Help me pick parts

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Benton The Race

Limp Gawd
Joined
Nov 3, 2005
Messages
287
I hate threads like these and I know everyone else does but I am forced to do it. I got out of the PC scene for around a year, but now have money to get back into it. As of now this is how my pc stands:

-OCZ 420W powerstream PSU
-Case, fans
-120GB Segate Baracuda HD
-2 optical drives(DVDR, CDR, CDRW)
-HP FW900 montior


So basically all I really need is a video card, CPU, motherboard, ram. These are just
things that look nice. Please critique and change anything I should change. I want this PC to have the newest hardware out there so I don't have to upgrade for a couple years. Budget $750

Motherboard:

http://www.xpcgear.com/asusm2ne.html

Don't need SLI, so is this a good choice?

CPU

http://www.xpcgear.com/ada3800cubox.html

I want to go dual core because it is future proof. I also run apps such as photoshop so good choice?

Video Card

http://www.xpcgear.com/256p2n553ax.html

I just need something that will be able to play CSS and HL2 on a FW900 for now. I am going to upgrade to Direct X 10 when it comes out. Is this the best under $150 to tide me over?

Memory

I have about $100 to spend on memory. Should I start with a very nice 512 stick then upgrade to a gig when I get cash? Please reccomend me some very fast ram.
 
http://hardforum.com/showpost.php?p=1029580346&postcount=3

Then again, if you really want to keep your current memory, you'll have to stay with Socket 939 which is a dead-end platform now. Not that it won't provide sufficient performance (X2s are still plenty fast), but you won't be able to move onto a significantly faster CPU later without replacing both the memory and the motherboard.

In any case, it's a good idea to wait for the price cuts.
 
So I take it the AM2 are the new thing...What kind of mobo and cpu would you reccomend?
Second off, when are price drops coming?
 
AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ AM2 512kB - $160-170
ASUS M2N-E - $105, free shipping
OCZ 2x1GB DDR2-667 Value - $150 + $5 shipping, $15 mail-in rebate
MSI X1800XL 512MB - $200, free shipping

Total - $630 before mail-in rebate

http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview.aspx?catid=40&threadid=1870200&enterthread=y

http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview.aspx?catid=31&threadid=1868758&enterthread=y

If you have to buy before July 24th, going with the X2 3800+ will bring you about $10 over your budget, all else being equal.
 
454Casull said:
AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ AM2 512kB - $160-170
ASUS M2N-E - $105, free shipping
OCZ 2x1GB DDR2-667 Value - $150 + $5 shipping, $15 mail-in rebate
MSI X1800XL 512MB - $200, free shipping

Total - $630 before mail-in rebate

http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview.aspx?catid=40&threadid=1870200&enterthread=y

http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview.aspx?catid=31&threadid=1868758&enterthread=y

If you have to buy before July 24th, going with the X2 3800+ will bring you about $10 over your budget, all else being equal.
Click to expand...
Where can I get that processor that cheap? Is that after the price drops? I honestly don't feel like waiting a month for my pc, so I think I'll just get it now.
 
Benton The Race said:
Where can I get that processor that cheap? Is that after the price drops? I honestly don't feel like waiting a month for my pc, so I think I'll just get it now.
Click to expand...

why not wait til conroe? you listed in the first post of this thread that you wanted something that was very high end and would last for years to come. The parts you listed that you want to buy arent going to satisfy that want/need. Although a x2 3800+ is decent it wont last for years to come, and dont even get me started on the 7600. You should just wait til conroe if that is at all possible, maybe even by then you will have racked up some more cash to put towards your build and you can piece comething together that is very top of the line and will satisfy your needs.
 
Benton The Race said:
Where can I get that processor that cheap? Is that after the price drops? I honestly don't feel like waiting a month for my pc, so I think I'll just get it now.
Click to expand...
Yes, that is after price drops. You can kinda fit it in your budget if you buy it now... but the memory will probably drop in price, too.
 
apex32 said:
why not wait til conroe? you listed in the first post of this thread that you wanted something that was very high end and would last for years to come. The parts you listed that you want to buy arent going to satisfy that want/need. Although a x2 3800+ is decent it wont last for years to come, and dont even get me started on the 7600. You should just wait til conroe if that is at all possible, maybe even by then you will have racked up some more cash to put towards your build and you can piece comething together that is very top of the line and will satisfy your needs.
Click to expand...
I think I am going to wait for conroe. The 7600 is temporary until the direct x 10 comes out.
 
So do you think it will be possible to make a good conroe rig for under $800 or am I going to have to raise my budget?
 
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