[seer33]

Well guys, bascially my processor died on my old computer (no oc;ing at all jsut poorly put together) and instead of replacing just the processor I'm going to be buying some new computer components.

This is my idea so far, i've been reading like very post on here and this is what i've come up with:

mobo : the Epox 8rda+ nforce2 board 114$

processor : amd xp2100 tbred b (plan on oc'ing) 95$

vid card : radeon 9500 (plan on 9700 modding) 159$

ram : I'm sort of stuck... first I was going to go with 2 sticks of corsair pc3200 256 ram to make use of the dualddr technology, but after some reading I see that it doesnt make too much of a difference, so then i was going to go with 1 stick of 512 pc3200 to get another stick at a future date when i need to. But i was also considering getting 1 stick of corsair pc3500 512 ddr434 ram so i could also get another stick of this at a future time...the one stick of 512 pc3500 is cheaper then 2 sticks of pc3200. the reason for getting the 3500 is just for having things ready for the future say i wanted ti put the fsb over 200 or when the amd 400mhz fsb cpus come out ill be able to do a little overclocking with them also. 198$ for 2x 256 pc3200 , 178$ for 1x 512 pc3200 or 193$ for 1x 512 pc3500 (platinum)

Case : Nice xpider (cheiftec) black aluminum case with 420 watt psu that comes with 4 case fans 150$

Monitor : 19" black viewsonic flatscreen (not panel) 250$

cpu cooling : thermaltake volcano 9 and arctic silver 3 thermal compound about 40$

all the prices above have shipping including.



I have my old harddrive and cd-rw so i really dont need anything else. My budget is 1000$ and I was bascially getting things that I can use for a while, also components that I will be able to use in the future when upgrading. This is the first computer i'm going to build myself so i also want to have fun overclocking the vidcard and processsor ect.

So anyone have any suggestions or anything would be appreciated

[Daegon]

overall sounds really great! hope you have fun building...
as for ram check out newegg.com... they have a speical on corsair ram (non xms) 256mb for 50$. i got two sticks for my friend, and he's very happy with it, it oc's well.
as for cpu cooling. for 40$ get an SK-7, a tornado and a rheostat. you'll got much lower temps then the V9 and keep the adjustable fan dealie.
ok then! have fun

[jlin453]

I agree with the cooling statement. Don't be held back in the cooling area, you'll have a nice board and chip. Get a SK-7 for about $20

[BaldHeadedDork]

Very nice list. You've clearly done your homework.

One thing does jump out, and that's your plan to mod the 9500 into a 9700. I would recommend against it. The success rate for this mod seems to be running at about thirty percent. I don't like those odds under any circumstances if its my money, and especially not if you're not 100% comfortable with PC hardware. I'd get a 9500 Pro instead and run one stick of 256 for your memory if I had to.

You might also want to look into a different HSF. The SLK-800 outperforms the Volcano 9 and doesn't cost a lot more. Also pick up a shim.

About your memory, my two favorites are the Corsair XMS2700 and 3200, both in CAS2. They are the most stable memory for overclocking. Running one stick will allow higher overclocks, and that will give more performance than running the D-DDR setup.

You might also be able to save a little money on your case/PSU. Consider shopping for an aluminum Chieftec/Chenming without a power supply, and pick up a 350W Sparkle/FSP for $42 at Newegg. Power ratings on power supplies can be deceptive. The 350W Sparkle will outperform most 430W PSU's on the market. For the generic PSU's bundled into cases, that's almost a sure thing.

Hope this doesn't sound like I'm nitpicking, you have done a lot better than most at picking the pieces for their first rig. Hope you enjoy it.



BHD

[seer33]

Hey guys thanks for responding, yeah i guess for the ram i'll get the xms pc3200 512 stick and later pick up another..like in a couple months, as for the case, the powersupply isnt generic it is a nice 2 fan'ed powersupply, plus the case comes with 4 tri-light 80mm fans and a window pre-modded.

as for the radeon 9500 thing, with the new riva tuner softr9700 software the success rates for people seem to be pretty high, i was orginally just going to get the leadtek a280 winfast gf4ti4200 128, but then I did some research on radeon and found out about the hack..plus i've been wanting to try a radoen card for a while now.

and thanks for the advice on cooling...hopefully ill get a good tbred b chip so i can put it at 200 x something (around 2300 mhz would be optimal but i'd settle for 2ghz)

anywho keep the suggestions coming.


also you mention the sk7 for 20$...where can i find it for 20...newegg has it for 28 + 6 for shipping, i have to get the monitor, case and processor from diff places then newegg already, so I'm ok with other vendors

and plus if the radeon 9500 turns out to be a dud can't i jsut rma it and think over my decision again..? and now that i think of it the radeon 9500 isn't really too bad of a card anyhow, it performs close to a gf4 ti4400

[FusionBoi]

after the above mentioned it sounds great, good luck and have fun

[drewthomas14]

you can get an sk7 from www.svcompucycle.com for 19.99
order your 9500 non pro 128 mb from http://www.googlegear.com/jsp/Produc...uctCode=320702 as its the right one. it has to have ram on to sides of the gpu fer it to work. btw you pm'd me about getting on aim and im on if you wanted to talk

[seer33]

ok guys thanks for the help, i've now picked out the new cpu cooling from svc for alot cheaper...i've saved 20$ plus added higher quality components, also found my case there for 5$ cheaper and way less shipping charge on it so im incredibly happy about that...basically i need help deciding on the best radeon 9500 to make into the 9700...anyone have any experience with this who could help? also im a little sktechy on what to do about ram too...some people are saying the kingston hyperx series is as good as corsair and is a bit cheaper, but keep in mind im using an nforce2 board so beware of any compatability issues

still needing assistance on picking out the radeon 9500 and choice of ram, any help would be great

btw feel free to AIM me to talk

[BaldHeadedDork]

Originally posted by seer33
...and plus if the radeon 9500 turns out to be a dud can't i jsut rma it and think over my decision again..? and now that i think of it the radeon 9500 isn't really too bad of a card anyhow, it performs close to a gf4 ti4400

If it fails on its own or you're not happy with the default performance, you can certainly RMA it.

But if it becomes a dud because your upgrade kills it, or because the overclocking results don't match your expectations, you can't get an RMA without lying about the reason. Maybe you don't have a problem with that. But if you do this you're helping to make prices higher for yourself and the rest of us, and making RMA's harder to get for legitimate returns.

Do the right thing. Once you overclock it or tweak it, it's yours.



BHD

[seer33]

k, well thx for the tip but can anyone help me with my situation?

[seer33]

well guys i have about 400 dollars left and i still need ram and a vid card...can someone give me some suggestions please