New AMD64 Setup - Any suggestions?

[redivider]

I'm planning on buying this setup within the next week or so, but since I'm relatively new to builing computers, I figured I would make sure I'm not making any obvious mistakes. Here's what I came up with:

Case: ENERMAX CS-5171LBFS-B

Power Supply: ^^ comes with a 350w supply. will that be enough?

CPU: Athlon64 3200+

Mobo: MSI K8T Neo-FIS2R

GPU: Radeon 9800Pro 128MB

RAM: 1GB (512MBx2) Mushkin LvII Black PC3500

HDD: Western Digital 120GB Special Edition

CD/DVD: LiteOn 52x32x52

Floppy: MITSUMI D359M3D Black

Network: Linksys WMP11 Wireless PCI Card


I'm pretty set on most of this stuff but I have a fwe things I'm not sure about.

1. Is the 3200+ going to have a noticeable performace increase over the 3000+ with this setup? Is it worth the extra money?

2. The prices on the Mushkin RAM on Newegg.com have me kind of confused. They have 512MB Level II Black PC3200 sticks listed at $125 each. Then they have a "dual pack" of the same RAM (at least I think it is the same) listed at $315, which is considerably more than $125 x 2. Is there any added advantage in buying a matched pair that would be worth the extra $65? Am I missing something there?

Also, the individual 512MB sticks of PC3500 Level II are listed at a higher price than the individual PC3200s ($139.50 vs. $125.00), which makes sense, but the "dual pack" is quite a bit less ($283). Any thoughts? I'm assuming the PC3500 is better, but I just can't figure why the 1GB dual pack would be less than the PC3200. Maybe it's just an error on the site?

Either way, which would you recommend?

3. I'm not totally set on the case, so any suggestions would be appreciated. I don't want anything too crazy and I'd like to spend in the $50-$125 range. I'll take quality construction and design over temp guages and neon lights and stuff like that.

4. As far as the hard drive goes, at some point I'd like to get a couple of WD Raptors but for now I just want a reasonbly priced drive with a decent amount of space (I have 200GB of external firewire space already for most of my storage needs) for windows and plenty of games, but I don't want a drive that's going to noticebly affect the performance. Should I go for the SATA over the Special Edition IDE or will it not really matter?

Also, I have an external DVD+-R/RW already, so that's why I don't plan on getting one right now in case you're wondering (which you're probably not).

5. Any opinions on that moth erboard with this configuration? All these components should work together right? And that mobo has onboard sound/USB2.0/1394 and stuff so I won't need any extra cards for that? Again, at some point I'll probably get a better sound card, but I'm trying to keep the cost down as much as possible for now.

With this mobo/case combination, will the stock cooling be enough for now? Does it even come with anything?
According to newegg, the case has the following "cooling system":

Front:8/9/12 cm x 1;Back:8 cm x 2;Side:8cm x 1;Top:8cm x 1;Side Standard 8cmx1,openwindow 8cmx1

I know it doesn't come with fans for all that, but does it at least have one?

And the specs on the mobo didn't list a heat sink or anything as far as I could tell.
I may decide to play around with overclocking at some point, but it's not a priority for me. I just want the thing to be stable at stock speeds for the time being.


Sorry if this is a lot of questions or whatvever. I just want to make sure I'm not going to run into any walls when I try to put all this stuff together.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions....

 

[Spitfire_x86]

1. Is the 3200+ going to have a noticeable performace increase over the 3000+ with this setup? Is it worth the extra money?

A64 3000+ and 3200+ performs almost equal. Get the 3000+ and save money

<A HREF="http://www.amdzone.com/articleview.cfm?articleid=1371" target="_new">Here's AMDZone A64 3000+ review</A>. I'm not a fan of AMDZone reviews, but this review shows that there's hardly any performance difference between 3200+ and 3000+

----------------
<b><A HREF="http://geocities.com/spitfire_x86" target="_new">My Website</A></b>

<b><A HREF="http://geocities.com/spitfire_x86/myrig.html" target="_new">My Rig & 3DMark score</A></b>

 

[Snaggle]

The power supply seems underpowered,must of the professional builders seem to be using 430 watts or more;you need to calculate the individual rail usage with your configuration-go to amd they'll teach you how to do it in their section on pc building.

The MSI K8T Neo-FIS2R is not on Amd's recommended list for the 3000+(go to products>cofiguration to check).

 

[redivider]

"The power supply seems underpowered,must of the professional builders seem to be using 430 watts or more;you need to calculate the individual rail usage with your configuration-go to amd they'll teach you how to do it in their section on pc building."

Cool. Thanks.
I checked it out and I really didn't follow how to make the calculations. I'm thinking of just getting a bigger power supply anyway. I'll probably be adding to this system later on so I might as well have the power to do it.

