Possible new build...
 

Man, I just get so excited even thinking of building a new computer. My girlfriend wants a PC that she can actually play games on, so I'm looking into building her a nice system... something she'll be proud to bring to LAN parties.

So here goes:

This link may or may not bring you to my wishlist on newegg. (I can never seem to get these to work right.)

Edit: I think the link works correctly now.


For those of you who don't want to click the link,


ASUS "A7V880" VIA KT880 Chipset Motherboard for AMD Socket A CPU $49

AMD Athlon XP 3200+ "Barton", 400MHz FSB, 512K Cache Processor - Retail $203

SAPPHIRE ATI RADEON 9800PRO Video Card, 128MB DDR, 256-bit, DVI/TV-Out, 8X AGP -RETAIL $209.50

Kingston HyperX Series Dual Kits 184 Pin 512MB(256MBx2) DDR PC-3200 $133.27

Western Digital 80GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive, Model WD800JD, OEM Drive $66.00

Thermaltake SILENT BOOST Highest Performance Cooler for AMD AthlonXP up to 3400+ -RETAIL $28.99

Thermaltake XRound Cable SATA-UV 18-Inch 2-Head (SERIAL ATA 150) Cable, CLEAR, Model "A2101" -RETAIL $4.39

Vantec "Stealth" 120mm Case fan, Model "SF12025L" $11.49x2 = $22.98

and here's where it really gets good...

NZXT White ATX Mid Tower Case with Side Panel Window & 400W Power Supply, Model "NEMESIS WHITE" -RETAIL $79.50

http://www.nzxt.com/images/ProductIm...esis_Photo.jpg

http://www.nzxt.com/images/ProductImg/nemesislight.jpg


ahahahHAHAHAH! I LOVE IT! Though the Nemesis is the case she's leaning towards, the one that caught my eye originally was the NZXT Guardian Yellow, because it looks so much like a Transformer.

http://www.nzxt.com/images/ProductImg/guardian_y.jpg



And of course, to go with the Nemesis White, matching hardware:

NEC/MITSUBISHI AS750F 17" CRT Monitor -RETAIL (White) $135.90

ASUS White 16X16 Dual ±R/RW & 4X Double Layer Drive, Model DRW-1604P, OEM $75.50

Lite-On White 52X32X52X16 Combo Drive, Model SOHC-5232K, OEM Bulk Pack $40.50

Logitech Deluxe Plus Keyboard PS/2 104keys -OEM $8.00

Logitech SBF96 Optical Wheel Mouse PS/2 -OEM $9.00


And the software that she'll probably need... (Boo, added costs.)

Microsoft Windows XP HOME Edition With Service Pack 2 -OEM $92.25

SYMANTEC Norton Antivirus 2005 -OEM $38.25



For a total of $1,196.03. Not too bad, considering the software included, and everything is from scratch.



So... what do you think? Anything missing? Do I need to buy thermal grease, or will the stuff that comes with the processor be alright? What about the PSU, should that be replaced? (I can't find on the NZXT website exact specs on it, just that it's 400 W) The motherboard good, or should I upgrade? How about the RAM?

Those are the main questions I have, but any suggestions or insights are welcome. This won't be happening right away, either, so it's subject to change.

Oh my god.
That case.

Do you have a Transformers figure on your shelf/desk by any chance? ;)

Ahahaha! I think that's the best idea I've heard all night. Maybe that will have to be added to the cost... ebay, here I come.

i'm guessin u're gonna oc?

i'd reccomend a 6600GT > 9800. i know not too many agp versions are out,but u should be able to snag one for < 200. it does better in benchmarks

Try to find a 6600 GT or X700 Pro/XT for $200. It'll be hard to find one in AGP but it's worth it. If ya can't, the 9800 Pro is fine.

AHHH THAT CASE!! That's the stupidest, ugliest case I've ever seen, and I've seen a lot of cases. That's just preference though.

I'd up the RAM past 512 MB. Don't buy that expensive Kingston unless you're gonna OC. If you were gonna OC I'd assume you were buying the 2500+ instead of the 3200+ though! I'd get at least 768 MB of RAM. I'd just get Corsair Value RAM...1GB for the same price as 512 MB of the OC stuff.

Other than that it looks great!

-Lasereth

You can build an a64 w/ a 3000+ 939 chip, just use 1gb Corsair value ram and the price should be really close to what you have now. Also buy a good optical mouse and a good keyboard if its going to be used for gaming. Looks like a solid machine but the a64 will be about the same cost and be upgradeable. The nforce4 boards are coming out soon(one or two might be out now) so you will be able to get PCI-E too.

Firstly I must say that what's in the case is more important then the case, of course. But you seem to have a great shopping list, so that doesn't seem to be a problem.

Having said that, I must also say that I LOVE what they're doing with these boxes now. I still have two crappy old industry brown cases at home, and I would really love to have a new computer with a case like wither of those shown.

As a side note, I friend of mine built his own case a couple of years ago out of sheet Aluminum and scraped parts from other computers, then populated it with some awesome parts. It was a truly fantastic machine, ran well and everything.

So my quesiton is - has anyone else done this and would you trust this computer to no damage parts etc.?

Peace,

Pierre

Are you sure you want to go with the athlonXP? I believe that AMD is end-of-life-ing the socket A procs.

That is a cool case! What games does she plan on playing? A bigger hard drive, at least 120GB in my opinion. A good sound card and a nice set of speakers should be included, a 2.1 system with a good power sub.

Heh. I know, I prefer simple cases myself... but I can't help but laugh when I see NEMESIS. She wanted a Lian Li, too, but the pricetag was a little too high, especially once a PSU was added. Still under consideration.

And thanks for the suggestion on the video card. I didn't know that the 6600 was that cheap... for some reason I thought it was more expensive than the 9800. What brands are good for GeForce? When I buy ATI, I either buy Sapphire or Built by ATI, but I'm not sure who's good for NVIDIA cards.

Also, how much more expensive is it to get a PCI-express motherboard for the same setup? Can I yet, or do I have to wait for nforce4 before I can get an AMD/PCI-e system? Since the AGP version of the card is $30-40 more than the PCI-e, it may be worth getting a better motherboard and the PCI-e version.


Yeah, I know 939 is the new shiznit, if you will, but it's a little more expensive generally. I'm trying to keep the cost down. I'm still looking into it.

I'm leaving a sound card out for now to save money, as it's not entirely necessary. It would be nice, yes, but cost is a premium. And she has some speakers, but generally for gaming headphones are better anyway. I'm not concerned with speakers at the moment.

As for the HD, again, 80 GB is just a starting point. If she runs out, she can always install a few new ones with no difficulty.

She's an RPG addict, but the main reason for the new PC is UT2k4. Other reasons include, but are not limited to, KOTOR II and HL2.

It's possible, but I'm not sure of the benefit of getting a 64 bit processor for this machine, yet. It's not going to be upgraded frequently, so by the time 64 bit applications are mainstream, it would probably be time to get a whole new mobo, ram, and processor anyway.




Thanks for the input, everyone.