Critique build for brother

[PhoenixOrion]

here's plan for my brother's gaming box:

FX-55......(already have)
Abit AT8, heatpiped northbridge, six 3.0Gbit SATA, optical SPDIF out
2x1GB 2-3-2-6 Kingston HyperX....(already have)
eVGA 8800GTS 640MB
Corsair HX 620-watt modular
74GB Raptor.......(already have)
Lite-on 16x DVD burner
...and thinking of getting Scythe Infinity for cpu cooler.

gaming will be on a 24" widescreen.

Thanks for any input.

 

[Blain]

Originally posted by: PhoenixOrion
Critique build for brother

FX-55......(already have)

eVGA 8800GTS 640MB

gaming will be on a 24" widescreen.

Why spend so much on a video card to use with a has-been CPU? :thumbsdown:

 

[PhoenixOrion]

Originally posted by: Blain

Originally posted by: PhoenixOrion
Critique build for brother

FX-55......(already have)

eVGA 8800GTS 640MB

gaming will be on a 24" widescreen.

Why spend so much on a video card to use with a has-been CPU? :thumbsdown:

b/c its the fastest videocard (and DX10 card) and can be had for $366 shipped.

 

[jpeyton]

Originally posted by: Blain

Originally posted by: PhoenixOrion
Critique build for brother

FX-55......(already have)

eVGA 8800GTS 640MB

gaming will be on a 24" widescreen.

Why spend so much on a video card to use with a has-been CPU? :thumbsdown:

For a 'Lifer', you're completely behind the curve in regards to product knowledge.

Not all games take advantage of dual-core CPUs, and last time I checked an AMD K8 core clocked at 2.6GHz is enough to make good use of a video card like the 8800. It would be a dramatic jump in framerate from a 7900/X1900 series card, especially at higher resolutions.

It's true, you can get better framerates with a faster CPU, but if the upgrader's primary concern is gaming, their money should go to a better video card first and a CPU upgrade second.

 

[PhoenixOrion]

Originally posted by: jpeyton

Originally posted by: Blain

Originally posted by: PhoenixOrion
Critique build for brother

FX-55......(already have)

eVGA 8800GTS 640MB

gaming will be on a 24" widescreen.

Why spend so much on a video card to use with a has-been CPU? :thumbsdown:

Not all games take advantage of dual-core CPUs, and last time I checked an AMD K8 core clocked at 2.6GHz is enough to make good use of a video card like the 8800.

It's true, you can get better framerates with a faster CPU, but if the upgrader's primary concern is gaming, their money should go to a better video card first and a CPU upgrade second.

Oh yea, it'll definitely be fast enough. If we get the scythe infinity, we plan to run the FX-55 at 2.9-3.0Ghz.

 

[yh125d]

Ive thought about getting a 8800gts to match with my Athlon 4000, but i cant justify it until I upgrade my 15inch LCD. Maybe Ill get a 19inch in a few months, then in another few pick up an 8600 when they've gone down in price a bit

 

[rileychris]

six 3.0Gbit SATA,

Why six? If you are buying these new, larger drives are fairly cheap these days. Save the power and slots, and go with 2 large SATAs.

 

[Operandi]

Scythe uses sleeve bearings on all their fans, not a good idea for CPU HS/F in my opinion.

I would go with the Zalman CNPS-9700 or Thermalright Ultra-120 with your choice of fan.

 

[Roguestar]

Originally posted by: rileychris

six 3.0Gbit SATA,

Why six? If you are buying these new, larger drives are fairly cheap these days. Save the power and slots, and go with 2 large SATAs.

What?

I think he was listing the ports on his motherboard...

 

[rileychris]

That makes way more sense. I really should not post on these forums pre-coffee. Sorry. My mistake.

 

[fishmonger12]

Looks fine. I would just be on the lookout for cheap socket 939 dual core procs to replace that fx-55 if/when not having a dual core proc significantly hinders your performance. From what I understand that'll be in a year or two.

Also depends on the games you'll be playing.

 

[Boyo]

Tiger Direct has the FX-60 for like $369.00 if you can believe it. Might be worth the switch.

 

[PhoenixOrion]

Originally posted by: Operandi
Scythe uses sleeve bearings on all their fans, not a good idea for CPU HS/F in my opinion.

I would go with the Zalman CNPS-9700 or Thermalright Ultra-120 with your choice of fan.

we want to go with heatpiped towers like infinity, tuniq or even monsoon tec perhaps.

what's wrong with sleeve? they're the most quiet fans around.

 

[engiNURD]

sleeve fans arent as reliable, and will die faster than a ball bearing fan. though, you'll notice it, because they become loud, lol. so just replace it as soon as you hear noise from the fan

 

[Bill Brasky]

Originally posted by: PhoenixOrion

Originally posted by: Operandi
Scythe uses sleeve bearings on all their fans, not a good idea for CPU HS/F in my opinion.

I would go with the Zalman CNPS-9700 or Thermalright Ultra-120 with your choice of fan.

we want to go with heatpiped towers like infinity, tuniq or even monsoon tec perhaps.

what's wrong with sleeve? they're the most quiet fans around.

Go with the tuniq tower. It's higher fin density allows better cooling. I have an infinity and the relatively lower fin density means I have to crank up the fan to get the nice oc.

The reason why sleeve bearing fans aren't optimal for CPU hs/f's is because:
1. They dry out faster than ball bearing fans.
2. When they dry out, they don't tend to give any warning signs. For example, when a ball bearing fans goes bad, it makes some serious noise. I had one dry up and it sounded like a jackhammer, but this is a good thing for the fan cooling your cpu because you know somethings wrong. In my experience, when a sleeve bearing fan dries out, it just plain stops.
3. Sleeve bearing fans only have acoustic advantages at low rpm's.

 

[Operandi]

Originally posted by: PhoenixOrion

Originally posted by: Operandi
Scythe uses sleeve bearings on all their fans, not a good idea for CPU HS/F in my opinion.

I would go with the Zalman CNPS-9700 or Thermalright Ultra-120 with your choice of fan.

we want to go with heatpiped towers like infinity, tuniq or even monsoon tec perhaps.

what's wrong with sleeve? they're the most quiet fans around.

Have you not seen the Ultra-120 and Zalman 9700? Both are heatpipe based tower heatskinks and very comparable in performance.

Zalman and Thermalright both consistently make some of the best heatsinks around. The Ultra-120 has the benefit of letting you choose your own fan while the Zalman has a low noise integrated low noise ball bearing fan.

As previously mentioned sleeve bearings are a poor choice (in my opinion) because they have a shorter live, are more susceptible to heat, and usually don't give any warning before they fail (ball bearing fans make a ton of noise before they go out).