Build me a gaming rig

[Salvador]

So far I have an Antec Super Lanboy and a ATI RADEON 9800 PRO. The rest is still a big ??. I need a cpu, mobo, psu and all the other goodies. I'm thinking about going with SATA drives in a RAID array if that's worth it.

I'm tired of making my main system a gaming rig also, so I'm finally going to make a separate rig for gaming.

Suggestions? What would you put together with what's currently available on the market? I'm not willing to pay the most for the latest and greatest. I'm looking for more of a sweet spot at this point for technology. Something that will be a helluva gaming rig without having to pay double for 5% more performance.

TIA,

Sal

 

[blackinches]

athlon 64 3500+
msi k8n neo platinum (if you plan on using your old vid card or sticking with a new agp card)
chaintech vnf4 seems pretty nice if you plan on going pci-e
antec neopower for the psu
maxtor diamondmax10 300gb oem to get the 3 year warranty or a pair of western digital 74gb raptor 10k in raid for speed.
if you need a case blackinches likes the coolermaster centurion 5 or the praetorian.
if you don't plan on overclocking get the mushkin 1gb dual pack for about 140 at newegg.

 

[ComatoseDelirium]

you lazy SOB. hahaha

 

[Salvador]

Ok.. I'm thinking about two different systems here. I was inspired by my recent purchase of my Antec Super Lanboy and want to make a fun gaming rig. I'm coming from an Epox KT333a system with a XP2400+ 266fsb cpu and 512 of PC2700 RAM.

I'm thinking about either going with a socket 939 system with the MSI Neo Platinum board and a 3500+ cpu and 1 gb of RAM.

Or.. I'm thinking about grabbing a socket 754 at 3000+ with a DFI lanparty Nforce3 mobo and 1 gb of RAM.

Is the socket 939 system going to be considerably faster? It's almost twice as expensive at this point.

As far as video cards, I'm going to stick with AGP for now because the PCIe is just too new for me. I was thinking about either keeping my ATI 9800PRO 128 mb or selling it and upgrading to a 6800GT graphics card. I could probably do either with either board and cpu options that I choose.

As far as power supplies, I could probably just buy something that would handle both set ups, to give me the option to use it later with an upgraded system.

Opinions?

Thanks again!

Sal

 

[ComatoseDelirium]

..... lazy SOB!!! hahahaha ok i'll stop posting here, nothing helpful to add, but.. C'mon!

 

[ComatoseDelirium]

Oh haha I found something helpful, MSI = Good, and 939 will cost more now, but is.. 'futureproof' until the next thing comes along, or you could, get a good deal of ram, a lower end 754, and then later go and get a 3800 in a year or 2, and by atleast 3 or 4 years, you could get a new setup again, or just a new mobo, and processor, its a difficult decision, I think 754's have better mobos, right now.. though whats more worth it to you.. a good reliable system, that will last.. 3ish years.. or a good.. tad less reliable system, that will be futureproof for 2 years.. and then a nice long life afterward..

 

[Salvador]

How much slower will the socket 754 system be? How much faster will it be over what I currently have?

I mean, I build a system and then next year, I want something all together new once I start thinking about upgrading within the system. I'm certainly not immuned to ripping everything out and starting from scratch. Actually, that's most of the fun for me.

A socket 754 has to be more future proof than my socket A XP2400+ 266 fsb rig.

Sal

 

[Gigantopithecus]

I would definitely go with a S939 chip for upgradeability. A S939 setup is much more future-proof than a S754 setup.

As for S939 boards, the ASUS A8V Deluxe & MSI K8N Platinum boards are very solid.

Check out some prices, but I'm sure you can pair a S939 chip with a S939 mobo for not much more than a S754 combination.

 

[bobsmith1492]

For the price, I'd go with the 754. I was just comparing them myself. With the DFI and a 3000 or 3200, you should be able to OC a decent bit as well. Go for it - 939 isn't that much faster anyway, and you can't be futureproof with computers, so the most futureproof is bang for the buck - 754 wins.

EDIT:

It would cost you 60 or 100 bucks more to build the 939 system, using either the S939 3000 for 60 or the 3200 (more comparable performance-wise) for 100 using the MSI motherboard as compared to the S754 3000 on the DFI. It's definately not worth 100 bucks for .... futureproofing (impossible) or the small speed boost on S939 (about 5% I hear due to the dual-channel memory), although you might be able to overclock more on the 90 NM S939.

Hope that makes sense.

