My first build-your-own pc

brian_ire

I'm sure your all fed up of people posting their building attempts but i seek your guidence!

I've been kinda going over my issues in this thread where i started off trying to buy a complete computer from jes-computer.de but eventually realised that i cant speak german so it would be pretty pointless.

Anyway ive decided to bite the bullet and this is what i've come up with so far

128MB Sapphire Radeon 9800 Pro Lite-RTL € 195,99
MB ATX S754 MSI MS-7030 K8N Neo Platinum € 134,09
CPU AMD Athlon 64 3200+ Tray € 259,99
.Kühler SA/478/754 ZALMAN CNPS-7000A-AlCu € 28,95
HDD SATA 200GB Western Digital WD2000JD € 126,99
DDR PC400 512MB Mushkin CL2 Level One € 129,99
DVDR IDE NEC ND-2510A Dual beige bulk € 90,90

Monitor wise i really really want a 19" flat screen but budget wise tis a bit of a pain.
TFT 19" Philips 190S5CS € 569,00

That leaves me to get a case, ive been suggested a few but theyre way above my budget. i figure 80euro should do for it, i aint really into anythin flashy just respectable, ya know the way.

Throw in windows xp home OEM at €100 and that brings the total to

€1715.90

Firstly are all those parts compatible, im nearly positive they are, but it wouldnt surprise me if some werent.

secondly would u suggest any alternatives to the options ive chosen, staying within the same budget

thanx

Bicky

Sorry for going off topic but what does it mean when they say tray on the cpu description?

Also besides a fan what is the diiference between boxed version of a cpu and non-boxed?

brian_ire

im pretty sure the tray version is the OEM and the boxed version is Retail, i could be wrong tho

silverside

Personally I would go for
Asus K8V SE Deluxe
AMD64 3000
Samsung spinpoint 160GB

instead of what you have
ASUS+samsung good names. They are minor changes though.

The 64/3000 is significantly cheaper.

You would be able to get CL3 RAM cheaper from Crucial, but that might be a false economy. Someone else might explain how much a performance difference CL2 makes.

Compatibility : Have you checked the chart on Zalman website? and check the memory compatibility on motherboard manufacturers website. Everything else is standard so should work.

Mac daddy

CAS basics
CAS Latency, which stands for 'Column Address Strobe'. It is important in determining how fast memory modules will respond to a request for data. It is normally called the CAS delay, and has a value of 2 or 3 in SDR SDRAM.
These numbers correspond to a number of clock cycles. Lower is better, and in SDR SDRAM the difference between CAS 2 and 3 can affect performance considerably.

Mac daddy

Also the MoBo has onboard Raid controller- instead of one large HDD i would go with two smaller 2x80Gig 7200Rpm drivesee here set them in a RAID 0.

Col_Loki

Personally I would go for
Asus K8V SE Deluxe

Thats a KT800 chipset and is bad for any bit of overclocking. The K8N Neo is one of the best boards you can get for the Socket 754 ........ has alot to do with the NF3 250 chipset and AGP/PCI lock. Id stick with the MSI.

AMD64 3000+

Yea that is definetly a good option to have if the budget is tight.

Samsung spinpoint 160GB

Samsungs are good, quiet and run pretty cool. They might not perform aswell as the WD's but they wont be too far behind.

WD is also a good choice IMO.

You would be able to get CL3 RAM cheaper from Crucial,

I think the Ram he picked is bang on. The AMD64 will perform alot better with the performance Ram than the Crucial. Much tighter timings, id definetly go with Mushkin Level 1.

Compatibility : Have you checked the chart on Zalman website? and check the memory compatibility on motherboard manufacturers website. Everything else is standard so should work.

Good idea. AFAIK the Zalman is compatable with all 754 motherboards so hes fine.
The MSI might not be great for listing the compatable memory types as its so new out.... but worth a look.

Sorry for going off topic but what does it mean when they say tray on the cpu description?

Main difference is you dont get a box, and you dont get heatsink. It comes in a little tray. (there might be something about warrenties but im not sure on that one)


[edit] PS dont skimp on the PSU, mabye get a cheap case and then decent PSU........ you need good power for a decent rig.

brian_ire

thanx again for the replies.

i think i might go with the Athlon 64 3000+ that'll save a few yo yos

if i go for a cheapish case what PSU would u recommend rememberin that im on a tight budget?

any thoughts on the monitor?

Col_Loki

Decent case and PSU would be the Sonata for €140. Other than that mabye.....

A cheap case from jes and then this PSU.......... http://www.jes-computer.de/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=168_28&products_id=14980 - should work out under €100.

