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Critique my future system

J

Jbroad572

Member
P4 2.8c = $299 (newegg)
Asus P4C800 = $187.99
ATI All-In-Wonder 9700 Pro = $345
corsair XMS 3200LL 2x256 = $154.50
WD Digital 120 GB SE = $114
Audigy 2 sound card = $78
Dell DVD burner = $200
PSU = $93 (undecided)
Black Raidmax case with window ($42)

total = $1513

This may finally be it. I really wanted the 3.0c, but figured it wasn't worth the extra $143. I feel like I'm missing something. I've never put a system together, so how does it look? Will everything come with the cables and cords I need? Well offer any suggestions and a good PSU that's cheaper than $93 but not sacrificng too much quality. I really want an LCD monitor, but am willing to hold off a little while longer for it.
 
yOU COULD TOtally shave a good $200 off of that system with minimum performance sacrifices. My suggestions would be to with:
- 512MB GeiL PC3200 DDR (save about $30) instead of Corsair XMS
- P4 2.4C (save $110) instead of 2.8C
- Asus P4P800D Springdale (save $45) instead of P4C800
- Antec case that comes with 330W+ PSU (save around $60)--Antec makes great cases and power supply units.


Your processor speeds will be great! I promise! And if you have any experienced friends, they could even teach you how to safely overclock your CPU past 3.0GHz...of course with the addition of a Thermalright SLK-800u or 900 (+$45) and Arctic Silver 3 thermalpaste (+$8).

but hey--if youve got the cash to blow, don't let me stand in your way!! Good luck and have fun.. Anandtech can help you with any questions... Either by the how-to guides or Forum...
 
What's the difference between the 2 mobos? I want to one day OC the 2.8 so I don't want to be held up. Will the Geil ram hold me back in any way?
 
The only thing I see that you might be missing is a second optical drive. Sure, your DVD burner can read and write CD and DVD, but you have no capability to do on the fly CD-CD copy. I'd either get a dedicated DVD reader, or perhaps pick up a lite-on 52x CD-RW for about $50 and use that for CD burning / reading.
 
The other mobo is cheaper and has that Asus mod that lets it use the hyperthreading. It doesn't beat the 875 board but it's darn close and hardly noticeable. The 2.4C should be able to OC extremely well. Cant comment on the memory since I've never used geil.
 
keep the memory and the canterwood board (I wouldn't want to base a future two years of performance on a canterwood mod).
modem?
video card is nice, although I'm hoping that you are a bigger videophile than gamer. If the games are more important, I'd get the 9800pro or wait a month for a AIW 9800pro.
 
Thermal Paste (+/- $5)
AT LEAST 2 fans (+/- $10)
And get ThermalRight HeatSink (800SLK(u) will do ~$34)
also, you going to hook it up the the internet? dialup or broadband? will you be connecting to other computers? I would definitly get an ethernet card. Also, all this stuff seams like a waist without a monitor, keyboard, mouse, or speakers. 😛
 
Ok so keep the P4C800 and the corsair memory. I thought the mobo had an integrated ethernet card that was supposed to be really good????
 
GeiL owns. Only nFORCE2 users have problems with it. P4P800 is just as good as the P4C800. With the cash you save, you can get your keyboard, mouse, and speakers... or half of your monitor. Unless of course, you have the money to spare. Then just blow it all
 
All 865 based motherboards have intermitten difficult running DDR400 memory at the faster settings, its a known issue.

I never heard of Geil RAM until I got back from Basic Training and Technical Training in the Military, so I cannot give you any information about it. I do know that Corsair memory is top of the line stuff, and can take a lot of stress.

Your system looks pretty solid. You could save some money by going for the slower 2.4C and overclocking it, and you could cut some more by going for the 865 based motherboard. Personally, if you got the cash for a 2.8C and the 875 based board, I would go that route.
 
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