First attempt at building a Computer..

[kidrock450]

Case- RAIDMAX Black Mid-Tower Case with 420Watt Power Supply, Model "811TP" -RETAIL - $58.00

Processor- AMD Socket 939 Athlon 64 FX-53, 1MB L2 Cache, Windows Compatible 64-bit Processor - Retail - $811.00

MotherBoard-ASUS "SK8V" K8T800 Chipset Motherboard for AMD Socket 940 CPU -RETAIL -$190.00

RAM- Corsair XMS Extreme Memory Speed Series, 184 Pin 512MB DDR PC-3200 - Retail x2 = $276.00

Video Card- ATI RADEON X800 PRO Video Card, 256MB DDR, 256-bit, DVI/TV-Out, 8X AGP -RETAIL -$461.00

Sound Card-Creative Labs Sound Blaster Audigy2 ZS GAMER Limited Edition PCI Sound Card, Model "SB0350" -RETAIL -$110.00

HardDrive- Western Digital 120GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive, Model WD1200JD, OEM Drive Only -$100.00

Cooling- ?

Drives- Samsung 52X32X52 CD-RW Drive, Model SW-252FEN, OEM Bulk -$30.00
and.....Samsung Black 16X DVD-ROM Drive, MODEL SD-616EEPB, OEM 27.00
NEC 1.44MB Black Internal Floppy Drive, OEM.- $9.00



This was my cousins first attempt at building a computer (its just a rough draft of what he wants) What do you think of it? The price came out to $2072.00. Is he missing anything or should change something?

 

[BaNDiT]

ya, the mobo is 940 and the cpu is 939

 

[Asus]

You are going to need this board instead of the other one you selected.

I didn't see it listed at newegg just yet.
I thought I saw it there before but I know it will be back by next week.
That's when those boards should be available on most sites as well.

 

[blackeye]

Just my opinion but why dont you save a little money on the cpu and get a 3800 which is almost identical except the cache size and then get a better video card IE the X800 XT. The 3800 nearly the same speed as the fx-53 for about 100 dollars less.

 

[Asus]

The FX series are unlocked.
If I was spending that much money...I wouldn't want to save 100$ for a locked CPU.
If we were talking 3000+ vs 3200+ then I would really agree with you. Save the money and go for the less cache version but he is spending 800$ here. lol
He obviously doesn't have the same goal as some of us with other opinions on such a purchase.

 

[Hazar]

Yeah, very up to date but expensive as well.

I built mine about a year ago for ~$650
It is not cutting edge but very decent espically for the money spent.

Athlon XP 2700+ (before the 64's came out)
nVidia GeForce 4 mx 440 128mb video card
512 mb 2700 RAM
40 gig hd
cd rom and cd burner/dvd player
Asus sound card
4.1 speakers

not too fancy but it's what I could afford.

 

[blackeye]

You can still overclock the 3800 though. But ya if your spending that much on a cpu a couple dollars probably doesnt matter to you.

 

[Asus]

Yeah, very up to date but expensive as well.

I built mine about a year ago for ~$650
It is not cutting edge but very decent espically for the money spent.

Athlon XP 2700+ (before the 64's came out)
nVidia GeForce 4 mx 440 128mb video card
512 mb 2700 RAM
40 gig hd
cd rom and cd burner/dvd player
Asus sound card
4.1 speakers

not too fancy but it's what I could afford.

And that setup will rock in HL2 with good FPS, even if it will only run in DX7.
Nice price too. A year ago? How much was the CPU back then. About $150 or was it closer to $200?

 

[Asus]

You can still overclock the 3800 though

Yeah you could but it's more limiting to OC the 3800+ vs the FX since it's locked. Plus the 1MB L2 cache scales well at higher speeds.

If he was looking to save money he would be getting a Socket 754 Moble A64 3200+ CG core which is rated @ 62Watts (AR or AX at the end of the model number) and OC to 2.5GHz on air with a Thermalright SLK-948U.

 

[blackeye]

what do yoyu mean scales well at higher speeds.

