Help building new computer

[JohnK93]

Hey all,
I'm hoping you guys could make some suggestions to help me build a new computer in the $1000 range. For this, I want the CPU, motherboard, memory, case (power supply, fan, etc), graphics card, and hard drive (160GB will suffice for now). Right now, I'm thinking about the AMD Athlon 64 3700+ San Diego 1GHz FSB 1MB L2 Cache Socket 939 Processor ($269 at newegg), but haven't ruled out a P4 640 or 650 either. I'm not sure about the mobo or graphics card yet, but I want a decent graphics card for photo editing, gaming, and SolidWorks, and I've been told nvidia chipsets are the way to go.

Can you offer any advice? My budget is flexible depending on what I get for the $$, but it's not unlimited either.

Any advice is appreciated.

Thanks,
John

 

[vegasgmc]

Get the Athlon. P4s run too hot. A 6800GT or X800 XL video card.

 

[DonNagual]

For your case / power supply how about this?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811129155

It comes with a 450W power supply (a good brand name) and the case is gorgeous. For the price of both the case and power supply, I don't think there are many better deals out there at $100.

I have the same CPU you are looking at (Athlon 64 3700) and a 6800GT video card. The system is extremely quiet, and my temps are rarely above 40c (very good temps to have).

I wouldn't recommend this case if you plan on overclocking in the future. It is made for people who like QUIET computers, so there are minimal fans in it. It is not designed for extreme cooling needs.

 

[JohnK93]

Don,
Thanks for the suggestion. What motherboard are you using with the Athlon 64 3700? Would you recommend it?

John

 

[DonNagual]

I'm using the Asus A8N-SLI deluxe, and I'm quite happy with it actually. It has one major flaw, the chipset fan. It dies within the first month (a well known fault on this board). Asus is quick to replace it, but they shipped out WAY too many boards that have this problem. For that reason alone, I am hesitant in suggesting it. Especially if you are not confident in being able to replace that chipset fan on your own, as it means sending it to a repair shop and being without a computer for at least a couple of days.

Take a look at DFI's lineup of socket 939 boards. They're quite nice from what I have heard.