Putting together the following components

[blade12]

Hey, its my first post here. Anyways, I am putting together a pc with the following.

Epox 9NPA+ Ultra -- http://www.mwave.com/mwave/viewspec.hmx?scriteria=BA21121
Opteron 144 -- http://www.mwave.com/mwave/viewspec.hmx?scriteria=BA22046
XFX 6800GS -- http://www.mwave.com/mwave/skusearch.hmx?&scriteria=3904189

Total price: $452.63 with shipping included. I already posted this on anandtech forums and several other forums - people said it's good but I want to ask on a few forums before I purchase it. I was going to buy the stuff yesterday but I thought I should post on here as well. I do not want to regret it after buying. What I am going to keep from my current computer: 450 watt PSU, Sony CD-RW drive, 640MB of PC2700 RAM(1 128MB ram is from Samsung and other is 512MB from unknown company), floppy drive and Dell E173FP LCD monitor. Also, is there anyplace I can get those stuff cheaper? $452 bucks is really over my budget(which was 400) so if I can find those stuff for cheaper, it would be really great. Thanks guys.

 

[kumquat]

Save money on the board by getting an mATX board such as the Biostar 6100 for about $60. Same performance, great stability. Otherwise, looks good, though I personally would probably toss the 128MB stick of RAM on eBay or in the trash and put a RAM upgrade at the top of the list in future upgrades - 1GB is about $70 these days.

 

[blade12]

Save money on the board by getting an mATX board such as the Biostar 6100 for about $60. Same performance, great stability. Otherwise, looks good, though I personally would probably toss the 128MB stick of RAM on eBay or in the trash and put a RAM upgrade at the top of the list in future upgrades - 1GB is about $70 these days.

Is the biostar known to overclock better than the 9NPA+ Ultra? I am going to overclock the opteron 140 from 1.8Ghz to like 2.2 Ghz so I would need some good overclocking options. Anandtech gave the 9NPA+ ultra an editors choice award and they said that the 9npa can overclock really well - http://anandtech.com/mb/showdoc.aspx?i=2465 for reference. You are right about the memory though - I am going to upgrade it sooner or later, we will see.

 

[kumquat]

Is the biostar known to overclock better than the 9NPA+ Ultra? I am going to overclock the opteron 140 from 1.8Ghz to like 2.2 Ghz so I would need some good overclocking options. Anandtech gave the 9NPA+ ultra an editors choice award and they said that the 9npa can overclock really well - http://anandtech.com/mb/showdoc.aspx?i=2465 for reference. You are right about the memory though - I am going to upgrade it sooner or later, we will see.

The Biostar TForce is a great overclocker. I'm running my X2 3800+, which is normally 2GHz, at 2.4GHz. Many people, particularly those in the SFF forum, have had great success OC'ing with this board. It's an overclocking-specific board. I'm not sure how it compares specifically to the Epox, but it's certainly no slouch.

 

[blade12]

The Biostar TForce is a great overclocker. I'm running my X2 3800+, which is normally 2GHz, at 2.4GHz. Many people, particularly those in the SFF forum, have had great success OC'ing with this board. It's an overclocking-specific board. I'm not sure how it compares specifically to the Epox, but it's certainly no slouch.

For some reason, I feel that there is some catch to that mobo. Usually, as the saying goes, you get what you pay for. I could be wrong but the back of my head tells me to steer clear of that mobo. I cannot figure out why I feel that way but I won't be spending any money on a new mobo or cpu for atleast 1 and a half year(perhaps 2 depending on what kind of games come out). Only reason why I am upgrading is because I want to play the latest games such as FEAR and BF2 at the highest settings(or very close).

 

[kumquat]

For some reason, I feel that there is some catch to that mobo. Usually, as the saying goes, you get what you pay for. I could be wrong but the back of my head tells me to steer clear of that mobo. I cannot figure out why I feel that way but I won't be spending any money on a new mobo or cpu for atleast 1 and a half year(perhaps 2 depending on what kind of games come out). Only reason why I am upgrading is because I want to play the latest games such as FEAR and BF2 at the highest settings(or very close).

There's no "catch" to the board, I promise. It's a performer and overclocks like a beast.

I have a 6800GS in it and play FEAR at 1024x768 with 2xAA/4xAF and quality settings on high.

 

[blade12]

Also, if I decide to get the 7800 GTX in 9-10 months, will it be able to fit on the biostar mobo? The mobo seems tiny compared to others. Also, I asked a friend of mine, who built computers and had experience with many of the companies and he said that both mobos are very stable and good but the Epox offers better bios and is better equipped. I am currently in a dilemma right now. I don't know which mobo to order - I want to order today so I can have the computer all setup by next weekend. damnit ... I wish someone had experince with both mobos. The price-vs-performance is pointing towards the biostar mobo but the bios and the way the mobos are equipped is pointing towards epox. Both companies are good rated. Also, alot more people bought the epox than the biostar mobo. ugh

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813123236#DetailSpecs <-- Detailed specs for 9npa+ ultra.

 

[kumquat]

Also, if I decide to get the 7800 GTX in 9-10 months, will it be able to fit on the biostar mobo? The mobo seems tiny compared to others. Also, I asked a friend of mine, who built computers and had experience with many of the companies and he said that both mobos are very stable and good but the Epox offers better bios and is better equipped. I am currently in a dilemma right now. I don't know which mobo to order - I want to order today so I can have the computer all setup by next weekend. damnit ... I wish someone had experince with both mobos. The price-vs-performance is pointing towards the biostar mobo but the bios and the way the mobos are equipped is pointing towards epox. Both companies are good rated. Also, alot more people bought the epox than the biostar mobo. ugh

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813123236#DetailSpecs <-- Detailed specs for 9npa+ ultra.

Yes, of course it will fit. The mobo is an mATX, not a full size ATX.

Either is fine. If price is a big concern, and you don't need gigabit LAN, then get the Biostar. It's not a big deal. They use the same chipset for crying out loud.