Opinion on new computer?

I'm planning on building my first computer in a few weeks. I mostly need it for using photoshop, some light recording, and web browsing.



MSI K8N Neo4-F Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 ATX AMD Motherboard

SAPPHIRE 100591 Radeon X300 128MB DDR PCI Express x16 Video Card

AMD Athlon 64 3500+ Venice 1GHz FSB Socket 939 Processor Model ADA3500BPBOX

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


Western Digital Caviar SE WD800JB 80GB 7200 RPM IDE Ultra ATA100 Hard Drive

Thermaltake Soprano VB1430BWS Black Steel/Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 430W Power Supply(500w peak)

-In addition i allready have a 80gig hdd, and dvd burner.

 

What i am really wavering on is the case/psu and vid card

 

The case is a TOP NOTCH brand, the PSU probably is too (power supply unit). As for the video card the X300 is good... as long as you dont plan on making this the best GAMING computer ever... my dad uses an old 3dfx voodoo2000 card in his computer and it runs XP fine....

 

Are you sure you can use an ATI graphic card with a NVIDIA motherboard. And if that motherboard has SLI you should make the graphic card a NVIDIA.

 

thanks alot

oh, what verison of windows hsould i get?

 

ahhhhhaaa.... theven you bring up a GOOD point... will SLI work with an ATi card... I dont know.... Although I DO know that nvidia mobo's and ati vid cards work fine (thats what im using ) Im not sure if you can use an ATi card with that SLI...

 

I like all your choices a lot. Very well thought out if I do say so myself.
I would go with Windows XP Pro, no question.

 

I like Cooler Master cases and PSUs, as well as Antec and Thermaltake PSUs. I have that exact motherboard.. it rocks. 3500+ is overkill. Go with a socket 939 3000+ Venice core. It's cheaper and I have it and it runs cool and runs intense games, Photoshop, and Premiere excellent. ATI cards will work fine with an Nvidia chipset. I have an X800XL on my board. X300 will be fine if you don't plan to do any gaming.

Good luck

 

Also on the CVS RAM, make sure you get the set with 2.5 latency instead of 3.0 . It will work faster and is pretty much the same price. Don't know why Newegg sells both.

 

If you decide a Nvidia motherboard with SLI choose Nvidia so you can upgrade later, and if you don't still choose Nvidia.

 

Wel for psu i have a good one that i just bought and it was cheap too. It was a generic brand from comp usa its a 400 watt atx supply that will support p4/ amd 64 chips i think. And it runs so quiet that if i put my pc to sleep i hear no noise whatsoever from the system...period. Its cheap, its good i would get it.
-the new tech guy

 

Thanks alot. This should all cost me about $700, not to shabby for a budjet build.

 

Yea, Halo is right. A high end GAMING card is not needed, as your computer is not for gaming really. A low end nVIDIA Quatro card (by PNY) can be purchased which is specifically designed for things like graphical design and web design etc. As for using Photoshop, you can probably just use a mid range nvidia card instead. For recording, you really dont need a "good" video card.

Good luck with your new budget build!