[RelentlessImp]

Alright... I'm building a new PC, as my current one will likely be outdated in the next 6-12 months, as DX10 becomes more widely utilized (seeing as how the mobo only has AGP 8x x1 and PCI x3 slots). I've already picked out most of the components, including adding a new video card to the wishlist, and was wanting some advice on if these components work well together or if they're crap. Here's the new PC's specs:

Case:
Thermaltake LANBox
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16811133044

Motherboard:
ASUS M2A-VM Socket AM2 AMD 690G Micro ATX Motherboard
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16813131172

Processor:
AMD Athlon X2 5200+ Windosr 2.6GHz 2x 1MB L2 Cache
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16819103759

PSU:
APEVIA ICEBERG ATX 680W Power Supply
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16817148028

HDD:
300GB 7200 RPM 8MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s HDD
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16822152045

Optical:
CD/DVD-ROM/+/-RW +/-R drive
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16827136117

RAM:
Kingston HyperX 2GB (2x1GB) 240-pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC 6400) x2
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16820134012

OS:
Windows XP Pro 64-bit edition
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16832116179
OS Part Deux:
Ubuntu

The total cost comes out to 1085.85 USD. I also plan to stick ATI's HD 2900 XT in it when I can.

Can anyone suggest anything to give bigger bang for the buck? Also, this is the first PC I will be building myself, so I'm kind of nervous about it.

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Before we start are you saying your planning on building this rig in 6-12 months, because if this is the case there is no point on us providing help at this time as everything will change and you'll want different things.
Just looking at that from a glace the PSU(it's junk anyways) won't support the ATI HD 2900XT because it doesn't have a 8 pin plug and XP doesn't support DX10. Also don't get a 64bit OS at this time, provide a budget and tell me when your planning on building this rig in your next post please.
James

Edited by james_8970, 12 May 2007 - 10:28 PM.

[james_8970]

Before we start are you saying your planning on building this rig in 6-12 months, because if this is the case there is no point on us providing help at this time as everything will change and you'll want different things.
Just looking at that from a glace the PSU(it's junk anyways) won't support the ATI HD 2900XT because it doesn't have a 8 pin plug and XP doesn't support DX10. Also don't get a 64bit OS at this time, provide a budget and tell me when your planning on building this rig in your next post please.
James

Edited by james_8970, 12 May 2007 - 10:28 PM.

[RelentlessImp]

No, I plan to build it in the next month or so, when I have the money to actually purchase everything at once rather than piecemeal.

Budget is in the $1200 range.

Edited by RelentlessImp, 12 May 2007 - 10:29 PM.

[james_8970]

I edited my post please revise it.
James

[james_8970]

If edit my post you'll probably miss it so I'm just adding another one. The HD 2900XT will not fit into a Micro ATX case and will probably be longer then the motherboard. If you really want this card your going to have to sacrifice some desk space and get a bigger case. Must be ATX. This card is rumoured to be 9.5" long OEM version will be 11" long.
James

[RelentlessImp]

Will keep that in consideration and am currently looking at other PSUs, cases, and mobos. Have any suggestions for the three aforementioned categories?

[james_8970]

PSU
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16817256012
Motherboard
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16813130057

As for the case I believe thats a personal decision and will leave that up to you to decide.
James

Edit again, I hope you mean 1200 dollars on everything you have already mentioned because ATI's card will be 400-430$ alone.

Edited by james_8970, 12 May 2007 - 10:50 PM.

[Titan8990]

MOBO: http://www.newegg.co...N82E16813128034

I wouldn't be able to reccommend a PSU with a 8pin PCI-E connector because I did not see any in the usual brands I prefer.

Like James said cases is kind of a preference but I would only buy a steel case. After my last build for my friend I'm not buying anything other than a Coolermaster case for myself.

[RelentlessImp]

Thank you for the help. Customer reviews on the case, however, say that an 8800GTS will fit in the case and (presumably) on a microATX motherboard. I can't find the size of an 8800, however; is it smaller than the rumors say the HD 2900 XT will be? Sorry if these sound like dumb questions, but if it is, I'll be moving to an 8800 card and forking out a little more money.

Also; why no 64-bit OS? I've heard a few problems but they've never seemed all that severe when I listened to people talking about them. Are the 64-bit OS's more flawed than I've been lead to believe?

Edit: And yes, I meant $1200 on everything I have already, I can wait a little longer to put a decent video card in it and suffer with the integrated chipset until I can afford a high-end card.

Edited by RelentlessImp, 12 May 2007 - 10:54 PM.

[james_8970]

Is it me or does the motherboard you just suggest support 6dimms of RAM. How is this a mainstream board.....I can't even guess how dual channel works on that motherboard since there is only 2 colors dividing 6 dimms or ram.....Usual one color per dual channel set.
James

[james_8970]

The HD 2900XT is rumoured to be the same size as the 8800GTX, but I'm pretty sure AMD has already confirmed this.
James

Edit: Titans motherboard will work for you then because it has inter graded graphics, but that deal seems to good to be true.......

Edit2: There is very little support for 32bit OS's, if you don't want trouble then stick with 32bit OS's.

Edited by james_8970, 12 May 2007 - 10:59 PM.

[RelentlessImp]

The original one I linked has an integrated Radeon X1250 chipset for video.

Also, can the customer reviews be believed about being able to fit an 8800 card into it, or are they simply full of it?

[james_8970]

Yes but it's micro, sorry I edited my post again so you will not have seen it.

The problem is many people will mid-tower cases don't have enough room in their case resulting to moding or else buying a new one. I strongly recommend you stay away from Micro ATX due to the shear size of these cards at the moment.
James

[RelentlessImp]

So it would be better to wait and see the size of ATI's mid-range DX10 cards instead (the HD 2400 and 2600 series) before making such a purchase? I'm wanting to build a somewhat portable PC, as I'm tired of lugging my full-size tower around for LAN parties.

[james_8970]

It's your decision but the HD 2400 and HD 2600 series probably arn't going to be great gaming cards (we'll have to wait and see for sure though) and won't see the light of day till late June due to high demand from Dell. It's your call but the end result won't be as pleasing of a gaming experience but you'd also be able to save on the PSU since only the higher end models have 8 pin cables. But I'm off to bed and probably won't be on till later tomorrow. C ya.
James

Edited by james_8970, 12 May 2007 - 11:13 PM.