Comp specs opinion

I'm gonna build a computer in the near future (hopefully), and want some opinions on the specs of it for optimum performance and upgradability:

MoBo: ASUS A8N5X ATX AMD Motherboard 4x184 pin DDR slots, Maximum supported memory 4GB, 1 PCI-E X16 Slot, 2 PCI-E X1 slots, 3 PCI slots, 8 channel audio chipset.

Processor: AMD Athlon 64 3200+ 2GHz (Socket 939)
RAM: Corsair 1gb (2 x 512mb) DDR
PSU: Rosewill ATX 500W
Video card: ASUS EN6600/TD/256 Geforce 6600 256MB 128-bit DDR PCI Express x16
Hard Drive 1: Maxtor DiamondMax 10 200GB 3.5" Serial ATA150
Hard Drive 2: Maxtor QuickView 100GB 3.5" Serial ATA150
DVD-RW PLEXTOR Black IDE DVD Burner
DVD-ROM SONY Black IDE DVD-ROM 16X DVD-ROM 48x CD-ROM

Also, the reason for the 200gb and the 100gb HD is because I use formatting as a quick fix a lot, so I want to be able to store some of the files from the 200gb to the 100gb. I don't plan on doing any RAID, my brother has his on RAID 0 and has had more problems in 1 week than i have in 5 years (has formatted 3-4 times already).

just as an option :
could you not get the RAM as a single 1GB stick ?
then when you start to upgrade, you 'just' have to add an additional 1GB stick. this way the 4 slots are being allowed to use their full potential, and you don't end up with excess sticks of 512MB RAM hanging around

foxyloxey, the reason for both sticks is for dual channeling, besides I have 4 RAM slots, I don't think I'd need more than 2gb of RAM even 1GB is enough

Hey Raion my friend,

Please consider matched hard drives and RAID 1 ......................mirroring is cool :D

If you plan on using anything other than Windows you may want another Motherboard. Asus has had nothing but problems on the lists I'm on.

Hi everyone, I also want some suggestions on PSU as I just got it blown this morning :(. Searching through Google and here, I found Antec 450 to be a good one. Whats your opinion as I don't know much about PSUs.

nihil, I'll read more into RAID 1 but from what I remember, RAID 1 is the one that cuts your hard drive space by 50%, I use up A LOT of hard drive space in a quick amount of time and I'm on a fixed budget.

Gore: Well, I plan on using WinXP on it, and at the moment have no plans on switching to another OS but regardless, you never know what the future holds, what mobo would you reccommend. My brother has a DFI Lan Party, but it's too expensive for me, but ideal for cable management. But since the case I'm getting has no window (too many people have windowed cases so I'm sticking to old school), I'm only going to be doing some minor cable management.

Well Singh, you might want to check out newegg, they will sort the PSUs based on the best ratings given by the user and you can be very specific in your search: http://www.newegg.com/ProductSort/Su...SubCategory=58 but try to get one with the same or more watts as your current, blown out PSU. Also check your mobo manual for the number of pins for the main connector to ensure compatability. :)

Hi Raion, I just got a Antec PSU 450W from staples. By default it was for 24 Pin motherboard but my motherboard is 20 pin, So I detached the 4 pins (they were detachable) and its working fine.

We'll be seeing that for awhile(probably years). At least until the 20 pin is gone. We just built a new computer for my wife and encountered the exact same thing. I definitely like the cables for the power supplies. Their a lot easier to secure.

cheers

I have the DFI Lan Party NF4-Deluxe and it is a great board for overclocking, go for dual channel ram as you have is a great idea.

I would recomend going for a striped array (RAID 0) on the dfi boards all it takes is loading up the correct drivers when you install windows. For it to work correctly I would recomend using two of the exact same hard drives (I have two maxtor 160gb 8mb SATA drives) just did a compleate re-install and my pc boots up in no time.

If you go for the overclocking then get a kickass fan and chuck some more fans in the case, my AMD Athlong 64 3200+ is currently running at the speed of a pentium p4 3.8ghz, my next step is to overclock the video card or think about sli.

Cheers

Hi Raion

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nihil, I'll read more into RAID 1 but from what I remember, RAID 1 is the one that cuts your hard drive space by 50%, I use up A LOT of hard drive space in a quick amount of time and I'm on a fixed budget.

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Actually, you need two matched drives, and one will mirror the other.............I like it for SOHO solutions ;) we know that they won't do the backups?

I wouldn't consider RAID 1 on a partitioned drive.............RAID is more about multiple drives than partitions :D