 

[Jotho]

Originally posted by: Salvador
I'm thinking about either going with a socket 939 system with the MSI Neo Platinum board and a 3500+ cpu

One of my friends has the MSI S939 board but he paired it with one of the new 90nm Winchester S939 Athlon 64 3000. If you're considering the A64 3000 in S754, why not get it in 939 and get the best of both worlds?

 

[Salvador]

I'm not crazy about the board choices that I have with the 939. The MSI board has a noisy chipset fan and it's $50 more than the DFI board that I'm looking at. The 3500+ chip in the 939 is $270 when the 3000+ chip in the 754 is $146.

My thinking is that I can't future proof the system by any means. I've never been one to upgrade cpu's on a mobo. I always end up jumping to the next faster board, so I end up upgrading the cpu and mobo anyway. The RAM always ends up being faster, so I feel the need to upgrade the RAM as well. I even end up upgrading psu's because each consequetive system seems to want more power. 300-350w psu's, even quality psu's don't cut it any longer with the newest boards, SATA drives and graphics cards. Not to mention, that the next time I upgrade, I'll probably be looking at a PCIe graphics card instead of AGP from the way things look to be going. It's a no-win situation.

I guess the question comes down to, would I be all right playing the current FPS games like HL2 and Doom3 (definitely the most graphics intensive games that I play -- I play a lot of racing sims) with a 3000+ socket 754, DFI lanparty mobo, ATI 9800 Pro 128 mb and 1 gb of good RAM? Would I also be choking a 6800GT if I decided to upgrade the video card and use it with the socket 754 system?

Thanks again.

Sal

 

[Gigantopithecus]

Originally posted by: Salvador
I guess the question comes down to, would I be all right playing the current FPS games like HL2 with a 3000+ socket 754, DFI lanparty mobo, ATI 9800 Pro 128 mb and 1 gb of good RAM? Would I also be choking a 6800GT if I decided to upgrade the video card and use it with the socket 754 system?

Thanks again.

Sal

Yes, probably not.

 

[bobsmith1492]

You'll be fine w/ the 754 system. Heck, it blows away the XPs, and I just built my roomie an XP based system w/ a 6800. It plays Doom and HL w/ AA and AF (though low rez as he has a small LCD) perfectly. A 64 system would smoke that, and work perfectly with a 6800GT.

 

[Kccdx2]

S939 3200 or 3000 (The 3500, 3200, 3000 all can reach 2.6, easily more than you'll need). the 3000+ can be had for $150.
Lose the 9800pro and get a 6600GT or the 6800OC for about $50 more and the chance to turn it into a 6800GT by softmod.
I like the epox 9nDA board..

 

[Salvador]

Originally posted by: Kccdx2
S939 3200 or 3000 (The 3500, 3200, 3000 all can reach 2.6, easily more than you'll need). the 3000+ can be had for $150.
Lose the 9800pro and get a 6600GT or the 6800OC for about $50 more and the chance to turn it into a 6800GT by softmod.
I like the epox 9nDA board..

I'd be willing to spend more on the 6800GT if I didn't think that a socket 754 system would choke with it. I would consider the 6600GT soft modded, but I never have any luck with that sort of thing.

So.. Get rid of the 9800 Pro? Would it hold back the socket 754 system that I'm thinking about building?

Sal

 

[Edward Lee]

Future Proof? More Upgradable? No such thing.

Check out this thread.
http://forums.anandtech.com/me...7&threadid=1487500

 

[DanDaMan315]

Man im rocking the 9800pro with amd 3400 (754) runs Doom3 extremely well, and HL2 with max settings perfectly. Go 754, the price is right and the preformance isnt much better with a 939.

 

[Salvador]

Originally posted by: DanDaMan315
Man im rocking the 9800pro with amd 3400 (754) runs Doom3 extremely well, and HL2 with max settings perfectly. Go 754, the price is right and the preformance isnt much better with a 939.

What resolution? Is HL2 the most graphics intensive game currently out? I don't even have these games yet because I don't want to attempt them with my old rig.

Would a 754 3000+ system choke a video card like a 6800GT?

Edward Lee. I'm with you about futureproofing. I have this XP 2400+ system right now and I need to basically change everything no matter what system I go with. My power supply isn't enough. The RAM is too slow. The CPU isn't compatible with the motherboard. I want a SATA drive now to replace my PATA drive. I'm looking to upgrade my video card even though the ATI 9800 Pro is still pretty decent.

This stuff will never end if I don't let it. Even if I go with a 939 system, I have to think if I want to go with PCIe or SLI.

Anyway..

Sal