My hubby won't let me OC, so.....

[MariLi]

The idea of overclocking makes my husband nervous. "Just go ahead and spend the money." Ummmm, okay!

I've spent all my time researching 2500+ stuff (thanks to those of you that gave your opinions). So I know not a lot about A64 stuff. But I did some brief looking around, and came up with a list. Please give me opinions.
Oh, please don't say anything about new stuff coming down the pipe. I've had my current rig for 4 1/2 years with only RAM upgrades. I'm hoping what I get now will be just as good for me (I'm not a power user or anything.)

CPU- A64 3000+ (I admit I went for the cheapest A64. If you have a
good reason why I should go higher, please share.
Mobo - Asus K8V Deluxe
RAM - 2x Corsair XMS pc3200 512mb
Case - Antec P-160WF (I chose this case because it fits the way my
desk is built. I'm pretty much set on this.)
P/S - Sparkle FSP400-60PFN
HD - Maxtor 6Y160M0 160gb SATA drive
Vid Card - Powercolor Radeon 9600 Pro EZ verson (This EZ verson
thing admittedly makes me nervous - any one have info
on this?)
DVD Drive - Lite-On
DVD Burner - NEC 2500A
Sound Card - Turtle Beach "Santa Cruz"
Speakers - Logitec Z-640 5.1

Okay that's it. I held back in a few places, but I know my needs, they're not that demanding. However, my husband would like to get into photo and video editing at some point. I don't think anything strenuous, or professional level, just something he can have fun with.
Thank you!

[kpxgq]

good choice on mobo, esp if not overclockin

anything EZ or SE = crap

[MariLi]

okay, I'll find another vid card.

Oh, and I just found some Mushkin pc3500 ram for $80 less than the Corsair pc3500, still 1Gb. Sounds great!

[vertices]

Everything looks good. Get an Enermax PSU though and a 9600XT.

[thrawn86]

yup, a 9600XT will serve you just fine. And if you're not OCing, please save yourself A LOT of money and get some buffalo/crucial/kingston value ram. I use buffalo ch-5 myself.

[Russell]

I am jealous of the system...as I am most of the systems people build here.

I second the notions of getting a high-end power supply (Antec, Enermax) and memory that's not designed for overclocking (since you mentioned you won't be doing so).

[irwincur]

Good choice. If you plan on having this as long as your first system, going A64 is a wise choice. Like others mentioned, better video card (that EZ is a poor card, get a 9600 PRO/XT or even now a 9800) and cheaper RAM, Buffalo Tech CH-5 is great all around, and cheap as hell. Santa Cruz is a bit outdated, but still very good and now cheap. Check out the Maddog Entertainer 7.1 (Comp USA) or the Chaintech 7.1 - both use excellent codecs for dirt cheap.

[Transfurzz]

Actually in my opinion the MSI K8T neo performs better, the DOT makes the system run hella good. If you are overclocking that board is fine. But the MSI actually works better with the DOT on.

Edit: In the sense you are not overclocking, the MSI board will kick it at a cheaper price. Its DOT is not just a feature to be left alone, its to be used. Thats is its main selling point, it also comes with really nice accessories.

[Transfurzz]

Pardon me for using a second post. (Im just lazy.)

But I would like to point out, if you are not OCing. Forget about getting PC3500 ram. Anyway the A64 boards have terrible compatiblity problems with the speeds over PC3200. I know, I had to exchange my ram. :P And it WAS TwinMOS PC3200 Dual Channel Non-Twister, very well known for compatibility. I had to change to Twister.

[MariLi]

Oops, I already bought the RAM. Got a little excited. But shhhhh, I may overclock just a little, just to say I did it.
Ah, if it'll cause instability thought, maybe I should RMA it. Oh well. I've also decided on the higher retail version of the Powercolor 9600Pro.

[MariLi]

How about instead of the A64 and the Asus K8V-Dx, I get a P4 2.8c and an Abit IS7? Could I do some slight OCing with my pc3500 RAM and that? Plus I've been seeing that P4s are better for the video stuff anyway. I don't do cutting edge gaming, so AMD CPUs don't matter much to me except they seem to have a better price/performance ratio. (But since I've been given the okay to spend, spend, spend, who cares?)
Would I need a HSF also, or is the retail ok?

[DAoC]

Power suppyl is fine, most people will say high end and that only includes antec/enermax in their eyes... their loss, quite a few companies offering the same level, if not better quality power supplies as the "big 2" and cost tons less. Guess in 3 years the antec fanbois will be paying 600 bucks for a 3000w psu or something and the smart people will be paying 1/10th less :P

[gurutoo]

The rig in my sig is blazing fast and overclocks easily
(a little or a lot)


You could do a lot worse than an Intel 2.8C /Abit combo. My 3DMark scores were done NON-Overclocked. The monitor is awesome too.
My buddies Athlon XP 3200+ aint even close...

[Colossus]

Originally posted by gurutoo
The rig in my sig is blazing fast and overclocks easily
(a little or a lot)


You could do a lot worse than an Intel 2.8C /Abit combo. My 3DMark scores were done NON-Overclocked. The monitor is awesome too.
My buddies Athlon XP 3200+ aint even close...

None overclocked? for 17.7k??? Very impressive

The think about Intel vs AMD.. Is that both will be changing sockets real soon... AMD would perform the change sooner then Intel...

So both will give you a limited upgrade experience... So keep that inmind

Also BTX will be the new form factor this year.. But not until Q3/Q4 I would assume...