I'm helping my friend build a PC. Help please? (Compatibility)

[behemothzero]

Okay, first of all, let me say that we're not going to change anything here unless it is for compatibility reasons. Yeah, part A sucks, sure. If you can give us more money, we'd be glad to change said parts.

Okay, here they are:

AMD Sempron 2800+ S754
MSI K8NNEO3-F nForce4 motherboard
1x512MB DDR400 RAM
GeForce 6600 PCI-E video card
80GB HDD

That's about the core hardware. Will this work? I also would like to know what the wattage of the PSU should be.

Thanks.

[jlreich]

Yes those parts are compatible. Make sure you get an SATA HDD for best performance. The prices are about the same as an IDE HDD.

At least a 400W quality PSU should do fine for that system, preferably higher as budget allows. Make sure to get a PSU that had a 24pin or 20+4pin main connector as the mobo has a 24pin main connector.

[behemothzero]

Thanks.

Another question, though: I didn't put SATA there not because of financial constraints, but because I wasn't sure if there was any other hardware requirement besides the SATA cable (which I think is already provided with the mobo, as I saw with mine). Do I need some special thingamajig to make them work? Hardware, that is.

Thanks in advance.

[rond36]

Your MSI K8N Neo3-F motherboard should come with the proper cables for SATA drives.
http://www.msi.com.tw/images/product_img/other/mainboard/bracket/sata_org.gif
The orange cables are SATA data cables and the other cable is a SATA power adaptor to use if your PSU does not have SATA power connectors. If your PSU does have SATA power connectors you will not need the adaptor.

[behemothzero]

I see... so those SATA power connectors are just built-in into the PSU like normal power cables (if applicable)?

Also, if they aren't present, will there be a slot in my motherboard wherein I will plug the adaptor in?

btw, my own motherboard supports SATA (P4S800D-X), but it does not have any SATA power adaptor. I haven't checked my PSU yet if it has the connector, though.

[jlreich]

I see... so those SATA power connectors are just built-in into the PSU like normal power cables (if applicable)?
Yes. If the PSU has SATA connectors they will be a part of the PSU just like any other connectors coming out of the PSU.

Also, if they aren't present, will there be a slot in my motherboard wherein I will plug the adapter in?
No, you plug the adapter into a regular molex connector the normally powers an IDE HDD or CD/DVD drive. Then plug the other end of the adapter directly into the SATA HDD.

In the picture rond36 posted, the white part of the "Y" adapter plugs into the molex power connector that normally power IDE drives, and the two black ends plug into two SATA drives.

[saphalline]

Also be aware that not all SATA hard drives require the new small black SATA power connector. Some of them still use the white molex power connector like IDE hard drives do. And some SATA hard drives have both, in which case you only need to plug in one or the other power connector (doesn't really matter which one).

Hardware-wise, you won't need any additional hardware or cables for a SATA hard drive. It's just like IDE - all you need is a data cable and a power connector. Except that SATA uses different cables.

[rond36]

My SATA hard drives have both types of power connectors. I think most Western Digital SATA drives have both types.

This is a Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD4000KS 400GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive it has both power connections.
http://www.wdc.com/global/images/products/bcknocvr/wdfDesktop_SE16_KD.jpg

[behemothzero]

I see... thanks again, guys.