Help! Haven't build a PC in ages...

Xon

Xon

Xon

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Joined
18 Oct 2002
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1,056
Location
Malta
Heya all, its been a while since I build a PC but I've been asked by a friend to assemble a PC. Its mainly used for Office and the likes but they do play the occasional game and mess around a bit with video editing.

Howevery they did use to do this on an old P4 1.5ghz and 256Mb Ram so what I chose should be enough.

SOCKET 939 CPU, 1000 FSB, 512K CACHE, NO COOLER, 2.200GHZ, AMD ATHLON 64 3500+ VENICE ADA3500DAA4BP

ASUS A8N-VM/CSM SOCKET 939/GEFORCE 6150/A&V&L/TV-OUT MOTHERBOARD MB-A8NVMCS

CPU COOLER, SOCKET 754/939/940 TO 3500+, COOLERMASTER DK8-8ID2A-0L

FLOPPY DISK DRIVE, BLACK, MAJOR BRAND

DVD-RW 16X6X16, DVD+RW 16X8X12, DVD+R DL*2 X12, CDRW 40X32X40, IDE, BLACK, PIONEER DVR-111D-BK

MEMORY MODULE, 184 PIN, PC3200/PC400 DDR DIMM, 256MB, OEM x2

CASE, MIDI-TOWER, ATX, BLACK/SILVER, 350W PSU, Q-TEC 14121

3.5" HARD DISK DRIVE, 80.0GB, 7200RPM, 8MB, SERIAL ATA, MAXTOR 6Y080M0

My main question regards CPU & Mainboard mainly. How compatible are they? Is it a good combo?
 
The onboard GFX on that board is rubbish (I have that board) it's only suitable for HTPC, Windows, video playback and older games (Doom) :p
I would use standard Athlon HSF, probably similar to that Coolermaster.
That CPU is fine, 939 Athlon.
Why a floppy?
Tower- why midi tower? Mobo is MATX.
Qtec- eesh. Get a Antec, Seasonic or Enermax.
Maxtor- eesh. Get Western Digital or Seagate.
The Corsair 1GB DDR Value Select PC3200 CAS2.5 Kit (2x512MB) (VS1GBKIT400) (MY-041-CS) works ok and right stuff.
 
The motherboard and CPU are compatible however I'd advise against the generic case and Q-Tec PSU, I'd also recommend 1gb Ram as a working minimum for almost any system now. I don't know how much you are getting the whole system for but I'll put together what I'd recommend from OcUK. Basically the same system but with a far better PSU and case along with 1gb Ram.

CP-119-AM AMD Athlon 64 3500+ Venice 90nm (Socket 939) - Retail (ADA3500BPBOX) (CP-119-AM)
£109.95 £109.95
MB-119-AS Asus A8N-VM CSM Micro ATX (Socket 939) PCI Express Motherboard (MB-119-AS)
£47.95 £47.95
MY-004-OK OcUK Value 1GB (2x512MB) PC3200 184pin DDR Memory Dual Channel Kit (MY-004-OK)
£47.95 £47.95
HD-023-WD Western Digital Caviar Special Edition 80GB 800JD SATA-II 8MB Cache - OEM (HD-023-WD)
£28.95 £28.95
HD-001-OK OcUK Value Floppy Drive - Black (HD-001-OK)
£5.95 £5.95
CD-033-NE NEC ND4571 16x16 DVD±RW Dual Layer LabelFlash ReWriter (Black) - OEM (CD-033-NE)
£24.95 £24.95
CA-051-AN Antec SLK2650BQE Black Quiet Mini Tower Case - 350W SmartPower PSU (CA-051-AN)
£45.95 £45.95
Subtotal £311.65
Shipping (City Link Parcel Next Day (Delivered Mon-Fri)) £9.95
VAT £56.28
Total £377.88
 
Thanks for the fast replies, unfortunately my friend doesn't want to purchase online (unlike me - only ordered from OcUK in the past year or so) and hence my options are limited especially with regard to cases! The budget is also limited so can't really go with a better gpu & motherboard combo :/
 
3700+ with 6150 IGP Nvidia, 1 GB RAM. 1600 3d marks 03
4400+ with X1900XT, 2 GB RAM. 17400 3d marks 03.

What games is he thinking of playing? Half-Life 2 was unplayable at 800x600 medium detail, no AA. He will be disappointed with the GFX card, I was suprised so poor (A Gerforce MX440 was faster that this) not fussed myself just for HTPC, ~55% CPU load for 1080P.
 
I would probably get the 6600GT then. Got to be better than this IGP. No point getting IGP if he's occasional gamer, just be unhappy with it (can buy GFX later but most on a budget expect miracles from IGP, then refuse to buy another card)
 
:eek:
  • Please DO NOT get a Q-Tec PSU, get the case & replace it if you have to;
  • and please GET 1GB (matched sticks 2x512MB) PC3200 RAM. Will make a big differnce in performance.
 
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