I'd appreciate it if I could get some feedback & opinions on the components of my build. Keep in mind this is my first time building, so enlighten me on any little details I may overlook!
Just double check me for compatibility, quality parts and any possible changes I might want to make. If anything seems overpriced and there's a better alternative, by all means, bring it! If it all looks like it should work, lemme know that too!
I've been researching and looking at all this stuff for the past 6 weeks, and I think I've finally zeroed in on what I want. I've found that there is no end to the tweaking of a build list, and I keep spending just a little more for this, a little more for that! (no more upgrades! well... maybe... LOL)
And it's probably important to mention that this rig is mainly intended for gaming (obviously), but will be used for video encoding, and other mundane tasks. I don't have an actual budget, but I'm way over my intended $1800 already!
btw - I'm in the US, and all this stuff is from NewEgg.com, each with url links: (I included the UK equivalent prices for clarity)
$334 / £192 CPU:
AMD Athlon 64 4000+ San Diego 1GHz FSB 1MB L2 Cache Socket 939 Processor
$167 / £96 Motherboard:
ASUS A8N-SLI Premium Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 SLI ATX AMD
$224 / £129 RAM:
OCZ 2GB (2 x 1GB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM Unbuffered DDR 400 (PC 3200) Dual Channel Platinum (2-3-2-5 timing)
$314 / £180 Videocard:
eVGA 256-P2-N517-AX Geforce 7800GT 256MB 256-bit GDDR3 VIVO PCI Express x16
(considered the GTX, but the relatively small performance increase doesn't seem to justify the cost increase)
$68 / £39 Soundcard:
Creative Sound Blaster Audigy2 ZS SB0350 7.1 Channels 24-bit 192KHz PCI
$268 / £154 Hard Drive:
Western Digital Raptor WD1500ADFD 150GB 10,000 RPM 16MB Cache Serial ATA150
$86 / £49 Speakers:
Creative Inspire P7800 90 Watts 7.1 Surround Speakers
$139 / £80 PSU:
OCZ PowerStream 520W
(still wondering if I should get more power...)
$109 / £63 Case:
Thermaltake Tsunami VA3000BWA Black Aluminum ATX Mid Tower
(Total price of parts still up for consideration = $1709 / £981)
A few items I've already purchased (so I can't make changes):
-Windows XP Pro ($100/£57)
-Mouse/Keyboard = Logitech LX700 wireless desktop ($100/£57)
-Monitor = Samsung 930BF 4ms 19" LCD ($379/£218)
-DVD Burners:Sony DRU 710 dvdrw & HP 640 LiteScribe dvdrw ($180/£103)
-Floppy drive = (who knows/cares, but I got one LOL)
I also intend to get a 200-300gb storage drive (eventually), thermal paste, new cpu fan and a new or additional gpu fan.
Total of pc components = $2468 / £1417
Budget I was aiming for initially = $1800 / £1033
And thanks again for checkin' it and any help you can give! I'm about ready to buy it all, and I just want to get it right!
One question I have though, if I end up going SLI with two 7800GT's, how much power would that require? I can't imagine it doubles the necessary 450w minimum, but how much more would it need?
Case looks like this, btw: (approve?)
Just double check me for compatibility, quality parts and any possible changes I might want to make. If anything seems overpriced and there's a better alternative, by all means, bring it! If it all looks like it should work, lemme know that too!
I've been researching and looking at all this stuff for the past 6 weeks, and I think I've finally zeroed in on what I want. I've found that there is no end to the tweaking of a build list, and I keep spending just a little more for this, a little more for that! (no more upgrades! well... maybe... LOL)
And it's probably important to mention that this rig is mainly intended for gaming (obviously), but will be used for video encoding, and other mundane tasks. I don't have an actual budget, but I'm way over my intended $1800 already!
btw - I'm in the US, and all this stuff is from NewEgg.com, each with url links: (I included the UK equivalent prices for clarity)
$334 / £192 CPU:
AMD Athlon 64 4000+ San Diego 1GHz FSB 1MB L2 Cache Socket 939 Processor
$167 / £96 Motherboard:
ASUS A8N-SLI Premium Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 SLI ATX AMD
$224 / £129 RAM:
OCZ 2GB (2 x 1GB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM Unbuffered DDR 400 (PC 3200) Dual Channel Platinum (2-3-2-5 timing)
$314 / £180 Videocard:
eVGA 256-P2-N517-AX Geforce 7800GT 256MB 256-bit GDDR3 VIVO PCI Express x16
(considered the GTX, but the relatively small performance increase doesn't seem to justify the cost increase)
$68 / £39 Soundcard:
Creative Sound Blaster Audigy2 ZS SB0350 7.1 Channels 24-bit 192KHz PCI
$268 / £154 Hard Drive:
Western Digital Raptor WD1500ADFD 150GB 10,000 RPM 16MB Cache Serial ATA150
$86 / £49 Speakers:
Creative Inspire P7800 90 Watts 7.1 Surround Speakers
$139 / £80 PSU:
OCZ PowerStream 520W
(still wondering if I should get more power...)
$109 / £63 Case:
Thermaltake Tsunami VA3000BWA Black Aluminum ATX Mid Tower
(Total price of parts still up for consideration = $1709 / £981)
A few items I've already purchased (so I can't make changes):
-Windows XP Pro ($100/£57)
-Mouse/Keyboard = Logitech LX700 wireless desktop ($100/£57)
-Monitor = Samsung 930BF 4ms 19" LCD ($379/£218)
-DVD Burners:Sony DRU 710 dvdrw & HP 640 LiteScribe dvdrw ($180/£103)
-Floppy drive = (who knows/cares, but I got one LOL)
I also intend to get a 200-300gb storage drive (eventually), thermal paste, new cpu fan and a new or additional gpu fan.
Total of pc components = $2468 / £1417
Budget I was aiming for initially = $1800 / £1033
And thanks again for checkin' it and any help you can give! I'm about ready to buy it all, and I just want to get it right!
One question I have though, if I end up going SLI with two 7800GT's, how much power would that require? I can't imagine it doubles the necessary 450w minimum, but how much more would it need?
Case looks like this, btw: (approve?)