Feedback on spec please - 1st system

[gingerbitsjock]

Hello, new to this forum. Never built a system before but itching to try. I have put together a spec based mainly on what I've read here (cheers). I would like to know if I have missed anything out or made any stupid mistakes. No really, I love hearing I've made stupid mistakes!

Spec:
CPU: £100 AMD Athlon 64 3000+ (Winchester)
Motherboard: £85 ASUS A8V Deluxe S939 Wireless Edition Motherboard
RAM: £125 Crucial CT12864Z265 1GB
Case: £88 Akasa's Eclipse 62
PSU: £50 380W Enermax Coolergiant AX Series v1.3
Fan: £12 (supplied heat sink should be OK)
Graphics card: £140 128Mb MSI Radeon 9800Pro
Sound Card: £46 Creative Labs Sound Blaster Audigy2 ZS 7.1
Hard Drive: £70 200Gb Maxtor Plus 10 (7200rpm, 8MB) SATA
CDRW/DVD: £25 Liteon 52x32x52x16x IDE Drive (COMBO)
DVD Burner: £40 NEC ND-3500 Double Layer Dual 16x DVD R/RW - OEM Black

I'm looking for a system that will last and is reasonably powerful for 3D rendering software. Not looking to over-clock.
Grateful for any feedback.

[aidanjt]

looks all good... but, i would step up on the PSU a little, 420Watt Tagen PSU would sit in there well.

[gingerbitsjock]

thanks aidanjt, will take a look at that. Cheers.

[Lu-tze]

i would consider a 6600GT over the radeon. and maybe a 200Gb Baracudda 7200.7 over the diamondmax. also, if you look around, you should be able to get 1gb of dual channel ram for less than £100. i agree with the tagan 420W. and you might want to think about buying a couple of fans for the case too.

[RDL]

I agree. Try the Barracuda, it's quieter and just as fast. You can get Scan OEM Dual channel PC3200 for £80. Which is perfect if you're not going to overclock.

Maybe you should try a winchester 3500, rather than the 3000. What's your budget?

[aidanjt]

yea, i got some Corsair 1GB PC3200 'value select' from overclockers for £87.50 (ex. VAT) last month. runs great. I'd probibly agree with the Seagate drive, NCQ does make a bit of a difference to disk i/o effiencey.

[Lu-tze]

as far as i know, the 200gb seagate is the only one of the new range that doesnt support ncq. but oddly enough it appears to be their fastest. i recommended this drive because it is quieter than the diamondmax, and seems to out-perform every other drive in its class at the moment. at least form the reviews i have read.

i've just had a look at overclockers and found several ram kits between £100 and £105.

is that £12 for a case fan? because the retail heatsink will come with a fan.

also, dont foget to budget for an OS if you havent already sorted that out. OEM xp home = £60, pro =£90

[aidanjt]

wow, your right, just noticed that now, how bizare.

[mike_w]

For graphics card, I would also choose a 6600GT over a 9800 Pro - the 6600GT almost always beats the 9800 Pro, and only struggles when the resolution and AA are turned up.

[Kumagoro]

Unless its only a few more pennies I dont think its necessary to get the Tagan Psu regarding power.

[gingerbitsjock]

Thanks to all for suggestions. I'll get reading on them. Budget can go up a bit as this is my main work computer. I didn't realise I might need extra fans for the case so thanks for that.

[rmaciag]

I think NEC 3500 has been effectively replaced by 3520 model.
Hardly any difference, I suppose. Just watch for it so that you get the latest model.

[skuzgib]

Looks godd, though I would consider getting pci-express motherboard and a 6600gt; which can be had for £105 from dabs, and are better than the 9800pro. This would make the system considerably more futureproof.

I would agree that the PSU needs to be a bit beefier as well; and if you are going to get bog standard RAM, get the cheapest you can find - as RDL says scan do 2x512mb of samsung stuff for the bargain price of £80!

[Vimeous]

Are you doing audio specific work?
If not do you really need the Audigy when the motherboard has multi-channel audio on-board?
I realise the quality may not be as stunning but as it's primarily a work PC I doubt it'd make enough difference to justify the extra outlay.

[Lu-tze]

i agree with the sound card, unless you want a high quality surround sound set-up for games/movies, on-board sound is fine. i use it with a 2.1 and i dont think i would be able to tell the difference.

as a work pc, i would also look to making it as quiet as possible. this means replacing the retail hsf with something better, and changing the gpu hsf.

for the cpu hsf, would would look at the thermalright xp90 or xp120. and speccing a quiet fan like the luxotop www.whispertec.com other quiet fans worth a look are silenx, panaflo, noiseblocker, and the 120m akasa paxpower.

for the gpu, then arctic-cooling are supposed to be bringing out their nv silencer for the 6600 range this month. so either buy one of these as a replacement, or look for a 6600GT that comes with one already.

you can probably get away with just one case fan. again, look at the ones above.

[nvening]

just get the beta xp pro x64 for free!