I'm looking at ordering parts from Newegg to build a new computer in about two weeks time. If you have the time, please review the parts and tell me if anything that I'm looking at is just plain silly. Thanks. (<i>All prices include S&H by the way.</i> )

CyberPower 525VA 6 Outlet UPS = $65
(Reason: Protect system.)

Antec Sonata w/True380 = $120
(Reason: Silencing case with good air flow.)

Antec 120mm Smartfan = $26
(Reason: Need another quiet 120mm fan for case and auto-RPM increase if heat increases sounds helpful.)

Logitech Black Optical Desktop = $31
(Reason: It's a black keyboard and optical mouse.)

Retail Intel P4C 2.6GHz = $220
(Reason: 2.4 verges on 'slow' since this system may go unupgraded for years and 2.8 costs too much.)

Retail Asus P4P800 (i865PE) = $123
(Reason: Fanless northbridge for quiet operation and comes with all of the cables that I'll need since I won't put my DVD on the same channel as my hard drive.)

Corsair Value Select 1GB (512MBx2) = $188
(Reason: I only care about running better than CAS3, so CAS2.5 will be just fine.)

Retail Leadtek Geforce FX5600 8X VIVO = $155
(Reason: It runs as good as a Ti4200 but with DX9 support. It has VIVO which would be fun. It comes packaged with a game that I'll enjoy.)

Samsung SP8004H 80GB 7200RPM IDE, 2MB cache = $75
(Reason: Very silent operation with acceptable performance.)

MSI MS-8216140BL 16x DVD/48xCD Black = $36
(Reason: Very silent operation and black matches case. Can live with less-than-stellar extraction speeds.)

Samsung 1.44MB black floppy drive = $13
(Reason: Still want a floppy drive and need black to match case.)

Altec Lansing 251 5.1 speakers = $78
(Reason: Want 5.1 speakers and these got good reviews.)

NEC FE990-BK 19" Black Flat-Panel CRT Monitor = $245
(Reason: Want a black 19" CRT and this one got good reviews.)

Microsoft XP Pro - OEM FUll Version = $147
(Reason: Need an OS compatible with coding that I do at work. XP Home/98SE won't cut it and only XP supports Intel's HT correctly.)
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Total = $1522

I'd really like to keep the total cost just at $1500 since I still have to account for tax as well, so please don't suggest a more expensive component unless you can save money somewhere else to accommodate or will donate the extra money to me.

"<i>Yeah, if you treat them like equals, it'll only encourage them to think they <b>ARE</b> your equals.</i>" - Thief from <A HREF="http://www.nuklearpower.com/daily.php?date=030603" target="_new">8-Bit Theater</A>

Looks good to me what you want it to do. since your going with 80 gig hd. Why not spend the extra $8 buy WD 80 gig 7200 RPM plus 8MB cache. Will 2000 Pro support your coding needs? They just released SP4

Seems fine except that 5600. I bet my old 1700xp and 9700pro combo would out perform that nice intel cpu and 5600....

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<font color=red> 120% overclocker </font color=red> (cheapskate)

As a programmer I'd like to say that I'll use it primarily for coding, but as a closet-gamer I have to admit I'd love to play all of those games that I can't run on my current 500MHz Celeron. Besides, I want to be a game programmer eventually too. So I figured that DX9 support should go in. Being on a budget though, it kind of limits my video card choices. I figure that if I upgrade anything in the next year it will probably be my video card.

Mostly because the Samsung drive runs super-silent according to reviews that I've read. The WD800JB is a good performer, but to my knowledge no one has ever recomended one for being silent. It's the same reason that I chose the MSI DVD ROM over a Lite-On DVD ROM. I really want this to be as quiet of a PC as I can manage. I'm tired of hearing whining fans and clunking drives.

I've also had experience with a number of hard drives in the past (both at home and at work) and of them all it has the WDs that have failed the earliest. (And it has been the Maxtors that have most often arrived dead from 'shipping' damage.) A waranty is good at replacing a prematurely failed drive, but you're still stuck without that drive for what feels like forever, and that's just no fun. So based on past experiences I look more at Seagate and Samsung than at Western Digital or Maxtor just out of habit. Seagate and Samsung both impress on me that they work on engineering subtle (but impressive) changes to minor aspects of their hard drives that other companies don't often concern themselves over. Quality engineering from the ground up makes a product more reliable.

Meet my coding needs, yes. (It's primarily what I use at work.) Meet my CPU's needs, no. Unless SP4 contains HyperThreading support (which I didn't see amongst it's list of fixes when I did a quick search) I need a form of XP. As much as I detest XP I'm still pretty much stuck with it. Thanks for the info about SP4 though. Somehow I hadn't gotten word of that yet.

"<i>Yeah, if you treat them like equals, it'll only encourage them to think they <b>ARE</b> your equals.</i>" - Thief from <A HREF="http://www.nuklearpower.com/daily.php?date=030603" target="_new">8-Bit Theater</A>

Every thing is ok except the graphic card.Why you are not buying ATI?You can get a Radeon 9600 pro for the same price.But if u want VIVO no way .Or can u afford AIW 9800?Then the system will also get some boost in functionality.

Enthusiast

For games, sure. However games aren't the only things that I run. I do write analytical scientific software and that takes some major CPU and RAM to crunch through well. I also dabble in 3D rendering, which again is primarily CPU-based. So as much as I'd like 'the ultimate gaming machine', I had to find a balance between CPU performance and gaming performance to meet all of my needs adequately.