You could chance another PSU / cheaper one etc but chances are it wont power your PC, you will get restarts, crappy voltage rails, possible hardware dammage. And you dont want to go down that road with an AMD64 TBH as its a very good machine.
Ignore the ratings it means nothing, brand means everything.

brian_ire

i think this is the pc im gonna go with

1 x TFT 19" BenQ FP992 analog/digital € 585,90
1 x HDD SATA 200GB Western Digital WD2000JD € 126,99
1 x Kühler SA/478/754 ZALMAN CNPS-7000A-AlCu € 28,95
1 x CPU AMD Athlon 64 3000+ Tray € 178,90
1 x GEH Midi CS-606 Serie Blau o. NT € 56,99
1 x Netzteil Tagan TG380-U01 380W € 53,80
1 x 128MB Sapphire Radeon 9800 Pro Lite-RTL € 195,80
1 x MB ATX S754 MSI MS-7030 K8N Neo Platinum € 134,09
1 x DDR PC400 512MB Mushkin CL2 Level One € 129,99

all of the above from jes-computer.de = €1491.41 + delivery

and then NEC ND-2510A Dual Layer DVD Burner €96.00
Windows XP OEM €102.00

Gives a total of just over €1700

too much?????

Col_Loki

Must say that looks like a very nice rig.

You might just want to add a case fan, but everything else is very well picked .

As a by the way i think the ND2500 is able to burn Dual Layer with a simple Firmware update, and its the same with the LiteOn AFAIK. Im almost 100% with the NEC 2500, and pretty sure with the LiteOn. Mite save a couple more bucks.

And also there might be someone with a spare XP/2000 OS arround the place might save you buying that?

brian_ire

yeh i must just stick with NEC ND2500a so.

i have a quick question bout the OS. say if i found a spare Windows XP lying around which had already been installed on another PC, whats the chances of a microsoft monkey climbing all over my back?(ie how legal is it?)

oh and i assume any case fan will do the trick???? do u have any favourites?

TacT

Not too sure on the gfx card but everything else is spot on, will be a nice beast

Does that lite mean it's a slightly crippled 9800 pro? hmm..

dogz

why ruin such a good rig with xp home spend the extra 40 and get pro its much better more stable

brian_ire

my bro has been botherin me to stick windows xp pro on it but i was told from probably very unreliable sources that the only difference between home and pro was pro was designed for networks and apart from that they were pretty much the same.

Col_Loki

Does that lite mean it's a slightly crippled 9800 pro? hmm..

Nope, think your getting confused with all the talk about the 128bit 9800pro.

The "lite" just means it doesent come with the games. Its (as sapphire put it) a 9800pro without the frills. It has the 256bit memory controller and is a very good card.

why ruin such a good rig with xp home spend the extra 40 and get pro its much better more stable

I was also under the impression that it was very simular to the Home edition except for the networking. Im running XP Pro on my desktop at the min and Home on the laptop and theres not much difference at all in my eyes.

Was wondering if theres more to it? Is it actually more stable?

brian_ire

Was wondering if theres more to it? Is it actually more stable?

a few people in this thread saying theres not much difference between the two.

Bicky

hey Col_Loki.

Sorry for messing your thread brian_ire but dont want to start a new one

would this fan come with a heatsink or would it need to be purchased seperately?

Spire CPU-Fan FridgeRock Socket A 5U213C1H3G For AMD up to XP 3000+

http://www.komplett.ie/k/ki.asp?sku=119406&s=sc

Col_Loki

Yea it comes with a fan (nearly all heatsinks do, except the more specialist ones like thermalrights, swiftech's etc).

BTW that fan runs at 4000rpm which will be noisey. The Artic Cooler (available on hitide.ie or jes-computer.de is pretty cheap and quiet). But from komplett id do for a fan that runs under 2500rpm or it will kill your ears.

Like the Spire whisper rock etc. (just click specification under the product and it will tell you fan speed).

brian_ire

does anyone have any suggestions for a decent case fan for this rig?

any suggestions would be grateful, the case is 80 x 80

and the fan would have to be from www.jes-computer.de

thanx again!

pyrogenx

you can get this case on ebay for only 60euro and one led fan, the 2 blue lights and the colour changing light in the middle at the front are comin with it. http://www.midlans.net/picspages/pyrogenx1.html

Damok

Hey Brian, where can you get Win XP for €100? Is it an online store? I've got win ME and it is really buggy. I'm starting to think that windows in general is useless, but i hope to stand corrected.

Pacifico

Originally posted by Damok
Hey Brian, where can you get Win XP for €100? Is it an online store? I've got win ME and it is really buggy. I'm starting to think that windows in general is useless, but i hope to stand corrected.

www.overclockers.co.uk also www.komplett.ie.

Ordered mine from overclockers.co.uk today just over €100 inc postage

pyrogenx

Windows in general is useless alright, if u consider how much budget Micro**** can spend and yet they can't solve problems very well.

brian_ire

yeh damok, when i said around €100 i was referring to the OEM version on www.komplett.ie.

Damok

Thanks, i think i'll get that. Better than the version i have now. And i presume there is no loss getting the OEM version if you know what you're doing ...:dunno: Oh yeah and sorry for going off topic! :rolleyes: