New parts and what is the importance of a good power supply?

[Octavian]

So I've been researching and following the advice of a Dutch (it must mean he's smart) friend. So with my $800 or so I'll be buying a new CPU, mobo, memory, graphics card and have been advised for another power supply (which leads me to my second question soon). Below is the old system.

1.7GHz Celeron
GeForce FX 5200 128MB
512MB SDRAM
Some Audigy card
Some Microsoft/Dell keyboard and mo
(Sis motherboard)

Below is the new parts which I hope to buy, mostly from an Australian site, but they're quite expensive.

CPU: AMD Athlon XP 2800+

Mobo: ASUS A7N8X-E nForce 2 Deluxe

Memory: Haven't really decided which brand yet, either Corsair or Kingston.

GFX: Either this one Radeon 9600XT or this... Radeon 9800 Pro

Anyhow, what exactly does the power supply do other than powering the PC? How does it affect the components?

[Rbstr]

alll it does is power the PC, but if compentnets don't get enough voltage/watage/ampers they can't function, or function very well

[Nereid]

With that setup a 400 watt powersupply would work just fine. I wouldn't use anything below that though.

[Corrosion]

You have 800 to spend and you're getting a 2800+

Gimme a couple minutes and I'll post a killer rig for $800

[Corrosion]

Case - I don't know what case you'd like, so I just put the case I have right now
Power Supply - 520 W, GREAT! I use the same one and it's freaking awesome
CD-RW/DVD-ROM
CPU
Hard Drive
RAM
Motherboard
Video Card - Radeon 9600XT


Total (Before tax): $ 866.25
Shipping set to Califonia.

This is a great system, 64 bit processor with the best motherboard chipset out there.

[Octavian]

But Corrosion, I don't live in California. Unless of course you could buy it all for me.

[Corrosion]

Originally Posted by Octavian

But Corrosion, I don't live in California. Unless of course you could buy it all for me.

It doesn't matter, shipping is the same everywhere.
What state are you in?

[Octavian]

NSW: other side of the world.

[TekDragon]

Octavion, you consider building a pentium based system? Extremely reliable.

[Octavian]

Originally Posted by TekDragon

Octavion, you consider building a pentium based system? Extremely reliable.

I've lived with Intel processors my entire life, same with NVIDIA chips. I just want to try and have a change.

[TekDragon]

Originally Posted by Octavian

I've lived with Intel processors my entire life, same with NVIDIA chips. I just want to try and have a change.

Ok, well if you change your mind and decide to build a top of the line Pentium system that you can then overclock at a later time to KEEP it top of the line, contact me.

[Corrosion]

Originally Posted by TekDragon

Ok, well if you change your mind and decide to build a top of the line Pentium system that you can then overclock at a later time to KEEP it top of the line, contact me.

You could do the same with AMD... and even have 64-bit.

[Octavian]

Originally Posted by Corrosion

You could do the same with AMD... and even have 64-bit.

But the cheapest 64-bit AMD CPU I've seen is around $750.

[TekDragon]

Originally Posted by Corrosion

You could do the same with AMD... and even have 64-bit.

You wouldn't get hyperthreading, and what is the FSB on an AMD?

I wouldn't mind doing a system test comparison, Corrosion. My PC vs yours. I admit, mine doesn't have a l33t h4x0r window, but i know it'd win.

[TekDragon]

Originally Posted by Corrosion

You could do the same with AMD... and even have 64-bit.

You wouldn't get hyperthreading, and what is the FSB on an AMD? I can sit here all day debating AMD vs Pentiums. Fact is Pentiums are the most reliable. You don't have to worry about your chip melting like AMD users do. And that's just the tip of the iceberg. Everyone, including myself, in both UMBC and Binghampton who builds PC's builds Pentium machines (at least those that aren't Mac fanatics).

The AMD users i've seen are the ones who bought the PC pre-built and who don't know squat about building PC's. Now, im not saying ALL AMD users are like that. But, from what i've seen, the people who know how hardware works go with Pentium based machines.

I wouldn't mind doing a system test comparison, Corrosion. My PC vs yours. I admit, mine doesn't have a l33t h4x0r window, but i know it'd win.