First Build, $1500 Budget...Any issues?

[Slacker]

Howdy!

This will be my first build, and I was looking for some feedback(or problems with the components I have chosen). I am trying to stay around $1500. The rig will be used mainly for gaming, burning media, sparce office work, etc... :confused: :confused:

My current rig is a Dell 8250 P4 2.6 / ATI 9700 Pro / Sounblaster Audigy 2 / 512 RAM. :( :o

New Goodies: :)
Cooler Master Cavalier 3 Cav-T03-UK 59.99 (http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16811119074)

Asus A8N-SLI Deluxe 159.00 (http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16813131517)

eVGA 7800GT 169.00 (http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16814130247)

Seasonic S12-500 Power Supply 129.00 (http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16817151024)

AMD 64 X2 3800 374.00 (http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16819103562)

Corsair Value Select 2 x 512 90.50 x 2 kits 181.00 (2gig) (http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16820145440)

Western Digital Caviar 160GB 7200 RPM SATA 82.00 (http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16822144415)

Lite-On DVD Burner SOHW-1693S 42.99 (http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16827106988)

Lite-On DVD/ROM 21.00 (http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16827131410)

Microsoft Windows Home Edition, SP2 85.95 (http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16837102151)

Also, are there any cables, misc suplies that I might need? Any suggestions or concerns with the components?

I have read the upgrade stickies...

Thanks...
BTW...stumbled on this site a few weeks ago, and I just wanted to say very nice site.

[saphalline]

That case is hard to grade because of the bad camera angles (one of the rare times that Newegg's pics aren't enough) but it is a Cooler Master. Just difficult to see.

I would advise against filling up all your RAM slots from the beginning. This severely limits your upgrade potential because it will force you to toss two of your sticks when you need more than 2GB of RAM (trust me - the day will inevitably come). Get two sticks of RAM for now. 2 x 512 or 2 x 1G, whatever, just pick.

For only about $20 more, you can get 40GB more hard drive space. 200GB hard drives have a better price per GB than 160GB hard drives. And don't try and tell yourself you won't need the space! Remember when we all thought 8GB was huge? Or how about those ol' 40 meg'ers?

Wait, why do you need two optical drives? What's that all about?

As for the cables, well... that's the great thing about that mobo! It comes with all your cables! :D

[pop pop]

The 7800GT is $369 but the total works out to $1500 so just a typo.

I would pony up the extra $60 and buy XP Pro.

[deddard]

Here's a link for a review of the coolermaster case:
http://www.hardcoreware.net/reviews/review-226-1.htm

I put together a coolermaster recently, and must say that the drive retention mechanism is great- no screws needed.
If this case uses the same expansion card retention system as the one I put together (another 'tool-less' system) then I'd advise that you put screws in anyway on the cards - the retention system for the drives works fine, but the card one is too weak, and I wouldn't want to trust it by itself.

[Slacker]

Thanks for the advice and tips... :)

Guess I'll go with the 1g sticks for future upgrades, and dropping the DVD/ROM drive will drop 20.00 off the overall price.

Also, What is the advantage of having XP Pro vs XP Home?
Will I need glue for the heatsink/fan?

Kudos!

[i an not a nerd]

For the heatsink/fan you will need a thermal paste (to conduct the heat from the cpu to the heatsink). A good brand of thermal paste is Arctic Silver.

About XP Pro, i'm not sure.... I use the 64-bit edition of XP Pro.

Unless you plan on upgrading to SLI, I would save $$$ and get the nforce4 Ultra edition of the Asus board: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131530

Also I highly reccomend this board from MSI:http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813130484

and this board from DFI: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813136152

I am currently running the MSI board in my gaming computer and the DFI board in my media server. Both run great, I havn't had to reboot the DFI board for a couple months now.


Another thing, about the RAM. I would get the highest performing RAM that you can afford. OCZ Gold ram is my personal fav. RAM can be a big bottleneck in Gaming.

