Another One of These =)

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NewDestination

Junior Member
May 7, 2005
19
0
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Ok Guys and Gals I have been in the background lurking around and gathering information for months now. So here I am with money burning a hole in my pocket.
I am a newegg addict and have choose it to buy my new comps parts, and I Appreciate any feedback from you fine peep's at Anandtech forums.
ok here it is
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MSI K8N Neo4 Platinum Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 Ultra ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
$142.00

Thermaltake Xaser III V1000A Black Chassis: 1.0mm SECC Japan Steel; Front Panel: Aluminum ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
$129.50

Maxtor DiamondMax 10 6B250S0 250GB 7200 RPM Serial ATA150 Hard Drive - OEM
$165.00

CORSAIR XMS 2GB (2 x 1GB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Unbuffered Dual Channel Kit System Memory Model TWINX2048-3200PRO - Retail
$339.00

AMD Athlon 64 3800+ Newcastle 1GHz FSB Socket 939 Processor Model ADA3800AWBOX - Retail
$367.99

eVGA 256-P2-N376-AX Geforce 6800GT 256MB GDDR3 PCI-Express x16 Video Card - Retail
$359.00

SONY DDU1613 Black IDE DVD-ROM Drive - OEM
$25.00

SONY MPF920 Black 1.44MB 3.5" Internal Floppy Drive - OEM
$10.50

Logitech Elite 967234-0403 Black USB + PS/2 Standard Keyboard - Retail
$26.00

SAMSUNG 990DF Black 19" CRT Monitor D-Sub - Retail
$179.99

Logitech MX510 931179-0403 2 tone 8 Buttons 1x Wheel USB + PS/2 Optical Mouse - Retail
$28.00

Microsoft E85-03013 Windows XP Professional With Service Pack 2 - OEM
$139.95

THERMALTAKE W0057 PurePower ATX12V 500W Power Supply - Retail
$129.00

CREATIVE Sound Blaster Audigy2 ZS 70SB035000000 8 (7.1) Channels PCI Interface Sound Card - Retail
$91.00

Cyber Acoustics A5640 140 5.1 Speaker - Retail
$79.99

HP DVD640I Black IDE DVD Burner w/ Lightscribe - Retail
$109.99

Total Cost Taxed and Shipped
--$2,610.03--

Oh yeah I hate to sound stupid but i got approved for $3,000 on newegg so can I pay in payments by checks and/or money-orders?!?
 
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CheesePoofs

Diamond Member
Dec 5, 2004
3,163
0
0
Welcome ot the forums

You could save significant money on that system and loose very little performance.

Questions: are you planning on OCing? What do you want to use the comp for?

My recomendations:

Don't get the expensive ram. It barely performs better than the value ram, yet it costs much more. Also, you probalby don't need 2gigs of ram; most apps are fine with 1gig.

Don't get the 3800. Its a complete waste of money IMO. Get the 3500, or better yet, the 3200. You loose 200mhz and save over$100. Very good trade-off IMO.

Don't use a thermaltake PSU for a comp of that quality. Thats a top of the line computer, so get a top of the line PSU to go with it. I'd recomend OCZ, Antec, Enermax, Zippy, and a few other I can't think of. Just make sure its 24 pin and has many amps on the 12v rail.
 
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Addikt

Senior member
Apr 26, 2004
242
0
0
You are spending a lot more than you need to on memory and to some extent on the hard drive too...also a 3800+ is not worth the extra money for the additional 400 MHz over the 3200+...personally opinion though I like to burn my money on things other than computers...
 
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NewDestination

Junior Member
May 7, 2005
19
0
0
Wow you guys really are quick lol. well I am a firm believer of the old saying you get what you pay for...i think thats how it goes. On the issue of the ram I read in maximumPC that some of the newer games use 1 gig and up to 2 gigs if its available so i though better safe than sorry. and I appologize I didnt specify the purpose of this computer its mainly for gaming (all game genre's), And yeah at some point in time I would like to OC', and I assumed that PSU had everything I needed like a 24 pin, If at all possible can you post a replacement to the parts you think I need to change, Im not blowing off your opinions at all Im just expressing my thoughts. And thanks for the welcome its appreciated
 
YOyoYOhowsDAjello

YOyoYOhowsDAjello

Moderator<br>A/V & Home Theater<br>Elite member
Aug 6, 2001
31,205
45
91
I agree with bumping it down to a 3500+ to save some money.

