99% of what I need.

[Stavros]

Ok, I'm 99% positive I'll be ordering tomorrow. I have everything picked out except the Optical Drive. I want a Drive that will burn DVDs and CDs, but I'll probably mostly be burning CDs.

Here's what I've picked out so far:

Case- ANTEC SUPER LANBOY (Retail) - $76.00
(Newegg.com)

PSU- FSP Group (Fortron Source) AX500-A (Retail) - $91.00
(Newegg.com)

CPU- AMD Opteron 146 (Retail) - $201.63
(Monarchcomputer.com)

Mobo- EPoX EP-9NPA+Ultra (Retail) - $105.00
(Newegg.com)

HDD- HITACHI Deskstar T7K250 250GB (Retail) - 109.50
(Newegg.com)

Optical Drive- NEC Black IDE/ATAPI DVD Burner Model ND-3550A (OEM) - $39.99
(Newegg.com)

RAM- G.SKILL Extreme Series 2GB (2 x 1GB) (Retail) - $185.00
(Newegg.com)

Heatsink, Fan, Paste- Thermalright XP-120, Sunon 120mm Fan, Arctic Silver 5 - $66.97
(Xoxide.com)

Sound Card- Creative Sound Blaster Audigy2 ZS SB0350 Sound Card (OEM) - $70.00
(Newegg.com)

Video Card- eVGA Geforce 7800GT 256-P2-N516 Video Card (Retail) - $319.00
(Newegg.com)

Total: $1263.59

I've already ordered the mouse, keyboard, and I'll have some headphones instead of speaers. What I ordered last night:

Headphones- PLANTRONICS DSP500 PC Headset - $56.00

Mouse- Logitech MX518- $38.88 (I should have waited until today to buy it)

Keyboard- Saitek Gamers' Keyboard - $43.00

All from Newegg. Don't know why I put the prices. Anyway, Optical Drive recommendations please!

[Edit] I definitely want to keep it under $1300.00

 

[jcw122]

Looks excellent.

My only nit-pics are the HDD and the motherboard.

I no longer care for Epox motherboards from my overvolting experience from my s754 Epox...it overvolted my proc most of the time...and didn't even have an option in BIOS for using the processors stock voltage! I dunno bout their newer boards though, but I'd find out (on Epox's site may be? or another owner?) about some of their BIOS settings like that (cause it concerned me alot).

About the HDD....I know alot of people dislike Hitatchi, but that might just be an older steryotype. Most people prefer Western Digital or Seagate, and sometimes Maxtor.

I'd like to point out that Seagate is the only HDD manufacter that offers a 5 year warrenty...the rest have 2 or less year warrenties.

Good Luck with your system! I'm sure you'll have alot of fun w/ it.

 

[K15]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16827152058


Does it matter very much? If you were to open the covers on a DVD burner, i'de bet 2 or 3 major companies make 95% of all DVD drives. That's what happens when technology gets so cheap.
As for what drive to get, for 40 bucks, you may as well get the full package.
JMO anyway

 

[Stavros]

I was really shooting for a HDD that was SATA 3.0GB/s and had 16MB cache, but that's like 30 more bones. Would it really even matter more if I had 16MB cache or SATA 3.0GB/s? You wouldn't happen to know a good CD-DVD Burner would you?

 

[jcw122]

I was really shooting for a HDD that was SATA 3.0GB/s and had 16MB cache, but that's like 30 more bones. Would it really even matter more if I had 16MB cache or SATA 3.0GB/s? You wouldn't happen to know a good CD-DVD Burner would you?

Well I'm pretty sure SATAII (SATA 3.0GB/s) doesn't help any...since the interface isn't restricting SATA drives in the first place.

And the 16MB cache...I'm not very sure, but I don't think it's shown big gains. But I'm honestly not sure, so I'd suggest you do a Search on it.

 

[Stavros]

Quick question. Running everything at stock, should I change the fans on the LANBOY.

Overclocking: Ditto.

 

[da_spork]

I throw the NECs in everything... none of them have let me down yet!

 

[jcw122]

Quick question. Running everything at stock, should I change the fans on the LANBOY.

Overclocking: Ditto.

Overclocking=yes? Check the newegg.com customer reviews for the LANBOY...they should tell you if it's loud or not good fans or what. I'd also check how many fans they supply for the case....like if there's any open fan holes (where they didn't supply a fan for u)

I'm not sure about the LANBOY's ventilation either...I know it has the 120mm in front, but I've heard there has been cooling problems, either way check the reviews, I know it's a great case though.

 

[hrhrhrFOOT]

Dont buy the super lanboy from newegg if you live near a compusa...its $30 AR which gives you an extra 40 dollars. After that, if you took out the XP120 you should have enough for water cooling...

 

[Stavros]

I'm fairly certain cooling will not be a problem non-overclocked, but if I do overclock, I'm just not willing to try that on a near $1300 investment. I think Tom's Hardware Guide says the stock fans are quiet. They are 120mm fans by the way.

 

[cx323]

I throw the NECs in everything... none of them have let me down yet!

seconded. i love the nec's

 

[Stavros]

We don't have a CompUSA. This is my first build, so no water cooling for me.

 

[rseven]

The system looks good to me. You can buy the Fortron from ActBuy.com for 79.50 shipped. Good luck with it.

 

[Stavros]

100% Complete! (Ordering that is)

Yay! I ordered all my parts (same as stated above). My mom bought me my monitor (Samsung, don't remember model number ) and it's hooked up to my other computer and it is sweet. Now I play the hellish waiting game. So happy happy! My Christmas Present to me.

Cheers!

 

[rseven]

Good luck with it, Stavros!

 

[Stavros]

Ok. Something screwed up with the debit card we were using, so I have to re-order the mobo, VC, SC, PSU, RAM, HDD, and Optical. The RAM that was $185 when I placed the order jumped up to $260. Going back through I'm looking for (at least) decent ram right around $200. I checked out these http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820146970 I know it's Cas 3, but I doubt it'll matter being a 2 Gig pack. Is my assumption wrong?

 

[rseven]

Man, they must have sold out of the GSkill as it's no longer listed. I would suggest this. Irt may not scale too high but at least it's low latency for the same price.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820227210

 

[Stavros]

I would love that ram, but the Debit card only has $960 on it and the total would be $985.90.

 

[rseven]

This is strange, but the GSkill at $185 has reappeared again.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820231032
Why not try it again?

 

[Stavros]

Ok. Mom called Newegg and they'll un-cancel (if that's even a word) the order and I'll have the $185 2 x 1GB Ram pack. And screw UPS. Too slow. Anyways I think We've gotten it fixed eventhough it was a major pain in the ***.