[Kanilas]

Hi all, I'm looking to build my first PC, and am trying to seek out some help from those more experienced than I am. I'm going for a "budget box", as I'm a student and have some extra cash I can afford to spend after the summer, and still afford tuition. I'm not looking to OC, and would like to stick with a dual core. My overall budget for this project is $650-$700. (Including shipping) I have speakers, keyboard, mouse and those basics. (Still looking for a LCD Display) My flexible parts list is as follows, from newegg.


Motherboard - ASUS M2NPV-VM Socket AM2 NVIDIA GeForce 6150 Micro ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16813131014

CPU - AMD Athlon 64 X2 4600+ Windsor 2.4GHz Socket AM2 Processor Model ADA4600CUBOX - Retail
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16819103751

PSU - COOLER MASTER eXtreme Power RS-430-PMSR/P ATX12V Max: 400W (Continuous), Peak: 430W Power Supply - Retail
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16817171007

RAM - Crucial Ballistix 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model BL2KIT12864AA804 - Retail
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16820146565

HDD Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD2500KS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16822144701

Optical Drive - SONY NEC Optiarc Black
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16827131038

Floppy Drive- NEC Black 1.44MB 3.5" Internal Floppy Drive - OEM
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16821152005

Case - COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 CAC-T05-UB Black /Blue Aluminum Bezel , SECC Chassis ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16811119047


I'm a little lost on the issue of video cards... I was considering going with either of these two:

EVGA 256-P2-N624-AR GeForce 7900GS 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 KO Video Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16814130056

PNY VCG85512GXPB GeForce 8500GT 512MB GDDR2 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16814133197

Without a video card, I'm spending $499 and $30 in shipping for a videocard-less total of $530.

But I'm not really sure what to do. I'd much appreciate input into this category. I would prefer to stay with nVidia, though that's negotiable. Also... Do I need a cable pack for the internal connections, or is everything supplied with what I've bought?

I'm a novice at this, and would humbly take any advice, or corrections to my parts list from the experienced builders. I'm also debating whether to go with Vista, or stick to XP... My parts list is flexible, so any changes for the better would be welcome. Thanks in advance!

Edited by Kanilas, 19 July 2007 - 11:18 PM.

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Everything there looks compatible. I'm pretty sure you'll get what you need as far as connections are concerned. Some parts you have purchased are OEM, but because the motherboard is "retail" you should get a heap of cords with it. (SATA, IDE)

With those two video cards, you need to consider: What type of games do you play? As a gaming card, the 7900GS would be the better of the two (also notice it uses GDDR3 whereas the 8500GT only uses GDDR2). The 7900GS is not a DX10 card, though. Reports are that the 8500GT is not a great gaming card, even the 8600GT is not that great for playing with all your eye-candy (Anti-aliasing etc...) For the 8 series (DX10) gaming, the 8800GTS (320MB) would be good, but would put you way over budget!

If you were to add a 7900GS to this system (and remember you don't even need a graphics card as your mobo has onboard), you might need to look carefully at the PSU specs, it might not be enough to power it. A quick look seems like it will just not quite make the cut. This one looks like a better bet.

[Troy]

Everything there looks compatible. I'm pretty sure you'll get what you need as far as connections are concerned. Some parts you have purchased are OEM, but because the motherboard is "retail" you should get a heap of cords with it. (SATA, IDE)

With those two video cards, you need to consider: What type of games do you play? As a gaming card, the 7900GS would be the better of the two (also notice it uses GDDR3 whereas the 8500GT only uses GDDR2). The 7900GS is not a DX10 card, though. Reports are that the 8500GT is not a great gaming card, even the 8600GT is not that great for playing with all your eye-candy (Anti-aliasing etc...) For the 8 series (DX10) gaming, the 8800GTS (320MB) would be good, but would put you way over budget!

If you were to add a 7900GS to this system (and remember you don't even need a graphics card as your mobo has onboard), you might need to look carefully at the PSU specs, it might not be enough to power it. A quick look seems like it will just not quite make the cut. This one looks like a better bet.

[Kanilas]

Alright, I wasn't quite sure if I'd make it with that PSU. I'll definitely go with the 450 W, better to be safe than with power shortages. I think that I'll go with the 7900GS then. I really don't think that I'll be satisfied with the on-board graphics, since I'm going to use this for gaming. As fa as DX-10 goes, some other threads I read seem to indicate that there's really nothing in my budget that's worth my while, so I'll stick to my DX9 for now, I guess.
(Then again, nearly anything is better than my main computer now, a ThinkPad T30 with a 16MB ATI Mobility Radeon 7500)

As far as Windows goes, do you think it'd be better to stick with XP for now, or make the jump to Vista? Or is it simply a matter of user preference?

Thanks for answering my earlier questions ruthandtroy!

[Troy]

Sure no problems, glad I could help. As for your OS, I'm guessing if you're building a new computer you might as well learn how to use Vista, it's the new operating system after all. I've heard a lot of positive review from users in this forum, so go for it! (My recommendation, anyway). I don't have it personally, but if I was going to buy/build a new computer now, I wouldn't bother putting an old operating system on it. Your choice, though.

Cheers!

[troppo]

just to pint out also you have choosen a micro ATX motherboard and a full size ATX case. The Micro ATX motherboard will fit but perhaps you might want to look at a regular full size motherboard

i prefer ATX motherboards over Micro ATX motherboards anyday
Because you get more PCI slots and i think that everything on the board is not as cramped and better layed out plus the board you picked out has onboard video and can be annoying to fiddle with when you first peice together the system but that may be my own personal preference

Compared to this board That i found on Newegg
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16813131022
it does not have onboard video because it is unneccasary when you are purchasing a PCI Express video card
Also it priveds far better chipset cooling than teh Micro ATX board which gives you playing room for any possiable overclocking that you may wish to do in the future


Hope that helps a little,
Troppo

Edited by troppo, 21 July 2007 - 01:50 AM.