New Guy looking for some help. Thanks

[Sladage]

Hello,

I have always been the type of guy to buy a computer from a major retailer like CC or BB. I've gotten to the point where I would like to build my own computer. I've basically bought a few things from a friend, which should be a good start to building my own comuter.

Here is what I have so far:

Motherboard: MSI K8N-Neo4 Platinum
Processor: AMD Athlon64 3500+ 2.2GHz
RAM: 2GB OCZ Platinum DDR Dual Channel PC3200
Video Card: XFX GeForce 6800GS XXX Edition
Case: Antec Super LanBoy (Aluminum)
Monitor: Samsung T220

Other things that I still need are - Power Supply, hard drive, and CD/DVD burner

Now my question that goes out to all you experts - Is there anything that you would recommend upgrading or adding to this setup. I am not much of computer gamer, but I do quite a bit of video and image editing. Thank you for all your input.

I hope I posted this in the right thread. Thanks HardForum

 

[GonzoP]

Well those were decent components a few years ago. S939 went the way of the dodo bird so unless you get super creative on ebay or something you are probably stuck with the cpu and mobo. Since you just bought these from a friend I hope he told you this and you knew this already. I'd add a second 2gb giving you 4gb total since you do a lot of editing. They do sell ddr1, all be it twice the price of ddr2 but you still can do that. The cpu is your other main ally in video/image editing but again you're kinda stuck there. Now having said that what you have is basically a great 2005 computer. The fact that much faster stuff is out now does not change how well your system can perform.
So to answer your actual question on PSU, HDD and DVD burner:
I will assume you will not be adding a beefy gpu later on so:
Antec 380W PSU If you ever wanted to actually throw some video cards in there you could get the 650 for more money. But realize your cpu is going to handicap the kind of gaming you can do.
640GB HDDThis is likely more storage than you need. You could save $20 and get a 320GB model instead. But then again for the extra $20 you double your capacity.
Cheap DVD BurnerSome guys swear by this or that brand. This one is $22 delivered. If you wanted to spend $5-10 more on a different model then go ahead. Many don't have free shipping though which adds another $8 or so. I got two DVD burners myself this one and an LG. I cannot tell the difference.

Good Luck

 

[tiraides]

If you're not planning on any heavy (as if your job depended on them) video/image editing, then your system would be fine. (Out of curiosity, how much did you pay for all of those parts?) If anything, more RAM would help you with your tasks. (You may be able to find more DDR RAM for less through the FS thread.)

For around the same price as the EA380, however, I recommend stepping up to the EA500. As GonzoP alluded to earlier, the extra power the EA500 provides enables you to make future upgrades -- and (possibly) even transfer it to a new system.

Lite On optical drives are good, but they can be loud... very loud. If you want a quieter drive, consider either an Asus or a Samsung optical drive. Another good drive, for a few dollars more, is the Samsung SH-S223F.

(Oh, this is the wrong forum for your thread. You may want to PM a mod and ask to have this moved to the General Hardware forum.)