Question

Iwas thinking of building a PC is this a good spec is it all compatable....??

Asked by: On_The_Level

I am considering building my own computer, i have put together a list of what i entend to have and was wondering if they would all work together and fit the case, or if there would be any problems or if anyone has a better suggestion for a peice of hardware. what i have got so far:

Case:   Akasa Clear Acrylic ATX Case (CA-001-AK)
Processor:   AMD Athlon 64 3500 winchester design socket 939
Motherboard:   Asus A8V-E Deluxe socket 939
Memory:   1Gb DDR    (dont know what make?)
Hard Disk:   (?)
Graphics Card:   Possibly nVIDIA Gforce 5200 PCI?
Sound Card:   Creative Sound Blaster Live 7.1
Disk Drives:   CD/RW 52 x 32 x 52
            DVD/RW
Speakers:   Creative Inspire 6.1 6700
Power Supply:   480 Watt Tagan Whisper
Extras:  Akasa Fan Speed Control

Thats just the basics would all this be compatable???????
What make of memory should i use??
I was thinking maxtor hard disk - whats the difference between all this IDE and ATA S-ATA????

Cheers folks big help

Gary

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Asked On
2005-01-11 at 11:45:09ID21270397
Tags

maxtor

,

drive

,

hard

Topics

Miscellaneous Hardware

,

Computer Sound Cards

,

Video Cards

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Answers

 

by: CallandorPosted on 2005-01-11 at 12:11:48ID: 13017647

An FX5200 video card is a very low-end card to be used in such a high-end system.  Go with an FX5700 at least, or a Radeon 9800 Pro.  Go with good quality RAM, so that you can get the most of the memory bandwidth that the Athlon 64's are capable of.  Corsair, OCZ, Kingston HyperX, and Crucial are examples of good quality.  Did you decide on additional case fans?  Panasonic Panaflo are quiet 80mm fans, and Zalman makes a very slim one (newegg carries it).

 

by: harbor235Posted on 2005-01-11 at 12:25:39ID: 13017761

That motherboard has a built-in audio Realtek ALC850, 8-channel CODEC, dont need the soundblaster.
SATA is a newer standard and is faster then IDE and is a better choice. Corsair memory I think is the best, especially
the low CAS latency series, Corsair XMS Extreme Memory Series, be sure to get the match set to take advantage of the dual channel memory slots. I agree Newegg is the best.

www.tomshardware.com is an awesome site for all pc building needs, check it out!

harbor235

 

by: On_The_LevelPosted on 2005-01-11 at 13:07:41ID: 13018156

Yeah i was thinking of additional fans, and as it is a clear see through case i was considering some neon lighting, will the PSU have enough sockets for this???

Cheers folks il check out that web site.

 

by: On_The_LevelPosted on 2005-01-11 at 13:09:24ID: 13018177

Just one other thing, will the Motherboard and PSU fit the case or are most of this stuff standard sizes and fit most cases??/

Cheers

Gary

 

by: PatrickSalterPosted on 2005-01-11 at 13:19:10ID: 13018302

Sure, you could use the integrated sound card, but the sound quality out of the creative cards is far better then anything on the market today.   Although, I would go with an audigy 2 if sound quality is important to you.  

Next, I would consider a powersupply that has an ACTIVE PFC (Power Factor Correction)  Clean power in a system can help dramatically increase stability, or more accurately, dirty power can cause all kinds of system headaches.  A greater explaination can be found here.   http://www.endpcnoise.com/cgi-bin/e/pfc.html  The thermaltake products are the best on the market, however they are a little on the niosy end.  You can also go with the Vantec products, but make sure you look for PFC .  

For memory, go with Corsair or Kingston.   If you want the best, Corsair Platinum is the best.   People will say other things like Geil or various manufacturers, but their quality controls are shamed by Corsair.  

Next, are you dead set on an AMD system?   AMD has a long history of flaky and unreliable performance, even if they are currently faster then their INTEL counterparts.   Just because it's faster does not mean it's better.  

If you go Intel, you can take advantage of DDR2, PCI express and a few other things that would make your system scream (YEs the AMD side does support them as too, but not as well!).  

WHen you asked about the video card, you were saying PCI express, right?  

Next, you certainly got the motherboard BRAND right, ASUS makes the best boards (WEll, perhaps Intel, but that's another argument).   However, you chose a motherboard that is based on a VIA chipset.   HEED MY ADVICE, never ever EVER buy a mobo based on a VIA chipset.   If you insist on AMD, then go with Nforce 3 or Nforce4 ONLY.   If you go with an intel board, ONLY CHOOSE ONE BASED ON AN INTEL CHIPSET!   Via chipset are BAD.   They are poorly designed to serve the low end, they are plagued by stability and incompatibility issues, not to mention running among the hottest on the market.  

Next is Hard drives.   DO NOT BE SUCKERED INTO BUYING A WESTERN DIGITAL HARD DRIVE BECAUSE THEY ARE CHEAPER.  They are the worst built drives on the market.   Seagate is the best, as well as but you could also go with a maxtor.   Look for at minimum a 8mb cache, or even a 16mb cache.   And of course, Serial ATA is your best bet.   There is no reason to put a Paralell ATA drive in your system if you are building from the ground up.  

