Building my own new computer system

**imp** · 09-27-07, 09:34 AM

I want to build a new comp system...is the following hardware and its combination good?

AMD AM2 Athlon 64 X2 4600+ 2.4GHz Dual Core 1MB L2 w/AMD FAN
ASUS M2A-VM AM2 AMD690G DDR2 4SATA GLAN w/ ATI X1250
2GB DDR2-800 (2x1GB) PC2-6400 DDR2 Dual Channel Memory
ANTEC SONATA III (BLACK) FRONT-USB 9-BAYS 17" w/ 500W
Seagate 500GB ATA-100 7200RPM 16MB
SAMSUNG 17" 701N (Silver)(300/600:1/8ms/160H160V) LCD
ATI SAPPHIRE RADEON X1950PRO 256MB LITE PCI-E DDVI TV
LG H55N DVD+/-RW 20X Dual Layer DVD-Writer

**MotoZ** · 09-27-07, 09:47 AM

It looks like the combination will work. Whether it's good depends on what you want. To me it looks like a nice entry-level gaming machine that should not cost more than about $850 to assemble.

It is a little strange that the motherboard has a chipset with integrated video (ATi X1250). You might be able to do better with the motherboard. Wish I had time to research for you, but I have to run. Maybe someone else can help.

**K0nTANK3Rous** · 09-27-07, 09:55 AM

I would change:

MOBO

CASE

PSU

HDD Option 1
HDD Option 2 (mychoice)

PM me if you want to talk about WHY change these.

**Mcstrange** · 09-27-07, 09:56 AM

Imp, that looks pretty good other than the motherboard. That is a micro sized motherboard and your getting a normal case.
Look at this one:
GIGABYTE GA-M61P-S3 AM2 Its a couple dollars more, but its full sized and the newegg reviews say it kicks ass. I have had great experiences with gigabyte motherboards in the past, and their assembly documentation is second to none.

- You should look at a larger LCD. 17s cost pretty much the same as the 19 inches these days.
I cant find that exact monitor on the newegg, but similar samsung 17s cost 190$

For 190 dollars:
You can get this nice 19:SAMSUNG 920NW Black 19"
or this well reviewed 20 inch widescreen: Acer AL2016WBbd Black 20" 5ms

Otherwise you should be set up pretty nicely and should get very nice performance out of that system.

And stop hoggin all your brainpower tank. Ill hit you with a smelly dead fish if you dont learn to share.

**BigHub** · 09-27-07, 10:00 AM

Well i have:

AMD AM2 Athlon 64 X2 4800+ 2.5GHz Dual Core Overclocked @ 2.7GHz
MSI V-Class K9MM-V motherboard
2 x 1GB Kingston HyperX DDR2 800 (PC2 6400)
ATI X1950PRO 512MB AGP

It's almost the same as yours, but i would RECOMMEND getting the 512mb X1950PRO. I have a faster CPU, better graphics, and the same ram.... And it runs CS:S just fine, but my FPS drop during gun fights from 80-100+ FPS to around 50-60 FPS, which is a BIG difference considering the servers are 66tic. Matter of fact, i would try and get a better graphics card than the X1950PRO. Your looking to spend about $140-$170 for the X1950PRO 256MB, or you could spend $199 for the X1950XT 512MB, which is better than my card and a lot cheaper than for what i got my card for.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814241063

Thats just my opinion though, get the best with what you can afford.

**SapiensErus** · 09-27-07, 10:02 AM

I would follow all the advice given, but you may also want to consider a SATA drive. The cost is about the same but the throughput is much better. That or any other new mobo has SATA plugs; use 'em. Several users have testified that going from ATA to SATA helped map loading times... and ATA 100 is especially a little slow...

**Mcstrange** · 09-27-07, 10:04 AM

good catch soy, yes look for a Sata drive like the 2 tank linked.

**Toker** · 09-27-07, 03:56 PM

If you want an ATI card:

Drop the 256mb and upgrade to a 512 PCI-E (not agp)

**imp** · 09-27-07, 05:55 PM

Thanks for all the advices guys!

I've decided to change the CPU to intel but after taking into considerations of what you guys have said, what do you think of the combinations now

- INTEL CORE 2 DUO E6750 2.66GHZ 4MB L2 1333MHz FSB DUAL-CORE
- Asus P5K-E Deluxe/WiFi-AP Socket 775 Intel P35 ICH9R Chipset Dual-Channel DDR2 1066/800/667Mhz GigaLAN 2x PCIe x16 eSATA/SATA 3.0Gb/s Firewire 10x USB 2.0
- 2GB DDR2-800 (2x1GB) PC2-6400 DDR2 Dual Channel Memory
- Antec Sonata III Quiet Super Mini Tower 500 Watt power supply
- ATI SAPPHIRE RADEON X1950PRO 512MB
- Seagate 500GB ATA-100 7200RPM 16MB (5 YR WARRANTY)

I'm still debating on a video card though...hows the nvidia series?

**SapiensErus** · 09-27-07, 07:13 PM

Changing to Core 2 is a good move. Currently the intel lineup is stomping the AMD lineup (I still use AMD though in hopes that the Phenom will rock the house).. but that Core2 is a good choice over the same priced AMD proc. Also, I have always loved ASUS mobo's and try to get them each time. I have found ASUS equipment very reliable and typically feature loaded even at the entry level.

I still think you oughtta find a SATA disk to keep load times down; really the only ATA devices I use are some optical drives and my media center has a big 'ol ATA storage disk, but other than those I use SATA as it is far superior. Theres gotta be a SATA disk for around the same price and size as that ATA disk you are insisting on using.

As far as ATI vs. NVidia, I always just default to NVidia because they have never given me problems. I think the last non nvida video card I purchased was a VooDoo 2 or something... that was a LOOOONG time ago. The ATI hardware currently outperforms the NVidia hardware but some reviews I read said ATI has driver issues... I know I have been loving NVidia's continued support of their video cards. So I say go NVidia because they are slave drivers when it comes to keeping their developers on top of software updates. I am sure an ATI user has some good information about ATI though... I dont really have any experience with ATI beyond 2001. They seem to leapfrog each other often enough that if you buy whichever is better now it will be the other brand next month.