AMD ~$2000 Computer

[Adegan19]

Hello, I am looking at building a complete system, with a budget of roughly $2000 or less for my girlfriend. I want to build a machine that can hopefully handle anything that might be thrown at it for the next couple of years, such as playing a high end game and decent if not better settings while using the tv out to watch a movie on a tv.

Right now I'm looking at:
Opteron 165 Retail
ASUS A8N-SLI Premium Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 SLI ATX AMD Motherboard
CORSAIR XMS 2GB (2 x 1GB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Unbuffered Dual Channel Kit System Memory Model TWINX2048-3200
GIGABYTE GV-NX78T256VB-ED Geforce 7800GT 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card
Hauppauge WINTV-PVR-150 PCI Interface Tuner Card
Western Digital Raptor WD740GD 74GB 10,000 RPM Serial ATA150 Hard Drive
Maxtor MaxLine III 7V300F0 300GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive

Not including monitor and other accessories. I was hoping to be able to oc the cpu to 2.8ghz with ZALMAN CNPS7700-CU 120mm 2 Ball Cooling Fan with Copper Heatsink for cooling. I've been stuck between The Opteron 165, 170, X2 4800, and FX55, as well as what motherboard to get.
I'm willing to overclock the system as I said, but it needs to be stable enough for my gf to handle it. Any suggestions or advice at all would be GREATLY appriciated

 

[Duvie]

I like what you have picked so far...Probably would look at a better PVR card, IMO...I would look at one of the New AIW models (if available) thay have far more bells and whistles and damn good...a x1800 Xl or the X1900...unless you are too Nvidia fan based... think the ATI cards are just as good...

Also I would recommend getting an NEC DVD-+RW burner and another DVD-rom....Put the SATAs on there own channels and each dvd-rom on its own...Should take care of you on the fly backup needs....

 

[EatSpam]

For $2000? Think Dual-dual core opteron!

2x Opteron 265@$307 each - $614
1x MSI K8N-Master2 - $249 (includes ok heatsinks/fan)
2x Corsair1gb PC3200 REC/ECC - $230
-------
$1093

Now, you have $900 to spend on storage, a video card, and a case/psu.

 

[Effect]

You may be able to save some money on the RAM, by getting some cheaper stuff. Also, a 2.8ghz o/c might be a little ambitious, to get near that mark, you might need better cooling (not sure how good the CNPS7700 is, but you might want to check out the CNPS9500LED, though i can't give any real comparision between the two).

You could also save cash by getting a non-sli mobo (yep...the Epox 9NPA+Ultra...or the DFI LP Ultra-D, being good o/cer's). With the saved money, you might be able to squeeze in a x1900xt, if it doesn't break your budget, or you can add the money to something else. Other than that, the Opty 165 should be good (if you're overclocking, not too much need for anything more than the 165).

 

[Adegan19]

You guys are awsome, thanks for the help, I'm trying to work things around so a x1900xt works into the budget. If I were to overclock the 165 to 2.8, and with the x1900xt, do you think the system would be stable and capable of basically handling anything I threw at it for the next few years? Thank you guys for the advice, I might keep the same ram, I'm looking at the reccomended motherboards to bring the price down a bit. Thanks again for the advice.

 

[Bull Dog]

Here's my current specs:

Enermax Liberty 620w Its overkill and the 550w one would probably suffice fine but I'm worry-wert.

DFI nForce4 Ultra-D No other comment than its a very solid board.

AMD X2 4400+ @2.6GHz 1.5v Large FFT prime 95 loads at 49deg C
Thermalright SI-120 with Panaflo L1A(I'm probably going to swap it out for a Scythe Ninja soon, the SI-120 would go on a 754 Sempy system)

2GB of DDR400 2-3-2-5 G-Skill stuff (OCed to 236 2.5-3-2-8, but will do 250 @ 2.5-3-3-8)

Sapphire X1900XT so far at stock. Blazing fast card......well DOH!

Audigy 2ZS

Hitachi T7K250 250.0 GB SATA2 + 160GB SATA1 Hitachi

Now with that out of the way, heres what I think about your proposed setup. For not I'm going to ignore the budget factor just to make things simpler becuase my time is limited.

Originally posted by: Adegan19
Hello, I am looking at building a complete system, with a budget of roughly $2000 or less for my girlfriend. I want to build a machine that can hopefully handle anything that might be thrown at it for the next couple of years, such as playing a high end game and decent if not better settings while using the tv out to watch a movie on a tv.

Right now I'm looking at:
Opteron 165 Retail
--Good choice! Realistic OC to expect: 2.4GHz Realistic to hope for: 2.6GHz

ASUS A8N-SLI Premium Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 SLI ATX AMD Motherboard
--Its your money, but I'd go for a cheaper DFI nForce4 Ultra-D board

CORSAIR XMS 2GB (2 x 1GB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Unbuffered Dual Channel Kit System Memory Model TWINX2048-3200
--I've found most Corsair ram to be overpriced compared to the competiton. I'd go with a G-Skill set.

GIGABYTE GV-NX78T256VB-ED Geforce 7800GT 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card
--At this point, a 7800GT won't handle stuff for another two years very nicely. Granted you could SLI but I would cut back on other things and get a X1900XT

Hauppauge WINTV-PVR-150 PCI Interface Tuner Card
--I don't know anything about PVR cards, no comment.

Western Digital Raptor WD740GD 74GB 10,000 RPM Serial ATA150 Hard Drive
--I would nix this drive in favor of a faster viedo card.

Maxtor MaxLine III 7V300F0 300GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
--I've heard some horror stories about Maxtor. I've had good luck with Hitachi.....but YMMV.

Not including monitor and other accessories. I was hoping to be able to oc the cpu to 2.8ghz with ZALMAN CNPS7700-CU 120mm 2 Ball Cooling Fan with Copper Heatsink for cooling.
--Seriously you would be better off with a SI-120 or a Scythe Ninja and 2.8 is a bit of a stretch, but 2.6 it still blazing fast and should run games fine for the next couple of years.

I've been stuck between The Opteron 165, 170, X2 4800, and FX55, as well as what motherboard to get. FX55 is single core which is so last year .

Well thats my $0.02

 

[Adegan19]

I've heard a fwe times that the 166 is best for overclocking, yet I've also heard of a few others outperforming it, what would be the best choice in terms of processors. Also with the DFI nForce4 Ultra-D boards, I see alot of negatives and posotives. They seem to be known for being great for overclocking, yet theres alot of ridicule towards their reliability, Oye I though I was almost done figuring this out lol. Oh well the input has been great so far thank you guys so much!

 

[CP5670]

You should be able to add a much better video card for $2000, if that doesn't include the monitor and other peripherals. The system in my signature comes out to only about $1400 at current prices.

As for DFI, from my experience I would recommend them without hesitation. This DFI board has been way less of a hassle to set up and overclocks far better than my last two boards, which were both Asus. My next board will definitely be another DFI.

 

[Adegan19]

CP5670 In your system, you have an Opteron 146 at 2.8ghz, do you think that a 165 can reach that, and if it does is it better?

 

[CP5670]

The 146 is a single core. (it's actually at 3ghz at the moment; I need to update that thing) The 165 and other dual cores don't generally go that high, averaging around 2.5-2.7ghz, but may still be faster depending on what games or programs you're running.

 

[Duvie]

Single cores have been hitting 2.8ghz regularly for awhile, but I still wouldn't call that a gimme in dual core world...i would say 2.6ghz may be more realistic......

Remever the 165 is 1.8ghz so the HTT will be high to get it up to 2.6ghz levels....290+ range