Noob comp build

[Cruo]

Hi all, I need some help on my first gaming computer build. Here is my list so far. I would appreciate any feedback on the choices and any recommendations.

AMD Athlon 64 3800+ 1GHz FSB Socket 939
eVGA Geforce 7800GT 256-P2-N518 Video Card
eVGA 133-K8-NF41 ATX AMD MotherboardThis mobo will actually come free with the vid card
CORSAIR XMS 1GB (2 x 512MB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM
OCZ OCZ520ADJ 520W Power Supply
Seagate Barracuda 7200.8 250GB 3.5" Serial ATA150 Hard Drive
NEC Silver IDE DVD Burner Model ND-3540A

I am up in the air between two cases:
Thermaltake Tsunami VA3000SWA Silver Computer Case
Antec SUPER LANBOY Silver Computer Case

Two monitors I have my eye on, still looking though.
acer AL1722h (ET.L0408.069) Silver-Black 17" 8ms LCD, 700:1, 0.264mm, DVI

SAMSUNG Syncmaster 17" LCD Digital Analog Monitor 730B 8ms, 600:1, 0.264mm, DVI

Half of this info was recommended to me, the other half I chose from a weeks worth of lurking in this and other forums. Again, this will be my first build so I am a little apprehensive about it. Is there anything else I am forgetting other than an operating system? Thanks.:classic:

 

[Counter-Strike]

1 = Motherboard will probably be crap.

Everything else looks fine, I would go with a DFI Lanparty MoBo for that setup.

 

[Sprooty]

i would recommend chaning the CPU to a 3700 San Diago. the 3700 has 1MB cache and u could OC the 3700 to 4000+ easy

If you can also afford it i would recommend a heatsink and some Arctic Silver 5 thermal compound.

I dont know the specs of that motherboard but i would also recommand DIF, if u dont plan to SLI that card with another go with the DFI Ultra-D

 

[ThE_MarD]

Heyyo,

Dude, this setup's pro I say. I've setup a few comps with that monitor, and it's pimp man, pure pimp.

Venice core processor is the best amd64 core, so it'll crank out great preformance man. A 3800+ is brutally strong.

Crosair ram's plenty good as well, seems some people had some probs with abit and msi mobos, but the fix seems easy enough. But they might just be rare cases, might not, and lots of things with comps are a risk, so take it, if it fails then you can always RMA.

Hmm, now I dunno if the acer monitor's good, we'll see if others post reviews.

Btw, I say the thermaltake tsunami's better, to me it looks much more sleek and modern.. just fancy stuff.

 

[Sprooty]

c'mon someone back me up!!

 

[ThE_MarD]

Heyyo,

Hmm, well, the san diego core does have the benefit of 1mb cache, but the venice does have the sse3 instructions onnit, so in the end for gaming I bet the venice would outdo the san diego core... letme check some benchmarks just to be sure... bleh, I dunno, can't find one with a venice core at tomshardware on the mother of all charts unless I'm blind.. oh well, I say the sse3 instructions, and the cache won't make life-threatning preformance diffs anywho.

 

[Cruo]

I would go with a DFI Lanparty MoBo for that setup.

Ok, would this one be a better choice? Bare with me, I really don't know too much about computer specs.DFI LANPARTY UT nF4 Ultra-D Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 Ultra ATX AMD Motherboard

Sprooty, I did a little searching, would this be better? AMD Athlon 64 3700+ San Diego 1GHz FSB 1MB L2 Cache Socket 939 Processor The heatsink and thermal compound I will research later today.

Heyyo,Hmm, now I dunno if the acer monitor's good, we'll see if others post reviews.

Yeah I am leaning toward the Samsung monitor but wish it was available through newegg, not sure about JR.com, though they do have the lowest price that I found.

Thanks for the help so far guys! This is taking me forever to put together but I want to make sure I get it right. The computer I have now is a pre-built HP. Pentium3, 900 MHz, 128MB sdram plus another 128 of probably generic ram, 40GB HD. The vid card is nvidia vanta or something to that effect that I can't seem to tweak. I get so fed up with choppy video and awful framerates that I already destroyed 2 or 3 mouses (mice?) in anger. Now I just don't play, and I need my FPS fixation. Thanks again guys. Hopefully I can order this stuff within the upcoming week.

 

[PZEROFGH]

i say go with the 3700+ san diego. the mobo a DFi nF4 ultra-D is excellent. i would recommend getting some OCZ ram but the XMS is fine

 

[Mach5]

For my 2 cents go with the venice core for gamming. evga mobo if it's free you can always upgrade later if money is a consideration but not a great mobo. ASUS or DFI are prob. the best. I like ASUS it's pretty much jumperless and for your first build easy to setup.
OCZ ram is great but more $ I have had good luck with PQI and corsair. Someone said heatsink with thermal paste don't do it buy retail processor with heatsink included it has thermal paste pad on heatsink and they are serial numbered as a set then you are covered with warranty. If you use paste you void your warranty or if you don't use approved (AMD) Heatsink and fan. If you are gaming CRT monitors are really better but if you want LCD which are more portable and take up less room Viewsonic or high end Sony is your best bet. Again if $ is a factor Rosewill has a 700.1 Digital/analog 19 inch that is pretty good for under $300.
Just my opinion

 

[truebe]

Alright, I would go with a 3700+ San Diego for the 1mb Cache. Why get a 3800 Venice when you can just OC a 3000+ higher? Go with the San Diego.

If you are overclocking it would be a good idea to get some Arctic Silver 5 and a heatsink.

eVGA 7800GT with BF2 is only $400

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814130239

Crosair Ram is okay, but if you arnt going to overclock dont bother, just get some Corsair Value Ram.

Samsung makes great monitors.

OCZ PSU, Thermaltake Case, NEC optical are all good.

I would recomend this HD, WD 250GB 16mb Cache $120

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822144701

edit: Oh yeah Get the DFI Lanyparty Ultra-D mobo, or if you dont want that for some odd reason, go MSI