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$2.5k budget gaming rig, first idea for parts (longwinded)

T

TSCrv

Senior member
Ok, ive done some searching around, and now that i have the base of what my system would be, i need to know what i would change to make it better. My main concern is brands, who is reliable, who has performance, and who to stay away from.

oh, and this is very longwinded, go grab

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Case: this puppy will fit nicely in the void i have in my server rack adjacent from my desk (rather unpopulated atm)
HEC RA455A00 4U (BLACK) RACKMOUNT CASE
http://www.hecgroupusa.com/product/78
This case is what i build servers in for clients where i work. allready ordered

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Mainboard: I have used Asus in the past, have been satisfied, so i decided to try another one. I havent been pleased with the OCing features, but i blame that on the VIA chipset. Current pick: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16813131568

I have also had my eye on the abit sli board, where both slots can run at full x16
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813127232

I would love to give DFI a spin for the OC capabilities, but i dont see any full x16, x16 sli boards, only x8, x8. its not too big of a con, but since theres a few to choose from i havent had my eye on any particular one, any suggestions?

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PSU: from what i have read i hear seasonic is a pretty nice PSU maker, so i decided to go the extra mile and get something that would last. I would use my Antec psu, but it just wouldnt cut it, plus i dont hear many good things about antec anymore.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16817151025
Any other suggestions for power supplies?

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CPU: A64X2 4800+ This thing makes me cry, right now i have an A64 3200+ Newcastle s754 from single 2.2ghx to dual 2.4.... i picked toledo over manchester because of the cache. My question is: is the porformance gain from a 4800+ to a FX60 worth $200? its from dual 2.4 to dual 2.6, same amount of cache
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16819103544

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DVD burners: I have used NEC 3520a's for a while now, and am very pleased, so ill be getting 2 3550a's for this rig. I found out that 1 drive isnt enough for my current multitasking. Unless somebody has some good reasons to ditch this, they will be ordered when i order the first batch of parts.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16827152058

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Video card: Ahh, this is where i need help, i chose the BFG 7900GTX, single at first, sli after my pocketbook bounces back...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16814143047
what i am looking for in a video card is something that isnt going to crap out in 6 months. also it better have a good heatsink system, something that cools everything including the ram well... (sorry, im a cooling fanatic),,, BFG seems to be good with reviews, and have some friends that use them, i am currently using an XFX 6600gt agp, which i am not pleased with the cooling solution, (it looks as if i polished the surface of the HSF with my teeth)

i have always skimped on video cards, this time i actually want to see what max antialiasing looks like, heh. i would rather run games at a lower res and higher quality rather than the other way, but im hoping to get the best of both worlds without compromise untill DX10

i have read reviews and seen a few benchmarks, so will people feed me information to guide me to a wise choice for a brand, and which card to pick.

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RAM: Another item i need major help with. first: should i be looking for tight latencies or faster speeds? or both? example: the patriot memory i have in mind is 2-3-2-5 and ddr433.... i also see cas3 stuff at ddr500, and cas2 stuff at ddr400... My question is, say i get ddr500 cas3 memory, can i slow it down a bit and run at cas2? or use cas2 ddr400 memory and run at ddr500 at cas3?,,,, beond that is what is the best memory... it seems to me the patriot cas2 ddr433 memory is the best, but i dont know. please help and guide this noob who never fooled around with memory timings and speeds. (cept that intel board i fubared recently)

patriot 2-3-2-5 ddr433: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820220082
i have been looking at OCZ, Muskin, G.Skill, and Corsair/kingston. Corsair is what i am using now, but i have noticed they are a bit overpriced, and all i use my xms pro memory for now is using the memory activity LEDs to test motherboards, rofl.

so, higher clock or lower latency? (im leaning towards latency with possibility to overclock)

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Am i forgetting anything? oh, should i use some Dow Thermal Compound (340 i believe) or get a few syringes of AS5?

Cooling, does anybody have some cooling solutions? i plan on going air for now, going liquid when everything is stable and i have enough for a 2nd card for sli

sorry for being longwinded, hehe. i am open to all suggestions, i would love to have some materials to read while at work also...

thanks peeps :evil:
 
I'd wait until July. Either for cheaper AMD parts (and I'd recommend AM2/Opteron instead) or for Conroe.

Great PSU though.
 
You must get a Conroe. There is no point in spending that much and not getting the top model Conroe. Also, you don't need to spend $150 on a power supply. Get a Seasonic 430W or a 500W. Also check out Fortron Blue Storm 500W, it is under $90. Very good buy. On a side note, I regret spending so much money a few years ago on my computer. I have learned my lesson. Don't spend so much because it will be "old" in less than 6 months. Yes, it will still be fast but there will be newer stuff around. Spend a little less and be happy even though something new came out. It will help you in the long run.
 
