help chosing a motherboard and verifying chosen parts

I am building a computer for a friend of mine for a Christmas present from his parents. I’ve picked out the parts I want to use but I’m not sure what kind of motherboard I should get. I would also like to set up the case to allow front USB connectors. How would I go about doing that? Could you take a look through my setup and offer suggestions and make sure it is all compatible and will work together?

Any help or suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Here is what I’m planning on getting:

CPU

AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ 1GHz FSB Socket 939 Dual Core Processor Model ADA3800BVBOX - Retail

RAM

CORSAIR XMS 1GB 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Unbuffered System Memory Model CMX1024-3200 - Retail

MOBO ?

ABIT KN8 Ultra Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 Ultra ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail

Video Card

matrox Millennium G450 32MB DDR PCI Video Card - OEM – He wants a dual monitor setup

Hard Drive

Maxtor DiamondMax 10 6L200M0 200GB 7200 RPM Serial ATA150 Hard Drive - OEM

Case

POWMAX Bio II CP601-2 Blue All Metal Construction (SGCC) ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 450W Single Fan Power Supply - Retail

PSU – I’m going to replace the psu that comes with the case with one I have here at my house

CoolMax 400w.

CD/DVD

NEC Black IDE/ATAPI DVD Burner Model ND-3550A - OEM

Thanks,

Chris

 

I chose that one because its what I'm currently using in my computer and its worked great. I didnt realize it is so outdated.

Which one would you suggest. Its going to need to have dual monitor support.

I'll look around some more and let you know what I come up with.

Thank you for the quick reply.

Chris

 

Right now I am up to $850. I might could go a bit higher but not a whole lot. That matrox video card cost 100 dollars so I'm looking for a dual monitor video card that is in that price range. My friend will mostly be using this computer for autocad, coral draw, etc. I doubt hes going to be doing much gaming but you never know.

Thanks again for all the help.

Chris

 

To find dual monitor cards, just go to the newegg.com site and use their video card search, under DVI change ANY to 2.

http://www.newegg.com/ProductSort/SubCategory.asp?SubCategory=48

I like eVGA cards, they are well made, have a lifetime warranty and they have a 90 "trade up" policy, so if your friend wants a better card then he can upgrade to something even more powerful within 90 days with a full purchase credit from eVGA. A 6600 GT model is $162.00

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814130250

More than powerful enough for intended use and 99% of all games.

 

Good thread here. I was about to start my own but this will do. How about a decent overclocking friendly motherboard for AMD 64 chips that is under $110? Any suggestions from you guys?

 

ddp: I am located in Arizona

After hearing suggestions from several people I've decided to change the power source to

Antec TRUEPOWERII TPII-380 ATX12V 380W Power Supply 115/230 V UL, TUV, CB, FCC CLASS B, CUL – Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817103927

and the video card to

SAPPHIRE 100119-HS Radeon X550 256MB 128-bit DDR PCI Express x16 Video Card – OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814102637

Will the video card will work fine with a dual monitor setup as long as I have one crt monitor on the vga port and one lcd monitor on the dvi port? I can also buy adapters if I want two crt or two lcd monitors right?

I have also decided to change from one stick of 1 G Ram to two paired sticks adding up to 1 G Ram.

I noticed in a Frys electronics add that I can buy the same processor I currently have with a motherboard with it for about 100 dollars less than I am going to currently spend. I’m guessing the combo motherboard is going to be cheaper and I shouldn’t go there but do you have any suggestions? Here is a link:

AMD Athlon 64 X2 Processor 3800+ & ECS KV2 Lite Motherboard
http://shop1.outpost.com/product/4693638?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG

Thank you for all of your help. I think I’m getting pretty close to being ready to order. Do you have any additional suggestions?

Thanks again.

Chris

 

What if I changed the PSU to

FSP Group (Fortron Source) AX400-PN ATX12V 400W Power Supply 115/230 V NEMKO, TUV, CSA, IEC, UL, CE – Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817104953

or is that a really bad choice?

I've got to find somewhere to cut the price around 30 dollars and changing the psu that would do it right there. Should I go value select ram or would that be a bad idea? I've just got to find somehow to drop the price a little bit.

Thanks again for all the help.

 

It was brought to my attention on another board that the SATA hard drive I have chosen might not work with the motherboard I have becuase the motherboard is SATA II.

I could find almost nothing about this except that here : http://forums.livingwithstyle.com/t232310-build-me-computer-reward.html
someone suggested using a SATA hard drive with the same mother board I have chosen.

Any help would be great.

Thanks,
Chris

 

I was reading elsewhere on the internet that windows xp home edition is compatable with dual core processors. I have windows xp home and would like to put on the computer but I need to make absolute sure that it supports dual core processors.

Could anyone confirm this for me?

Thanks,

 

I called AMD and they told me that the home edition will not use both of the cores in the dual core processor.

I've decided to instead purchase the athlon 64 3800+.

Is there another processor you would recommend or is this one a pretty good deal?

Thanks again for all of the help.

Chris

 

With the money I save from buying a cheaper processor I'm going to upgrade the video card to

SAPPHIRE 100121 Radeon X700 128MB DDR PCI Express x16 Video Card - OEM

Thanks,
Chris

 

To Chris 769: I am somewhat in the same boat as you except I am a bit more decided in what I want to purchase. I am not about to spend an arm and a leg to start off when I build my computer but I do want some components that will allow me to get more out of my system in the future if I wish to take advantage of it(mainly overclocking).

Try out Mwave.com I hate their shipping cost because it appears a bit high especially on certain products but they have some incredible Mobo/CPU deals though. Example: You can get a MSI Nforce 4 SLI mobo for $100 and then get a 3700+ 1mb cache AMD San Diego Core CPU for only $210. I think 4 day shipping added is like 9.96 or so so that is a pretty good deal. You and I seem to be in the same boat and have some of the same desires.

Oh to the other AD memebers if you can read my earlier question on this thread and perhaps give me an answer I would greatly appreciate it.

 

Thanks for the site. I'll have to look into it when I'm buying some more computer stuff.

I've already ordered all of the stuff so I'll let you know how it all turns out.

Thanks again.

Chris