Going to Build a New Computer

[Fear-Noone]

I am in the process of buying a computer and i think the list i have right now should be perfect for my needs.
I plan on using the new computer for gaming (HL2) at 1024 res, i jus want it to be playable for an average gamer not a hardcore one who loves the eyecandy

heres the list:
CPU: AMD64 3000+ Retail Venice
Motherboard Asus A8N-E NF4 Ultra
RAM OCZ DDR EL 2x512M PC3200EL Kit (bearable timings at a nice price [169.99])
HDD Seagate Barracuda 80G SATA W/NCQ 8MB oem (the comp i have now is using a Seagate barracude and i have experienced no problems with it and it is very quiet)
Optical NEC 3540A DVDRW 16X
Vid Card: BFG 6600 GT Oc
Case/PSU -Antec Sonata II and its included PSU
Floppy Drive Panasonic 1.44mb fdd

Notes: planning on upgrading CPU in the future (~1year) and buying a new PSU during Christmas

Its a very basic system and i jus wanted to see if any of u guys have experienced compatibilty problems with any of these components or could recommend some better ones

Total comes to about $~900 before tax

[Amourek]

Seagate SATA drives are much louder than their IDE drives. Suggest Maxtor or Samsung instead.

[Fear-Noone]

Seagate SATA drives are much louder than their IDE drives. Suggest Maxtor or Samsung instead.

thanks for the suggestion but sound isnt really much of a problem to me (i wear headset, got radio on, and tv blaring)
But Seagate has proven to be reliable to me so imma stick wit it (ive had bad experience wit Maxtor -.- )

[djspazz]

Computer looks alright to me. And since it's a socket 939, yes you can upgrade to a dual core later!

[Fear-Noone]

Computer looks alright to me. And since it's a socket 939, yes you can upgrade to a dual core later!

Thanks!


Can Any1 recommend any good monitors for gaming (below ~$250) doesnt have to be those flat lcd ones

[Fear-Noone]

Also, are there any good ram alternatives?

[pd0x]

I find that Maxtor MaxLine II Diamond Max 10 drives are really silent...infact any drive which uses fluid ball bearings or whatever tends to be quiet...Western Digital SATA JD drives are band either.. (caviar?)

[goofball]

look around for a 6800 vanilla, they aren't much more than the 6600GT's but are faster.

I'd also look at the BenQ DW1640. Awesome DVD Writer.

[Fear-Noone]

look around for a 6800 vanilla, they aren't much more than the 6600GT's but are faster.

I'd also look at the BenQ DW1640. Awesome DVD Writer.

Thanks, Ill look towards the 6800 vanilla but i can get the 6600GT OC for around (~$160) retail or the X800 XL for 269.99

Regarding the BenQ DW 1640, im sure its a great writer (i own the DW 1620 and no problems at all!) buti wanted to try a different brand just to compare. Also, the two stores that i am probably going to buy my parts from (Infonec & Liata) dont carry it.

I still could use some opinions regarding Memory (Ram)
Hows the Ocz Premier? is there much of a difference between the Premier and El?

[goofball]

Mainly timings. Depends on how much you are willing to spend. At PC3200 speeds, they are a few percentage points difference in performance.

are you going to overclock? if you are, and don't want to have a lower memory speed than your HTT, then go for the OCZ Platinum EL Rev 2.0.

[Fear-Noone]

Mainly timings. Depends on how much you are willing to spend. At PC3200 speeds, they are a few percentage points difference in performance.

are you going to overclock? if you are, and don't want to have a lower memory speed than your HTT, then go for the OCZ Platinum EL Rev 2.0.

i may overclock a little bit but i was just wondering if there were any other brands besides Ocz that are good at overclocking or just have good memory at good prices. Like, is there any Kingston or Corsairs worthy of mentioning? (keeping it under ($220) range for 1gb kit)

[Fear-Noone]

i may overclock a little bit but i was just wondering if there were any other brands besides Ocz that are good at overclocking or just have good memory at good prices. Like, is there any Kingston or Corsairs worthy of mentioning? (keeping it under ($220) range for 1gb kit)

help anyone?

[goofball]

Personally, I would go with the Platinum EL Rev 2.0 if you can afford it into the budget. very good, doesn't require insane amount of voltage to run at rated timings. If you want, try looking for some Mushkin as well, they are usually very competitively priced.

Otherwise, you could look at PC3500/3700/4000 if you want. Just because the board doesn't advertise support doesn't mean it doesn't have it

[Fear-Noone]

Personally, I would go with the Platinum EL Rev 2.0 if you can afford it into the budget. very good, doesn't require insane amount of voltage to run at rated timings.

Do you know where is the cheapest to get that?

[djspazz]

I think NCIX has them reasonably priced right now. $225.77 - $20MIR.

http://ncix.com/products/index.php?s...Z%20Technology

However, I got mine from Newegg from my Amerifriend for $169.99USD - $20MIR. I believe Monarch Computer is selling it for $149.99AR. Monarch does ship to Canada. I don't believe there are duties on computer parts made in NA under NAFTA. So you'll be charged the two taxes and possibly handling fees. You'll have to do the math to see if it actually is worth it to do it this way.