Any Suggestion for this setup

[jjet67]

Hi.
I know it sounds crazy but I'm not spending my own money for this.

The problem is that I have to buy it from a vendor such as Alienware or Abs computer. I hear lots of screaming but I'd appreciate if you can give your advice on this one.
The spec I come up with is as follows:


Case: GIGABYTE 3D AURORA GZ-FSCA1-ATB Black Computer Case With Side Panel Window
Cooling: GIGABYTE GH-WIU01 Liquid Cooling System
CPU: AMD Athlon 64 FX-60 2.6GHz (2 x 1MB) L2 Cache Dual Core
Power: Antec 550W Power Supply True Power 2.0 Model "TP2-550 EPS12V"
M/B: ASUS A8N32-SLI Deluxe ATX AMD Motherboard
Memory: Corsair XMS Extreme 2GB (2 x 1GB) DDR 400 Timing 3-3-3-8
Video Card: Quantity 2 of Geforce 7800GT 256MB/256-bit GDDR3 PCI-E or Geforce 7800GT 256MB/256-bit GDDR3 PCI-E
Sound: Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeMusic 7.1 Channels
Raid0: 2 Seagate 300GB SATA
Optical Drive: NEC 16x dual drive
Everything for only $3550!

What kinds of overclocking performance can I expect from this system? I certainly expect to overclock it once I receive. I know that I would choose Opteron, DFI lanparty ultra d, etc if I need to purchase it out of my pocket. Is this corsair ram good for overclocking?
How about the liquid cooling here? I'm noob for the H20 cooling, and I'm wondering whether it's worth for $160. Otherwise I can go with stock cooling and change the heat pipe with SI-120 and Panflo 120 mm fan.
Again, your advice is greatly appreciated! :heart:

Thanks,

JJET

 

[Kakumba]

Well, is it possible to switch the 7800GT's for 7900GT's? price difference isnt huge, but performance gain is. Otherwise, I wish I could own that setup. It may not be perfect, but damn if it isnt a sweet setup anyways.

Also, why cant you buy in components?

 

[evenmore1]

Yeah, two 7900GT's would OWN!
As for vendors, do you trust Monarchcomputer? or Cyberpower/ibuypower? You could get something cheaper from them...

Otherwise...sweet rig!

 

[robertk2012]

Whose money are you spending? God im glad its not mine.

 

[sgtBaker]

That price is ridiculous.
Heres my system I just put together for $1250.

DFI ultra-d mb
opteron 165 running at 2.6ghz
2 gig gskill pc500 ram
antec sonata 2 with stock power supply
2 HITACHI Deskstar T7K250 250GB 3.5" SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drives in RAID 0
EVGA 7800 gt graphics card
NEC dvd drive/recorder16x
xp 90 heatsink with panaflo fan

 

[aigomorla]

Originally posted by: sgtBaker
That price is ridiculous.
Heres my system I just put together for $1250.

DFI ultra-d mb
opteron 165 running at 2.6ghz
2 gig gskill pc500 ram
antec sonata 2 with stock power supply
2 HITACHI Deskstar T7K250 250GB 3.5" SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drives in RAID 0
EVGA 7800 gt graphics card
NEC dvd drive/recorder16x
xp 90 heatsink with panaflo fan

theres a hugh difference in hardware from what you have and what he's getting. You cant compare your 165 with his fx-60. That alone is about close to a 500 dollar difference. and he's running SLI while ur not, Also his sound card and the fact its liquid cooling, puts this computer on a totally different catigory. :

But in response to his reply, yeah that price is rediculous, because u could get away with far better in the other specs.

Here's some better recomendations tho, first and formost try to swap out that outdated ASUS with a dual x16 motherboard. Asus makes one and so does MSI. Also, try to get a 7900GT upgrade. If ur budget is limitless, you could also get 2 x 150gb Raptor's instead and connect them in RAID0.

To answer your question about overclocking, each hardware from ram cpu to motherboard have unique characteristics. You cant really predict how well your system will overclock until you've tried and spent a lot of time on it. But from my knowledge, the FX-60 should hit over 3.0ghz if you do your settings right, and with liquid cooling, it should be hella fun. Have fun with that unlocked multiplier :]

 

[Kakumba]

Isnt the A8N32 a dual x16 mobo? Im pretty sure that model is from memory.

anyways, for overclocking, ASUS is not the way. Try to get a DFI SLI-DR Expert in there. cost about the same (less for me), and WAAAY better OC board.

As for the water cooling, I have never used that kit, but I always reckon a custom kit is the way to go. Danger Den have great stuff at reasonable prices. Them and Swiftech are the way for watercooling I reckon.

And yeah, the FX-60 should OC ok, and Corsair make good ram, should get some good results.

In short, nice system, but you could save a helluva lot of money from shopping around, and by changing your vid cards, mobo and watercooling, you should be looking at some crazy performance. Any way to put a dual core opty in there? they typically hit 28 - 3.0 with water anyways....

 

[iRONic]

Originally posted by: jjet67

What kinds of overclocking performance can I expect from this system?

I run my FX-60 @2900 24/7 on air. I'd certainly expect that water cooled setup to hit 3.2 minimum.

 

[jjet67]

Originally posted by: sgtBaker
That price is ridiculous.
Heres my system I just put together for $1250.

DFI ultra-d mb
opteron 165 running at 2.6ghz
2 gig gskill pc500 ram
antec sonata 2 with stock power supply
2 HITACHI Deskstar T7K250 250GB 3.5" SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drives in RAID 0
EVGA 7800 gt graphics card
NEC dvd drive/recorder16x
xp 90 heatsink with panaflo fan

Yeah, I know.
I was about to order similar spec with yours.
My initial order was: DFI ultra-d, Opteron 165, 2 gigs gskill, X850xt, SI-120, Antec True power 500W, and Antec P180. I'm in school, and the purchase of the computer comes from a research fund. The computer support group insisted on buying Dell Dual 830 core instead of this, and I had to debate with them. My professor picked up a specification similar to this, and it might go through.

Also many thanks for your constructive suggestions.
If I had that amount of money, I would have selected what you guys suggested. However, the purchase decision is not mine although I'm going to use it.
I may need to drop the SLI configuration later on. Two video cards are great for gaming but not for research. I have to select at least a 7800GT from their website.
Again, I'm totally novice on water cooling, and I'm expecting to hit 3Ghz on this one.
Thanks,

JJET

 

[d3lt4]

WAIT... Your school is buying this for you!?!:Q
They are letting you overclock it as well? for what?
whatkind of research is this? How to play a HL2 with more than 100fps?
Let me in on what kind of research this is so I can implement it at my school.

Really, I'm just jealous.

 

[aigomorla]

ROFL... someone is going to break into yours school and jack that rig watch :X theres a reason why schools use DELL.

 

[atybimf]

Drop the FX60 and get two 7900GTXs for a SLI setup. Just overclock whatever dual core you get to 2.6 which shouldn't be too terribly difficult because you are getting watercooling.