Another first build. *Good Bad? Tell me anyway!*

johnnqq

Golden Member
May 30, 2005
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i know i know 1,000,000th first build thread, but hey i want to make sure that i'm spending 1 grand the way it should be spent.

nec 3540 $38.99
asus a8n-e $115
antec sonata 2 $109
seagate 7200.8 250gb $106.99
lite-on keyboard cheapie $5.25
a64 3000 $146
ocz value 2x 1gb $202.93
msi x800 vanilla $120
zalman nb47j mobo hs $6.99
xp 90- not sure where to buy it from yet
2x yate loons
1x 92-unsure about which fan to get

i already have speakers and a mouse. the total from about without the xp90 or fans is:
$984.35 with shipping+tax

is it worth it to spend another $10 for 2 day delivery?

so how's my system? this is what i've put together after 5 months of research. it's my first build and i'll need tons of help from you guys when i put it together (arctic silver, windows, etc :)). i have about 3 grand that i made in the last year, so if there are any changes that YOU would make, just post!
 

johnnqq

Golden Member
May 30, 2005
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well i'm used to a geforce 2 gts...so anything higher than 800x600 will keep me happy. and it's actually better than a 6600gt which is plenty of power for me. not to mention that it sooo cheap :) an xl costs $100-150 more and the fps aren't that much higher than those of the x800.
if there is a gto2 somewhere let me know! it's still $300 at newegg.
 

jotosuds

Banned
Sep 1, 2005
174
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i'd get a cheaper case(i have a $50 shipped maxtop... great air mvmt., removable mobo tray, great), cheaper RAM(like value mushkin or corsair) and get a better vid card. I have a X800, and it's nice but if you want to play 1280x960 on all the new games coming up you probably want something nicer. with the $150 you save on case+ram, put in like $70 more and get yourself a fricking 7800GT hells yeah :D also would need a nicer PSU though like a Fortron 500W Bluestorm or somthing... under $100 though.

however i do like my Powercolor X800. i got it for $150. $120 for one is a very nice deal indeed.
 

shrewd

Junior Member
Sep 22, 2005
17
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did you say cheaper ram?
are you smoking crack ?
If you're going to play BF2 or Fear you will want the extra ram for sure go with 2 x 1gb sticks of OCZ Platinum Series 1GB 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Unbuffered System Memory.

This Ram does not fail.
 

johnnqq

Golden Member
May 30, 2005
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if i got a cheaper case, i would need a power supply that is on the same level as smartpower- aka fortron...but it's louder than a smartpower and still comes out to the same price. the ram i have is about as cheap as ram goes. the cheapest 2x1gb are 190...so i would be saving more like $20 :\.

there is no way i could bring myself to buy a 7800gt...it's just pointless. in a year i can buy another $120 card that will outperform a 7800gt by a whole lot. and i've still only spent $240 on video cards!
 

thecoolnessrune

Diamond Member
Jun 8, 2005
9,673
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Originally posted by: johnnqq
well i'm used to a geforce 2 gts...so anything higher than 800x600 will keep me happy. and it's actually better than a 6600gt which is plenty of power for me. not to mention that it sooo cheap :) an xl costs $100-150 more and the fps aren't that much higher than those of the x800.
if there is a gto2 somewhere let me know! it's still $300 at newegg.


Please give me your gts :(. I'm using a GeForce 4 MX 420 and I hear that the GeForce 2 gts gets better performance (I REALLY HATE THIS CARD!!!)
 

johnnqq

Golden Member
May 30, 2005
1,659
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yea the gts is by far better than an mx lol...but i can't play most games anymore. the last game it has ever played smoothly was unreal tournament 2004 at 640x480 everythign on lowest. why do you want my card? go buy a gf4 for like $30 anyway.
 

