   need tips for building new pc [update]
  it's finally time to upgrade to a new pc. i've done a bit of research here and there over the past few months, watching parts and prices, and i plan on building my new pc in the next month or so.what i think i want:athlon 64 3200+ (venice)geforce 6800gs pci-e2x512mb ddr400 ram (dual-channel, of course)250gb (or so) sata hd (seagate or western digital)dual layer dvd/everything burnerwhat i'm stuck on:motherboard - must have pci-e 16x and support venice core out of the box(maybe sli)case - must have room for components and decent airflowpower supply - i'm clueless on this parti'm not concerned with a monitor, keyboard, mouse, or speakers at the moment. my goal is to build something halfway cheap that's as stable and reliable as possible and hopefully lasts a few years.anyone have any tips on the mobo/case/psu?[Edited by - gumpy macdrunken on December 12, 2005 11:17:20 PM]
  I'm not sure about the Athlon. I hear Via is the only way to go currently. [wink]As far as the mobo goes give this a try.For the case and psu you should check out reviews on hardware sites like tomshardware.com and anandtech.com;  I helped someone pick some parts in this thread. (I mainly don't want to rewrite a bunch of stuff I said)If you have any questions about my suggestions in that thread, you can post them in this one.Here's  a list of good power supplies. In the thread I linked, there's a case recommendation and some motherboard recommendations.   ;Quote:Original post by tstrimpAs far as the mobo goes give this a try.funny thing, i just did that and i'm considering this:ABIT KN8 Ultra Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 Ultra ATX AMD Motherboardedit: i just noticed the 24-pin power connector and i'm confused about the whole 20 and 24-pin stuff. i assume i need to make sure to find a psu with a 24-pin connector. i'm also curious about "dual 12v"   ;  I'm probably going to build a computer soon, and your list looks very similar to mine. I still need to do some more research on a couple of things, but this is what I'm going with so far (only using parts available at a certain local store):- Athlon64 3000+ Venice (it's like $40 cheaper than the 3200+ and once overclocked probably works the same)- GeForce 6800GS (was originally gonna go with a 6600GT but I think the 6800GS is definitely a worthwhile step up)- 2x512MB standard PC3200 ram- DFI Lanparty Ultra-D motherboard (I've heard good things about this one. It's good for overclocking and not too expensive)- Hyundai L90D+ (kind of pricey but I think it's worth it)- Some kind of standard 160GB HD- cheap generic caseI'm going mostly for budget but it still needs to be able to be useful. Overclocking is also important (I've read that the Athlon64 Venice cores overclock awesome) but I don't know how the 6800GS is for overclocking.   ;Quote:Original post by Ivko- DFI Lanparty Ultra-D motherboard (I've heard good things about this one. It's good for overclocking and not too expensive)Amen.  DFI LanParty boards are nothing short of awesome.  I've got one in my current machine and it's been the best mobo I've ever worked with.   ;  LOL, all the western digital HDs I've bought in the past died on me within 2 years and I lost *all* my data.Funniest thing, I had two WDs drives die on me at the same time, main drive and the backup drive. :)I go for seagate.   ;Quote:Original post by gumpy macdrunkenedit: i just noticed the 24-pin power connector and i'm confused about the whole 20 and 24-pin stuff. i assume i need to make sure to find a psu with a 24-pin connector. i'm also curious about "dual 12v"Don't worry too much about it. They're still compatible both ways. If you have a 20-pin cable and the motherboard is 24, you just plug the cable in the lower 20 pins. And if it's the other way around, you just only plug the first 20 pins on the cable into the motherboard.But anyway, get 24-pin if you can. They're the newer ones, and I think they're better suited for heavy loads on PCI-E.   ;  changed a couple things, looks good as far as i know... linkage;  looks fine.  i still prefer a DFI board for its tweaking abilities and other such bells and whistles, but ABIT makes nice boards too.oh, i just noticed you didn't put in a sound card.  unless you mind weak audio, i suggest getting a nice sound card, or at the very least a mobo with a good sound module built in.   