1st Build Advice Please

I'm gonna finally build my first box and would appreciate any and all
advice on hardware. I'd like to keep it around $2000. As you can see,
I'm already a little over per Newegg. Here are my tentative plans:


Intel Pentium 4/ 3.4C GHz 800MHz FSB-------------$329.00

ABIT IC7-G MAXII ADVANCE i875P Chipset-----------$135.00

CORSAIR 184-Pin 512MB ECC REG DDR PC-3200, Model
CM72SD512RLP-3200----------------------------"X2"$250.00

HIS Excalibur RADEON X800 PRO IceQ II Video Card-$468.00

Maxtor Ultra Series Kit 160GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive, Model
L01M160------------------------------------------$135.99

ASUS Black 16X16 Dual ±R/RW & 4X Double Layer Drive, Model
DRW-1604P---------------------------------------- $92.00

ASUS Black 52X32X52 IDE Internal CD-RW Drive Model
CRW-5232AS--------------------------------------- $31.00

Thermaltake Black Xaser V Damier Full-Tower Case 420W Power
Supply-------------------------------------------$156.50

I/O Magic 1.44MB 3.5 Inch Internal Floppy Drive-- $21.00

SONY SDM-S73/B 17" LCD
Monitor------------------------------------------$409.00

IN WIN USB Digital Card Reader/Writer(Black) INTERNAL, Model CR
I530B-------------------------------------------- $19.75

Logitech Z-5300 5.1 THX Certified Speaker System-$139.00

Microsoft Standard Wireless Optical Desktop Keyboard and
Mouse-------------------------------------------- $53.00

_______

$2238.74

Any advice on better hardware in the same price range, compatability
issues, or anything that you can think of would be GREATLY
appreciated!

Byte_da_chip wrote:

I'm gonna finally build my first box and would appreciate any and all
advice on hardware. I'd like to keep it around $2000. As you can see,
I'm already a little over per Newegg. Here are my tentative plans:

Intel Pentium 4/ 3.4C GHz 800MHz FSB-------------$329.00

Why use a 32 bit processor? Go for a 64 bit processor instead.
An Athlon 64 3500+ is only around $330. An Athlon 64 3500+
uses a socket 939 motherboard.



ABIT IC7-G MAXII ADVANCE i875P Chipset-----------$135.00



CORSAIR 184-Pin 512MB ECC REG DDR PC-3200, Model
CM72SD512RLP-3200----------------------------"X2"$250.00

Why registered ECC ram? If you really want registered ECC ram, you could
use an Opteron 148 rather than an Athlon 64 3500+, and get a Socket 940
motherboard (that is what an Opteron requires).



HIS Excalibur RADEON X800 PRO IceQ II Video Card-$468.00

Maxtor Ultra Series Kit 160GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive, Model
L01M160------------------------------------------$135.99

ASUS Black 16X16 Dual ±R/RW & 4X Double Layer Drive, Model
DRW-1604P---------------------------------------- $92.00

ASUS Black 52X32X52 IDE Internal CD-RW Drive Model
CRW-5232AS--------------------------------------- $31.00

Thermaltake Black Xaser V Damier Full-Tower Case 420W Power
Supply-------------------------------------------$156.50

I/O Magic 1.44MB 3.5 Inch Internal Floppy Drive-- $21.00

SONY SDM-S73/B 17" LCD
Monitor------------------------------------------$409.00

Why not get a 19" one? It is probably only around $100 more.



IN WIN USB Digital Card Reader/Writer(Black) INTERNAL, Model CR
I530B-------------------------------------------- $19.75

Logitech Z-5300 5.1 THX Certified Speaker System-$139.00

Microsoft Standard Wireless Optical Desktop Keyboard and
Mouse-------------------------------------------- $53.00

_______

$2238.74

Any advice on better hardware in the same price range, compatability
issues, or anything that you can think of would be GREATLY
appreciated!

Byte_da_chip wrote:
I'm gonna finally build my first box and would appreciate any and all
advice on hardware. I'd like to keep it around $2000. As you can see,
I'm already a little over per Newegg. Here are my tentative plans:

I'm surprised it's still possible to spend more than $2000 on a
computer. $2238 and you only get a 17" monitor? And no operating
system? I sense some wrong thinking somewhere.

Matt wrote:

Byte_da_chip wrote:
I'm gonna finally build my first box and would appreciate any and all
advice on hardware. I'd like to keep it around $2000. As you can see,
I'm already a little over per Newegg. Here are my tentative plans:

I'm surprised it's still possible to spend more than $2000 on a
computer. $2238 and you only get a 17" monitor? And no operating
system? I sense some wrong thinking somewhere.

