A new AMD system

Well, my old computer has now been replaced. I've upgraded to a new faster dual-core system.

I'm an AMD fan so I went with the Athlon X2 5000+ Black Edition. This processor is awesome. It runs cool at stock speeds but has the capability to be heavily overclocked. For cooling I used the Arctic Cooling Freezer 64 Pro. The CPU stays at a temperature of around 25 degrees.

The case I chose is the Antec P180 (black). This case keeps everything nicely spaced out and running cool and quiet. The case is very heavy but has all the features needed. The power supply is stored down below in a separate compartment so it doesn't get heated from the CPU and video card.

The power supply chosen is a 700w model from Thermaltake with cable management. This power supply is very nice and fits nicely in the case. It is also very quiet which is what I wanted and designed the computer to be.

For the video card I chose was the PowerColor ATI x1950 512mb Pro with a Artic Cooling cooler. This card is fast but practically runs silent.

The hard drive is a Western Digital SATA II 320 GB hard drive. Nothing really special here, just your run of the mill drive. This is a drive I previously had for storage and moved it into the new machine.

With the memory I chose the Corsair XMS DDR2 800 DHX 2 x 1GB memory. The memory has its own heatsinks on it keeping itself cool to perform as best as possible.

Finally, the motherboard. The main piece that brings this all together. This took the longest and I finally settled on the ASUS M2R32-MVP. This board is awesome supporting most every feature possible. It has Crossfire support, AMD-Live, E-SATA, and the rest of your typical stuff. It also has fanless cooling so that was another benefit to me.

I have been running the system for over six months now and it has been better than I could've dreamed.

System Components:
ASUS M2R32-MVP AM2 AMD 580X CrossFire ATX AMD Motherboard - $119.99

AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+ Brisbane 2.6GHz Socket AM2 65W - $129.99

Corsair XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit - $90.00
Rebate - $40

Discount for Combo (CPU & Memory) - $55.00

PowerColor x1950 Pro 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 - $169.99
Rebate - $40

Thermaltake W0106RU 700W Power Supply - $159.99
Rebate - $70

Artic Cooling Freezer 64 Pro 92mm CPU Cooler - $19.99

Antec P180 Black - $113.43
Rebate - $50

Final Price - $548.38

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