Assembling New Gaming Computer --> Help Please

[vamunoz]

Hello... I have had the desire to make my own gaming computer so I have done a little research and read alot of your comments on this site and here is what I have finally come up with:

Rosewill TU-155 Black 0.8mm SECC Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case Rosewill ATX12V 400W with P4 support Power Supply - Retail

Seagate Barracuda 7200.7 ST3200822A 200GB 7200 RPM IDE Ultra ATA100 Hard Drive - OEM

ASUS A8N-SLI Premium Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 SLI ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail

eVGA 128-A8-N350 Geforce 6600GT 128MB GDDR3 AGP 4X/8X Video Card - Retail

Creative Sound Blaster Audigy2 ZS 70SB035000000 8 (7.1) Channels PCI Interface Sound Card - Retail

CORSAIR ValueSelect 1GB (2 x 512MB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Unbuffered Dual Channel Kit System Memory Model VS1GBKIT400 - Retail

AMD Athlon 64 3200+ Venice 1GHz FSB Socket 939 Processor Model ADA3200BPBOX - Retail

I used Newegg to shop for all the parts and as of right now, its running about $900 to run this system. So, if any of you have any suggestions or comments on the current parts, it would be greatly appreciated.

Also, do you know where I can get military discounts on any parts or if Newegg has a discount for Active Army personnel?

Thanks for your time!

 

[DonNagual]

Looks like a good system!

I'd check into how many case fans that case has. Your motherboard does not have a fan on the chipset, and instead uses passive cooling so you need really good circulation in the case.

Also, in general power supplies that come with cases are dangerous and not recommended. Do yourself a favor and avoid future headaches. By a separate PSU from a company like Antec, Fortron, Enermax etc. You'll thank me for it. (Either get a case without a PSU, or take the one that comes with your case out, and keep it as a spare part in case you ever need to do any testing). If you are concerned about the cash, take out your sound card from the list, and use the one that is integrated into your motherboard. It's not a bad one at all.

But one URGENT thing you need to change is that you are ordering a AGP8x video card. You need to change that to a PCI-e card (which is better anyways). Your motherboard supports PCI-e, not AGP8x.

 

[DonNagual]

Here is the PCI-e 16x equivilant of the AGP8x you are looking at. Good news, the PCI-e version is a little cheaper.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814130214

 

[pkroks]

good system. change the graphics and DonNagual says. then i dont think that you will be needing the sound blaster audigy card as you already have onboard sound that is almost as good...? just a thought..

 

[DonNagual]

Another note: If you do decide to go with that PSU, you'll need an adapter for the motherboard power connection. It needs a 24pin connector and that PSU has a 20pin.

 

[vamunoz]

Hey thanks so much for the input... I looked at what you were talking about with the video card and fixed that... cool.

How would you know that the motherboard requires a 24 pin connector? With that said, what would I look for when purchasing a replacement power supply... does it fit, fans, type, etc?

Thanks again...

 

[DonNagual]

How would you know that the motherboard requires a 24 pin connector? With that said, what would I look for when purchasing a replacement power supply... does it fit, fans, type, etc?

Thanks again...

I (basically) have the same board as you (but mine is the deluxe, not the premium version).

Anyways, it isn't a big deal really. The newer motherboards use a 24 pin connector (in general) and the newer power supplies use the same. But if you get a powersupply that has a 20pin connector, it's quite simple to get an adapter for it. It is just a little frustrating when you have all your parts, and you're ready to put it all together only to find out that you have to make another trip to the computer shop for a $5 adapter.

Here is an excellent article on what PSUs are considered good:
http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=792566

And here is a calculator to determine how many watts you'll need: add at least 100watts to whatever the calculator tells you just to be safe for future expansions, especially if you ever plan on upgrading to SLI mode.
http://www.extreme.outervision.com/index.jsp

 

[DonNagual]

Looking at your case specs from the maker's site, you have:

1 X color 80mm Rear Fan/ upgradable to 92mm fan
2 X 80mm Front Fans(Optional)
1 X 80mm Power Fan

In other words, besides the fan on your PSU, you only have one 8cm fan blowing out the back. That will not be enough to cool your system, as your motherboard's chipset uses passive cooling (no fan), and you have a somewhat beefy graphics card.

I'd recommend ordering at least one 8cm fan for the front of your case right away.