Purchasing new PC. Need some opnions pros/cons on system. (1 Viewer)

[Larry Fletcher]

hi,

I am pretty much a newb when it comes to tech stuff so I was hoping maybe some of the experts here could give me some advice on the system below. I am working with a $1600 budget. My primary purpose for my new pc will be gaming and internet. I currently have a gateway p2 350mghz. i think it is time to upgrade. I went to Ibuypower.com and here is whatI came up with. Please add opnions negative or positve. I appreciate it!

(Nforce-2) Asus A7N8x W/usb2.0 +10/10Lan +sound + 8xagp MB
upgrade to 420 power supply
AMD Athlon XP 2600 + quantispeed socket A CPU
certified cpu fan and heatsink
512 MB ddr 400 PC 32 MHZ
80 GB ultra ATA -100 7200 RPM hard drive
Radeon 9700 pro
52x24x52 CD-rw drive
dvd rom
creative lab sound blaster Audigy 5.1 with IEEE-1394
480 watts pmpo pcs subwoofer system( I know i need to upgrade this, maybe later)
Windows XP

 

[DaveGTP]

Larry, looks like good choices, looks like you have done your research. I am an Epox man myself when it comes to boards, but Nforce2 is a very good performance chipset. DVD-ROM recommendations are lite-on and Toshiba M1712 ($44 OEM @ newegg). My attitude is always save on the CPU speed now, spend the good money on the board, memory, video card, etc, and upgrade the CPU later, as it is an easy upgrade. Depends on how much money you are spending, I guess. Spend money on quality memory, I'm sure everyone else here will agree. Beware the new Radeon cards are coming out soon to replace the 9700 Pro. Perhaps a 9500 Pro would be a good purchase?

 

[Justin H]

I agree, good choices. I just ordered myself a very similar system except for the card. I'm waiting for the 9800 Pro which just shipped out from ATI. I don't know how serious a gamer you are but its something to consider. The 9800 is basically an overclocked 9700 with a few other upgrades and it'll cost you about $100 more. But, for the time being, it is the fastest card on the planet. There is also a 256MB version! of the 9800 Pro just down the road so make sure you've considered your options.

 

[JasenP]

Larry,

If you decide against the 9800 Pro, it will drive the price down of the 9700, which is certainly no slouch of a card!

 

[Kimmo Jaskari]

With an nforce2 chipset you could just as well go for one with a built-in sound card and skip the Creative stuff.

In fact, why not go for a small form factor machine? It does limit your upgrade path later to replacement of the entire machine and motherboard, however.

Something like this:

http://www.shuttle.com/new/product/b..._b.asp?B_id=11

Just add CPU, memory, harddrive, combination DVD/CD-RW and a better graphics card and you're good to go.

 

[Mike__D]

I agree with Kimmo, skip the Audigy card and use the nForce's built-in sound. It's the most featured packed onboard sound available.

Mike D.

 

[Larry Fletcher]

Thanks for the advice!