 

[Asus]

Link
X800 Pro = 399.99 and instock ready for delivery.
X800 XT = 499.99 and ready for pre-order.

 

[kidrock450]

So all in all its a pretty well set setup? What about cooling though I know nothing about cooling. Thats my weak spot.

 

[Asus]

So all in all its a pretty well set setup? What about cooling though I know nothing about cooling. Thats my weak spot.

If you arn't trying to OC then all that matters is you have your case closed, Stock heatsink on your CPU (runs below 70C on LOAD) and it has even air flow (IN front/OUT back).
I recommend at least 1 front fan and 1 rear fan (plus PSU fan).

Going beyond that it doesn't get you anything except a lower number on your temp reading software and maybe more headroom if you do OC.

 

[blahblahblah]

You may want to check out a higher quality power supply. Cheap power supply's usually means poor voltages and problems down the road. Check out a brand name power supply such as antec or thermaltake power supplies.

PS - I love this new keyboard I got yesterday.

 

[amneziac85]

I say get the Athlon64 3500. Processor power at this point isnt gonna make much of a difference in these games. But it will make a $300 difference on that wallet!

Get a better video card, a boot drive and oh yea...some...SPEAKERS! lol, but yea, looks nice.

No point in getting that top of the line soundcard but having some hamidown speakers.

Maybe another HD for Windows. What about the monitor? Looks good tho

 

[ShinRa]

Yes don't get an fx-53 socket 939. theyre bad. everyone stay clear away from them until i get mine!........errr.......i mean.........until they.....all.......burn.........................

/refreshes newegg page every 2 seconds

 

[GreasedNeut]

i want the fx53 retail too, but mainly for that shiny new box its in i want to brag to all my friends w/ it.

 

[crabcakes66]

i want the fx53 retail too, but mainly for that shiny new box its in i want to brag to all my friends w/ it.

YOU TO?!!!one111 :dork:


:hmph:

 

[Asus]

YOU TO?!!!one111 :dork:


:hmph:

For everyone who buys a FX53, newegg should give you 50$.
Then you can skip the FX53 and buy a car or something.

 

[ShinRa]

My dad actually gave me a choice. The new comp or a new car. I took the comp, because little did he know my mom already got me a cadillac cts 2004. :-p

 

[Hazar]

Lucky bugger.

Asus, the athlon 2700 cost 130 then.
And it does run all the new games fine. I'm thinking about getting 512mb 3200 ram though.

 

[Kerberos]

You're gonna need very good cooling. :/

I suggest you get an Athlon64. FX is very good, but too expensive.

 

[Subz]

"Processor- AMD Socket 939 Athlon 64 FX-53, 1MB L2 Cache, Windows Compatible 64-bit Processor - Retail - $811.00"

i know im not the one to talk. but 800 on a processor? ....youch.

 

[Subz]

My dad actually gave me a choice. The new comp or a new car. I took the comp, because little did he know my mom already got me a cadillac cts 2004. :-p

uhh how old are you?

if wish i was that spoiled. The most my parents spend on my cars is $400.

 

[kidrock450]

Originally Posted by guinny
My dad actually gave me a choice. The new comp or a new car. I took the comp, because little did he know my mom already got me a cadillac cts 2004. :-p
I would have definietly took the car...

preferably a 2004 Mustang GT

 

[ShinRa]

it was the same car. cept the one he wanted to get me was that rusty orange color. :\ sorry doesnt work for me im happy with the black.

 

[Subz]

how much did your CTS cost 0_o

 

[ShinRa]

40,000

10charlimit

 

[FictiousWill]

What a waste of money.

 

[ShinRa]

What jealousy.

Anyway kidrock just to sum it up your comp will pwn. Welcome to the i can afford rediculously overpriced hardware club.

 

[Asus]

See crabcakes, you can take guinny's car that he was offered and sell it.
hehe

 

[amneziac85]

My dad actually gave me a choice. The new comp or a new car. I took the comp, because little did he know my mom already got me a cadillac cts 2004. :-p

Well that aint how you win fans over, its one thing to brag, its another to brag about being spoiled...

