New build opinions

[Tobeman]

My friend is looking for a fairly mid-end gaming system for his older brother to take to uni with him, he's after something with a longish lifespan. I explained (to no avail) about the current DDR2 switch by both Intel and AMD and explained how although for less money, and similar performance he could get a skt939 system, AM2 would be a better option for longevity.

Here is what I drew up:



Comments, suggestions?

[FatalSaviour]

I see you've gone for the 3500...are you building this with silence in mind as well (I see the Yate Loon fan and 9500 CPU cooler.
I was just wondering whether it was worth plumping for an X2 CPU, one thing though, when do the stock heatpipe coolers become standard?...I know it used to be 4400's and over on S939, but didn't know whether it had changed.
If this is included on the 3800 AM2, you could deem the 9500 cooler unnecessary, and spend the extra money on the dual core CPU .
Just a thought though

[awm]

You seem to be over budget. 1 GB should be enough, also you might be able to get a cheeper case. I don't know about the UK, but some universities in the US will sell very cheep copies of Microsoft software, another way to save money. You are definitly right about the DDR2, you want to be able to keep it and sell it if you upgrade.

[Tobeman]

I see you've gone for the 3500...are you building this with silence in mind as well (I see the Yate Loon fan and 9500 CPU cooler.
I was just wondering whether it was worth plumping for an X2 CPU, one thing though, when do the stock heatpipe coolers become standard?...I know it used to be 4400's and over on S939, but didn't know whether it had changed.
If this is included on the 3800 AM2, you could deem the 9500 cooler unnecessary, and spend the extra money on the dual core CPU .
Just a thought though

I hear what you're saying, except dual core would push it very much over budget!

You seem to be over budget. 1 GB should be enough, also you might be able to get a cheeper case. I don't know about the UK, but some universities in the US will sell very cheep copies of Microsoft software, another way to save money. You are definitly right about the DDR2, you want to be able to keep it and sell it if you upgrade.

I do appear to be so, yes, I haven't sent him the final price yet but he might be able to strech a little further, when I next speak to him I'll show him this to see what he thinks. I'll get him to ask about his university of choice, as I know my friend that attended Reading university got his MS software on the cheap from them I think. As for memory, after playing BF2 with both 1gb and 2gb of mem, I think he'd appreciate the difference

Cheers for the advice, keep it coming!

[awm]

I guess I should be more specific. Ditch some memory before attacking the graphics card or a decent cooling system. Personally I would go cheeper on the case first and use an old floppy, no need to spend 5 (or even mount it in the case) on a new one just to install SATA. Also does he have a decent monitor, it would be stupid to spend that money to play games on a dying no-name 15" CRT.

[RavenNight]

Def. go with cheaper case. Also don't go with the Zalman cooler fi you don't need it, if your overclocking or silence is important fab but toherwsie the stock will do fine.

[awm]

At a university a silent PC is important, studying and loud fans don't mix. Just my 2p though.

[Lu-tze]

Everyone has different studying habits, but for me at uni, low noise was crucial. I owuld look at sticking with 939 if you want to stay in budget. Perhaps:

case: antec 3000 £35
psu: seasonic 430 £50
mobo: £60ish
cpu amd 64 3000 £70
cooler: freezer 64 pro £15
ram: 2 gig value pc3200 £120
hdd: spinpoint 250gb £60
gpu: £120
os: £56
dvd: £23

total: £610

You can save money and buy only 1gig ram, or a cheaper gpu. If you cant get a gpu with a silent cooler, i would recommend budgetting £20 for one. HIS do a 1600 XT with an arctic cooler for £93 for example.