Build Questions

Alkers

I know these threads are frequent but . . . Thinking about putting together a pc with the money from the summer job. The main thing I want it to be is future-proof. I want to get good-quality components and since I should be keeping mobo/case/psu for a good while I as thinking of going along the lines of this:

Cooler Master Wave Master Blue Aluminium (Without PSU) - €169
MSI K8N Diamond, nForce4 SLI,Socket-939 ATX,6xSATA2,GbLAN,Firewire,DDR,PCI-Ex16 - €231.00
AMD Athlon 64 3000+ 1.8GHz Socket 939, 512KB, BOXED w/fan - €155.00
Antec NEO480GB 480-Watt PSU - €139.00
Microsoft Windows XP Home SP2 Software English OEM - €85.99
Crucial PC3200 DDR-DIMM 1024MB KIT w/two matched 512 Mb DDR-DIMM`s 2.5V, 64Megx64 - €90.00

That brings things to €869.99 without a graphics card,HDD or CD/DVD drive. I don't have a PCI Express card so I'd probably get a cheap one to get the system up and running and upgrade as I get more money.
When I had more cash I'd get a decent PCI-E GFX and:
Samsung SpinPoint P120S 200GB SATA2 8MB 7200RPM NCQ - €105 (thinking of going Raid - how many drives do I need for a 0+1 array?)
Plextor DVD recorder PX-712SA SATA White - €88.00
That would bring me to somewhere in or around the €1400 mark by the end of the summer. I chose a cheap CPU as I can upgrade it as dual-core becomes the way to go but I'm wondering is there anywhere else I can afford to cut back for better bang-for-my-buck or any mistakes I've made. Appreciate any advice, comments or suggestions.

juliuspret

Your mobo is too expensive!
Get something around €150 ans use the saving to get possible better RAM.

I got a 3000+ with the same ideas as yourself, but with a little playing around got it from 1.8GHz to 2.25GHz using the stock HSF.

Get a Nec 3540A instead of Plextor and save another €30.

Hitachi 250Gb for another couple of quid rather than the Samsung if you want better technology.

There are probable other things to say...but I must go....

DemonOfTheFall

300 euro on just the case and psu is a bit steep...

You need 4 drives for RAID 0+1, and only get the capacity of two of them. my advice is avoid raid. It's a big pain the backside and just isnt worth the trouble

juliuspret

A quality PSU is a must...but for that money you could get a good quality 550W.

A cheaper case would suffice unless you like a flashy one.

Dont forget to get extra molex 1-to-4 adapters as even 480 could power a lot of devices when using a low range GFX card.

Alkers

Ok, thanks for the replies. What decent 550W PSU can I get for that price? Can anyone reccomend another socket 939 mobo with SLI? I think I'll splash out on the case anyway - it's pretty sweet unless anyone has any reccomendations?

christophicus

I think the ASUS SLI board is pretty damn good.And my favourite case of the moment is the NZXT Nemisis which you can get at www.kotech.co.uk

Dooom

The Asus A8N-SLI is a good board, also check out the Abit AN8 SLI and the Epox N-9PA+ SLI.

Personally I'd go for the Asus but that's just my preference for Asus boards.
Nice taste in the case christophicus, should have my Elite version in a few days

Mutant_Fruit

I can get that exact PSU for about €80.
That cpu for about €120.
The case for about €170,
the mobo for about €185,
two matched 512mb corsair sticks for about €90,
A nec 3540 DVD burner for about €50,
200gb SATA WD drive for €95

Total saving: quite a lot.

Alkers

Yeah - after reading some reviews I think I'll go for the Asus A8N-SLI Deluxe for €160. Any other advice?

Alkers

Mutant_Fruit wrote:

I can get that exact PSU for about €80.
That cpu for about €120.
The case for about €170,
the mobo for about €185,
two matched 512mb corsair sticks for about €90,
A nec 3540 DVD burner for about €50,
200gb SATA WD drive for €95

Total saving: quite a lot.

Where? How? I'd buy them at that price.

Raz

Personally if I was gonna splash out on a case I'd get This One which costs €164 at elara.ie
Also I wouldn't go with an SLI board yet when you have no money to fill the other slot. I got the same mobo as that at the weekend except it's not the SLI version and it cost about €160. When you can afford to buy a big GFX card you can sell the mobo for €100 quite easily and upgrade to the SLI board then as it would most likely be much cheaper.
You could put the money save on the SLI board toward a higher spec CPU or if you have money left over, towards a nicer GFX.
Personally I like your choice in CPU, sure it's expensive but you probably won't need to buy another one for six years.
Also have a look at www.shop4memory.com for your RAM. They don't charge for delivery so you won't be incuring any extra delivery cost and they've a really good selection. Also, on the same note, I'd go with a larger single stick of RAM and get another later on to upgrade to Dual channel. If you get smaller ones and want to upgrade you may have to sacrifice running dual channel or swap them out completely for larger sticks.
Go with what the others said about the optical drives and the hard drives and you'll have a high spec machine that's almost as future proof as you can get in the computer industry.

Alkers

That case looks pretty good alright, I'll consider it. Mutant_Fruit has me very interested though! I still think I'll stick with SLI - just saves hassle in the long term. By my choice of CPU did you mean PSU? That CPU is meant to be a good overclocker too if I ever get around to it.

Raz

Simona1986 wrote:

That case looks pretty good alright, I'll consider it. Mutant_Fruit has me very interested though! I still think I'll stick with SLI - just saves hassle in the long term. By my choice of CPU did you mean PSU? That CPU is meant to be a good overclocker too if I ever get around to it.

Whoops! Yeah I meant PSU. I'm considering one of them myself.