first pc build,advice on components!!

bazcaz

Hi,

I want to build a new comp for home (were currently using a Pentium 350Mhz!!)
I have been looking at komplett and these are components ive picked could you give me your opinion on whether its a good setup it wont be used for heavy game playing(hence the cheap graphics card) the worst it will get beyond office work and internet is some prog development for college I want a farily high spec in case i want to do anything more trying now and again such as photo editing,the odd game etc.

Also if you spot any possible compatibility problems between the components speak up.
Is there anything else that I would need apart from a keyboard/mouse and an OS,dvd drive etc to have an up and running pc,i assume the cabling necessary will come bundled with these products?

Case: Antec Sonata Miditower, Black w/380W PSU
Processor:AMD Athlon 64 3200+ 2.0GHz Socket 939, 512KB, BOXED w/fan
Ram:Corsair Value S. PC3200 DDR-DIMM 1024MB Kit w/two matched Value Select 512MB
Mainboard:Gigabyte GA-K8NF-9,nForce4-4x,Socket-939 4xSATA, GbLAN, Firewire, PCI-Express
Hard Drive:Seagate Barracuda 7200.7 200GB IDE ATA/100 8MB 7200RPM
Graphics:Club3D Radeon X600PRO 256MB DDR,128bit PCI Express, DVI, VGA, Tv-Out, Retail
Monitor:BenQ 19" LCD T905 TCO99 Monitor, Silver/Black, 12ms

Links
Case http://www.komplett.ie/k/ki.asp?sku=305069&s=sc
Processor http://www.komplett.ie/k/ki.asp?sku=307202&s=sc
Ram http://www.komplett.ie/k/ki.asp?sku=118737&s=sc
Mainboard http://www.komplett.ie/k/ki.asp?sku=307571&s=sc
Hard Drive http://www.komplett.ie/k/ki.asp?sku=123995&s=sc
Graphics Card http://www.komplett.ie/k/ki.asp?sku=308424&s=sc
Monitor http://www.komplett.ie/k/ki.asp?sku=311058&s=sc

Malafus

It's a pretty reasonable spec, aside, of course, from the GFX card. No problems, AFAICS.

You are correct sir, the cables and stuff will be included with the case.

Exar Khun

how much is it all costing ?

bazcaz

about 1040eur good value??

evilhomer

Did you have a look at the PC kits on komplett. you sometimes get a good deal with them. Although the cases and PSU's can be crappy.

bazcaz

Ya I had a quick look at them they seem pretty good when you say the cases and psu's are crappy do you mean the hum of the case would be unbearably loud or would it be similar to like a standard dell machine,i guess im wondering if by crappy u mean the case wont be whisper quiet.

And with the psu's is it that you dont like the manufacturer or is it that they just arent powerful enough to handle the rest of the setup they are bundled with???

whitetrash

Malafus wrote:

It's a pretty reasonable spec, aside, of course, from the GFX card. No problems, AFAICS.

You are correct sir, the cables and stuff will be included with the case.

What's wrong with the graphics card?

How would I need to say upgrade the stuff on his list if I wanted a decent gaming machine?

Sgtshaft

I think it perfect for what u want it for, but your hard drive is an IDE maybe you should go for a serial ATA .

bazcaz

Does it make a big difference whether its ide or sata???

I read a user comment on komplett about problems with sata being recognized by xp and needing extra drivers

http://www.komplett.ie/k/ki.asp?sku=108498&cks=PRL

Do u think the whole setup is good value at 1040eur??

Sgtshaft

IDE has a transfer of 100 MBps and Serial ATA II has a transfer of 300 MBps and
you will get a floppy disk of your sata drivers for winXP all you need is a floppy drive while installing, I think its an ok price but u could cut you cpu down a bit to perhaps the 3000+ and save €40 odd, and maybe o/clock the 3000+ to a 3200+.

The Komplett kit is pretty good, but I dont like Epox boards, but thats just my opinion

Ciaran500

Harddrives have a transfer rate of about 60MBps max

silverside

it's a fine spec

see if you can see the BenQ LCD in action before you buy it (or make sure you read some reveiws), all else is fine. Only reason I say this is I have seen some LCD's which look crap in action despite having good specs.

I am using a very similar rig as a games machine and it does fine. If you did want to play top end games all you would have to do is buy a X800 / 6800GT and maybe an audigy soundcard.

bazcaz

So its really only faster transfers that sata would offer would installing an ide drive be automatically recognized by xp cause im not that worried about transfer rates really??
Should I invest in one of those mats and a wrist strap to protect myself against static electricity and is there many tools I would need for assembly purposes??
Do you think the setup is good value????

Malafus

SATA allows for RAID arrays, but I don't think you have much use for that feature. Go for whatever. Neither should be any problem.

Em, I have never used an anti-static mat, a wrist-strap or any other anti-static device - haven't borked anything yet. Just touch a radiator or something before you start and every so often while working on the build, that'll get rid of any static on you. N.B. I'm not accepting liability for any damage - just in case.

A phillips-head screwdriver should be all you need.

Gilgamesh

just out of curiosity, don't you wan't a DVD Drive or even a writer in the machine?
didn't see any Optical drives listed in that rig you posted.

bazcaz

Ya i know i have a dvd drive for it sorted already
Thanks

bazcaz

Anyone familiar with the benq monitor i specified,cant find any reviews apparently its fairly new