Originally posted by: BlacKJesuS
2.5k budget and only 1 video carD?
Click to expand...

heh i knew some1 would ask. i say 1 card becase of A not enough cash and B im not goina jump into water i havent tested yet... bit of a contradiction for everything else tho.. heh

Also, you don't need to spend $150 on a power supply. Get a Seasonic 430W or a 500W
Click to expand...

actually i was hoping of going larger, i do a lot of frieky (and stupid) things with my computer, power wise.

oh, july, why july?? and during what part of july? is there something i can read to understand more where you guys are getting this information? i assume a rollout is goina happen so i guess a press release? ive heard for a long time now that everybody is saying wait for july, but i just dont know y... please enlighten this noob
 
Originally posted by: TSCrv
Originally posted by: BlacKJesuS
2.5k budget and only 1 video carD?
Click to expand...

heh i knew some1 would ask. i say 1 card becase of A not enough cash and B im not goina jump into water i havent tested yet... bit of a contradiction for everything else tho.. heh

Also, you don't need to spend $150 on a power supply. Get a Seasonic 430W or a 500W
Click to expand...

actually i was hoping of going larger, i do a lot of frieky (and stupid) things with my computer, power wise.

oh, july, why july?? and during what part of july? is there something i can read to understand more where you guys are getting this information? i assume a rollout is goina happen so i guess a press release? ive heard for a long time now that everybody is saying wait for july, but i just dont know y... please enlighten this noob
Click to expand...

Ok well, number 1. good idea about the video card. DONT buy a top of the line card for now. get something thats decient. i dunno like a 7800 GTX or maybe a X1800 GTO or something. Direct X 10 cards are right around the corner. So why not get decent now and then get kickass later right? Up to you though. But like i said. good idea with the single card for now. BTW Everything is going to be out of date in 6 months because of direct x 10. so if you want to have a video card that you will use for a few years like our Radeon 9800 XT users.

2. Conroe is probably going to be over hyped. I have seen alot of the benchmarks and if your gaming it really isnt that big of a difference. Also keep in mind that these are intel approved tests. I would personally suggest going with AM2. it will be cheaper and the CPUs are only going to get better. I just know this is going to get flamed by fanboys.

3. i would suggest googleing a power measurement site. i know a guy on these forums has one in his sig but i forget it. But the point is. look at my rig in my signature. It uses about 250 Watts. and my PSU is 430. im actually regreting getting that big now that i know that PSUs are quite overhyped. you dont need more then 500 Watts for sure. Unless ofcourse you go with dual direct X 10 cards lol. (130 to 300 Watts per card *shudders*)

Good luck with your build! Happy computing.

EDIT: Probably not a good idea to post whether you go conrie or AM2 or 939 or whatever. If you do as an update most likely you will either get a bunch of Anti-conroe fanboys attacking you for going with conroe. or a bunch of Conroe fanboys coming at you for going with another solution. Just a suggestion bud.
 
I agree with the others that you should wait until July and build either an AM2 system or a Conroe. By all indications, conroe (core 2 duo) will be the way to go, although availability might be so low that the AM2 will be the better option when the prices come way down.

As far as video cards, the 7900GTX is top notch card. The 1900xt gets higher minimum framerates in some games, but is more power hungry and puts off more heat. If you're going to want a dual video card solution at some point you'll need to make sure you get a mobo that matches the video card - nVidia SLI for 7900 and ati Crossfire for the ati card. I wonder if having two of the 1900xt's is going to require a custom cooling solution, like after market GPU HSF's with carefully designed case airflow. Someone else might be able to answer that.

Also from what I've seen the difference between SLI x8 and x16 is very minimal - the cards available today don't even fully saturate the PCI-E x8 bandwidth.

Someone mentioned directx10 video cards, and I read today in that vista beta review that it won't be out until mid-2007, so it's not exactly "right around the corner".

For memory, speed is more important than latency timings. If you wait until July you'll be building with DDR2, which you'll want 2 gigs of 800 - overclockability would probably be your main concern with timings coming in second.
 
very, insightful... it seems that the general concensus is that i wait, so off to buy a tiny intel board to replace the one i fried, (my post is somewhere around here). i think i can get another month or 2 use out of this 3200+NC thanks guys... and no im not going intel... (i have this bet going on with my boss, he wants me to go intel cause thats all we sell.... my company doesnt sell any amd)
 
RUN! he said he wasnt going to use conroe! here comes the flame!

PS. If people rag on you about performance gains of conroe bud. Dont worry about it. since you decided to wait anyway just check and see how much better the Conroe chips are compared to the new AM2 chips which should be out by then. Im personally betting on AMD pulling a trump card. but if they dont right off the bat im sure they will have one coming before K8L
 
i'd wait a week after conroe's release so that anand has enough time to bench the cpu with his tests on his rig. he'll probably compare it to a s939 and am2 cpu so you'll get to see which cpu is actually the winner
 
Originally posted by: alimoalem
i'd wait a week after conroe's release so that anand has enough time to bench the cpu with his tests on his rig. he'll probably compare it to a s939 and am2 cpu so you'll get to see which cpu is actually the winner
Click to expand...

*whistles and looks around*

basically yea.... ok, lets shift this convo to brands for memory and video cards..... if i dont want to buy overprices corsair, or even ocz, what woudl i get? (for best porformance)... is g.skill anygood? does patriot still have its touch? i see a lot of people using mushkin... is it all just preference or are certain brands better at certain things??
 
Both Corsair and OCZ have their Value lines.

That's not a very good reason to choose an inferior product, you know... grow up.
 
im not going to get the el cheapo versions of corsair or ocz.... those dont even have heat spreaders.... i think you missed the question

everybody i know says that corsair is overpriced for the porformance they give, ocz is a good baseline... ive never heard of g.skill till now and people are saying they are good.... i see a lot of people swearing by mushkin, and even some for the hyper x from kingston.,... my question, which is the 'best'... i want the more robust memory, something that can have the highest speed without sacrificing timings....
 
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