Is this a good computer setup to build?

Question

Currently, I have an old Dell Dimension 8200 1.8ghz with 768 MB of ram and a Geforce 5900fx. The computer I'm looking to build is as follows:

PC CHIPS A11G V1.0 Socket AM2 NVIDIA GeForce 6100 Micro ATX AMD Motherboard

AMD Athlon 64 X2 3600+ Brisbane 1.9GHz Dual Core

Patriot Extreme Performance 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel

SAPPHIRE Radeon X1650PRO 512MB GDDR2 PCI Express x16 Video Card

Western Digital Caviar SE WD800JD 80GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive

350 Watt power supply

With all the rebates and discounts I was able to find, I'll be able to build this system for $275. That's the best price I've seen in a long time. I'm kinda vague on how dual cores work compared to single-core, so will this system be a big step up and are there any conflicts I'm not aware of? Thanks!

Dang, I didn't even think about the micro board. It wouldn't even fit the case I have waiting for it. The other setup I was looking for was an Intel Pentium D 805 Smithfield 2.66GHz Dual Core and an ABIT IB9 LGA 775 Intel P965 Express ATX Intel Motherboard. The price only goes up to $315, which I'm willing to do. I mainly want something that has a PCI-E slot, can handle the DDR 800 ram, allows a SATA drive and is compatible with a Radeon card. I'm just looking for a mid-range system. Something that can keep up moderately with today's games. It doesn't have to be cutting-edge, but my poor old Dell can't handle even the most basic stuff anymore.

Answer 1

Everything seems to be great for 275$ but for better performance adding a higher end AMD X2 wouldn't cost much and would be a good upgrade. These components seem to be for a computer made for regular day to day basic computing tasks. I would think for basic computing, you could reduce your cost by buying just 1GB of ram without affecting your performance much.

Answer 2

id go with a slightly higher power supply.
thus being do to the fact that the faster the chip and memory the more power will need. also the harddrive and optical drive use close to 60-75 watt each at low speed. you have the fans and video card and all the cool stuff the more power you crank into your system the more power your system will need. id go with at least a 450-500 jsut to play it safe.

also check out what the max is on your mobo for memory,cpu max,te number of expansion slots and so forth before buying.
lastly i noted that it only has a 80 gig hardrive. not to cut the system bud but i would go with at least 250 gig these days. games and other programs as they get better and badder they will eat a 80 gig up quick. so will picks and songs so do yourself a favor go with what the ladies have always told ya.
bigger is better and size does matter. lol
good luck with the build.
and oh yeah you will notice a difference in performance of a single over a duo. a duo can handle alot more info and faster since it literally has two cpus running at he same time. however if you realy want a fast pc get the core two duo extreme. yeah i know they run around 800 to 1000 but damn dude if speed is what you want then hell go for it. also look for the fsb. the faster the fsb the better.

Answer 3

is there a reson your going for a micro atx motherboard? because if you got ATX size it might be cheaper. Also i would sujest a ASUS motherboard.

Your ram choice is very good and I have the exact same type. Also your video card is looking really great, but i dont know if you can use a radeon with nvidia chipsets.

your power supply is looking a little on the short side for the system your planing on building. go with 500watts at the min

This is my specs on the computer i built:

-Asus M2N32-SLI Deluxe wireless motherboard
-AMD Athlon 64 X2 5800 2.8GHZ
-Patriot DDR-2 Dual Channel 2gb RAM
-320gb Seagate Barracuda SATA hard drive
-LG dual-layer dvd drive
-BFG nVidia GeForce 7600GS Graphics Card

Answer 4

Good configuration for that price. BUT if you want to boost gaming performance further, spend less on RAM but spend more on the video card. You could consider 2x512Mb RAM or just 1x1Gb for the meantime then go for a 7600GT or 7900GS video card. Take note that 256Mb ddr3 will always beat 512Mb ddr2. Besides, 512Mb is not always fully utilized in games.

350 watt power supply could be borderline especially if has weak +12V rail (15 amps or less). Better get at least a 430W w/ dual +12V rail. It should run cooler and give you more elbow room for upgrades.

Answer 5

talk to a professional about it
but to me sounds sweeeeet
i have a kick a$$ computer
just the hard drive is too small 80GB
change it too like 200GB or 100GB
and the processor go for intel core 2 duo
its supppper fast, i have it
and its really worth it

Answer 6

looks ok for a budget system...I would go a bit higher on the CPU.. like 4000+ or 4200+

Answer 7

Get a bigger power supply. Shoot for a 600W. Otherwise I dont see anything glaring.

Answer 8

of course but i would try and get a better cpu

Answer 9

Hell to the yea man and when your done send it to me :P