New PC Builder -- any problems with these components?

[gravix]

Hey guys,

I'm completely new to building PCs, as I've used mostly Macs before. I like Macs, but they are very expensive, don't play the games I want to play, and they aren't very customizable. My solution was to build a PC system.

I would like the system to be quiet and powerful. Here is the list of components I selected:

- Antec SONATA Case with 380w power supply
- Sapphire ATI Radeon 9800PRo 256MB DDRII
(will flash BIOS to 9800XT for the speed bump)
- Arctic Cooling VGA Cooler "ATI Silencer 3"
(to replace the terrible stock cooler on the card)
- ABIT "AV8" Pro Motherboard
- AMD Athlon 64 3000+
(socket 939)
- Some Arctic Silver 3 compound
- 2x Kingmax 184-pin 512MB DDR PC-3200 for 1GB of ram
- Zalman CNPS7700-ALCU CPU Cooler Retail

In interest of keeping initial cost down, I have not included any hard or optical drives... I have some cheap extras lying around, but they should do the trick for starters.

Here are the questions... Will that CNPS7700 fit in the Antec Sonata case? If not, should I swing for the smaller CNPS7000 instead?

Will this system be adequate for good 3d performance in HL2 and Doom3? Anything I should change before I click "buy"?

Thanks for your help, guys, I really appreciate it.

[BlueCan]

Will that CNPS7700 fit in the Antec Sonata case? If not, should I swing for the smaller CNPS7000 instead?

It might, as the board layout has the CPU farther away from the PSU than my board does. The 7700 won't fit on a P4P800-DX in the Sonata--as it has about a 1.4cm larger radius. The 7000 is about .5cm from the bottom of the PSU on this board, so the 7700 won't fit without mods...

Will this system be adequate for good 3d performance in HL2 and Doom3? Anything I should change before I click "buy"?

Adequate is in the eyes of the beholder. I think the 9800Pro is adequate for HL2 and Doom3. Others would disagree.

[burcakb]

Antec 3000B + Seasonic PSU instead of Sonata + stock PSU

[pdf27]

Oh, and Welcome to SPCR!

[BigDonut]

Antec 3000B + Seasonic PSU instead of Sonata + stock PSU

I would agree with this. From the research I have done the 3000B looks like it has the best bits from the AMB and BQE and gives you the option of putting in your own power supply.
You could get a 370W enermax noisetaker and a 3000B for less than the Sonata at least going by uk prices
sadly its too expensive for me so i'm prob going to have to set for a cheaper PSU:(

[Mr_Smartepants]

Antec 3000B + Seasonic PSU instead of Sonata + stock PSU

I would agree with this. From the research I have done the 3000B looks like it has the best bits from the AMB and BQE and gives you the option of putting in your own power supply.

I'd agree with this as well. I'm not too fond of my Sonata and I would have bought the BQE if it had been out at the time. I wonder if the Sonata II will be better. Only time will tell.

If you're on a budget, you can stick with the stock PSU for now but you won't like it. Get a Seasonic.

[meglamaniac]

If you can stretch to it, the nVidia GeForce 6600GT or the ATI Radeon X700 Pro are better cards for modern games (and also run a bit cooler than the one you mention).
If you can afford the difference either card would be well worth it.