Heck, originally I was going to put a GF4 Ti4200 in there, but the GF FX5600 had DX9 and a tiny bit more performance (and came with a game that I was wanting to buy anyway), so it was worth the extra $40 over the GF4 TI4200 that I had specced a month ago.

In the future (6 months to a year) I do plan on upgrading to a Sapphire Atlantis Radeon 9700Pro Ultimate (fanless heatsink stock so that waranty is still valid) or better if Sapphire (or someone else I guess) ever makes a better fanless card. I just didn't see it worth waiting six more months to build my PC <i>just</i> so that I could spec a better video card when I could build one now with a moderately good card and upgrade later. And canibalizing my CPU and/or RAM just for a better video card wasn't worth it to me either.

"<i>Yeah, if you treat them like equals, it'll only encourage them to think they <b>ARE</b> your equals.</i>" - Thief from <A HREF="http://www.nuklearpower.com/daily.php?date=030603" target="_new">8-Bit Theater</A>

A Radeon 9600 Pro is only slightly better performance and it doesn't even come with VIVO. It doens't seem worth it to me. A 9500 Pro, maybe, <i>if</i> I could get one for $150.

Exactly. And I want VIVO. It may just be to toy with mostly, but I'll definately get use out of it.

I wish! As I said, I'm on a budget and I can't spend more on a different part unless I cut a corner on something else to make up the difference.

"<i>Yeah, if you treat them like equals, it'll only encourage them to think they <b>ARE</b> your equals.</i>" - Thief from <A HREF="http://www.nuklearpower.com/daily.php?date=030603" target="_new">8-Bit Theater</A>

Well, I'm nitpicking here, but I always consider Micron RAM better than most manufacturer's top of the line (only Crucial LL series manages to beat it due to faster timings. At the same timings, its a push! It owns the Corsair Value). Its the same price as the Corsair.

Also. My personal preference would be an ATI 9500 128 (PowerCooler or Saphire) It has VIVO functionality & DX9 & it just might take the software mod to make it a 9700 . . . AND it costs $20 less. Muhahaha!



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<b><font color=red>Three great virtues of a programmer are: laziness, impatience, and hubris.</font color=red><b>

I'd be tempted if it had a CAS of even 2.5. The Micron RAM that I see there is at CAS3 though. Yeah, I could fudge with the timings, but then I invalidate my waranty. Plus the Micron is in single sticks which <i>hopefully</i> are from the same batch, but there are no guarantees. The Corsair is at least assured to be from the same batch. Believe me, I had the same thoughts, but in the end I just decided not to tempt fate any more than I had to.

I see video out, but not video in. Are you sure that it has VIVO functionality? And if the software mod worked it would be a good performer. If it didn't work though the plain 9500 gets spanked by a GF4 Ti4200 ... and that'd be no fun. That's kind of risky.

"<i>Yeah, if you treat them like equals, it'll only encourage them to think they <b>ARE</b> your equals.</i>" - Thief from <A HREF="http://www.nuklearpower.com/daily.php?date=030603" target="_new">8-Bit Theater</A>

I like everything but the RAM and video.

For the RAM, you can get 512MB of Buffalo PC3200 at newegg for $86. Unfortunately they're out of stock ATM, but they should be back soon. Also, they use Winbond chips which are top of the line.

As for the video card, without using AA/AF, it will be slower than a Ti4200. Then using AA/AF, it would probably give framerates that are unplayable. If you're trying to save money, just go for a Ti4200, otherwise, go for a R9500/9600 Pro.

...And all the King's horses and all the King's men couldn't put my computer back together again...

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Marketing smoke and mirrors.
Additionally, Crucial 3200 runs at CL 2.5 just fine. Exactly <i>how</i> does that invalidate your warranty?

Where's your sense of adventure?

OK, Ok. Looks like the GameVE and PCRapids descriptions were missprints. No VIVO. Shame on me! 9200, does, but it is a serious budget part, lacking DX9. Looks like the FX5600 is your best bet. Thumbs up!

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<b><font color=red>Three great virtues of a programmer are: laziness, impatience, and hubris.</font color=red><b>

I'd never even heard of Buffalo RAM until a month ago when I was looking around on Newegg. I don't trust names that I've never heard of and can't seem to find any real solid information about. I'm trying to mitigate any and all risks with this system.

I generally agree except that the GF4 Ti4200 doesn't have VIVO and doesn't support DX9 so it won't look as nice running DX9 games and won't allow me to learn how to program DX9 effects. Plus the GF FX 5600 that I picked out has nice heatsinks so it should OC well enough to match or beat a GF4 Ti4200 at stock.

"<i>Yeah, if you treat them like equals, it'll only encourage them to think they <b>ARE</b> your equals.</i>" - Thief from <A HREF="http://www.nuklearpower.com/daily.php?date=030603" target="_new">8-Bit Theater</A>

Get rid of that WinXP retail from your list. Since you care so much about spending your money, download it. If you need help with installing SP on illegal versions, contact me.

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lol... that's just a great idea...

However Silver sounds like a more conservative person.. I doubt he'd feel comfortable doing that.

...And all the King's horses and all the King's men couldn't put my computer back together again...

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