Again, unless you're doing some hardcore overclocking, you could get a gig of ram for under $100 and not notice any performance difference.

If you're spending over $100 on a PSU, I wouldn't get a Thermaltake.

I definately wouldn't get a $91 soundcard and pair it wil $80 speakers. You'll get much better quality in the end if you spend more on the speakers than on the soundcard. For example, a Logitech z-5300 set running on integrated audio or a plain audigy2 will be betten in the end than buying a soundcard that's more expensive than your speakers.

$110 is a lot to spend on a DVD burner. I got my NEC for less than half that.

Also, if you're not overclocking, you could save $50 on your motherboard choice.

I also think the X800XL is a better option for PCI-e than the 6800gt. It's almost $100 less and has similar performance. I think in AGP the 6800gt is the clear choice, but not in this case.
 
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NewDestination

Junior Member
May 7, 2005
19
0
0
and I chose the 3800 because I thought mabe the 3200 and 3500 would bottleneck a system like this. any thoughts guys?
 
YOyoYOhowsDAjello

YOyoYOhowsDAjello

Moderator<br>A/V & Home Theater<br>Elite member
Aug 6, 2001
31,205
45
91
Originally posted by: NewDestination
Wow you guys really are quick lol. well I am a firm believer of the old saying you get what you pay for...i think thats how it goes. On the issue of the ram I read in maximumPC that some of the newer games use 1 gig and up to 2 gigs if its available so i though better safe than sorry. and I appologize I didnt specify the purpose of this computer its mainly for gaming (all game genre's), And yeah at some point in time I would like to OC', and I assumed that PSU had everything I needed like a 24 pin, If at all possible can you post a replacement to the parts you think I need to change, Im not blowing off your opinions at all Im just expressing my thoughts. And thanks for the welcome its appreciated
Click to expand...

I think we all assumed it was for gaming. (90% of the questions here are)

Welcome to AT by the way :)

You get what you pay for doesn't always apply in the computer world. If you want a prime example, check out the 512mb X800XL article from a couple days ago heh.

If you want 2 gigs of ram (which wouldn't be a bad idea considering your budget), you could get it for $100 less and get quality stuff.

 
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NewDestination

Junior Member
May 7, 2005
19
0
0
lol I Read the review on the 512mb version of the X800XL..good example =)
well its gonna be mainly for gaming and I want It to last for at least 3-4 years
 
YOyoYOhowsDAjello

YOyoYOhowsDAjello

Moderator<br>A/V & Home Theater<br>Elite member
Aug 6, 2001
31,205
45
91
Originally posted by: NewDestination
and I chose the 3800 because I thought mabe the 3200 and 3500 would bottleneck a system like this. any thoughts guys?
Click to expand...

With most games, I think it's safe to say that you'll get better performance in the end if you spend significantly more on the videocard than the CPU.

I think you'd be better served in the end if you bumped the CPU down to a 3200+ (especially if you're going to overclock later) and bump the CPU up to one of the highend ATI models. With money saved on ram and CPU, you could get an X850XTPE and I think you'd get better performance in the end.

EDIT: :laugh: ironically I used my 6800th post to recommend getting an ATI card
 
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NewDestination

Junior Member
May 7, 2005
19
0
0
If not Thermaltake what brand would give me the same options for the price?, and the soundcard is optional i know but If it keeps some stress off the cpu then its all good. I just cant justify buying $150 speakers...And I really never gave ATI a chance, I might just do that and the Dvd burner is a luxury item because of the lightscribe
 
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NewDestination

Junior Member
May 7, 2005
19
0
0
lmao that is really ironic and congrats on your 6800th post, but I read a post somewhere on here that basically said that in the long run it would be more cost efficient to spend more money on CPU than GFX because the GFX will be outdate quicker or somthing along those lines....
 
