Amd music/gaming build, help needed please

[bball1523]

Ok guys, I made a thread a week or so ago about buying an Intel based computer for "recording music/gaming", but I've been convinced by both you and many others who are *musicians* to go with AMD 64 cpu's. So I've decided to make a wishlist at newegg.com and here it is:

1) CPU: AMD Athlon 64 3200+ Venice Integrated into Chip FSB Socket 939 Processor Model ADA3200BPBOX - Retail $190

2) Mobo: MSI K8N Neo4 Platinum Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 Ultra ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail $124

3) RAM: OCZ EL Platinum Revision 2 1GB (2 x 512MB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Unbuffered Dual Channel Kit System Memory Model OCZ4001024ELDCPER2-K - Retail $167.95

4) Case: Antec Life Style SONATA Piano Black 0.8mm SECC Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 380W Power Supply - Retail $90

5) PSU: Antec TRUE430 ATX 430W Power Supply - Retail $75

6) Videocard: eVGA 256-P2-N376-AX Geforce 6800GT 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail $345

7) HD: Seagate Barracuda 7200.7 SATA NCQ ST3160827AS 160GB 7200 RPM Serial ATA150 Hard Drive - OEM $87

8) DVD-burner: NEC Beige IDE DVD Burner Model ND-3520A BG - OEM $39.99

9) CD/DVD-ROM: SAMSUNG Beige IDE DVD-ROM Drive Model SH-D162C/BEWP - OEM $22.99

10) Soundcard: M-AUDIO Delta 44 Professional US41110L Break Out Port Interface Sound Card - Retail $149

11) Cooling fan (2x): ZALMAN CNPS7700-CU 120mm 2 Ball Cooling Fan - Retail 2x$46.99=$93.98

12) OS (sp1 for pro tools compatibility): Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition with Service Pack SP1a - OEM $89.95

Total: $1484 ------ MAX Budget: $1500

Before you guys start suggesting things, I was wondering if I could get some questions answered.

1) Is the AMD 3200 Venice better than the Winchester when it comes to performance, cooling, and reliability?

2) Is there any way I can lessen my total amount from $1484 to something else so I can pay for shipping so it can get to $1500 or below? Such as buying a different cpu or mobo, or ram, but still get great speed, efficiency, reliablity for what I want?

3) I picked most of the parts without really asking people, but here I am asking you guys. How will the parts work together? Are they right for each other and do you have experience with any of the parts?

4) I have no clue about cooling methods, so I'm wondering how I can keep my pc pretty quiet and cool enough?

thanks!!!!

 

[AATRuler]

Venice is better, yes..
But i was wondering why you take 2 7700's? if im not mistaken u use only 1 cpu?

 

[bball1523]

sorry man, I have no clue what I'm doing when it comes to cooling, so I thought 2 zalman's would be good. I don't even know if that specific Zalman fan is the right one for me. What do you think?

 

[MDE]

Your case comes with a VERY good 380W power supply that will work just fine for your system. Also, you only need one CPU heatsink but I'd get another 120mm fan for the front of the case.

 

[AATRuler]

Agree on the case.. Dont agree on the psu..
6800's n all the stuff hes getting requires 400W+ might take some Tagan or OCZ

Cooling: Those 2 Zalamn's are 2 processor coolers, no case cooling. get only one of them for your cpu get a 700cu also from Zalman for you vidcard and get some nice 120mm case fan..

Edit: Go for the 3000+ Venice, same or better performance for some bucks less.

 

[Quiksilver]

Okay im new here but i thought i'd like to add my 2 cents so here:
Because your on a budget theres some things you can change i thought i'd show abit of it and most of it seems to have decent reviews for the money:

Motherboard: SOLTEK SL-K890Pro-939$99.25

System Memory: CORSAIR XMS 1GB (2 x 512MB) DDR400 $116

Case: Broadway Com Corp 82-4HL$49

Harddrive:Western Digital Caviar SE WD1600JD$82

DVD Burner: NEC ND-3540A Black$41.99
Note: I Changed it so the panel color would match the case.

Sidenotes: Because your going to be using only one cpu you only need one heat sink
so remove one of the ZALMAN CNPS7700-CU heatsinks from your budget.

 

[Lazy7689]

get cheaper ram

if u like the case and want more power check out the sonata II. design is pretty much the same as the sonata but comes w/ a 450watt psu so u can knock off some money from buying that case and an bigger psu

 

[angstsoldat]

Audigy2 sound card is only like 45$ and pretty good from what I hear versus your current which is 3x that

 

[MDE]

Originally posted by: AATRuler
Agree on the case.. Dont agree on the psu..
6800's n all the stuff hes getting requires 400W+ might take some Tagan or OCZ

Cooling: Those 2 Zalamn's are 2 processor coolers, no case cooling. get only one of them for your cpu get a 700cu also from Zalman for you vidcard and get some nice 120mm case fan..