"The MSI K8T Neo-FIS2R is not on Amd's recommended list for the 3000+(go to products>cofiguration to check)."

It *is* on the recommended list for the 3200+ though, which is what I was planning on getting. If I decide to go with the 3000+, which board would you recommend?

Any idea why it would be recommended for the 3200+ and not the 3000+? Seems kind of odd. Most of the other boards are recommended for both.

Also, according to the AMD site, PC3500 RAM is not supported for the Athlon 64 chips? Should I get the PC3200 instead? Or is it just because it's new and the AMD site hasn't updated their info?

Thanks for the help.

 

[redivider]

After looking into some of the suggestions posted, I made a few changes:

Case - ENERMAX CS-5171LBFS-B
CPU - Athlon64 3000+
Mobo - Gigabyte GA-K8VNXP
HSF - CoolerMaster SK8-7I53A
PSU - Antec TRUE430
GPU - RADEON 9800PRO 128MB
RAM - Mushkin LvII Black PC3200
HDD - WD 120GB SE
Optical - Lite On 52x32x52 CD-RW
Floppy - Sony MPF920 Black
Network - Linksys WMP11 Wireless PCI Card

With the addition of the HSF and power supply (and a slightly more expensive mobo) I only ended up saving like $60 going with the 3000+ instead of the 3200+ (which I'm still not 100% decided on... it'll probably be a last minute decision), but I think it's still a pretty nice system.

 

[pIII_Man]

get a fortron powersupply, better quality for less.


If it isn't a P6 then it isn't a procesor
110% BX fanboy

 

[AMD_DA_BEST]

I got a good news for you! I know a guy who's selling the same mobo and the same cpu (3200+) that he only used it for about 2 months. http://bbs.pcstats.com/pcstats/messageview.cfm?catid=64&threadid=22445

EDIT: crap. It's sold already.

I hope you find a good deal. shiznit is a cool guy.

I'm an AMD FANBOY. Intel folks, watch out!<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by AMD_DA_BEST on 12/19/03 11:07 PM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

[Rob423]

looks good, but i would deff recommend a 431, i use a 431w Enermax whisper and deff performs nicely.

Asus A7N8X Deluxe
80gb Maxtor
200gb WD 8mb cache..
Lian-Li PC-60
Lite-On 52X
AMD XP2800+
LeadTek GeForce 4 Ti4200 w/vivo 128mb 8x
Hitachi CML174
1 GB Corsair XMS PC3200 Cas2

 

[Snaggle]

"2. The prices on the Mushkin RAM on Newegg.com have me kind of confused. They have 512MB Level II Black PC3200 sticks listed at $125 each. Then they have a "dual pack" of the same RAM (at least I think it is the same) listed at $315, which is considerably more than $125 x 2. Is there any added advantage in buying a matched pair that would be worth the extra $65? Am I missing something there?"

The matched set is for a duel channel set up-most likely-the new 64s only use single channel ram,it's of no advantage now to buy a matched pair;unless you're going to upgrade to the 939 socket.

Yes,I was dumb in my 3000+ non-recommendation statement...thanks for noticing my stupidity 8.(..

Antec makes good classic cases with their excellent truepower PSU,otherwise the best "classic" cases are by lian li,at least $115/case without PSU;but they look great inside and out!

 

[sabbath1]

From what I've seen, the MSI K8T Neo-FIS2R has gotten the best score in most reviews around the net, or at least in several of them. It could be I'm biased though I got a Athlon 64 3200+, and that MSI board this friday and I'm very satisfied with my system.

As to comment on your planned system...

The Antec True series of PSU's are awesome. Get one of those 430 Watt is a good choice also.

Why not go for the boxed version of the 3000+?

Otherwise your setup looks absolutely fine. You're sure to be satisfied with your new system..


My system: AMD Athlon 64 3200+ / TwinMOS 1Gb DDR400 / MSI K8T Neo FIS2R / ASUS Radeon 9800XT / Antec TruePower 550W / Maxtor DiamondMax Plus9 120 Gb / Pioneer DVR-A06

 

[silverpig]

Take a look at the antec cases. I have one and it sure is nice to work on. All the 5 1/4" drives slide out the front on rails that you screw in, and the smaller drive bays all come out of the case easily so you don't have to take both side panels off in order to put one in. It's SO much nicer.

I also have an antec 480 W true blue power supply and it's great. I wanted the 430 true power, but they didn't have one in, so I went with the 480 true blue. I'm not too keen on LEDs either, but this one doesn't bother me.

Some day I'll be rich and famous for inventing a device that allows you to stab people in the face over the internet.

 

[redivider]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I think I'm getting the Antec Performance 1 case instead of the one listed and sticking with the 3200+ / MSI K8T combo...