Opinions Needed on First PC Build

M

MNM

Limp Gawd
Joined
Aug 29, 2004
Messages
156
I dont have a lot of post but Ive been in here reading everyday for months. This seems to be the configuration that fits my needs, Its the components i have questions about. I plan on overclocking a little. If there is anything i could change let me know, I will order all of this when that MSI MoBo becomes available.

Antec SOHO Case w. 450 watt PSU
MSI nforce4 ultra/SLI havnt decided yet
leadtek nVIDIA GeForce 6600GT Extreme Video Card
Athlon 64 3500+ retail, Winchester
ZALMAN AlCu
NEC 16X DVD±RW Drive Model ND-3520A BK, OEM
Crucial Ballistix 184-Pin 512MB x 2 DDR PC-3200
Seagate 200GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive
17" LCD

G.skill (Samsung TCCD) Dual Channel Kit 184-Pin 1GB(512MB x 2) DDR PC-4400

this system comes to around $1150.00 before shipping and the LCD.

You guys see anything wrong with this configuration?

Should I go with the G. Skill or Crucial?

Havn't fully decided between the X700 pro and 6600GT.

Just need a little input for a first time builder?

thanks

Nathan
 
AMD 3500+ works best with Pc3200 not the 4400 you posted. Also, go with a 6600Gt, the Leadtek one. Get the one off newegg which comes with doom 3, its like $206 or so.
 
can i lower the stock latencies on the 4400 and still get better performance than the 3200?
 
MNM said:
can i lower the stock latencies on the 4400 and still get better performance than the 3200?
Click to expand...

The latencies can be lowered, but probably not to a degree that it would beat out LL PC3200.
 
Just get yourself either some Mushkin Level 2 Black, some OCZ El Platinum, or some Crucial Ballistix and you will be fine. Or go for some Mushkin Value Ram PC3200 on Newegg for $140 if you don't want to overclock.
 
Thanks guys

Ill get the 3200 ram, that MSI board is off of thier website and indicates its a s939, wanting the MSI nforce4 board whatever it is.

appreciate the help
 
For a power supply, consider one of the newer ATX 2.0 power supplies like the Antec Neopower 480.

The Leadtek 6600 GT seems to get the best reviews... runs quieter and cooler, and is a good overclocker. Anandtech.com rated it #1 among the 6600 GT cards they tested.

Get the retail 3500+ instead of the OEM, even if you replace the heatsink. The much longer warranty is worth the small price difference.

I'd skip the solid copper Zalman coolers, they don't cool significantly better than the AlCu versions in reviews I've read, and they are way heavier than the AMD spec for the maximum heatsink weight for their CPUs.

Consider a Thermalright XP-90 and a good 92mm or 120mm fan instead.

For RAM, I'd just get some of the better PC3200 rated @ 2.0-2-2-5, like OCZ EL Platinum Rev2 or Corsair XMS XL.
 
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