How's this look for a build?

[AcidicRage]

I'm about to order parts for my cousin. His requirements are simple: fast, but non-gaming, stock everything.

CPU: A64 S939 3500+ Venice Core

https://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=80717-5

Mobo: Asus A8N5X nForce4 (unsure)

https://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=247024

Video Card: Sapphire X300SE (unsure)

https://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=326803

Case/PSU: Antec Sonata II w/ 450W PSU

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16811129155

DVD-RW: NEC 3550A

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16827152058

RAM: Corsair VS1GBKIT400 1GB Kit

https://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=80098-21

Floppy: Samsung Internal Floppy Drive

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16821103203

I already have the HD. His total budget is $500-600 and use for just general applications like movies, music, websurfing, etc. The only thing I am unsure is the motherboard and definately the video card. I have no experience with the X300SE or really a non-gaming low-budget video card. My cousin just wants speed, everything at stock, and non-gaming. So I would like to find a s939 mobo <$100 and a pci-e 16 video card <$80. But everything else I'd stick the same, how does everything look so far?

 

[omz]

would that mean absolutely no gaming?
if so...u can always find something cheaper than an x300se
i ahve no clue about that motherboard but ASUS is a nice brand, i had one in my intel rig and it ran smooooooooth
antec is a good, trsuted brand also and ive heard some good things about their sonata case
and maybe something other than corsair? idk, i dont really like corsair cuz they havent been very good OC'ers for meh
and does he need the damn floppy? i know that alot of people think theyre important but why buy it if not needed?
i wud hold back until the end of the week cuz of the sale on friday
but other than that...it looks ok for a cheap build...

EDIT!!!
if he isnt toooooo much concerned with OCing...why not grab an opty 144? spend the extra 50 bucks on a better mobo and/or ram

 

[AcidicRage]

would that mean absolutely no gaming?
if so...u can always find something cheaper than an x300se
i ahve no clue about that motherboard but ASUS is a nice brand, i had one in my intel rig and it ran smooooooooth
antec is a good, trsuted brand also and ive heard some good things about their sonata case
and maybe something other than corsair? idk, i dont really like corsair cuz they havent been very good OC'ers for meh
and does he need the damn floppy? i know that alot of people think theyre important but why buy it if not needed?
i wud hold back until the end of the week cuz of the sale on friday
but other than that...it looks ok for a cheap build...

Well, I am still contemplating something other than a X300SE. It was the best, but noticably cheapest for under $60 I could find. I didn't want to go too low because I want still something that can run smooth (but definately not integrated video) even for general applications. However, since this computer will not be oc'ing at all and will be stock, the RAM should be good, yes?

 

[KoolDrew]

Like I said at Anandtech, for his needs an A64 3500+ is overkill. I would suggest getting the Biostar 6100 board and a Sempron 64 2600+. Also, just get 512MB of RAM. He can add another stick later if he really needs that much RAM.

 

[seithon]

hum... what kidn of work will he do on it?
also why such a big PSU ? its not going to be doing that much.. a stable 300W is fine,
same with the CPU, why so powerfull ? if its just word and thigns he's using then surely a little less horsepower and more ram would be liked
finally why not get a mobo with onboard video? still has a little omph but shaves off more money

 

[KoolDrew]

um... what kidn of work will he do on it?

...and use for just general applications like movies, music, websurfing, etc.

also why such a big PSU ? its not going to be doing that much.. a stable 300W is fine,

While you are correct, it is not like he is really paying much for the 450w. If he was buying a PSU seperate I would suggest a cheap 350w Fortron, but the Antec PSU is fine.

same with the CPU, why so powerfull ? if its just word and thigns he's using then surely a little less horsepower and more ram would be liked

I agree about the CPU. However, he definitely would not need more then 1GB of RAM. He probably wouldn't even need more then 512MB.

finally why not get a mobo with onboard video?

Great recommendation. I would go with the Biostar 6100 socket 754 board I mentioned above.

 

[GForce64]

I'd definitely go with the Sempron/Biostar combo mentioned earlier. Everything else looks good.

 

[seithon]

Well about the PSU,
If you have a PSU closer to the power draw you need for the parts, you use less elec, thus less bills

 

[KoolDrew]

If you have a PSU closer to the power draw you need for the parts, you use less elec, thus less bills

Not True.

1. DOES A POWER SUPPLY UPGRADE MEAN A HIGHER ELECTRIC BILL?
This is the biggest myth of all. First, it's importatnt to understand that a power supply only delivers the power that's needed by the system, nothing more. If your PC currently has a 400W supply and the system needs 350W, it will still need and use only 350W - if the only change is upgrading to a 500W power supply (the upgrade makes sense since there are many advantages to running a power supply at a lower percentage of its rated capacity). Whether the electric bill goes up or down is solely determined by the efficiency of the new power supply. Greater efficiency means a lower electric bill because more of the AC power is converted into DC for the computer, rather than wasted as heat. The savings can really add up over time. For example, when the money saved in electricity over the course of its 5-year warranty is taken into account, the efficient, next-gen Turbo-Cool 850 SSI is no more expensive than a standard unit such as the Antec True Power 550. Here's the math:

[i]Model                      Efficiency @ 550W         Input Power @ 550W[/i]
Turbo-Cool 850 SSI              81.9%                       672W
Antec True Power 550            73.8%                       745W

For the same output power, the Turbo-Cool 850 uses 73W less input power.

5-year savings = .073KW x $0.10/KWH x 24 x 365 x 5 = $319.74

- Source

 

[osalcido]

you dont need 1gb of ram to surf the web