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NewDestination

Junior Member
May 7, 2005
19
0
0
Well friend you have officially changed my mind on ram I really like the Geil Ultra Series Value Dual Channel 184 Pin 2GB(2x 1GB) DDR PC-3200 w/ Blue Heatspreader..
 
YOyoYOhowsDAjello

YOyoYOhowsDAjello

Moderator<br>A/V & Home Theater<br>Elite member
Aug 6, 2001
31,205
45
91
Originally posted by: NewDestination
If not Thermaltake what brand would give me the same options for the price?, and the soundcard is optional i know but If it keeps some stress off the cpu then its all good. I just cant justify buying $150 speakers...And I really never gave ATI a chance, I might just do that and the Dvd burner is a luxury item because of the lightscribe
Click to expand...

Seasonic, OCZ, Antec, Enermax, Fortron, Sparkle are all good brands.

On a $2600 budget I find it hard to believe you think $150 for speakers is too much. I know they're not for everyone though :)
Speakers keep their value very well, and a nice set of speakers is an upgrade you will certainly notice (vs. really expensive ram for example)

Here are some videocard benchmarks of the latest cards to give you an idea of their relative performance.
 
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NewDestination

Junior Member
May 7, 2005
19
0
0
Well My Favorite Three things in life are #1. Females #2. Computers #3. Automobiles, I already got Numbers 1 and 3, #2 got threw out the window several months ago and beat with a cinderblock.....lousy dell, so thats why my budget is as high as it is.

I meant to reply to Addikt's post
 
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NewDestination

Junior Member
May 7, 2005
19
0
0
umm..I was just wondering what is it with you guys and thermaltake PSU's. From what I have read their Voltages are well within spec and have very nice features like cable sleaving or in my case, the modular design. I dont know much about Tt's past but from what I understand they are at the top of their game now...
 
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CheesePoofs

Diamond Member
Dec 5, 2004
3,163
0
0
TT, in general, uses poor quality parts. Other companies, such as the ones listed before, use much higher quality parts, meaning they will a) last longer b) provide cleaner power to your comp c) when they do go, they probably won't take the entire computer with them.

I had an OCZ Powerstream that died after one day, but when it died my system just shut off and everything was fine. I've heard stories of people who's PSU's have died in a fireball, and taken the entire computer with them.
 
akugami

akugami

Diamond Member
Feb 14, 2005
6,210
2,552
136
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813130487
Same board as the one you got but with a Creative Live Soundblaster chipset that will provide 7.1 audio. This will alleviate any concerns over your onboard sound taking some CPU cycles. It's still onboard sound but better onboard sound. It also is SLI capable if you ever so choose to do so in the future. All at $179. Just roughly $30 more than the other board. That's the price of a sound card already.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822148065
Seagate 250GB 7200.8 HD. IMHO this is a much better HD and is just as fast as that Maxtor you were looking at and at $140 after shipping this is a better bargain to boot. Add in the 5 year warranty vs the 3 year warranty on the Maxtor and it's no contest.

Definitely go with a new Athlon64 3500+ with the Venice core. This will perform slightly slower in synthetic tests and will probably lose you 2-3fps in games but the performance drop is not enough to matter in general computing. In games the 2-3fps drop will not matter either because that's not large enough to make a game that was playable, unplayable or vice versa.

You do NOT want a set of $80 crappy speakers poluting the sound in your room. You just don't. Logitech Z-5300 or for more power Logitech Z-5500. These are nice as far as price/performance is concerned. They're by no means the best speakers around but they're not shabby.

Get a pair of NEC 3520A's DVD burners if you want a dual optical drive setup. That'll run you $100 which is the same as that single DVD burner you were looking at. Or one DVD reader and one NEC3520 DVD burner.
 
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