Need Help Picking out parts for my gaming system

[I_NO_Nothing]

Lets Say $1700....b/c it never actually ends up being $1700 on the head

also i don't think i am into the whole SLI dual video card thing at the moment....if i decide to later i can...upgrade my motherboard

 

[Flanker]

Lets Say $1700....b/c it never actually ends up being $1700 on the head

also i don't think i am into the whole SLI dual video card thing at the moment....if i decide to later i can...upgrade my motherboard

It just might end up being $1700 with shipping. Make sure you can afford that. Also, do you overclock? Are you planning on overclocking?

I have to go now, sorry to suddenly leave, but when I get back in 1 hour, I'll give you my version of your system. By that time, other members will probably give you their versions.

 

[damasta55r]

ASPIRE X-Dreamer II ATXB4KLW-BK Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 420W Power Supply-56
AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ Manchester 1GHz FSB Socket 939 Dual Core Processor Model ADA3800BVBOX-376
Arctic SIlver Premium Photosynthetic Silver Thermal Compound Arctic Silver 5-8
MSI K8N Neo4 Platinum Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 Ultra ATX AMD Motherboard-105
OCZ Enhanced Latency 1GB (2 x 512MB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Unbuffered Dual Channel Kit System Memory Model OCZ4001024ELDCPE-K-137
OCZ OCZ520ADJ ATX 520W Power Supply-115
Seagate Barracuda 250GB Sata Hard Drive-112
NEC Black IDE DVD Burner Model ND-3540A-41
Microsoft Windows Home w/Service Pack 2-87 (Do you need?)
eVGA 256-P2-N538-AX With Battlefield 2 Bundle Geforce 7800GTX 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card-549
Creative Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS Platinum Pro Edition-130 (on sale at compusa)
THERMALRIGHT XP-120 Heatsink-69
ZALMAN CNPS7700-CU 120mm 2 Ball Cooling Fan-48
1 Thermaltake A2018 120mm 1 Ball 1 Sleeve Blue LED Light Case Cooling Fan-15 (Rear)
2x MASSCOOL FD08025S1M4 80mm Sleeve Case Cooling Fan - Retail-4

Total $1852
I'm going to assume you have these, if not they;re listed, but not included in price
Logitech LX 700 Wireless Keyboard/Mouse-49
Logitech X-530 70 Watts 5.1 Speaker-47
SAMSUNG 930BF-BLACK Black 19" 4ms (Gray to Gray) LCD Monitor-450

 

[I_NO_Nothing]

actually...i would like to start a little smaller this is my first build....i do more web surfing, mild photo/video editing,downloads, then gaming...although i do want a fast machine...faster then my compaq pesario 6000 with Athalon XP 1600+ 1 gig Ram. 60 gig HDD. if i replaced my processor with a faster Athalon XP processor could i Over clock it? By the way i hate intel i have owned machines with intel processors and i hated every single one of them...i have had great luck with the Athalons

p.s i already have my case...RAIDMAX Cobra ATX-822WBP Black 0.7mm SECC ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 420watts PS2 ATX12V Power Supply - Retail Comes with 3 fans...and 4 ports for 4 more fans

also i just bought a Crative Sound Card "Sound Blaster Live 24-bit" I am very impressed with it...i will stick with it. I can always upgrade later...

I have a Radeon PCI 9250 Video card...i am not at all impressed with it....i have better image quality on an etch-a-sketch

 

[damasta55r]

AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ Manchester 1GHz FSB Socket 939 Dual Core Processor Model ADA3800BVBOX-376
Arctic SIlver Premium Photosynthetic Silver Thermal Compound Arctic Silver 5-8
MSI K8N Neo4 Platinum Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 Ultra ATX AMD Motherboard-105
CORSAIR ValueSelect 1GB (2 x 512MB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Unbuffered Dual Channel Kit System Memory Model VS1GBKIT400-90
Seagate Barracuda 250GB Sata Hard Drive-112
NEC Black IDE DVD Burner Model ND-3540A-41
Rosewill RP550 ATX 550W Power Supply-56
XFX 6800GT PCI-EXPRESS-250
Microsoft Windows Home w/Service Pack 2-87 (Do you need?)

Total $1075.

If you want 7800GTX, than $1354. Actually, you don't really need this high-end stuff. You can save and get the 3000+ Single Core and get a 6600GT and you will only need $825.

 

[Flanker]

Back. Consider this, I spent a helluva long time on it. Its a kickass system (MUCH better than mine) and is going to last you quite a few years.

DFI Lanparty UT nF-3 SLI-DR - $178. You said you might be interested in SLi later on, this leaves room for upgrading.

