hey all, a couple weeks ago i was in the begining stages of planning my computer, and asked about whether to go amd or athlon. as of right now, here is my setup, just wanted to run it by people because this is my first build:

mobo: GigaByte GA-K8NF-9
CPU: AMD Athlon64 3000+ (socket 939)
memory: crucial 512mb
harddrive: either a WD or Seagate 80gb SATA 7200rpm (i have a 160gb external firewire for media and such)
video: ASUS nvidia 6200
optical: LG electronics DVD+/-RW 16X Mulitformat Drive, Model GSA-4163BK
case: not quite sure yet, going between antec (for the good PSU) and these:

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=11-156-165&depa=1

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=11-147-005&depa=1

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=11-144-026&depa=1

im pretty excited, does anyone know about rosewill / aspire / raidmax PSU's? ive heard some horror stories of bad psus and such..i know antec is good but i dont know anything about these companies.


and my last question, the mobo has 8 channel audio , which seems to be standard these days! i was just wondering if anybody knows how to hook that up..there are 4 stereo headphone outputs, 1 for a pair of front speakers, 1 for a pair of rears....1 for a pair of sides...and 1 for the subwoofer and center speaker.

im used to dealing with my home-theater and receiver setup...are you just supposed to buy a few pairs of powered computer speakers and hook them up? how can you hook a single speaker and a subwoofer to 1 headphone jack? and lastly...i have some spare speakers lying around, wired speakers...which probably would require some sort of amplifier. i was hoping to use those....anyyyways..any thoughts?

Suggestion

Mainboard:
I would maybe revise the motherboard unless you are loyal to that particular namebrand. I personally will continue using the ASUS A8V-Deluxe to build any socket 939 system until a more reliable/better performing board is released. This board also includes onboard FireWire since you need it for your external data storage.

Case:
I have used both the Aspire X-Dreamer and X-Dreamer II and been happy with both cases. The reason for choosing these cases is that for 1/3 of the price of some of the higher end models, you get a front panel temp display. This will allow you the luxury of purchasing a high quality PSU (and having a spare that was in the case from the factory) for less than the price of the Antec.

Optical
I preach this to any machine builder looking for extreme performance and cost per performance value. Lite-on/Lite-on/Lite-on... I have a single layer 12X DVD+/-RW in my machine and a 16x dual-layer DVD+/-RW in my wife's. Both of them are screamers, and I highly recommend the brand.

Hope this helps,

C0d3Warr10r

Big Blue:
Asus P4P800 I865PE
P4 2.8GHz 800MHz
2048MB KingMax PC-3200
Maxtor DiamondMax 9 /160GB /7200RPM /8MB Cache
ATI Radeon X800 Pro
Enermax 420W PSU
Aspire X-Dreamer II
Lite-On 12X DVD+/-RW
Sony 48X CD-RW
Samsung SyncMaster 997DF 19" CRT
3DMark03 Score: 10,035

n8theg8... how much does ur comp cost???

a little under 600, all on newegg

codewarrior, i went with the gigabyte because it was recommended along with the asus A8N-E, both for having the nforce chipset deal and having a brandname. the asus A8V deluxe doesnt have pci-e which is what the graphics card im going for has. both the gigabyte and and the A8N-E claim they have onboard IEEE1394 onboard on newegg...but i dont see em anywhere

I realize you may not like this case because it's too "normal"(the cases you list all have lights/windows), but I got this
because it is pretty cheap, looks decent, and has a good psu. My psu was more powerful than advertised, 21a 12v instead of 16a.

Also check out the recommended and un-recommended psu's here

Edit: The gigabyte board has firewire pin connectors on the mobo, so you can connect a front firewire port from a case or use the include pci slot cover with firewire on it.

Options

N8theGr8,

I understand, the pci-x issue was unclear in your previous post. This close to the release date, you may want to wait until the ATI Radeon x850 series cards come out. They are sure the please even the most power hungry gamers. With nVidia sortof dropping the ball with the 6800GT regarding compatibility issues with game that they claim it was "optimized for" (e.g. Everquest 2), I think I'd consider something in the ATI lineup. It is somewhat of a "Ford vs Chevy" issue with brand loyalty being a major component of the arguement, and I just happen to be on the ATI side of the fence. Alas, I hope you make your decision soon, I'll be excited to here what components you chose for your new power gaming machine.


C0d3Warr10r

Big Blue:
Asus P4P800 I865PE
P4 2.8GHz 800MHz
2048MB KingMax PC-3200
Maxtor DiamondMax 9 /160GB /7200RPM /8MB Cache
ATI Radeon X800 Pro
Enermax 420W PSU
Aspire X-Dreamer II
Lite-On 12X DVD+/-RW
Sony 48X CD-RW
Samsung SyncMaster 997DF 19" CRT
3DMark03 Score: 10,035

haha thanks there codewarrior, i cant wait to build it. however, its primary purpose wont be for gaming (i dont game nearly as much as i used to). more for day to day multitasking, audio and photo apps, and the occasional games so as for video, im looking for something with a solid backbone but not entirely high-end. the 6200 caught my attention, as its about $100 right now (dont really wanna spend much more than that on video), has the DVI and S-video out, pci x16. if theres anything else in this price range that might beat it, lemme know!

