give you some advice here: never never never skimp on the mobo!! It doesn't matter what kind of system you're building! Stability, features, and reliability start with two major components - the mobo and the PSU. If you don't invest good money in these two, your system won't have a solid foundation, and at that point it won't matter how good your other parts are. Just because I suggest mobo's with the latest chipsets and modern features doesn't mean I'm trying to steer you towards a gaming sytem. I'm just trying to steer you towards a good system. ;)

As for the BIOS settings, unless something isn't working quite right, you can actually leave them alone if you want. I always fool around in the BIOS of any system I build, but that's because I know what I can toy with and what to leave alone! :p But if you're scared of messing something up, don't be - and don't worry, you can actually run a system just fine without touching a single BIOS setting if you really want to do that. Everything these days is auto-detect, so...

Asus is good, maybe too good for most people. :p They tend to lean towards high-speed gaming mobo's and are often overpriced for the average user. Abit has a tremendous reputation for OC'ing (Asus, too) but are slightly less expensive than Asus in general. I have an Abit mobo for my currently OC'ed P4 system - the IS7 model - very nice. Chaintech is good, too, and often much much cheaper than Asus & Abit. Chaintech makes good quality mobo's that can be made cheaper by sacrificing a few extra goodies (at each price point). For a good quality value system, my favorite has to be MSI. They make excellent products for a nice cheap price. There are actually quite a few excellent mobo manufacturers for all shapes and sizes of systems, it's just that I can only keep track of so many! I can usually tell what chipset is used by an Asus or MSI mobo just by looking at the model number, but most of the other ones I have to look up. That Gigabyte mobo you listed, though, was very well known in its day, so I knew right away that it used the old NForce3 Ultra chipset and is a bit behind the times now. NForce4 is what it's about now, so that's why I made the recommendation that I did.

As for your kids, I do think it's a good idea to trim down their computer time. Schools these days seem content in showing kids how to use a computer, but basic hardware knowledge is lost to most of them! :mad: I'm not in any position to change the school system here in the US, but I think more emphasis should be placed on teaching kids some basic knowledge of how computers work. They do it with other topics, like the human body! Why do they skip computers!? I think it really just makes me mad because the public school system just doesn't teach basic skills anymore. They seem to think that calculators and computers solve all their duties in teaching kids, when what's really happening is that we're creating an entire generation of users, not thinkers. Who now will create tomorrow's innovations?...

[Dogdaysdude]

I agree with your comments on the school system. We live in a small town and we were just commenting about how much useless busy work they have our kids doing. My wife has home schooled before with one of our older kids. We are thinking of doing that again.
I really do appreciate your help and comments on hardware. MSI looks really good, too. They have an nforce4 board...the K8N Neo4 platinum...comes with and without SLI. $154 at Zipzoomfly without SLI. They seem to come in consistently under Newegg. And in most cases, no shipping. I tend to learn toward purchasing from them...haven't yet though. We'll see how the tax refund turns out. That may finance this...if I do it. I really don't need it...hey, it's a "virtual computer" for now. :D But I'm having fun looking at all the possibilities for it.

[saphalline]

I really don't need it...hey, it's a "virtual computer" for now. But I'm having fun looking at all the possibilities for it.Haha! Hey, if anything, this is a good thread for the forums' many visitors looking to do the same thing!

Yes, those MSI mobo's are good, too. A bit more expensive, but I definitely like them. And ZipZoomFly is a good online vendor, too. They used to be GoogleGear back when I used to order from them, but they changed their name & website for some reason (new ownership?). In any case, they seem to have the same service as always. I still order from Newegg out of loyalty's sake, but ZZF is still in the same ballpark.