So much for a 32 bit system is crazy. Paying $329 for a 32 bit cpu is
totally crazy. I have no idea why he wants to use very high priced
registered ECC ddr ram. He could go with an Athlon 64 3500+
for around $330, then use a $75 512 meg stick of PC3200 ddr ram.
That is $175 saved right there. Around $100 of that could go towards
choosing a 19" lcd monitor instead of a 17" one. I don't know why
he chose such a high priced video card. It seems a bit much, even
for a gamer. He didn't include the price of an OS.

I think you're overspending for what you've got there.
I can do better for 1500 or less. CPU, memory,
video card, monitor, power supply all seem overpriced
to me. A 17in LCD coupled with a $468 vid card is a
mismatch. For gaming, I wouldn't buy a LCD, especially one
under 19inch. Once you've used a 19 there is no going
back. When you can get a great 19inch NEC apperture
grille CRT for under 250, why spend 400 for a 17inch LCD?

Generally, the latest and greatest often isn't the greatest,
because the latest is often the buggiest. This is true for hardware
just like it is for software. That's why it's often wiser to buy more
mature models, not always, but that's the case more often than not.

Since it's your first build, I think you're going to
realize that doing it right is more complicated than
you may have imagined. Configuring everything
just right is not easy, there are tons of minor
issues that can come up. So besides buying right, you need
to spend time researching about potential problems and issues, such
as install orders, bigLBA issues, BIOS settings, troubleshooting
techniques etc. Buying and building right is not as easy as some
people make out. I usually like to pay a visit to the manufacturer's support
site, check some forums, Intel and MS support sites, and various online
reviews on www, besides newsgroups.





"Byte_da_chip" wrote in message
m...
I'm gonna finally build my first box and would appreciate any and all
advice on hardware. I'd like to keep it around $2000. As you can see,
I'm already a little over per Newegg. Here are my tentative plans:


Intel Pentium 4/ 3.4C GHz 800MHz FSB-------------$329.00

ABIT IC7-G MAXII ADVANCE i875P Chipset-----------$135.00

CORSAIR 184-Pin 512MB ECC REG DDR PC-3200, Model
CM72SD512RLP-3200----------------------------"X2"$250.00

HIS Excalibur RADEON X800 PRO IceQ II Video Card-$468.00

Maxtor Ultra Series Kit 160GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive, Model
L01M160------------------------------------------$135.99

ASUS Black 16X16 Dual ±R/RW & 4X Double Layer Drive, Model
DRW-1604P---------------------------------------- $92.00

ASUS Black 52X32X52 IDE Internal CD-RW Drive Model
CRW-5232AS--------------------------------------- $31.00

Thermaltake Black Xaser V Damier Full-Tower Case 420W Power
Supply-------------------------------------------$156.50

I/O Magic 1.44MB 3.5 Inch Internal Floppy Drive-- $21.00

SONY SDM-S73/B 17" LCD
Monitor------------------------------------------$409.00

IN WIN USB Digital Card Reader/Writer(Black) INTERNAL, Model CR
I530B-------------------------------------------- $19.75

Logitech Z-5300 5.1 THX Certified Speaker System-$139.00

Microsoft Standard Wireless Optical Desktop Keyboard and
Mouse-------------------------------------------- $53.00

_______

$2238.74

Any advice on better hardware in the same price range, compatability
issues, or anything that you can think of would be GREATLY
appreciated!

"Byte_da_chip" wrote in message
m...
I'm gonna finally build my first box and would appreciate any and all
advice on hardware. I'd like to keep it around $2000. As you can see,
I'm already a little over per Newegg. Here are my tentative plans:


Intel Pentium 4/ 3.4C GHz 800MHz FSB-------------$329.00

ABIT IC7-G MAXII ADVANCE i875P Chipset-----------$135.00

CORSAIR 184-Pin 512MB ECC REG DDR PC-3200, Model
CM72SD512RLP-3200----------------------------"X2"$250.00

HIS Excalibur RADEON X800 PRO IceQ II Video Card-$468.00

Maxtor Ultra Series Kit 160GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive, Model
L01M160------------------------------------------$135.99

ASUS Black 16X16 Dual ±R/RW & 4X Double Layer Drive, Model
DRW-1604P---------------------------------------- $92.00

ASUS Black 52X32X52 IDE Internal CD-RW Drive Model
CRW-5232AS--------------------------------------- $31.00

Thermaltake Black Xaser V Damier Full-Tower Case 420W Power
Supply-------------------------------------------$156.50

I/O Magic 1.44MB 3.5 Inch Internal Floppy Drive-- $21.00

SONY SDM-S73/B 17" LCD
Monitor------------------------------------------$409.00

IN WIN USB Digital Card Reader/Writer(Black) INTERNAL, Model CR
I530B-------------------------------------------- $19.75

Logitech Z-5300 5.1 THX Certified Speaker System-$139.00

Microsoft Standard Wireless Optical Desktop Keyboard and
Mouse-------------------------------------------- $53.00

_______

$2238.74

Any advice on better hardware in the same price range, compatability
issues, or anything that you can think of would be GREATLY
appreciated!