AMD Athlon 64 3700+ - $272. Plenty of Power and lots of room for hardcore overclocking.

2GB (2x 1GB)Corsair ValueSelect DDR400. - $216. Think 2 GB is too much? Think again. The newer games coming up will destroy you if you don't have atleast 2GB.

Seagate Barracuda 160 GB SATA150 HDD. - $118. Its better to but the retail version if you're building a system for the first time since it'll simplify things. The OEM version (without guides, etc.) is $80-something.

eVGA GeForce 6800GT - $319. There are other versions that are cheaper, but this is the absilute best in quality and reliability.

Optical Drive - Choose one from this list. - $??. Make sure the drive you choose matches the color of the front panel of your case, otherwise it'll look bad.

Floppy Drive - Choose one from this list. - $??. Think you won't need a floppy drive? You WILL. Especially with the SATA150 Hard Drive. DON'T JUST BLOW IT OFF!!!

$1103 WITHOUT THE CD AND FLOPPY DRIVE. You don't need to buy top-of-the-line floppy and CD/DVD drives, just get one that matches your case and that has decent statistics. DON'T BOTHER GETTING A USB FLOPPY DRIVE.

Need anything else? I covered the Motherboard, Processor, Memory, Hard Drive, Video Card, Optical Drive, and Floppy Drive. You have the case and Power Supply. Funny thing - The motherboard comes with a Sound Card integrated so you don't need a Sound Card, but if you have one, it'll work fine.

Damn, I wish I had a system like this one...

 

[I_NO_Nothing]

Update DFI LANPARTY UT nF4 SLI-DR Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 SLI ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
Model #: LP UT nF4 SLI-DR

Remove Move To Cart Move To Wish List $178.00 $178.00
CD/DVD Burners (RW Drives) Qty. Product Description Unit Price Savings Total Price

Update Pioneer Black IDE DVD Burner Model DVR-109 BK - OEM
Model #: DVR-109 BK
** This item is warranted through the product manufacturer only.
Remove Move To Cart Move To Wish List $50.99 $50.99
CPU Thermal Paste / Grease Qty. Product Description Unit Price Savings Total Price

Update Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound - OEM
Model #: ARCTIC SILVER 5
** This item may only be returned for a replacement of the same make/model.
Remove Move To Cart Move To Wish List $7.99 $7.99
Floppy Drives Qty. Product Description Unit Price Savings Total Price

Update I/O MAGIC Black 1.44MB 3.5" Internal Floppy Drive Windows 98SE/ ME/ 2000/ XP - Retail
Model #: IFLP02

Remove Move To Cart Move To Wish List $20.99 $20.99
Internal Hard Drives Qty. Product Description Unit Price Savings Total Price

Update Seagate Barracuda 7200.7 SATA NCQ ST3160827AS-RK 160GB 7200 RPM Serial ATA150 Hard Drive - Retail
Model #: ST3160827AS-RK

Remove Move To Cart Move To Wish List $118.00 $118.00
Memory - System Qty. Product Description Unit Price Savings Total Price

Update OCZ Enhanced Latency 1GB (2 x 512MB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Unbuffered Dual Channel Kit System Memory Model OCZ4001024ELDC-K - Retail
Model #: OCZ4001024ELDC-K

Remove Move To Cart Move To Wish List $131.25 $131.25
Processors Qty. Product Description Unit Price Savings Total Price

Update AMD Athlon 64 3200+ Venice 1GHz FSB Socket 939 Processor Model ADA3200BPBOX - Retail
Model #: ADA3200BPBOX
** This item is warranted through the product manufacturer only.
Remove Move To Cart Move To Wish List $190.00 $190.00
Video Cards & Related Devices Qty. Product Description Unit Price Savings Total Price

Update eVGA 256-P2-N376-AX Geforce 6800GT 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail
Model #: 256-P2-N376-AX

These are the modifications i made to the system setup...i just changed a few things around...i think it will still make a great machine.....any thoughts??

 

[Flanker]

Looks fine.

 

[damasta55r]

Good. But the drive is kind of junk for the price. Seagate Barracuda 250GB Sata Hard Drive is cheaper and better. Don't forget windows if needed. You seem to be forgetting a case. Also, get a decent psu.

Roger

 

[I_NO_Nothing]

I already bought my case with a 450w psu...but i have heard a couple of complaints with the psu being DOA soo i will look into buying a better psu that will fit my case....

Also i was told that if you get a large hard drive it makes formatting and clean up and long task??? Thats why i wanted to go smaller.

Thanks for all of the input...and anything elese you can think of gimmie a shout