[i an not a nerd]

O and Saph: Wait, why do you need two optical drives? What's that all about?

That is for direct dvd copying I assume.

[Slacker]

Arctic Paste..Is that better than Elmer's? J/K..thx

Eventually, I will go the SLI route. (If and when the vid card prices drop.)

RAM...Looks like I'll go with Corsair Valueselect 2 x 1gb..as on Saph's hardware picks.

Thx

[pop pop]

Arctic Silver: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16835100007 You can get it at a local shop or computer superstore and save the cost of shipping on such a small item.

XP Pro...better stability, better networking, better security, bettre performance (in my experience), required for the upgrade path to 64-bit XP (at least that's what M$ said last I heard), etc.

About the RAM...with that 7800GT and your CPU, I really don't know that the extra bucks you'll need to plunk down for really high performance RAM will make that much difference. I run with 2GB Corsair 675/5400 and I've max'd out FarCry and serious combat sims with no problems at all. Corsair is Quality stuff with a capital Q. Go with Saph's recommendations.

[saphalline]

I've said it before and I'll say it again: the K8 architecture can't make use of more RAM bandwidth than the default single- or dual-channel DDR400.

One of the big hardware sites recently ran some benchmarks using the X2 4800+ and faster RAM (DDR500 or DDR533) and they found an average performance increase of less than 1%. Why spend the extra money on RAM when you can just get a faster CPU or vid card and guarantee yourself a lot more than just 1%?

For an Intel system that will be OC'ed, yeah, go for the expensive RAM. Otherwise, just get the regular stuff. It's not like it's cheap or anything, it's the good regular stuff, but it's more than enough for most people. And that's why I recommend the regular stuff, because OC'ing is at-your-own-risk and I don't want to be a part of fried components. If you OC and fry your CPU, that's your own d@mn fault!!

You don't need Arctic Silver, by the way. That's a retail CPU you've got there, so it comes with the stock HSF unit (heatsink & fan unit) which has AMD's stock thermal pad on the bottom. This will serve you well for now, and perhaps forever, but Arctic Silver does perform better and that's why a lot of the forum members recommend it. I just wanted you to also know that you don't absolutely need AS5 if you're buying a retail boxed CPU. It's good to have, but if this is your first complete build, don't worry about Arctic Silver too much.

That is for direct dvd copying I assume.This occurred to me later. One of those "Doh!" moments... ;)

[Variable]

What games are taking advantage of 64 bit cpu's now-a-days? Last I heard was a year ago and very few apps or games were taking advantage of the 64 bit proc.

[pop pop]

The game with 64-bit capability that immediately comes to mind is FarCry. Of course, you would have to have that specific version vice the 32-bit version. There may be more, I don't know. Certainly more are coming.

[hockey man]

I thought I read somewere that there was a 64 bit UT2004 demo out.

[deddard]

Another thing to include in a new build is cloning software such as Norton Ghost.
You can then make system restore disks at several key points along the way. I'd suggest:

After initial configuration
After all hot-fixes are installed
After all firewall/AVs have been configured
After each major software install.
Then once a week/month depending on your needs.
Ghost everything to DVD and you're a lot more secure if problems strike.

Don't go for the latest version of Ghost if you choose Norton. Stick to 2003 - it's a lot less hassle, and can be picked up in OEM form for next to nothing (relatively speaking :D )

[i an not a nerd]

When i was suggesting better RAM I was refering to the timings. OCZ Gold 3200 runs 2-2-2-5. Pretty decent stuff.

[i an not a nerd]

Hey Pop Pop. About the 64 bit version of Farcry, you just need to DL an update from this site: http://amd64downloads.filecloud.com/farcry.asp

O and you need XP 64bit edition and a amd 64 proccessor or a 600+ series Intel proccessor. (One that supports EMT64)

[Slacker]

Thanks for all the help and tips. I ordered the components today, and I am sure I'll be back asking for some help....

Kudos..