Building My First PC

[LeftCoast]

That's a lot of dough for a system, MM2K, especially when you consider there's no OS...

Dell has some pretty attractive deals on mid-range systems now, as well as my personal favorite bang/buck, the PowerEdge 400SC (free upgrade right now to 2.8c HT P4) for $399. Sam, you could also get some build/upgrade experience with this choice, so it's not so daunting a task. This would do more than you need, at a great price, and the thing is so quiet that you hardly know it's on (IE: you can barely hear it). This is important, especially if you plan on watching movies/DVDs, as some of the AMDs are very loud! The PE400 is basically Dell's Dimension 8300 (@ $800-$900) system on-the-cheap. I've purchased 3, and they're great! Here's a FAQ sheet on the 400SC that explains it in full detail.

Dell link to order (configure to most basic options). Also, if you want, you can get Dell to buy back the memory and HDD, usually knocking off another $100, and get cheaper memory and HDD from one of the deal sites.

[Bizkitkid2001]

Yeah, but the system posted by MM2K is faster, and provides a lot more room for exandability in the future. We all should know by now that name brand PCs are a pain in the @r$e to upgrade.

[LeftCoast]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bizkitkid2001

Yeah, but the system posted by MM2K is faster, and provides a lot more room for exandability in the future. We all should know by now that name brand PCs are a pain in the @r$e to upgrade.

Not so, in this case. Check out my first link.

Onboard SATA support, 8X AGP, Dual Memory, support for even faster P4 CPUs later (when the cost comes down)...how much more room for expandability do you need?

I get the impression that speed isn't of paramount importance to sam_rocks (although the 2.8c is plenty fast, mind you), and as it'll primarily be a surfing/media box, the benefit of increased speed may not be worth the excessive noise created by the monster HSF need to cool that bad boy down (not to mention the increased price).

[Bizkitkid2001]

Wow, a dell system that actually seems like a good buy

But how big can the video card be, will it be able to support somthing as big as a 5900?

[LeftCoast]

I'm not sure how wide a 5900 is, but my Radeon 9800 Pro fits in no sweat. If the 5900 is thicker, I'm sure it'd fit, but just maybe take up a pci slot also.

[Shabow]

Intel LGA 775 Pentium 4 520 2.8 GHz, 800MHz FSB, 1MB L2 Cache $176.69
ECS "915P-A (1.0)" 915P Chipset Motherboard For Intel LGA 775 CPU $99.00
OCZ Enhanced Latency Series Dual Channel Kit 184 Pin 1GB(512MBx2) $286.00
MSI ATI RADEON X600 XT Video Card, 128MB DDR,PCI Express $192.00
Western Digital Raptor 74GB 10,000RPM SATA Hard Drive $176.50
Hitachi 250GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive $185.00
Cooler Master Cavalier 3 Silver/Blue ATX Mid-Tower Case With Side Window $115.00
Thermaltake W0014 Silent Purepower 480W $63.00
NEC 8X Dual Layer DVD+/-RW Drive $77.00
Lite-On 16X DVD-ROM $30.00
__________________________________________________ ____________________
Total: $1399.69
Not the cheapest PC, but it will be future proof with DDR2 and PCI-E. Also Intel will expand on its LGA 775 line later on this year, so expect the socket 478 to be obsolete like the socket 420.
Cheers,
Shabow

[HeadBand]

thats a good one shabow but for the video card i would go with a 9800 Pro and yes that board and 1 other gigabyte have agp slots for the 2nd hard drive i would go with a 160 or even 2x160 in a matrix raid in place of both of them...the memory i would go with cheaper crucial/geil especially if you don't plan on oc'ing...and the case could be whatever you want you can get a cheap one for $20 if looks arent important or if you want a cool case for cheaper something like a raidmax scorpio 868 is only like $50

also august 22 intel will be cutting prices on the socket t CPUs it will break down like this
520 2.8ghz $166
530 3.0ghz $178
540 3.2ghz $218
550 3.4ghz $278

[Bizkitkid2001]

Quote:

Originally Posted by LeftCoast

I'm not sure how wide a 5900 is, but my Radeon 9800 Pro fits in no sweat. If the 5900 is thicker, I'm sure it'd fit, but just maybe take up a pci slot also.

I'd be more worried about the length. I have a Chieftec Dragon Tower case, and my 5900 is so long, it rubbs right up against my hard drives.

[LeftCoast]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bizkitkid2001

I'd be more worried about the length. I have a Chieftec Dragon Tower case, and my 5900 is so long, it rubbs right up against my hard drives.

How long is it? I'll measure it for you if you give me a length.

[Messiah89]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bizkitkid2001

Wow, a dell system that actually seems like a good buy

No such thing!