Help w/ first build

[Coldcut]

Whats up people. Put together a system on Newegg, but note sure if I should pull the trigger. The comp is only for basic stuff like surfing the net and some occasional gaming. It is a budget build that I would like to keep around $500. It would be cool if I could receive some comments, criticisms, etc. on the build I have put together. Thanks.


Here are the specs for the build:

MSI K8N Neo4-F Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
$65
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16813130491

Rosewill R6AR6-BK 0.8mm SECC 120mm Fan ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
$30
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16811147044

SAMSUNG 18X DVD±R DVD Burner With 12X DVD-RAM Write Black E-IDE/ATAPI Model SH-S182D - OEM
$30
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16827151133

CORSAIR ValueSelect 1GB (2 x 512MB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Dual Channel Kit System Memory Model VS1GBKIT400 - Retail
$113
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16820145440

APEVIA (ASPIRE) CF12S 120mm Cooling Fan - Retail
$5
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16811998127

Seagate Barracuda 7200.9 ST3808110AS 80GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
$50
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16822148107

FSP Group (Fortron Source) AX400-PN, RoHS, 12cm FAN, version 2.0, 2 SATA, 20+ 4 pin, PCI Express, 400W Power Supply - Retail
$41.50
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16817104953

AMD Athlon 64 3000+ Venice 1.8GHz Socket 939 Processor Model ADA3000BPBOX - Retail
$65
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16819103537

PNY VCG66256XPB GeForce 6600 256MB DDR PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail
$53
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16814133154

GIGABYTE GN-WP01GS PCI Wireless Adapter - Retail
$20
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16839121008

Total: $472.50 before shipping

 

[Coops07]

Could you include a price breakdown /w a total?

 

[drummerdude]

i wouldnt go for s939. go for am2 then you will be able to upgrade later.

 

[Coldcut]

i wouldnt go for s939. go for am2 then you will be able to upgrade later.

How much much of performance difference can I expect to see? Also I don't think I will do any upgrading to the build down the line. I'll probably give it away to a family member once I tire of it. Thanks for the input.

 

[mad-dog]

I wouldn't bother with that MSI board, if you can swing a bit more here is the 939 board to have.....
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813127232
or this one
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131540

Why do you need a dvd burner, maybe a dvd/rom instead
A 450W PSU would be smarter choice as well
And that 6600 is not only for occasional use but very limited use as well, don't expect to play any modern games with much resolution or background effects..

 

[Coldcut]

I wouldn't bother with that MSI board, if you can swing a bit more here is the 939 board to have.....
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813127232
or this one
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131540

Why do you need a dvd burner, maybe a dvd/rom instead
A 450W PSU would be smarter choice as well
And that 6600 is not only for occasional use but very limited use as well, don't expect to play any modern games with much resolution or background effects..

Yeah, I'm kind of skeptical of the motherboard I was looking at for my build. Probably safer to pony up the cash for something more decent. I proabably should of clarified the 'occasional gaming' part. Any gaming I do will probably be some older games like FEAR or Half-life 2. So I'm not too worried playing the lastest and greatest in gaming. Thanks for help.

 

[Guest]

Well an AM2 system will usually get between 5-20% I think better than 939. If you don't plan on upgrading, then go ahead and get a 939, its cheaper. But if you decide to upgrade later, then you will be sorry.

 

[Guest]

GO for this GPU.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814125033

 

[sirheck]

for 500$ its not bad.

for what you want to do with it

for about 30$ more you should be able to get the 3700sandycore.

 

[mad-dog]

I thought that "FEAR" and "HALF-LIFE" were very graphic intensive..
Anyways, i would not get anything smaller than a 7600GT

 

[Silentsam]

I had the MSI Neo4-F board, and it was pretty solid. For a budget system you wouldn't be disappointed.

 

[jaguarskx]

i wouldnt go for s939. go for am2 then you will be able to upgrade later.

How much much of performance difference can I expect to see?

You won't see much of a difference. In fact an AM2 CPU needs DDR2 800 RAM to be just as fast as a S939 CPU with DDR 400 RAM. If you don't plan to upgrade then stick with the S939 Athlon 64.

The FSP 400w PSU you selected is more than enough to power your system, no need to pony up more money for a 450w or 500w PSU.

However, I do agree that you should get the 7600GT if you plan on playing FEAR or HL2. The lowest I would go would be the 7600GS, but you lose a lot of performance for the little money that you save.

Have fun.

 

[Coldcut]

Thanks for all help guys. Cleared up a lot of the questions and concerns I had on this build. I'll make some changes according to the suggestions given and will probably make the order in the next few days. But of course more input on the build is more than welcome. 😀

 

[SPARTAN-117]

I would go for 939 and wait on AM2. AMD has already announced the release of the FX-68, FX-70, and FX-74 and that they are immediatly phasing out the current AM2 compatible CPU's so that when they launch 4x4 in Jan' 07 they don't have people investing a mint in new hardware.

 

[mad-dog]

So, the new FX68,69 and 70 chips (will/will not) fit the current AM2 socket.
I (am/was) hoping that the new FX and maybe 4x4 would plug into my board.
Where does it end........Ugh

I know this much is true, we will need Vista to support DirectX 10 so i have no use for the NVIDIA 8800 GPU.
After our conversation tonight i have decided that buying another 7900GTO is the logical choice and then wait and see what happens with the AM2 socket so i know which way to go with the 4200+.

BTW, thanx for your research on the 7900 series....

 

[purdueguy]

PSU/Case: Get the Antec Sonata II from Newegg. It's 76 bucks after MIR and it comes with a 450W PSU and the amps aren't too bad either.
CPU: Since this is a budget build and it won't be used for upgrading, socket 939 is still fine. DDR400 Ram is cheaper than DDR2 800 (CAS latency 4 - I would not get 5) which you need for the AM2 chip. Though for another 28 bucks, I'd get the 3700+ San Diego chip.
Mobo: For another 13 bucks, get the ASUS A8N-E.
Memory: Save 8 bucks and get the OCZ Premier, here.
Video Card: The 6600 would be fine to play on low res with the games you want. I would highly recommend you invest in another 60 bucks to your budget and get the BFG 7600GT.

You don't need the extra cooling fan. Everything else is fine.

Btw, do you already have an OS, keyboard, mouse? This will add around $120-$200+ depending on what you want.

 

[Coldcut]

Yeah I already have the OS, keyboard, and mouse taken care of. I found out that I might be able to obtain a used COOLER MASTER Centurion 532 case for 40 or maybe less if I haggle. Is that a decent deal?