[Aragorn]

Originally Posted by Mr_love_monkey

Hi All,

The time has come to get a new machine, and I've decided to build it..

Here's what I'm planning - anyone got any thoughts, or see any issues with what I've selected.
Gone for a Athlon XP processor, don't really think the 64's are worth the extra expense at the moment:

Antec ATX Entry Level Server Plus1080AMG with 430W ATX TruePower supply
AMD Athlon XP3200+ 400FSB 512Cache Barton Retail Boxed Inc Heatsink & Fan with 3year Warranty
Asus A7N8X-E Deluxe SKTA NVNorce2ST ATX 8xAGP Giga LAN, SATA, Firewire, 6 channel Audio, USB2 Dual chan. DDR +WiFi slot (up to DDR400)
Crucial CT6464Z40B 512mb DDR 400MHz PC3200 CL=3 Memory Module * 2
Western Digital WD2500JD 250Gb 8mb Cache 7200rpm Serial ATA - OEM
Sony DW-D22a 16x Dual Layer DVD R/RW - OEM Biege
XFX NVidia Geforce FX 5900XT 128MB DDR 8x/4x AGP TV-Out DVI Retail Box

TIA

Edit : oh yeah, and I'll grab a floppy drive at some point too

A couple of comments having just built a new system :

1. Microdirect have Geil PC3200 CL=2.5 512Mb sticks (with heat-spreader) for less than the Crucial memory - http://www.microdirect.co.uk/Product...198&GroupID=57

2. In a system that big I cant see that the potential cost differences between an A64 3000+ (about £110 retail) with Asus NForce3 754 mobo and the XP3200/SktA board would be significant. True the 754 may have been a stop-gap but at least it is new tech rather than the Skt A! Also, although I never built a Skt A system, putting the CPU & HSF on my A64 system was a sinch, even for a newbie builder.

3. There have been several threads around here FUDing Ebuyer's reputation (especially for RMA's) which is why I looked at Microdirect, Scan, Aria and Savastore. Settled on Microdirect even though slightly dearer, but watch http://www.cableforum.co.uk/board/sh...ad.php?t=19490 to see how they handle my RMA.

HTH