AMD X2 Gaming Build.

[IronMentality]

OPERATING SYSTEM: Microsoft Windows XP Professional With Service Pack 2 - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16837102153

CASE: Thermaltake Tsunami VA3400SWA Silver Aluminum ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 400W Power Supply - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16811133139

POWER SUPPLY: Antec TruePower 2.0 TRUECONTROL II-550 ATX12V 550W Power Supply 115/230 V UL, TUV, CB, FCC CLASS B, CUL - Retail (NVidia SLI Certified)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16817103933

MOTHERBOARD: DFI LANPARTY nF4 SLI-DR Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 SLI ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16813136151

CPU: AMD Athlon 64 X2 4800+ Toledo 1GHz FSB Socket 939 Dual Core Processor Model ADA4800CDBOX - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/Product.asp?item=N82E16819103544

CPU COOLER: ZALMAN CNPS7700-CU 120mm 2 Ball Cooling Fan with Copper Heatsink - Retail http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16835118115

MEMORY: OCZ 2GB (2 x 1GB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Unbuffered Dual Channel Platinum System Memory Model OCZ4002048ELDCPE-K - Retail http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16820227210

HARD DRIVE: Seagate Barracuda 7200.9 ST3500641AS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16822148108

GRAPHICS CARD 1: eVGA 256-P2-N527-AX Geforce 7800GTX 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16814130254

GRAPHICS CARD 2: eVGA 256-P2-N527-AX Geforce 7800GTX 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16814130254

SOUND CARD: Creative SOUND BLASTER X-Fi Platinum 8 (7.1) Channels PCI Interface Sound Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16829102190

DVD BURNER: BenQ Black IDE DVD Burner w/ Lightscribe Model DW1625 BLK OEM - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16827101642

Total Cost: $3,262.47

- Will my Antec TruePower 550W have enough voltage to power this badboy?
- Do I need to add water cooling or else will this thing set my house on fire?

I am really excited about building this! Please chime in with your expertise. Thank you!

 

[ribbon13]

jesus, you could easily drop $800 off of that, get a VapoChill lightspeed with it, and get MORE performance.

Since you want super high end. get a 2x1GB DDR500 kit.

please tell me you are getting a dell 2405 for that

 

[eXx08]

Sounds like you did your research.

Good Choices.:thumbsup:

 

[Some1ne]

If you're shooting for high-end, that'll do it, although I've said it before and I'll say it again, SLI is a waste.

 

[IntelHydralisk]

Can you wait for 512 mb 7800 gtx benches?... or are you dying to burn $3000+

And SLI is not a waste if you can afford it. It sure is a waste if you starve yourself for 6 months to buy it.

 

[IronMentality]

Originally posted by: ribbon13
jesus, you could easily drop $800 off of that, get a VapoChill lightspeed with it, and get MORE performance.

Since you want super high end. get a 2x1GB DDR500 kit.

please tell me you are getting a dell 2405 for that

I either will use a 21" ViewSonic CRT or order a big LCD for the computer. I am not sure what I want to do yet. The Dell2405FPW seems to be quite an awesome monitor.

What is VapoChill LightSpeed, and what are you talking about DDR500? To my understanding the motherboard only supports DDR memory running at DDR400 (PC3200).

 

[IronMentality]

Originally posted by: IntelHydralisk
Can you wait for 512 mb 7800 gtx benches?... or are you dying to burn $3000+

And SLI is not a waste if you can afford it. It sure is a waste if you starve yourself for 6 months to buy it.

I would prefer to order now, but how long will it take for the 512MB cards to come out on NewEgg?

 

[mOeeOm]

Originally posted by: IronMentality

Originally posted by: IntelHydralisk
Can you wait for 512 mb 7800 gtx benches?... or are you dying to burn $3000+

And SLI is not a waste if you can afford it. It sure is a waste if you starve yourself for 6 months to buy it.

I would prefer to order now, but how long will it take for the 512MB cards to come out on NewEgg?

Supposed to be november 14th.

 

[IronMentality]

I've made a few changes:

- Dropped the OS down to XP Home, XP Professional isn't necessary for me (I don't do fancy networking or anything), to save around $50
- Changed the case to one that does NOT come with a Power Supply, to save more again
- Upgraded the Sound Card to a top of the line model that apparently comes with some sort of built in performance add-ons that will be used in the future and aid performance in such games as BF2
- Added another DVD Burner, for two w/LightScribe (this is the BenQ model everyone raves about on here, right?)
- Added a Floppy Drive (you should always have a floppy drive)

Question: Is this sound card really going to take away from drag on my CPU and add a few percentages of that back into performance? If it will, it is worth it for me.

OPERATING SYSTEM: Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16837102151

CASE: Thermaltake Tsunami VA3400SWA Silver Aluminum ATX Mid Tower Computer
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16811133133

POWER SUPPLY: Antec TruePower 2.0 TRUECONTROL II-550 ATX12V 550W Power Supply 115/230 V UL, TUV, CB, FCC CLASS B, CUL - Retail (NVidia SLI Certified)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16817103933

MOTHERBOARD: DFI LANPARTY nF4 SLI-DR Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 SLI ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16813136151

CPU: AMD Athlon 64 X2 4800+ Toledo 1GHz FSB Socket 939 Dual Core Processor Model ADA4800CDBOX - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/Product.asp?item=N82E16819103544

CPU COOLER: ZALMAN CNPS7700-CU 120mm 2 Ball Cooling Fan with Copper Heatsink - Retail http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16835118115

