Building a new Rig Any ideas on what to get?

[OverVolt]

Hey Everyone!

I managed to get $3,600 to make a new system, monitor, speakers and all. Not sure if i should wait for 800Fsb CPU's or just get the 533Fsb P4's. I think AMD outta the question since i'd like at least a heatspreader so i don't risk crushing my CPU if i'm gunna spend $300.

So i was thinking two WD Raptors in RAID 0 w/ a 180Gb+ 8mb cache 🙂! Radeon9700Pro and overclock to 9800pro speeds. not sure if i should go 3.06Ghz with HT would help i multitask alot. or should i get a 2.6B and try to run it 800fsb when those mobo's come out.

Granite Bay (I7025 Chipset) is a must if i go intel. I haven't heard much about it for awhile, did it bomb? Is it good for overclocking?

Logitech Speakers look like a good deal for a 4.1 400w surround system, Z-540's i think there called.

Feel free to help me out i'm kinda puzzled on some cool case accessories to get. Maybe a fan controller with knobs and a digital temp readout or soemthin. help me out here! Prolly going dual CRT's. I might go outta my budget here, so what are some nice things that are really worth the money and whats not?

 

[Duvie]

I would get a canterwood i875 mobo.....I would try to get the 3ghz p4c 800fsb if possible but would settle for the 3.06ghz if the C's are hard to get...HT will help you and is a major benefit.

I would probably just get the 9800pro unless there is absolutely no enhancement other then speed increase over the 9700pro...I am not a gamer so I don't know for sure...

I would get 1gb of ram in 2 sticks of 512mb ddr in corsair pc3200 or pc3500 cas 2 sticks....

If you will be ocing any then definitely take a look at some of the heatsink reviews being done in the cpu forum...

 

[limsandy]

$3600 is a lot of money to burn for a new system. :Q

 

[JSSheridan]

I've heard of problems coming up when the 9700Pro is installed in a Granite Bay. Fastwrite wouldn't work I believe, but I think newer hardware revisions fixed the problem. The Swiftech MCX4000 is the new favorite of some of the OC masters, though you could go with a water cooled system. Peace.

 

[OverVolt]

Are most watercooled CPU Sinks Bolt on or do they use the plastic clip thing?

I like those 80mm HSF's though i'll look at swiftech. Not sure if you can get the plastic clip back on after you take it off to bolt on the swiftech, anybody used one of em before?

Thanks JSSheridan for the heads up on the compatibility issue, i'll look into it and keep it in mind.

What kinda case would ya'll reccomend? I like Antec myself but it's all i've ever used. Definatly going Antec PSU but whats are some other nice cases? A window would be nice!

Edit:When are those Canterwoods comming out? I was all excited but Intel screwed something up! :disgust: No one can give me a definate answer.

 

[optimistic]

I would spend a lot of the money on a really good monitor.

 

[Krk3561]

What about getting a Promethia or Vapochill?

Also, canterwood mobos are out already

 

[MistaTastyCakes]

If you want dual channel DDR, grab an SiS655 board, they seem to be a bit more popular than Granite Bay. The Gigabyte SINXP is a great board w/ a ton of features and is quite fast.

If you have that much money to burn, try getting one of those Prometia cooling systems and taking the 3.06 to 4.0+ 🙂

Grab yourself a big ol' Antec, and then go to www.frozencpu.com and look around. They have a ton of nifty gadgets for your case.

 

[Duvie]

I would stay away from the sis chipsets...stick with INtel chipses for Intel CPUs...The sis chipsets do not oc as high stabily ( I have researched this thoroughly); they tend to be not as fetaure rich; they tend to have less performace outof agp and ide (maybe crappy drivers)....If you want cheap then go that route, otherwise get a nice GB or canterwood with SATA and get SATA harddrives like the WD Raptors...

 

[gf4200isdabest]

Do not spend 3600 on a system. It might sound cool now, but a year later you'll be glad you didn't spend it. I had the same type of cash a while ago but i decided to build an $1,800 system. Best decision I ever made...

 

[Alagator]

$3,600 is some serious cash for a single comp ,unless you are planning some digitial equip or a major sound system.
1. I think the (WD)Sata drives will scream ( I also plan to drop scsi and go Sata as soon as the smoke clears).
2. You could get the freezer kit to run cpu @ -40 c.
3. Klipsch makes super speakers systems
4. Antec makes nice cases
5. 1 gig of ram can't hurt either
As far as the rest of the system you didn't say what its use would be (if you did I didn't see it)
The 800 fsb is coming I would give it a month after launch and let all the "I have to have it now" peeps report on the up/downs
I saw you say that AMD was out of the picture , even the MP models ? I also didn't see what OS you are going to run .

 

[Tavoc]

I would say spend the most money on an excellent monitor, speakers, case, and PSU. Other than that wait a few weeks and get a 3.0C P4 on a canterwood with 1GB of PC3200 RAM. Go ahead and get a 9700 Pro, prices should be dropping soon. Save the rest of that cash for 2 or 3 years down the road.