First Time PC Builder

Shreve · Nov 7, 2003

Thanks in advance for reading this post. My wife has given me the green light to build a new computer. I have typically bought pre-built but customized pcs in the past. My last new pc was in 1999. Typically, I buy high end and milk it for 3+ years with a couple of minor incremental upgrades during its lifespan. So its time for me to start again and since my wife wants my old pc, I would love to build myself a new relatively high end rig from scratch.

Below are the parts that I've selected from Newegg.com as they seem to have the best prices for parts and shipping as well as a great reputation.

AMD Athlon 64 3200+, ADA3200BOX - RETAIL, 1MB L2 Cache, 1600Mhz Bus
Asus Motherboard for AMD Athlon 64 Processors, Model# K8V Deluxe - RETAIL
ATI All-In-Wonder RADEON 9800 PRO 128MB DDR 8X AGP RETAIL
CORSAIR MEMORY XMS Extreme Memory Speed Pro Series, Low Latency 512MB 64MX64 PC-3200LLPRO w/ Heat Spreaders - Retail
Creative Labs Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS Platinum PCI Internal Sound Card and Front Panel I/O Drive - Retail
LITE-ON XJ-HD166/XJ-HD 165H 16X DVD ROM Drive BLACK- OEM48X CD-ROM Access all format DVD-ROM/R/RW ,CD-ROM/R/RW title & disc
MITSUMI D359M3 BLACK FDD 1.44MB 3.5INCH - OEM
NEC/Mitsubishi 22" CRT monitor DP2070SB-BK - Retail
Plextor 8X DVD-RW +RW DVD Recorder - Model PX-708A/SW-BL Black Retail
Windows XP
Xoxide X-Viper Case with 400 watt PSU
Already own a Logitech Cordless Mouse and Keyboard Combo and a 5.1 Speaker and Decoder System

I would greatly appreciate any feedback on these components as well as anything that a newb builder like me might be forgetting.

Thanks again for your help

nimirra · Nov 7, 2003

I'm fairly new to the aspect of self building systems. But I do know if your a gamer you should probably not get the All-In-Wonder series of ATI cards. Their core clocks and memory timings are slightly less aggresive, but have all the added extras that allow TV in/out video editing and that kind of stuff, if Im not mistaken... Someone please correct me if Im wrong. Other than that the stuff you have listed seems pretty decent. Im not a huge AMD fan, so I cant tell you much about the Proc or the motherboard. Hope I helped a little atleast.

Achilles97 · Nov 7, 2003

I don't have any feedback other than you are building the ultimate computer.

Corporate Thug · Nov 7, 2003

thats one slick system there, i wouldnt change a damn thing, make sure the 400W PSU is from a reputable manufacterer though. thats a lot of nice stuff to risk it with a crappy PSU

Shreve · Nov 7, 2003

In regards to the AIW 9800, the reviews that I read had the card going blow to blow with the other 9800 cards including the 256 model. I considered the XT model, but the $$$ is just crazy. The AIW was like $20 bucks more than the 9800 and the features seemed well worth it.

Anyone else have a thought on whether the AIW 9800 can keep up with the regular 9800?

Macro2 · Nov 7, 2003

The only thing I'd really change is the floppy drive. Get a Sony or a Samsung.

I might go with a 21" Dell P1130 or a Sony G520P monitor over the NEC just because I have both and love them.

BaboonGuy · Nov 7, 2003

highend? you gotta go for the new Dell 20" LCD. 16ms response rate, and 20 inches of LCD love

dnuggett · Nov 7, 2003

CORSAIR MEMORY XMS Extreme Memory Speed Pro Series, Low Latency 512MB 64MX64 PC-3200LLPRO w/ Heat Spreaders - Retail

No self respecting high end machine has just 512MB of RAM. :Q Go for 1GB.

Luagsch · Nov 7, 2003

older aiw-cards were always slower clocked than it's counterparts. not the aiw-9800 pro though. coreclock is the same and mem-clock is 20mhz higher than a standard 9800pro 128. go for it. that card's a dream :beer:

nCred · Nov 7, 2003

Originally posted by: dnuggett

CORSAIR MEMORY XMS Extreme Memory Speed Pro Series, Low Latency 512MB 64MX64 PC-3200LLPRO w/ Heat Spreaders - Retail

Click to expand...

No self respecting high end machine has just 512MB of RAM. :Q Go for 1GB.

Yeah.

FFactory0x · Nov 7, 2003

I would buy Twinmos pc3200 instead of corsair. Personal preference.

EstoyLoco · Nov 7, 2003

---------------------------------------------------------------
First off you are buying an nForce2 board with DualDDR support
so use it... pick up another 512MB stick.