Edit: Go for the 3000+ Venice, same or better performance for some bucks less.

I used that PSU (the Sonata's 380W) for this system with ZERO power related problems:
P4 3.2C @ 3.6GHz
1GB RAM
6800GT @ Ultra
2 36GB Raptors (RAID 0)
1 250GB ATA133 drive
CD-RW drive, DVD+\-RW drive
ATI TV Wonder VE
PCI 802.11g card

I think it'll be fine for his system.

 

[bball1523]

Originally posted by: QuiksilverX1
Okay im new here but i thought i'd like to add my 2 cents so here:
Because your on a budget theres some things you can change i thought i'd show abit of it and most of it seems to have decent reviews for the money:

Motherboard: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813180068">SOLTEK SL-K890Pro-939</a>$99.25

System Memory: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820145450">CORSAIR XMS 1GB (2 x 512MB) DDR400</a> $116

Case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811162027">Broadway Com Corp 82-4HL</a>$49

Harddrive:http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822144152">Western Digital Caviar SE WD1600JD</a>$82

DVD Burner: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16827152047">NEC ND-3540A Black</a>$41.99
Note: I Changed it so the panel color would match the case.

Sidenotes: Because your going to be using only one cpu you only need one heat sink
so remove one of the ZALMAN CNPS7700-CU heatsinks from your budget.

The mobo has 3 pci-e x1 slots, but I don't think my soundcard, tv tuner will fit in that. And there's only 1 pci slot, I'd prefer at least 3 usable, so that probably means 4 pci slots.

for the RAM, one reviewer mentioned a problem, so I'm kinda shaky:

"I tested the memory that i received, double checked the model number on the package, and tested it in 2 machines, a ASUS A8N-SLI Deluxe motherboard and an SuperMicro P4SCT+. The latency is CL3 not CL2. If you manually clock it to Cl2, it seems to run fine, however it definitely isnt what is advertised or else it was a total fluke that I received a bad product. Make sure you test and check the timings registered in the bios on Auto/SPD or with a 3rd party app."

The case looks pretty good, but is it reliable because nobody ever talks about it?

For harddrive, I heard WD are loud, and seagates are quiet. I'm a musician and I need as quiet a pc I can get, so that's why I chose seagate.

- So is there any other MOBO's that will work with amd 3200? Oh and how much better would the amd 3000 be? I wanted 3200 to match p4 3.2 ghz that I was thinking about getting, but I wanna start somewhere without going for the gold yet, because I'll upgrade later.

 

[shoRunner]

Corsair VS if your not overclocking

G.Skill if you wanna do alittle overclocking. .


Personally i'd never pay more than $100 for a gig of ram.

also definately just use the PSU that comes with the case, no reason not to. the 430 is barely better anyways. and why are you getting 2 of the zalman fans???

 

[MDE]

There's always the non-SLI version of the DFI.
Link

 

[Remedy]

Why are you buying a second DVD-ROM if you've already added a DVD+RW to the system? Why pay so much for the MSI when they make a vanilla version Neo4 for about $79? If you're going to work with Audio, then where is your second Disk for scratch work? Never put your Content (Photoshop,Audio/video) on the same disk as your OS/applications are on. Paying $168 for 1GB of PC3200 memory? You can easily purchase 1GB PC3200 value based memory for $90 average. Me, personally. I would never buy any Audio/video production components from newegg. I usually get my stuff from Daddy's music junky, GuitarCenter or Musciansfriend.com. I also agree with AATruler. Unless you're going to be running Dual Opterons, why purchase 2 Zalmans for one socket? $87 for a 160GB drive? I would've purchased a 200GB ATA133 for $89. But, that's just me.

Get rid of that OCZ memory, $168 for value base. For $90. Saving of $78
Swap motherboard for vanilla version of Neo4. $124 For $80, Saving of $44
Cross out that Samsung DVD-ROM. $22
Subtract 1 Zalman, $46.99. Matter of fact, It can be had for $7 less @ other sites. (Me, personally, would rather pay $24.99 @ SVC.com for a Thermalright XP-90 heatsink.)

Total saving $203.99

 

[bREwIn dOdgEr dUDe]

saw a great review on this x-mystique soundcard from bluegears at 3dextreme, selling for $99...

bluegears

3Dextreme

 

[bball1523]

Why are you buying a second DVD-ROM if you've already added a DVD+RW to the system?

- I want one so that I can burn copies of cd's.

Why pay so much for the MSI when they make a vanilla version Neo4 for about $79?

- where can I find the vanilla version, and I heard some problems with the neo4 such as pci-e slot being too close to pci slots, something about a backplate behind the cpu, northbridge making too much noise, chipset placement is right next to pci-e, firewire is behind pci slots...of course this was for the mobo I mentioned above.

