Building new rig.

[George27]

I'm hoping that someone can help me dot the i's and cross the t's. I'm basically strapped on cash and I need a a computer that will play mov files and surf the net. The onboard video should be enough?

I haven't decided on the board but all this should work? My older amd 939 ASUS board is going south, the remove hardware icon has disappeared and I'm getting USB warning messages. I'd like to reuse as much as possible.

This what I'd like to use and have on hand.

MSI K9N2GM-FIH AM2+/AM2 NVIDIA GeForce 8200 HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16813130164

MSI K9N2GM-FD AM2+/AM2 NVIDIA GeForce 8200 Micro ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16813130165

Kingston 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16820134582

AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+ Brisbane 2.6GHz 2 x 512KB L2 Cache Socket AM2 65W Dual-Core Processor - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16819103211

older onhand equipment:

Antec LifeStyle SONATA II Piano Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 450W SmartPower 2.0 Power Supply - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16811129155

Western Digital Caviar SE WD1200JS 120GB 7200 RPM 8MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16822144414

LITE-ON Black 16X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 16X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 5X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 24X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2M Cache ATAPI/E-IDE DVD Burner With LightScribe - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16827106015

thanks in advance.

Edited December 30, 2008 by George27

[puntoMX]

The onboard video should be enough?

First I would like to ask what you are planning to do with the computer. Second I would suggest staying away from nVidia for at least 6 months until all there bad build GPUs and Chipsets are used; the base layer under the silicon can be damaged easily by heat on some chips from nVidia. For now it´s known for the G84 and G86 chips but who knows on what chipsets more they used the faulty layer, think about the HP laptops with nVidia chipset...

An AMD 780 or 790 chipset with integrated ATI HD3200 would be a better option.

But first we would like to know what you are planning to do with the computer .

[George27]

"But first we would like to know what you are planning to do with the computer ."

I just need something to surf the net, email etc. Mov video files are the most graphic intensive process. No gaming, HD, or anything like that. This doesn't have be a lightning fast OC machine.

I was reading the reviews and there is no mention by anyone that there are any problems with the chipset or gpu.

I have a 3D Fuzion 3DFR66256X GeForce 6600 256MB 128-bit DDR PCI Express x16 SLI Supported Video Card - OEM Item #: N82E16814143068 which has been just fine for my needs. Tha ASUS A8N5X 939 NVIDIA nForce4 ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail Item #: N82E16813131569 I am using right now, the USB connections just aren't working right. I really don't want to go with ATI. If the onboard video wasn't enough I wanted to use the 3D Fuzion 3DFR66256X GeForce 6600 256MB, this card is more than enough for my needs.

http://www.msicomputer.com/product/p_spec....IH&class=mb

It's a Chipset NVIDIA GeForce 8200 (MCP78S) Series single chipset

The ati boards that I looked at were not 9.6 x 9.6 and without modifing the case will not fit in.

I've got a 175~ buck budget to work with in. The only complaints that they say are with hdmi which I do not need to use. Secondly are doa boards, which albeit happens, there are no shortage of people in the newegg comments that bring up the fact that it is the people that are screwing up the boards. If you wear surgical gloves (which insulate perfectly and greatly improve the ability to pick up small parts) when handling comp hardware there are never any problems. At least I haven't had any. No need for Anti-Static Wrist Straps.

This is the second rig that I am building the first was over two years ago. This isn't an everyday thing for me and I have a need to hear a second voice that has some experience just make sure that these components are the right ones such as LITE-ON dvdr ATAPI/E-IDE will work on this board, that the Kingston 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 is the correct ram this is CL5 or should it be CL6, If need be that this card will run on the board http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16814143068 etc.

addendum: I reodered cl6 this what msi is saying to use: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16820134641

I'll take my chances with the MSI K9N2GM-FIH AM2+/AM2 NVIDIA GeForce 8200 HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16813130164

puntoMX thanks for your input I hope I have made things clearer.

Edited December 30, 2008 by George27

[puntoMX]

Let me show you where I´m going at:

ASUS M3A78-EM, Information found here and here.

The memory you picked is okay, they come at C5 and 1.8v so it´s as standard as it can get. The onboard HD3200 will perform better than your older 6600GT plus it supports DX10 and HDMI as a plus when you go with Vista.

EDIT: There are cheap USB add-on PCI cards as well, but I guess you feel like upgrading .

[CoffeeFiend]

There are cheap USB add-on PCI cards as well

If he's that strapped for cash, and doesn't have requirements past "watching mov files" which would probably even work on a P3 (depending on the codec: sorenson or H.264, bitrate, etc) then that's the obvious answer. The $6.50 solution! (Not that I tried that particular card, but there's dozens of them to chose from, and they should be easy to find locally too)

But if I was upgrading, I'd surely go with that onboard ATI over nvidia too! I'll gladly pay extra NOT to have nvidia stuff.

Edited December 30, 2008 by crahak

[George27]

I really don't need the most current. This is a short term solution for me. I plan to build something else this summer. This board is about to go and I'm looking for a quick fix. This has only to last about six months. puntoMX I appreciate your input. You too crahak.

But all of this should work this board ASUS M3A78-EM AM2+/AM2 AMD 780G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail and I won't need an additional video card ?

ASUS M3A78-EM AM2+/AM2 AMD 780G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard AMD Athlon 64 X2 5050e Brisbane 2.6GHz Socket AM2 45W Dual-Core Processor Model ADH5050DOBOX

This is cl6 and not cl5

Kingston 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model KVR800D2N6K2/4G - Retail Item #: N82E16820134641

AMD Athlon 64 X2 5050e Brisbane 2.6GHz Socket AM2 45W Dual-Core Processor Model ADH5050DOBOX - Retail Item #: N82E16819103298

LITE-ON Black 16X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 16X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 5X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 24X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2M Cache ATAPI/E-IDE DVD Burner With LightScribe - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16827106015

Antec LifeStyle SONATA II Piano Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 450W SmartPower 2.0 Power Supply - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16811129155

Edited December 30, 2008 by George27

[starcraftmaster]

But if I was upgrading, I'd surely go with that onboard ATI over nvidia too! I'll gladly pay extra NOT to have nvidia stuff.

whats wrong with nvidia?

[puntoMX]

But all of this should work this board ASUS M3A78-EM AM2+/AM2 AMD 780G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail and I won't need an additional video card ?

No, the onboard HD3200 does work quite well I must say, even better than your 6600GT.

This is cl6 and not cl5

Kingston 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model KVR800D2N6K2/4G - Retail Item #: N82E16820134641

Pick something else then, CL6 looks outdated to me, like the first DDR2 800MHz modules. Also check out other brands, plus that board has native 1066MHz DDR2 support and those are not much pricier either, just look at the voltage it need. Personal I would pick anything that works under 2.1 volt.

All other parts should work perfectly. Just keep the BIOS set to IDE as the ACHI setting could give you some problems if your harddisk doesn´t support it.

whats wrong with nvidia?

Drivers under Vista, bad produced chips and those will burn out. Sure nVidia has a "fix" called: "Motherboard builders, don´t use the faulty chips"... what a joke...

[George27]

Thanks everyone! 1066MHz DDR2 will work with AM2+, I'm getting AM2 cpu. Asus and both also the MSI site for the previous board were recommending cl6 with that CPU. This is all within my budget. I don't want to start nickel and diming myself to death. You know for twenty bucks more... next thing you know there's another 2 bills tagged on.

Thanks again puntoMX, crahak and starcraftmaster!

Edited January 1, 2009 by George27