i am going to build a computer out of some new things and some parts of my old computer. can anyone tell me if the following specs would make a good gaming computer? i would like quite a few inputs to be sure please.


Case - Rosewill TU-155 Black 0.8mm SECC Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case Rosewill ATX12V 400W with P4 support Power Supply

Mobo - ASRock 939Dual-SATA2 Socket 939 ULi M1695 ATX AMD Motherboard

CPU - AMD Athlon 64 3000+ Venice 1GHz FSB Socket 939 Processor

RAM - gigaram 512MB 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Unbuffered System Memory + 768mb of ddr 267mhz = 1.4 gig total ram

HD - 80 gb ata

GPU - POWERCOLOR R48-PVD3 Radeon X850PRO 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card

Cooling system - 4 fans placed throughout case

also can a gpu with gddr3 work in a computer that takes ddr ram. Apreciate it greatly!

yes it should work



if the mobo can support more than 1GB of RAM you should be fine



the RAM on the video card is seperate from the RAM on your mobo. so you should not worry.

glad i could be of assistance

(Moderator edit: fixed quotation formatting. jgweed)

400W should be enough power to handle most systems, but you might need more if you have a lot of peripherals. I once found a nice java page that calculated how big a supply you should have for all your devices, unfortunately I can't find it now but if i remember ill post it here.

My only reason for concern about the PSU is based on a review i read a few months ago. It explained how venturing into the realm of high performance systems often requires a better PSU so you dont crash cuz ur power fails. Also when you have such top-shelf parts you want to protect them. Wouldnt want ur Radeon to turn into a paper weight cuz you saved $70 on a mediocre power supply. btw as I recall the top rated item on theri list was from PC Power and Cooling and was around 500W and destroyed all their stress tests, such as a simulated brown out(whch seemed really evil and devious to do to a computer)

thanks for the input. i'm gonna wait for a few more people to place replies before i make my final dicision though. if you need help with your decision you can put in the parts in my list that have names and product #'s in newegg .com to get thourough info. thanks. i probably will get another psu , 500 watts probably. if all this works out and i keep my ram and hd from my current computer i can get all this stuff for less than 680$. Via newegg.com i can get anything for cheap! thanks everyone!

From what I remember about mixing different RAM speeds, it is possible that your motherboard will revert the faster RAM to the slower speed. This allows the computer to access all of the RAM at the same speed. Personally, I would put all the RAM running at the same speed. I know that you are re-using some old parts, but it is possible that it would slow (the faster RAM) down.


Although most gamng rigs do not require a large HD, you may want to look at the higher capacity ones. I found a 200 GB for the same price as a 80 the other day. It certainly would not hurt to have the extra space.

new specs are the same as before except:

case - RAIDMAX Horizon ATX-287WB Black SECC Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

psu - Rosewill RP550-2 ATX 2.01 550W Power Supply

- possibly some more hd, dont need help with that though.

i know that the ram will go to lower speeds, but thats alright with me as long as i have enough.
with these new case and psu along with my previous specs (-previous case w/psu) be good for gaming?
thank you all very much!

What I've heard Rosewill is a low quality brand, so it might be advisable to go with a better quality brand.

And check that your RAM models are supported by the motherboard. Personally I would go with 2 sticks of 512MB 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 and forget about the old RAM; you would be able to run the RAM at 400 and in dual channel mode. Otherwise you'll get a bottleneck there.

new specs :

case - RAIDMAX Horizon ATX-287WB Black SECC Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

mobo - DFI nF4 Ultra-Infinity Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 Ultra ATX AMD Motherboard

cooling - fans on every single fan vent in case

RAM - 2x mushkin SP3200 512MB 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Unbuffered System Memory

psu - RAIDMAX RX-450KW ATX12V 450W Power Supply

cpu - AMD Athlon 64 3000+ Venice 1GHz FSB Socket 939 Processor

gpu - POWERCOLOR R48-PVD3 Radeon X850PRO 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card

hd - possibly more hd in future not worried yet though, i still got plenty of room.

did some serious research like all day long for these things. i read up and the 450 watt psu will be fine. i can get 10, 80 mm fans for cooling case for 10$(wont use all fans, its just i get a deal on bulk). does the 3000, 2700, 3700, etc. numbers on amd processors tell the equivalent frequency if the amd was an intel? i have a hunch that it does i just want to know for sure. thanks. once again if oyu need to know details, the objects with names are copied directly from newegg so type it in there to find it for help with your decision. also google helps if you are looking for profesional reviews.

I like the specs.

I scrimp on cases because once it's in my house it's not moving.

Cooling - you just flat don't need all those fans. You need something to keep cool air flowing over your CPU and vidcard - and something to get the hot air out of the case. I have ductwork and one fan for sucking cool air onto my CPU and I cut a blowhole in the top of my case and it made a world of difference even without a fan! I haven't done anything to cool my GPU since I don't play a lot of games.

RAM - I've got 1 gB now - but more and more stuff is taxing my system. I'll be going to 2 gB in the near future.

PSU - adequate, but I don't have PCI-Express nor a 64 bit processor (but I do have a Prescott! And I've got a 450 (Zalman) in my old case.

CPU - originally the AMD designations were supposed to relate to the Intel ratings - but things have diverged in the last year or so, so it may not be adequate. Since AMD is tops for gamers right now, I'd go with the fasted AMD that you can lay your hands on.

GPU - sweet! Have you considered using SLI?

Whatcha gonna use for a CPU cooler? I like ThermalRight myself.

Just found this on another forum:

CPU buying guide:
http://www.informationweek.com/story/showA...cleID=168601702

read a ton of reviews, gpu and cpu stay pretty cool with stock cooling devices. about the fans, its just cheaper for me to buy 10 than 2 for bulk bargains(2=1.99 each plus 4.99 s&h each, 10+=.99 a piece and free shipping, do the math). that way if i need a new one or one is doa i have plenty left. i think this is the system i'm gonna go with. the only things i'm keeping from my current comp are:

80gb hd
dvd/cd-rw 5.25" drive
3 1\2" floppy drive

all specs listed above come out to about $670.00($711.11 after shipping) very good deal. i love newegg for buying hardware, thanks for all your guy's help. thank you so much.

Looking at the detailed specs of the PSU there is one thing that seems a bit weak. It has only got 14 amps on the 12 volt rail and nowadays when things have started to use 12 volt more and more I would recommend having 20 amps on the 12 volt rail.

The only thing I've never upgraded.