Also that board has built in DD5.1 encoder, so it's sort of pointless to pick up the Audigy2 Plat... I could be wrong, but if the nForce2 does a great job of encoding it already, just let your receiver handle it...
So get rid of the Aud2 plat and pick up an extra stick of mem for the same price.
Also I believe the audigy 2 does not encode in DD5.1, so unless the program you run supports surround sound speficially, you will just get upmixed stereo out of the Audigy2.
---------------------------------------------------------------
Ignore top part, thought you were buying an nForce2 board, got the models mixxed up

Also I agree with the AIW issue, if you are a gamer, you might end up upgrading the vid card later, in which case boom goes your TV tuner, buy one seperately from like Hauppauge, you can get a nice PVR model+regular 9800 PRO for about the same price you would pay for the AIW

Shreve · Nov 7, 2003

When I was copying and pasting evidently I didnt grab the 2nd 512 ram stick - So I am getting a gig
I didnt look at LCD's because they tend to be very expensive for a good one - I'll check the price on the one you described
Does it really matter what floppy drive I get. I just went with the cheapest black one. What advantage will the one that you described get me.

Finnkc · Nov 7, 2003

"My wife has given me the green light to build a new computer. "

lol that was a classic ... but really

The only thing I would change:

SB Aud2 - chuck it and get the SB Live Gamer unless you are a hardcore sound and music guy then the Aud2 isn't going to be used for the features you paid for.

I would also go with the 22" NEC I have one myself and love it ... most people don't know that its a Sony with NEC on the box. You can get a 20" LCD but I still don't like them yet too god dame $$$ for anything that looks good.

The RAM I would chuck also and go with OCZ and get 1024mb n0t 512mb esp if you want to ride the system for 3 years ... 512 is getting almost min now for most stuff.

Peter D · Nov 7, 2003

Get 1GB of RAM instead. Games like Battlefield 1942 just eat it up. Make sure the the PSU is also of high quality (Antec, Enermax, Sparkle, Allied, etc)

Other than that, looks like you're ready to go!

Shreve · Nov 7, 2003

I was shocked when she suggested that I get a new pc. Other than she gets the current one which is still fine and dandy for a Teacher. There most be disguised motives.

araczynski · Nov 7, 2003

1 gig of RAM won't give you anythign over 512mb, at least not in terms of gaming, if you're concerned with gaming/loading time get the WD Raptop SATA drives. If you're doing photo/movie editing and all that multimedia crap then you'll notice a difference, if you're gung-ho about it that is, if you're convering a few wav's to mp3's don't bother. Maybe in 18 months there might be benefits to 1gig, but right now if your main concern is gaming then get yourself a couple games with the extra money.

the media drive on the audigy is also useless unless you're into multimedia peripherals and all that crap,

as for floppies, i've used floppies from 10 year old systems and they still work fine, somehow i doubt any company has made any serious 'progress' in the floppy drive since then. grab the cheapest, does anythign even come on floppies anymore? if you're concerned about moving files around just grab a USB key

oNiceGuy · Nov 7, 2003

The 9800pro All In Wonder performs the same as the regular 9800pro. The only difference is that the AIW 9800pro comes with a tv turner, pinacle studio's, game, and about 150$ worth in cables for media (Such as connecting tv to computer). Software that allows you to download your local cable showings is awesome, you can even download movies and prerecord them i.e(Just like Tivo). At the moment, this is the best All Around Card.

- Awesome Graphics, FPS
- Full DX 9 Compatible
- Media Monster
- Comes with over 250$ in software

eofeapr · Nov 7, 2003

what are you doing for hard drives ?? Ikeep lookong but don"t see any ,,, SCSI would b nice but pricey may I suggest a pair 120 gig 8mg cache' SATA or IDE on a pci card...RAID 0

DITTO on the RAM issue,, I dream of maxed out slots cause I do grapics but you should try for a 1 gig pair(only way to capitalize on DUAL CHANNEL architecture)

Ant001 · Nov 7, 2003

get 1 gig of Mushkin PC3200 Level II instead.

A64s don't support dual channel.

What harddrives are you getting? If you can wait you may wanna get one or more of the new WD Raptors coming out.

LordOfAll · Nov 7, 2003

I second that Mushkin LVL II. The latest rev of the corsair isn't as good as the previous ones.

Mitsu makes their own tubes. It is a trinitoron tube but sony doesn't make it.

Shreve · Nov 7, 2003

I forgot to paste this in.

MAXTOR 120GB 7200RPM SATA HARD DRIVE MODEL # 6Y120M0 - OEM

This is the hard drive that I was focusing on.

Ionizer86 · Nov 7, 2003

On the hard drive, I recommend paying a bit more for a Seagate since I have both a 7200.7 8MB and a Maxtor DM9+ 8MB, and the Seagate is much quieter.

Shreve · Nov 8, 2003

I'll look into the Seagate thats for the advice

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