Building Dream Game Machine - Advice Plz?

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webdork

Junior Member
Sep 28, 2005
14
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Hello all,

This is my first post here, so I am uber-new guy... howdy *waves like a dork*

I have been researching and learning as much as I can about the latest and greatest parts to build my dream gaming rig. I was hoping that if I posted my list of stuff here, you guys could take a few seconds and see if I am screwing up anywhere? I have some questions on various parts, so I will inject them as I list the parts (**question no.). Thanks in advance!

Look Here for my NewEgg wish list which contains all of the items listed below:

MOBO: DFI LANPARTY UT nF4 SLI-DR Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 SLI ATX AMD Motherboard.

VIDEO: (2) eVGA 256-P2-N529-AX Geforce 7800GTX 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card **1. Can I get 2 of these into the LANPARTY Board along with any decent cooling solution?

CPU: AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400+ Toledo 1GHz FSB Socket 939 Dual Core Processor Model ADA4400CDBOX

MEMORY: OCZ 2GB (2 x 1GB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Unbuffered Dual Channel Platinum System Memory Model OCZ4002048ELDCPE-K **2. I see a lot of people going for the 2x 512 Platinum Rev. 2. Is my choice OK? Is there some reason to go away from the 1GB sticks?

HDD: Maxtor MaXLine III 7L300S0 300GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache Serial ATA150 Hard Drive - OEM

DVD: LITE-ON Black IDE DVD Burner Model SOHW-1693S Black

CASE (unsure): ASUS VENTO 3600 BLK Black 0.8mm SECC ATX Mid Tower Computer Case **3. I like the looks very much, and I have read a ton of reviews (both good and bad) but I am still really unsure what to do about a case. I am looking for something that has good cooling potential and everything will fit - I don't care about noise or looks all that much. Any suggestions?

PSU: COOLMAX CR-550B ATX 550W "140mm Fan" Power Supply **4. I was hoping to get a case that comes with a good PSU, but as I said, I am having trouble with the case selection. Can this handle the SLI 7800GTXs?

MONITOR: 24" HP/SONY GDM FW9012 (Check It Out) <<< I am not paying anywhere NEAR that price for mine ;)

And finally: COOLING! I have NO idea what would work here. I have read some awesome posts here on these boards about the various crazy heatsinks and fans that can be fitted to this MOBO, but I am still unsure what to do. Advice?

So that's it for my first post. I would really appreciate any help you guys can give, so tell me if I am screwing this up! Thanks very much!
 
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webdork

Junior Member
Sep 28, 2005
14
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Originally posted by: harobikes333
change your Maxtor to some other brand like a seagate or WD

Whats your budget?..?
Click to expand...

I can go as high as $2400.00. Can I ask why you say that about the HDD?

 
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webdork

Junior Member
Sep 28, 2005
14
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I went back and did some reading, but I keep finding that the Maxline III is the top choice even over the 10k RPM drives. That was one of the things I felt really good about :confused:
 
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caz67

Golden Member
Jan 4, 2004
1,369
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Are you looking to overclock?? If not, then i would get the Asus A8N SLI-Premium. If you are OC, then the DFI is THE board. The ASUS offers all the peripherals, you could ever want and more.

I just built my own gaming beast, it's in my sig, just to give you some ideas.

 
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webdork

Junior Member
Sep 28, 2005
14
0
0
I don't really care that much about overclocking right NOW, but I was thinking that I wanted this machine to really last a long time, so I might want to beef it up later on. I found a lot of reports about the ASUS saying it got way too hot (although the deluxe seemed to be OK).

I am a bit concerned about the configuration of the DFI, as it seems like a bunch of people think it's rocket science. :confused:

Thanks for the replies, keep em coming!
 
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Gadzookie

Senior member
Apr 17, 2005
498
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0
SLI is a waste of money with not get a reguler dfi ultra d and 1 single 7800 gtx

and you might want to get a better named PSU
 
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webdork

Junior Member
Sep 28, 2005
14
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0
Yeah I think you might be right about SLI going too far. My thinking was that since I have the money and the will to blow it all on one thing, why not go all the way and get the very best? As far as the PSU, I am open to suggestions. I only know that if I DO go SLI, I'll need a pretty beefy one with good cooling and at least 500w right?

Any other opinions on the SLI v. Non-SLI issue? Thanks again for helping me out guys :)
 
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caz67

Golden Member
Jan 4, 2004
1,369
0
0
No issues at all with mine, temps are great .

Go with the Antec True Power 550W ATX2.0, it powers my rig with no issues at all..

I would also recommend the Thermalright XP-120 with 120mm Panaflo or Vantec. The Heatsink is a beast, and it keeps everything very cool..

Goodluck in your decisions anyway..
 
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webdork

Junior Member
Sep 28, 2005
14
0
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Awesome thanks for that advice. I will go with the Thermalright XP-120 with 120mm Panaflo like you suggested. I have been really thinking it over today, and I decided that I will wait to do the SLI and just get one 7800 GTX for now. Then down the road I can double-up to keep my machine up to snuff if need-be. I'll look into the pricing for the Antec, and if it's close to the one I have spec'd out now, I'll switch to it for sure. Thanks again!
 
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stlcardinals

Senior member
Sep 15, 2005
729
0
76
Drop the SLI and the second video card and change the cpu to a Athlon FX57.

