New Rig - Need Suggestions and Comments

[excessum]

Well I am just finalizing my decisions on the new system I plan to set up for myself. I was looking for good, solid, reliable parts that I won't have to complain about. I do have a strict budget since I don't want to spend a grip on a new computer that I don't use 24/7. Please give me your honest input, comments, suggestions, and experiences from the hardware I have chosen, feel free to suggest other/better pats. Here is what I was looking at:

CPU:
-AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ Manchester 2000MHz HT Socket 939 Dual Core Processor Model ADA3800BVBOX - Retail

OR

-AMD Athlon 64 3700+ San Diego 2000MHz HT Socket 939 Processor Model ADA3700CFBOX - Retail

Motherboard:
-ABIT AN8 SLI Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 SLI ATX AMD Motherboard

OR

-MSI K8N Neo4-F Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 ATX AMD Motherboard

Case:
-Thermaltake Armor Series VA8000BWS Black Aluminum/Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case - Retail

OR

-GIGABYTE 3D AURORA GZ-FSCA1-ATB Black Aluminum ATX Full Tower Computer Case

Memory:
-Kingston ValueRAM 2GB (2 x 1GB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Unbuffered Dual Channel Kit System Memory Model KVR400AK2/2GR - Retail

OR

-CORSAIR ValueSelect 1GB (2 x 512MB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Unbuffered Dual Channel Kit System Memory Model VS1GBKIT400 - Retail

HDD:
-Western Digital Raptor WD740GD 74GB 10,000 RPM Serial ATA150 Hard Drive - OEM
-Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD2500KS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM

Video:
-XFX PV-T73G-UDD3 Geforce 7600GT 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail

OR

-GIGABYTE GV-NX76T256D-RH Geforce 7600GT 256MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card

OR

-eVGA 256-P2-N554-AX Geforce 7600GT 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail

PSU:
-Thermaltake W0101RU ATX 12V 2.0 Version 550W Power Supply 115/230 V UL, CUL, TUV, and CE certification

OR

-Rosewill RP550-2 ATX 2.01 550W Power Supply 100 - 240V CSA, CB, TUV, FCC, UL - Retail

CD/DVD Burner:
-NEC 16X DVD±R DVD Burner Beige IDE Model ND-3550A - OEM

Let me know what you think. I split the parts up by the first part being priority and (OR) considering the backup decision. The total price came up to be between $1400-$1100.

Thanks.

 

[Rivulentt]

Depending on your exact budget (possibly include individual prices?) I would go with

CPU: Dual core, futureproof-er.
Motherboard: Both choices are solid, I personally am a very satisfied ASUS customer, have never had a problem over the last 6 years/4 motherboard upgrades.
Case: Your choice (opinion on what looks good)
Memory: You have two tiers of memory. If you are on a budget, 1GB will get you by to play a game, photoshop, etc. But if you plan to multitask, 2 GB is recommended, and the price difference is only ~60 bucks.
Video: No ati? hehe. I would say eVGA, they are all the same chipset anyway, but I've heard good things about eVGA.
PSU: Thermaltake. I've had good experience with one of the rosewill's i've owned in the past, but many swear by thermaltake, I think.


Will be a great setup. Estimating prices in my head, I would think you'd have few hundred still left under budget. In this case, I would recommend changing v-card to radeon x1800XT or nvidia equivalent (7900GT or 7800GT?).

 

[SnakePlissken]

If your not going to be running two cards in sli then you can save some $$ by just getting a single pci-e based main board. also most not all would suggest you look into the dual core 939 opteron 165.the memory is fine if your not a heavy overclocker. the psu you may want to change one of the bands most talked about on here seems to be pc power and cooling. not too sure you need a raptor based drive in your system, however everything else seems ok. just wait for some of the others here to chime in on this setup before you buy anything. also do as much research on every item you want in the machine.