Need Feedback on PC Project Please!

S

Sedgie!

Weaksauce
Joined
Oct 9, 2005
Messages
95
I'm putting this together for a friend. His budget is $1000 plus shipping etc. I'm fairly new to this, so any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Incompatabilities, bad hardware choices, you name it, I probably did it. Without further adue, here's the LIST:

CASE: Thermaltake Soprano Black w/ Side Panel + 430W psu

MOBO: ASUS A8N-E S939 nForce4 Ultra

RAM: 1GB (2 x 512MB) Corsair XMS SDRAM

PRC: AMD 3700+ San Diego 939

GPU: Chaintech Geforce 6800 256MB

SOUND: Creative SB2 Audigy Value

HDD: Maxtor 120GB Ultra Series SATA150

CD: Samsung Black IDE DVD Burner

FLOPPY: Samsung Black Internal Floppy Drive

He'll take care of monitor, OS, speakers, misc. software.
If ordered solely from Newegg this would fit the budget.

Thanks in advance!
Sedgie
 
working bottom up:

does he really need a floppy? other than possibly SATA drivers during windows install, I can't think of a time when you would need one in this age of cdrws and usb drives.

I would stick to one of the more popular DVDRW's, the NEC and BenQ are favorites. its more a question of firmware updates and popular knowledge than actual problems, although I never thought Samsung made optical drives so meh.

I prefer Seagate or Hitachi drives....but thats really personal preference. I hate WD with a passion, and Maxtor for some reason never comes up on my list. :)

What PSU does that case come with? If it's a Thermaltake TruePower, they are supposed to be pretty annoying. There's a really helpful sticky in the power supply forum, take a look through it.

other than those really minor things(well not the PSU), looks good! make sure he picks a good mouse, I have some friends with crazy computer setups using old 2 button ball mice :p stupid people
 
Dagatech said:
working bottom up:

does he really need a floppy? other than possibly SATA drivers during windows install, I can't think of a time when you would need one in this age of cdrws and usb drives.

I would stick to one of the more popular DVDRW's, the NEC and BenQ are favorites. its more a question of firmware updates and popular knowledge than actual problems, although I never thought Samsung made optical drives so meh.

I prefer Seagate or Hitachi drives....but thats really personal preference. I hate WD with a passion, and Maxtor for some reason never comes up on my list. :)

What PSU does that case come with? If it's a Thermaltake TruePower, they are supposed to be pretty annoying. There's a really helpful sticky in the power supply forum, take a look through it.

other than those really minor things(well not the PSU), looks good! make sure he picks a good mouse, I have some friends with crazy computer setups using old 2 button ball mice :p stupid people
Click to expand...

Thanks for the feedback guys.

PSU is a Silent PurePower... I think I narrowed down my case w/powersupply search to that Tt and a CoolerMaster Centurion 532. Is the CM a better choice?

I could search for case and psu separate but my budget would be 125$. Suggestions?

I suppose I could remove the floppy drive... I thought it might he useful just in case.

Here's an alternate Seagate HD It's OEM, does that matter much?

And here's an NEC burner. Is it good?

More feedback welcome!
Sedgie
 
Sedgie! said:
Thanks for the feedback guys.

PSU is a Silent PurePower... I think I narrowed down my case w/powersupply search to that Tt and a CoolerMaster Centurion 532. Is the CM a better choice?

I could search for case and psu separate but my budget would be 125$. Suggestions?

I suppose I could remove the floppy drive... I thought it might he useful just in case.

Here's an alternate Seagate HD It's OEM, does that matter much?

And here's an NEC burner. Is it good?

More feedback welcome!
Sedgie
Click to expand...
I honestly don't know anything about case's, so someone else please?

OEM hd's, all you get is the drive itself and MAYBE a little documentation. I order OEM everything (except motherboard) when possible, and its never caused me a problem. For HD's, take a look at ZipZoomFly, better prices, better shipping, and better packaging.

thats the same DVDRW I just got, it's supposed to be really good. Haven't set up the system yet, so can't offer you personal experience, but its consistently highly rated.

good system tho!
 
Thanks again, keep the comments coming!

Guys this is the first time I've ever done a computer for someone else. I'm tied up over whether to ask for a fee or not, what do you think? If yes, what's an appropriate amount for this job?
 
Sedgie! said:
Thanks again, keep the comments coming!

Guys this is the first time I've ever done a computer for someone else. I'm tied up over whether to ask for a fee or not, what do you think? If yes, what's an appropriate amount for this job?
Click to expand...

bump on this question
 
I do not like the case at all, but to each his own. I would, however, highly suggest getting a different PSU. Thermaltake PSU's are not really bad, but better quality can be had for the same money or even cheaper. So, I would just buy the case your friend likes without a PSu and buy the PSU seperate. I personally would just get him an Antec case that comes with a quality PSU.

Don't even waste your money on that RAM. Instead, just buy some cheap value RAM and use the money saved towards other components such as a better video card. You could also consider just getting a 1GB stick. This way when you upgrade to 2GB you won't use all four slots.

I would just drop down to a 3000+ (and overclock) or go up to a 3800+ X2. Try to get a better video card with money saved in other areas. I would also consider just using on-board sound.
 
Step up the 6800 to a Sapphire X800GTO2. You can VERY easily unlock 4 extra pipelines, making it a full-fledged X850XT. Then a small overclock will give you an X850XTPE for half the price. :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top