What do ya think?

[Jura]

(754-pin) AMD™ ATHLON™64 3000+ PROCESSOR

(754-pin Socket) GigaByte GA-K8NS Pro nForce3 250 Chipset AGP8X w/LAN,USB2,IEEE,

1GB (512MBx2) PC3200 DDR400 Memory (Corsair_XMS_PRO)

Seagate 80GB 7200RPM Serial ATA 150 8MB Cache

nVidia GeForce FX 5700 256MB 8x AGP w/ TVO, & DVI

COMBO DRIVE(DVD-ROM & CDRW) (SILVER)

 

[Mr5oh]

Looks good, I like your CPU and motherboard choice.

You may want to check out this article on memory timings:

<A HREF="http://www.tomshardware.com/motherboard/20040119/index.html" target="_new">http://www.tomshardware.com/motherboard/20040119/index.html</A>

You'll see that memory timings on modern systems normally don't make a big difference, may be able to save some money on the RAM on put it towards a better video card.

Also on the video card, if you check around you will find that normally the 256 MB versions use slower RAM, meaning sometimes the 128 MB versions are better choices. I have always owned Nvidia cards, and personally prefer them, however for lower end stuff ATI would be a better choice. If you can spend a little extra for a higher end card I would recommend Nvidia again.

Check out the video card buyers guide here on this forum (Its pretty good):

<A HREF="http://forumz.tomshardware.com/hardware/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=363095#363095" target="_new">http://forumz.tomshardware.com/hardware/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=363095#363095</A>

Personally I would lean more towards something like a 9600XT over that 5700 GeForce. You can get a 9600XT as low as $130, last time I checked.

Not sure what price you are getting on the hard drive, but if the IDE is cheaper I would go that route. There is no performance difference between SATA and IDE, just get whatever is cheaper.

Oh, and don't take this as I am saying what you picked is bad choices, just want to make sure you are fully informed, and don't spend extra money, if it isn't needed.

My Desktop: <A HREF="http://Mr5oh.tripod.com/pc.html" target="_new">http://Mr5oh.tripod.com/pc.html</A>
Overclocking Results: <A HREF="http://Mr5oh.tripod.com/pc2.html" target="_new">http://Mr5oh.tripod.com/pc2.html</A>

 

[endyen]

If the price difference between the 5700 and the 9800pro is small where you are, the 9800pro is much better.
The 256mb on the 5700 is a total waste, it's barely powerfull enough to utilize 128.

 

[Crashman]

XMS Pro? How much are those LED's worth to you?

<font color=blue>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to a hero as big as Crashman!</font color=blue>
<font color=red>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to an ego as large as Crashman's!</font color=red>

 

[Mitch007]

LED's are nice, if for free
256MBit, DoomIII ideal is 256!

Altogether tasty rig,

lets see some benchmarks....

MIS645Ultra/P42.4@2.8Gig/2*Corsair 256MBit CL2-2-2-7XMSLLPT PC3200 DDR RAM/450W Enermax PSU/1*40Gig 7200rpm Wes-Dig/1*20Gig 7200 Hitachi Disk/GeF4 Ti4200 XFX Turbo 670/250 Ram/Core MHz.

 

[xeenrecoil]

From what i know about graphics cards the FX5700 is flat out not powerfull enough to take advantage of 256MB of video ram, if you want something with that much video ram you need to buy a R9800 Pro or higher card, even a Geforce 6600GT would be a better choice, both are around $200 USD.
Look into it.

 

[Crashman]

Yes, I've used my XMS 4000 Pro to diagnose boot failures, using the LED's to check memory access.

<font color=blue>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to a hero as big as Crashman!</font color=blue>
<font color=red>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to an ego as large as Crashman's!</font color=red>

 

[quagmire]

a R9800 Pro or higher card, even a Geforce 6600GT would be a better choice, both are around $200 USD.

i would love to buy a 6800gt for $200...
but it is normally about 2 times as much at approx $400

 

[Mr5oh]

We would all love a 6800GT for $200. However he was referring to the <b>6600GT.</b> It's Nvidia's new line which will sit just below the 6800 series. The 6600 cards should be available to the public soon.

My Desktop: <A HREF="http://Mr5oh.tripod.com/pc.html" target="_new">http://Mr5oh.tripod.com/pc.html</A>
Overclocking Results: <A HREF="http://Mr5oh.tripod.com/pc2.html" target="_new">http://Mr5oh.tripod.com/pc2.html</A>