I recommend the MSI Neo2 Platnium SLI, you may not use 2 PCI E cards right now but its nice to know you can one day when 6800 go down in price like all other technology, its like 20 bucks more, but you wont have to get a sound card bc its already got sound blaster live 24 bit on board which saves you a good 50 bucks or so. Pluse has nvidia chipset you looking for socket 939. I decided to upgrade my current rig from amd athlon xp 2600 barton to 3200 barton bc first of all 64 bit OS is still some time away, second there is few games out there in the near future that will use 64 bit, that goes with aps too. By the time games need 64 bit AMD the price should be lower and I will go for the 3500 winchester 90nm 939 with MSI SLI. This is just my two cents. I got 3200 athlon XP barton for 150, with MSI Planium socket A for 90 bucks or so. which is still going to work great with new raptor im getting. I think there is socket boarts that have PCI E too if you just want to hold out a bit unless you have the cash. Trust me I wish I had held out a bit more when the first P4 came out, im wishing I had never bouth that thing. oh yeah on PSU I would go with antec, or better yet get an antec tower which usually comes with PSU, they are good ive heard or thermaltake I think.
http://www.msicomputer.com/product/p_spec.asp?model=K8N_Neo4_Platinum/SLI&class=mb

alright, so i think im sold on a case, the antec 1650b looks really nice, though it's a bit smaller, i think it will work out well. im still debating between several motherboards, specifically, ASUS and gigabyte. i've heard good things about the nforce4 chipset, so the following all have it (except the a8v-deluxe):

Gigabyte GA-K8NF-9
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=13-128-268&depa=1

Gigabyte GA-K8N Ultra-9
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=13-128-283&depa=1

ASUS A8V-Deluxe
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=13-131-510&depa=1

ASUS A8N-E
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=13-131-530&depa=1

at first, i was pretty sure about going with one of the gigabytes, but this asus A8N-E board looks very good, just havent found many reviews on it (is it new?) has anybody heard anything about it?

A small caution concerning Gigabyte boards:
Gigabyte uses a plastic pin solution for its heat sink mounting bracket. No screws, or screw holes. So be careful when purchasing your own Heatsink such as a Thermalright XP-90 which requires you to SCREW their own bracket to the motherboard... which isn't possible without some of your own engineering to the board.

Future-proofing

N8theGr8

To "future-proof" your computer as much as possible, I think going with a PCI-E solution would be the best avenue for you. If you have the money to invest in a quality PCI-E video card, then by all means do so. Undercutting your system performance with a $100 video card will haunt you if you do at some point decide to break down and buy Halo 2 or Far Cry. I don't recommend settling for anything under X800 Pro for ATI and 6800GT for nVidia. Both are very capable cards and I'm sure you'll be pleased with the way they perform for quite a while. As stated earlier, be aware that the 6800 series cards all have issue dealing with the advanced rendering required by the EverQuest II graphics engine. So if you plan on playing EQII, definately stick to ATI's gaming line of cards. Any video rendering/editing or graphic design work will love you for buying a 256MB video card as well. As for your narrowed list of motherboards. I still advocate the use of ASUS's boards, and the A8N-E (with the nForce chipset) will out perform almost any other board on the planet... ASUS may not be the overclocker's dream board, but if you plan to get the most out of your system without voiding the warrantee, you should make your choice after considering the following equation: features + quality + stability + warrantee/service. ASUS has ranked high marks in all four areas for many years. Regarding MSI, a buddy of mine has the non-SLI version of the board that EvilFallenAngel mentioned (((CLICK HERE))) . He has crazy stats in 3Dmark03 (almost 12,000), with an Athlon64 3500+/X800XL. So, in summation, if you can hold off for a better quality card instead of a budget line, the ASUS A8N-E paired with the X800/X850 PCI-E would probably be your best option.

C0d3Warr10r

Big Blue:
Asus P4P800 I865PE
P4 2.8GHz 800MHz
2048MB KingMax PC-3200
Maxtor DiamondMax 9 /160GB /7200RPM /8MB Cache
ATI Radeon X800 Pro
Enermax 420W PSU
Aspire X-Dreamer II
Lite-On 12X DVD+/-RW
Sony 48X CD-RW
Samsung SyncMaster 997DF 19" CRT
3DMark03 Score: 10,035

Re First Post:

Yes I would use the Asus A8V or A8N Deluxe for a 939 chip set as these are the two best MoBos you can but for the cost.

As for the sound I would only use one sound system not two or three, what I have done more-so because I live in my own home with good space between all the other homes around me is line my computer into a soundboard and then to an amp deck that is tied into my home sound system... you need that sound board or you can cook everything. it would allso be wise to put CUPS on your computer and serg bard one all your sound system and everything that is connected to anything your computer is connected to.

As-far as your PSU goes I would not use any of the companies you listed for a PSU other then Antec (I am not saing they are bad I just have not seen reports on these builders) you can often get PSUless Cases and put your choice of PSUs in thats what I do. Thermaltake makes some wild cases with your choice of getting their PSU or another one like a good Antec 480 Watt.

The three PSUs I normaly Build with are the are the Antec 380, 480, and 550 Watt PSUs they treat me well and I have yet to have a problem with them other them one that the PSU had a dent in it but the box was fine, it slipped through the quality screens, I would think ( it was promptly replaced).

If you're still looking for a case, I saw this
the other day. It looks nice to me(subjective opinion), has a window, fans, front firewire and usb, fan speed controller. It doesn't have a psu, so you'd have to pick one up. This seems like a good psu for the price, it's also 24 pin.
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=17-103-464&depa=1