First build! Any advice...?

beaker

I have been researching like a mad thing and I reckon I'm about ready to take the plunge and build my first machine.

I am looking for good gaming performance. I might get around to a bit of overclocking eventually (when I figure out how it is done ).

Here is my spec (hoping to order soon):

- MSI K8N Neo4 Platinum-54G Jes € 149

- AMD Athlon 64 3200+ Winchester Jes € 178

- TwinMOS PC3200 DDR-DIMM 1024MB Dual Pack Kit w/two matched PC3200 DDR DIMMs Komplett € 108

- Sapphire Radeon X800XL PCIe 256MB Jes € 288

- Seagate Barracuda 7200.8 250GB SATA 8MB 7200RPM NCQ Komplett € 133

- DVDR IDE NEC ND-3520A Dual black bulk Jes € 52

- Antec Sonata Miditower, Black w/380W PSU Komplett € 119

- Microsoft Windows XP Home SP2 English OEM Komplett € 86

I already have a 19 inch CRT, a Creative Audigy Sound Card and a Hauppauge PVR 150 TV Tuner Card.


Questions...

1) Memory: Despite all my research, I still know SFA about RAM, so any advice here would be very welcome.

2) Processor: I am looking for a 3200+ Venice but the price hike to € 217 (OC UK) doesn't seem worth it. At that rate, surely a 3500+ Winchester for € 246 (Jes) would make more sense. I'm hoping for good Jes prices on Venices when they get them in. How much of a premium would you pay for Venice over Winchester?

3) PSU: I've read great things about the Antec Sonata case. But will the 380 Watt TruePower power supply be enough?

4) Floppy drive: Do I need one? (I keep reading mentions of SATA drivers...)


Any advice at all would be very much appreciated. Thanks.

Richard Dower

Personally i'd go for the Venice 3200+, simply for overclocking...this chip is easily doing 2.6-2.7Ghz. Get a floppy...you'll find you will need it from time to time. As for the DVD burner...i'd get the NEC 3540, 8x Dual Layer burning!

I see a potential problem with the motherboard, if you get a Venice, the BIOS. If it's not the most recent BIOS preinstalled you won't be able to boot the PC with a Venice installed.

BIOS won't recognise the CPU, so consider this when ordering your chip. Or do like me, get a chip and have it pre-sold, wait for a new BIOS update - flash and sell the chip and then get your Venice.

I have a 3000+ OEM Winchester in the mail from OCUK, should have it Monday, same day i'll be selling my FX-53 which has already been sold. I'll be using the Winney until my San Diego 4000+ arrives and then whip out the Whinney which i've already got a buyer for.

DirtyHarry

as for the power supply, its enough for what your going to use it for, even if u overclock alot. As for floppy drives.....dont buy one. They are prehistoric computer gear that should die a horrible death. A memory stick is perfect, and even for your sata drivers....u can transfer the drivers on to your memory stick and install from there. I did it and no hassle.

As for your memory, its really your choice. Either you go for cheap ram or expensive low latency ram. The difference to an average person is hard to make out tbh. So if u have the money and your going to overclock alot, then maybe go for better ram. Some Corsair XMS Pro betsy's would do the job on komplett.

As for your chip, again its down to price (as you have stated) and overclocking. Venice for overclocking but the whinny chips shouldnt be side-lined here. They are still good chips and worth a look. Iv a 3500+ whinny and so far so go.....only my dfi board is bolloxed and i havnt overclocked it yet!

Cheers

gobby

The only thing that I would do differently here would be to future proof as much as possible. Get an SLI mobo and an SLI gfx.

Then you have a system that would be easy to upgrade later on, ie. buy another gfx!

beaker

Thanks for the input, lads. It's great stuff - keep it coming...

That BIOS problem is a hassle. I'd really want to avoid having to buy two chips over it. Will it be possible to get a motherboard with Venice-friendly BIOS soon? Is it possible to tell what BIOS you'll get when buying from Jes, for example?

I'll have a look at the NEC 3540.

I like the Sonata, so I might get it and upgrade the power supply later.

I don't want to spend too much on RAM. Is the TwinMOS option compatible and ok?

I haven't been convinced about SLI. Unless you're going all out and spending big bucks (which I'm not), I don't think it's worth it.

Do you think the 3200+ and the X800XL are a good match in terms of price / performance?

Dundhoone

Richard Dower wrote:

I see a potential problem with the motherboard, if you get a Venice, the BIOS. If it's not the most recent BIOS preinstalled you won't be able to boot the PC with a Venice installed.

Arggh !!! what!
Is there any chance that an older bios might just recognise the venice or san diego chip as a winchester ? i was waiting around for a 3700+ san diego but you might have just scared me off! im not about to go buying another processor just to update the bios!!!

the sapphire x800xl is probably the best performance for cash card at the moment - its equivalent to a 6800gt which you'll pay ~ €150 more for. The only drawback is that whole Sli thing but since the motherboard isnt sli either maybe you have ruled that out already . if so, its a good choice of card. to go sli I reckon you'd need another €170 squids - for say an asus a8n -sli deluxe mb and a decent 6800gt.

I cant find any compatabilty stuff for that twinmos ram either !

Richard Dower

Well if you're using a AMD chip right now then just flash your motherboard to the latest BIOS and keep checking for updates. If you are buying a new motherboard and CPU you could have a problem.

There is no guarantee the motherboard will have the very latest BIOS, most likely it won't. You could try boot the PC with a 3700+...but it may not work and then you are stuck.

Dundhoone

Na im a noob builder, and i dont have access to another Amd chip. Reckon I'll take a chance and if it all goes horribly wrong i'll be posting for help!!!

Any idea if the 3700+ SD is actually available yet? Only place I see it is OCuk and they have some very, very bad reviews for customer service so i'd like to steer clear.

beaker

I'm a noob builder too - switching over from Intel. So no AMD chips lying around.

The Jes prices for Venices seem very good - I'm hoping they get the full range in soon.

Dundhoone, I have pretty much decided against SLI. Unless you're going all out and spending big bucks (which I'm not), I don't think it's worth it.

Skud

gobby wrote:

The only thing that I would do differently here would be to future proof as much as possible. Get an SLI mobo and an SLI gfx.

Then you have a system that would be easy to upgrade later on, ie. buy another gfx!

might as well get one that supports dual processors too. BTW the 512 gfx are to be launched soon. Any gamer would drool at the prospect of dual 512s New amd processors near completion/have just entered market same for pentiums. If you old off you'll see some price drops if you are price sensitive.

beaker

Skud wrote:

might as well get one that supports dual processors too. BTW the 512 gfx are to be launched soon. Any gamer would drool at the prospect of dual 512s New amd processors near completion/have just entered market same for pentiums. If you old off you'll see some price drops if you are price sensitive.

Am I not right in thinking that the new dual core processors will operate in socket 939 boards?

Anandtech reckons the X800 XL 512MB is a compete washout. Interesting.

I am looking at getting a Venice. They are just out, so will Venice prices drop so soon? If so, how long do you think that will take?

beaker

By the way, does anyone know anything about the 54g version of the MSI K8N Neo4 Platinum?

I'm searching all over but can't seem to find any info.

Why do I have the notion that it includes a card with 54g and Bluetooth?