Crescent13

Diamond Member
Jan 12, 2005
4,793
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Originally posted by: johnnqq

nec 3540 $38.99
asus a8n-e $115
antec sonata $109
seagate 7200.8 250gb $106.99
lite-on keyboard cheapie $5.25
a64 3000 $146
ocz value 2x 1gb $202.93
msi x800 vanilla $120
zalman nb47j mobo hs $6.99
xp 90- not sure where to buy it from yet
2x yate loons
1x 92-unsure about which fan to get

Get a benq dvd burner for $1 more, and much better performance.
Get the Jetway SLI mobo that anand reviewed
Get a hitachi SATAII hard drive
what can I say about the keyboard?
Good CPU
Good RAM
7800GT FOR THE WIN!!!!!!!!
Why in world would you need that mobo HS?
Get a zalman cnps-9500 for better cooling
what in the world is a yate loon?
You won't need a 92mm fan if you get the zalman CPU cooler

I put you about $70 overbudget or more, but that is what I would get.
 

shrewd

Junior Member
Sep 22, 2005
17
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LMFAO , you have also waited a year I can buy a current $500 card in a year for $100 but whats the point , So I can sit around for a year and get pissed because I cant play the games I want Because I was a cheap a$$.
NO WAY MAN
 

johnnqq

Golden Member
May 30, 2005
1,659
0
0
the benq and the nec are pretty much equal, but i trust nec a lot more.
i prefer to have asus customer support
i like the seagate because it's quiet and performs well
the 7800gt is a waste of money...
the a8n-e's fan fails a lot+ i would rather have a quiet system
the 9500 costs WAY too much, but i'd like to have it if it was normally priced...
yate loon= 120mm 44cfm and 25-28db (forgot)
you would've put me about $300 over budget ;)
 

emilyek

Senior member
Mar 1, 2005
511
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Sonata II-- if you are listing the Sonata I....The Sonata II's PSU is way better.
 

Boztech

Senior member
May 12, 2004
782
0
0
Originally posted by: shrewd
I can buy a current $500 card in a year for $100

What?

You can hardly buy a 9800 Pro for $100 and it's what? 3 or 4 years old now?
 

johnnqq

Golden Member
May 30, 2005
1,659
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another bump. cmon please just give your opinion! i need to make sure that my hard earned money won't be wasted!
 

Boztech

Senior member
May 12, 2004
782
0
0
Originally posted by: Crescent13
Originally posted by: johnnqq

nec 3540 $38.99
asus a8n-e $115
antec sonata $109
seagate 7200.8 250gb $106.99
lite-on keyboard cheapie $5.25
a64 3000 $146
ocz value 2x 1gb $202.93
msi x800 vanilla $120
zalman nb47j mobo hs $6.99
xp 90- not sure where to buy it from yet
2x yate loons
1x 92-unsure about which fan to get

Get a benq dvd burner for $1 more, and much better performance.
Get the Jetway SLI mobo that anand reviewed
Get a hitachi SATAII hard drive
what can I say about the keyboard?
Good CPU
Good RAM
7800GT FOR THE WIN!!!!!!!!
Why in world would you need that mobo HS?
Get a zalman cnps-9500 for better cooling
what in the world is a yate loon?
You won't need a 92mm fan if you get the zalman CPU cooler

I put you about $70 overbudget or more, but that is what I would get.


Yate Loons a.k.a Nexus fans, probably the most efficient (quiet) fans you can buy but they are usually hard to come by.
 

johnnqq

Golden Member
May 30, 2005
1,659
0
0
yea but the asus has:
asus support+ the pcie slot is far away from the 3 pci slots.

thanks for replying everybody!
 

mootface

Junior Member
Oct 7, 2005
2
0
0
First and foremost, it all depends on what you want to do with it. For games, it is mediocre, to say the least. The 2gigs of Ram will aid in your potential Battlefield playing, but the cpu and vid card will limit you.

I guess if you are content with playing games, and having them look rubbish then it is fine. However for future sake, go the extra little bit and grab the 7800GT. Better off being slightly ahead, than constantly trailing.
 

pibb

Senior member
Jul 15, 2005
371
0
0
i'd get the ATi X800 GTO2 (NOT THE GT), its a 16pipe x800 with a lowered clock thats known to clock easily to X850XTPE speeds (200$USD or lower), i got my XP90 at SVC Computing (google) for 24$ and the Panaflo at the same place for 10$, both are good parts. enjoy