Is this is good value PC for gaming/video editing?

[jordo_99]

ok...basically i'm a college student on a pretty strict budget looking for a fairly high performance PC for around $1000 with a monitor. I want to run it in XP also. here's what i've came up with to buy.

Motherboard---Biostar Group N4SLI-A9 === Athlon 64/FX/Sempron, Socket 939, nForce4 SLI, ATX, 4GB DDR, 2000MHz FSB $$83.00$$

Processor ---AMD Athlon 64 3000+ Processor === 1.8GHz, 512KB, 1GHz, Socket 939 $$110.90$$

Tower ---ThermalTake Mambo Black MidTower Case === ATX, 11 Bays $$49.99$$

Power Supply ---Thermaltake TR2 === 430W, PCI Express connector $$44.70$$

RAM ---Viking === DDR400/PC3200 DIMM, 1GB, Unbuffered Non-ECC $$206.00$$ (2GB total at $$103.00$$ each)

Hard Drive ---Maxtor DiamondMax Plus9 === 160GB, Serial ATA-150, 7200 RPM, 8MB $$62.50$$

CD/DVD Drive ---Pacific Digital ===52x/24x/52x,(ATAPI / IDE) $$33.00$$
---Lite-On Dual Layer DVD±RW Writer === 16x/8x/16x DVD+RW, 16x/6x/16x DVD-RW, 8x DVD+R DL, 4x DVD-R DL, 48x/24x/48x CD-RW $$43.49$$

Monitor ---Acer AL1916W 19" LCD Monitor === 19", 1440x900, 8ms $$221.00$$

Video Card ---eVGA e-GeForce 7300GS Video Card === 256MB, PCI Express x16, DV $$70.99$$

Sound Card ---Creative (CT4760) === PCI SoundBlaster Live! x Gamer $$34.95$$

Keyboard/Mouse ---Logitech CORDLESS DESKTOP EXPRESS $$25.99$$

OS ---Windows XP $$84.74$$


total price w/out monitor $$850.25$$

Total Price $$1,071.25$$






are there any problems i will run into with this configuration? i'm pretty sure that everything is compatable. Can i get more bang for my buck and will this even suffice as a gaming PC?

THANKS A LOT

 

[Nitestick]

i wouldn't get the 7300GS. perhaps an ATI X1300, geforce 6200 or 6600le. 6600gt if you can afford it

 

[jordo_99]

thanks

thanks a lot

i also forgot to put that i'm not sure i want to overclock my computer just becuase it seems time consuming and i'd need to spend more $ to get decent RAM and stuff too.
or should i try and wait a little while longer before building c computer...maybe wait until new stuff comes out and prices go down

 

[Nitestick]

the choice is up to you. i don't know much about that motherboard but if it has voltage settings and dividers you should be able to overclock a reasonable amount without having to spend more anyway

 

[jordo_99]

just a little more feedback

ok i just need a little more feedback. you two have helped me out a lot but i also wanna know if i'm getting any hardware that isn't good or not good enough for the system i want (or too advanced to make a difference)

thanks

 

[old_geekster50]

Welcome to the forum!

First, I would recommend this motherboard:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813157081

Note: Read the reviews at newegg.

It will provide you with some flexibility later, since it has an AGP 4X/8X slot and a PCI-e slot. It is also set-up for AM2. It is the best dual on the market.

Read this article on TomsHardware's site:

http://www.tomshardware.com/2005/10/14/the_/page3.html

He is talking about a $500 value gaming machine, but he is using the "best bang for the buck" parts. (Note: He is using the CPU that you chose.) It should OC to 2.0/2.2GHz. You have just gained about $100.

While I don't subscribe to using value memory, this time I will relent. Try the Corsair memory in the article. It is dual channel and that is good.

I will recommend this PSU:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817103512

I will let you select the remaining system. The article should help tremendously.

Good luck! Go Big Red!!

p.s. Let me know if you have further questions.

 

[tanda317]

your paying way to much for the ram. You can get dual channel or whatever ram you want 2GB (2x1024) for under $150. Take the $50 you save there and upgrade to a Nvidia 7600 graphics card. You will be much better off. As far as is this comp going to be what you want...you have to say what you want in order for us to answer. What type of games are you looking to play and on what resolution?

 

[macdawg]

$829.96 or $815 basically after $15 rebate on video card, this computer would be good for overclocking, much better video & sound card, other little things like the nforce 4 chipset on the mobo is good & 16mb cache on the hard drive, get something more like this.

http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16811119077
COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 CAC-T05-WW Black/Silver Aluminum Bezel, SECC Chassis ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16813131569
ASUS A8N5X Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16814130283
eVGA 256-P2-N553-AX Geforce 7600GT CO 256MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail
Free copy of Age of Empires III with purchase! While Supplies last.

http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16817153006
Thermaltake Silent PurePower TT-420AD(DUAL FAN) ATX 420W Power Supply 115/230 V UL, CSA, TUV, CE - Retail

might want to upgrade to the FSP group 450 watt for $12 more though.

http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16819103537
AMD Athlon 64 3000+ Venice 2000MHz HT 512KB L2 Cache Socket 939 Processor - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16820145491
CORSAIR XMS 2GB (2 x 1GB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM Unbuffered DDR 400 (PC 3200) Dual Channel Kit System Memory - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16822140168
Maxtor DiamondMax 10 6L200S0 200GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache Serial ATA150 Hard Drive - OEM

http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16827152058
NEC Black 16X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 16X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X

http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16829102178
Creative Sound Blaster Audigy2 ZS SB0350 7.1 Channels 24-bit 192KHz PCI Interface Sound Card - OEM

 

[jordo_99]

thanks a lot guys. this should help me out a ton. i'll a repost again if i need anything else but right now i doubt i will.

thanks again you helped me out A LOT

 

[efd753]

Dont get any ram above value ram is not worth it. unless u get really highend ram your overcloakign wont do much to help you. The highest u can prolly get the amd 3000 is to 3500 speeds which isnt much, you wotn see a perfomance speed. So get cosair value ram. Also you on a budget so dont get an sli motherboard u wont need it at all. anothing forget about audio cards just get a motherboard that has onboard audio that should be enough. For video editing u can get any card u want, video editing dont depend on the video card.