buying system this week, critque please!

[blipblop]

Case = Antec Sonata
Mobo = Chaintech VNF4 ultra
CPU = A64 3000+ "winny"
Ram = 2 x 512 corsair value pc3200
HD = 160 gig samsung spinpoint
video card = leadtek 6600[not GT]
Sound = onboard
Floppy = samsung?
DVD burner = NEC 3520

it's just going to be used as desktop work, World of Warcraft, i don't need intense resolution or anything like that, but i've been playing WoW off my laptop and i figure this desktop might be a good little investment. Just critique your way out of it and any experiences with the board and stuff? haven't built a pc in about 6 months haha. thanks!

 

[Rip the Jacker]

Everything is nice as it is but if it were me I'd invest a little more into a 6600 GT to get a more "bang for buck"

 

[Fisher999]

I REALLY like what I see. I noticed that you, liike my in my system thread over here have opted for a PCI-E based Motherboard. Have you given any thought about this EXCELLENT Asus Radeon X700 sold at NEWEGG for only $112.50 DELIVERED. I based my decision based on CURRENT pricing and benchmarks from this EXCELLENT Anandtech article over here. Pay partiular attention, if you go to the article, on the section titled "the contenders" and of course the benchmark figures. The Radeon x700 (standard) "blows away" the similarly-priced GeFORCE 6600 (standard) by a significant margin in every benchmark EXCEPT DOOM 3 ! :thumbsup:

 

[blipblop]

wow, missed this article, reading it now, thanks! i just ordered my case and ram, it'll sit until i figure out what video card i can get

 

[Triple B]

i would also suggest the x700 by ati. i love my x800xl, a bit more graphic umf! than what you need, but like the ati and price. good move with going to pci-E, room to upgrade in the future.
LISTEN!!! STAY AWAY FROM THE CHAINTECH!!!!! they suck! i know its a 50/50 split....but i got TWO DOA, so i ended up going with an MSI k8n neo-f. reviews are much better. itsa bit less $$$. i thought i did some good research on the chaintech, but until i had it and it was screwing did i find all the problem forums. just do a search here on 'vnf4' and you will see.
good luck though
BBB

 

[KayKay]

ditto on the k8n neo4-f

the 6600GT is worth the xtra money

 

[IntegraGSR]

Originally posted by: Triple B
good move with going to pci-E, room to upgrade in the future.

this is just clever marketing stradegy :/

current top of the line video cards have problems using up the bandwidth of agp4x, much less 8x... pci-e will not be required by video cards (other than dual setups) for a good 10-15 years


edit for typo

 

[Rike]

Originally posted by: ItmPls
Everything is nice as it is but if it were me I'd invest a little more into a 6600 GT to get a more "bang for buck"

Ditto. You will not be sorry. 6600GT is THE bang-for-the-buck leader. You can pick one up for about $170 over at Monarch Computers.

Originally posted by: IntegraGSR

Originally posted by: Triple B
good move with going to pci-E, room to upgrade in the future.

this is just clever marketing stradegy :/

current top of the line video cards have problems using up the bandwidth of agp4x, much less 8x... pci-e will not be required by video cards (other than dual setups) for a good 10-15 years

You are right about the bandwidth, but the reality is PCI-e is the form factor going forward. If you want to buy a good vid card in two years, it will be much easier to find the card that meets your needs in a PCI-e flavor than in AGP.

 

[Fisher999]

Originally posted by: blipblop
wow, missed this article, reading it now, thanks! i just ordered my case and ram, it'll sit until i figure out what video card i can get

You're Welcome !

And, btw, WELCOME to ANANDTECH forums. I think this is one of the best places to chat and learn.

I hope you have a good experience here!

Greg

 

[Fisher999]

Originally posted by: Triple B
i would also suggest the x700 by ati. i love my x800x....

I know you weren't responding to me but THANKS for agreeing about the Radeion x700 card. Today, for my new system build, I went ahead and ordered this Gigabyte Radeon X700 PCI-E videocard for $112.50 DELIVERED. I think that's hard to beat don't you??? The only card I could find at about the SAEM price was a GeForce 6600 STANDARD.

For my memory I ordered this PATRIOT ! GB PACK of DDR 400 and for a Power Supply this 500 Watt Fortron Source !

I Will be installing Windows XP Media Center Edition and this ATI "XP Media Center Compatible" TV Tuner card !!!

I agree with you TOTALLY on your comment about CHAINTECH motherboards. As I will be ordering this AMD Athlon64 3000+ "Winchester" as my system's brain I of course need a socket 939 motherboard. I want to go with an nFORCE 4 mobo. I am having a problem making up my mind.

Would you be willing to read the post dated 04/25/2005 06:50 AM at this Anandtech thread and tell my what you think ???

It would be much appreciated !!!

BTW, WELCOME to the FORUM !!!

ENJOY !!!

Greg