First time build. Need help.

[yawg]

This is the first time I have built a computer. I do have a couple friends who are very knowledgable about computers so I am not totally alone in building it. What I need help with is the actual parts I will be getting. Right now I have a Dell 8200 and I will be gutting it for parts for my new computer. IDE Hard drive, sound card, floppy, and whatever else I can manage to reuse.

Right now this is what I am considering to buy:

NZXT Silver Elite Case -$120

ATI 100-435500 Radeon X800XL 256MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card - OEM - $295

CORSAIR ValueSelect 1GB (2 x 512MB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM Unbuffered DDR2 533 (PC2 4200) Dual Channel Kit System Memory - Retail - $87.85

ABIT AA8XE Socket T (LGA 775) Intel 925XE ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail - $145

intel Pentium 4 540J Prescott 800MHz FSB 1MB L2 Cache LGA 775 Processor - Retail - $213.99

Total - $861.84

I would like to keep the cost to around $900 for these parts. The purpose of the machine would be for gaming and autocad.

Does anyone have any ideas for improvements? Better choices of parts? Any help would be appreciated.

 

[SHAWN]

go with an AMD setup and a 6800GT instead of that ati card.

 

[timmer]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814130215
i would get that but its up to u
and also i wouldnt buy that mobo since u are still using ide.PATA i would get this baby
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131538
its got a better chipset and like up tp 6 pata devices and 4 sata 11 and ull be able to upgrade to dual core processors later down the road and its like 11$ cheaper lol had to throught that in there and im also going to buy this board ina week or two cause its soo sick! then ull wanna change the ram a lil bit ull want ddr2 667
and this ram would be good:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820161403
and 2 of those would be awsome and i think that is like 10 or 20$ over ur limit but it owuld be worth it
if u dont like it beoing over the price then get a lil cheaper case or something
and dont get amd!!!!! intel is fine

 

[Arumuni]

Yes. AMD all the way for gaming. U can get a AMD Athlong 3000+ Venice for cheaper than that Intel u wanna get, and it will always perform 90% better in gaming. AS for the vid card. That is actually not a bad card. Dont get me wrong. And for 295? Well. Anyways. An x800XL will be a very good card, and with its 16 pipelines, it will run most games for some time to come. But, in terms of overall graphics, ATI doesnt support SM 3.0, however Geforce does. And, the 6800GT is better than the x800XL. Try looking for a 6800GT. if its too overly priced, than dont go for it. Try to meet ur budget.

 

[timmer]

Dont get AMD!!!!!

 

[Arumuni]

Why the hell not?

GET AMD!!! >_<;;

 

[yawg]

Okay. how would the two brands of cpu's perform for using a program like autocad? Pretty much a noob to most of computer equipment so I was wondering if the difference between speeds mattered. Would a 2.2 AMD run as well as a 3.2 Intel?

 

[idiotec]

Okay. how would the two brands of cpu's perform for using a program like autocad? Pretty much a noob to most of computer equipment so I was wondering if the difference between speeds mattered. Would a 2.2 AMD run as well as a 3.2 Intel?

For programs like that, an Intel would most likely do better. Also, autocad, I thought was a program that already has, or soon will have 64-bit support, so after Longhorn is released, you can get better performance out of it if you go for one of the 6xx series Intels that have 64-bit support.

 

[PatrickK]

intel is good for multitasking and when the CPU is under a ton of stress. If you want gaming/eye candy, AMD all the way.

 

[Hacp]

The best compromise is to get the 6xx series. 2mb of cache is def good for gaming, although it won't match a amd.