Here's the equipment and software for my new system:

Processor $497 AMD 2.2 GHz Socket 939

Motherboard $100 ???

RAM $235.90 2 X Transcend 1 GB 184-pin PC 3200

Video Card $319 eVGA Geforce 7800GT 256MB

Windos Media $200 Windows Media Center PC Edition

Case $109.99 Aspire X-Navigator Aluminum (http://www.xoxide.com)

TV Tuner $55 KWorld VS-TVMP2RF PCI

DVD Burner $49.99 Samsung Black IDE

Hard Drive $135 Maxtor Maxline III 300 GB ATA 133

Keyboard Set $79.95 Microsoft Wireless Optical Desktop 4000 (Microsoft)

Remote $45.99 SnapStream Firefly PC Remote (Amazon.com)

Basically I'm putting together a media center PC. I'm also going to do a lot of web development on it. Hence the big RAM.

Any suggestions on motherboards? I want something with 3 PCI slots, 4 RAM slots, a Socket 939 chip. I want to spend somewhere between $100-$150.

I'm buying everything from newegg with the exception with what's in parenthesis.

12/21/2005 1:58:13 PM

am i seein this right? ur payin $497 for what i assume to be an Athlon64 3200+ Socket 939 2.2GHz CPU?

12/21/2005 2:16:45 PM

http://www.slickdeals.net/#p6861

12/21/2005 2:32:57 PM

I haven't paid for anything yet. I just started looking around. Thanks for the heads up. It also has 1 Ghz FSB

[Edited on December 21, 2005 at 2:47 PM. Reason : left something out]

12/21/2005 2:37:31 PM

Yeah, you bout got blitzed on that proc.

12/21/2005 2:45:28 PM

i would avoid trying to get dvr on your computer and just rent the box from twc. its not like its a bunch of money (u can ususaly get your first dvr for $5 per month) and it works better than any computer based dvr, hands down.

that seems like a bunch of $ for the ram, you stuck to that brand or model #? go to http://www.bensbargains.net and search for DDR or 3200 in the right hand seatrch box to see what is should cost.

do you really game THAT much to need a $320 video card. An X800GTO will play all kinds of games for $140.

and get a sata drive, not ide. again, search bensbargains for deals, or pick one out on newegg.

spend the money you save on stuff above and get a better proc, get an AMD X2 dual core (think the proc should cost $280 or so.

12/21/2005 3:49:04 PM

you can get an evga 7800gt + a free motherboard for $270 from newegg..

12/21/2005 3:53:50 PM

That's not a bad thought on the dvr from twc. Although I'd rather buy the dvr outright from Best Buy or something. That way I could add a bigger hard drive to it. They come with 3.5 and it's easy to do. Then I could get an 80GB hard drive for the system to run mp3s and games. Is there a way to store DVDs on a dvr? And is there a way to hook it to your computer? I've never looked into it.

I might be able to go with a 6800 GT, but I need at least that I think. I want to run two monitors eventually and hook it to the TV. They lowered the price from $320 to $300 and it comes with Quake 4. That's a $50 value or so right there.

You're also right about the SATA drive.

I've already found a better processor. AMD Athlon 64 4000+ 2.4 GHz CPU. It's $349 at tiger direct and $334 at newegg. The one at Tiger has more FSB. Although I'm thinking it's a typo, does FSB go as high as 2 Ghz? I didn't think they were that high yet.

I don't see that video card + motherboard combo from newegg. Can you post a link?

12/21/2005 4:39:32 PM

^why aren't you looking at the dual core procs?

12/21/2005 10:56:34 PM

I haven't updated the post in a while. I'll be buying an AMD 64 X2. That's dual core.

[Edited on December 22, 2005 at 11:03 AM. Reason : typo]

12/22/2005 11:02:43 AM