If you're going to work with Audio, then where is your second Disk for scratch work?

I forgot mention that I have an extra 80 gb harddrive that I will reformat just for audio, or use the other harddrive for audio, and 80gb for everything else. I might also replace that 80 gb because it's loud.

Paying $168 for 1GB of PC3200 memory? You can easily purchase 1GB PC3200 value based memory for $90 average.

- haha, one of the OCZ members here at Anandtech suggested that I get the expensive OCZ RAM. I honestly have no clue which ram to get. How good is the Corsair valueram you guys have mentioned? Will I see any noticeable difference in gameplay, audio applications between this corsair $90 ram and the expensive OCZ?

I would never buy any Audio/video production components from newegg. I usually get my stuff from Daddy's music junky, GuitarCenter or Musciansfriend.com.

- all of this wishlist is just a rough copy and I will definitely make changes as you guys help me out. The m-audio card at newegg is the same price at musiciansfriend. I could just get it at musiciansfriend if that is a better value for my money.

Unless you're going to be running Dual Opterons, why purchase 2 Zalmans for one socket? $87 for a 160GB drive?

- I have no clue what I am doing here when it comes to Cooling. Are there any good cooling methods you guys can suggest? I want as quiet a pc and cool a PC I can get for my budget ($1500 MAX for everything)

I would've purchased a 200GB ATA133 for $89. But, that's just me.

- Where can I get the $89 hd? Is it quiet? The reason I chose a seagate was because I heard they were really quiet and reliable drives, unlike my 80GB WD I have which makes a lot of noise.

Get rid of that OCZ memory, $168 for value base. For $90. Saving of $78
Swap motherboard for vanilla version of Neo4. $124 For $80, Saving of $44
Cross out that Samsung DVD-ROM. $22
Subtract 1 Zalman, $46.99. Matter of fact, It can be had for $7 less @ other sites. (Me, personally, would rather pay $24.99 @ SVC.com for a Thermalright XP-90 heatsink.)

How good is the Thermalright XP-90 compared to the Zalman? Also is it very quiet and does it keep the PC as cool as possible for my budget?

thanks for helping me out so far guys!

 

[shoRunner]

you will see no different between the corsair VS memory and your memory. the zalman cooler is not bad...you just don't need two. the thermalright is also nice, and will be quiet if you use the right fan. seagate and samsung both make the quietest hard drives, but if you can find an ide for cheaper go with it as it will be the same performance.

 

[srjrol]

Originally posted by: AATRuler
Venice is better, yes..
But i was wondering why you take 2 7700's? if im not mistaken u use only 1 cpu?

Why is venice better?

 

[bball1523]

Originally posted by: shoRunner
you will see no different between the corsair VS memory and your memory. the zalman cooler is not bad...you just don't need two. the thermalright is also nice, and will be quiet if you use the right fan. seagate and samsung both make the quietest hard drives, but if you can find an ide for cheaper go with it as it will be the same performance.

By any chance do you know which thermalright fan is the right fan and is the cheapest price compared to Zalman?

Also I'd rather have a quieter hd than a cheaper hd that is noisy.

I heard venice is better because it has SSE3 instructions and has something to do with better memory management....I'm not sure exactly though.

 

[Atheus]

You actually don't need either of those zalman coolers - that CPU is a retail box and comes with a heatsink and fan that work just fine. You may want to get a case fan too, they are about $5.

 

[shoRunner]

venice is better because it'll be alittle cooler, has SSE3 (but does almost nothing for it), has a slightly tweaked memory controller, and will overclock better because its SOI.

thermalright suggests the Panaflo #FBL09A12M

atheus, is correct the retail boxed heatsink and fan will do just fine

 

[Remedy]

I forgot mention that I have an extra 80 gb harddrive that I will reformat just for audio, or use the other harddrive for audio, and 80gb for everything else. I might also replace that 80 gb because it's loud.

Well. Most, if not, all HD's now a days are quiet. What you can do, if you're not satisfied with the noise factor. Is, put it in a 5.25 casing. Such as a Cooler Master or Silverstone HD cases.

How good is the Corsair valueram you guys have mentioned? Will I see any noticeable difference in gameplay, audio applications between this corsair $90 ram and the expensive OCZ?

You don't neccesarrily need Corsair. Any Value memory like Supertalent or Elixir, or Kingston value will all perform and act the same. Only difference is, the price.

The m-audio card at newegg is the same price at musiciansfriend. I could just get it at musiciansfriend if that is a better value for my money.

Problem isn't the price. It's really about dealing with knowledgable people for the target market. I mean, I wouldn't purchase Prozac or Viagra from newegg just because it cost the same as CVS or my local pharmacy. What does newegg know about erectile dysfunction?

