i'm thinking about getting these:

motherboard: A8V-MX
http://usa.asus.com/products4.aspx?l1=3&l2=15&l3=0&model=743&modelmenu=1
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131558

2 of these hard drives in a RAID array: Western Digital 250GB 16MB Cache SATA2 7200RPM WD2500KS
http://www.clubit.com/product_detail.cfm?itemno=A3494853&cmp=OTC-fr00g13
http://www.resellerratings.com/seller_info.pl?seller_id=10608

need a processor/heatsink and vid card recommendation now. vid card needs to be medium range only with dual outputs (DVI/VGA is fine - i have converters).

the motherboard can do PCI-E so i'd like to get a PCI-E vid card.

2/13/2006 12:02:57 AM

Athlon64 3200+
nvidia Geforce 6600GT


That's about mid range. It's what I have in my desktop.

I would check the prices though, you might come out cheaper getting a mobo and video card with a PCI-E interface.

2/13/2006 12:28:36 AM

if u're lookin for budget ish look into the 6200s i have 1. i unlocked 4 of the pipelines and overclocked to 560/670 (300/500 stock) with stock cooling(can't wait till i get my silencer and ramsinks) . and i'm pullin close to 6600 scores in 3dmark.

[Edited on February 13, 2006 at 12:49 AM. Reason : .]

2/13/2006 12:46:30 AM

don't buy a 939 board only to marry it to a agp card

Quote :

"the motherboard can do PCI-E so i'd like to get a PCI-E vid card."

Quote :

"AGP Slots 1x AGP 4X/8X PCI Express x16 None"

get an NF4 board, I recommend the dfi lan party ut nf4 sli, an a64 3700+ sandiego, and a 6800gs video card

2/13/2006 10:26:18 AM

^ That's upper-mid range, I would say.

2/13/2006 10:27:33 AM

the ASUS has PCI-E:
http://usa.asus.com/products4.aspx?modelmenu=2&model=743&l1=3&l2=15&l3=0

Quote :

"Expansion Slots 1 x AGP8X 1 x PCI-E x 1 2 x PCI "

but i like that the DFI has RAID too - it might be another option if i don't read anything bad about it - thanks.

2/13/2006 10:45:39 AM

look at it



no pcie 16x there

[Edited on February 13, 2006 at 1:45 PM. Reason : you need pcie 16x for video, not 1x]

[Edited on February 13, 2006 at 1:46 PM. Reason : d]

2/13/2006 1:45:26 PM

^ indeed, if you jam a video card into the pci 1x slot, you'll be very sad

2/13/2006 1:50:58 PM

Athlon64 3800+
nvidia Geforce 6600GT

-or-

Athlon64 3200+
nvidia Geforce 6800GS

also why MicroATX?

[Edited on February 13, 2006 at 2:56 PM. Reason : why micro?]

2/13/2006 2:56:26 PM

^ no reason - i have both kinds of cases, i could do it in a regular atx as well

^^^ damn asus typos - i would have never looked at the picture. the DFI is looking better and better

2/13/2006 4:18:35 PM

wtf the DFI motherboard is $170!

i don't think i'm ever going to use SLI -

please suggest some cheaper motherboards too then...

2/13/2006 7:02:31 PM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813186062
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813135203

both have 2 NIC's. I needed 2 NIC's

2/13/2006 7:22:45 PM

are you seriously recommending Foxconn and ECS? i wouldn't go THAT low-end... lol

2/13/2006 7:29:53 PM

foxconn is the #1 cooler manufacturer in the world. they're a lot bigger than asus, that's for sure. ecs isn't a bad company either, they've made some solid stuff recently. it's not like newegg won't give you a new one if you get a non-functioning one.

2/13/2006 7:33:35 PM

alright, i might swing for the ECS one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103535

i'm looking into a 3200+ retail (or should i look into alternative cooling?): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103535

1. should i look into alternative cooling for the processor?
2. vid card - nvidia Geforce 6600GT or nvidia Geforce 6800GS have been recommended - any others i should look into?

2/13/2006 8:11:55 PM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103562
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814102505

2/13/2006 9:43:25 PM

that proc and vid card are too high end for me - need something a step lower

2/13/2006 9:53:42 PM

6600gt is your ~$100-120 gfx card, 6800gs is your ~$180-200 card, i don't think you wanna go much lower and i dont' think you wanna go much higher, so it should be between those two, both will get you far for a mid-range pc

2/13/2006 10:08:54 PM

Subtotal: $422.49

i need to bring the price down somehow

ECS KN1 SLI Extreme (1.0A) Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 SLI ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
eVGA 128-P2-N368-TX Geforce 6600GT 128MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail
AMD Athlon 64 3200+ Venice 1GHz FSB Socket 939 Processor Model ADA3200BPBOX - Retail
Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound - OEM

2/13/2006 11:35:56 PM

i would say your best bet is reducing the price of the motherboard, there are PLENTY of good socket 939 boards out there under $100

definitly HOLD on the 6600gt and 3200+ you won't regret it.

[Edited on February 13, 2006 at 11:54 PM. Reason : .]

2/13/2006 11:51:26 PM

Im not really an expert on mobo's but this may fit your needs for a cheaper price

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131569

Ok mobos with sataII for less

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813123258

and this one can be paired with a 3500+ making the 3500+ $186 if you want to bump the cpu
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813138270

[Edited on February 14, 2006 at 12:14 AM. Reason : sataII]

2/13/2006 11:59:40 PM

that looks perfect, except no SATAII... but it's $26 less

2/14/2006 12:04:29 AM

yeah i kinda want to do the SATA II raid setup

2/14/2006 12:14:43 AM

i have 2x512s of pc3200

should i get 2x1GB sticks: http://shop.outpost.com/product/3954458 ?

2/14/2006 2:19:54 AM

http://shop3.outpost.com/product/4699798?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG

2/14/2006 4:26:25 AM

Quote :

" ecs isn't a bad company either"

ECS SUCKS BALLS DUDE


AND INTEL ON A NON INTEL CHIPSET IS ALSO RETARDED FUCKING ADVICE

[Edited on February 14, 2006 at 8:39 AM. Reason : . ati? are you fucking joking]

2/14/2006 8:38:45 AM

just because ECS & Foxconn are put in OEM systems does not equal quality... yes they manufacture a LOT of motherboards, but think of how many OEM systems there are compared to the pc enthusiast community. i'm not saying they aren't stable motherboards, just saying they're cheap and not the best of performers.

i would say abit, asus, gigabyte and MSI (all tier-1) are the highest reputable 'performing' motherboard manufacturer's out there, though MSI's quality is questionable as of late.

2/14/2006 10:22:02 AM

there are about 80 million times more oem/manufactured machines compared to like 34 home made enthusiast machines, don't kid yourself into thinking otherwise. also, once you get a machine initially built, os installed, bios and drivers up to date, the motherboard becomes trivial. if it doesn't work reliably, it wouldn't be sold, because just about all of these boards have 3 year no questions asked rma warranties.

2/14/2006 12:01:48 PM

im not kidding, ECS is crap

2/14/2006 6:12:31 PM

AND INTEL ON A NON INTEL CHIPSET IS ALSO RETARDED FUCKING ADVICE

2/14/2006 6:20:52 PM