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Building New Machine, Seeking Critique

S

Skarr

Junior Member

Hi, I've been an avid gamer for many years, but I've never really been very technologically 'proficient'. My old system finally took a dive about a month ago (an old Compaq, p4 2.56Ghz, 1g of something RAM, Radeon 9800XT. I think the card died on me thanks to overheating) and seeing as its really quite old, and how I'd like to be able to play games on high again for atleast a little while, I decided to go about and build my own machine.

My budget is about $2000. I don't need a keyboard, mouse, power supply, Windows XP, or a monitor. My ideas are as follows:

ASUS A8N5X Mobo
AMD 64 X2 4400+ CPU
2 x 1G sticks of OCZ Platnum DDR400 Memory
Radeon X1900XTX Video Card
Sound Blaster X-Fi Extreme Music Sound Card
Western Digital Caviar SE16 250Gb SATA 3g HDD
An ASUS DVD drive
A Lite-ON DVDRW

I'd like to upgrade the motherboard for sure. And I'm really not sure what case to get, but I'd certainly like space. I'd also like to keep to a single video card. All these options for upgrades makes my head spin. I really don't want to wait for anything, I need a new computer pretty soon. My Pentium2 333Mhz w/ a Voodoo 3 ain't the best for gaming... or anything, but at least Word still works on it.

Overclocking... the more I read about, the more it appeals to me. Is an Opteron really that good of an option? I'd like to get every inch of performance out of my machine that is possible for games. I should note that I really don't have any partiality toward dual cores or AMD. Thanks for reading this and thanks for any advice.

Oh, I should also note that I had my first experience ordering computer parts online from NewEgg recently and was most impressed with the quality and fast shipping. If possible, I'd like to buy from them again.
 
Opterons supposedly overclock higher than the comparable basic A64 models, but I hear the new X2 3800+ CPUs overclock just as well as the Opteron 165 CPUs. So if you're looking to save a little money, I would recommend the X2 3800+ instead (the extra cache doesn't help performance significantly).

Also, if you're willing to overclock, the X1900XT is a better buy than the X1900XTX - you get a small increase in GPU/memory clock speed, but a $100 increase in price, IIRC. Chances are you can OC your X1900XT to X1900XTX speeds, or higher.

Might I ask why you're getting a separate DVD drive? And what PSU do you plan to use with your system?
 
Not much to critique there, you've picked out a good build =D. If you wanna overclock, you could look at an Opteron 165 instead of the 4400+, and you could spend the money saved on a better o/cing mobo, like a high end ASUS/DFI mobo (DFI nf4 Ultra-D if you dont want to go xFire in the future, or an ATI based mobo if you think you'll want that upgrade path). There's always Conroe/AM2 around the corner if you wanna wait, but i dont see that being too worthwhile. I'd give you the links to the things i suggested, but i'm in australia, so i dont use newegg.
 
Thanks for responding. The power supply I have is an Enermax Noisetaker II 600watt, it was a 'gift' if you will. I'm after two Optical drives (one a RW and one preferably not) because I like having the ability to put two disks in at once, having an extra drive incase one goes down, and for that damned Starforce program that kept my old DVDRW from running any games it 'protected'. Perhaps the issue with Starforce has been resolved and I'm just being silly.

I'm not sure about the x1900xt. Or the x2 3800+. I guess my question is, especially for the CPU, if I go for a 3800 over a more expensive 4400, is it possible to end up with better speeds overall? My common sense tells me no. You see, my oppurtunity to upgrade my computer comes once in a very blue moon and when the window is there, I'd like to get all I can.

Anyway, thanks so much for responding. When considering these kind of purchases, your advice is most appreciated.

Edit: I almost forgot, what about a case? There are billions of them. I went to Fry's and looked through some. Many looked cool but were plastic and felt like I could snap them in half if I sneezed to hard. I'm not much of a fan of doors and weight is no issue for me. I like the look of the Lian Li PC-V1000, but it's almost $200! Is there a comparable case for a bit less?
 
Originally posted by: Skarr
and for that damned Starforce program that kept my old DVDRW from running any games it 'protected'. Perhaps the issue with Starforce has been resolved and I'm just being silly.
Click to expand...
I'm not sure about this, but Daemon Tools might be able to emulate/bypass the Starforce protection. Check into that. If it does, you can just rip the game onto your HD and run it from there.
I'm not sure about the x1900xt. Or the x2 3800+. I guess my question is, especially for the CPU, if I go for a 3800 over a more expensive 4400, is it possible to end up with better speeds overall?
Click to expand...
It's possible, though not probable. Many people take the 3800+ to at least 2.4GHz, with 2.6GHz being common. A 4400+ might hit higher than that, or it might not - but its extra L2 cache is a slight advantage. IMO, not worth the added cost.
I like the look of the Lian Li PC-V1000, but it's almost $200! Is there a comparable case for a bit less?
Click to expand...
What size case are you looking for? Any noise concerns? Windowless? Front door?
 
For overclocking Opteron 165. Otherwise I'd get 4200+ since it's $100 cheaper and almost as fast. For graphics card I'd get X1900XT since the XTX isn't worth the price difference unless you intend to overclock. If you are not overclocking that board is fine. Otherwise something else like DFI LanParty, etc.
 
Don't get a DFI board, they are pretty much the best out there for overclocking, but they are also very picky and tempramental to use. For a beginner a lower overclock but an easier experience would be my advice.

Opteron 165 / 3800X2
Epox 9na Motherboard.
2GB value RAM (2x1GB sticks)
X1900XT
Sound Blaster X-Fi Extreme Music Sound Card
Western Digital Caviar SE16 250Gb SATA 3g HDD
Lian Li case / coolermaster stacker case

Dvd drives are up to you, but ASUS are just rebrands. (can't remember who's).
Lian li do some of the best looking cases around, coolermaster make great tinkering cases, with lots of room and very easy to keep cool. Look around and find a "look" that you like and we'll either tell you that the case is great, go buy it, or find one that looks similar and won't fall apart when you stare at it 😉
 
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