Where can I get the $89 hd? Is it quiet? The reason I chose a seagate was because I heard they were really quiet and reliable drives, unlike my 80GB WD I have which makes a lot of noise.

Example

How good is the Thermalright XP-90 compared to the Zalman? Also is it very quiet and does it keep the PC as cool as possible for my budget?

The difference between the Zalman you chose, and the XP-90 is, the Zal is all copper. It can reach lowest tempeture possible for the processor. But, it comes at a cost and the difference isn't worth it as compared to the XP-90, which is all aluminum and can perform similarly to the Zal at less cost. The XP-90 can accept a wide range of fans for low quiet and high noisy targets. For low noise, People tend to lean on Yate Loon, Panasonic Panaflo, and Vantec stealth(which is an NMB).

I ran a Sempron 3100+, Fanless/passive with my XP-90. It ended up reaching high temps with work activity. But, It was passive, so it didn't matter to me. Moral of this, There are ways to silicene your system. Just have to take the time to research and practice theory.

 

[bball1523]

Well. Most, if not, all HD's now a days are quiet. What you can do, if you're not satisfied with the noise factor. Is, put it in a 5.25 casing. Such as a Cooler Master or Silverstone HD cases.

Case is another thing I'm struggling to figure out. What would you recommend for the cheapest price, yet most efficient when it comes to heat, noise, and space?

You don't neccesarrily need Corsair. Any Value memory like Supertalent or Elixir, or Kingston value will all perform and act the same. Only difference is, the price.

What about the CAS Latency and timings? do I really have to deal with that or will it work out perfectly fine?

Problem isn't the price. It's really about dealing with knowledgable people for the target market. I mean, I wouldn't purchase Prozac or Viagra from newegg just because it cost the same as CVS or my local pharmacy. What does newegg know about erectile dysfunction?

I'm probably not going to buy that soundcard because I found a better one called the Echo Mia Midi at musiciansfriend.com, costs $120 and I read a lot of reviews that were positive.

Example[q/]

I've never really heard much about samsung hd, but how can I find out how reliable they are? My WD 80gb I have is awesome, but it makes noise, so if the Samsung is awesome and doesn't make noise, then thank you for the suggestion!

The difference between the Zalman you chose, and the XP-90 is, the Zal is all copper. It can reach lowest tempeture possible for the processor. But, it comes at a cost and the difference isn't worth it as compared to the XP-90, which is all aluminum and can perform similarly to the Zal at less cost. The XP-90 can accept a wide range of fans for low quiet and high noisy targets. For low noise, People tend to lean on Yate Loon, Panasonic Panaflo, and Vantec stealth(which is an NMB).

- now someone in this thread, before you posted, suggested that I probably don't need any extra fans, except a case fan, because the Venice 3200+ is cool. Is that true and how would I know that it won't heat up too much? I really don't want my room to be a microwave.

I ran a Sempron 3100+, Fanless/passive with my XP-90. It ended up reaching high temps with work activity. But, It was passive, so it didn't matter to me. Moral of this, There are ways to silicene your system. Just have to take the time to research and practice theory.

How can I find out more about silencing and cooling my system? Or will my setup be just right the way it comes?

thanks!

 

[shoRunner]

the antec case you picked is a good case, you may want to pick up another 120mm fan to go with it though.

 

[hurtstotalktoyou]

Your hard disk might be too noisy for your music needs. Same goes for your PSU. Can you switch off the GPU cooler? Noise is going to be a major factor if you want to record music. You might want to shop around at local shops to find out which components are quietest.

Also...what about mics? A decent vocal/guitar condenser is going to run at least $100, and probably more like $200. Make sure you leave room in your budget for that, if you don't already have one.

 

[bball1523]

Originally posted by: hurtstotalktoyou
Your hard disk might be too noisy for your music needs. Same goes for your PSU. Can you switch off the GPU cooler? Noise is going to be a major factor if you want to record music. You might want to shop around at local shops to find out which components are quietest.

Also...what about mics? A decent vocal/guitar condenser is going to run at least $100, and probably more like $200. Make sure you leave room in your budget for that, if you don't already have one.

lol, I'm not going for the entire studio yet. I'm just testing things out and starting off somewhere.

I have no clue about the PSU yet, but I'm still searching around and wondering what is the right one for my system (including the 256 mb 6800 GT)

I heard seagate drives are really quiet, and someone above just mentioned that samsung has a quiet drive for a 200gb. Plus my current harddrive that makes noise doesn't bother me while I record becuase my pickup is the one making all the noise with the pc and tv nearby. I'm not worried too much about my guitar (that sucks by the way). I'm more worried about my computer parts and getting the right parts that will interact, run fast for my budget, run cool and quiet.

When I do get a mic, I'll probably get a Shure sm57 or so, that costs around 90 bucks.