MEMORY: OCZ 2GB (2 x 1GB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Unbuffered Dual Channel Platinum System Memory Model OCZ4002048ELDCPE-K - Retail http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16820227210

HARD DRIVE: Seagate Barracuda 7200.9 ST3500641AS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16822148108

GRAPHICS CARD 1: eVGA 256-P2-N527-AX Geforce 7800GTX 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16814130254

GRAPHICS CARD 2: eVGA 256-P2-N527-AX Geforce 7800GTX 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16814130254

SOUND CARD: Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Elite Elite Pro 8 (7.1) Channels PCI Interface Sound Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16829102191

DVD BURNER 1: BenQ Black IDE DVD Burner w/ Lightscribe Model DW1625 BLK OEM - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16827101642

DVD BURNER 2: BenQ Black IDE DVD Burner w/ Lightscribe Model DW1625 BLK OEM - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16827101642

FLOPPY DRIVE: NEC Black 1.44MB 3.5" Internal Floppy Drive - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16821152005

Total Cost: $3,434.71

Any other comments or suggestions before I click order? Thank you!

 

[John]

Originally posted by: IronMentality
Any other comments or suggestions before I click order? Thank you!

1) Drop the 2nd GTX....SLI is a waste of money IMHO.
2) Do you really need a x2 4800+?

 

[ShadowBlade]

if youre getting an overclocking board, get a 4400+
also, why two dvd burners?

 

[IronMentality]

I want the SLI and the top of the line dual core processor. I am not going to get rid of those!

 

[IronMentality]

I'd rather OC the 4800+. Either it was one DVD-ROM and one DVD Burner, why just not spend an extra $20 and have two DVD burners? It isn't going to hurt anyone.

 

[mOeeOm]

Sounds like you've been saving up for a long while and just wanna spend it all on one thing you love....

Am I right?

 

[John]

Speaking of hard drives, check out the Western Digital Caviar RE2 WD4000YR

http://www.storagereview.com/articles/200510/WD4000YR_1.html

 

[foodfightr]

Well if you're in to anandtech.com reviews, I compiled some research on thier latest hard drive review. You may be very interested in picking up a raptor versus a seagate 7200.9 (get both, use the raptor for windows & programs and the seagate for storage). Hard Drive Research I'm a seagate guy, but the numbers just don't stack up.

Also, if you plan to overclock you definately want to get DDR500 ram. X2 4800 will top off at about 3000 Mhz, so DDR500 ram (250 Mhz) running at 12x multiplier (3000 Mhz) will be a nice headstart and will keep your latency low! Text

Also, I'd change your power supply. The guys at DFI-STREET.com (I mean these guys know DFI better than anyone) reccomend OCZ PowerStream. In your case I'd suggest either the 520W SLI or the 600W SLI. An added feature? Its sexy design. Text

 

[mike3uz]

But the 4400 can overclock just as good as a 4800+ on air.

 

[foodfightr]

Also, just to throw it out there.... the DFI LanParty Expert Edition is due out any day now.... They fixed some bugs in the SLI-DR and also gave it more power and made it safer to overclock. Might be worth waiting for, I know I am.

 

[IronMentality]

How long of a wait, foodightr? I want the best dual core CPU, its as simple as that

Going to look at DDR500 RAM now...

 

[foodfightr]

It was announced a few weeks back, they keep pushing back the actual retail date... I'd expect it any day now. As for the best? Your build looks good, props for choosing eVGA as a brand for your graphics card. I'd add a raptor drive and switch to OCZ powerStream in addition to DDR 500 ram.

Add in the expert board? Oh yeah...

In general though, SLI is a waste. You'll have the best configuration until the next card comes out, which will beat both of your cards combined. I think its a waste, but if being number one for 1-2 months if your thing, I won't stop you. Haha

Also I thought I'd mention that the new opterons for socket 939 are dual core... models 165, 170 175, 180. They are made of server quality materials. As for overclocking? X2 still looks like the better choice, but I'd say its too early to tell.

 

[IronMentality]

Hrm. Everyone here on the forums that has built a new AMD machine lately is absolutely in love with the X2. I'm sure the Opteron is awesome, but I doubt it's better for gaming performance. I do plan on doing heavy multitasking as well... but it's all about the games for this PC purchase here. You do bring up an interesting analogy of going SLI. However, I have seen the FPS difference SLI with a 7800GTX has verse just one 7800GTX and then how that compares with a 6800 Ultra. One thing I haven't checked to see if one 7800GTX kicks an SLI hookup of two 6800 Ultra's. I will check that here in a second.

I will add in the expert board that fixed earlier issues with the one I have chosen, and am going to add in the DDR500 RAM you are talking about.

 

[thecoolnessrune]

You cant have the best Dual core and the best gaming machine. Because the best gaming machine os socket 939. The best Dual core is 8 Opteron Dual cores (socket 940).

 

[IronMentality]

Basically, I would love to run the latest games with everything maxed out... I just don't think I could do that with one 7800GTX and not get around the 60+ FPS I would want.

 

[IronMentality]

Originally posted by: thecoolnessrune
You cant have the best Dual core and the best gaming machine. Because the best gaming machine os socket 939. The best Dual core is 8 Opteron Dual cores (socket 940).

Very good point. However, again, I do plan on heavily multitasking. The X2 is the way to play it due to its superiority in games and its ability to also take on multiple tasks at once without giving me any lag in the process. So it is definitely the best decision to stick with the X2.

 

[IronMentality]

Should I get four sticks of these? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820227206

Or two sticks of these? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820227219