Need some help/advice

[Juliano]

Hey all,

This is my very first try at building a comp. Getting a bit confusing and hard to make up my mind. I can't decide if I want to go Intel or AMD. Just for background, I am an average gamer I'd say. I play WoW, EQ, Half Life, etc. I picked out a few peices and I'd really appreciate it if you guys could give me some advice.

AMD:
ASUS A8N-SLI Socket 939
Athlon 64 X2 3800+

Intel:
ECS C19-A SLI (1.0A) Socket T (LGA 775)
Intel Pentium D 930 Presler 800MHz


The rest of the stuff I have is:
Video Card
Hard Drive
RAM
Soundcard
PSU
Network Card
Case
DVD Drive
Monitor


On one hand, the Intel is the cheaper route by 1-2 hundred bucks. But I am worried that if I do go with intel it will be out of date with the new chips they are releasing next month. Also worried about the compatability. There weren't many SLI mobos for the intel p. d. 930 so maybe if you recommend the intel point me in the direction of a new MB that is in the same price range (maybe a little bit more).

What I really want to know is A) which processor/mobo should I go with? B) Will it be compatible with all the other peices I picked? C) Are all these items good for what I will need them for?

Also, I was wondering once I actually ordered all the peices if there was a good walkthrough someone could link me to for putting it all together and getting up and running? Anything besides the manuals that come with the peices that is.

I'll keep checking in so feel free to ask me about anything.

 

[Juliano]

NM on the guide question, just saw the awesome one in this forum!

 

[rx7i2]

Stay away from the pentium D - that 3800+ is gonna drop in price next month to around $1xx, and pick out an AM2 socket board and processor not 939, you have 240pin ram sticks

 

[Juliano]

Ok, so I think I have decided to go with the AMD... I changed my RAM (sorry it wasn't clear -- i don't HAVE the stuff just what I was thinking of)

So lemme know what you guys think of the comp. It is everything listed above using the AMD CPU and Mobo, along with G.Skill (2x1GB) 184-pin pc3200 ram instead of what is listed above. Please let me know if you guys think this is a good build. I was hoping to spend around 1k but it is costing me around 1350-1400 for this build. (BTW waiting till next month for amd to come down in price is not an option atm since my computer is fried and I'm using a very old computer to write this)

 

[Juliano]

bump -- anyone have any comments?

 

[maximaking]

Did you go with the intel or the AMD setup? I'm looking at basically the same setup mobo and cpu wise. from what I've seen the AMD may have an edge right now when it comes to gaming. I'm not a gamer so I don't think I'll spring the extra money for the AMD setup for the slight performance difference for everyday non gaming use.

Todd