Building New Comp

[Druid21]

Mobo: Asus A8V
CPU: A64 3200+ s939 winchester core
HSF: Zalman 7000B Al-Cu
PSU: OCZ Powerstream 420w
HDDs: Seagate 200Gb SATA x2
RAM: Ballistix 512mb ddr400 x2
VidCard: eVGA 6800 gt w/NV Silencer 5
Case: Antec P160 (no window)
Keyboard/mouse: LX700 wireless combo
DVD Burner: NEC 3500 Dual Layer
Monitor: NEC 19" Diamondtron
Generic NEC 1.44 Floppy

Ordering From Newegg/ZipZoomFly/Crucial

I have been lurking here for the last 3 months getting caught up on the current PC trends and technology and would like to just say that you guys have been a great help whether you knew it or not With the research I have done using Anandtech and THG I think this rig should work pretty well as a gaming oriented system with some light video editing from time to time.

I will be overclocking both the CPU (2.6ish I hope) and the video card (6800 Ultra+ hopefully).

Any suggestions or comments are most welcome.

 

[gamerj]

well thats a pretty big coincidence lol,

have about similar setup and am looking for a new case (zalman 7700 wont fit) and that p160 struck my eye as well, out of many many cases ...

From what ive seen the 3200 clocks pretty well, (cause amd rules)

check here for some figures: http://www.aquamark3.com < benchmark forum


Havent seen that ram much though, but i am not an expert obviously.(maybe faster ram when overclocking that much?, im not an expert but i cant get past a meezely 15mhz overclock on my fsb with my current memory (twinmos pc3200), even with loose timings and 2.8 volts on it...

Not sure what the difference between asus a8v and a8v (deluxe) is, but i heard that only the a8v rev2 has an agp frequency lock,,, (bios flash should do it i guess).

here's my score on stock cooling: http://arc.aquamark3.com/arc/a...iew.php?run=1022406299

amd 64 3500+
asus a8v deluxe
asus X800XT plat.ed.

 

[Druid21]

The mobo is the Asus A8V Deluxe - I'm just lazy with my typing

The RAM is made by Crucial (thier premium offering using Micron chips) and supposedly OC's like mad. Read over at THG that it is capable of being pc4000 (vs stock pc3200) if the timings are loosened a tad.

I've been playing around with my pricing spreadsheet for a few months now and am getting the itch to actually build this thing. My anemic Dell Dimension 8100 needs to take a one way trip to hell where it belongs:evil:

 

[iamskew]

how soon are you are you planning to upgrade? If you're not going to upgrade for a couple of years, I'd just get the socket 754 cpu and save the money. Those sockets are always changing, so in 2 years it'll probably be different again, and you'll have to buy a new mobo anyway.

Just a suggestion

skew

 

[gamerj]

lol, that is pretty a pretty impressive overclock on your memory, damn, makes me wish i hadnt bought the memory thats on its way now...corsair twinx 1024 pc4000

is it expensive ? (the ram that is...)

oh and i would stick to the socket 939!

 

[nick1985]

check out the RAM in my sig. right now newegg has a $15 instant discount on it so its only like $230 or something like that. it runs 295Mhz.

 

[Spartan Mustang]

It looks like to me that tou have picked out a nice new computer for yourself. I think you"ll get real nice performance out of it. My only recomendations are very minor and based on my own personal opinion. I would hold out for an N-Force 4 board with SLI capability. I would also upgrad my graphics card to an SLI certified PCI express card. I am not saying go out and buy 2 cards I only say this because it offers a better upgrade path for the future. Also if you end up switching to an Nforce 4 board you may also want to look at getting a SATA II harddrive with MCQ technology. While I think you have a very nice rig i might go this route just because it has an even better upgrade path for the future. Hope this helps

 

[montag451]

I think the NCQ technology really only shows an advantage in servers.
Read that on Tomshardware some time ago

 

[JBDan]

Originally posted by: Druid21
Mobo: Asus A8V
CPU: A64 3200+ s939 winchester core
HSF: Zalman 7000B Al-Cu
PSU: OCZ Powerstream 420w
HDDs: Seagate 200Gb SATA x2
RAM: Ballistix 512mb ddr400 x2
VidCard: eVGA 6800 gt w/NV Silencer 5
Case: Antec P160 (no window)
Keyboard/mouse: LX700 wireless combo
DVD Burner: NEC 3500 Dual Layer
Monitor: NEC 19" Diamondtron
Generic NEC 1.44 Floppy

Ordering From Newegg/ZipZoomFly/Crucial

I have been lurking here for the last 3 months getting caught up on the current PC trends and technology and would like to just say that you guys have been a great help whether you knew it or not With the research I have done using Anandtech and THG I think this rig should work pretty well as a gaming oriented system with some light video editing from time to time.

I will be overclocking both the CPU (2.6ish I hope) and the video card (6800 Ultra+ hopefully).

Any suggestions or comments are most welcome.

Excellent setup! All is well and the zalman cooler will fit on the A8V. I have same gfx card and cooler and you will love it If silence is impor to you then go here http://www.silenx.com/productc...Cat_Z.asp?idCategory=3
for your 120mm's 14dba's. If you want better oc'ing than stick with stock 120's

 

[Druid21]

Socket 754 is cheap but it doesnt have much of a future - I am hoping to trade-up on Vid cards and CPUs when a good enough upgrade becomes affordable. I'll try and make this system last for 4-5 years and upgrade once or twice along the way. An FX-xx with strained silicon and an unlocked multiplier will be a hefty upgrade when they get cheap in a year or two.

nForce4 and SLI are still new and highly experimental/buggy - not really something I want to deal with. Also I am unwilling to part with the $850 that dual 6800 GTs would cost me at this point in time.

The only thing at this point that will tempt me to change my setup is a DFI Mobo for Socket 939 - supposed to start shipping sometime in Jan/Feb but that is just too long for me to wait

gamerj: the Ballistix RAM is about $250 for the 1024mb (2x512mb) that I'm ordering straight from the factory - factory direct is cheaper than Newegg atm.

JBDan: I was looking at a thermally controlled 3-speed fan (120mm from Antec ~$20) to install in the back and move the stock one to the front as an intake over the HDDs.

 

[iamskew]

Originally posted by: Druid21
The only thing at this point that will tempt me to change my setup is a DFI Mobo for Socket 939 - supposed to start shipping sometime in Jan/Feb but that is just too long for me to wait

Then why did you ask for suggestions?

 

[Druid21]

I wanted some folks that have built similar setups to take a look at what I was planning and see if there were any compatibility issues that I overlooked.

i.e. was the PSU sufficient, any known probs with the mobo that will cause issues, etc.

It looks like none of the stuff is going to have major problems and should work nicely together. Thank you everyone for your input and suggestions.