Big brains needed for advise new system

About to put together the following and need advise/opinion:

XP
CPU = Athion64 3000+ 939
MB = MSI K8N SLi-F nForce4
RAM = Corsair Twinx1024-3200C2PT 1 GB DDR400 XMS 3200 Dual-Channel
HD = WD WD2500js SataII
VIDIO = Need DVI
6600GT?
xfx 6500 PCI-E 256?
What is the best bang for the buck ~$125. Although I'm not heavy into game, mostly Links3000, etc, I'm trying to put something together that will be not (too) obsolete in a month!

Thanks for your help.

 

looks good. As far as the video cards go, an x800GTO would be good for that price. That or a 6600gt.

 

ViberBoy Thanks for the quick comeback. For either board, what Brands can you count on?

 

I can also get a xfx geforce 6500 256mb ddr2 for $90. The price is sure right, how about the card?

 

you'd be better off with a 6600gt, surprisingly large difference in performance than lower 6 series cards

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814150098
($99 after rebate)

eVGA and XFX are good brands. I really like eVGA because of their step-up program which allows you to trade in your card for an upgrade and you only pay the difference. Much nicer than buying a whole new card.

 

Keep in mind that ram doesn't clock in at what its rated for. It clocks by SPD to 3-3-3-8. You have to manually go in and set it to 2-3-3-6 and raise the DDR vcore to 2.75v.

The ram won't always hit advertised settings. Good thing is, Corsair will RMA it if it doesn't.

 

You could get a cheaper motherboard, like one with NF4 (not ultra) chipset. No loss in features you will notice I think. MSI do make one of those http://www.msi.com.tw/program/products/mainboard/mbd/pro_mbd_detail.php?UID=652 Also possible to save a bit on memory. All this to get better video card, 6500 is about minimum. Only have 64bit memory bus, not sure about the XFX but they are budget cards. ATI 800GTO with 256mb ram and 256bit bus will be more than enough and should be within reach of budget. This one http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814102660 is nice cause it got fast memory modules and is prepared for overclocking. Also good cooling blowing air out of case = less need of case cooling. Noisy perhaps but you can control it with a special ATI tool so it only speeds up during 3D. Same with overclocking. What software Sapphire delivers is probably not worth using. So this is a deluxe 800GTO but may be available and not much more costly than a standard.

Check out details of cards no matter model, ie. 256mb of ram might not be of much good if engine is weak - XFX probably only do that on 6500 to avoid using system memory through "Turbo Cache". Better, but still not a fast card today. 90$ seems too much compared to alternatives, like they try to make a pig look pretty - but I dont know enough about it to be sure. Normally not a good deal to buy tuned but still weak cards. The "Fireblade Edition" would also not be interesting if it cost like 6800GS, just seems to be very close to standard price.

Google some reviews of 800GT0 vs 800GT vs 6600GT - I would buy them in that order.

I guess you will recycle old case and power supply? You sure power supply is ok with that? If "old" model it wont be optimized for these new motherboards and pci-e cards so possible extra cost?

 

x800gto if you can afford it. I've never heard of a 6500 before, but hey, maybe I've just been left behind.

 

The 6500 is pretty slow compared to an X800 GTO or 6600GT.

For motherboard, take a look at the ASUS A8N-VM CSM.

It uses the new nForce 430 chipset. It's not a full size ATX board, but it has everything you want, and it's very cheap!

 

Many thanks to all you guy and gals who pitched in to help.
After sleeping on it, I ordered the following - for better or worse!

ORDER CONTENT:
1 x (101220-11) Western Digital Caviar SE WD2500JS 250GB Serial ATA II 7200RPM Hard Drive w/8MB Buffer ***Free 2nd Day*** @ $99.90

1 x (80098-22) Kingston KVR400X64C3AK2/1G 1GB Kit DDR400 PC3200 Memory Retail *** Free 2nd Day *** @ $79.98

1 x (316604) Western Digital Serial ATA Cable 0.5 Meter w/SecureConnet Retail ***Free 2nd Day*** @ $15.00

1 x (241190) MSI K8N SLI-F nForce4 SLI Athlon 64(FX)/64 X2 Dual-Core Skt939 DDR ATX Motherboard w/Audio, Gigabit LAN, RAID/Serial ATA Retail ***Free 2nd Day*** @ $99.99

1 x (321036) XFX PV-T43G-UDF3 GeForce 6600 GT PCI Express 256MB DDR3 Video Card w/HDTV-Out & Dual DVI Retail ***Free 2nd Day*** @ $159.99

------------------------------
SUBTOTAL : $454.86
SALESTAX : $.00
SHIPPING : $.00
TOTAL : $454.86
---------------------------

Along with my new 450 watt PS, amd 64 3000+ 939 cpu and Samsung 930b 19" LCD, I hope I'm in hog heaven for what I need - make that want - for at least 18 months (you know the addition as well as I). Total will be ~$950.

You were great. Now if anyone knows how to get a xx$$%%! ms2003 word outline to correctly format, you can dry up my tears.

 

Folks, I'm so confused. From all the manufactures specs, I thougth that a SATA II drive on a SATA II board would have a 300 MB through put. Now I have been told that it would take two drives to achieve this.

Is there anything that will give that through put with a single drive?

If not, I might as well stick wiith my 2 160gb IDE drives, unless a SATA II Drive will give a significate improvement in performance.

For you, Its probably a DUH!, for me a muddle!

 

You won't get significant performance increase by going to SATA or SATA II.

There may be some minimal increase, but it's not that much.

The best SATA II drives are ones that have NCQ.


If you already have a pair of IDE drives, I would just use them for now.

 

Thanks again for the comeback. That puts that issue to bed.