Impact Green

hi, my current pc is 5years old........

so i am going to build my own and i would just like someone to look over it before i start buying the components

i am building an AMD system as i have been told they are better then intel. i have been told intell has faster cycles, but AMD can do more in each cycle, eg like AMD is a truck, and Intel is a ferrari, amd does more in 1 go, but intell goes faster, so here it is

CPU: AM2 Dual Core Athlon 64 4000+ info: http://www.i-tech.com.au/products/18...Dual_Core.aspx

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-M61P-S3 info: http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Products/...ProductID=2434

DVD: LG/Samsung Dual layer DVD burner 18x
I need info on this, as in whether to go LG, or Samsung

USB: USB 2.0 internal PCI card, 4 ports
this will give me 8 usb ports all up, considering keyboard and mouse are usb this will give me 6 ports

Memory: having trouble here, should i buy 2GB DDR2 667MHz, or 1GB DDR2 800MHz RAM, prices are $65 for 2gb and $39 for 1gb

OS: Xp Pro SP2
i alredy have a license for this so this will not be changed to vista

Hard Disk Drive: 1x 40GB Western digital, for windows and i think its Runtime, i need more info on this, i mean i have heard it said that you can put windows on, and get it to run off its own H-drive to speed up your pc, i need help with this. 1x 80GB Western digital, for everything else, 1x external 160GB Seagate.

Cooling: 1x CPU Cooler Master EP5-6I31C, 5000rpm, i dont know whether i need this, some info would be good.

Network Card: 54MB Wireless PCMCIA Network Card (netgear)

EDIT: oops forgot to say this comes to about $377 Australian, including shipping so its pretty cheap, but thats because i alredy have a monitor, keyboard, mouse, case, power supply, and os.

can someone please look over this and offer some advice

ebackhus

Not to be nitpicky, but the chipset on the motherboard is pretty old now. nVidia's nForce4 was released years ago and has been surpassed greatly by newer chipsets.

As far as the RAM goes I think the multiplier will work better with the DDR667. Any performance difference difference is too small to be seen.

In my PC I have 4 hard drives. The main 80GB runs Windows and most of my applications. The second 80GB is stoage and networked files. The 120GB is the My Documents folder and the 160GB is games and downloads.

What type of power supply will it be using?

Impact Green

i have a 300watt but i think i will need a better one, going on your advice i added a video card, the Geforce 8400GS 256Mb HDCP DVI PCI-Express, is this good...

ebackhus

300w won't cut it for this machine. You'll do much better with a quality 500w unit.

The 8400 will do most simple games but don't expect to run Crysis with all the options set to high.

bruiser

Actually, Intel is ahead of AMD at this point in time.

ebackhus

Only in some respects. Both AMD and Intel have their strongpoints and weaknesses.

Goomba000

If you want something that is very good for a relatively cheap price that is still capable, go with AMD. If you're willing to spend a some more for a CPU that is faster, by all means, go with Intel. When you're making a PC for basic stuff, AMD is the way to go. I myself stick with AMD for everything. If you're just doing basic stuff, the 4000+ should be fine

1 g0t 0wn3d

under about 150 go for amd above i would go for intel

2pistolpacker

I have in the last three days built a similar budget computer for my wife. I'm having a problem with data corruption, and have had to start over twice. I'm running an AMD 5000 x2, and my problem is that my memory requires 2.1v and the board defaults to 1.8v. The newest bios give a whiff of voltage increase for the memory, but will still not run it at it's rated speed no matter what the voltage. I'm getting a mix of normal post beep, to no beep, to one long strange sounding beep. It boots everytime, but it has hung twice and upon hard boot it hangs on the next post and is not the same afterwards. I'm at that point again and today I ordered some 1.8v memory. I ran all diagnostic tests including Seagate HD tests, and the HD tested good. If after I install the new memory and it happens again, I'll return the board and pick something new. You can start now, get another, newer board. Mike

TheMatt

I would spend extra money and get a board with the AMD 790FX chipset now. It will be well-spent money later on because you won't have to upgrade for the Phenom.

Gigabyte MA790FX-DS5 Motherboard
AMD Athlon X2 5000+ 2.6GHz Black Edition CPU

If you really don't have the money for that board and processor, look at this.

MSI K9N Neo-F nForce 560 Motherboard
AMD Athlon X2 4800+ 2.5GHz Boxed CPU

These are all good combos. Keep in mind that for the black edition processors you will need a heatsink/fan like the Arctic Cooling Freezer 64 Pro which I have found to be an excellent cooler.

FreoHeaveho

IMHO, Intel wipes the floor of AMD at the moment.

qtukcue2001

What I want to do techies, will also be my first build. Counting on you to guide me. Can I use basic tools to build/upgrade or do I need specialized tools? Also I want to focus on taking an old computer as far as it can go. I already know it can't take the real new stuff of today. With this kind of thinking I can give these computers to first timers who will have ready to plug internet. Don't want to spend any money if possible. Would like to get old free computer parts. Stuff that will work with computer that has windows 95 and a computer that has windows 98. I believe both computer's ages are in the 90's. One is an actual desktop and the other is a tower which can sit on the floor.
Any ideas on how I can get old computers that work that people don't want? Well, that's all folks.


qtukcue2001

1 g0t 0wn3d

Please start your own thread

ebackhus

Of these I'd pick the first one that has the GigaByte board. It uses the new AM2+ socket so your upgrade path is clear and easy.