OK, I see you've gotten no helpful suggestions so far. You can shave a
hundred bucks off this system and not lose anything, performance wise. Get
a 3.0E OEM prescott and a Cooler Master Aero 4 Lite. At half speed (QUIET),
that cooler will keep a Prescott UNDER 100F at full load. (no, that's not a
typo) You can get a Samsung hard drive that is just as fast, quieter, and
forty bucks less. Ditch the CDR/W drive, as that is redundant. Now you're
only fifty bucks over budget, and you haven't sacrificed ANYTHING at all.
Your power supply is good, but it's less than forty bucks if you buy it
separately. Do you really need to spend ~$115 on a CASE?!? ****, you could
probably find something high quality that looks great for half that, and
then you'd be UNDER BUDGET.

If you want to trim this down even more, ditch the floppy drive. (when was
the last time you actually used one of those?) Also, really good high-end
865PE mainboards can be had for MUCH cheaper than $135 . . . and they hold
their own with the 875 chipset mainboards. Also, do you really need ECC
RAM? Well, you would for your original mainboard, but I'd try to find a
mainboard that doesn't require that.

Follow all that, and you might be able to bring in this build for under
$1900 (well under) without sacrificing a thing. -Dave

"Raymond" wrote in message
news:Esl3d.4408$vd1.3286@trnddc03...

I think you're overspending for what you've got there.
I can do better for 1500 or less. CPU, memory,
video card, monitor, power supply all seem overpriced
to me. A 17in LCD coupled with a $468 vid card is a
mismatch. For gaming, I wouldn't buy a LCD, especially one
under 19inch. Once you've used a 19 there is no going
back.

I disagree. Early LCD monitors suffered from ghosting, but he shouldn't
have that problem with any current LCD monitor, unless he really cheaps out
on it. A decent name-brand 17" LCD is going to be as large as a 19" CRT, as
far as viewing area goes. My nephew is an avid gamer. He loves playing
high-speed action games on NEC brand LCD monitors including my LCD1760V and
his own LCD1565. Note that's a 15" LCD monitor, and it is a kick-butt
gaming monitor. The image quality BLOWS AWAY anything that uses a CRT, and
it has no ghosting at all. Any mid-range 17" LCD should be just as good (if
not better) for gaming now than any 19" CRT. It costs more, but it frees up
gobs of desk space, also. -Dave

Ghosting is not the only issue with LCDs, there
are issues with angle of view, brightness,
resolutions dependencies, and others. It's
time has not come, not for me anyway.

"Dave C." wrote in message ...

"Raymond" wrote in message
news:Esl3d.4408$vd1.3286@trnddc03...

I think you're overspending for what you've got there.
I can do better for 1500 or less. CPU, memory,
video card, monitor, power supply all seem overpriced
to me. A 17in LCD coupled with a $468 vid card is a
mismatch. For gaming, I wouldn't buy a LCD, especially one
under 19inch. Once you've used a 19 there is no going
back.

I disagree. Early LCD monitors suffered from ghosting, but he shouldn't
have that problem with any current LCD monitor, unless he really cheaps out
on it. A decent name-brand 17" LCD is going to be as large as a 19" CRT, as
far as viewing area goes. My nephew is an avid gamer. He loves playing
high-speed action games on NEC brand LCD monitors including my LCD1760V and
his own LCD1565. Note that's a 15" LCD monitor, and it is a kick-butt
gaming monitor. The image quality BLOWS AWAY anything that uses a CRT, and
it has no ghosting at all. Any mid-range 17" LCD should be just as good (if
not better) for gaming now than any 19" CRT. It costs more, but it frees up
gobs of desk space, also. -Dave

"Dave C." wrote in message ...
"Byte_da_chip" wrote in message
m...
I'm gonna finally build my first box and would appreciate any and all
advice on hardware. I'd like to keep it around $2000. As you can see,
I'm already a little over per Newegg. Here are my tentative plans:


Intel Pentium 4/ 3.4C GHz 800MHz FSB-------------$329.00

ABIT IC7-G MAXII ADVANCE i875P Chipset-----------$135.00

CORSAIR 184-Pin 512MB ECC REG DDR PC-3200, Model
CM72SD512RLP-3200----------------------------"X2"$250.00

HIS Excalibur RADEON X800 PRO IceQ II Video Card-$468.00

Maxtor Ultra Series Kit 160GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive, Model
L01M160------------------------------------------$135.99

ASUS Black 16X16 Dual ±R/RW & 4X Double Layer Drive, Model
DRW-1604P---------------------------------------- $92.00

ASUS Black 52X32X52 IDE Internal CD-RW Drive Model
CRW-5232AS--------------------------------------- $31.00

Thermaltake Black Xaser V Damier Full-Tower Case 420W Power
Supply-------------------------------------------$156.50

I/O Magic 1.44MB 3.5 Inch Internal Floppy Drive-- $21.00

SONY SDM-S73/B 17" LCD
Monitor------------------------------------------$409.00

IN WIN USB Digital Card Reader/Writer(Black) INTERNAL, Model CR
I530B-------------------------------------------- $19.75

Logitech Z-5300 5.1 THX Certified Speaker System-$139.00

Microsoft Standard Wireless Optical Desktop Keyboard and
Mouse-------------------------------------------- $53.00

_______

$2238.74

Any advice on better hardware in the same price range, compatability
issues, or anything that you can think of would be GREATLY
appreciated!

OK, I see you've gotten no helpful suggestions so far. You can shave a
hundred bucks off this system and not lose anything, performance wise. Get
a 3.0E OEM prescott and a Cooler Master Aero 4 Lite. At half speed (QUIET),
that cooler will keep a Prescott UNDER 100F at full load. (no, that's not a
typo) You can get a Samsung hard drive that is just as fast, quieter, and
forty bucks less. Ditch the CDR/W drive, as that is redundant. Now you're
only fifty bucks over budget, and you haven't sacrificed ANYTHING at all.
Your power supply is good, but it's less than forty bucks if you buy it
separately. Do you really need to spend ~$115 on a CASE?!? ****, you could
probably find something high quality that looks great for half that, and
then you'd be UNDER BUDGET.

If you want to trim this down even more, ditch the floppy drive. (when was
the last time you actually used one of those?) Also, really good high-end
865PE mainboards can be had for MUCH cheaper than $135 . . . and they hold
their own with the 875 chipset mainboards. Also, do you really need ECC
RAM? Well, you would for your original mainboard, but I'd try to find a
mainboard that doesn't require that.

Follow all that, and you might be able to bring in this build for under
$1900 (well under) without sacrificing a thing. -Dave

Ok, I see I have some rethinking to do since I want to get this right
the first time. One note: I didn't realize using ECC RAM was such a
big deal. I can't tell you all how much I appreciate the good advice.
Nothing beats getting tips from people who really know their ****!
Thanks a million!

Do you plan to play Doom 3? If so, I suggest that you look at this.

http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets...spx?i=2149&p=7

Byte_da_chip wrote:

I'm gonna finally build my first box and would appreciate any and all
advice on hardware. I'd like to keep it around $2000. As you can see,
I'm already a little over per Newegg. Here are my tentative plans:

Intel Pentium 4/ 3.4C GHz 800MHz FSB-------------$329.00

ABIT IC7-G MAXII ADVANCE i875P Chipset-----------$135.00

CORSAIR 184-Pin 512MB ECC REG DDR PC-3200, Model
CM72SD512RLP-3200----------------------------"X2"$250.00

HIS Excalibur RADEON X800 PRO IceQ II Video Card-$468.00

Maxtor Ultra Series Kit 160GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive, Model
L01M160------------------------------------------$135.99

ASUS Black 16X16 Dual ±R/RW & 4X Double Layer Drive, Model
DRW-1604P---------------------------------------- $92.00

ASUS Black 52X32X52 IDE Internal CD-RW Drive Model
CRW-5232AS--------------------------------------- $31.00

Thermaltake Black Xaser V Damier Full-Tower Case 420W Power
Supply-------------------------------------------$156.50

I/O Magic 1.44MB 3.5 Inch Internal Floppy Drive-- $21.00

SONY SDM-S73/B 17" LCD
Monitor------------------------------------------$409.00

IN WIN USB Digital Card Reader/Writer(Black) INTERNAL, Model CR
I530B-------------------------------------------- $19.75

Logitech Z-5300 5.1 THX Certified Speaker System-$139.00

Microsoft Standard Wireless Optical Desktop Keyboard and
Mouse-------------------------------------------- $53.00

_______

$2238.74

Any advice on better hardware in the same price range, compatability
issues, or anything that you can think of would be GREATLY
appreciated!