Edit: Just so you know, in your wishlist, you do not have a quantity of 2 for the video card, It's throwing your total off a little:)
 
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webdork

Junior Member
Sep 28, 2005
14
0
0
Originally posted by: stlcardinals
Drop the SLI and the second video card and change the cpu to a Athlon FX57.

Edit: Just so you know, in your wishlist, you do not have a quantity of 2 for the video card, It's throwing your total off a little:)
Click to expand...

Yeah I took it down to one last night. I am still wanting to get the SLI board since I think I will go SLI down the road. Ijust want to ease into it ;)

As far as the processor, WOW yeah that would be great, but no way am I spending 1k + on a CPU (on video cards, sure :))
 
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webdork

Junior Member
Sep 28, 2005
14
0
0
Originally posted by: Anubis
you can get that same monitor from another website for about 1/2 as much as they one you have linked
Click to expand...

Try a quarter as much ;) I was just using that page as an example so peeps could see the specs and a nice pic.
 
Anubis

Anubis

No Lifer
Aug 31, 2001
78,712
427
126
tbqhwy.com
Originally posted by: webdork
Originally posted by: Anubis
you can get that same monitor from another website for about 1/2 as much as they one you have linked
Click to expand...

Try a quarter as much ;) I was just using that page as an example so peeps could see the specs and a nice pic.
Click to expand...

ahh yea i knew it was cheap

whats the site BTW i keep forgetting to bookmark it
 
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stlcardinals

Senior member
Sep 15, 2005
729
0
76
Originally posted by: webdork
Originally posted by: stlcardinals
Drop the SLI and the second video card and change the cpu to a Athlon FX57.

Edit: Just so you know, in your wishlist, you do not have a quantity of 2 for the video card, It's throwing your total off a little:)
Click to expand...

Yeah I took it down to one last night. I am still wanting to get the SLI board since I think I will go SLI down the road. Ijust want to ease into it ;)

As far as the processor, WOW yeah that would be great, but no way am I spending 1k + on a CPU (on video cards, sure :))
Click to expand...

I would buy it though, since you are not going to spend the extra 570 for the 2nd video card and the cpu you are buying is 550. If you went with the FX57 you would save $100 compared to your original SLI build.
 
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ND40oz

Golden Member
Jul 31, 2004
1,264
0
86
Personally, I wouldn't buy that case, but if it's what you like, then get it. But the price seems a little steep for what you're getting. I'd go with an Antec P180 or if you don't mind a large case, the Titan550 as it comes with an SLI ready True Power II 550 watt power supply.

I'd keep the dual core cpu as newer games will be able to use both cores and you won't notice much of a difference between it's performance and a higher clocked single core chip.

I'd also stick with the 2 gigs of ram.

Video card, you might want to wait and see what ATI has to offer in the next week. Atleast you'll be able to see actual benchmarks, but they may not be available right away. If you have to get it now, I'd say just buy one 7800GTX.

Maxtor isn't a bad harddrive, although they had alot of problems with there drives over the past two years. I'd personally go with a Hitachi SataII as from the benchmarks I've seen, they are right at the top.
 
B

Bona Fide

Banned
Jun 21, 2005
1,901
0
0
1. Switch the Maxline to a Seagate 7200.9 hard drive. Seagate > Any other HDD company.
2. Get a P180. It's probably the best air-cooled case on the market.
3. Get an Antec Truepower II 550W PSU. Do NOT go with Coolmax or any other second-rate PSU company.
 
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webdork

Junior Member
Sep 28, 2005
14
0
0
Originally posted by: ND40oz
Personally, I wouldn't buy that case, but if it's what you like, then get it. But the price seems a little steep for what you're getting. I'd go with an Antec P180 or if you don't mind a large case, the Titan550 as it comes with an SLI ready True Power II 550 watt power supply.

I'd keep the dual core cpu as newer games will be able to use both cores and you won't notice much of a difference between it's performance and a higher clocked single core chip.

I'd also stick with the 2 gigs of ram.

Video card, you might want to wait and see what ATI has to offer in the next week. Atleast you'll be able to see actual benchmarks, but they may not be available right away. If you have to get it now, I'd say just buy one 7800GTX.

Maxtor isn't a bad harddrive, although they had alot of problems with there drives over the past two years. I'd personally go with a Hitachi SataII as from the benchmarks I've seen, they are right at the top.
Click to expand...

ok wow awesome informaiton THANKS! The Titan550 looks good to me. I only chose that case based on its looks which I really liked. But screw that, I need performance and reliability, not shiny plastic. I'm gonna go run off and start researching th eother stuff you mentioned here. I am not in a rush to do this, so I might also wait to hear what ATI says about their new card. It'll probably be too much $ for a long time though right? I am thinking like around 700 right?

anyways, thanks again, I'll be back after I get some more info. :D
 
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webdork

Junior Member
Sep 28, 2005
14
0
0
OK, so it looks like I might have it. I figure whatever ATI puts out, it can't be THAT much better than the 7800GTX, so screw it.

I have two last questions:

1. What kind of heatsink/fan combo should I get for the titan 550 case?
2. Is the titan going to be cool enough?

Thanks for all the help, it really helped me narrrow things down :)
 
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