Lastly, why build you own?   Are you trying to learn?   Are you trying to save a couple bucks?   If you are trying to learm then go for it.   If you are trying to save a few bucks, check out dell, you cannot build a system for cheaper.  (And no, I don't work for dell, I work for my self!).   If you are trying to learn, or just to get a very high end system for games, etc, then build away my friend.   But heed my advice, be very careful when building an AMD system.   Nforce ONLY and if you go AMD you better have the best memory and power you can get.  I have been building systems for over 15 years now, and used to run my own company doing that full time.
Now I just tell people how to spend their money.   Now when they don't listen to me, I make even more money because I am constantly fixing flaky systems.  Heed my advice, and you will thank me for it.    

 

by: PatrickSalterPosted on 2005-01-11 at 13:21:16ID: 13018329

You asked if most everything would fit/be compatible.   Yes, you should have no problems there, although if you do buy the Sound Blaster, it is best to disable the integrated sound card, as sound blasters do no like to share and have a history of causing problems when running 2 cards at once.  

 

by: manthPosted on 2005-01-11 at 14:03:07ID: 13018779

Besides the 5200 being slow, it's PCI?
I hope you mean PCI Express.
Never get any regular PCI video cards...

 

by: lar006Posted on 2005-01-11 at 14:41:01ID: 13019100

I recommend AMD processors to anyone not running massive speadsheets, databases, or drawing packages.   They are engineered towards home use where Intels are engineered towards business use.  I also recommend ASUS or MSI Motherboards.  I would recommend a S-ATA Maxtor Hard Drive because their products are good and if you do get a bad one, they have a great warranty.
The vidoe card is a tricky thing to figure out because the technology changes pretty fast and a $400 card today is $100 a year from now.  I like NVidia and I have had Nvidia cards for 5 years in both AMD and Intel systems.   If you plan on listening to a lot of music, or playing sound intensive games, I would reccomend the Sound Blaster Audigy 2 (the platinum is nice because it gives you all the plugs you could want on the front of your computer in a 5 1/2" slot + a remote that really comes in handy).  With the drives, I would go with a MSI DVD drive and a MSI DVD/RW Dual Layer drive.  This will give you DVD to DVD (or CD to CD) copy capabilities. Kingsington memory is good, but most name brand memory will work just fine.  Add a couple extra fans for heat control (some blowing in and some blowing out).

The biggest thing that should guide your purchasing decision is, what are you going to honestly use this thing for the majority of the time?

P.S. Kudos on building your own system, you will be glad you did.  You may hit some bumps, but its fun and you will know your system inside and out.  
P.S.S. I know this isn't hardware, but if you are going with XP, Definetly pay the extra cash for Pro or Media Center.

 

by: On_The_LevelPosted on 2005-01-12 at 06:29:24ID: 13024086

Cheers guys thats a big help, i have decided to go for the Asus A8N - SCi Deluxe nForce 4 motherboard.  Corsair memory although i was thinking of having 1GB would i be better with 2x 512Mb or just 1Gb stick, i was thinking of DDR 400 would i be write?
I was considering 2 maxtorhard drives, i looked again at graphics cards, what is a good but reasnable price nVidia PIC express.  

You must be getting bored with me but thanks alot

Gary

 

by: CallandorPosted on 2005-01-12 at 09:26:21ID: 13026213

That is an excellent choice of motherboard.  You'll probably benefit from two 512MB DDR400 RAM sticks (purchased as dual-channel) to get a slight increase in performance.  For video cards, if you are considering SLI in the future, you will need a GeForce 6800 Ultra, GeForce 6800 GT, GeForce 6800, or GeForce 6600 GT, because they have connector required: http://www.gamepc.com/labs/view_content.asp?id=a8nsli&page=3  The 6600GT is going for around $180.

 

by: On_The_LevelPosted on 2005-01-12 at 11:19:35ID: 13027468

Right here we go again, i think i have the whole system spec here:

Case:   Akasa Clear Acrylic ATX Case (CA-001-AK)

Processor:   AMD Athlon 64 3500 winchester design socket 939

Motherboard:   Asus A8N - SLi Deluxe nForce4

Memory:   1 Gb (2 x 512 Mb) Corsair TwinX, DDR, PC3200C2PT, Cas 2

Hard Disk:   Maxtor DiamondMax Plus 10 NCQ 250GB 6B250SO SATA 16MB Cache - OEM
                  &    Maxtor DiamondMax Plus 9 120GB 6Y120MO SATA 8MB Cache - OEM

Graphics Card:   MSI GeForce PCX 5750TD 128MB TV-Out/DVI (PCI-Express)

Sound Card:   Creative Sound Blaster Audigy 2 Value 7.1 PCI Sound Card

Disk Drives:  
           
Speakers:   Creative Inspire 6.1 6700

Power Supply:   480 Watt Tagan Whisper

Extras:  Akasa Fan Speed Control,  2 akasa 80mm fans
           


not sure what make of disk drive and DVD - / + and all this?
Dose the CPU that i have chose come with a heatsink and a fan, will i have to buy another??

Is there anything else i require????

Cheers

Gary

 

by: CallandorPosted on 2005-01-12 at 11:43:54ID: 13027732

The 5750 is not as fast as the 6600GT: http://graphics.tomshardware.com/graphic/20041222/vga_charts-04.html

If you're buying a retail cpu, it will come with a fan.  I prefer the Zalman CNPS7000B: http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=35-118-112&depa=0

A DVD burner that handles -R and +R will produce the most compatable DVDs.  Sony DRU-510, Plextor PX-712, NEC 2510, and Pioneer A08 are good ones.

 

by: manthPosted on 2005-01-15 at 15:00:06ID: 13054967

Yes try to avoid any 5000-series Geforces please...
Unless you are only planning on playing old games.

20120131-EE-VQP-002

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