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Critique my soon-to-be gaming machine

T

teramesher

Member
I have been busy researching for my new machine. My current one's hitting 3 years mark next month! A time for a new one. Listed are what I've come to conclusion based on their performance and prices. I know I'm missing harddrive and video card. I'm still researching those. I wanted to toss it out there just to make sure I'm following the right path.


Motherboard:
MSI "K8N Neo2 Platinum" NVIDIA nForce3 ULTRA Chipset Motherboard For AMD Socket 939 CPU - Retail

CPU:
AMD Athlon 64 3000+, 512KB L2 Cache 64-bit Processor - Retail

Memory:
Corsair Value Select (Dual Pack) 184 Pin 512MBx2 DDR PC-3200 - OEM
or
Mushkin 184 Pin 512MB DDR PC-3200 - Retail

CPU Fan:
ZALMAN CNPS7000B-AlCu Aluminum + Copper CPU Cooler for Socket 478/462/754/939/940 CPUs -RETAIL

Case:
ANTEC Solution Series Super Mid Tower Case with 350W Power Supply, Model "SLK3700AMB"


Can you help out with some questions?
1) Which memory should I go with Corsair($152.77) or Mushkin($134)?
2) The Antec case is rated for 350W. Would this be enough if I decide to go with high end video card?
3) Harddrive suggestion? I'm planning to go with SATA for OS and IDE for data.
4) Any suggestion for quiet case fan?

Thanks in advance
 
Nice heatsink, nice case (I have the SLK for my music server box).

If you're on a budget, consider saving some money by going socket 754 (see thread #1 here for motherboard recommendation) since both 754 and the current 939 will both be equally obsolete in a couple of years anyway.

If you can wait a few weeks, the price of the nv 6600GT AGP cards might drop down to reasonable levels, otherwise you might as well get a (plain) nv 6800 for just a little more.

If you want to spend a little extra on the case to get a 380 watt PS, the Antec Sonata at $100 is an excellent case.
 
First of all, you spelled critic wrong. In verb form, it is spelled critique.

Anyway, everything looks fine except your question about the PSU. A 350w will be able to run an X800Pro, but probably nothing higher. And probably nothing on the Geforce 6 side. You'd want at least 400w.

You might not want to purchase OEM ram, sometimes the venders screw up and send you some weird numbers like PC2700 or whatever, stick with retail to be safe.

I'd have to say Corsair but they're pretty close.

SATA for everything. A 120GB SATA drive is only like 80 bucks.

Quiet case fan? Vantex Stealth, Coolermaster's quiet series (forget what they're called), or anything with a fan controller. These are 120mm fans since your case should use em.


For a video card, it depends on your budget (this is what I tell everyone). If you like Radeons, The X800XT for 500+ bucks, the X800Pro for 400, the 9800pro for 300+, the 9600XT for like 150. Most Radeons can run on a 350w PSU, but you'd probably still want to upgrade so you don't have to worry about compatability in the future. If you like Geforce, 6800Ultra for 500+ bucks, the 6800GT for 400+, the 6800NU for 270ish, the 6600GT for 240.
 
I must have missed the comment about both 754 and 939 becoming obsolete in a couple of years. I picked 939 board because better future upgrade to Athlon 64 FX and thus have better longevity. Can you expand on that thought?

I'll take a look at nv 6600GT AGP card. thanks. I was actually considering going with ATI card. My old ATI 8500LE has served me well. So ATI have earned my trust.

Are you saying 350W PSU that comes with the case might not be juicy enough to run ok?

 
Haha well, in the computer world everything will be obsolete in a couple of years. Just use 939, prices aren't much different, and everyone has to agree that it does have better upgradablilty than 754.
 
Originally posted by: Mrvile
First of all, you spelled critic wrong. In verb form, it is spelled critique.
Click to expand...

heh, I knew "critic" didn't look right! was too lazy to look that up. besides, this is computer forum 🙂.

Originally posted by: Mrvile
Anyway, everything looks fine except your question about the PSU. A 350w will be able to run an X800Pro, but probably nothing higher. And probably nothing on the Geforce 6 side. You'd want at least 400w.
Click to expand...
I wonder if I should just get a case without PSU and get it separately. My old Enlight case come with 340W and that was 3 years ago. Personally, I've always hated spending a lot of money on case because I end up buying a new one everytime I build a new one anyway. Any recommendation on a case that comes with higher wattage?

Originally posted by: Mrvile
SATA for everything. A 120GB SATA drive is only like 80 bucks.
Click to expand...
which brand do you recommend?

Originally posted by: Mrvile
Quiet case fan? Vantex Stealth, Coolermaster's quiet series (forget what they're called), or anything with a fan controller. These are 120mm fans since your case should use em.

For a video card, it depends on your budget (this is what I tell everyone). If you like Radeons, The X800XT for 500+ bucks, the X800Pro for 400, the 9800pro for 300+, the 9600XT for like 150. Most Radeons can run on a 350w PSU, but you'd probably still want to upgrade so you don't have to worry about compatability in the future. If you like Geforce, 6800Ultra for 500+ bucks, the 6800GT for 400+, the 6800NU for 270ish, the 6600GT for 240.
Click to expand...
[q/]
thanks, I'll look into those.

 
Seagate makes the best HDDs. They have a lower HDD activity noise, in case you wanted to know.

Speaking of cases, Antecs are great cases, you should still get one but either with no PSU or a higher PSU. The Antec "Plus1080amg" is a nice case with a nice PSU if you can spend 115 on it. It's a pretty big case though, 20.6"x8.1"x18.6". Another good case is the Antec Sonata, with a 380w PSU. 380w will get you by, especially when it's coming from an Antec PSU. Sonatas are much smaller, 16.75"x18.25"x8.13", and cost about 100 bucks.
 
Originally posted by: Mrvile
Haha well, in the computer world everything will be obsolete in a couple of years. Just use 939, prices aren't much different, and everyone has to agree that it does have better upgradablilty than 754.
Click to expand...
Depends on the budget -- on a tight budget 754 makes sense. otherwsie 939 is more future-proof in the short term. Seeing just a 3000+ and a $70 case I assumed price was an issue.

The Antec SLK is actually a nice case to use for swapping out the power supply, since both the front and back fan mounts are 120x25 mm. 120mm lets you have great cooling with low noise.

The case also has rubber grommets for the hard drives to cut vibration noise, and leaves vertical space between each drive for better cooling.

In my music server box I have a low-speed near-silent Nexus fan for the front intake (which blows directly onto the hard drives) and a normal medium-noise 120mm exhaust fan in back.
 
I have my 380 watt antec running a 939 pin 3200@2400 and a 9800pro. I have my 3200 754 pin @2400 running on a 350 Antec. I think you are fine. My Antec 300 is MUCH better than the 400 watt powmax I have. ratings are not everything
 
Originally posted by: DaveSimmons
Depends on the budget -- on a tight budget 754 makes sense. otherwsie 939 is more future-proof in the short term. Seeing just a 3000+ and a $70 case I assumed price was an issue.

The Antec SLK is actually a nice case to use for swapping out the power supply, since both the front and back fan mounts are 120x25 mm. 120mm lets you have great cooling with low noise.

The case also has rubber grommets for the hard drives to cut vibration noise, and leaves vertical space between each drive for better cooling.

In my music server box I have a low-speed near-silent Nexus fan for the front intake (which blows directly onto the hard drives) and a normal medium-noise 120mm exhaust fan in back.
Click to expand...

Dave,

120mm and the rubber grommets are the exact reasons why I decided on the case so far.

Let me explain little bit of my game plan: My current Athlon 1600+ machine will turn into htpc that will serve Infocus 4805 projector. Since noise is a big factor for htpc, I'm gonna remove my pci slot fan next to the video card, back case fan, front case fan, stock cpu fan. Then I'm going to put a nice large cpu heatsink/fan to keep the noise to minimal.

The new computer I'm getting will turn into htpc eventually (maybe 2 years later). That's why I like SLK3700AMB. That's another reason why I want SATA for OS and all my movies, captured video, and music will be on IDE. (cheaper)


Actually I don't have a budget per say. Like I mentioned, I don't go for the latest and greatest. I don't think it makes much economic sense. Just my personal philosophy.
 
Originally posted by: Markfw900
I have my 380 watt antec running a 939 pin 3200@2400 and a 9800pro. I have my 3200 754 pin @2400 running on a 350 Antec. I think you are fine. My Antec 300 is MUCH better than the 400 watt powmax I have. ratings are not everything
Click to expand...

good to know. I think I'm gonna go with my original choice. If 350W isn't enough, I can always replace it I guess.
 
went to a local computer store to see if they had any decent stuff on sale. I saw Antec 3700AMD case and oh boy was it ugly or what. The case itself looked alright, but the front panel was so cheap looking. Wish they have an all black one.
 
Ok, This is what I've decided to go:
Motherboard:
MSI "K8N Neo2 Platinum" NVIDIA nForce3 ULTRA Chipset Motherboard For AMD Socket 939 CPU - Retail

CPU:
AMD Athlon 64 3000+, 512KB L2 Cache 64-bit Processor - Retail

Memory:
Mushkin 184 Pin 512MB DDR PC-3200 - Retail

CPU Fan:
ZALMAN CNPS7000B-AlCu Aluminum + Copper CPU Cooler for Socket 478/462/754/939/940 CPUs -RETAIL

Case:
ANTEC Solution Series Super Mid Tower Case with 350W Power Supply, Model "SLK3700AMB"

Video;
nVIDIA GeForce 6600GT Video Card, 128MB GDDR3, 128-Bit, Dual DVI, AGP 8X, Model "PVT43AND" -RETAIL

Harddrive:
Seagate SATA

The only 6600GT AGP card I see are ones from newegg and buy.com. They are over $200. I'm hoping the price would come down soon before Xmas.

Any change you'd make if it were you?

Thanks for the help.
 
Originally posted by: Mrvile
First of all, you spelled critic wrong. In verb form, it is spelled critique.
Click to expand...

There is no verb form for "critic". The closest thing to one is "criticize", not "critique", which can be either a verb or a noun. You shouldn't be so quick to criticize, although a critique is often welcome.
 
Originally posted by: jvarszegi
Originally posted by: Mrvile
First of all, you spelled critic wrong. In verb form, it is spelled critique.
Click to expand...

There is no verb form for "critic". The closest thing to one is "criticize", not "critique", which can be either a verb or a noun. You shouldn't be so quick to criticize, although a critique is often welcome.
Click to expand...

Well it has the closest meaning and sound. So ha 😉

Anyway, you have 512GB ram listed. What will you use this computer for? I suggest 1GB for anything, but if you're only going to be surfing the web or using programs such as Microsoft Office and MS Hearts, 512 is enough.

CPU Cooler: Ooooh ambitious. Going to be doing anything funny with your CPU? Or is that purely for low sound level?

Our good friends from ZZF have the XFX 6600GT AGP for 230. Just letting ya know.

Everything else looks good! Good luck with your computer.

EDIT: Omg I forgot about the title, "My soon-to-be gaming computer." Definately 1GB ram.
 
Originally posted by: teramesher
I have been busy researching for my new machine. My current one's hitting 3 years mark next month! A time for a new one. Listed are what I've come to conclusion based on their performance and prices. I know I'm missing harddrive and video card. I'm still researching those. I wanted to toss it out there just to make sure I'm following the right path.


Motherboard:
MSI "K8N Neo2 Platinum" NVIDIA nForce3 ULTRA Chipset Motherboard For AMD Socket 939 CPU - Retail

CPU:
AMD Athlon 64 3000+, 512KB L2 Cache 64-bit Processor - Retail

Memory:
Corsair Value Select (Dual Pack) 184 Pin 512MBx2 DDR PC-3200 - OEM
or
Mushkin 184 Pin 512MB DDR PC-3200 - Retail

CPU Fan:
ZALMAN CNPS7000B-AlCu Aluminum + Copper CPU Cooler for Socket 478/462/754/939/940 CPUs -RETAIL

Case:
ANTEC Solution Series Super Mid Tower Case with 350W Power Supply, Model "SLK3700AMB"


Can you help out with some questions?
1) Which memory should I go with Corsair($152.77) or Mushkin($134)?
2) The Antec case is rated for 350W. Would this be enough if I decide to go with high end video card?
3) Harddrive suggestion? I'm planning to go with SATA for OS and IDE for data.
4) Any suggestion for quiet case fan?

Thanks in advance
Click to expand...

get the gig of value if no oc and the xp-90 with a tornado fan. smaller and better.
also to put cost down a little this ram
 
oh yeah, it's definitely going to be 1gb of ram for dual channell, no doubt. I just happen to not specify the quantity.

For the fan, No OC for me. I own a veriy overclockable ePox 8KHA+, but never bother to OC. This was back in the day with AMD pencil trip, but never bothered. The fan's purely for noise level.

For the ram, Mushkin comes out to be $140 before shipping, which is a few bucks cheaper than Corsair value select. I'm getting split opinion between Mushkin and Corsair. Is asking for definitive choice too much? 🙂

thanks for the tip about zzf Mrvile. I've never bought anything from them although they are very famous one. How's their shipping, reliable?
 
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