Advice with new system

[Jester2138]

Hello all. I'm building a new system, partly out of the fun of it and partly out of the need for a better computer than the one I have now. I don't intend for it to be a super fast, ultra expensive rig, just to be able to play the new games with good frame rates and mostly on (hopefully) high settings. So, here are the parts I've selected. Be aware that this is the first system I've built from scratch.

Mobo
ABIT KN9 SLI AM2 Socket 940
~$120

CPU
AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+ Brisbane 2.6GHz
~$120

GPU
XFX GeForce 8600 GT (? XXX ?)
~$130

RAM
Corsair XMS2 2GB DDR2 SDRAM 800 (PC2 6400)
~$130

Hard Drive
Western Digital Caviar 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive – OEM
~$110

Case (comes with power supply)
Ultra Wizard Black ATX Mid-Tower Case with Front USB and Firewire Ports and Ultra 500-Watt Power Supply
~$50

This comes to a total of ~$650. The money will come from many many many many hours of lawn work, so any increase in price is BIG deal.

Thank you in advance for your advice, I would be completely lost without it!

 

[raybay]

Looks good. I would get a Seagate rather than the Western Digital because the Seagate has a five-year warranty.
You need to carefully investigate the video graphics card, as there are many very similar models with 8600 in the name. There are very good video graphics cards reviews once a month at www.tomshardware.com...
Then search these forums for evidence of troubles.... many, many are big trouble.
I would also avoid the case with power supply. Ultra power supplies are potentially junk. Get a case with a separate power supply... The power supply is as critical as any component you buy... PC Power and Cooling, Antec, FSP, Cooler Master, Sparkle... but not Ultra

 

[Jester2138]

Ok, so how about this case: Cooler Master Centurion 5 - Silver ATX Mid-Tower Case with Front USB, Firewire and Audio Ports

And this PSU:FSP Group (Fortron Source) AX500-PN ATX2.2 500Watts Power Supply 110-120/ 220-240V UL, CSA, VDE, NEMKO, TUV, CE, CB, FCC – Retail


And would you recommend the Radeon X1950 PRO over the nVidia GeForce 8600GT?

 

[raybay]

Excellent choice. We think the FSP units are among the very best. I have not used that case, but I have used other Cooler Master cases and put them at the top of the pile.
Good luck. Let us know how it goes.
I like the Radeon, but you will find a LOT of gamer users on this forum who will stand solidly behind the nVidia... actually about 8 to 1 Usually, price alone makes the Radeon a better option for me.

 

[Jester2138]

Thanks!
If I wanted later on to add another GPU to do SLI, would two Radeons work or just the nVidia's?

 

[raybay]

I am no expert on video graphics, but from the installs we have done, I would think your computer could only handle one brand of drivers at a time....
It only makes sense from how things work, that you would want both video graphics cards to be the same hardware and the same drivers. You can read up on such things doing gurgle searches.

 

[Jester2138]

Allright I think I know what I need now. Thanks for the help!