(...come on, you know you wanted to say it too...)

I'm getting a 2004 CLK in october, but I'm buying it myself, and that thing will get way more pu**y then a little cadi.

But now that I think about it, doesn't everyone online have a 2004 somethin expensive, athlon 64's, 10 girlfriends and a 9 inch d**k? Lmao, so don't believe anyone I say, lol. Especially kids.

 

[Maxi]

I Finland, parents don't have the money to buy cars that cost 40k to their children, since we actually live in proper houses, not matchboxes. And our tax is ALOT higher.

Iwantone.

 

[ShinRa]

Matchboxes? Where have you ever been in the US? Last I checked I live in a 12 room house. And I'm sure most of the people on this forum would completely disagree....nevermind most of these guys are euros too. But here in america we have very decent sized homes. No I'm not spoiled because I have to pay for the insurance and gas myself ($6100 insurance here in new jersey).

 

[chu]

[sarcasm]wow I guess you're not spoiled after all....[/sarcasm]

 

[kidrock450]

• Raidmax Scorpio-868 ATX Mid-Tower Case w/420W Power Supply Silver
Power Supply
• Standard Case Power Supply
Processor
• [AMD FX] AMD® Athlon-64 FX-53 CPU w/ Hyper Transport Technology
Processor Cooling
• Certified CPU Fan and Heatsink + 2 Extra Case Fans

Motherboard
• Asus SK8N nForce-3 Chipset w/5.1 Sound, LAN, IEEE-1394, USB 2.0 8x AGP Motherboard

Memory
• [AMD FX] 1024MB DDR-400 PC3200 Registered Memory Module Or 1024MB XMS ram (a lot more expensive) whats the diffrence between the 2?
Video Card
• ATI Radeon X800-Pro 256MB DDR3 w/DVI + TV-OUT 8x AGP Video
Hard Drive
• 120 GB HARD DRIVES Western Digital 120 GB 7200 RPM Ultra ATA-100 8MB Cache

CD/DVD Drive
• 16x DVD-ROM Drive Silver
• 52x32x52 CD-RW Drive Silver

Sound Card
• Creative Lab Sound Blaster Audigy-2 ZS 7.1 (Is the platinum worth the extra $120?)

Speaker System
• [Silver] Logitech Z-680 Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Speakers + Subwoofer

Network Card
• 10/100 Network Onboard

Floppy Drive
• Mitsumi 1.44 MB Internal Floppy Drive Silver

Meter Display
• Thermal Temperature LCD Display Silver

Flash Media Reader/Writer
• 6-In-1 Internal Flash Media Card Reader/Writer Silver

Case Lighting
• Sound Actived Cold Cathode Neon Light




Any comments or should I fix anything on this?

 

[blahblahblah]

- Could you link to the exact RAM sticks you are looking at?

- The Audigy 2 ZS Platinum has a breakout box and a remote (very cool imo). The breakout box is only in white or black faceplates.

- Check out a SATA harddrive. Not much speed improvement, but easier cable management. Also easier to set up RAID if you ever want it.

- If you are buying a $800 processor, you may want to wait a month so you can pick up a ATI Radeon X800XT ($500)

- Last question, so you are going with Socket 940?

 

[kidrock450]

Well I am thinking about getting it from www.Ibuypower.com and it has RAM that just says [AMD FX] 1024MB DDR-400 PC3200 Registered Memory Module or you have the option of going with Corsair hyperX or kingston XMS.

And yes I think the FX-53 is 940 not 939. I might possibly wait for the x800Xt (most likely will)


On another note I built that whole computer you see for around 2,200 on Ibuypower(with 5.1 speakers) and I built the same one on Alienware that cost around 3,300 even without speakers

 

[ShinRa]

and i buult a better comp than either for 2100....go figure.

 

[kidrock450]

and i buult a better comp than either for 2100....go figure.

umm congradulations? I have to use my own money on this I wish my parents were rich enough to buy me a new car and computer like yours did.